Natural Lighting in Historic Houses during Times of Pandemic. The Case of Housing in the Mediterranean Climate

The pandemic generated by the SARS-CoV-2 virus has led to a forced increase in the number of hours spent at home. In many cases, the lockdown situations, both in social and work terms, have meant that homes have suddenly also become workplaces. Based on all the indicators, this new relational scenario in the labor market displays a clear upward trend and is far from being a temporary situation. It is known that sunlight affects people’s circadian rhythm and that its reduction and even absence during this period of isolation has had a psychological impact on the population. This makes it necessary to reconsider the regulations applied in homes, in order to guarantee their habitability, given their recent widespread use as offices, as well as domestic spaces. In historic centers, the comprehensive renovations being carried out include improvements in energy efficiency and thermal comfort, which play a fundamental role. However, the energy consumption linked to artificial lighting and the quality of this lighting itself have remained in the background, as improvement strategies consist mainly in the replacement of incandescent or fluorescent lamps with LED lamps. Prior to the pandemic, the electric consumption of lighting systems accounted for 10–15% of the total, a figure which increased to 40–50% during the lockdown period. Aiming to improve people’s well-being while reducing energy expenditure on lighting, this article presents a quantitative approach to improving the levels of natural lighting in residential heritage buildings located in historic centers. According to data obtained from previous surveys of a sector of the population, homes built prior to 1950 were characterized by good natural lighting conditions and a very low incidence of health issues among occupants compared to contemporary homes.This project “Plan for the energy rehabilitation of the residential heritage of Málaga: research on dwellings from the 19th and 20th centuries” has been developed thanks to the Grant for the Promotion of Research Projects in Social and Legal Sciences, Humanities, Architecture and Fine Arts of the Vice-Rectorate of Research and Transfer of the University of Málaga

Análisis comparativo entre de MAE y RNA en señales de EMG obtenidas para control de una prótesis mano robótica

En las últimas décadas, la industria de la robótica está evolucionando de manera exponencial y se pueden hacer robots humanoides, así como de poder realizar las funciones físicas de las personas. Desde este punto de vista, las manos robóticas son vitales para muchas personas que padecen bien sea de una amputación o de alguna enfermedad. El objetivo principal de esta investigación fue clasificar las señales de Electromiografía (EMG) recibidas del brazo humano de personas sanas y luego realizar la aplicación manual con mano robótica en un entorno virtual. Esto es muy importante para comprender y clasificar la estructura geométrica del objeto contenido en aplicaciones de mano robótica. Se investigó el tiempo de clasificación y la relación de precisión entre las Redes Neuronales Artificiales (RNA) y las Maquinas de Aprendizaje Extremo (MAE) utilizados para esta clasificación. Para ello, se extrajeron 10 características y las clasificaciones se probaron utilizando RNA y MAE. Los resultados de clasificación exitosos obtenidos se compararon entre sí y se aplicaron a una mano robótica virtual utilizando el programa V-Rep

Smart biosensing device for tracking fish behaviour

Biosensor technology for tracking individual challenged fish behaviour has the potential to revolutionize aquaculture, allowing farmers and breeders to orientate selective breeding towards more robust and efficient fish or improve culture conditions for a more sustainable and ethical production. The proposed solution within the AQUAEXCEL2020 EU project is a stand-alone, small and light (1 g) device (AEFishBIT), based on a tri-axial accelerometer and a microprocessor. It is externally attached to the operculum to monitor physical activity by mapping accelerations in x- and y-axes, while operculum beats (z-axis) serve as a measurement of respiratory frequency. The conducted operculum attachment protocol does not show signs of tissue damage or growth impairment in active feeding gilthead sea bream. AEFishBIT offers a wide range of new information based on individual behaviour, allowing to point out the asynchrony of movements as an indirect measure of aging and adaptability to farming environment, as well as to discriminate different coping behaviour (proactive or reactive) of gilthead sea bream challenged with low water oxygen concentrations. AEFishBIT also provides reliable information of disease outcome in fish parasitized with an intestinal myxozoan, emerging as a powerful tool for sensing the quality of the environment and improving selective breeding protocols.The study has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, GA no 652831 (AQUAEXCEL2020)

