Journal of agricultural and food chemistry, Jan 16, 2002
The natural contamination of shellfish with diarrheic shellfish toxins (DSP) has important public... more The natural contamination of shellfish with diarrheic shellfish toxins (DSP) has important public health implications. To avoid the economic effects of toxic episodes on shellfish farmers and the related industry, research on artificial methods alternative to the natural detoxification of shellfish is needed. Because the usual thermal processes are not efficient, alternative technologies have to be studied. Here preliminary results are presented about the lability of the DSP toxin okadaic acid in a supercritical atmosphere of carbon dioxide with acetic acid. Most of the toxin is eliminated (up to 90%), and the biological activity against its target enzyme is also severely affected (up to 70% reduction). Detoxification of contaminated shellfish requires a partial dehydration, and the detoxification yield is lower than that obtained with free toxin. Mass spectrometry experiments suggest that acetylation of the toxin molecule is not the basis of the inactivating mechanism, but a conformational change is suggested. This is the first report of the use of supercritical fluids to inactivate toxins.
Brain research. Developmental brain research, Jan 19, 2004
The present study show that maternal adrenalectomy affect the developmental model of the dopamine... more The present study show that maternal adrenalectomy affect the developmental model of the dopaminergic system in the hypothalamus and hippocampus, with sexual dimorphism observed in both areas. No changes were observed in the developmental dopamine (DA) model of the cortex and striatum through dopamine levels were increased in striatum. D
The mechanism of the neuroprotective action of the tetracycline antibiotic minocycline against va... more The mechanism of the neuroprotective action of the tetracycline antibiotic minocycline against various neuron insults is controversial.
Genome wide association studies (GWAS) has allowed the discovery of some interesting risk variant... more Genome wide association studies (GWAS) has allowed the discovery of some interesting risk variants for schizophrenia (SCZ). However, this high-throughput approach presents some limitations, being the most important the necessity of highly restrictive statistical corrections as well as the loss of statistical power inherent to the use of a Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) analysis approach. These problems can be partially solved through the use of a polygenic approach. We performed a genotyping study in SCZ using 86 previously associated SNPs identified by GWAS of SCZ, bipolar disorder (BPD) and autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) patients. The sample consisted of 3063 independent cases with DSM-IV-TR diagnosis of SCZ and 2847 independent controls of European origin from Spain. A polygenic score analysis was also used to test the overall effect on the SCZ status. One SNP, rs12290811, located in the ODZ4 gene reached statistical significance (p=1.7×10(-4), Allelic odds ratio=1.21), a value very near to those reported in previous GWAS of BPD patients. In addition, 4 SNPs were close to the significant threshold: rs3850333, in the NRXN1 gene; rs6932590, at MHC; rs2314398, located in an intergenic region on chromosome 2; and rs1006737, in the CACNA1C gene. We also found that 74% of the studied SNPs showed the same tendency (risk or protection alleles) previously reported in the original GWAS…
This paper has two readings. The first one consists in the description of the technical approach ... more This paper has two readings. The first one consists in the description of the technical approach followed in the development of a system participating at the 2009 Web People Search Clustering Task . The second reading is about an educational experiment by which a group of 12 students following a course on Intelligent Systems (in the last year of their MSc degree in Telecommunication Engineering) have fully developed such a system. Technically, the system can be defined as a baseline for future research, with basic and easy to implement approaches for every system module.
Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) arises from the malignant transformation of a hematopoietic stem c... more Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) arises from the malignant transformation of a hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) that gives rise to functionally defective progeny, including primitive and relatively mature progenitor cells (HPC). Both HSC and HPC are comprised within the population of CD34+ cells, normally present in bone marrow (BM). In the present study, we have separated two different subpopulations of CD34+ cells from CML marrow: Population I, enriched for CD34+ Lin− cells; and Population II, enriched for CD34+ CD36− CD38− CD45RA− Lin− cells, and assessed their progenitor cell content as well as their capacity to proliferate and expand in response to a combination of hematopoietic cytokines in serum- and stroma-free long-term liquid cultures. The absolute cell numbers recovered in Population I from normal and CML samples were similar; in contrast, we found that Population II from CML was amplified four-fold, as compared to normal. In spite of this latter observation, no significant differences were observed in terms of the absolute number of CFC when comparing Populations I and II from CML patients and normal subjects. Interestingly, the proliferation and expansion potentials of CML cells were clearly deficient as compared to their normal counterparts. Indeed, in cultures of Population I cells the maximum fold increase in total and progenitor cell numbers corresponded to 30 and 8%, respectively, of those observed in cultures of normal marrow-derived Population I cells. Such functional deficiencies were even more evident in Population II cells in which the maximum fold increase in total and progenitor cell numbers corresponded to 3 and 0.5%, respectively, of the levels found in cultures of Population II cells from normal marrow. The present study demonstrates that bone marrow-derived CD34+ cells from CML patients possess functional abnormalities, clearly evident in the in vitro system used by us. Among the two CML subpopulations studied here, the more immature one (Population II; enriched for CD34+ CD36− CD38− CD45RA− Lin− cells) was the one that showed the most severe abnormalities, as compared to its relatively more mature counterpart (Population I; enriched for CD34+ Lin− cells).
The effects of large heads on stresses at the THA trunnion-head junction and their impact on trib... more The effects of large heads on stresses at the THA trunnion-head junction and their impact on tribocorrosion/metal ion release remain controversial. A 12/14 3D-model of a stem with different head sizes was investigated. Material properties of titanium were assigned to the trunnion and cobalt-chrome/alumina to the heads. A load simulating walking single-leg stand phase was applied to the head. A total contact head-trunnion interface was assumed. The area underneath the junction underwent significant elevations in stresses as head size increased from 28- to 40-mm. Maximum principal stress doubled between 28 and 40-mm heads, regardless of head material. Stress levels had a direct correlation to head diameter. Stress increases observed using increasingly larger heads will probably contribute to head-trunnion tribocorrosion and ion release.
La fibromialgia (FM) constituye un síndrome de dolor crónico de comienzo insidioso caracterizado ... more La fibromialgia (FM) constituye un síndrome de dolor crónico de comienzo insidioso caracterizado por dolor músculo-esquelético generalizado y difuso. Sin embargo, los exámenes físicos muestran valores normales en la mayoría de los indicadores relacionados con músculos, nervios o tendones, tales como fuerza o elasticidad, siendo el único síntoma físico contrastable la presencia de sensibilidad a la palpación en áreas localizadas específicas, denominadas puntos sensibles o 'tender points , situados de manera simétrica sobre diferentes músculos, huesos o articulaciones. De esta forma, el Colegio Americano de Reumatología destacó únicamente la presencia de dos criterios recomendados para el diagnóstico de FM: dolor músculo-esquelético generalizado en ambas partes del cuerpo y por encima y debajo de la cintura, y dolor en 11 del total de los 18 puntos sensibles
The study of financial markets has been addressed in many works during the last years. Different ... more The study of financial markets has been addressed in many works during the last years. Different methods have been used in order to capture the non-linear behavior which is characteristic of these complex systems. The development of profitable strategies has been associated with the predictive character of the market movement, and special attention has been devoted to forecast the trends of financial markets. This work performs a predictive study of the principal index of the Brazilian stock market through artificial neural networks and the adaptive exponential smoothing method, respectively. The objective is to compare the forecasting performance of both methods on this market index, and in particular, to evaluate the accuracy of both methods to predict the sign of the market returns. Also the influence on the results of some parameters associated to both methods is studied. Our results show that both methods produce similar results regarding the prediction of the index returns. On the contrary, the neural networks outperform the adaptive exponential smoothing method in the forecasting of the market movement, with relative hit rates similar to the ones found in other developed markets.
