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This work presents a strategy to improve the control of robot manipulators actuated by servomotors controlled in position. The improvement consisted on using artificial vision in order to implement a second control loop that guarantees the joint position tracking of the desired values. The visual feedback algorithm is robust upon rotations and translations of the camera, which is its main advantage against other similar approaches reported in the literature. The proposed technique was tested on a 3 DOF robot with position actuators, to which different desired joint positions were commanded and regulated through a PID controller. The experiments were performed with different rotation angles of the camera, obtaining successful results in joint position regulation and quantifying them by way of well known performance indices., Este trabajo presenta una estrategia para mejorar el control de robots manipuladores actuados por servomotores controlados en posición. La mejora consiste en utilizar visión artificial para implementar una segunda malla de control y así garantizar que las articulaciones alcancen los valores deseados. El algoritmo de realimentación visual es robusto ante rotaciones y traslaciones de la cámara, lo cual es su principal ventaja contra otras técnicas similares reportadas en la literatura. La técnica propuesta se probó en un robot de 3 GDL con actuadores de posición, al cual se le comandaron diferentes posiciones deseadas de las articulaciones, mismas que se regularon con un controlador PID. Los experimentos se realizaron con la cámara rotada en diferentes ángulos, obteniendo resultados satisfactorios al regular las posiciones articulares, cuantificándolos con criterios de desempeño conocidos.

Scholarly research on 20th century experimental poetry has highlighted the characteristic fusion of aesthetic difficulty and indeterminacy embedded in these texts, attending to the disruptive experiences of reading this literature. This research contributes to developing a critical vocabulary of readerly engagements as embodied affordances in three experimental poems: T.S. Eliot's 'The Waste Land' (1922), Gertrude Stein's 'Tender Buttons' (1914), and John Ashbery's 'Three Poems' (1972). Thus, I aim to re-cover the freeing potential of poetic reception, reified through three interrelated, but distinct, critical apparatuses for the readers: ingestion, digestion, and exhaustion. Far from acts of dissection, these experimental poems allow for re-generative possibilities, revealing the importance of the reader's role as they find themselves generated in the interstices of the texts. In dialogue with discussions around critical methods, this research employs experiential close reading, an approach that at once considers the poem's disjunctures alongside its potential proximity between reader and text. Charting specific meaning orientations in the poems, I trace three specific sites of disorientation, cultivated between readers and the texts, in the poems' anti-logocentrism, disclosure, and openness. By shifting critical focus to the primacy of the reader, these poems delineate the possibility for soliciting a readerly re-generation. Compelled by the desire to articulate a critical vocabulary of these readerly engagements, I reify the affordances of reading experimental poetry through interrelated, but distinct, processes of digestion, ingestion, and exhaustion. This research makes a case for the importance of the reader's role in poetry, interrogating their engagements in reading experimental literature. In developing a vocabulary of reading poetry, I aim to re-cover the act of reading as a creative act, generating new readerly practices, as readers find themselves engagi

It is debated whether primary progressive apraxia of speech (PPAOS) and progressive agrammatic aphasia (PAA) belong to the same clinical spectrum, traditionally termed non-fluent/agrammatic variant primary progressive aphasia (nfvPPA), or exist as two completely distinct syndromic entities with specific pathologic/prognostic correlates. We analysed speech, language and disease severity features in a comprehensive cohort of patients with progressive motor speech impairment and/or agrammatism to ascertain evidence of naturally occurring, clinically meaningful non-overlapping syndromic entities (e.g. PPAOS and PAA) in our data. We also assessed if data-driven latent clinical dimensions with aetiologic/prognostic value could be identified. We included 98 participants, 43 of whom had an autopsy-confirmed neuropathological diagnosis. Speech pathologists assessed motor speech features indicative of dysarthria and apraxia of speech (AOS). Quantitative expressive/receptive agrammatism measures were obtained and compared with healthy controls. Baseline and longitudinal disease severity was evaluated using the Clinical Dementia Rating Sum of Boxes (CDR-SB). We investigated the data's clustering tendency and cluster stability to form robust symptom clusters and employed principal component analysis to extract data-driven latent clinical dimensions (LCD). The longitudinal CDR-SB change was estimated using linear mixed-effects models. Of the participants included in this study, 93 conformed to previously reported clinical profiles (75 with AOS and agrammatism, 12 PPAOS and six PAA). The remaining five participants were characterized by non-fluent speech, executive dysfunction and dysarthria without apraxia of speech or frank agrammatism. No baseline clinical features differentiated between frontotemporal lobar degeneration neuropathological subgroups. The Hopkins statistic demonstrated a low cluster tendency in the entire sample (0.45 with values near 0.5 indicating random data).

Background and purpose Respiratory insufficiency and its complications are the main cause of death in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Respiratory symptoms are scored in questions Q10 (dyspnoea) and Q11 (orthopnoea) of the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Functional Rating Scale-Revised (ALSFRS-R). The association of respiratory test alterations with respiratory symptoms is unclear. Methods Patients with ALS and progressive muscular atrophy were included. We retrospectively recorded demographic data, ALSFRS-R, forced vital capacity (FVC), maximal inspiratory (MIP) and expiratory (MEP) pressures, mouth occlusion pressure at 100 ms, nocturnal oximetry (SpO(2)mean), arterial blood gases, and phrenic nerve amplitude (PhrenAmpl). Three groups were categorized: G1, normal Q10 and Q11; G2, abnormal Q10; and G3, abnormal Q10 and Q11 or only abnormal Q11. A binary logistic regression model explored independent predictors. Results We included 276 patients (153 men, onset age = 62.6 +/- 11.0 years, disease duration = 13.0 +/- 9.6 months, spinal onset in 182) with mean survival of 40.1 +/- 26.0 months. Gender, onset region, and disease duration were similar in G1 (n = 149), G2 (n = 78), and G3 (n = 49). Time to noninvasive ventilation (NIV) was shorter in G3 (p < 0.001), but survival was similar. ALSFRS-R subscores were significantly different (G1>G2>G3, p < 0.001), except for lower limb subscore (p = 0.077). G2 and G3 patients were older than G1 (p < 0.001), and had lower FVC, MIP, MEP, PhrenAmpl, and SpO(2)mean. Independent predictors for G2 were MIP and SpO(2)mean; for G3, the only independent predictor was PhrenAmpl. Conclusions These three distinct ALS phenotypic respiratory categories represent progressive stages of ventilatory dysfunction, supporting ALSFRS-R clinical relevance. Orthopnoea is a severe symptom that should prompt NIV, phrenic nerve response being an independent predictor. Early NIV promotes similar survival for G2 and G3.