Retrieval of germinal zone neural stem cells from the cerebrospinal fluid of premature infants with intraventricular hemorrhage

Intraventricular hemorrhage is a common cause of morbidity and mortality in premature infants. The rupture of the germinal zone into the ventricles entails loss of neural stem cells and disturbs the normal cytoarchitecture of the region, compromising late neurogliogenesis. Here we demonstrate that neural stem cells can be easily and robustly isolated from the hemorrhagic cerebrospinal fluid obtained during therapeutic neuroendoscopic lavage in preterm infants with severe intraventricular hemorrhage. Our analyses demonstrate that these neural stem cells, although similar to human fetal cell lines, display distinctive hallmarks related to their regional and developmental origin in the germinal zone of the ventral forebrain, the ganglionic eminences that give rise to interneurons and oligodendrocytes. These cells can be expanded, cryopreserved, and differentiated in vitro and in vivo in the brain of nude mice and show no sign of tumoral transformation 6 months after transplantation. This novel class of neural stem cells poses no ethical concerns, as the fluid is usually discarded, and could be useful for the development of an autologous therapy for preterm infants, aiming to restore late neurogliogenesis and attenuate neurocognitive deficits. Furthermore, these cells represent a valuable tool for the study of the final stages of human brain development and germinal zone biology

Molecular Processing of Tau Protein in Progressive Supranuclear Palsy : Neuronal and Glial Degeneration

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This work was supported by Fondo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia, FONDOCyT, from the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology, Dominican Republic (2015-3A2-127 to MP-H) and (2018-2019-2A3-208 to JL-M and MP-H). The authors want to express their gratitude to the following: Dr. P. Davies† (Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA) and Lester I. Binder† (North Western, Chicago, IL, USA) for the generous gift of mAbs TG–3 and Alz–50, and Tau–1, Tau–5 and Tau–7, respectively; Tec. Amparo Viramontes Pintos for the handling of the brain tissue; support in the confocal microscopy unit of CIIDIR Durango, Instituto Politecnico Nacional; Union Medica Uni- A. Mart´ınez-Maldonado et al. / Molecular Processing of Tau Protein in Progressive Supranuclear Palsy 1529 versity Clinic, Dominican Republic, for their support and collaboration in the development of this research project. We also want to express our gratitude to the Mexican families who have donated the brain of their loved ones affected with Alzheimer’s disease and made our research possible. This work is dedicated to the memory of Professor Dr. Jose Ra ´ ul Mena L ´ opez ´ †. †Deceased. Authors’ disclosures available online (https:// www.j-alz.com/manuscript-disclosures/20-1139r2).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Breve historia de la Facultad de Odontología

La Facultad de Odontología se fundó el 27 de diciembre de 1963 e inició actividades el 3 de marzo de 1964. Años más tarde, el 19 de mayo de 1986, el H. Consejo Universitario aprobó su cambio de escuela a Facultad de Odontología. La conmemoración de 55 años de esta Facultad y 40 años de hermandad con las Universidades de Meikai y Asahi, se constituye un momento oportuno para manifestar el testimonio de cuanto han realizado hombres y mujeres que han dejado huella en esta institución

Effectiveness of a multidisciplinary BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL intervention for non-specific SUBACUTE low back pain in a working population : a cluster randomized clinical trial

