Estudio arqueométrico de cerámicas procedentes del yacimiento de Starosiedle (Gubin, Polonia)

Jornadas de Jóvenes en Investigación Arqueológica, JIA (3as : 5-7 de mayo 2010 : Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona). Sesión 11. "Estudios arqueométricos".Este trabajo reúne los resultados de la caracterización arqueométrica de un conjunto representativo de fragmentos de cerámica de la primera Edad del Hierro pertenecientes al yacimiento arqueológico de Starosiedle(Gubin, Polonia). El objetivo principal del estudio ha sido profundizar en las secuencias de producción y tecnología de los materiales cerámicos encontrados durante los trabajos arqueológicos de campo llevados a cabo en dicho yacimiento en los últimos años. La cerámica estudiada corresponde a la primera ocupación del lugar, fechada principalmente en el siglo VI a.C. y que presenta una amplia variedad de tipologías y formas con 3 apariencias o tratamientos superficiales: tosco, alisado y bruñido. El estudio de caracterización se realizó mediante las siguientes técnicas químico-físicas: lupa binocular, examen petrográfico mediante lámina delgada, difracción de rayos X (DRX), análisis térmico diferencial y termogravimétrico (ATD, ATG), microscopía electrónica de barrido (MEB) combinada con microanálisis de dispersión de energías de rayos X (EDX) y espectrometría de fluorescencia de rayos X (FRX).The re-excavation of the Early Iron Age stronghold of Starosiedle (Gubin, Poland) has recently provided an important pottery ensemble, which can be associated to the transitional Göritz/Górzyca phase between the more general Lusatian/Late Hallstatt cultural tradition and the new influences of the La Tène period. These associations contradicted past interpretations derived from the excavation undertaken in early twentieth century. The results of an archaeometrical study carried out with the aim of approaching the production technology of the main pottery types are reported in this paper. Selected pottery samples and two samples of raw clay from the surroundings of the site were characterized by different analytical techniques, such as thin-section petrography, X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermo-gravimetric and differential thermal analyses (TG-DTA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry.Aquest treball reuneix els resultats de la caracterització arqueomètrica d'un conjunt representatiu de fragments de ceràmica de la primera Edat del Ferro pertanyents al jaciment arqueològic de Starosiedle (Gubin, Polònia). L'objectiu principal de l'estudi ha estat profunditzar en les seqüències de producció i tecnologia dels materials ceràmics trobats durant els treballs arqueològics de camp duts a terme en aquest jaciment en els últims anys. La ceràmica estudiada correspon a la primera ocupació del lloc, datada principalment en el s. VI a. C. i que presenta una ampla varietat de tipologies i formes amb 3 aparences o tractaments superficials: tosc, allisat i brunyit. L'estudi de caracterització es va dur a terme mitjançant les següents tècniques químico-físiques: lupa binocular, examen petrogràfic mitjançant làmina prima, difracció de raigs X (DRX), anàlisi tèrmic diferencial i termogravimètric (ATD, ATG), microscòpia electrònica de rastreig (MEB) combinada amb microanàlisi de dispersió d'energies de raigs X (EDX) i spectrometria de fluorescència de raigs X (FRX)

Optimización, comportamiento y preindustrialización de sensores ambientales basados en la tecnología Sol-gel

Tesis doctoral inédita leída en la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Facultad de Ciencias, Departamento de Química Analítica y Análisis Instrumental. Fecha de lectura: 12-12-201

MEG analysis of neural dynamics in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder with fuzzy entropy

Producción CientíficaThe aim of this study was to analyze the neural dynamics in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). For this purpose, magnetoencephalographic (MEG) background activity was analyzed using fuzzy entropy (FuzzyEn), an entropy measure that quantifies signal irregularity, in 13 ADHD patients and 14 control children. Additionally, relative power (RP) was computed in conventional frequency bands (delta, theta, alpha, beta and gamma). FuzzyEn results showed that MEG activity was more regular in ADHD patients than in controls. Moreover, we found an increase of power in delta band and a decrease in the remaining frequency bands. Statistically significant differences (p-values <0.05; nonparametric permutation test for multiple comparisons) were detected for FuzzyEn in the posterior and left temporal regions, and for RP in the posterior, anterior and left temporal regions. Our results support the hypothesis that ADHD involves widespread functional brain abnormalities, affecting more areas than fronto-striatal circuits, such as the left temporal and posterior regions.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (project TEC2011-22987)Junta de Castilla y León (project BIO/VA38/14 and project VA059U13

