La lengua escrita en Corea y la creación del alfabeto coreano : Hangeul

Este artículo presenta la evolución histórica de la legua escrita coreana centrándose en el momento histórico de la creación del alfabeto coreano, Hangeul, en el siglo XV. Comienza analizando los orígenes de la lengua coreana y sus conexiones con las lenguas altaicas para luego pasar a ver cómo fue la introducción de los caracteres chinos que fueron el vehículo principal de lenguaje escrito durante la mayor parte de la historia coreana. En los siguientes apartados se explica cómo se creo el alfabeto coreano y sus fundamentos filosóficos; así cómo la oposición que sufrió el Hangeul por parte de algunos miembros de las clases dominantes pero también se convirtió en un elemento esencial para el desarrollo de la cultura entre las clases populares, al mismo tiempo que sirvió de factor unificador en los momentos de crisis nacional.This article presents the historical evolution of the Korean written language focusing on the historical moment of the creation of the Korean alphabet, Hangeul, in the XV century. It begins analyzing the origins of the Korean language and their connections with the Altaic languages, then to see how was the introduction of the Chinese character, that were the main vehicle of the written language during most of the Korean history. After that, it is explained how the Korean alphabet was created and its philosophical foundations; the way how it suffer the opposition on the part of some members of the dominant classes, at the same time that became an essential element for the development of the culture among the popular society, and how it served as an unifier factor in the moments of the nation crisis

Regenerating cortical connections in a dish: the entorhino-hippocampal organotypic slice co-culture as tool for pharmacological screening of molecules promoting axon regeneration

We present a method for using long-term organotypic slice co-cultures of the entorhino-hippocampal formation to analyze the axon-regenerative properties of a determined compound. The culture method is based on the membrane interphase method, which is easy to perform and is generally reproducible. The degree of axonal regeneration after treatment in lesioned cultures can be seen directly using green fluorescent protein (GFP) transgenic mice or by axon tracing and histological methods. Possible changes in cell morphology after pharmacological treatment can be determined easily by focal in vitro electroporation. The well-preserved cytoarchitectonics in the co-culture facilitate the analysis of identified cells or regenerating axons. The protocol takes up to a month

Private-sector economic developments in the euro area in 2016

Artículo de revistaThis article describes the economic situation of the non-financial private sector in the euro area during 2016, on the basis of sectoral accounts. In the case of households, employment creation and low inflation provided for an increase in purchasing power which, along with the rise in wealth, was reflected in the strength of consumption, against a background in which the increase in nominal wages continue to be modest. The pace of economic recovery enabled firms to improve their profits and investment, although the investment drive was still moderate, while the sector continued to evidence a net lending capacity. The greater dynamism of lending both for households and firms was compatible with further increases in the ongoing correction of indebtedness, though such increases were uneven from one country to another. In the case of large corporations, the shift in the liabilities mix towards financing based on fixed-income securities continued, driven in 2016 by the Eurosystem’s monetary policy measure

Potential of microfluidics and lab-on-chip platforms to improve understanding of 'prion-like' protein assembly and behavior

Human aging is accompanied by a relevant increase in age-associated chronic pathologies, including neurodegenerative and metabolic diseases. The appearance and evolution of numerous neurodegenerative diseases is paralleled by the appearance of intracellular and extracellular accumulation of misfolded proteins in affected brains. In addition, recent evidence suggests that most of these amyloid proteins can behave and propagate among neural cells similarly to infective prions. In order to improve understanding of the seeding and spreading processes of these 'prion-like' amyloids, microfluidics and 3D lab-on-chip approaches have been developed as highly valuable tools. These techniques allow us to monitor changes in cellular and molecular processes responsible for amyloid seeding and cell spreading and their parallel effects in neural physiology. Their compatibility with new optical and biochemical techniques and their relative availability have increased interest in them and in their use in numerous laboratories. In addition, recent advances in stem cell research in combination with microfluidic platforms have opened new humanized in vitro models for myriad neurodegenerative diseases affecting different cellular targets of the vascular, muscular, and nervous systems, and glial cells. These new platforms help reduce the use of animal experimentation. They are more reproducible and represent a potential alternative to classical approaches to understanding neurodegeneration. In this review, we summarize recent progress in neurobiological research in 'prion-like' protein using microfluidic and 3D lab-on-chip approaches. These approaches are driven by various fields, including chemistry, biochemistry, and cell biology, and they serve to facilitate the development of more precise human brain models for basic mechanistic studies of cell-to-cell interactions and drug discovery

Challenges and Future Prospects on 3D in-vitro Modeling of the Neuromuscular Circuit

Movement of skeletal-muscle fibers is generated by the coordinated action of several cells taking part within the locomotion circuit (motoneurons, sensory-neurons, Schwann cells, astrocytes, microglia, and muscle-cells). Failures in any part of this circuit could impede or hinder coordinated muscle movement and cause a neuromuscular disease (NMD) or determine its severity. Studying fragments of the circuit cannot provide a comprehensive and complete view of the pathological process. We trace the historic developments of studies focused on in-vitro modeling of the spinal-locomotion circuit and how bioengineered innovative technologies show advantages for an accurate mimicking of physiological conditions of spinal-locomotion circuit. New developments on compartmentalized microfluidic culture systems (cμFCS), the use of human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) and 3D cell-cultures are analyzed. We finally address limitations of current study models and three main challenges on neuromuscular studies: (i) mimic the whole spinal-locomotion circuit including all cell-types involved and the evaluation of independent and interdependent roles of each one; (ii) mimic the neurodegenerative response of mature neurons in-vitro as it occurs in-vivo; and (iii) develop, tune, implement, and combine cμFCS, hiPSC, and 3D-culture technologies to ultimately create patient-specific complete, translational, and reliable NMD in-vitro model. Overcoming these challenges would significantly facilitate understanding the events taking place in NMDs and accelerate the process of finding new therapies

