Smart systems related to polypeptide sequences

Increasing interest for the application of polypeptide-based smart systems in the biomedical field has developed due to the advantages given by the peptidic sequence. This is due to characteristics of these systems, which include: biocompatibility, potential control of degradation, capability to provide a rich repertoire of biologically specific interactions, feasibility to self-assemble, possibility to combine different functionalities, and capability to give an environmentally responsive behavior. Recently, applications concerning the development of these systems are receiving greater attention since a targeted and programmable release of drugs (e.g. anti-cancer agents) can be achieved. Block copolymers are discussed due to their capability to render differently assembled architectures. Hybrid systems based on silica nanoparticles are also discussed. In both cases, the selected systems must be able to undergo fast changes in properties like solubility, shape, and dissociation or swelling capabilities. This review is structured in different chapters which explain the most recent advances on smart systems depending on the stimuli to which they are sensitive. Amphiphilic block copolymers based on polyanionic or polycationic peptides are, for example, typically employed for obtaining pH-responsive systems. Elastin-like polypeptides are usually used as thermoresponsive polymers, but performance can be increased by using techniques which utilize layer-by-layer electrostatic self-assembly. This approach offers a great potential to create multilayered systems, including nanocapsules, with different functionality. Recent strategies developed to get redox-, magnetic-, ultrasound-, enzyme-, light-and electric-responsive systems are extensively discussed. Finally, some indications concerning the possibilities of multi-responsive systems are discussed.Postprint (published version

The Relevance of the Reviewer’s Role: a Methodological Proposal for the Development of the Translation Competence

Conforme a autores como Silvia Parra (2005: 370), el encargo de traducción puede definirse como el “conjunto de especificaciones, explícitas o implícitas, que guía tanto el trabajo del traductor como el del revisor”. De las palabras de Parra se desprende la importancia de la labor de revisión en el proceso y en el resultado de la traducción, que puede coincidir bien con la figura del propio traductor (auto-revisión) o que, como indica la autora, puede tratarse de otro ente diferente. Teniendo en cuenta la relevancia de la fase de revisión en la realidad profesional de la traducción, el objetivo de esta contribución consiste en presentar una aproximación teórico-práctica a la labor de revisión de textos de carácter especializado (ámbito biosanitario y tecnológico), con el fin de delimitar el campo de actuación de este ente, así como de proponer una metodología docente que sirva de fundamento para el desarrollo de la competencia traductora.According to certain authors such as Silvia Parra (2005: 370), the translation assignment can be defined as the set of instructions −both explicit or implicit− guiding not only the translator’s but also the reviewer’s decisions. This definition places an emphasis on the relevance of the revision task in both the process and the product of translation, which may be conducted either by the translator himself/herself (self-revision) or, as indicated by Parra, by a reviewer. Thus the relevance of the reviewer’s role in professional translation teams having been assumed, this paper aims at providing a theoretical and practical approach to revising specialized texts (pertaining to both the bio-sanitary and the technical fields) in order to determine the reviewer’s tasks as well as to propose a useful teaching methodology for the development of the translation competence