El objetivo de este proyecto es la creación de un bot de Telegram que traduzca mensajes de voz de un idioma a otro cualquiera. Principalmente, esto permitirá tanto usarlo de modo individual para reproducir los audios traducidos a otra persona, así como para invitar al bot a un grupo de usuarios y que cada uno lo use al mismo tiempo para tener una conversación en un mismo idioma conjunto. Además, implementa traducciones texto a texto y texto a audio para aportar la mayor versatilidad posible. Este bot hará más sencillo hablar en diferentes idiomas o simplemente practicarlos por medio de Telegram de una manera gratuita y rápida., The goal of this project is the creation of a Telegram’s bot able to translate voice messages from one language to any other. Mainly, this will allow both to use it individually to play the translated audios to another person, or to invite the bot to a group of users and let each one use it at the same time to have a conversation in the same language together. In addition, it implements text-to-text and text-to-audio translations to provide the greatest possible versatility. This bot will make it easier to speak in different languages or simply practice them through Telegram in a free and fast way., Departamento de Informática (Arquitectura y Tecnología de Computadores, Ciencias de la Computación e Inteligencia Artificial, Lenguajes y Sistemas Informáticos), Grado en Ingeniería Informática

Objective To describe the clinical features and progression of patients with respiratory onset amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Methods: We analyzed the clinical features, including respiratory tests, functional score, noninvasive ventilation (NIV) time and survival of ALS patients with respiratory-onset in our database consisting of 1688 patients. In a subset of 625 ALS patients we analyzed the spreading pattern to other bodily regions. Results: We included 1579 patients with ALS. Sixty-three patients (4%) presented respiratory-onset (79.4% men, mean onset-age 67.7 +/- 8.9yrs). All had predominant LMN involvement, and significant weight loss (>10%) was identified in 38.9%. The respiratory tests were abnormal in these respiratory-onset patients (p < 0.001). ALSFRS-R respiratory subscore was lower in this population (p < 0.001). NIV was adapted in 84.1%, sooner than in the larger group of ALS patients (p < 0.001), and survival from disease onset was shorter (p < 0.001). Respiratory-onset was a predictor of time to NIV (X-2=42.0, p < 0.001) and of survival (X-2=7.1, p = 0.008). The spreading pattern was studied in 18 patients with isolated respiratory-onset. The progression interval to the 2nd region was 4.7 +/- 5.7mo and to a 3rd region 6.1 +/- 8.7mo. Different patterns of spread had no impact on survival. Conclusions: This phenotype is typically seen in emaciated older men with predominant lower motor neuron involvement, and is associated with diaphragm paresis and central respiratory involvement. NIV adaptation is rapid but total survival is shorter than in the other patients. Spreading pattern did not affect time to NIV adaptation or total survival, as NIV support is a modifying treatment in the course of ALS.

This work investigated, during one year, the occurrence and fate of 52 contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) in transnational river basins and coastal areas of the North of Portugal and Galicia (NW Spain) and the wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) discharging on these environments. The different CECs investigated included pharmaceuticals, personal care products, industrial chemicals, among others, of which ca. 90 % would fulfill the persistence, mobility and toxicity criteria proposed by the German Environmental Agency. The results showed the ubiquitous presence of these CECs and an incomplete removal of over 60 % of them with current conventional WWTPs. These findings highlight the requirement of a prominent and coordinated upgrade of WWTP treatments in order to meet the future European Union regulations on urban wastewater treatment and surface water quality. In fact, even some compounds exhibiting high removals, such as caffeine or xylene sulfonate, were frequently detected in river and estuarine waters at the high ng L−1 level. Thus, our preliminary risk assessment study concluded that 18 of the CECs presented a potential risk for the environment, being caffeine, sulpiride, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), diclofenac, fipronil and perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA) the most concerning ones. Yet, additional toxicity data as well as a more robust information on persistence and mobility of CECs are necessary for better estimating the magnitude of the problem and improve risk assessment. As an example, in the case of the antidiabetic metformin, recent research has revealed toxicity for model fish species at concentration levels below those found in 40 % of the river water samples analyzed in this work.

Changing environmental temperatures impact the physiological performance of fishes, and consequently their distributions. A mechanistic understanding of the linkages between experienced temperature and the physiological response expressed within complex natural environments is often lacking, hampering efforts to project impacts especially when future conditions exceed previous experience. In this study, we use natural chemical tracers to determine the individual experienced temperatures and expressed field metabolic rates of Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) during their first year of life. Our findings reveal that the tuna exhibit a preference for temperatures 2–4 °C lower than those that maximise field metabolic rates, thereby avoiding temperatures warm enough to limit metabolic performance. Based on current IPCC projections, our results indicate that historically-important spawning and nursery grounds for bluefin tuna will become thermally limiting due to warming within the next 50 years. However, limiting global warming to below 2 °C would preserve habitat conditions in the Mediterranean Sea for this species. Our approach, which is based on field observations, provides predictions of animal performance and behaviour that are not constrained by laboratory conditions, and can be extended to any marine teleost species for which otoliths are available.

The use of Plant Protection Products (PPPs) is leading to high exposure scenarios with potential risk to soil organisms, including non-target species. Assessment of the effects of PPPs on non-target organisms is one of the most important components of environmental risk assessment (ERA) since they play crucial functions in ecosystems, being main driving forces in different soil processes. As part of the framework, EFSA is proposing the use of the ecosystem services approach for setting specific protection goals. In fact, the services provided by soil organisms can be impacted by the misuse of PPPs in agroecosystems. The aim of this work was to assess PPPs potential risk upon ecosystem services along European soils, considering impacts on earthworms and collembola. Four well-known (2 insecticides-esfenvalerate and cyclaniliprole- and 2 fungicides - picoxystrobin and fenamidone-) worst case application (highest recommended application) were studied; exploring approaches for linked observed effects with impacts on ecosystem services, accounting for their mode of action (MoA), predicted exposure, time-course effects in Eisenia fetida and Folsomia sp. and landscape variability. The selected fungicides exerted more effects than insecticides on E. fetida, whereas few effects were reported for both pesticides regarding Folsomia sp. The most impacted ecosystem services after PPP application to crops appeared to be habitat provision, soil formation and retention, nutrient cycling, biodiversity, erosion regulation, soil remediation/waste treatment and pest and disease regulation. The main factors to be taken into account for a correct PPP use management in crops are discussed.