MEG Analysis of Neural Interactions in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Producción CientíficaThe aim of the present study was to explore the interchannel relationships of resting-state brain activity in patients with attentiondeficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), one of the most common mental disorders that develop in children. Magnetoencephalographic (MEG) signals were recorded using a 148-channel whole-head magnetometer in 13 patients with ADHD (range: 8–12 years) and 14 control subjects (range: 8–13 years).Three complementary measures (coherence, phase-locking value, and Euclidean distance) were calculated in the conventionalMEG frequency bands: delta, theta, alpha, beta, and gamma. Our results showed that the interactions among MEG channels are higher for ADHD patients than for control subjects in all frequency bands. Statistically significant differences were observed for short-distance values within right-anterior and central regions, especially at delta, beta, and gamma-frequency bands ( < 0.05; Mann-Whitney test with false discovery rate correction). These frequency bands also showed statistically significant differences in long-distance interactions, mainly among anterior and central regions, as well as among anterior, central, and other areas. These differences might reflect alterations during brain development in children with ADHD. Our results support the role of frontal abnormalities in ADHD pathophysiology, which may reflect a delay in cortical maturation in the frontal cortex.Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad (TEC2014-53196-R)Junta de Castilla y León (programa de apoyo a proyectos de investigación - Ref. VA059U1

Interface electronic system for measuring air acidity with optical sensors

Environmental acidity is a key parameter in Cultural Heritage conservation issues since it has a direct impact on degradation of both exposed and stored materials. Unfortunately, most of the acidity sensors now available are electrodes, which are not able to measure pH in gaseous phases and, therefore, are not suitable for measuring the environmental acidity of the air. This paper describes the development of an interface electronic system designed for the practical application and using of environmental acidity sensors prepared by the Sol–Gel procedure. These chemical sensors were investigated previously. They have optical response: their color changes reversibly depending on the pH of the surrounding environment (air). A simple portable unit with a wireless ZigBee interface has been designed and developed to measure the environmental acidity in museums, showcases, store and exhibition rooms and several Cultural Heritage buildings. Main achievements of the interface electronic system have focused, on the one hand, on conversion of the optical signal of sensors into an electric current and, on the other hand, on the computer interfacing to obtain quantitative data of environmental pH. Quantitative data are obtained through the calibration curve of sensors and the software designed for managing the whole system.The authors acknowledge partial funding of programs: Geomateriales (ref. S-2009/Mat-1629, Regional Government of Madrid), Consolider Ingenio 2010 (ref. TCP CSD2007-00058, Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation), and project ref. HAR2012-30769 from the Spanish MINECOPeer reviewe

Exploring the alterations in the distribution of neural network weights in dementia due to alzheimer’s disease

Producción CientíficaAlzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder which has become an outstanding social problem. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the alterations that dementia due to AD elicits in the distribution of functional network weights. Functional connectivity networks were obtained using the orthogonalized Amplitude Envelope Correlation (AEC), computed from source-reconstructed resting-state eletroencephalographic (EEG) data in a population formed by 45 cognitive healthy elderly controls, 69 mild cognitive impaired (MCI) patients and 81 AD patients. Our results indicated that AD induces a progressive alteration of network weights distribution; specifically, the Shannon entropy (SE) of the weights distribution showed statistically significant between-group differences (p < 0.05, Kruskal-Wallis test, False Discovery Rate corrected). Furthermore, an in-depth analysis of network weights distributions was performed in delta, alpha, and beta-1 frequency bands to discriminate the weight ranges showing statistical differences in SE. Our results showed that lower and higher weights were more affected by the disease, whereas mid-range connections remained unchanged. These findings support the importance of performing detailed analyses of the network weights distribution to further understand the impact of AD progression on functional brain activity.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación-Agencia Estatal de Investigación, Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) - (project PGC2018-098214- A-I00)Comisión Europea y Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) - (Cooperation Programme Interreg V-A Spain-Portugal POCTEP 2014–20200

Analysis of Functional Connectivity during an Auditory Oddball Task in Schizophrenia

Producción CientíficaThe aim of this study was to evaluate neural coupling patterns in schizophrenia (SCH) patients and healthy controls during an auditory oddball task. Two measures of functional connectivity were applied to 28 SCH patients and 51 healthy controls to characterize electroencephalographic (EEG) activity. Specifically, magnitude squared coherence (MSC) and the imaginary part of coherency (ICOH) were computed for five frequency bands: theta, alpha, beta-1, beta-2 and gamma. The results showed a statistically significant modulation increase in MSC and ICOH for controls with respect to SCH in the theta band, and a decrease in ICOH for the beta-2 band. Furthermore, controls showed more significant changes from the baseline and active task windows than SCH patients. Our findings suggest that SCH patients show coupling abnormalities during an auditory oddball task compared to healthy controls.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (TEC2014-53196-R)Junta de Castilla y León (VA059U13

