f(R)f(R) quantum cosmology: avoiding the Big Rip

Extended theories of gravity have gathered a lot of attention over the last years, for they not only provide an excellent framework to describe the inflationary era but also yields an alternative to the elusive and mysterious dark energy. Among the different extended theories of gravity, on this work we focus on metric $f(R)$ theories. In addition, it is well known that if the late-time acceleration of the universe is stronger than the one induced by a cosmological constant then some future cosmic singularities might arise, being the Big Rip the most virulent one. Following this reasoning, on this work, we analyse the Big Rip singularity in the framework of $f(R)$ quantum geometrodynamics. Invoking the DeWitt criterium, i. e. that the wave function vanishes at the classical singularity, we proof that a class of solutions to the Wheeler-DeWitt equation fulfilling this condition can be found. Therefore, this result hints towards the avoidance of the Big Rip in metric $f(R)$ theories of gravity.Comment: V1:13 pages. Dedicated to the memory of Prof. Pedro F. Gonzalez-Diaz (our former PhD supervisor). V2: 9 pages (new style), minor clarifications included, no physics changes, 6 references added. Version accepted for publication in Physical Review

Individual Platelet Adhesion (iPA): A novel assay of platelet function

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of mortality in the developed countries and platelet related thrombosis the main complication in this condition. Anti-platelet agents are commonly used in the prevention of acute cardiovascular events. According to the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology (Circulation 2012), a class IIb recommendation is given for the use of platelet function test. This approach has been implemented in several clinical trials in order to improve outcomes in cardiovascular patients [1]. There are a number of platelet function tests available for clinical use but there is a lack of correlation between the different tests and none of them are routinely used to assess anti-platelet therapy effect. We report a rapid and accurate methodology to quantify platelet-protein interactions termed iPA. This novel technique contains a micro-array of 6-μm fibrinogen dots which can capture platelets from whole blood, one platelet per dot. The fractional occupancy of an array of fibrinogen dots after a predefined incubation time (specifically 30 minutes) quantitatively assays platelet adhesion to the protein matrix. We demonstrated that iPA enables detection of the effects of aspirin, P2Y12 inhibitors and αIIbβ3 receptor inhibitors in vitro. The mechanism of iPA to detect the effectiveness of anti-platelet therapy is based on a decrease of platelet adhesion upon addition of an agonist. An important factor to note regarding iPA is that in comparison to a fibrinogen coated array, the profile of platelet adhesion is different. On a static fibrinogen coated array platelet agonists would normally increase adhesion and spreading due to an increase in platelet activation. However the same is not true for iPA. Platelet activation induces aggregation and the aggregates thus are unable to bind during the assay. The reasoning behind these events is that firstly iPA is performed on a rocker, thus not allowing platelet aggregates to adhere gravitationally. Secondly the size of the dot is optimized to capture a single platelet. This agonist induced decrease in adhesion is inhibited by the specific anti-platelet drug and this is in fact the mechanism of detection. To summarise, in iPA normal resting platelets adhere maximally. Platelets that are in the presence of a platelet inhibitor also adhere normally to the 6-μm fibrinogen dots. Platelets stimulated with agonists show a marked reduction in fibrinogen occupancy. Platelets in the presence of antagonists and agonists show an occupancy value that is dependent on the effectiveness of the anti-platelet agent over the agonist. Furthermore we showed that iPA can specifically detect the effect of each drug in patients treated with these anti-platelet agents. iPA correlated well with the standard techniques of flow cytometry and light transmission aggregometry. Furthermore, iPA can be easily integrated with microfluidic platforms. Overall it promises to be more effective and rapid in the assessment of drug effects of anti-platelet agents during the treatment of cardiovascular disease

Learning contract, co-operative and flipped learning as useful tools for studying metabolism

Es el Abstract de una comunicación a un congreso internacional sobre educaciónUndergraduate students in Biology identify Metabolic Biochemistry as a particularly difficult subject. This is due to the fact that students need to interconnect properly all the contents of its syllabus throughout their study of the subject in order to get a global insight of the complex regulatory features controlling metabolic pathways within the metabolic network under different physiologic and pathologic conditions, as well as metabolism as a whole. Due to these objective difficulties, a high percentage of our students face the study of this subject as a very hard task beyond their forces and capacities. This perception leads to high rates of premature dropout. In previous years, less than 40% of all the registered students attended the examinations of Metabolic Biochemistry (a subject in the second year of the Degree of Biology at our University). Even worse, less than 25% of our students passed the exams. From the academic year 2015/16 on, we are developing innovative teaching projects (PIE15-163 and PIE17-145, funded by University of Malaga) aimed to increase our student loyalty to the subject (and hence to increase their attendance to exams) and to help them to learn more effectively metabolism and its regulation. These innovative teaching projects are based on the use of several powerful tools: a learning contract and problem-based learning within the framework of group tasks promoting an actual collaborative learning in a flipped classroom. The present communication will show the implementation of the PIE15-163 and PIE17-145 projects and some results obtained from them.This work was supported by Malaga University funds granted to the educational innovation project PIE17-145. The attendance to the END2018 International Conference on Education and New Developments (June 2018, Budapest, Hungary) has received a grant from "I Plan Propio Integral de Docencia. Universidad de Málaga"]