This work investigated, during one year, the occurrence and fate of 52 contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) in transnational river basins and coastal areas of the North of Portugal and Galicia (NW Spain) and the wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) discharging on these environments. The different CECs investigated included pharmaceuticals, personal care products, industrial chemicals, among others, of which ca. 90 % would fulfill the persistence, mobility and toxicity criteria proposed by the German Environmental Agency. The results showed the ubiquitous presence of these CECs and an incomplete removal of over 60 % of them with current conventional WWTPs. These findings highlight the requirement of a prominent and coordinated upgrade of WWTP treatments in order to meet the future European Union regulations on urban wastewater treatment and surface water quality. In fact, even some compounds exhibiting high removals, such as caffeine or xylene sulfonate, were frequently detected in river and estuarine waters at the high ng L−1 level. Thus, our preliminary risk assessment study concluded that 18 of the CECs presented a potential risk for the environment, being caffeine, sulpiride, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), diclofenac, fipronil and perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA) the most concerning ones. Yet, additional toxicity data as well as a more robust information on persistence and mobility of CECs are necessary for better estimating the magnitude of the problem and improve risk assessment. As an example, in the case of the antidiabetic metformin, recent research has revealed toxicity for model fish species at concentration levels below those found in 40 % of the river water samples analyzed in this work

This paper will use a phenomenological lens to explore audience experience in contemporary performance through an examination of two recent (and very different) productions – Romantika Theatre’s The Crossing Place (2017) and Ridiculusmus’ Beautiful People (2022). I will use these two productions as case-studies to explore the phenomenological experience of being there. Building on extant Performance Studies scholarship that has worked over the past decades to situate spectators as co-creators of meaning, I will explore how audiences within these productions find themselves emerging out of the cracks and disorientations of theatrical spaces. This follows Hans-Thies Lehmann’s ground-breaking concept of postdramatic theatre as a form of performance which moves beyond the conceit of mimetic representation, organised by coherence, to a space where ‘spectators encounter the theatre as just that – theatre’ (Boyle et al. 2019: 2). In this presentation I will explore the imbrication of the spectator relationship in terms of the openness of these two performance encounters. This will enable me to develop an understanding of contemporary theatre practice as a specific form of mediation in its dual sense: as both a procedure of affective operations and a process of continual re-creation.

Changing environmental temperatures impact the physiological performance of fishes, and consequently their distributions. A mechanistic understanding of the linkages between experienced temperature and the physiological response expressed within complex natural environments is often lacking, hampering efforts to project impacts especially when future conditions exceed previous experience. In this study, we use natural chemical tracers to determine the individual experienced temperatures and expressed field metabolic rates of Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) during their first year of life. Our findings reveal that the tuna exhibit a preference for temperatures 2-4 °C lower than those that maximise field metabolic rates, thereby avoiding temperatures warm enough to limit metabolic performance. Based on current IPCC projections, our results indicate that historically-important spawning and nursery grounds for bluefin tuna will become thermally limiting due to warming within the next 50 years. However, limiting global warming to below 2 °C would preserve habitat conditions in the Mediterranean Sea for this species. Our approach, which is based on field observations, provides predictions of animal performance and behaviour that are not constrained by laboratory conditions, and can be extended to any marine teleost species for which otoliths are available.

BackgroundCortical mean diffusivity is a novel imaging metric sensitive to early changes in neurodegenerative syndromes. Higher cortical mean diffusivity values reflect microstructural disorganization and have been proposed as a sensitive biomarker that might antedate macroscopic cortical changes. We aimed to test the hypothesis that cortical mean diffusivity is more sensitive than cortical thickness to detect cortical changes in primary progressive aphasia (PPA).MethodsIn this multicenter, case-control study, we recruited 120 patients with PPA (52 non-fluent, 31 semantic, and 32 logopenic variants; and 5 GRN-related PPA) as well as 89 controls from three centers. The 3-Tesla MRI protocol included structural and diffusion-weighted sequences. Disease severity was assessed with the Clinical Dementia Rating scale. Cortical thickness and cortical mean diffusivity were computed using a surface-based approach.ResultsThe comparison between each PPA variant and controls revealed cortical mean diffusivity increases and cortical thinning in overlapping regions, reflecting the canonical loci of neurodegeneration of each variant. Importantly, cortical mean diffusivity increases also expanded to other PPA-related areas and correlated with disease severity in all PPA groups. Cortical mean diffusivity was also increased in patients with very mild PPA when only minimal cortical thinning was observed and showed a good correlation with measures of disease severity.ConclusionsCortical mean diffusivity shows promise as a sensitive biomarker for the study of the neurodegeneration-related microstructural changes in PPA.

This work presents a ceramic tubular membrane coated with a continuous graphene-TiO2 nanocomposite thin-film for contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) removal from synthetic and real matrices in single-pass flow-through operation. Microfiltration ceramic membranes were coated in situ with graphene (G)-TiO2-P25 nano-composite using two different methods: Membrane type A - TiO2-P25 incorporated in the G preparation stage (1% [MA-1], 2% [MA-2] and 3% [MA-3] [w/v]), and Membrane type B - TiO2-P25 thin-film uniformly coated over the G film surface (coating layers: 3 [MB-1], 6 [MB-2], and 9 [MB-3]). After the catalyst deposition and before the pyrolysis step, air was forced to pass through the membranes pores (inside-outside mode), providing a porous film. The CECs solution (diclofenac-DCF, 17 beta-estradiol-E2, 17 alpha-ethinylestradiol-EE2 and amoxicillin-AMX) was prepared using Ultrapure water (UPW) or an urban wastewater after secondary treatment (UWW) fortified with 500 mu g L-1 of each CEC. Membranes were characterized by the following techniques: Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), Fourier-Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Diffuse Reflectance UV-Visible spectroscopy (DR UV-Vis) and Raman spectroscopy. The membranes coated with MA-3 and MB-2 catalyst films, irradiated by UVA light, showed the highest ability for CECs removal. Furthermore, the Relative flux reduction ratio (RFR) decreased around 45% in the absence of UVA light, owing to membrane fouling. The combination of filtration and oxidation (G-TiO2-UVA) provided a permeate with higher quality and minimized membrane fouling. Although membrane type B allowed for a permeate with higher quality, membrane type A provided a higher permeate flux.

[EN] Plant Protection Products (PPP) raise concerns as their application may cause effects on some soil organisms considered non-target species which could be highly sensitive to some pesticides. The European Food and Safety Authority (EFSA), in collaboration with the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission, has developed guidance and a software tool, Persistence in Soil Analytical Model (PERSAM), for conducting soil exposure assessments. EFSA PPR Panel has published recommendations for the risk assessment of non-target soil organisms. We have used PERSAM for calculating PPPs predicted environmental concentrations (PECs); and used the estimated PEC for assessing potential risks using Toxicity Exposure Ratios (TER) for selected soil organisms and good agricultural practices. Soil characteristics and environmental variables change along a latitudinal axis through the European continent, influencing the availability of PPP, their toxicity upon soil biota, and hence, impacting on the risk characterization. Although PERSAM includes as input geographical information, the in-formation is aggregated and not further detailed in the model outputs. Therefore, there is a need to develop landscape based environmental risk assessment methods addressing regional variability. The objective was to integrate spatially explicit exposure (PECs) and effect data (biological endpoints i.e. LC50, NOEC, etc.) to estimate the risk quotient (TER) of four PPP active substances (esfenvalerate, cyclaniliprole, picoxystrobin, fenamidone) on non-target species accounting European landscape and agricultural variability. The study was focused on the effects produced by the above-mentioned pesticides on two soil organisms: E. fetida earthworms and Folsomia sp. collembolans. After running PERSAM assuming a worst case application of PPPs, PECs in total soil and pore water were obtained for different depths in northern, central and southern European soils. With this data, soil variability

