Etiopathology of chronic tubular, glomerular and renovascular nephropathies: Clinical implications

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) comprises a group of pathologies in which the renal excretory function is chronically compromised. Most, but not all, forms of CKD are progressive and irreversible, pathological syndromes that start silently (i.e. no functional alterations are evident), continue through renal dysfunction and ends up in renal failure. At this point, kidney transplant or dialysis (renal replacement therapy, RRT) becomes necessary to prevent death derived from the inability of the kidneys to cleanse the blood and achieve hydroelectrolytic balance. Worldwide, nearly 1.5 million people need RRT, and the incidence of CKD has increased significantly over the last decades. Diabetes and hypertension are among the leading causes of end stage renal disease, although autoimmunity, renal atherosclerosis, certain infections, drugs and toxins, obstruction of the urinary tract, genetic alterations, and other insults may initiate the disease by damaging the glomerular, tubular, vascular or interstitial compartments of the kidneys. In all cases, CKD eventually compromises all these structures and gives rise to a similar phenotype regardless of etiology. This review describes with an integrative approach the pathophysiological process of tubulointerstitial, glomerular and renovascular diseases, and makes emphasis on the key cellular and molecular events involved. It further analyses the key mechanisms leading to a merging phenotype and pathophysiological scenario as etiologically distinct diseases progress. Finally clinical implications and future experimental and therapeutic perspectives are discussed

An approach for identifyation of areas with higher expected damage and definition of priority levels for prevention plans in Murcia Province (SE Spain)

The Murcia Region is one of the most active zones in Spain, where three earthquakes took place in 1999, 2002 and 2005. In spite of their low magnitudes (Mw 4.8), these earthquakes caused important damage, the last one reaching an EMS-98 intensity of VII. After that event, the RISMUR project started, aimed at providing a general picture of the seismic risk, which allows us to identify zones requiring a more detailed analysis of where prevention plans should be prioritized. A multidisciplinary study, starting with the seismic hazard assessment, which follows the Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Assessment methodology has been carried out at a regional scale. The expected ground motion (rock sites), for a return period of 475 years, has been characterized in terms of PGA and spectral ordinates and the corresponding maps have been drawn. In addition, a regional geotechnical study has been done and a classification of eight types of soils has been proposed, with the corresponding amplification factors. The combination of previous maps and factors, gives a new hazard map which already includes local effects. In parallel, a vulnerability assessment of the Murcian building stock is carried out, based fundamentally on the age of construction and following the EMS-98 criteria. Taking into account the expected ground motions and building vulnerabilities, the distribution of expected damage is estimated by the application of probability damage matrixes. A suite of maps representing seismic risk in terms of damage parameters for the entire region and from which we can identify the locations with higher expected damage have been obtained. We use the Coulomb stress transfer map of the region as additional criteria for defining priority areas where detailed studies should be performed. This gives information about the zones with stress load due to the previous seismicity and where new events could be triggered. The superposition of this map with the active faults of the region and the locations with higher expected damage allows us to establish a four-level priority ranking where future local-scale analyses should be made

Process design for the manufacturing of soft X-ray gratings in single-crystal diamond by high-energy heavy-ion irradiation

Artículo con 9 figurasThis paper describes in detail a novel manufacturing process for optical gratings suitable for use in the UV and soft X-ray regimes in a single-crystal diamond substrate based on highly focused swift heavy-ion irradiation. This type of grating is extensively used in light source facilities such as synchrotrons or free electron lasers, with ever-increasing demands in terms of thermal loads, depending on beamline operational parameters and architecture. The process proposed in this paper may be a future alternative to current manufacturing techniques, providing the advantage of being applicable to single-crystal diamond substrates, with their unique properties in terms of heat conductivity and radiation hardness. The paper summarizes the physical principle used for the grating patterns produced by swift heavy-ion irradiation and provides full details for the manufacturing process for a specific grating configuration, inspired in one of the beamlines at the ALBA synchrotron light source, while stressing the most challenging points for a potential implementation. Preliminary proof-of-concept experimental results are presented, showing the practical implementation of the methodology proposed herein.The authors acknowledge funding support by the following projects: PID2020-112770RB-C22 from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, TechnoFusión (III)-CM (S2018/EMT-4437) from Comunidad de Madrid (cofinanced by ERDF and ESF), agreement between Community of Madrid and Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (item “Excellence of University Professorate”). M.L.C. acknowledges financial support from the research project “Captacion de Talento UAM” Ref: #541D300 supervised by the Vice-Chancellor of Research of Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM). LOREA beamline at ALBA is a project co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) within the Framework of the Smart Growth Operative Programme 2014-2020. The authors acknowledge the support from The Centro de Microanálisis de Materiales (CMAM)—Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, for the beam time proposal (demonstration of a grating profile for soft X-rays in diamond via ion lithography) with code IuB-005/21, and its technical staff for their contribution to the operation of the accelerator. We also acknowledge P. Olivero for very useful comments on the manuscript draf

