Breve ensayo histórico de nuestro idioma-romance

DedicadoPrecede al tít.: Seminario Metropolitano de BurgosCopia digital. Valladolid : Junta de Castilla y León. Consejería de Cultura y Turismo, 2009-201

A theoretical approach to the engineering of bioinspired systems: design, applications & information management

Premi extraordinari doctorat curs 2010-2011, àmbit d’Enginyeria Enginyeria IndustrialL’enginyeria de sistemes bioinspirats ha crescut en importància i nombre d’aplicacions en el últims anys, atraient l’atenció dels científics sobre els seus usos potencials en camps com ara la bionanotecnologia, la nanomedicina i la ciència de materials. En aquesta tesis, es presenta una aproximació mitjançant mètodes computacionals a l’enginyeria de sistemes biomimètics. Em posat la nostra èmfasi en l’estudi teòric basat en principis fonamentals de sistemes peptídics, això vol dir des de mètodes mecànic quàntics d’alt nivell per als elements més bàsics fins a la simulació de tot o part del sistema en un ambient més realista a partir de diferents aproximacions computacionals. Un altre objectiu del present treball és la recopilació exhaustiva de la informació derivada dels estudis fets així com dels potencials usos en un sistema informàtic orientat a l’usuari d’emmagatzemament de dades. S’han caracteritzat anàlegs conformacionalment restringits de l’arginina, prolina i fenilalanina a través de càlculs mecànic quàntics d’alt nivell. Aquest aminoàcids no codificats (és a dir que no estan entre els 20 aminoàcids naturals) han demostrat la seva capacitat de modulació del perfil conformacional dels pèptids a on són introduïts. A més a més, indueixen resistència a l’acció de les proteases a banda d’introduir noves propietats electròniques i espectroscòpiques útils en aplicacions tals com els sistemes de diagnòstic, alliberadors de fàrmacs i del camp de l’enginyeria de materials. Els aminoàcids obtinguts són emprats per a modificar pèptids de “homing”, blocs proteics autoagregants i superfícies actives recobertes de pèptids. La remarcable quantitat d’informació sobre aminoàcids no codificats accessible en publicacions científiques expressa la necessitat urgent de sistemes que, basant-se en ordinadors recopilin, organitzin i ofereixin aquesta informació de manera intel·ligible per a l’usuari final. Una base de dades ha estat dissenyada, creada i posada en funcionament per tal d’emmagatzemar dades conformacionals teòriques sobre aminoàcids no codificats. La base de dades també conté, en cas que la informació sigui accessible, dades experimentals referents a aplicacions, caracterització estructural i propietats espectroscòpiques. En resum, aquests treball ofereix un nou enfoc a l’enginyeria assistida per ordinador i la gestió de la informació de sistemes bioinspirats des de les seves unitats més elementals fins al disseny de les aplicacions de major complexitatThe engineering of systems inspired by biochemical molecules has grown in importance and number of applications in the recent years, focusing the researchers’ attention in its potential uses in fields such as nanotechnology, bionanotechnology, nanomedicine and material sciencie. A computational approach to engineering of biomimetic systems is presented in this work. Our emphasis is put on theoretical studies of some peptidic systems from scratch, this means from the use high level quantum mechanics studies of their primary building blocks to the simulation using different computational approaches of their behavior as part of an entire system in a more realistic environment. The thorough compilation of the derived information and its potential uses in a proper user-friendly data-storage support is also a question dealt in the thesis. Conformationaly restricted analogues of arginine, proline and phenylalanine amino acids are designed and fully characterized using high level quantum mechanics methods. These new non-coded amino acids (non-naturally occurring amino acids in proteins) demonstrate to modulate the conformational profile of peptides where they are inserted. Furthermore, they induce resistance to proteolysis altogether with new electronic and spectroscopic features useful in diagnostics, drug delivery and material engineering. The developed non-coded amino acids are used to engineer systems such as homing peptides, self-aggregating protein building blocks and peptide-coated active surfaces. The remarkable amount of information available about non-coded amino acids in scientific publications stressed out the dire need of computer-based systems to gather, to organize and to display in a user-friendly way the information about these compounds. A data base has been designed, implemented and run to store theoretically-obtained conformational information on non-coded amino acids. The data bases also contains, if available, experimentallyacquired knowledge such us structural and spectroscopic characterizations and reported applications. To conclude, this thesis offers a successful approach to the computer-aided engineering and information management of bioinspired systems from their basics to high complexity design.Award-winningPostprint (published version

