Evaluación de la función adrenal en perros

En 30 perros sanos, hemos estudiado los niveles de cortisol plasmático antes y después de la administración de hormona adrenocórticotropa (ACTH sintético, vía i.m.) y de dexametasona (dosis de 0,01 y 0,02 mg/Kg p.v., vía i.v.), Las pruebas se iniciaron siempre antes de las 10 horas de la mañana y las determinaciones de cortisol plasmático se evaluaron mediante técnicas de RIA. En nuestras condiciones de trabajo, hemos encontrado unos niveles basales de cortisol cuyo rango va de 0,17 a 7,95 ug/ dl. Se ha observado que, en perros sin sintomatología adrenal y con perfiles hematológicos y bioquímicos normales, la prueba de estimulación con ACTH exógeno, a las dos horas de su administración, es capaz de discriminar como animales sanos el 76,7% de los individuos (23 animales), dando falsos resultados positivos en el 10% (3 animales) y una estimulación baja en el U)% (4 animales). La prueba con dexametasona (0,01 mg/Kg p.v.), a las 8 horas de su aplicación, sólo es capaz de ejercer efecto inhibitorio en el 40% de los casos (12 individuos); pero cuando se incrementa la dosis al doble (dexametasona 0,02 mg/Kg p.v.) se 49 obtienen los mejores resultados de toda la experiencia porque se produce el efecto supresor esperado en el 96,7% de los individuos (29 animales).Thirty healty dogs uiere evaluated for plasma cortisol values before and after adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACm, administered i.m.) and low dose dexamethasone (0.01 and 0.02 mglKgp.v. administered i.u.). The assays started always before 10 hour A.M.} and cortisol plasma concentrations were determined by RIA. In our laboratory we have obserued the normal baseline morning cortisol concentration was between 0.17 and 7.95 ¡..tgldl. ACTH-estimulation test wasfound abnormal bypereponse in 10% (J animals), anormallow stimulation in 11.1% (a dogs) and a expected byperreponse in 76.7% (23) ofthe normal dogs.Dexamethasone-screening test (0.01 mg/Kgp.v.) bring us supressed effect in 40% (12 animals). But wefound the best reliable results when screening test was applied with 0.02 mg/Kgp.v. dexamethasone dose. the suppressed especting effect wasfound in 06. 7% (29 dogs)

Integral Field Spectroscopy of the Central Regions of 3C 120: Evidence of a Past Merging Event

IFS combined with HST WFPC imaging were used to characterize the central regions of the Seyfert 1 radio galaxy 3C 120. We carried out the analysis of the data, deriving intensity maps of different emission lines and the continua at different wavelengths from the observed spectra. Applying a 2D modeling to the HST images we decoupled the nucleus and the host galaxy, and analyzed the host morphology. The host is a highly distorted bulge dominated galaxy, rich in substructures. We developed a new technique to model the IFS data extending the 2D modeling. Using this technique we separated the Seyfert nucleus and the host galaxy spectra, and derived a residual data cube with spectral and spatial information of the different structures in 3C 120. Three continuum-dominated structures (named A, B, and C) and other three extended emission line regions (EELRs, named E1, E2 and E3) are found in 3C 120 which does not follow the general behavior of a bulge dominated galaxy. We also found shells in the central kpc that may be remnants of a past merging event in this galaxy. The origin of E1 is most probably due to the interaction of the radio-jet of 3C 120 with the intergalactic medium. Structures A, B, and the shell at the southeast of the nucleus seem to correspond to a larger morphological clumpy structure that may be a tidal tail, consequence of the past merging event. We found a bright EELR (E2) in the innermost part of this tidal tail, nearby the nucleus, which shows a high ionization level. The kinematics of the E2 region and its connection to the tidal tail suggest that the tail has channeled gas from the outer regions to the center.Comment: 55 pages, 18 figures and 5 tables Accepted by AP

El anticlinal y las discordancias de Pareja (Guadalajara): definición de las unidades cenozoicas de la Depresión Intermedia (provs. Cuenca y Guadalajara, España)