Optimized Fundamental Signal Processing Operations for Energy Minimization on Heterogeneous Mobile Devices

[EN] Numerous signal processing applications are emerging on both mobile and high-performance computing systems. These applications are subject to responsiveness constraints for user interactivity and, at the same time, must be optimized for energy efficiency. The increasingly heterogeneous power-versus-performance profile of modern hardware introduces new opportunities for energy savings as well as challenges. In this line, recent systems-on-chip (SoC) composed of low-power multicore processors, combined with a small graphics accelerator (or GPU), yield a notable increment of the computational capacity while partially retaining the appealing low power consumption of embedded systems. This paper analyzes the potential of these new hardware systems to accelerate applications that involve a large number of floating-point arithmetic operations mainly in the form of convolutions. To assess the performance, a headphone-based spatial audio application for mobile devices based on a Samsung Exynos 5422 SoC has been developed. We discuss different implementations and analyze the tradeoffs between performance and energy efficiency for different scenarios and configurations. Our experimental results reveal that we can extend the battery lifetime of a device featuring such an architecture by a 238% by properly configuring and leveraging the computational resources.This work was supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad projects under Grant TIN2014-53495-R and Grant TEC2015-67387-C4-1-R, in part by the University Project UJI-B2016-20, in part by the Project PROMETEOII/2014/003. The work of J. A. Belloch was supported by the GVA Post-Doctoral Contract under Grant APOSTD/2016/069. This paper was recommended by Associate Editor Y. Ha.Belloch Rodríguez, JA.; Badia Contelles, JM.; Igual Peña, FD.; Gonzalez, A.; Quintana Ortí, ES. (2017). Optimized Fundamental Signal Processing Operations for Energy Minimization on Heterogeneous Mobile Devices. IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems I Regular Papers. 65(5):1614-1627. https://doi.org/10.1109/TCSI.2017.2761909S1614162765

Milk production and adjustment of lactation curve in the Florida caprine breed

Milk yield and average lactation curves is studied in the Florida caprine breed. 968 valid lactations are analyzed corresponding to 317 females kept under a semi-extensive management system, fed by grazing and additional in the feeding rack, with an average feed intake of 1783 g/day of dry matter in autumn-winter, 2938 g/day in spring and 1974 g/day in summer. The milking was done in the morning, and the milk control monthly. Milk production was determined with the adaptation of Carré to the Fleischmann method. A 71.6 percent of the lactations have a duration that fluctuates between 188 and 341 days, being the average duration 301.5 ± 3 days. The lactations that initiate in winter-spring are of shorter than the ones of summer-autumn (288.4±3.6 days vs 315.5±5.2 days), the same as the first lactation in comparison to the rest (283.7±4.8 days vs 310.5±3.8 days). The type of kidding doesn"t affect significantly the duration of the lactation. The milk yield to 210, 240, 270 days and complete lactation is 475.3±4.3 kg, 538.9±5.0 kg, 598.5±6.3 kg and 611.4±7.8 kg, respectively. The females that kid in winter-spring produce more quantity of milk until 270 days of lactation, although their production is less at complete lactation due to its shorter duration. The primiparous goats produce a 19-20 percent less quantity of milk than the multiparous goats, while the ones that kid more than one kid produce a 38-40 percent more than the ones having a simple kid or abortions. The Inverse polynomial and Incomplete gamma functions present a similar adjustment (R2= 0.943; CME=0.5361 and 0.5365), although they show differences in the components of the lactation curve: the initial production is estimated in 0.82 kg/d and 2.56 kg/d; maximum production in 2.71 kg/d and 2.68 kg/d; the peak production at day 27 and 13, and the decrese in 4.58 g/d and 4.32 g/d, respectively.Se estudia la producción láctea y la curva de lactación en caprinos de raza Florida. Se analizan 968 lactaciones válidas correspondientes a 317 hembras manejadas en un régimen semiextensivo, alimentadas a pasto más suplementación en pesebre, con un nivel de ingesta medio de 1783 g/día de materia seca en otoño-invierno, 2938 g/día en primavera y 1974 g/día en verano. El ordeño se efectuaba por la mañana, y el control lechero se realizaba mensualmente. La producción de leche se determinó con la adaptación de Carré al método de Fleishmann. El 71,6 p.100 de las lactaciones tienen una duración comprendida entre 188 y 341 días, siendo la duración media de 301,5±3 días. Las lactaciones que se inician en invierno-primavera son más cortas que las de verano-otoño (288,4±3,6 días vs 315,5±5,2 días), al igual que la primera lactación frente a las restantes (283,7±4,8 días vs 310,5±3,8 días). El tipo de parto no afecta significativamente la duración de la lactación. La producción de leche tipificada a 210, 240 y 270 días y a lactación completa es de 475,3±4,3 kg, 538,9±5,0 kg, 598,5±6,3 kg y 611,4±7,8 kg, respectivamente. Las hembras que paren en invierno- primavera producen mayor cantidad de leche hasta 270 días de lactación, en tanto que su producción es menor a lactación completa por su menor duración. Las cabras primíparas producen un 19-20 p.100 menos cantidad de leche que las multíparas, mientras que las que paren más de un cabrito producen un 38-40 p.100 más que las de parto simple o abortos. Las funciones Polinomial inversa y Gamma incompleta presentan un ajuste similar (R2= 0,943; C.M.E= 0,5361 y 0,5365), aunque muestran diferencias en las componentes de la curva de lactación: la producción inicial se estima en 0,82 kg/d y 2,56 kg/d, la producción máxima en 2,71 kg/d y 2,68 kg/d, el pico de lactación al día 27 y 13, y el descenso en 4,58 g/d y 4,32 g/d, respectivamente