Propuesta de un campamento educativo intercultural en el medio natural

A través de esta propuesta, se pretende que el alumnado continúe su quehacer educativo descubriendo nuevos espacios a los que adaptarse y conociendo gente de diversas culturas. Para ello, he llevado a cabo la elaboración y organización de un Campamento Educativo Intercultural con adaptación al Medio Natural entre tres colegios, Faria da Vasconcelos en Castelo Branco (Portugal), Marqués de Santillana en Palencia (España) y Pons Sorolla en Lerma, municipio de Burgos (España); cuyos hábitos de asentamiento tanto rural como urbano enriquecerán el intercambio. Se tendrán siempre presentes los contenidos curriculares de tercer ciclo, correspondientes a nuestra Comunidad de Castilla y León y los presentes en Portugal, siempre desde un enfoque intercultural.Grado en Educación Primari

Conductas de riesgo, consumo de sustancias y género

La preocupación por el consumo de sustancias entre los jóvenes ha llevado a gobiernos, educadores e investigadores a cuestionarse no sólo los efectos que las drogas tienen sobre los chicos y chicas, tanto a nivel físico y emocional, como sobre su desarrollo posterior y a poner en marcha mecanismos y recursos para la prevención. Esta investigación es fruto de la puesta en marcha de un programa de formación para mediadores juveniles financiado por distintos organismos de la Junta de Andalucía y que se integra en una planificación de intervención más amplia denominada “Proyecto Forma Joven”. Los resultados ponen de manifiesto la coincidencia entre nuestra población y los datos de la población general respecto a consumo, tipo de consumo, diferencias por géneros y relación con conductas de riesgo, aunque podemos encontrar algunos matices diferenciales, lo que propició un programa de formación más consistente con los datos concretos.Concerned by the effects of substances abuse on boys and girls physical and emotional development, governments, educators, and researchers are committed to improve preventive programs against drugs consumption. In the frame of a wide program of intervention (“Proyecto Forma Joven”), aimed to form young people as mediators in peers health education, and financed by several institutional programs of the government of Andalusia (Spain), this study provided a detailed description of the relations between gender, and patterns of substances consumption, in order to reach a better adjustment of the formation of the future mediators that will implement preventive programs

Self-assembly of Fmoc-tetrapeptides based on the RGDS cell adhesion motif

Self-assembly in aqueous solution has been investigated for two Fmoc [Fmoc ¼ N-(fluorenyl)-9-methoxycarbonyl] tetrapeptides comprising the RGDS cell adhesion motif from fibronectin or the scrambled sequence GRDS. The hydrophobic Fmoc unit confers amphiphilicity on the molecules, and introduces aromatic stacking interactions. Circular dichroism and FTIR spectroscopy show that the self-assembly of both peptides at low concentration is dominated by interactions among Fmoc units, although Fmoc-GRDS shows b-sheet features, at lower concentration than Fmoc-RGDS. Fibre X-ray diffraction indicates b-sheet formation by both peptides at sufficiently high concentration. Strong alignment effects are revealed by linear dichroism experiments for Fmoc-GRDS. Cryo-TEM and smallangle X-ray scattering (SAXS) reveal that both samples form fibrils with a diameter of approximately 10 nm. Both Fmoc-tetrapeptides form self-supporting hydrogels at sufficiently high concentration. Dynamic shear rheometry enabled measurements of the moduli for the Fmoc-GRDS hydrogel, however syneresis was observed for the Fmoc-RGDS hydrogel which was significantly less stable to shear. Molecular dynamics computer simulations were carried out considering parallel and antiparallel b-sheet configurations of systems containing 7 and 21 molecules of Fmoc-RGDS or Fmoc-GRDS, the results being analyzed in terms of both intermolecular structural parameters and energy contributions

HPV genotype distribution and anomalous association of HPV33 to cervical neoplastic lesions in San Luis Potosí, Mexico