Historical first descriptions of Cajal-Retzius cells: from pioneer studies to current knowledge

Santiago Ramón y Cajal developed a great body of scientific research during the last decade of 19th century, mainly between 1888 and 1892, when he published more than 30 manuscripts. The neuronal theory, the structure of dendrites and spines, and fine microscopic descriptions of numerous neural circuits are among these studies. In addition, numerous cell types (neuronal and glial) were described by Ramón y Cajal during this time using this 'reazione nera' or Golgi method. Among these neurons were the special cells of the molecular layer of the neocortex. These cells were also termed Cajal cells or Retzius cells by other colleagues. Today these cells are known as Cajal-Retzius cells. From the earliest description, several biological aspects of these fascinating cells have been analyzed (e.g., cell morphology, physiological properties, origin and cellular fate, putative function during cortical development, etc). In this review we will summarize in a temporal basis the emerging knowledge concerning this cell population with specific attention the pioneer studies of Santiago Ramón y Cajal

A Low-Complexity Spectral Shaping Method for OFDM Signals with Dynamically Defined Emission Mask: Optimization Procedure.

The low spectral confinement of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) signals obliges OFDM based power line communications (PLC) systems to use out-of-band emissions (OOBE) reduction methods in order to comply with electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) regulations. This work proposes a computationally simple optimization procedure that yields a versatile set of solutions to shape the spectrum of OFDM signals regardless of the location and width of its passbands.Ayuda FPU20/03782, Gobierno de España. Junta de Andalucía. Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

TrkB signaling is required for postnatal survival of CNS neurons and protects hippocampal and motor neurons from axotomy-induced cell death

Newborn mice carrying targeted mutations in genes encoding neurotrophins or their signaling Trk receptors display severe neuronal deficits in the peripheral nervous system but not in the CNS. In this study, we show that trkB (¿/¿) mice have a significant increase in apoptotic cell death in different regions of the brain during early postnatal life. The most affected region in the brain is the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus, although elevated levels of pyknotic nuclei were also detected in cortical layers II and III and V and VI, the striatum, and the thalamus. Furthermore, axotomized hippocampal and motor neurons of trkB (¿/¿) mice have significantly lower survival rates than those of wild-type littermates. These results suggest that neurotrophin signaling through TrkB receptors plays a role in the survival of CNS neurons during postnatal development. Moreover, they indicate that TrkB receptor signaling protects subpopulations of CNS neurons from injury- and axotomy-induced cell death

Pottery technology as a tool for historical analysis: reflections on the so-called 'ceramic prismatic kiln furniture'

Estudiamos en este trabajo aspectos tipológicos, funcionales y cronológicos de una serie de elementos cerámicos de morfología prismática o semilunar tradicionalmente asociados a tareas alfareras, empleados fundamentalmente como soportes o separadores.Typological, functional and chronological issues of ceramic kiln furniture with prismatic and "crescent shaped" morphologies (traditionally associated with pottery production mainly as supports or spacers) are studied in this paper

Increased migration of olfactory ensheathing cells secreting the Nogo receptor ectodomain over inhibitory substrates and lesioned spinal cord

Abstract Olfactory ensheathing cell (OEC) transplantation emerged some years ago as a promising therapeutic strategy to repair injured spinal cord. However, inhibitory molecules are present for long periods of time in lesioned spinal cord, inhibiting both OEC migration and axonal regrowth. Two families of these molecules, chondroitin sulphate proteoglycans (CSPG) and myelin-derived inhibitors (MAIs), are able to trigger inhibitory responses in lesioned axons. Mounting evidence suggests that OEC migration is inhibited by myelin. Here we demonstrate that OEC migration is largely inhibited by CSPGs and that inhibition can be overcome by the bacterial enzyme Chondroitinase ABC. In parallel, we have generated a stable OEC cell line overexpressing the Nogo receptor (NgR) ectodomain to reduce MAI-associated inhibition in vitro and in vivo. Results indicate that engineered cells migrate longer distances than unmodified OECs over myelin or oligodendrocyte-myelin glycoprotein (OMgp)-coated substrates. In addition, they also show improved migration in lesioned spinal cord. Our results provide new insights toward the improvement of the mechanisms of action and optimization of OEC-based cell therapy for spinal cord lesion.Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (BFU2012-32617), the Generalitat de Catalunya (SGR2014-1218), La Caixa Obra Social Foundation, and the Basque Foundation of Health and Innovation Research (BIO12/AL/004) to JADR. RG was supported by Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias (PI11-00075) and work in FW’s lab was supported by grants from the Dirección General de Ciencia y Tecnologia-DGCYT-(SAF2012-39148-C03-01), and EU-FP7-2009-(CT222887), as well as an institutional grant from the ‘Fundación ArecesPeer Reviewe