Synapse degeneration is an early event in pathological frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD). Consequently, a surrogate marker of synapse loss could be used to monitor early pathologic changes in patients with underlying FTLD. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship of antemortem cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of 8 synaptic proteins with postmortem global tau and TDP-43 burden and cognitive performance and to assess their diagnostic capacity in a neuropathological FTLD cohort. We included patients with a neuropathological confirmation of FTLD-Tau (n = 24, mean age-at-CSF 67 years ± 11), FTLD-TDP (n = 25, 66 years ± 9) or AD (n = 25, 73 years ± 6) as well as cognitively normal controls (n = 35, 69 years ± 7) from the Penn FTD Center and ADRC. We used a semi-quantitative measure of tau and TDP-43 inclusions to quantify pathological burden across 16 brain regions. Statistical methods included Spearman rank correlations, one-way analysis of covariance, ordinal regression, step-wise multiple linear regression and receiver-operating characteristic curves. CSF calsyntenin-1 and neurexin-2a were correlated in all patient groups (r = .55 to.88). In FTLD-TDP, we observed low antemortem CSF levels of calsyntenin-1 and neurexin-2a compared to AD (.72-fold, p = .001,.77-fold, p = .04, respectively) and controls (.80-fold, p = .02,.78-fold, p = .02, respectively), which were inversely associated with post-mortem global TDP-43 burden (regression r 2 = .56, p = .007 and r 2 = .57, p = .006, respectively). A multimarker panel including calsyntenin-1 was associated with TDP-43 burden (r 2 = .69, p = .003) and MMSE score (r 2 = .19, p = .03) in FTLD. A second multimarker synaptic panel, also including calsyntenin-1, was associated with MMSE score in FTLD-tau (r 2 = .49, p = .04) and improved diagnostic performance to discriminate FTLD-Tau and FTLD-TDP neuropathologic subtypes (AUC = .83). These synaptic panels have potential in the differential diagnosis of FTLD ne

Este proyecto de innovación docente (Proyecto INNOVA-Docencia 2021/22 - Nº 72), continuación de los proyectos INNOVA-Docencia 2019/20 - Nº 38, e INNOVA-Docencia 2020/21 - Nº 301, tiene varios objetivos específicos: a) la actualización y mejora del modelo a escala de río para que el mismo pueda reproducir todos los tipos de cauces que encontramos en la naturaleza; b) enseñanza de formas y procesos geomorfológicos fluviales mediante el desarrollo de un manual de ejercicios prácticos; y c), la exposición pública a la comunidad educativa de los experimentos y logros alcanzados.

Este proyecto plantea la herramienta EChemTest como mecanismo de evaluación de la Calidad de un Grado relacionado con la Química. También presenta la oportunidad de evaluar cómo ha influido la docencia online en la adquisición de conocimientos, comparando con cursos anteriores.

Metformin (MET), an anti-diabetic pharmaceutical of large-scale consumption, is increasingly detected in surface waters. However, current knowledge on the long-term effects of MET on non-target organisms is limited. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of MET in the model freshwater teleost Danio rerio, following a full life-cycle exposure to environmentally relevant concentrations (390 to 14 423 ng/L). Considering that the mode of action (MoA) of MET on non-target organisms remains underexplored and that MET may act through similar human pathways, i.e., lipid and energy metabolisms, biochemical markers were used to determine cholesterol and triglycerides levels, as well as mitochondrial complex I activity in zebrafish liver. Also, the hepatosomatic index as an indication of metabolic disruption, and the expression levels of genes involved in MET's putative MoA, i.e. acaca, acadm, cox5aa, idh3a, hmgcra, prkaa1, were determined, the last by qRT-PCR. A screening of mRNA transcripts, associated with lipid and energy metabolisms, and other signaling pathways potentially involved in MET-induced toxicity were also assessed using an exploratory RNA-seq analysis. The findings here reported indicate that MET significantly disrupted critical biochemical and molecular processes involved in zebrafish metabolism, such as cholesterol and fatty acid biosynthesis, mitochondrial electron transport chain and tricarboxylic acid cycle, concomitantly to changes on the hepatosomatic index. Likewise, MET impacted other relevant pathways mainly associated with cell cycle, DNA repair and steroid hormone biosynthesis, here reported for the first time in a non-target aquatic organism. Non-monotonic dose response curves were frequently detected in biochemical and qRT-PCR data, with higher effects observed at 390 and 2 929 ng/L MET treatments. Collectively, the results suggest that environmentally relevant concentrations of MET severely disrupt D. rerio metabolism and other import

The COVID-19 pandemic spread rapidly worldwide in the year 2020, which was initially restrained by drastic mobility restrictions. In this work, we investigated the use of illicit drugs (amphetamine, methamphetamine, ecstasy, cocaine and cannabis), and licit substances of abuse (alcohol and tobacco) during the earlier months (March–July 2020) of the pandemic restrictions in four Spanish (Bilbao and its metropolitan area, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Castellón and Santiago de Compostela) and two Portuguese (Porto and Vila do Conde) locations by wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE). The results show that no methamphetamine was detected in any of the locations monitored, while amphetamine use was only detectable in the two locations from the Basque Country (Bilbao and its metropolitan area and Vitoria-Gasteiz), with high estimated average usage rates (700–930 mg day−1 1000 inhabitant−1). The remaining substances were detected in all the investigated catchment areas. In general, no remarkable changes were found in population normalized loads compared to former years, except for cocaine (i.e. its main metabolite, benzoylecgonine). For this drug, a notable decrease in use was discernible in Castellón, while its usage in Porto and Santiago de Compostela seemed to continue in a rising trend, already initiated in former years. Furthermore, two events of ecstasy (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, MDMA) dumping in the sewage network were confirmed by enantiomeric analysis, one in Santiago de Compostela just prior the lockdown and the second one in the Bilbao and its metropolitan area in July after relieving the more stringent measures. The latter could also be associated with a police intervention. The comparison of WBE with (web) survey data, which do not provide information at a local level, points towards contradictory conclusions for some of the substances, thereby highlighting the need for stable WBE networks capable of near real-time monitoring drug use

The primary focus of environmental toxicological studies is to address the direct effects of chemicals on exposed organisms (parental generation – F0), mostly overlooking effects on subsequent non-exposed generations (F1 and F2 – intergenerational and F3 transgenerational, respectively). Here, we addressed the effects of simvastatin (SIM), one of the most widely prescribed human pharmaceuticals for the primary treatment of hypercholesterolemia, using the keystone crustacean Gammarus locusta. We demonstrate that SIM, at environmentally relevant concentrations, has significant inter and transgenerational (F1 and F3) effects in key signaling pathways involved in crustaceans’ neuroendocrine regulation (Ecdysteroids, Catecholamines, NO/cGMP/PKG, GABAergic and Cholinergic signaling pathways), concomitantly with changes in apical endpoints, such as depressed reproduction and growth. These findings are an essential step to improve hazard and risk assessment of biological active compounds, such as SIM, and highlight the importance of studying the transgenerational effects of environmental chemicals in animals’ neuroendocrine regulation