" Background: The association of human papillomavirus (HPV) types to neoplastic lesions increase as a function of their oncogenicity and the duration of the infection since lesion severity progresses from low-grade to high-grade and cancer. In an outbreak, the prevalence of the HPV type involved would increase and the proportion of the associated low-grade lesions would predominate over severe lesions. In this study, the prevalence of HPV types and their association to neoplastic lesions was determined in women subjected to colposcopy in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. Methods: DNA from high-risk (HR) and low-risk (LR) HPV types was identified by E6 nested multiplex PCR in cervical scrapes from 700 women with normal cytology, atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS), low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LSIL), high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL) or invasive cervical cancer (CC). Results: Overall HPV-DNA prevalence was 67.7 %, that of HR-HPV was 63.1 %, and that of LR-HPV was 21.3 %. The highest prevalence (78.2 %) occurred in the 15-24 year group, whereas that of single infections was 52 % and that of multiple infections (i.e., by 2-6 HPV types) was 48 %. The most prevalent HR types were HPV33 (33.1 %), HPV16 (16.6 %), HPV18 and HPV51 (6.7 % each). HR-HPV prevalence was 29.6 % in normal cytology, 26.7 % in ASCUS, 63.3 % in LSIL, 68.2 % in HSIL, and 90.5 % in CC. Three prevalence trends for HR-HPV types were found in neoplastic lesions of increasing severity: increasing (LSIL CC) for HPV33. Conclusions: Two-thirds of the women subjected to colposcopy from 2007 to 2010 in San Luis Potosi have HPV infections which predominate in the 15-24 years group. Around half of the infections are by one viral type and the rest by 2-6 types. HPV33 is the most prevalent type, followed by HPV16. Overall HR-HPV prevalence increases with the severity of neoplastic lesions. HPV33 prevalence is highest in LSIL and its U-shaped trend with progressing neoplastic lesions differs from the growing/asymptotic trends of other HR-HPV types. An ongoing or recent HPV33 outbreak is consistent with its high prevalence and anomalous association to LSIL.

Effects of hydroxyapatite (0001) Ca2+/Mg2+ substitution on adsorbed D-ribose ring puckering

Advanced Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulation protocols have been used to assess the ring puckering of cyclic D-ribose when the sugar is adsorbed on the most stable (0001) facet of calcium hydroxyapatite (HAp). In addition, sugar¿mineral interactions, which are crucial for transfection processes and prebiotic chemistry, have been studied for systems in which the Ca2+ ions of the above mentioned HAp facet were totally or partially replaced by Mg2+. The latter replacement is spatially and quantitatively limited and has been found to cause important alterations in the conformational behavior of D-ribose that are similar to those suffered in hairpin RNA from A to B helical structures. Accordingly, replacement of Ca2+ by Mg2+ has a dramatic effect on the functionality of the nucleic acid. These changes have been related to both the substitution site on the surface and the amount of ions. Our results show that when replacement by Mg2+ occurs in OH--coordinated Ca2+ ions, Mg2+¿D-ribose interactions are strong enough to prevent the interactions between the hydroxyl groups of the sugar and the remaining Ca2+ ions.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Determinación de las propiedades físico mecánicas del concreto f´c=210kg/cm², sustituyendo parcialmente el agregado fino por residuos de llantas de caucho

El Perú, al encontrarse en el Cinturón de Fuego del Pacífico, presenta riesgo sísmico. Por lo tanto, el auge del uso de concretos ligeros, utilizando materiales reciclados en la fabricación del concreto sin afectar la resistencia, se hace fundamental para obtener un concreto ligero, logrando así una estructura más flexible con menor vulnerabilidad sísmica. Frente a esta problemática la presente investigación tiene como objetivo determinar las propiedades físico mecánicas de un concreto f’c=210 kg/cm2 al sustituir parcialmente agregado fino por residuos de llantas de caucho. Fundamentado en la hipótesis de que estas propiedades varían en más de un 10%, entre un concreto normal y un concreto con sustitución parcial de agregado fino por residuos de llantas de caucho. Paralo cual se elaboró un concreto patrón y concretos con sustitución parcial de agregado fino por residuos de llantas de caucho al 5%, 10% y 20%. Respecto a la densidad del concreto se registró una disminución de hasta un 10%, para concretos con hasta un 20% de sustitución de residuos de llantas de caucho, en comparación al concreto patrón. Los ensayos de resistencia a flexión a 28 días de edad muestran que a medida que aumenta el porcentaje de sustitución de residuos de llantas de caucho hasta un 20%, esta disminuye hasta un 55% respecto al concreto patrón. Mientras que, para la resistencia a compresión a 28 días de edad, hasta un 5% de sustitución parcial de agregado fino por residuos de llantas de caucho se tiene un aumento del 14% en la resistencia, pero una disminución hasta del 40% en su resistencia cuando se llega hasta el 20% de sustitución parcial de caucho respecto al concreto patrón. Concluyendo que solo hasta un porcentaje de 5% de sustitución de agregado fino por residuos de caucho varia positivamente la resistencia a compresión en más de un 14% y en las demás propiedades disminuyen conforme se aumenta el porcentaje de sustitución