This paper deals with the stratigraphic units visible at the Pareja Anticline in the Cenozoic-age Depresión Intermedia. The stratigraphic section allowed us to identify three main stratigraphic units differentiated through angular unconformities and sedimentary breaks. Some subunits are also been defined from sedimentary breaks linked to minor diastrophic processes. These subunits as well as the main ones (Cretaceous-Paleogene Unit, Paleogene Unit and Neogene Unit) can be defined as tectosedimentary units being identifiable in all the Depresión Intermedia Basin extent through field sections and borehole logs where large numbers of fossil mammals have been located.Este trabajo contempla las unidades representadas en la sección estratigráfica del Anticlinal la Pareja (Guadalajara, España) en la cuenca cenozoica denominada Depresión Intermedia. La columna estratigráfica de la zona permite identificar tres unidades principales separadas por discordancias angulares relacionables con fases tectónicas de la orogenia alpina. También se han diferenciado subunidades que, en su mayor parte, vienen definidas por rupturas sedimentarias ligadas a procesos diastróficos y que, como las tres unidades principales (Unidad Cretácico-Paleógena, Unidad Paleógena y Unidad Neógena), se corresponden con unidades tectosedimentarias, siendo identificables en toda la extensión de la Depresión Intermedia a partir de cortes y sondeos mecánicos de reconocimiento donde abundan los yacimientos de micromamíferos

The impact of environmental effects on AGN: a decline in the incidence of ionized outflows

AGN have been generally considered to be less frequent in denser environments due to the lower number of galaxy-galaxy interactions and/or the removal of their gas-rich reservoirs by the dense intergalactic medium. However, recent observational and theoretical works suggest that the effect of ram-pressure stripping might reduce the angular momentum of their gas, causing it to infall towards the super massive black hole (SMBH) at their centre, activating the AGN phase. In this work we explore the connection between environment and nuclear activity by evaluating the variation in the incidence of ionized outflows in AGN across different environments. We select a sample of $\sim3300$ optical AGN from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 13 that we match with the group catalogue from Lim et al. 2017. We further probe their environment through the projected distance to the central galaxy of the group/cluster and the projected surface density to the 5th neighbour ($\delta_5$). We find that at lower masses ($<10^{10.3}$M$_{\odot}$), the fraction of ionized outflows is significantly lower in satellite ($\sim7$%) than in isolated ($\sim22$%) AGN. The fraction of outflows in all satellite AGN decreases towards closer distances to the central, whereas only the lower-mass ones display a significant decline with $\delta_5$. Although this study does not include AGN in the densest regions of galaxy clusters, our findings suggest that AGN in dense environments accrete less gas than those in the field potentially due to the removal of the gas reservoirs via stripping or starvation, consistent with a negative connection between environment and AGN activity. We propose that the observed change in the incidence of outflows towards denser regions of groups and clusters could contribute to the higher gas metallicities of cluster galaxies compared to field ones, especially at lower masses.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic

Fusing output information in neural networks: Ensemble performs better

A neural network ensemble is a learning paradigm where a finite number of component neural networks are trained for the same task. Previous research suggests that an ensemble as a whole is often more accurate than any of the single component networks. This paper focuses on the advantages of fusing different nature network architectures, and to determine the appropriate information fusion algorithm in component neural networks by several approaches within hard decision classifiers, when solving a binary pattern recognition problem. We numerically simulated and compared the different fusion approaches in terms of the mean-square error rate in testing data set, over synthetically generated binary Gaussian noisy data, and stated the advantages of fusing the hard outputs of different component networks to make a final hard decision classification. The results of the experiments indicate that neural network ensembles can indeed improve the overall accuracy for classification problems; in all fusion architectures tested, the ensemble correct classification rates are better than those achieved by the individual component networks. Finally we are nowadays comparing the above mentioned hard decision classifiers with new soft decision classifier architectures that make use of the additional continuous type intermediate network soft output

Evaluación cualitativa del programa comunitario Irunsasoi para la promoción de la actividad física: la perspectiva de los médicos

