Psychopathological verbal expression of self-perceived stress in three groups of psychotic patients

Producción CientíficaSelf-perceived stress in 293 psychotic patients (schizophrenic, toxic and brief reactive psychoses) and a control group of 40 sane individuáis was evaluated by means of the Frankfurt Complaint Questionnaire. For this purpose, scores obtained in 6 'complementary Ítems' of the third versión of this questionnaire were studied, both in global and in detailed form. These Ítems reflect coping mechanisms exerted towards situations perceived as stressful which can produce clinical manifestations similar to the wellknown 'negative symptoms' of schizophrenia. Results show that self-perceived stress in all groups of patients is significantly higher than in the control group. In contrast, no significant differences among the three groups of patients are obtained. In conclusión, we point out the relevance of studying the psychotic patient's self-perceived stress in order to detect and minimize or even avoid the patient's risk situations, independen! of his/her diagnosis. This will be especially useful to obtain optimal conditions for rehabilitatio

CAMACHO PADILLA, Fernando, ESCRIBANO MARTÍN, Fernando, FARZAMNIA HAJARDOVOM, Nadereh y NEILA HERNÁNDEZ, José Luis (coords.) Miradas de Irán. Historia y cultura. Madrid, Catarata, 2021, 284 páginas. : Reseña por Samuel Jimeno Martín

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Basic symptoms and cognitive dynamic disorders in schizophrenic patients

Producción CientíficaUsing a new scientific paradigm, chaotic-deterministic dynamics, our research group developed a new cognitive instrument which is administered by means of a computen the Test of Random Rhythm Generation (ARG). Theoretical background and preliminary results in two young male, defectual schizophrenic patients (paranoid type) are here presented. Basic symptoms were explored by means of the Frankfurt Complaint Questionnaire of FBF (Frankfurter Beschwerde-Fragebogen) and the Bonn Scale for the Assessment of Basic Symptoms of Gross et al. Possible relationships between cerebral complexity and basic symptoms are discussed. It is concluded that the ARG is a valuable technique to measure the patient's cognitive potential as well as his complexity level (or cerebral chaotic dynamic complexity). Finally, it is hypothesized that defectual psychotic patients genérate more rigid and rhythmic series than control groups. Further work must be done in this new research field

Photovoltaic Modules Transient Response Analysis and Correction Under a Fast Characterization System

Failures of single photovoltaic (PV) modules lead to significant power losses in large PV systems. Individual and periodic monitoring of each PV module is a powerful way to detect these losses. Recently, a novel monitoring method, named Module to Module Monitoring System (M3S), has been proposed. This monitoring method, without disconnecting the PV module from the rest of the system, is able to produce and measure small variations around the operating point of the PV module. The entire measurement is performed in less than 5 ms, using only low-power components. For current high-efficiency PV modules, these short measurement times generate a hysteresis effect in the current-voltage (I-V) curve during the transient-state, which makes it difficult to directly estimate the static I-V characteristics of the PV module. In this work, the transient response of the PV module is analyzed and a methodology to correct the hysteresis effect and estimate the I-V characteristics is implemented. From the obtained dynamic measurements, the proposed methodology is able to estimate the I-V characteristics of the PV module around the operating point with a mean squared error below 0.8%.This work was supported by the Basque Country Government [Grant No. PRE_2016_1_0016] and [project Promise Elkartek 19/49]; and the Fundacion Iberdrola Espana [Convocatoria de ayudas a la Investigacion en Energia y Medio Ambiente 2018

La cofradía Mouride en la emigración senegalesa: ¿agente de desarrollo?

FAAEE, Federación de Asociaciones de Antrdel Estado Español; ASANA, Asociación Andaluza de Antropologí

CRB2 completes a fully expressed Crumbs complex in the Retinal Pigment Epithelium

The CRB proteins CRB1, CRB2 and CRB3 are members of the cell polarity complex Crumbs in mammals that together with Scribble and Par complexes stablish the polarity of a variety of cell types. Although many members of the Crumbs complex proteins are expressed in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), and even though the mRNA of CRB2 has been detected in ARPE-19 cells and in the RPE/Choroid, to date no CRB protein has yet been found in this tissue. To investigate this possibility, we generated an antibody that specifically recognize the mouse CRB2 protein, and we demonstrate the expression of CRB2 in mouse RPE. Confocal analysis shows that CRB2 is restricted to the apicolateral membrane of RPE cells, and more precisely, in the tight junctions. Our study identified CRB2 as the member of the CRB protein family that is present together with the rest of the components of the Crumbs complex in the RPE apico-lateral cell membrane. Considering that the functions of CRB proteins are decisive in the establishment and maintenance of cell-cell junctions in several epithelial-derived cell types, we believe that these findings are a relevant starting point for unraveling the functions that CRB2 might perform in the RPE.This study was supported by grants from Fundación Ramón Areces and Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (BFU2008-04490/BFI). S.H.M received support from the Junta de Castilla y León PhD Program.Peer Reviewe

El Tercer Seminario Anual de Historia Económica del Banco de España

Artículo de revist

Matrix metalloproteinases in age-related macular degeneration (AMD)