Comics are visual narratives. Although they are widely consumed, people with different kinds of visual impairments have difficulty accessing them. In this sense, this paper aims to analyze how design can make comics accessible for those readers. The theoretical references contextualize the language of comics as a medium for sequential narratives that traditionally employs visual resources. We will discuss the aspects of interface design and user experience in digital platforms regarding how people read comics from the perspective of inclusive design to understand the requirements and possibilities to create interfaces accessible for people with low vision or blind., Los cómics son narrativas visuales. Aunque ampliamente consumidos, el disfrute de estas historias por personas con diferentes tipos de discapacidad visual es restringido u obstaculizado en la gran mayoría de estos productos. En este sentido, este artículo tiene como objetivo analizar posibles recursos que pueden proporcionar la accesibilidad de los cómics para estos lectores. El marco teórico parte de la contextualización del lenguaje de los cómics como medio de narraciones secuenciales que tradicionalmente utiliza recursos visuales. Se discuten aspectos del diseño de interfaces y experiencia de usuario en plataformas digitales destinadas a la lectura de cómics, desde la perspectiva del diseño inclusivo, para entender cuáles son los requisitos y posibilidades para crear interfaces accesibles para personas con baja visión o ciegas., Histórias em quadrinhos são narrativas visuais. Embora amplamente consumidas, o aproveitamento dessas histórias por pessoas com diferentes tipos de deficiência visual é dificultado ou impedido na grande maioria destes produtos. Neste sentido, este artigo tem como objetivo analisar possíveis recursos que possam proporcionar o acesso às histórias em quadrinhos a estes leitores. O referencial teórico parte da contextualização da linguagem dos quadrinhos como uma mídia de narrativas sequenciais que tradicionalmente se utiliza de recursos visuais. São discutidos aspectos do design de interfaces e da experiência do usuário em plataformas digitais voltadas para a leitura de quadrinhos, sob a perspectiva do design inclusivo, para compreender quais são os requisitos e as possibilidades para a criação de interfaces acessíveis a pessoas com baixa visão ou cegas.

Neural Architecture Search (NAS) methods have been successfully applied to image tasks with excellent results. However, NAS methods are often complex and tend to converge to local minima as soon as generated architectures seem to yield good results. This paper proposes GEA, a novel approach for guided NAS. GEA guides the evolution by exploring the search space by generating and evaluating several architectures in each generation at initialisation stage using a zero-proxy estimator, where only the highest-scoring architecture is trained and kept for the next generation. Subsequently, GEA continuously extracts knowledge about the search space without increased complexity by generating several off-springs from an existing architecture at each generation. More, GEA forces exploitation of the most performant architectures by descendant generation while simultaneously driving exploration through parent mutation and favouring younger architectures to the detriment of older ones. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method, and extensive ablation studies evaluate the importance of different parameters. Results show that GEA achieves state-of-the-art results on all data sets of NAS-Bench-101, NAS-Bench-201 and TransNAS-Bench-101 benchmarks., Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures, 4 tables. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:2110.15232

T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land is one of the world's most popular and most studied poems, published 100 years ago in October 1922 in the first issue of the literary magazine, The Criterion. This exhibition celebrates the centenary of the publication of this remarkable poem with a display of archives and rare books from Special Collections and Archives.

The COVID-19 pandemic spread rapidly worldwide in the year 2020, which was initially restrained by drastic mobility restrictions. In this work, we investigated the use of illicit drugs (amphetamine, methamphetamine, ecstasy, cocaine and cannabis), and licit substances of abuse (alcohol and tobacco) during the earlier months (March-July 2020) of the pandemic restrictions in four Spanish (Bilbao and its metropolitan area, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Castellon and Santiago de Compostela) and two Portuguese (Porto and Vila do Conde) locations by wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE). The results show that no methamphetamine was detected in any of the locations monitored, while amphetamine use was only detectable in the two locations from the Basque Country (Bilbao and its metropolitan area and Vitoria Gasteiz), with high estimated average usage rates (700-930 mg day-1 1000 inhabitant-1). The remaining substances were detected in all the investigated catchment areas. In general, no remarkable changes were found in population normalized loads compared to former years, except for cocaine (i.e. its main metabolite, benzoylecgonine). For this drug, a notable decrease in use was discernible in Castellon, while its usage in Porto and Santiago de Compostela seemed to continue in a rising trend, already initiated in former years. Furthermore, two events of ecstasy (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, MDMA) dumping in the sewage network were confirmed by enantiomeric analysis, one in Santiago de Compostela just prior the lockdown and the second one in the Bilbao and its metropolitan area in July after relieving the more stringent measures. The latter could also be associated with a police intervention. The comparison of WBE with (web) survey data, which do not provide information at a local level, points towards contradictory conclusions for some of the substances, thereby highlighting the need for stable WBE networks capable of near real-time monitoring drug use.

Objective: To assess the inter-rater reliability of MScanFit MUNE using a “Round Robin” research design. Methods: Twelve raters from different centres examined six healthy study participants over two days. Median, ulnar and common peroneal nerves were stimulated, and compound muscle action potential (CMAP)-scans were recorded from abductor pollicis brevis (APB), abductor digiti minimi (ADM) and anterior tibial (TA) muscles respectively. From this we calculated the Motor Unit Number Estimation (MUNE) and “A50”, a motor unit size parameter. As statistical analysis we used the measures Limits of Agreement (LOA) and Coefficient of Variation (COV). Study participants scored their perception of pain from the examinations on a rating scale from 0 (no pain) to 10 (unbearable pain). Results: Before this study, 41.6% of the raters had performed MScanFit less than five times. The mean MUNE-values were: 99.6 (APB), 131.4 (ADM) and 126.2 (TA), with LOA: 19.5 (APB), 29.8 (ADM) and 20.7 (TA), and COV: 13.4 (APB), 6.3 (ADM) and 5.6 (TA). MUNE-values correlated to CMAP max amplitudes (R2-values were: 0.463 (APB) (p<0.001), 0.421 (ADM) (p<0.001) and 0.645 (TA) (p<0.001)). The average perception of pain was 4. Discussion: MScanFit indicates a high level of inter-rater reliability, even with only limited rater experience and is overall reasonably well tolerated by patients. These results may indicate MScanFit as a reliable MUNE method with potential as a biomarker in drug trials.