En este trabajo se presentan la metodología y los resultados de la evaluación de impacto del prog... more En este trabajo se presentan la metodología y los resultados de la evaluación de impacto del programa Jóvenes Rurales Emprendedores del Sena (JRE). Una vez aplicada la metodología Propensity Score Matching (PSM), diferencias en diferencias y la combinación de ambas, se encontró que participar de cursos del programa de JRE tiene efectos positivos en el ingreso laboral por hora de
Ensuring that the two 27km beam pipes of the LHC do not contain aperture restrictions is of utmos... more Ensuring that the two 27km beam pipes of the LHC do not contain aperture restrictions is of utmost importance. Most of the ring is composed of continuous cryostats, so any intervention to remove aperture restrictions when the machine is at its operating temperature of 1.9K will require a substantial amount of time. On warming-up the first cooled sector, several of the sliding contacts which provide electrical continuity for the beam image current between successive sections of the vacuum chamber were found to have buckled into the beam pipe. This led to a search for a technique to verify the integrity of a complete LHC arc (~3km) before any subsequent cool-down.
The upper critical field $H_{c2}$ is one of the many non conventional properties of high-$T_c$ cu... more The upper critical field $H_{c2}$ is one of the many non conventional properties of high-$T_c$ cuprates. It is possible that the $H_{c2}(T)$ anomalies are due to the presence of inhomogeneities in the local charge carrier density $\rho$ of the $CuO_2$ planes. In order to study this point, we have prepared good quality samples of polycrystalline $La_{2-x}Sr_xCuO_{4}$ using the wet-chemical method, which has demonstrated to produce samples with a better cation distribution. In particular, we have studied the temperature dependence of the second critical field, $H_{c2}(T)$, through the magnetization measurements on two samples with opposite average carrier concentration ($\rho_m=x$) and nearly the same critical temperature, namely $\rho_m = 0.08$ (underdoped) and $\rho_m = 0.25$ (overdoped). The results close to $T_c$ do not follow the usual Ginzburg-Landau theory and are interpreted by a theory which takes into account the influence of the inhomogeneities.
A series of bis-2,5-[4-guanidinophenyl]thiophenes were prepared in a five step process starting f... more A series of bis-2,5-[4-guanidinophenyl]thiophenes were prepared in a five step process starting from 2,5-bis[trimethylstannyl]thiophene. The compounds were evaluated in vitro against Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense (T. b. r.), Plasmodium falciparum (P. f.), Leshmania donovani (L. d.) and Trypanasoma cruzi (T. c.), and in vivo against T. b. r. Certain compounds show promising in vitro activity against T. b. r. and P. f. and have superior in vivo activity against T. b. r. to that of pentamidine and furamidine.
Improving interventions with victims and offenders with disabilities requires analysis of the deg... more Improving interventions with victims and offenders with disabilities requires analysis of the degree of prevalence of crimes in which these people are involved. For this purpose, data regarding interventions made by the Spanish Civil Guard between 2008 and 2010, in which 2,099 people had some kind of disability, have been collected and analyzed, with particular regard to criminal offenses (felonies and/or misdemeanors). In this study, the relationship between the types of disability a person has and other variables like their connection to the incident, their gender, age, the relationship between victim and perpetrator, and the time and place of the events were all taken into consideration. The results show that most of the victims with disabilities served by the Spanish Civil Guard were male. The interventions were mainly aid and rescues. Criminal offenses were only 20% of the events.
Background: Chronic pain is likely to lead to depressive symptoms, but the nature of this relatio... more Background: Chronic pain is likely to lead to depressive symptoms, but the nature of this relationship is not completely clear. The aim of the present study is to analyze the role of activity restriction in the pain-depression relationship in older people, and to test the hypothesis that this role is more relevant in community-dwelling older people than in nursing home residents.
