Preference stability along time: the time cohesiveness measure

This work introduces a non-traditional perspective about the problem of measuring the stability of agents’ preferences. Specifically, the cohesiveness of preferences at different moments of time is explored under the assumption of considering dichotomous evaluations. The general concept of time cohesiveness measure is introduced as well as a particular formulation based on the consideration of any two successive moments of time, the sequential time cohesiveness measure. Moreover, some properties of the novel measure are also provided. Finally, and in order to emphasize the adaptability of our proposal to real situations, a factual case of study about clinical decision-making is presented. Concretely, the study of preference stability for life-sustaining treatments of patients with advanced cancer at end of life is analysed. The research considers patients who express their opinions on three life-sustaining treatments at four consecutive periods of time. The novel measure provides information of patients preference stability along time and considers the possibility of cancer metastasesEste trabajo forma parte del proyecto de investigación con financiación nacional: MEC-FEDER Grant ECO2016-77900-

Territorial values of the hydraulic heritage and its representation. The waterwheels, mills and factories of Puente Genil (Córdoba)

A finales del siglo XIX, en la localidad de Puente Genil, la corriente del río que le da nombre y que hacía girar los mecanismos de norias y molinos dejó de mover los viejos rodeznos para generar electricidad en las turbinas, dando luz artificial a sus casas, calles e industrias. Los avances de la técnica anunciaban el abandono de los elementos que durante siglos habían caracterizado un paisaje, el cual a día de hoy prácticamente ha desaparecido. Tan sólo se conservan los restos de cinco del más de medio centenar de estructuras relacionadas con el agua como recurso agrícola y son precisamente las antiguas aceñas adaptadas para fábrica de harinas y electricidad, como La Alianza, la única que se mantiene en buen estado. En un nuevo panorama donde la atención patrimonial se desliza hacia el sujeto y sus experiencias sobre el objeto, la expresión gráfica individualizada para la representación de los valores territoriales y paisajísticos se postula como un horizonte nuevo a intentar sistematizar. A punto de entrar en el final del periodo que marca el 2020 y que tiene como marca identitaria al río Genil en el Plan de Turismo Sostenible de Andalucía y también como cierre de la Estrategia de Desarrollo Sostenible de Puente Genil, proponemos un avance en el estudio y la protección de las norias, molinos y sistemas de riego de esta ciudad y su territorio.At the end of the 19th century, in the town of Puente Genil, the current of the river that gives it its name and that turned the mechanisms of water wheels and mills stopped moving the old wheels to generate electricity in the turbines giving artificial light to their houses, streets and industries. The advances of the technique announced the abandonment of the elements that had characterized a landscape for centuries, which today has practically disappeared. Only the remains of five of the more than half of structures related to water as an agricultural resource are preserved and they are precisely the old tails adapted for the flour and electricity factory, La Alianza, the only one that remains in good condition. In a new panorama where the patrimonial attention slips towards the subject and his experiences on the object, the individualized graphic expression for the representation of the territorial and landscape values is postulated as a new horizon to try to systematize. About to enter the end of the period that marks 2020 and whose identity mark is the Genil River in the Sustainable Tourism Plan of Andalusia and also as a close to the Sustainable Development Strategy of Puente Genil, we propose an advance in the study and the protection of the water wheels, mills and irrigation systems of this city and its territory

Association of the polycystic ovary syndrome with genomic variants related to insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and obesity