Geomorphic-based mine restoration of clay quarries in Tortosa (Catalonia) was co-funded by the European Union’s LIFE programme. The landform design was made with GeoFluv-Natural Regrade. Their building was performed with existing machinery pool and operators. The main constraint was the impossibility of setback regrading of pre-existing-benched highwalls. Progressive geomorphic mine restoration neither reduced mineral production nor changed the operations. The approach has resulted in higher landscape functionality and integration. Monitoring showed localised erosion due to poorly planned discharge of road runoff and sporadic tunnel erosion. Sediment movement at the designed drainage network is similar to the local fluvial dynamics., Unión Europea, Depto. de Geodinámica, Estratigrafía y Paleontología, Fac. de Ciencias Geológicas, TRUE, pub

Positron emission tomography (PET) amyloid quantification methods require magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for spatial registration and a priori reference region to scale the images. Furthermore, different tracers have distinct thresholds for positivity. We propose the AMYQ index, a new measure of amyloid burden, to overcome these limitations. We selected 18F-amyloid scans from ADNI and Australian Imaging, Biomarker & Lifestyle Flagship Study of Ageing (AIBL) with the corresponding T1-MRI. A subset also had neuropathological data. PET images were normalized, and the AMYQ was calculated based on an adaptive template. We compared AMYQ with the Centiloid scale on clinical and neuropathological diagnostic performance. AMYQ was related with amyloid neuropathological burden and had excellent diagnostic performance to discriminate controls from patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) (area under the curve [AUC] = 0.86). AMYQ had a high agreement with the Centiloid scale (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC] = 0.88) and AUC between 0.94 and 0.99 to discriminate PET positivity when using different Centiloid cutoffs. AMYQ is a new MRI-independent index for standardizing and quantifying amyloid load across tracers.

© The Author(s), 2021. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Magozzi, S., Thorrold, S. R., Houghton, L., Bendall, V. A., Hetherington, S., Mucientes, G., Natanson, L. J., Queiroz, N., Santos, M. N., & Trueman, C. N. Compound-specific stable isotope analysis of amino acids in pelagic shark vertebrae reveals baseline, trophic, and physiological effects on bulk protein isotope records. Frontiers in Marine Science, 8, (2021): 673016, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.673016., Variations in stable carbon and nitrogen isotope compositions in incremental tissues of pelagic sharks can be used to infer aspects of their spatial and trophic ecology across life-histories. Interpretations from bulk tissue isotopic compositions are complicated, however, because multiple processes influence these values, including variations in primary producer isotope ratios and consumer diets and physiological processing of metabolites. Here we challenge inferences about shark tropho-spatial ecology drawn from bulk tissue isotope data using data for amino acids. Stable isotope compositions of individual amino acids can partition the isotopic variance in bulk tissue into components associated with primary production on the one hand, and diet and physiology on the other. The carbon framework of essential amino acids (EAAs) can be synthesised de novo only by plants, fungi and bacteria and must be acquired by consumers through the diet. Consequently, the carbon isotopic composition of EAAs in consumers reflects that of primary producers in the location of feeding, whereas that of non-essential amino acids (non-EAAs) is additionally influenced by trophic fractionation and isotope dynamics of metabolic processing. We determined isotope chronologies from vertebrae of individual blue sharks and porbeagles from the North Atlantic. We measured carbon and nitrogen isotope compositions in bulk collagen and carbon isotope compositions of amino acids. Despite variability among individuals, common ontogenetic patterns in bulk isotope compositions were seen in both species. However, while life-history movement inferences from bulk analyses for blue sharks were supported by carbon isotope data from essential amino acids, inferences for porbeagles were not, implying that the observed trends in bulk protein isotope compositions in porbeagles have a trophic or physiological explanation, or are suprious effects. We explored variations in carbon isotope compositions of non-essential a, The internship of SM at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution was funded by the School of Ocean and Earth Science at University of Southampton. Stable isotope analyses were paid by CT and ST research budgets and SM Ph.D. and placement funding.

El eje vertebrador de este proyecto de innovación docente es la utilización de herramientas prácticas y didácticas para la enseñanza de los procesos que modelan el territorio y configuran el paisaje. De tal forma que mediante la utilización de estas herramientas en el laboratorio, se trasladarían las clases magistrales desarrolladas en aulas convencionales hacia unas clases más dinámicas en laboratorio, en las que el alumnado puede ver y manipular el “resultado” de la actuación de los procesos superficiales que modelan la superficie terrestre (con especial énfasis en la dinámica fluvial y procesos de ladera). Para alcanzar estos objetivos se plantean tres vías de actuación dentro del proyecto, que son complementarias entre sí. Como eje principal del proyecto se plantea la construcción de un modelo físico a escala (flumes) en el que se puedan representar los procesos de erosión – transporte – sedimentación ligados a la dinámica fluvial, y su dinámica en función del tipo de río (sinuoso - meandriforme o trenzado). La misma instalación (flume) también sirve de soporte para analizar procesos superficiales como la erodabilidad del terreno o vulnerabilidad a la erosión, utilizada en la Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE). La implementación de esta vía de actuación se ve sólidamente respaldada por la formación y líneas de investigación de los componentes PDI de la solicitud, que forman parte del Grupo de Investigación UCM 910391 – “Geomorfología Ambiental y de Riesgos”. La utilización de los modelos físicos a escala es común en instituciones de enseñanza de otros países; existiendo incluso empresas que los fabrican y comercializan (los conocidos modelos EMriver de “Little River Research & Design”). Estos modelos pueden ser de estructura fija o móvil, en función del tamaño de los mismos; como ejemplo de los primeros, el Centro de Estudios y Experimentación de Obras Públicas (CEDEX) tiene grandes (y costosos) flumes fluviales y costeros. Nuestro objetivo no es tan ambicioso

Este proyecto de innovación docente (Proyecto INNOVA-Docencia 2020/21 - Nº 301), continuación del proyecto INNOVA-Docencia 2019/20 - Nº 38, tiene dos grandes objetivos: a) enseñanza de formas y procesos geomorfológicos y b), el aprendizaje de técnicas de obtención de datos, fundamentales en el ámbito laboral. a) El primero de los objetivos, una vez el modelo a escala de río (flume) fue construido en el proyecto INNOVA-Docencia 2019/20 - Nº 38, ha sido mostrar a los alumnos el funcionamiento de la dinámica fluvial como medio efectivo de transformación de la superficie del terreno (debido a los procesos de erosión y sedimentación fluvial) y modelación del paisaje. Para lograr este objetivo, se proponen varias configuraciones iniciales de un tramo de cauce (modificando principalmente el grado de sinuosidad inicial del cauce, y su pendiente longitudinal). b) Para lograr el segundo de los objetivos, se introducirá a los alumnos en el técnica de la fotogrametría digital de detalle, también denominada SfM (del término en inglés “Structure from Motion”), en la que a partir de la toma de fotogramas digitales y mediante el uso de programas de fotogrametría, se generarán modelos digitales del terreno que permitirán la comparación de la superficie del flume en diferentes instantes temporales de las simulaciones (instantes inicial – medio – final). De tal forma que posteriormente esos modelos digitales del terreno (MDT) se implementarán dentro de un entorno SIG (Sistemas de Información Geográfica) para la estimación y delimitación espacial de las zonas modificadas a lo largo de la simulación (zonas de predominio de los procesos de erosión o de sedimentación fluvial). Los objetivos planteados se desarrollan a partir de una idea central, que es que la enseñanza y aprendizaje de la geomorfología y sus procesos asociados requiere de una notable visión tridimensional y espacial. Sin embargo, en muchos casos no es sencillo trasladar el conocimiento geomorfológico a través de gráficos

Currently, studies around the organization of training processes through tasks have become one of the emerging lines in Sports Sciences. Therefore, the present paperwork aimed to analyze the way of acting of a technical body of a soccer team in school age, U12, as well as to know the relationship of the means of initiation to training and the pedagogical, external load, and organizational variables that influence the design of homework. For this, a total of 177 training tasks framed during five competitive months were examined. In order to categorize the tasks, the Comprehensive System for the Analysis of Training Tasks was used to study the variables identified by the technical staff. A descriptive and difference analysis was conducted of the variables proposed in the study with the training initiation medium. The results demonstrated the existence of associations between the training initiation medium and the variables game situation, game phase, content-type, specific content (pedagogical). Associations were also identified/found in the variables density, number of simultaneous performers, competitive load, game space, and cognitive involvement (external load), and the participation variable (organizational). Associations were also found in the variables density, number of simultaneous performers, competitive load, game space, and cognitive involvement (external load), and the participation variable (organizational). Therefore, these results show the importance of knowing the restrictions related to the workload of training tasks. In addition, they provide the technical body with information on an easy, affordable, and informative tool to quantify workload. This method should be considered as a complement to portable devices for training load control and monitoring in invasion sports., Atualmente, estudos sobre a organização de processos de treinamento por meio da tarefa de casa, se tornaram uma das linhas emergentes na ciência do esporte. Portanto, o objetivo deste trabalho foi analisar o modo de atuação de uma equipe técnica de um time de futebol em idade escolar, sub-12, bem como conhecer a associação dos meios de iniciação ao treinamento e as variáveis pedagógica, carga externa e organizacional que influenciam no desenho das tarefas. Para isso, um total de 177 tarefas de treinamento enquadradas durante cinco meses competitivos foram examinados. Com o objetivo de categorizar essas tarefas, a ferramenta utilizada foi o Sistema abrangente para a análise de tarefas de treinamento, a fim de estudar as variáveis identificadas pelo corpo técnico. Foi realizada uma análise descritiva e de diferença entre as variáveis propostas na pesquisa, com base nos meios de iniciação ao treinamento. Os resultados demonstraram a existência de associações entre os meios de iniciação ao treinamento e as variáveis situação do jogo, fase do jogo, tipo de conteúdo, conteúdo específico (pedagógico). Estas associações foram também encontradas nas variáveis densidade, número de artistas simultâneos, carga competitiva, espaço de jogo e envolvimento cognitivo (a partir de carga externa), e a variável participação (organizacional). Portanto, esses resultados mostram a importância de conhecer as restrições relacionadas à carga horária das tarefas de treinamento. Além disso, fornecem à equipe técnica informações sobre uma ferramenta fácil, acessível e informativa para quantificar a carga de trabalho. Este método deve ser considerado um complemento aos dispositivos inerciais para treinamento e monitoramento de controle de carga em esportes de invasão., Actualmente, los estudios en torno a la organización de los procesos de entrenamiento mediante las tareas se han convertido en una de las líneas emergentes en las ciencias del deporte. Por ello, el objetivo del presente trabajo fue analizar el modo de actuación de un cuerpo técnico de un equipo de fútbol en edad escolar, sub-12, así como conocer la asociación del medio de iniciación al entrenamiento y las variables pedagógicas, de carga externa y organizativas que influyen en el diseño de las tareas. Para ello, se examinó un total de 177 tareas de entrenamiento enmarcadas durante cinco meses competitivos. Con miras a la categorización de dichas tareas, se utilizó la herramienta Sistema Integral para el Análisis de las Tareas de Entrenamiento, con la finalidad de estudiar las variables identificadas por el cuerpo técnico. Se realizó un análisis descriptivo y de diferencias entre las variables planteadas en la investigación, con base en el medio de iniciación al entrenamiento. Los resultados demostraron la existencia de asociaciones entre el medio de iniciación al entrenamiento y las variables situación de juego, fase de juego, tipo de contenido, contenido específico (pedagógicas). Estas asociaciones también fueron encontradas en las variables: densidad, número de ejecutantes simultáneos, carga competitiva, espacio de juego e implicación cognitiva (de carga externa), y la variable participación (organizativa). Por tanto, tales resultados evidencian la importancia de conocer las restricciones relacionadas con la carga de trabajo de las tareas de entrenamiento. Además, proporcionan al cuerpo técnico información sobre una herramienta fácil, asequible e informativa para cuantificar la carga de trabajo. Este método debe considerarse como un complemento de los dispositivos inerciales para el entrenamiento del control de la carga y monitoreo en deportes de invasión.

Several studies show that many water bodies in developing countries are increasingly affected by anthropogenic pressure, such as agricultural activities, domestic and industrial wastewater. However, data is scarce in several of such countries, including Panama. Thus, in this work, the ecotoxicological status of selected rivers in Panama with distinct input sources were evaluated using the zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryo bioassays combined with a liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry screening of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), using a library of over 3200 chemicals. A total of 68 CECs, including pharmaceuticals and metabolites, pesticides and several industrial chemicals, could be tentatively identified. Additionally, the zebrafish embryo bioassays showed a significant increase (p < 0.05) in embryo mortality/abnormalities when incubated with water samples from two rivers, Matasnillo and Curundú (47.5% and 32%, respectively). Importantly, a positive correlation between ecotoxicological endpoints and some of the detected CECs was observed. The findings demonstrate that both rivers are under strong anthropogenic pressure, and therefore, management actions are urgently needed to decrease their level of contamination. Overall, this study further supports the use of the zebrafish embryo bioassay as a fast, high throughput approach for screening the toxicity of water samples, and highlights the advantages of combining ecotoxicological assays with high-resolution mass spectrometry to an expedite assessment of the ecotoxicological status of water bodies.

