Rincones inéditos de antigua arquitectura española. Puente de Camprodón (Gerona). Iglesia de Santa María, en Aranda de Duero (Burgos)

Artículo incluido en la recopilación "Sobre monumentos y otros escritos". Paginación original de la revista Arquitectura: 323-324

Metabolomics demonstrates divergent responses of two Eucalyptus species to water stress

Past studies of water stress in Eucalyptus spp. generally highlighted the role of fewer than five “important” metabolites, whereas recent metabolomic studies on other genera have shown tens of compounds are affected. There are currently no metabolite profiling data for responses of stress-tolerant species to water stress. We used GC–MS metabolite profiling to examine the response of leaf metabolites to a long (2 month) and severe (Ψpredawn < −2 MPa) water stress in two species of the perennial tree genus Eucalyptus (the mesic Eucalyptus pauciflora and the semi-arid Eucalyptus dumosa). Polar metabolites in leaves were analysed by GC–MS and inorganic ions by capillary electrophoresis. Pressure–volume curves and metabolite measurements showed that water stress led to more negative osmotic potential and increased total osmotically active solutes in leaves of both species. Water stress affected around 30–40% of measured metabolites in E. dumosa and 10–15% in E. pauciflora. There were many metabolites that were affected in E. dumosa but not E. pauciflora, and some that had opposite responses in the two species. For example, in E. dumosa there were increases in five acyclic sugar alcohols and four low-abundance carbohydrates that were unaffected by water stress in E. pauciflora. Re-watering increased osmotic potential and decreased total osmotically active solutes in E. pauciflora, whereas in E. dumosa re-watering led to further decreases in osmotic potential and increases in total osmotically active solutes. This experiment has added several extra dimensions to previous targeted analyses of water stress responses in Eucalyptus, and highlights that even species that are closely related (e.g. congeners) may respond differently to water stress and re-watering

DNA methylation and adaptive response in forest tree species

Progressive increase of temperatures as well as longer seasonal drought periods revealed by climate studies correspond to fast environmental changes that forest species face with their actual genetic background. Natural selective processes cannot develop an adaptive response within this time frame. Thus the capability of forest tree species to adapt to the new environments will depend on their genetic background, but also rely on their phenotypic plasticity. Several reports have shown the involvement of epigenetic modifiers as the basis of the phenotypic plasticity, and in particular to the adaptation to abiotic stresses. DNA methylation (methylation of cytosine residues)is one the most important epigenetic modification in eukaryotes. Itis involved in specific biological processes such as gene transcription regulation, gene silencing, mobile element control or genome imprinting.Therefore, there is a great interest in analyzing cytosine methylation levels and distribution within the genome

Analysis of adaptive responses of Pinus pinaster to changing environmental conditions in the Mediterranean region

Recent climate evolution studies highlight the progressive temperature increase and prevalence of seasonal drought, with specially incidence in the Mediterranean region. Although conifers are very important species regarding forest conservation, sustainability and productivity, given the large forest surface they cover in Spain and their active role in preventing soil erosion and desertification, we know little about the molecular mechanisms which control adaptation in this ancient taxonomic group

El Hayedo de Montejo, mucho más que hayas

El Hayedo de Montejo, uno de los bosques más emblemáticos de la Comunidad de Madrid, es también uno de los mejor conocidos y más estudiados gracias a un convenio de colaboración entre la Comunidad de Madrid y la Escuela de Montes de la Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM). Seguimiento del clima, inventarios forestales, estudios genéticos o ecofisiológicos y procesos de dispersión son algunos de los trabajos que vienen desarrollándose desde hace más de 17 años. Gracias a ellos descubrimos que El Hayedo de Montejo es mucho más que un bosque de hayas.