Journal of perinatology : official journal of the California Perinatal Association, 2002
To determine if amnioinfused normal saline or lactated Ringer&amp... more To determine if amnioinfused normal saline or lactated Ringer's solution in cases of meconium-stained amniotic fluid is associated with significant changes on neonatal plasma electrolyte concentrations or pH. This was a prospective randomized study using normal saline or lactated Ringer's solution for amnioinfusion in women with thick meconium in the amniotic fluid. The control group was composed of women with clear amniotic fluid not receiving amnioinfusion. Cord blood arterial sampling was analyzed for sodium, potassium, and chloride plasma concentrations and pH. The sample sizes allowed for an alpha of 0.05 and power of 0.80. We evaluated 61 cases (20 normal saline solution, 20 lactated…
Journal of agricultural and food chemistry, Jan 16, 2002
The natural contamination of shellfish with diarrheic shellfish toxins (DSP) has important public... more The natural contamination of shellfish with diarrheic shellfish toxins (DSP) has important public health implications. To avoid the economic effects of toxic episodes on shellfish farmers and the related industry, research on artificial methods alternative to the natural detoxification of shellfish is needed. Because the usual thermal processes are not efficient, alternative technologies have to be studied. Here preliminary results are presented about the lability of the DSP toxin okadaic acid in a supercritical atmosphere of carbon dioxide with acetic acid. Most of the toxin is eliminated (up to 90%), and the biological activity against its target enzyme is also severely affected (up to 70% reduction). Detoxification of contaminated shellfish requires a partial dehydration, and the detoxification yield is lower than that obtained with free toxin. Mass spectrometry experiments suggest that acetylation of the toxin molecule is not the basis of the inactivating mechanism, but a conformational change is suggested. This is the first report of the use of supercritical fluids to inactivate toxins.
Brain research. Developmental brain research, Jan 19, 2004
The present study show that maternal adrenalectomy affect the developmental model of the dopamine... more The present study show that maternal adrenalectomy affect the developmental model of the dopaminergic system in the hypothalamus and hippocampus, with sexual dimorphism observed in both areas. No changes were observed in the developmental dopamine (DA) model of the cortex and striatum through dopamine levels were increased in striatum. D
The mechanism of the neuroprotective action of the tetracycline antibiotic minocycline against va... more The mechanism of the neuroprotective action of the tetracycline antibiotic minocycline against various neuron insults is controversial.
Genome wide association studies (GWAS) has allowed the discovery of some interesting risk variant... more Genome wide association studies (GWAS) has allowed the discovery of some interesting risk variants for schizophrenia (SCZ). However, this high-throughput approach presents some limitations, being the most important the necessity of highly restrictive statistical corrections as well as the loss of statistical power inherent to the use of a Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) analysis approach. These problems can be partially solved through the use of a polygenic approach. We performed a genotyping study in SCZ using 86 previously associated SNPs identified by GWAS of SCZ, bipolar disorder (BPD) and autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) patients. The sample consisted of 3063 independent cases with DSM-IV-TR diagnosis of SCZ and 2847 independent controls of European origin from Spain. A polygenic score analysis was also used to test the overall effect on the SCZ status. One SNP, rs12290811, located in the ODZ4 gene reached statistical significance (p=1.7×10(-4), Allelic odds ratio=1.21), a value very near to those reported in previous GWAS of BPD patients. In addition, 4 SNPs were close to the significant threshold: rs3850333, in the NRXN1 gene; rs6932590, at MHC; rs2314398, located in an intergenic region on chromosome 2; and rs1006737, in the CACNA1C gene. We also found that 74% of the studied SNPs showed the same tendency (risk or protection alleles) previously reported in the original GWAS…
This paper has two readings. The first one consists in the description of the technical approach ... more This paper has two readings. The first one consists in the description of the technical approach followed in the development of a system participating at the 2009 Web People Search Clustering Task . The second reading is about an educational experiment by which a group of 12 students following a course on Intelligent Systems (in the last year of their MSc degree in Telecommunication Engineering) have fully developed such a system. Technically, the system can be defined as a baseline for future research, with basic and easy to implement approaches for every system module.
Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) arises from the malignant transformation of a hematopoietic stem c... more Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) arises from the malignant transformation of a hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) that gives rise to functionally defective progeny, including primitive and relatively mature progenitor cells (HPC). Both HSC and HPC are comprised within the population of CD34+ cells, normally present in bone marrow (BM). In the present study, we have separated two different subpopulations of CD34+ cells from CML marrow: Population I, enriched for CD34+ Lin− cells; and Population II, enriched for CD34+ CD36− CD38− CD45RA− Lin− cells, and assessed their progenitor cell content as well as their capacity to proliferate and expand in response to a combination of hematopoietic cytokines in serum- and stroma-free long-term liquid cultures. The absolute cell numbers recovered in Population I from normal and CML samples were similar; in contrast, we found that Population II from CML was amplified four-fold, as compared to normal. In spite of this latter observation, no significant differences were observed in terms of the absolute number of CFC when comparing Populations I and II from CML patients and normal subjects. Interestingly, the proliferation and expansion potentials of CML cells were clearly deficient as compared to their normal counterparts. Indeed, in cultures of Population I cells the maximum fold increase in total and progenitor cell numbers corresponded to 30 and 8%, respectively, of those observed in cultures of normal marrow-derived Population I cells. Such functional deficiencies were even more evident in Population II cells in which the maximum fold increase in total and progenitor cell numbers corresponded to 3 and 0.5%, respectively, of the levels found in cultures of Population II cells from normal marrow. The present study demonstrates that bone marrow-derived CD34+ cells from CML patients possess functional abnormalities, clearly evident in the in vitro system used by us. Among the two CML subpopulations studied here, the more immature one (Population II; enriched for CD34+ CD36− CD38− CD45RA− Lin− cells) was the one that showed the most severe abnormalities, as compared to its relatively more mature counterpart (Population I; enriched for CD34+ Lin− cells).
The effects of large heads on stresses at the THA trunnion-head junction and their impact on trib... more The effects of large heads on stresses at the THA trunnion-head junction and their impact on tribocorrosion/metal ion release remain controversial. A 12/14 3D-model of a stem with different head sizes was investigated. Material properties of titanium were assigned to the trunnion and cobalt-chrome/alumina to the heads. A load simulating walking single-leg stand phase was applied to the head. A total contact head-trunnion interface was assumed. The area underneath the junction underwent significant elevations in stresses as head size increased from 28- to 40-mm. Maximum principal stress doubled between 28 and 40-mm heads, regardless of head material. Stress levels had a direct correlation to head diameter. Stress increases observed using increasingly larger heads will probably contribute to head-trunnion tribocorrosion and ion release.
La fibromialgia (FM) constituye un síndrome de dolor crónico de comienzo insidioso caracterizado ... more La fibromialgia (FM) constituye un síndrome de dolor crónico de comienzo insidioso caracterizado por dolor músculo-esquelético generalizado y difuso. Sin embargo, los exámenes físicos muestran valores normales en la mayoría de los indicadores relacionados con músculos, nervios o tendones, tales como fuerza o elasticidad, siendo el único síntoma físico contrastable la presencia de sensibilidad a la palpación en áreas localizadas específicas, denominadas puntos sensibles o 'tender points , situados de manera simétrica sobre diferentes músculos, huesos o articulaciones. De esta forma, el Colegio Americano de Reumatología destacó únicamente la presencia de dos criterios recomendados para el diagnóstico de FM: dolor músculo-esquelético generalizado en ambas partes del cuerpo y por encima y debajo de la cintura, y dolor en 11 del total de los 18 puntos sensibles
The study of financial markets has been addressed in many works during the last years. Different ... more The study of financial markets has been addressed in many works during the last years. Different methods have been used in order to capture the non-linear behavior which is characteristic of these complex systems. The development of profitable strategies has been associated with the predictive character of the market movement, and special attention has been devoted to forecast the trends of financial markets. This work performs a predictive study of the principal index of the Brazilian stock market through artificial neural networks and the adaptive exponential smoothing method, respectively. The objective is to compare the forecasting performance of both methods on this market index, and in particular, to evaluate the accuracy of both methods to predict the sign of the market returns. Also the influence on the results of some parameters associated to both methods is studied. Our results show that both methods produce similar results regarding the prediction of the index returns. On the contrary, the neural networks outperform the adaptive exponential smoothing method in the forecasting of the market movement, with relative hit rates similar to the ones found in other developed markets.