Neural Architecture Search (NAS) methods have been successfully applied to image tasks with excellent results. However, NAS methods are often complex and tend to converge to local minima as soon as generated architectures seem to yield good results. In this paper, we propose G-EA, a novel approach for guided evolutionary NAS. The rationale behind G-EA, is to explore the search space by generating and evaluating several architectures in each generation at initialization stage using a zero-proxy estimator, where only the highest-scoring network is trained and kept for the next generation. This evaluation at initialization stage allows continuous extraction of knowledge from the search space without increasing computation, thus allowing the search to be efficiently guided. Moreover, G-EA forces exploitation of the most performant networks by descendant generation while at the same time forcing exploration by parent mutation and by favouring younger architectures to the detriment of older ones. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method, showing that G-EA achieves state-of-the-art results in NAS-Bench-201 search space in CIFAR-10, CIFAR-100 and ImageNet16-120, with mean accuracies of 93.98%, 72.12% and 45.94% respectively., Comment: Paper accepted at 35th Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems (NeurIPS) - New In ML. 9 pages, 2 figures, 1 table

In Spain, after the irruption of the pandemic, the Short Time Work Schemes (STWS) have been raised as essential instruments to contain job destruction. As in a large part of the European Union, these legal figures have absorbed great attention since March. They serve as a pillar of employment and business maintenance, trying to achieve as an objective unemployment curb and a less destruction of economic activity. However, as the health crisis lengthens, with an uncertain scenario, doubts about the sustainability of the successful of these STWS arise. The uneven situation between people with and without jobs (a duality reflected by temporary contracts, long-term unemployment, inactivity, as well as by vulnerable groups, such as young people and women, among others), and the arrival of the inevitable adjustment, via external flexibility, of certain sectors and companies, highlights the need to rethink the political agenda with measures that address the structural problems and weaknesses, En España, tras la llegada de la pandemia, los Expedientes de Regulación Temporal de Empleo (ERTEs) se han alzado como instrumentos esenciales para contener la caída del empleo. Al igual que en gran parte de la Unión Europea, estas figuras jurídicas absorben desde marzo gran protagonismo. Están sirviendo como pilar del mantenimiento de empleo y empresas, tratando de lograr como objetivo el freno del paro y una menor destrucción de actividad económica. Sin embargo, a medida que se alarga la crisis sanitaria, con un escenario aún de incertidumbre, se plantean preguntas sobre la sostenibilidad del logro de los ERTEs. La desigual situación entre personas con empleo y sin él (una dualidad reflejada por contratos temporales, desempleo de larga duración, inactividad, como por los colectivos vulnerables, entre otros jóvenes y mujeres), junto al inevitable ajuste vía flexibilidad externa en determinados sectores y empresas, ponen de manifiesto la necesidad de reconducir la agenda política con medidas que atiendan los problemas y debilidades estructurales

Cancer cells enter a reversible drug-tolerant persister (DTP) state to evade death from chemotherapy and targeted agents. It is increasingly appreciated that DTPs are important drivers of therapy failure and tumor relapse. We combined cellular barcoding and mathematical modeling in patient-derived colorectal cancer models to identify and characterize DTPs in response to chemotherapy. Barcode analysis revealed no loss of clonal complexity of tumors that entered the DTP state and recurred following treatment cessation. Our data fit a mathematical model where all cancer cells, and not a small subpopulation, possess an equipotent capacity to become DTPs. Mechanistically, we determined that DTPs display remarkable transcriptional and functional similarities to diapause, a reversible state of suspended embryonic development triggered by unfavorable environmental conditions. Our study provides insight into how cancer cells use a developmentally conserved mechanism to drive the DTP state, pointing to novel therapeutic opportunities to target DTPs., SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

Importance:The ability to predict the pathology underlying different neurodegenerative syndromes is of critical importance owing to the advent of molecule-specific therapies. Objective:To determine the rates of positron emission tomography (PET) amyloid positivity in the main clinical variants of primary progressive aphasia (PPA). Design, Setting, and Participants:This prospective clinical-pathologic case series was conducted at a tertiary research clinic specialized in cognitive disorders. Patients were evaluated as part of a prospective, longitudinal research study between January 2002 and December 2015. Inclusion criteria included clinical diagnosis of PPA; availability of complete speech, language, and cognitive testing; magnetic resonance imaging performed within 6 months of the cognitive evaluation; and PET carbon 11-labeled Pittsburgh Compound-B or florbetapir F 18 brain scan results. Of 109 patients referred for evaluation of language symptoms who underwent amyloid brain imaging, 3 were excluded because of incomplete language evaluations, 5 for absence of significant aphasia, and 12 for presenting with significant initial symptoms outside of the language domain, leaving a cohort of 89 patients with PPA. Main Outcomes and Measures:Clinical, cognitive, neuroimaging, and pathology results. Results:Twenty-eight cases were classified as imaging-supported semantic variant PPA (11 women [39.3%]; mean [SD] age, 64 [7] years), 31 nonfluent/agrammatic variant PPA (22 women [71.0%]; mean [SD] age, 68 [7] years), 26 logopenic variant PPA (17 women [65.4%]; mean [SD] age, 63 [8] years), and 4 mixed PPA cases. Twenty-four of 28 patients with semantic variant PPA (86%) and 28 of 31 patients with nonfluent/agrammatic variant PPA (90%) had negative amyloid PET scan results, while 25 of 26 patients with logopenic variant PPA (96%) and 3 of 4 mixed PPA cases (75%) had positive scan results. The amyloid positive semantic variant PPA and nonfluent/agrammatic variant PPA cases wi

Adv. Healthcare Mater. 2020, 9, 1901667 DOI: 10.1002/adhm.201901667 In the original version of this article, there was a mistake in Figure 3 due to errors during the compilation of the images. The correct figure is shown below. This mistake does not affect the results, discussions and conclusions published in this work, and the authors apologize for any confusion caused.

Encapsulation devices are an emerging barrier technology designed to prevent the immunorejection of replacement cells in regenerative therapies for intractable diseases. However, traditional polymers used in current devices are poor substrates for cell attachment and induce fibrosis upon implantation, impacting long-term therapeutic cell viability. Bioactivation of polymer surfaces improves local host responses to materials, and here we make the first step toward demonstrating the utility of this approach to improve cell survival within encapsulation implants. Using therapeutic islet cells as an exemplar cell therapy, we show that internal surface coatings improve islet cell attachment and viability, while distinct external coatings modulate local foreign body responses. Using plasma surface functionalization (plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII)), we employ hollow fiber semiporous poly(ether sulfone) (PES) encapsulation membranes and coat the internal surfaces with the extracellular matrix protein fibronectin (FN) to enhance islet cell attachment. Separately, the external fiber surface is coated with the anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-4 (IL-4) to polarize local macrophages to an M2 (anti-inflammatory) phenotype, muting the fibrotic response. To demonstrate the power of our approach, bioluminescent murine islet cells were loaded into dual FN/IL-4-coated fibers and evaluated in a mouse back model for 14 days. Dual FN/IL-4 fibers showed striking reductions in immune cell accumulation and elevated levels of the M2 macrophage phenotype, consistent with the suppression of fibrotic encapsulation and enhanced angiogenesis. These changes led to markedly enhanced islet cell survival and importantly to functional integration of the implant with the host vasculature. Dual FN/IL-4 surface coatings drive multifaceted improvements in islet cell survival and function, with significant implications for improving clinical translation of therapeutic cell-containing mac