Objectives: The sedentarism is an important conditioner of morbidity and mortality. The communitarian programs of promotion of physical activity that include a pursuit protocol can help and complement to the medical advice in the consultation. The objectives that we marked ourselves with this study have been to know the opinion the doctors on the prescription of physical activity and the implantation of the Irunsasoi program, collaboration between the doctors of Primary Attention and the technicians of physical activity of the council of Irún City to help the sedentary people. Methodology Design: Technique of focal groups. The discussions were recorded and later transcribed, previous authorization, for their analysis. Location: Primary attention. Irún Centro health Center. Subjects: The study population was the 15 doctors of AP. Two groups of 5 doctors, homogenous were made in age and sex, the recruitment was made, the invitation at random to participate was verbal by the investigator without no refusal took place. Measures: The discussion lines were grouped in: attitude before the advice and participation in the program, difficulties of collaboration and proposals of improvement. Results: Positive evaluation of the program to have enabled personnel, sufficient time and guarantees of pursuit. The collaboration difficulties are based on the forgetfulness not to have it built-in to our mechanics of work and to wort in other activities by lack of time. Conclusions: He is positive to work jointly with the technicians of physical activity. Aspects to improve: the formation in prescription of physical activity, the implication of nurses, the circuit of communication and the support in computerized historyObjetivos: El sedentarismo es un importante condicionante de morbilidad y mortalidad. Los programas comunitarios de promoción de actividad física que incluyan un protocolo de seguimiento pueden ayudar y complementar al consejo médico en la consulta. Los objetivos que nos marcamos con este estudio han sido conocer la opinión de los médicos sobre la prescripción de actividad física y sobre la implantación del programa Irunsasoi, de colaboración entre los médicos de Atención Primaria y los técnicos de actividad física del Ayuntamiento de Irún para ayudar a las personas sedentarias. Metodología: Diseño: Técnica de grupos focales. Las discusiones fueron grabadas y posteriormente transcritas, previa autorización, para su análisis. Emplazamiento: Atención primaria. Centro de salud Irún Centro. Sujetos: La población de estudio fueron los 15 médicos de AP. Se realizaron dos grupos de 5 médicos, homogéneos en edad y sexo, el reclutamiento se realizó al azar, la invitación a participar fue verbal por el investigador sin que se produjera ninguna negativa. Medidas: Los ejes de discusión se agruparon en: actitud ante el consejo y participación en el programa, dificultades de colaboración y propuestas de mejora. Resultados: Valoración positiva del programa por disponer de personal capacitado, tiempo suficiente y garantías de seguimiento. Las dificultades de colaboración se basan en el olvido por no tenerlo incorporado a nuestra mecánica de trabajo y priorización de otras actividades por falta de tiempo. Conclusiones: Es positivo trabajar conjuntamente con los técnicos de actividad física. Aspectos a mejorar: la formación en prescripción de actividad física, la implicación de enfermería, el circuito de comunicación y el soporte en la historia informatizad

Citicoline may prevent cognitive decline in patients with cerebrovascular disease

Introduction: Neuroprotective drugs such as citicoline could improve cognitive performance and quality of life. We studied the effect of citicoline treatment and its association with Vascular Risk Factors (VRF) and APOE on cognition in patients with Subjective Cognitive Complaints (SCC) and Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). Methods: This is an observational and prospective study with citicoline during 12 months follow-up. Eighty-one subjects who met criteria for SCC/MCI, aged 50–75 years with VRF were included and prescribed citicoline 1g/day. Subjects with previous cognitive impairment and any other central nervous system affection were excluded. Wilcoxon Signed Ranks test and paired samples t-test were used to analyze the change in neuropsychological performance. Results: Mean age of the sample was 68.2 (SD 6.8) years and 26 (32.09%) were females. Fifteen subjects (24.6%) were APOE-ε4 carriers, fifty-six (76.7%) had hypertension, fifty-eight (79.5%) had dyslipidemia, twenty-one (28.8%) had diabetes mellitus and twenty-six (35.6%) had cardiopathy. Thirty-two (43.8%) subjects were diagnosed as SCC and forty-one (56.16%) as MCI. During the follow-up, Tweny-six patients (81.25%) in the group of SCC remained stable, six subjects (18.8%) converted to MCI. Twelve patients (29.9%) with MCI reverted to SCC and twenty-nine patients (70.7%) remained stable. At follow-up, SCC subjects had an improvement in the global language domain (p=0.03), naming (p<0.001), attention (p=0.01) and visuospatial abilities (p<0.01). MCI group showed an improvement in the screening test (p=0.03), delayed memory (p<0.01), global cognition (p=0.04) and in cognitive flexibility (p=0.03). Presence of APOE-ε4 had no impact on the above findings. Discussion: SCC subjects showed an improvement in language and attention domains, while those with MCI performed better after 12 months in total scores of MoCA and RBANS domains, some converting back to SCC. This supports the idea that citicoline may prevent cognitive decline in patients with cognitive deficits