Enfermedades tiroideas en équidos

La glándula tiroides juega un papel fundamental en muchas funciones del organismo, como por ejemplo en el crecimiento, en la maduración tisular y en el metabolismo. La función primaria de la glándula tiroides es la síntesis y liberación de triyodotironina (T3) y tiroxina (T4), las cuales están influenciadas por el efecto de la hormona estimulante de la glándula tiroides (TSH) y la hormona liberadora de tirotropina (TRH). A pesar de que las patologías de la glándula tiroides son poco frecuentes en caballos, entre los trastornos de la glándula tiroides que se pueden encontrar están el hipotiroidismo (más común en neonatos), el síndrome del enfermo eutiroideo, el hipertiroidismo y las neoplasias, siendo estas últimas la alteración más frecuente, sobre todo los tumores benignos tipo adenoma. El pronóstico de todas estas patologías no es grave y raramente conllevan la muerte del animal. No obstante, el diagnostico asertivo de estas afecciones requiere pruebas específicas tales como la determinación de las concentraciones séricas de hormonas tiroideas junto con la realización de pruebas funcionales o dinámicas, ya que si sólo se lleva a cabo una medición puntual de hormonas tiroideas se puede incurrir en falsos diagnósticos. Igualmente, en algunos casos es de ayuda la realización de una ecografía y/o biopsia de la glándula.Thyroid glands are essential for several organic functions such as growth, neural tissue maturation and metabolism. Thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3) are the main hormones produced by thyroid glands, under regulation via feed-back from the pituitary gland (Thyroid stimulating hormone –TSH-) and hypothalamus (Thyrotropin-releasing hormone –TRH-). In horses, thyroid gland pathology is a rare, non-fatal finding with a good prognosis. Hypothyroidism (commonly in foals), euthyroid sick syndrome, hyperthyroidism and thyroid neoplasia can be found in equine patients with certain frequency. The most common thyroid pathology is neoplasia, being usually a benign adenoma. Diagnosis can be changeling in these pathologies and requires specific serum hormone determinations together with dynamic tests, since a punctual thyroid hormone measurement can provoke wrong conclusions and lead to misdiagnosis

Buenas prácticas de innovación docente en la Universidad de Córdoba

El proyecto, en el que se trabaja desde hace cinco años y ha contado con un presupuesto de 4.050 euros, tiene como reto desarrollar entre el alumnado de Veterinaria las habilidades y destrezas que van a necesitar cuando concluyan su formación académica y comiencen a ejercer su profesión. Por ello, la iniciativa incluye tres actividades: simulación de casos prácticos; desarrollo de un tutor virtual 3D para el aprendizaje de inglés; y la gestión de recursos y la adquisición de nuevas competencias en Veterinaria mediante la resolución de problemas basados en la evidencia

Aplicación de sistemas de consenso sobre modelos de Machine Learning

En este trabajo se investigan y comparan distintos algoritmos de consenso aplicados entre modelos de Machine Learning. Más concretamente, se aplican algoritmos de consenso basados en la metodología Delphi sobre cuatro datasets con diferentes características. Primero se seleccionan los datasets y se aplica una limpieza sobre los mismos, y a continuación se generan diversos modelos de clasificación mediante algoritmos de Machine Learning (K-Nearest Neighbors, Máquinas de Soporte Vectorial, Bosques Aleatorios, Árboles de decisión, Redes Neuronales y Regresión Logística). Junto a estos modelos se aplican los algoritmos de consenso ideados en base al método Delphi, analizando los resultados obtenidos con los mismos. Además, se incorpora una interfaz gráfica para observar los resultados de forma mas sencilla y poder aplicar distintos ejemplos individuales de forma manual sobre los algoritmos de consenso y los modelos de clasificación deseados

Incorporation of biguanide compounds into poly(GL)-b-poly(GL-co-TMC-co-CL)-b-poly(GL) monofilament surgical sutures

A new biodegradable coating was developed for bioabsorbable monofilament sutures. Specifically, a random copolymer having 35 wt-% and 65 wt-% of lactide and trimethylene carbonate units showed appropriate flexibility, stickiness and degradation rate, as well as capability to produce a complete and uniform coating. Monofilament sutures of polyglycolide-b-poly(glycolide-co-trimethylene carbonate-co-e-caprolactone)-b-polyglycolide were loaded with chlorhexidine (CHX) and poly(hexamethylene biguanide) (PHMB) to explore the possibility to achieve antimicrobial activity without adverse cytotoxic effects. To this end, two processes based on single drug adsorption onto the suture surface and incorporation into the coating copolymer were used and subsequently evaluated. Although the second process could be considered more complex, clear benefits were observed in terms of drug loading efficiency, antimicrobial effect and even lack of cytotoxicity. In general, drugs could be loaded in an amount leading to a clear bacteriostatic effect for both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria without causing significant cytotoxicity. Release profiles of PHMB and CHX were clearly different. Specifically, adsorption of the drug onto the fiber surface which prevented complete release was detected for PHMB. This polymer had advantages derived from its high molecular size, which hindered penetration into cells, thus resulting in lower cytotoxicity. Furthermore, bacterial growth kinetics measurements and bacterial adhesion assays showed greater effectiveness of this polymer.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Variable selection in the analysis of energy consumption-growth nexus