En este trabajo se presentan la metodología y los resultados de la evaluación de impacto del prog... more En este trabajo se presentan la metodología y los resultados de la evaluación de impacto del programa Jóvenes Rurales Emprendedores del Sena (JRE). Una vez aplicada la metodología Propensity Score Matching (PSM), diferencias en diferencias y la combinación de ambas, se encontró que participar de cursos del programa de JRE tiene efectos positivos en el ingreso laboral por hora de
Ensuring that the two 27km beam pipes of the LHC do not contain aperture restrictions is of utmos... more Ensuring that the two 27km beam pipes of the LHC do not contain aperture restrictions is of utmost importance. Most of the ring is composed of continuous cryostats, so any intervention to remove aperture restrictions when the machine is at its operating temperature of 1.9K will require a substantial amount of time. On warming-up the first cooled sector, several of the sliding contacts which provide electrical continuity for the beam image current between successive sections of the vacuum chamber were found to have buckled into the beam pipe. This led to a search for a technique to verify the integrity of a complete LHC arc (~3km) before any subsequent cool-down.
The upper critical field $H_{c2}$ is one of the many non conventional properties of high-$T_c$ cu... more The upper critical field $H_{c2}$ is one of the many non conventional properties of high-$T_c$ cuprates. It is possible that the $H_{c2}(T)$ anomalies are due to the presence of inhomogeneities in the local charge carrier density $\rho$ of the $CuO_2$ planes. In order to study this point, we have prepared good quality samples of polycrystalline $La_{2-x}Sr_xCuO_{4}$ using the wet-chemical method, which has demonstrated to produce samples with a better cation distribution. In particular, we have studied the temperature dependence of the second critical field, $H_{c2}(T)$, through the magnetization measurements on two samples with opposite average carrier concentration ($\rho_m=x$) and nearly the same critical temperature, namely $\rho_m = 0.08$ (underdoped) and $\rho_m = 0.25$ (overdoped). The results close to $T_c$ do not follow the usual Ginzburg-Landau theory and are interpreted by a theory which takes into account the influence of the inhomogeneities.
A series of bis-2,5-[4-guanidinophenyl]thiophenes were prepared in a five step process starting f... more A series of bis-2,5-[4-guanidinophenyl]thiophenes were prepared in a five step process starting from 2,5-bis[trimethylstannyl]thiophene. The compounds were evaluated in vitro against Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense (T. b. r.), Plasmodium falciparum (P. f.), Leshmania donovani (L. d.) and Trypanasoma cruzi (T. c.), and in vivo against T. b. r. Certain compounds show promising in vitro activity against T. b. r. and P. f. and have superior in vivo activity against T. b. r. to that of pentamidine and furamidine.
Improving interventions with victims and offenders with disabilities requires analysis of the deg... more Improving interventions with victims and offenders with disabilities requires analysis of the degree of prevalence of crimes in which these people are involved. For this purpose, data regarding interventions made by the Spanish Civil Guard between 2008 and 2010, in which 2,099 people had some kind of disability, have been collected and analyzed, with particular regard to criminal offenses (felonies and/or misdemeanors). In this study, the relationship between the types of disability a person has and other variables like their connection to the incident, their gender, age, the relationship between victim and perpetrator, and the time and place of the events were all taken into consideration. The results show that most of the victims with disabilities served by the Spanish Civil Guard were male. The interventions were mainly aid and rescues. Criminal offenses were only 20% of the events.
Background: Chronic pain is likely to lead to depressive symptoms, but the nature of this relatio... more Background: Chronic pain is likely to lead to depressive symptoms, but the nature of this relationship is not completely clear. The aim of the present study is to analyze the role of activity restriction in the pain-depression relationship in older people, and to test the hypothesis that this role is more relevant in community-dwelling older people than in nursing home residents.
Journal of perinatology : official journal of the California Perinatal Association, 2002
To determine if amnioinfused normal saline or lactated Ringer&amp... more To determine if amnioinfused normal saline or lactated Ringer's solution in cases of meconium-stained amniotic fluid is associated with significant changes on neonatal plasma electrolyte concentrations or pH. This was a prospective randomized study using normal saline or lactated Ringer's solution for amnioinfusion in women with thick meconium in the amniotic fluid. The control group was composed of women with clear amniotic fluid not receiving amnioinfusion. Cord blood arterial sampling was analyzed for sodium, potassium, and chloride plasma concentrations and pH. The sample sizes allowed for an alpha of 0.05 and power of 0.80. We evaluated 61 cases (20 normal saline solution, 20 lactated…
Uploads
Papers by José González