A Q fever outbreak associated to courier transport of pets

On August 3rd, 2017, a Q fever outbreak alert was issued at a courier company that in addition to urgent freight transport offered pet delivery services. The epidemiological investigation set the exposition period between June 1 and August 8. In this period, 180 workers from two operational platforms for parcel distribution located in two provinces of the Basque Country (Bizkaia and Araba) were exposed; 64 filled a questionnaire and provided blood samples for serological testing, resulting in 10 confirmed cases (15.6%) and six (9.4%) probable cases. Nine workers (8 confirmed and 1 probable) showed Q fever symptoms, including pneumonia (five cases), and required medical care services, including one hospital admission. The attack rate was 25% (16/64), being higher among workers that visited the Bizkaia platform. This suggested that the origin of the outbreak was in the Bizkaia platform, where animals in transit waited at a pet holding site until being moved to their destination. Environmental samples consisting on 19 surface dust and two aerosol samples were collected at the Bizkaia platform to investigate the presence of C. burnetti DNA. All dust samples were positive by real time PCR, the lowest Ct values being found in dust collected at the pet holding facilities, and therefore suggesting that contamination originated at the pet holding site. The genotype identified in dust was SNP1/MST13, one of the most commonly identified genotypes in goats and sheep in the Basque Country. During the exposure period, two deliveries of miniature goats were made, of which only one could be investigated and tested negative. Although the contamination source could not be unequivocally identified, transport of ruminants was banned at the company, and Q fever was included among the occupational-associated health risks.This work was funded by the Spanish National Institute for Agricultural and Food Research and Technology (INIA) (RTA2017-00055-C02-00), the European Regional Development Funds (ERDF) and the Basque Government. RAA is beneficiary of a PhD contract funded by INIA (FPI-2015-014). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.S

Short communication: The main factors affecting somatic cell count in organic dairy farming

Preventive management practices are essential for maintaining acceptable udder health status, especially in organic farming, in which the use of antimicrobials is restricted. The contribution of the following factors to somatic cell count (SCC) was assessed in 788 cows from 15 organically reared herds in northern Spain: milk production, lactation number, treatments applied, selective dry cow therapy and teat dipping routines. The data were examined by linear logistic regression. Lactation number was the main factor affecting logSCC (β= 0.339, p<0.001) followed in order of importance by milk production (β= -0.205, p<0.001), use of alternative treatments (β=0.153, p<0.001), selective dry cow therapy (β=0.120, p=0.005) and teat dipping routines (β=-0.076, p=0.028). However, the model only explained 17.0% of the total variation in SCC. This variable depends on factors other than those considered here, amongst which udder infection is probably one of the most important. Nonetheless, the study findings enabled us to determine the contribution of the main management factors that should be taken into account to improve udder health status on organic farms

INTECO Webmessenger: Study of the Usability in Instant Messaging Systems

The main aim of this project is dual. Firstly, it is to achieve a complete analysis of the necessities of disabled people on the Internet. Secondly, it is intended to develop an instant messaging system based on the Windows Live Messenger whose requirements are defined over the previous analysis. This software is called INTECO Webmessenge

Predicción de volúmenes comerciales de Eucalyptus grandis a través de modelos de volumen total y de razón

Eight total volume and four volume-ratio models were evaluated for use in a system for predicting marketable volumes in Eucalyptusgrandis plantations. Data were collected from 101 trees in stands at harvest age, located in Salento, Quindio. Weighted regression was used to avoid problems of heteroscedasticity in the fit of total volume models. An autoregressive error structure was used to reduce autocorrelation of longitudinal data used in the fit of the volume-ratio models. After evaluation of goodness of fit and prediction, the models of Schumacher & Hall (1993) as total volume model and Cao etal. (1980) as volume-ratio model were selected. The bias and average error in the prediction of marketable volumes to variable-top diameter limits of 0, 5 and 10 cm were always below 4.4% and 11.5%, respectively. The functionality of the system to quantify marketable volumes during the construction of stand and stocks tables was demonstrated.Ocho ecuaciones de volumen total y cuatro modelos de volumen de razón fueron evaluados con el objetivo de seleccionar el mejor modelo de volumen total y de razón de volumen, a fin de ser utilizados en un sistema para la predicción de volúmenes comerciales en plantaciones de Eucalyptus grandis. Los datos usados en el estudio corresponden a 101 árboles colectados en rodales a la edad de cosecha, ubicados en el municipio de Salento, Quindío. Técnicas de regresión ponderada fue utilizada para evitar problemas de heterocedasticidad en el ajuste de modelos de volumen total. Una estructura autorregresiva del error se empleó para disminuir la autocorrelación, propia de los datos longitudinales utilizados en el ajuste de los modelos de volumen de razón. A partir de la evaluación de la bondad de ajuste y predicción fueron seleccionados los modelos de: Schumacher & Hall (1993), como modelo de volumen total, y Cao etal. (1980) como modelo de volumen de razón. El sesgo y el error promedio en la predicción de volúmenes comerciales hasta los índices de utilización 0, 5 y 10 cm estuvieron siempre por debajo de 4.4% y 11.5%, respectivamente. Finalmente, se demuestra la funcionalidad del sistema de cuantificación de volúmenes comerciales en la construcción de tablas de rodal y existencias

Ribavirin as a First Treatment Approach for Hepatitis E Virus Infection in Transplant Recipient Patients

The hepatitis E virus (HEV) is the major cause of acute hepatitis of viral origin worldwide. Despite its usual course as an asymptomatic self-limited hepatitis, there are highly susceptible populations, such as those with underlying immunosuppression, which could develop chronic hepatitis. In this situation, implementation of therapy is mandatory in the sense to facilitate viral clearance. Currently, there are no specific drugs approved for HEV infection, but ribavirin (RBV), the drug of choice, is used for off-label treatment. Here, we present two cases of chronic HEV infection in transplant patients, reviewing and discussing the therapeutic approach available in the literature. The use of RBV for the treatment of an HEV infection in organ transplant patients seems to be effective. The recommendation of 12 weeks of therapy is adequate in terms of efficacy. Nevertheless, there are important issues that urgently need to be assessed, such as optimal duration of therapy and drug dosage