There is abundant empirical literature that focuses on whether energy consumption is a critical driver of economic growth. The evolution of this literature has largely consisted of attempts to solve the problems and answer the criticisms arising from earlier studies. One of the most common criticisms is that previous work concentrates on the bivariate relationship, energy consumption–economic growth. Many authors try to overcome this critique using control variables. However, the choice of these variables has been ad hoc, made according to the subjective economic rationale of the authors. Our contribution to this literature is to apply a robust probabilistic model to select the explanatory variables from a large set of potential candidates in the case of the US from 1949 to 2010, not only for an aggregate analysis but also for a sector analysis. The results highlight the critical role of public spending and energy intensity in the explanation of growth. Furthermore, since the study reveals different explanatory variables for each sector, it indicates the importance of policy decisions specifically aimed at different sectors.Generalitat Valenciana project PROMETEOII/2014/053, MINECO project ECO2014-58991-C3-2-R UJI project P1-1B2014-17 Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness project: MTM2013- 42323-

Effect of hydroxyapatite nanoparticles on the degradability of random poly(butylene terephthalate-co-aliphatic dicarboxylate)s having a high content of terephthalic units

Copolyesters derived from 1,4-butanediol and constituted also of aliphatic and aromatic dicarboxylate units in a molar ratio of 3:7 were synthesized by a two-step polycondensation procedure. Succinic, adipic, and sebacic acids were specifically selected as the aliphatic component whereas terephthalic acid was chosen as the aromatic moiety. The second synthesis step was a thermal transesterification between the corresponding homopolymers, always attaining a random distribution as verified by NMR spectroscopy. Hybrid polymer composites containing 2.5 wt % of hydroxyapatite (HAp) were also prepared by in situ polymerization. Hydroxyl groups on the nanoparticle surface allowed the grafting of polymer chains in such a way that composites were mostly insoluble in the typical solvents of the parent copolyesters. HAp had some influence on crystallization from the melt, thermal stability, and mechanical properties. HAp also improved the biocompatibility of samples due to the presence of Ca2+ cations and the damping effect of phosphate groups. Interestingly, HAp resulted in a significant increase in the hydrophilicity of samples, which considerably affected both enzymatic and hydrolytic degradability. Slight differences were also found in the function of the dicarboxylic component, as the lowest degradation rates was found for the sample constituted of the most hydrophobic sebacic acid units. View Full-TextPeer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Biodegradability and biocompatibility of copoly(butylene sebacate-co-terephthalate)s

In the present study poly (butylene sebacate-co-terephthalate)s having different compositions were synthesized with a high yield and a random distribution by thermal transesterification of poly (butylene sebacate) and poly (butylene terephthalate) homopolymers. The copolymer with the highest comonomer ratio was the least crystalline sample, although the melting peaks corresponding to both, sebacate and terephthalate-rich phases were still observable in calorimetric heating runs. This copolymer was associated with interesting thermal and mechanical properties, as the maximum melting point was higher than 100 °C and the storage modulus was also high (i.e. 1.1 × 109 N/m2 and 1.7 108 N/m2 were determined just before and after the main glass transition temperature of -12 °C). As all studied samples were thermally stable up to temperatures clearly higher than the fusion temperature, they could be easily processed. Increasing the terephthalate content of the copolymers resulted in higher hydrophobicity, which had a minor influence on cell adhesion and proliferation of both fibroblast-like and epithelial-like cells. Hydrolytic and enzymatic degradability were assessed and the effect of composition and crystallinity on the degradation rate was investigated. Molecular weight measurements during exposure to a hydrolytic media indicated a first order kinetic mechanism during the initial stages of degradation before reaching a limiting molecular size, which was indicative of solubilization. The most amorphous sample appears as a highly promising biodegradable material since it showed a significant weight loss during exposure to all selected degradation media, but also exhibited good performance and properties that were comparable to those characteristic of polyethylenePeer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft