Harnessing mechanobiology for kidney organoid research

Recently, organoids have emerged as revolutionizing tools with the unprecedented potential to recreate organ-specific microanatomy in vitro. Upon their derivation from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs), organoids reveal the blueprints of human organogenesis, further allowing the faithful recapitulation of their physiology. Nevertheless, along with the evolution of this field, advanced research exposed the organoids’ shortcomings, particularly regarding poor reproducibility rates and overall immatureness. To resolve these challenges, many studies have started to underscore the relevance of mechanical cues as a relevant source to induce and externally control hPSCs differentiation. Indeed, established organoid generation protocols from hPSCs have mainly relyed on the biochemical induction of fundamental signalling pathways present during kidney formation in mammals, whereas mechanical cues have largely been unexplored. This review aims to discuss the pertinence of (bio) physical cues within hPSCs-derived organoid cultures, while deciphering their effect on morphogenesis. Moreover, we will explore state-of-the-art mechanobiology techniques as revolutionizing means for understanding the underlying role of mechanical forces in biological processes in organoid model systems

Tres ensayos sobre la multiplicidad de curvas de tipos de interés en el mercado interbancario

Tesis inédita de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Empresariales, Departamento de Fundamentos del Análisis Económico II, leída el 29-11-2015Esta tesis lleva por título ”Tres ensayos sobre la multiplicidad de curvas de tipos de interés en el mercado interbancario” y está compuesta por tres artículos de investigación independientes en los que se analiza la evolución de los diferenciales del mercado interbancario del Euro en el periodo post-crisis. El objetivo es obtener información embebida en las cotizaciones de estos diferenciales emplenado distintas metodologías e identificar las variables que subyacen al fenómeno de la multiplicidad de curvas, caracterizando el papel que juegan a la hora de explicar esta evolución. El análisis se realiza según una aproximación cercana a la práctica de mercado (Capítulo 2), siguiendo técnicas de valoración de activos (Capítulo 3) y finalmente considerando métodos econométricos (Capítulo 4). El Capítulo 2, que incluye el primer ensayo, se centra en la evolución dinámica de las distintas curvas de tipos de interés surgidas a raíz de la crisis -diferenciadas por la periodicidad de pago del tipo de interés subyacente- a través del estudio de sus diferenciales respecto a la curva overnight. La metodología empleada es similar a la de Diebold and Li (2006) y se resume en tres factores principales que se interpretan como nivel, pendiente y curvatura. El análisis de componentes principales de estos factores para distintas periodicidades muestra que existen patrones comunes entre los factores de las diferentes curvas, en particular el primer componente principal explica el 90% de su variación. El estudio de los determinantes de estos factores revela importantes conclusiones sobre las fuentes de este patrón. En concreto, se observa que el nivel tiene una relación muy importante con el riesgo de crédito. Asimismo, el estudio del contenido informacional de los errores residuales del modelo -mediante el cómputo de la medida de ruido de Hu et al. (2013)- nos lleva a concluir que estos residuos tienen relación con la liquidez. El análisis de estos datos empleando téncicas VAR refuerza estos resultados...This dissertation is entitled ”Three essays on the interest rate curve multiplicity in the interbank market” and it is structured in three independent research articles devoted to the analysis of Euro interbank market spreads in the post-crisis period. The goal is deriving information from spreads quotes considering different methodologies and identifying the underlying sources of the curve multiplicity phenomena, characterizing their explanatory role. The analysis is performed following different approaches. According to a practitioners perspective (Chapter 2), following asset pricing valuation techniques (Chapter 3) and finally considering econometric methods (Chapter 4). Chapter 2 includes the first essay and studies the dynamic evolution of the different tenor curves emerged after the start of the crisis focusing on their differentials with respect to the overnight curve. The method that we consider is similar to Diebold and Li (2006) and it is summarized in three main factors interpreted as level, slope and curvature. The principal component analysis of these factors across tenors show important commonalities. More concretely, the first principal component accounts for 90% of these factors fluctuations across tenors. The study of these factors determinants yields important conclusions about the commonality sources. In particular, the level factor strongly relates to credit risk. Also, the study of the information content of the model residuals through the computation of the Hu et al. (2013) noise measure allows us to conclude that these residuals relate to liquidity. The analysis of the data considering VAR techniques confirms these results..Depto. de Análisis Económico y Economía CuantitativaFac. de Ciencias Económicas y EmpresarialesTRUEunpu

Feasibility of a wearable inertial sensor to assess motor complications and treatment in Parkinson's disease

Wearable sensors-based systems have emerged as a potential tool to continuously monitor Parkinson's Disease (PD) motor features in free-living environments. To analyse the responsivity of wearable inertial sensor (WIS) measures (On/Off-Time, dyskinesia, freezing of gait (FoG) and gait parameters) after treatment adjustments. We also aim to study the ability of the sensor in the detection of MF, dyskinesia, FoG and the percentage of Off-Time, under ambulatory conditions of use. We conducted an observational, open-label study. PD patients wore a validated WIS (STAT-ON TM) for one week (before treatment), and one week, three months after therapeutic changes. The patients were analyzed into two groups according to whether treatment changes had been indicated or not. Thirty-nine PD patients were included in the study (PD duration 8 ± 3.5 years). Treatment changes were made in 29 patients (85%). When comparing the two groups (treatment intervention vs no intervention), the WIS detected significant changes in the mean percentage of Off-Time (p = 0.007), the mean percentage of On-Time (p = 0.002), the number of steps (p = 0.008) and the gait fluidity (p = 0.004). The mean percentage of Off-Time among the patients who decreased their Off-Time (79% of patients) was -7.54 ± 5.26. The mean percentage of On-Time among the patients that increased their On-Time (59% of patients) was 8.9 ± 6.46. The Spearman correlation between the mean fluidity of the stride and the UPDRS-III- Factor I was 0.6 (p = <0.001). The system detected motor fluctuations (MF) in thirty-seven patients (95%), whilst dyskinesia and FoG were detected in fifteen (41%), and nine PD patients (23%), respectively. However, the kappa agreement analysis between the UPDRS-IV/clinical interview and the sensor was 0.089 for MF, 0.318 for dyskinesia and 0.481 for FoG. It's feasible to use this sensor for monitoring PD treatment under ambulatory conditions. This system could serve as a complementary tool to assess PD motor complications and treatment adjustments, although more studies are required

Análisis de secuencias de aprendizaje matemático desde la perspectiva de la gestión de la participación

El aula de matemáticas puede ser objeto de análisis desde muy diversas perspectivas. En este artículo se estudia la gestión de la participación de los alumnos en los procesos de aprendizaje relacionados con el contenido matemático. Para ello desarrollamos un instrumento de análisis y mostramos su utilidad aplicándolo a una sesión sobre polígonos. Nos centramos en cómo la maestra promueve procesos de responsabilización, comunicación y validación.The mathematics classroom can be analysed from many perspectives. In this paper the focus is on the pupils' participation management in the mathematics learning processes. For this we developed an analytical tool and showed its application on a lesson on polygons. We looked at the way the teacher promotes processes of responsibilisation, communication and validation

Consensus, dissension and precision in group decision making by means of an algebraic extension of hesitant fuzzy linguistic term sets

Present measures of the degree of agreement in group decision-making using hesitant fuzzy linguistic term sets allow consensus or agreement measurement when decision makers’ assessments involve hesitance. Yet they do not discriminate with different degrees of consensus among situations with discordant or polarized assessments. The visualization of differences among groups for which there is no agreement but different possible levels of disagreement is an important issue in collective decision-making situations. In this paper, we propose new collective and individual consensus measures that explicitly consider the hesitance of the decision makers’ hesitance in giving an opinion and also the gap between non-overlapping assessments, thus allowing the measurement of the polarization present within the group's opinions. In addition, an expert's profile is defined by considering the expert's behavior in previous assessments in group decision-making processes in terms of precision and dissension.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Cuando las compras y el ocio van de la mano en el centro comercial. Las experiencias de los usuarios en Barcelona

The presence of shopping malls where people consume and practice leisure has increased in recent decades. Given the importance of shopping malls for both consumption and leisure, and the lack of studies that explain these behaviors in our context, this study describes the activities accomplished and the experience of visiting shopping centers in Barcelona. The participants were 411 men and 379 women aged between 16 and 56 (M = 35.87, SD = 9.74); information was collected with a questionnaire, which included items about activities, frequency of attendance, and evaluations of visiting the mall. The results offer a characterization of Barcelona’s shopping-center users (by gender, age, what they do there, and how malls are experienced), and add to the discussion about shopping centers as placed-based leisure settings. La presencia de centros comerciales donde las personas consumen y practican ocios ha aumentado en las últimas décadas. Dada la importancia de los centros comerciales tanto para el consumo como para el ocio y la falta de estudios que expliquen estos comportamientos en nuestro contexto, este estudio describe las actividades realizadas y la experiencia de visitar centros comerciales en Barcelona. Los participantes fueron 411 hombres y 379 mujeres de 16 a 56 años de edad (M = 35,87, SD = 9,74); la información se recopiló con un cuestionario que incluía elementos sobre las actividades, la frecuencia de asistencia y las valoraciones de las visitas al centro comercial. Los resultados ofrecen una caracterización de los usuarios de los centros comerciales de Barcelona (por género, edad, qué hacen allí y cómo los experimentan) y contribuyen a la discusión sobre los centros comerciales como lugares de ocio.

Comparison of the qCON and qNOX indices for the assessment of unconsciousness level and noxious stimulation response during surgery

The objective of this work is to compare the performances of two electroencephalogram based indices for detecting loss of consciousness and loss of response to nociceptive stimulation. Specifically, their behaviour after drug induction and during recovery of consciousness was pointed out. Data was recorded from 140 patients scheduled for general anaesthesia with a combination of propofol and remifentanil. The qCON 2000 monitor (Quantium Medical, Barcelona, Spain) was used to calculate the qCON and qNOX. Loss of response to verbal command and loss of eye-lash reflex were assessed during the transition from awake to anesthetized, defining the state of loss of consciousness. Movement as a response to laryngeal mask (LMA) insertion was interpreted as the response to the nociceptive stimuli. The patients were classified as movers or non-movers. The values of qCON and qNOX were statistically compared. Their fall times and rise times defined at the start and at the end of the surgery were calculated and compared. The results showed that the qCON was able to predict loss of consciousness such as loss of verbal command and eyelash reflex better than qNOX, while the qNOX has a better predictive value for response to noxious stimulation such as LMA insertion. From the analysis of the fall and rise times, it was found that the qNOX fall time (median: 217 s) was significantly longer (p value <0.05) than the qCON fall time (median: 150 s). At the end of the surgery, the qNOX started to increase in median at 45 s before the first annotation related to response to stimuli or recovery of consciousness, while the qCON at 88 s after the first annotation related to response to stimuli or recovery of consciousness (p value <0.05). The indices qCON and qNOX showed different performances in the detection of loss of consciousness and loss of response to stimuli during induction and recovery of consciousness. Furthermore, the qCON showed faster decrease during induction. This behaviour is associated with the hypothesis that the loss of response to stimuli (analgesic effect) might be reached after the loss of consciousness (hypnotic effect). On the contrary, the qNOX showed a faster increase at the end of the surgery, associated with the hypothesis that a higher probability of response to stimuli might be reached before the recovery of consciousness.Postprint (author's final draft