Ultrasensitive quantitation of human papillomavirus type 16 E6 oncogene sequences by nested real time PCR

"Background We have developed an ultrasensitive method based on conventional PCR preamplification followed by nested amplification through real time PCR (qPCR) in the presence of the DNA intercalating agent EvaGreen. Results Amplification mixtures calibrated with a known number of pHV101 copies carrying a 645 base pair (bp)-long insert of the human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16) E6 oncogene were used to generate the E6-1 amplicon of 645 bp by conventional PCR and then the E6-2 amplicon of 237 bp by nested qPCR. Direct and nested qPCR mixtures for E6-2 amplification corresponding to 2.5 × 102-2.5 × 106 initial pHV101 copies had threshold cycle (Ct) values in the ranges of 18.7-29.0 and 10.0-25.0, respectively. The Ct of qPCR mixtures prepared with 1/50 volumes of preamplified mixtures containing 50 ng of DNA of the SiHa cell line (derived from an invasive cervical cancer with one HPV16 genome per cell) was 19.9. Thermal fluorescence extinction profiles of E6-2 amplicons generated from pHV101 and SiHa DNA were identical, with a peak at 85.5°C. Conclusions Our method based on conventional preamplification for 15 cycles increased 10,750 times the sensitivity of nested qPCR for the quantitation of the E6 viral oncogene and confirmed that the SiHa cell line contains one E6-HPV16 copy per cell.

Hammer rebound index as an overall-mechanical-quality indicator of self-compacting concrete containing recycled concrete aggregate

The hammer rebound index has traditionally been solely and exclusively used to estimate the compressive strength of vibrated concrete. Its use has recently been extended to the prediction of the compressive strength of Self-Compacting Concrete (SCC) and concrete produced with Recycled Concrete Aggregate (RCA). The conventional use of the hammer-rebound test is further developed in this paper, by demonstrating how it can be used to estimate the overall mechanical behavior of SCC containing RCA. To do so, nine SCC mixes with different contents and fractions (coarse, fine, and powder) of RCA are analyzed. Following a simple-linear-regression validation and property standardization procedure, the hammer rebound index is then expressed as a linear combination of four mechanical properties, adjusted through a multiple regression. The hammer rebound index is therefore expressed as a weighting of both the mean value of compressive behavior (arithmetic mean of compressive strength and modulus of elasticity) amounting to a weight of 72.8%, and the mean value of bendingtensile behavior (arithmetic mean of splitting tensile strength and flexural strength) amounting to a weight of 27.2%. The hammer rebound index can therefore be construed as an overall-mechanical-quality performance indicator of the SCC containing RCA, which can also yield predictions of every mechanical property. In this way, the application of the hammer rebound index could likewise be of use in rehabilitation, pathology, and healthmonitoring works where a full characterization of the mechanical performance of SCC with RCA is required, facilitating the use of SCC with RCA in real structures.The authors wish to express their gratitude to the following government ministries, agencies, and universities for funding this research: the Spanish Ministry of Universities, MICIN, AEI, EU, ERDF and NextGenerationEU/ PRTR [PID2020-113837RB-I00; 10.13039/501100011033; TED2021- 129715B-I00; FPU17/03374; PRX21/00007]; the Junta de Castilla y León (Regional Government) and ERDF [UIC-231, BU119P17]; the University of Burgos [SUCONS, Y135.GI]; and, finally, the University of Padova