The relevance of seed size in modulating leaf physiology and early plant performance in two tree species

he size of seeds and the microsite of seed dispersal may affect the early establishment of seedlings through different physiological processes. Here, we examined the effects of seed size and light availability on seedling growth and survival, and whether such effects were mediated by water use efficiency. Acorns of Quercus petraea and the more drought-tolerant Quercus pyrenaica were sowed within and around a tree canopy gap in a sub-Mediterranean forest stand. We monitored seedling emergence and measured predawn leaf water potential (Ψpd), leaf nitrogen per unit area (Na), leaf mass per area, leaf carbon isotope composition (δ13C) and plant growth at the end of the first summer. Survival was measured on the next year. Path analysis revealed a consistent pattern in both species of higher δ13C as Ψpd decreased and higher δ13C as seedlings emerged later in the season, indicating an increase in 13C as the growing season is shorter and drier. There was a direct positive effect of seed size on δ13C in Q. petraea that was absent in Q. pyrenaica. Leaf δ13C had no effect on growth but the probability of surviving until the second year was higher for those seedlings of Q. pyrenaica that had lower δ13C on the first year. In conclusion, leaf δ13C is affected by seed size, seedling emergence time and the availability of light and water, however, leaf δ13C is irrelevant for first year growth, which is directly dependent on the amount of seed reserves.

Eigenstructure Assignment Based Controllers Applied to Flexible Spacecraft

The objective of this paper is to evaluate the behaviour of a controller designed using a parametric Eigenstructure Assignment method and to evaluate its suitability for use in flexible spacecraft. The challenge of this objective lies in obtaining a suitable controller that is specifically designated to alleviate the deflections and vibrations suffered by external appendages in flexible spacecraft while performing attitude manoeuvres. One of the main problems in these vehicles is the mechanical cross-coupling that exists between the rigid and flexible parts of the spacecraft. Spacecraft with fine attitude pointing requirements need precise control of the mechanical coupling to avoid undesired attitude misalignment. In designing an attitude controller, it is necessary to consider the possible vibration of the solar panels and how it may influence the performance of the rest of the vehicle. The nonlinear mathematical model of a flexible spacecraft is considered a close approximation to the real system. During the process of controller evaluation, the design process has also been taken into account as a factor in assessing the robustness of the system.

Robustness Analysis of Eigenstructure Assignment Controllers on Rigid-Flexible Satellites

Flexible spacecraft with attached solar panels may exhibit undesired vibrations and structural deformations. These types of vehicles show an intrinsic coupling of the elements of the structure. The attitude maneuvers performed by flexible spacecraft may cause non-desired deflections of attached flexible elements. Any attitude and orbit control system generally solves these problems using filters that are designed to attenuate the relative deflections of flexible appendages. In this paper, we propose a method for designing attitude static controllers using an eigenstructure assignment (EA) method. A set of requirements were specified from our understanding of the system modes in an open loop. Exhaustive theoretical and numerical simulations were performed on special cases to verify the controller design procedure. In the design of the controller, we considered all of the aspects that relate to the eigenstructure assignment. The primary objective of this paper is to demonstrate the feasibility of obtaining a high degree of decoupling for some selected modes via the application of an EA method. Finally a robustness analysis is perform to the system together with the designed controller by means of a mu-analysis

Occupational asthma caused by IgE-mediated sensitization to multiple woods

Wood is a natural material that is able to trigger rhinitis and asthma in exposed subjects in occupational settings. This has been described with both soft and hard woods.1,2 Involvement of both low- and high-molecular-weight allergens has been reported, and the relevance of these is related with the wood type.1 There are cases where protein may be the responsible allergen. Crossreactivity between obeche and ramin woods3 and between obeche and latex4 has been shown. However, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a multiple IgE-mediated sensitization to different woods that caused occupational respiratory symptoms in the same worker.

Pru p 3 acts as a strong sensitizer for peanut allergy in Spain

Pru p 3 has been suggested to be the primary sensitizing allergen in patients with peanut allergy in the Mediterranean area. We aimed to confirm this hypothesis, studying 79 subjects.

Mouse p53-deficient cancer models as platforms for obtaining genomic predictors of human cancer clinical outcomes

Mutations in the TP53 gene are very common in human cancers, and are associated with poor clinical outcome. Transgenic mouse models lacking the Trp53 gene or that express mutant Trp53 transgenes produce tumours with malignant features in many organs. We previously showed the transcriptome of a p53-deficient mouse skin carcinoma model to be similar to those of human cancers with TP53 mutations and associated with poor clinical outcomes. This report shows that much of the 682-gene signature of this murine skin carcinoma transcriptome is also present in breast and lung cancer mouse models in which p53 is inhibited. Further, we report validated gene-expression-based tests for predicting the clinical outcome of human breast and lung adenocarcinoma. It was found that human patients with cancer could be stratified based on the similarity of their transcriptome with the mouse skin carcinoma 682-gene signature. The results also provide new targets for the treatment of p53-defective tumours.