GU Boo: A New 0.6 Msun Detached Eclipsing Binary

We have found a new low-mass, double-lined, detached eclipsing binary, GU Boo, among a sample of new variables from the ROTSE-I database. The binary has an orbital period of 0.488728 +/- 0.000002 days, and estimated apparent magnitudes Vrotse = 13.7 and I = 11.8. Our analysis of the light and radial velocity curves of the system yields individual masses and radii of M1= 0.610 +/- 0.007 Msun, M2 = 0.599 +/- 0.006 Msun, R1= 0.623 +/- 0.016 Rsun, R2= 0.620 +/- 0.020 Rsun. The stars in GU Boo are therefore very similar to the components of the eclipsing binary YY Gem. For this study we have adopted a mean effective temperature for the binary of Teff = 3870 +/- 130 K. Based on its space velocities we suggest that GU Boo is a main sequence binary, possibly with an age of several Gyr. The metallicity of the binary is not well constrained at this point but we speculate that it should not be very different from solar. We have compared the physical parameters of GU Boo with current low-mass stellar models, where we accounted for uncertainties in age and metallicity by considering a wide range of values for those parameters. Our comparisons reveal that all the models underestimate the radii of the components of GU Boo by at least 10-15%. This result is in agreement with the recent studies of YY Gem and CU Cnc.Comment: 41 pages, 10 figures, 11 tables; accepted by Ap

Three Wide-Separation L dwarf Companions from the Two Micron All Sky Survey: Gl 337C, Gl 618.1B, and HD 89744B

We present two confirmed wide separation L-dwarf common proper motion companions to nearby stars and one candidate identified from the Two Micron All Sky Survey. Spectral types from optical spectroscopy are L0 V, L2.5 V, and L8 V. Near-infrared low resolution spectra of the companions are provided as well as a grid of known objects spanning M6 V -- T dwarfs to support spectral type assignment for these and future L-dwarfs in the z'JHK bands. Using published measurements, we estimate ages of the companions from physical properties of the primaries. These crude ages allow us to estimate companion masses using theoretical low-mass star and brown dwarf evolutionary models. The new L-dwarfs in this paper bring the number of known wide-binary (Separation >= 100 AU) L-dwarf companions of nearby stars to nine. One of the L-dwarfs is a wide separation companion to the F7 IV-V + extrasolar planet system HD89744Ab.Comment: 20 pages including 6 tables and 4 figures, AJ, in pres

Cardiac resynchronization therapy and valvular cardiomyopathy after corrective surgery

Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) has been shown to have clinical benefits in certain groups of patients with advanced heart failure (HF). However, patients with valvular cardiomyopathy are underrepresented in randomized clinical studies. The aim of this study was to assess the medium-term (i.e., at 6 months) effects of CRT in patients with HF exclusively due to valvular disease. The study included 40 consecutive patients who underwent CRT device implantation. At 6 months, there were improvements in functional class, left ventricular remodeling, and intraventricular dyssynchrony parameters in treated patients. In this particular subgroup of patients, the benefits of CRT were similar to those observed in patients with HF due to other etiologies