7 pages, 2 tables.-- Results from this work were presented at the 85th Annual Meeting of The Endocrine Society, Philadelphia, PA, June 2003.We have evaluated the possible association of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) with 15 genomic variants previously described to influence insulin resistance, obesity, and/or type 2 diabetes mellitus. Seventy-two PCOS patients and 42 healthy controls were genotyped for 15 variants in the genes encoding for paraoxonase (three variants), plasma cell differentiation antigen glycoprotein, human sorbin and SH3 domain containing 1, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma2, protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (two variants), adiponectin (two variants), IGF1, IGF2, IGF1 receptor, and IGF2 receptor. Compared with controls, PCOS patients were more frequently homozygous for the -108T variant in paraoxonase (36.6% vs. 9.5%; P = 0.002) and homozygous for G alleles of the ApaI variant in IGF2 (62.9% vs. 38.1%; P = 0.018). Paraoxonase is a serum antioxidant enzyme and, because -108T alleles result in decreased paraoxonase expression, this increase in oxidative stress might result in insulin resistance. G alleles of the ApaI variant in IGF2 may increase IGF2 expression, and IGF2 stimulates adrenal and ovarian androgen secretion. In conclusion, the paraoxonase -108 C-->T variant and the ApaI polymorphism in the IGF2 gene are associated with PCOS and might contribute to increased oxidative stress, insulin resistance, and hyperandrogenism in this prevalent disorder.This work was supported by grants from the Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Ministerio de Sanidad y Consumo, Spain (FIS 00/0414, 02/0741, and 02/0578 and RGDM G03/212) and from the Consejería de Educación, Comunidad de Madrid, Spain (CAM 08.6/0024/2000 and 08.6/0010/2001).Peer reviewe

Na+-dependent D-mannose transport at the apical membrane of rat small intestine and kidney cortex

The presence of a Na+/D-mannose cotransport activity in brush-border membrane vesicles (BBMV), isolated from either rat small intestine or rat kidney cortex, is examined. In the presence of an electrochemical Na+ gradient, but not in its absence, D-mannose was transiently accumulated by the BBMV. D-Mannose uptake into the BBMV was energized by both the electrical membrane potential and the Na+ chemical gradient. D-Mannose transport vs. external D-mannose concentration can be described by an equation that represents a superposition of a saturable component and another component that cannot be saturated up to 50 μM D-mannose. D-Mannose uptake was inhibited by D-mannose ≫ D-glucose > phlorizin, whereas for α-methyl glucopyranoside the order was D-glucose = phlorizin ≫ D-mannose. The initial rate of D-mannose uptake increased as the extravesicular Na+ concentration increased, with a Hill coefficient of 1, suggesting that the Na+ :D-mannose cotransport stoichiometry is 1:1. It is concluded that both rat intestinal and renal apical membrane have a concentrative, saturable, electrogenic and Na+-dependent D-mannose transport mechanism, which is different from SGLT1.Dirección General de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas PM99-012

Ajustes en el procedimiento judicial para personas con discapacidad intelectual: La figura del facilitador

Desde la celebración de la Convención de los Derechos de las Personas con Discapacidad Intelectual se ha debatido sobre los ajustes necesarios en el procedimiento judicial debido a las barreras que afrontan las personas con discapacidad intelectual en el mismo. Con la colaboración de Plena Inclusión Aragón, buscamos justificar la existencia de una figura de apoyo llamada facilitador, para que se cumplan los derechos que se les garantiza en dicha Convención y que se permita un acceso a la justicia en igualdad de condiciones para estas personas.<br /

Ontogeny regulates creatine metabolism in rat small and large intestine

The ontogeny of intestinal CRT, AGAT and GAMT was investigated in foetuses, newborn, suckling, weaning and adult rats. In the colon, CRT mediates creatine transport because it was Na+- and Cl—dependent and inhibited by creatine and GPA. In addition, Northern assays showed two CRT transcripts (2.7-kb and 4.2-kb) and the in situ hybridisation revealed that CRT mRNA is restricted to the colon epithelial cells. The immunohistochemistry revealed that CRT protein was at the apical membrane of colon epithelia. Maturation decreased colonic CRT activity to undetectable levels and increased CRT mRNA abundance. Western assays revealed 57-, 65-, 80- and 116-kDa polypeptides at the intestinal apical membrane. The abundance of the 65-, 80- and 116-kDa polypeptides decreased with age, and that of 57-kDa was only observed in adult rats. The small and large intestine express AGAT and GAMT mRNAs. Maturation decreased AGAT mRNAabundance without affecting that of GAMT. For comparison, renal AGAT mRNAlevels were measured and they were increased with age. The study reports for the first time that: i) the apical membrane of rat colon have an active CRT, ii) development down-regulates CRT activity via post-transcriptional mechanism(s), iii) the intestine might synthesize creatine and iv) intestinal and renal creatine synthesis is ontogenically regulated at the level of AGAT gene expression

Ajustes en el procedimiento judicial para personas con discapacidad intelectual. La figura del facilitador.