Antigenic Proteins Involved in Occupational Rhinitis 1 and Asthma Caused by Obeche Wood (Triplochiton Scleroxylon)

Background Obeche wood dust is a known cause of occupational asthma where an IgE-mediated mechanism has been demonstrated. Objective To characterize the allergenic profile of obeche wood dust and evaluate the reactivity of the proteins by in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo assays in carpenters with confirmed rhinitis and/or asthma Materials and methods An in-house obeche extract was obtained, and two IgE binding bands were purified (24 and 12 kDa) and sequenced by N-terminal identity. Specific IgE and IgG, basophil activation tests and skin prick tests (SPTs) were performed with whole extract and purified proteins. CCD binding was analyzed by ELISA inhibition studies. Results Sixty-two subjects participated: 12 with confirmed occupational asthma/rhinitis (ORA+), 40 asymptomatic exposed (ORA−), and 10 controls. Of the confirmed subjects, 83% had a positive SPT to obeche. There was a 100% recognition by ELISA in symptomatic subjects vs. 30% and 10% in asymptomatic exposed subjects and controls respectively (p<0.05). Two new proteins were purified, a 24 kDa protein identified as a putative thaumatin-like protein and a 12 kDa gamma-expansin. Both showed allergenic activity in vitro, with the putative thaumatin being the most active, with 92% recognition by ELISA and 100% by basophil activation test in ORA+ subjects. Cross-reactivity due to CCD was ruled out in 82% of cases. Conclusions Two proteins of obeche wood were identified and were recognized by a high percentage of symptomatic subjects and by a small proportion of asymptomatic exposed subjects. Further studies are required to evaluate cross reactivity with other plant allergens.

Benchmarking federated SPARQL query engines: Are existing testbeds enough?

Testbeds proposed so far to evaluate, compare, and eventually improve SPARQL query federation systems have still some limitations. Some variables and con�gurations that may have an impact on the behavior of these systems (e.g., network latency, data partitioning and query properties) are not su�ciently de�ned; this a�ects the results and repeatability of independent evaluation studies, and hence the insights that can be obtained from them. In this paper we evaluate FedBench, the most comprehensive testbed up to now, and empirically probe the need of considering additional dimensions and variables. The evaluation has been conducted on three SPARQL query federation systems, and the analysis of these results has allowed to uncover properties of these systems that would normally be hidden with the original testbeds.

Creación, diseño y análisis de un nuevo Sistema de codificación de imagen y vídeo basado en saltos semánticos en el dominio del espacio

En este proyecto se exponen, por un lado, los fundamentos de un nuevo sistema de codificación de imagen. Este sistema, llamado Logarithmical Hoping Encoding (LHE) codifica cada píxel de la imagen utilizando saltos logarítmicos en el dominio del espacio, es decir, trabajando con los valores de luminancia y crominancia de los píxeles, sin necesidad de pasar al dominio de la frecuencia. Además, se realiza el análisis de dicho sistema y se ofrecen resultados comparativos con formatos de compresión actuales, tales como JPEG. Por otro lado, se presentan las primeras ideas para el desarrollo de un sistema que permita comprimir vídeo utilizando la tecnología LHE. Así mismo, se muestran los primeros resultados obtenidos y las conclusiones derivadas de los mismos.

Gestión de riesgos en proyectos: aplicación a campaña batimétrica.

El objetivo global de este proyecto es el estudio del análisis de los riesgos en proyectos. Los temas a tratar serán los siguientes: • Estudiar los métodos y las herramientas de la gestión de análisis de los riesgos en proyectos. • Creación de un proyecto tipo para su posterior aplicación de los procesos de análisis de riesgos, en concreto un proyecto tipo de características sensibles y en nuestro caso una campaña batimétrica. • Diseño de una planificación adecuada y sin inconsistencias. • Identificar los riesgos del proyecto tipo. • Realizar el análisis cualitativo de Riesgos. • Realizar el análisis cuantitativo de Riesgos. • Planificar las respuestas a los Riesgos. • Analizar las distintas respuestas de los riesgos. • Comparar las diferencias entre la planificación determinista y la realizada tras el análisis de riesgos.