Martín Domínguez Esteban. La labor de un arquitecto español exiliado en Cuba

Martín Domínguez Esteban fue uno de esos arquitectos exiliados tras la Guerra Civil en los que, a la escisión vital y profesio-nal, se sumó el hecho de permanecer eclipsado en muchas de sus obras, al no homologársele el título en Cuba. Y en su caso,el exilio fue doble: primero a Cuba y luego a EEU

Long-term effects of hydrogen sulfide on the anabolic-catabolic balance of articular cartilage in vitro

[Abstract] Healthy cartilage maintenance relies on an equilibrium among the anabolic and catabolic processes in chondrocytes. With the onset of osteoarthritis (OA), increased interleukin (IL)-1β levels induce an inhibition of the synthesis of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins, as well as an increase in proteases. This eventually leads to a predominance of the catabolic phenotype and the progressive loss of articular cartilage. Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is a small gaseous molecule recognized as the third endogenous gasotransmitter. When administered exogenously, it has shown anti-inflammatory and anti-catabolic properties in several in vitro and in vivo models. Here, OA cartilage disks were co-cultured in vitro with IL-1β (5 ng/ml) and NaSH or GYY4137 (200 or 1000 μM) for 21 days. The ability of these two H2S-producing compounds to avoid long term extracellular matrix (ECM) destruction was evaluated. We used a glycosaminoglycan (GAG) quantification kit histology and immunohistochemistry (IHC) to evaluate matrix proteins degradation and matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) abundance. Through the GAGs quantification assay, safranin O (S-O) and toluidine blue (TB) stains, and keratan/chondroitin sulfate (KS/ChS) IHCs it was shown that co-stimulation with H2S-forming reagents effectively avoided GAGs destruction. Both Masson's trichrome (MT) stain and collagen (col) type II IHC, as well as aggrecan (agg) IHC demonstrated that not only were these proteins protected but even promoted, their abundance being higher than in the basal condition. Further, stains also demonstrated that positivity in the inter-territorial and intra-cellular for the different matrix components were rescued, suggesting that NaSH and GYY4137 might also have pro-anabolic effects. In addition, a clear protective effect against the increased MMPs levels was seen, since increased MMP3 and 13 levels were subsequently reduced with the co-stimulation with sulfide compounds. In general, GYY4137 was more effective than NaSH, and increasing the dose improved the results. This study demonstrates that H2S anti-catabolic effects, which had been previously proven in short-term (24–48 h) in vitro cellular models, are maintained over time directly in OA cartilage tissue.Instituto de Salud Carlos III; PI12/0032

Interactive Graphic Simulation: An Advanced Methodology to Improve the Teaching-Learning Process in Nuclear Engineering Education and Training

Nowadays, computer simulators are becoming basic tools for education and training in many engineering fields. In the nuclear industry, the role of simulation for training of operators of nuclear power plants is also recognized of the utmost relevance. As an example, the International Atomic Energy Agency sponsors the development of nuclear reactor simulators for education, and arranges the supply of such simulation programs. Aware of this, in 2008 Gas Natural Fenosa, a Spanish gas and electric utility that owns and operate nuclear power plants and promotes university education in the nuclear technology field, provided the Department of Nuclear Engineering of Universidad Politécnica de Madrid with the Interactive Graphic Simulator (IGS) of “José Cabrera” (Zorita) nuclear power plant, an industrial facility whose commercial operation ceased definitively in April 2006. It is a state-of-the-art full-scope real-time simulator that was used for training and qualification of the operators of the plant control room, as well as to understand and analyses the plant dynamics, and to develop, qualify and validate its emergency operating procedures

Education and Training of Future Nuclear Engineers at DIN: From Advanced Computer Codes to an Interactive Plant Simulator.

This paper summarizes the work being performed at the Department of Nuclear Engineering (www.din.upm.es) of the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid to improve the education and training of future Spanish nuclear engineers according to the Bologna rules. We present two main efforts introduced in our programme: i) the understanding of the current computational methodologies/codes starting from the nuclear data processing, then the lattice and core calculations codes, and finally the power plant simulators, ii) the development of practical teaching-learning experiences with an Interactive Graphical Simulator of a real nuclear power plant

Formación y entrenamiento de ingenieros nucleares mediante el máster de Ciencia y Tecnología nuclear de la UPM

El Departamento de Ingeniería Nuclear imparte los Programas oficiales de Máster y Doctorado en Ciencia y Tecnología Nuclear, que cuentan desde el año 2006 con la Mención de Calidad del Ministerio de Educación y desde este curso 2010-2011con la Mención a la Excelencia. El contenido del Máster abarca desde la tecnología nuclear de los reactores de fisión hasta el estudio de los combustibles y materiales para los futuros reactores de fusión tanto inercial como magnética

A Community Program of Integrated Care for Frail Older Adults: +AGIL Barcelona

Objectives: To assess the 3-month impact on physical function of a program for community-dwelling frail older adults, based on the integration of primary care, geriatric medicine, and community resources, implemented in 'real life'. Design: Interventional cohort study. Setting: Primary care in Barcelona, Spain. Participants: Individuals aged ≥80 years (n=134), presenting at least one sign of frailty (i.e., slow gait speed, weakness, memory complaints, involuntary weight loss, poor social support). Intervention: After frailty screening by the primary care team, candidates were referred to a geriatric team (geriatrician + physical therapist), who performed a comprehensive geriatric assessment and designed a tailored multidisciplinary intervention in the community, including a) multi-modal physical activity (PA) sessions, b) promotion of adherence to a Mediterranean diet c) health education and d) medication review. Measurements: Participants were assessed based on a comprehensive geriatric assessment including physical performance (Short Physical Performance Battery -SPPB- and gait speed), at baseline and at a three month follow-up. Results: A total of 112 (83.6%) participants (mean age=80.8 years, 67.9% women) were included in this research. Despite being independent in daily life, participants' physical performance was impaired (SPPB=7.5, SD=2.1, gait speed=0.71, SD=0.20 m/sec). After three months, 90.2% of participants completed ≥7.5 physical activity sessions. The mean improvements were +1.47 (SD 1.64) points (p<0.001) for SPPB, +0.08 (SD 0.13) m/sec (p<0.001) for gait speed, -5.5 (SD 12.10) sec (p<0.001) for chair stand test, and 53% (p<0.001) improved their balance. Results remained substantially unchanged after stratifying the analyses according to the severity of frailty. Conclusions: Our results suggested that a 'real-world' multidisciplinary intervention, integrating primary care, geriatric care, and community services may improve physical function, a marker of frailty, within 3 months. Further studies are needed to address the long-term impact and scalability of this implementation program