Cuestionario de agresión reactiva y proactiva : un instrumento de medida de la agresión en adolescentes

The psychometrical characteristics of the Reactive-Proactive Aggression Questionnaire (RPQ), designed by Raine et al. (2006), was examined in this work. When applied to a sample of 732 adolescents from Madrid (360 males and 372 females), the confirmatory factor analysis showed that the bifactorial structural model fitted the data better than the unifactorial model. On the other hand, statistically significant differences were observed in both types of aggression according to sex and age of participants. Males showed higher levels of proactive aggression than females, whereas in all the analyzed age groups, reactive was significantly higher than proactive aggression in men as well as in women. The results obtained in this study suggest that this instrument measures two functional types of aggression associated to different processes and motivational mechanisms in a reliable and valid way.En este trabajo se examinan las propiedades psicométricas del Cuestionario de Agresión Reactiva-Proactiva (RPQ; Reactive-Proactive Aggression Questionnaire), elaborado por Raine et al. (2006). En su aplicación a una muestra de 732 adolescentes de la Comunidad de Madrid (360 varones y 372 mujeres), el análisis factorial confirmatorio reveló que el modelo estructural bifactorial presenta un mejor ajuste a los datos que el modelo estructural unifactorial. Por otra parte, se observaron diferencias estadísticamente significativas en ambos tipos de agresión en función del sexo y la edad de los participantes. Los hombres presentaron mayores niveles de agresión proactiva que las mujeres; mientras que en todos los grupos de edad analizados la agresión reactiva fue significativamente mayor que la proactiva tanto en hombres como en mujeres. Los resultados obtenidos en este estudio sugieren que este instrumento mide de forma fiable y válida dos tipos funcionales de agresión asociados a diferentes procesos y mecanismos motivacionales

Molecular dynamics simulation of surface phenomena due to high electronic excitation ion irradiation in amorphous silica