Novel Measure of the Weigh Distribution Balance on the Brain Network: Graph Complexity Applied to Schizophrenia

Producción CientíficaThe aim of this study was to assess brain complexity dynamics in schizophrenia (SCH) patients during an auditory oddball task. For that task, we applied a novel graph measure based on the balance of the node weighs distribution. Previous studies applied complexity parameters that were strongly dependent on network topology. This fact could bias the results besides being necessary correction techniques as surrogating process. In the present study, we applied a novel graph complexity measure from the information theory: Shannon Graph Complexity (SGC). Complexity patterns form electroencephalographic recordings of 20 healthy controls and 20 SCH patients during an auditory oddball task were analyzed. Results showed a significantly more pronounced decrease of SGC for controls than for SCH patients during the cognitive task. These findings suggest an important change in the brain configuration towards more balanced networks, mainly in the connections related to long-range interactions. Since these changes are significantly more pronounced in controls, it implies a deficit in the neural network reorganization in SCH patients. In addition, SGC showed a suitable discrimination ability using a leave-one-out cross-validation: 0.725 accuracy and 0.752 area under receiver operating characteristics curve. The novel complexity measure proposed in this study demonstrated to be independent of network topology and, therefore, it complements traditional graph measures to characterize brain networks.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (TEC2014-53196-R)Junta de Castilla y León (VA059U13

Diseño y ejecución de un proyecto didáctico sobre la conservación del Patrimonio Cultural para EI, EP Y ESO [Design and implementation of a didactic project about conservation of cultural heritage for pre-university education]

Resumen:En este estudio se presenta una secuencia de enseñanza-aprendizaje enfocada a la conservación de Patrimonio Cultural y adaptada a diferentes niveles educativos. Se lleva a cabo con grupos de estudiantes de Educación Infantil, segundo internivel de Educación Primaria y primer ciclo de Educación Secundaria de la Comunidad de Madrid. Con el conjunto de actividades incluidas en la propuesta se pretende que el alumnado adquiera competencias y contenidos de diferentes áreas de conocimiento en base al currículo, para ello se ha trabajado mediante metodologías activas. En este trabajo, además de describir la secuencia didáctica utilizada, se analizan los resultados obtenidos mediante diferentes instrumentos de evaluación, y se plantean varias conclusiones que pueden servir para su implementación futura por parte del profesorado.Palabras clave: Unidad didáctica, educación infantil, educación primaria, educación secundaria, conservación, Patrimonio Cultural, Abstract:This study presents a sequence of teaching-learning focused on the conservation of cultural heritage and adapted to different educational levels. It is carried out with groups of students of Early Children’s Education, second interlevel of Elementary Education and first cycle of Secondary Education of the Regional Community of Madrid. With the set of activities included in the proposal, it is intended that students acquire competences and contents from different areas of knowledge based on the curriculum. For this purpose it has being worked through active methodologies. In this work, in addition to describing the didactic sequence used, the results obtained through different assessment instruments are analyzed and several conclusions are raised, which can be used for their future implementation by teachers.Keywords: Didactic unit, children’s education, elementary school, high school, conservation, Cultural Heritag

Analysis of the Non-stationarity of Neural Activity during an Auditory Oddball Task in Schizophrenia

Producción CientíficaThe aim of this study was to characterize brain dynamics during an auditory oddball task. For this purpose, a measure of the non-stationarity of a given time-frequency representation (TFR) was applied to electroencephalographic (EEG) signals. EEG activity was acquired from 20 schizophrenic (SCH) patients and 20 healthy controls while they underwent a three-stimulus auditory oddball task. The Degree of Stationarity (DS), a measure of the non-stationarity of the TFR, was computed using the continuous wavelet transform. DS was calculated for both the baseline [-300 0] ms and active task [150 550] ms windows of a P300 auditory oddball task. Results showed a statistically significant increase (p<0.05) in non-stationarity for controls during the cognitive task in the central region, while less widespread statistically significant differences were obtained for SCH patients, especially in the beta-2 and gamma bands. Our findings support the relevance of DS as a means to study cerebral processing in SCH. Furthermore, the lack of statistically significant changes in DS for SCH patients suggests an abnormal reorganization of neural dynamics during an oddball task.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (TEC2014-53196-R)Junta de Castilla y León (VA059U13