Producción CientíficaAge-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a complex, multifactorial and progressive retinal disease affecting millions of people worldwide. In developed countries, it is the leading cause of vision loss and legal blindness among the elderly. Although the pathogenesis of AMD is still barely understood, recent studies have reported that disorders in the regulation of the extracellular matrix (ECM) play an important role in its etiopathogenesis. The dynamic metabolism of the ECM is closely regulated by matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and the tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs). The present review focuses on the crucial processes that occur at the level of the Bruch’s membrane, with special emphasis on MMPs, TIMPs, and the polymorphisms associated with increased susceptibility to AMD development. A systematic literature search was performed, covering the years 1990–2020, using the following keywords: AMD, extracellular matrix, Bruch’s membrane, MMPs, TIMPs, and MMPs polymorphisms in AMD. In both early and advanced AMD, the pathological dynamic changes of ECM structural components are caused by the dysfunction of specific regulators and by the influence of other regulatory systems connected with both genetic and environmental factors. Better insight into the pathological role of MMP/TIMP complexes may lead to the development of new strategies for AMD treatment and prevention

Influencia de la necrosis tumoral en neuroblastoma sobre la migración de células NK.

El neuroblastoma es el tumor sólido extracraneal más común en niños, suponiendo el 8% de los casos de cáncer infantil. Mientras los casos de neuroblastoma de bajo riesgo tienen una tasa de supervivencia superior al 90%, el neuroblastoma de alto riesgo, con una alta probabilidad de no responder a los tratamientos convencionales, tiene una tasa de supervivencia a 5 años del 50%. Por lo tanto, es muy necesario el desarrollo de terapias específicas contra el neuroblastoma de alto riesgo. La terapia adoptiva con células NK es una de las líneas de investigación contra el cáncer infantil, ya que por lo general se tratan de tumores poco inmunogénicos, con una baja tasa de mutaciones, y contra los que las células NK se presentan como una herramienta terapéutica potente y segura. El neuroblastoma, como tumor sólido, presenta unas características en su microentorno tumoral que modulan la actividad de las células inmunes, como la presencia de necrosis tumoral y la oposición a la infiltración debido a la estructura del tumor, que pueden alterar los resultados de la terapia adoptiva con células NK. Además, mientras la inmunoterapia con anticuerpos monoclonales contra la vía de inmunosupresión PD1/PD-L1 ha sido ampliamente estudiada en linfocitos T, mostrando una gran relevancia, no ha sido tan estudiada en las células NK. Debido a esto, en este trabajo se ha estudiado la actividad citotóxica de las células NK expandidas in vitro con dos protocolos frente a cultivos tanto en 2D como en 3D de líneas celulares de neuroblastoma. Los cultivos en 3D presentan ciertas características del microentorno tumoral, mostrando mayor grado de semejanza con la complejidad de un tumor sólido. También se ha estudiado la expresión de PD1 en las células NK. La comparación de los protocolos de expansión mostró diferencias entre los niveles de citotoxicidad de las células NK observados con ambos procedimientos. Los cultivos en 3D mostraron mayor resistencia a la citotoxicidad de las células NK que los cultivos en 2D. Respecto al estudio de la expresión de PD1 en las células NK, se ha observado el aumento de la expresión en la membrana tras la incubación de las células NK con células tumorales, observándose niveles análogos a los presentes en pacientes con cáncer. Además, se observó una recuperación parcial de la actividad citotóxica de las células NK al añadir el anticuerpo anti-PD1. Estos resultados indican la relevancia de la vía PD1/PD-L1 en las células NK y su influencia por lo tanto en los tratamientos con inmunoterapia con células NK. <br /

Complications associated with the use of silicone oil in vitreoretinal surgery: A systemic review and meta‐analysis

Producción CientíficaSilicone oil (SO) still represents the main choice for long-term intraocular tamponade in complicated vitreoretinal surgery. This review compared the complications associated with the use of SO and other vitreous substitutes after pars plana vitrectomy in patients with different underlying diseases. Meta-analysis was conducted in accordance with PRISMA guidelines. We retrieved randomized clinical trials (RCTs), retrospective case–control and cohort studies evaluating the risk of using SO, published between 1994 and 2020, conducting a computer-based search of the following databases: PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus and Embase. Primary outcome was the rate of complications such as intraocular hypertension, retinal re-detachment, unexpected vision loss or hypotony. Secondary outcome was to compare the rate of adverse events of different SO viscosities, especially emulsification. Forty-three articles were included. There were significant differences in intraocular hypertension (p = 0.0002, OR = 1.66; 95% CI = 1.27–2.18) and the rate of retinal re-detachment (p < 0.0009, OR = 0.65; 95% CI = 0.50–0.64) between SO and other agents, including placebo. However, there were no differences in other complication rates. Silicone oil (SO)-emulsification rate was non-significantly higher in low than high SO viscosity, and results from other complications were comparable in both groups. The high quality of most of the studies included in this study is noteworthy, which provides some certainty to the conclusions. Among them is the high variability of the SO residence time. The fact that ocular hypertension and not hypotension is related to SO use. A clear relationship is not found for the so-called unexplained vision loss, which affects a significant percentage of eyes. Re-detachment cases are less if SO is used and that surprisingly there does not seem to be a relationship in the percentage of emulsification between the low- and high-viscosity silicones. All these data warrant more standardized prospective studies