We studied by means of an atomistic model based on molecular dynamics the thermal evolution of surface atoms in amorphous silica under high electronic excitation produced by irradiation with swift heavy ions. The model was validated with the total and differential yields measured in sputtering experiments with different ions and ion energies showing a very good quantitative prediction capability. Three mechanisms are behind the evolution of the surface region: (1) an ejection mechanism of atoms and clusters with kinetic energy exceeding their binding energy to the sample surface, which explains the experimentally observed angular distributions of emitted atoms, and the correlation of the total sputtering yield with the electronic stopping power and the incidence angle. (2) A collective mechanism of the atoms in the ion track originated by the initial atom motion outwards the track region subsequently followed by the return to the resulting low-density region in the track center. The collective mechanism describes the energy dissipation of bulk atoms and the changes in density, residual stress, defect formation and optical properties. (3) A flow mechanism resulting from the accumulation and subsequent evolution of surface atoms unable to escape. This mechanism is responsible for the crater rim formation.Open Access funding provided thanks to the CRUE-CSIC agreement with Springer Nature. This work was funded by the projects Radiafus-5 (PID2019-105325RB-C32) of Spanish Ministry of Science, Technofusion (S2018/EMT-4437) of Madrid Regional Government and Eurofusion (EH150531176). The authors acknowledge the computer resources and technical assistance provided by the Centro de Supercomputación y Visualización de Madrid (CeSViMa) CESVIMA-MAGERIT. AP acknowledges the support of FONDECYT under grants 3190123. EMB thanks support from grant ANPCyT PICTO-UUMM-2019-00048. JK was supported by the Beatriz Galindo Program (BEAGAL18/00130) from the Ministerio de Educación y Formación Profesional of Spain

Dataset of the sperm proteome of stallions with different motility

This paper provides a detailed set of data on how the stal-lion sperm proteome differs among stallions with different sperm motilities, although within normal ranges. Findings distinguish proteins that may help to identify stallions of su-perior sperm motility. Sperm proteins were analyzed using a UHPLC/MS/MS system comprising of an Agilent 1290 in-finity series UHPLC coupled to an Agilent 6550 Q-TOF mass spectrometer (Agilent Technologies, Santa Clara, CA, USA). These data can be used to disclose potential targets to iden-tify good sperm samples and to study specific pathways in-volved in the regulation of sperm motility. This data article is linked to the paper "Proteins involved in mitochondrial metabolic functions and fertilization predominate in stallions with better motility Journal of Proteomics 247:104335 doi: 10.1016/j.jprot.2021.104335".(c) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc.This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Effect of angiotensin II and small GTPase Ras signaling pathway inhibition on early renal changes in a murine model of obstructive nephropathy

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License.Tubulointerstitial fibrosis is a major feature of chronic kidney disease. Unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) in rodents leads to the development of renal tubulointerstitial fibrosis consistent with histopathological changes observed in advanced chronic kidney disease in humans. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of inhibiting angiotensin II receptors or Ras activation on early renal fibrotic changes induced by UUO. Animals either received angiotensin II or underwent UUO. UUO animals received either losartan, atorvastatin, and farnesyl transferase inhibitor (FTI) L-744,832, or chaetomellic acid A (ChA). Levels of activated Ras, phospho-ERK1/2, phospho-Akt, fibronectin, and α-smooth muscle actin were subsequently quantified in renal tissue by ELISA, Western blot, and/or immunohistochemistry. Our results demonstrate that administration of angiotensin II induces activation of the small GTPase Ras/Erk/Akt signaling system, suggesting an involvement of angiotensin II in the early obstruction-induced activation of renal Ras. Furthermore, upstream inhibition of Ras signalling by blocking either angiotensin AT1 type receptor or by inhibiting Ras prenylation (atorvastatin, FTI o ChA) reduced the activation of the Ras/Erk/Akt signaling system and decreased the early fibrotic response in the obstructed kidney. This study points out that pharmacological inhibition of Ras activation may hold promise as a future strategy in the prevention of renal fibrosis.This study was supported by grants from Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (Grant SAF2010-15881 and Red de Investigacion Cooperativa en Enfermedades Renales REDINREN RD12/0021/0032), Junta de Castilla y León (Grant SA 001/C05 and Excellence Group GR100), and REDINREN which is an initiative of the Instituto de Salud Carlos III of Spain supported by FEDER funds. When performing the present study, Ana B. Rodríguez-Pena was a fellow of the Fundacion Renal “Iñigo Ávarez de Toledo” and Neil G. Docherty was a fellow ofThe Marie Curie Programme, EU.Peer Reviewe

Learning to assess from pair-wise comparisons

In this paper we present an algorithm for learning a function able to assess objects. We assume that our teachers can provide a collection of pairwise comparisons but encounter certain difficulties in assigning a number to the qualities of the objects considered. This is a typical situation when dealing with food products, where it is very interesting to have repeatable, reliable mechanisms that are as objective as possible to evaluate quality in order to provide markets with products of a uniform quality. The same problem arises when we are trying to learn user preferences in an information retrieval system or in configuring a complex device. The algorithm is implemented using a growing variant of Kohonen’s Self-Organizing Maps (growing neural gas), and is tested with a variety of data sets to demonstrate the capabilities of our approac