Education and Training of Future Nuclear Engineers Through The use of An Interactive Plant Simulator.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) sponsors the development of nuclear reactor simulators for education, or arranges the supply of such simulation programs [1]. Aware of this, the Department of Nuclear Engineering of the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid was provided in 2008 with the Interactive Graphical Simulator of the Spanish nuclear power plant José Cabrera, whose operation ceased definitively in 2006. According with the IAEA-TECDOC-1411 [2] , the simulator is a Graphical Simulator, used for training of main control room personnel, technical support engineers, and operations management. This paper presents all the work performed at the Department to turn the simulator into a teaching/learning tool, to be use in the nuclear engineering studies following guidance found in [3]

Echocardiographic Changes with Positive Airway Pressure Therapy in Obesity Hypoventilation Syndrome. Long-Term Pickwick Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

Spanish Sleep Network.[Rationale] Obesity hypoventilation syndrome (OHS) has been associated with cardiac dysfunction. However, randomized trials assessing the impact of long-term noninvasive ventilation (NIV) or continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) on cardiac structure and function assessed by echocardiography are lacking. Rationale: Obesity hypoventilation syndrome (OHS) has been associated with cardiac dysfunction. However, randomized trials assessing the impact of long-term noninvasive ventilation (NIV) or continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) on cardiac structure and function assessed by echocardiography are lacking.[Objectives] In a prespecified secondary analysis of the largest multicenter randomized controlled trial of OHS (Pickwick Project; N = 221 patients with OHS and coexistent severe obstructive sleep apnea), we compared the effectiveness of three years of NIV and CPAP on structural and functional echocardiographic changes.[Methods] At baseline and annually during three sequential years, patients underwent transthoracic two-dimensional and Doppler echocardiography. Echocardiographers at each site were blinded to the treatment allocation. Statistical analysis was performed using a linear mixed-effects model with a treatment group and repeated measures interaction to determine the differential effect between CPAP and NIV. Measurements and Main Results: A total of 196 patients were analyzed: 102 were treated with CPAP and 94 were treated with NIV. Systolic pulmonary artery pressure decreased from 40.5 ± 1.47 mm Hg at baseline to 35.3 ± 1.33 mm Hg at three years with CPAP, and from 41.5 ± 1.56 mm Hg to 35.5 ± 1.42 with NIV (P < 0.0001 for longitudinal intragroup changes for both treatment arms). However, there were no significant differences between groups. NIV and CPAP therapies similarly improved left ventricular diastolic dysfunction and reduced left atrial diameter. Both NIV and CPAP improved respiratory function and dyspnea.[Conclusions] In patients with OHS who have concomitant severe obstructive sleep apnea, long-term treatment with NIV and CPAP led to similar degrees of improvement in pulmonary hypertension and left ventricular diastolic dysfunction

Initiatives and facilities for E&T in the nuclear science and technology master at UPM

The present Master/Doctorate in Nuclear Science and Technology programme implemented in the Department of Nuclear Engineering of the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (NED-UPM) has the excellence qualification by the Spanish Ministry of Education. One of the main of this programme is the training for the development of methodologies of simulation, design and advanced analysis, including experimental tools, necessary in research and in professional work in the nuclear field

A genome-wide association study follow-up suggests a possible role for PPARG in systemic sclerosis susceptibility

Introduction: A recent genome-wide association study (GWAS) comprising a French cohort of systemic sclerosis (SSc) reported several non-HLA single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) showing a nominal association in the discovery phase. We aimed to identify previously overlooked susceptibility variants by using a follow-up strategy.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Methods: Sixty-six non-HLA SNPs showing a P value &#60;10-4 in the discovery phase of the French SSc GWAS were analyzed in the first step of this study, performing a meta-analysis that combined data from the two published SSc GWASs. A total of 2,921 SSc patients and 6,963 healthy controls were included in this first phase. Two SNPs, PPARG rs310746 and CHRNA9 rs6832151, were selected for genotyping in the replication cohort (1,068 SSc patients and 6,762 healthy controls) based on the results of the first step. Genotyping was performed by using TaqMan SNP genotyping assays. Results: We observed nominal associations for both PPARG rs310746 (PMH = 1.90 × 10-6, OR, 1.28) and CHRNA9 rs6832151 (PMH = 4.30 × 10-6, OR, 1.17) genetic variants with SSc in the first step of our study. In the replication phase, we observed a trend of association for PPARG rs310746 (P value = 0.066; OR, 1.17). The combined overall Mantel-Haenszel meta-analysis of all the cohorts included in the present study revealed that PPARG rs310746 remained associated with SSc with a nominal non-genome-wide significant P value (PMH = 5.00 × 10-7; OR, 1.25). No evidence of association was observed for CHRNA9 rs6832151 either in the replication phase or in the overall pooled analysis.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Conclusion: Our results suggest a role of PPARG gene in the development of SSc