Desde la celebración de la Convención de los Derechos de las Personas con Discapacidad Intelectual se ha debatido sobre los ajustes necesarios en el procedimiento judicial debido a las barreras que afrontan las personas con discapacidad intelectual en el mismo. Con la colaboración de Plena Inclusión Aragón, buscamos justificar la existencia de una figura de apoyo llamada facilitador, para que se cumplan los derechos que se les garantiza en dicha Convención y que se permita un acceso a la justicia en igualdad de condiciones para estas personas.<br /

Factors associated with non-participation in and dropout from cardiac rehabilitation programmes: a systematic review of prospective cohort studies

Background: Although evidence exists for the efficacy of cardiac rehabilitation programmes to reduce morbidity and mortality among patients with cardiovascular disease, cardiac rehabilitation programmes are underused. We aimed systematically to review the evidence from prospective cohort studies on factors associated with non-participation in and/or dropping out from cardiac rehabilitation programmes. Methods: MedLine, Embase, Scopus, Open Grey and Cochrane Database were searched for relevant publications from inception to February 2018. Search terms included (a) coronary heart disease and other cardiac conditions; (b) cardiac rehabilitation and secondary prevention; and (c) non-participation in and/or dropout. Databases were searched following the PRISMA statement. Study selection, data extraction and the assessment of study quality were performed in duplicate. Results: We selected 43 studies with a total of 63,425 patients from 10 different countries that met the inclusion criteria. Factors associated with non-participation in and dropout from cardiac rehabilitation were grouped into six broad categories: intrapersonal factors, clinical factors, interpersonal factors, logistical factors, cardiac rehabilitation programme factors and health system factors. We found that clinical factors, logistical factors and health system factors were the main factors assessed for non-participation in cardiac rehabilitation. We also found differences between the factors associated with non-participation and dropout. Conclusions: Several factors were determinant for non-participation in and dropout from cardiac rehabilitation. These findings could be useful to clinicians and policymakers for developing interventions aimed at improving participation and completion of cardiac rehabilitation, such as E-health or home-based delivery programmes. Trial Registration: International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) identifier: CRD42016032973

Differential gene expression profile in omental adipose tissue in women with polycystic ovary syndrome

10 pages, 2 figures, 5 tables.CONTEXT: The polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is frequently associated with visceral obesity, suggesting that omental adipose tissue might play an important role in the pathogenesis of the syndrome. OBJECTIVE: The objective was to study the expression profiles of omental fat biopsy samples obtained from morbidly obese women with or without PCOS at the time of bariatric surgery. DESIGN: This was a case-control study. SETTINGS: We conducted the study in an academic hospital. PATIENTS: Eight PCOS patients and seven nonhyperandrogenic women submitted to bariatric surgery because of morbid obesity. INTERVENTIONS: Biopsy samples of omental fat were obtained during bariatric surgery. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The main outcome measure was high-density oligonucleotide arrays. RESULTS: After statistical analysis, we identified changes in the expression patterns of 63 genes between PCOS and control samples. Gene classification was assessed through data mining of Gene Ontology annotations and cluster analysis of dysregulated genes between both groups. These methods highlighted abnormal expression of genes encoding certain components of several biological pathways related to insulin signaling and Wnt signaling, oxidative stress, inflammation, immune function, and lipid metabolism, as well as other genes previously related to PCOS or to the metabolic syndrome. CONCLUSION: The differences in the gene expression profiles in visceral adipose tissue of PCOS patients compared with nonhyperandrogenic women involve multiple genes related to several biological pathways, suggesting that the involvement of abdominal obesity in the pathogenesis of PCOS is more ample than previously thought and is not restricted to the induction of insulin resistance.This work was supported by PI020578, PI020741, PI050341, PI050551, RCMN C03/08, and RGDM 03/212 from Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, and Grants 08.6/0021/2003 and GR/SAL/0137/2004 from the Consejería de Educación y Cultura, Comunidad de Madrid, Spain.Peer reviewe