BACKGROUND: Low back pain (LBP) is a multifactorial condition with individual and societal impact that affects populations globally. Current guidelines for the treatment of LBP recommend pharmacological and non-pharmacological strategies. The aim of this study was to compare usual clinical practice with the effectiveness of a biopsychosocial multidisciplinary intervention in reducing disability, severity of pain and improving quality of life in a working population of patients with subacute (2-12 weeks), non-specific LBP. METHODS: Longitudinal cluster randomized clinical trial conducted in 39 Primary Health Care Centres (PHCC) of Barcelona, with patients aged 18-65 years (n = 501; control group = 239; 26 PHCC, intervention group = 262; 13 PHCC). The control group received usual clinical care. The intervention group received usual clinical care plus a biopsychosocial multidisciplinary intervention, which consisted of physiotherapy, cognitive-behavioural therapy and medication. The main outcomes were changes in the Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ), and the minimal clinically important differences. Secondary outcomes were changes in the McGill Pain (MGPQ) and Quality of Life (SF-12) questionnaires. Assessment was conducted at baseline, 3 and 12 months. Analysis was by intention-to-treat and analyst-blinded. Multiple imputations were used. RESULTS: Of the 501 enrolled patients, 421 (84%) provided data at 3 months, and 387 (77.2%) at 12 months. Mean age was 46.8 years (SD: 11.5) and 64.7% were women. In the adjusted analysis of the RMDQ outcome, only the intervention group showed significant changes at 3 months (- 1.33 points, p = 0.005) and at 12 months (- 1.11 points, p = 0.027), but minimal clinically important difference were detected in both groups. In the adjusted analysis of the RMDQ outcome, the intervention group improvement more than the control group at 3 months (- 1.33 points, p = 0.005) and at 12 months (- 1.11 points, p = 0.027). The intervention group presented a significant difference. Both groups presented a minimal clinically important difference, but more difference in the intervention group. The intervention group presented significant differences in the MGPQ scales of current pain intensity and VAS scores at 3 months. No statistically significant differences were found in the physical and mental domains of the SF-12. CONCLUSIONS: A multidisciplinary biopsychosocial intervention in a working population with non-specific subacute LBP has a small positive impact on disability, and on the level of pain, mainly at short-term, but no difference on quality of life. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN21392091 (17 oct 2018) (Prospectively registred

Ultra-Low Power Sensor Devices for Monitoring Physical Activity and Respiratory Frequency in Farmed Fish

Integration of technological solutions aims to improve accuracy, precision and repeatability in farming operations, and biosensor devices are increasingly used for understanding basic biology during livestock production. The aim of this study was to design and validate a miniaturized tri-axial accelerometer for non-invasive monitoring of farmed fish with re-programmable schedule protocols. The current device (AE-FishBIT v.1s) is a small (14 mm × 7 mm × 7 mm), stand-alone system with a total mass of 600 mg, which allows monitoring animals from 30 to 35 g onwards. The device was attached to the operculum of gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata) and European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) juveniles for monitoring their physical activity by measurements of movement accelerations in x- and y-axes, while records of operculum beats (z-axis) served as a measurement of respiratory frequency. Data post-processing of exercised fish in swimming test chambers revealed an exponential increase of fish accelerations with the increase of fish speed from 1 body-length to 4 body-lengths per second, while a close relationship between oxygen consumption (MO2) and opercular frequency was consistently found. Preliminary tests in free-swimming fish kept in rearing tanks also showed that device data recording was able to detect changes in daily fish activity. The usefulness of low computational load for data pre-processing with on-board algorithms was verified from low to submaximal exercise, increasing this procedure the autonomy of the system up to 6 h of data recording with different programmable schedules. Visual observations regarding tissue damage, feeding behavior and circulating levels of stress markers (cortisol, glucose, and lactate) did not reveal at short term a negative impact of device tagging. Reduced plasma levels of triglycerides revealed a transient inhibition of feed intake in small fish (sea bream 50–90 g, sea bass 100–200 g), but this disturbance was not detected in larger fish. All this considered together is the proof of concept that miniaturized devices are suitable for non-invasive and reliable metabolic phenotyping of farmed fish to improve their overall performance and welfare. Further work is underway for improving the attachment procedure and the full device packaging