Alveolar nitric oxide and its role in pediatric asthma control assessment

Resumen Background: Nitric oxide can be measured at multiple flow rates to determine proximal (maximum airway nitric oxide flux; Jaw(NO)) and distal inflammation (alveolar nitric oxide concentration; CA(NO)). The main aim was to study the association among symptoms, lung function, proximal (maximum airway nitric oxide flux) and distal (alveolar nitric oxide concentration) airway inflammation in asthmatic children treated and not treated with inhaled glucocorticoids. Methods: A cross-sectional study with prospective data collection was carried out in a consecutive sample of girls and boys aged between 6 and 16 years with a medical diagnosis of asthma. Maximum airway nitric oxide flux and alveolar nitric oxide concentration were calculated according to the two-compartment model. In asthmatic patients, the asthma control questionnaire (CAN) was completed and forced spirometry was performed. In controls, differences between the sexes in alveolar nitric oxide concentration and maximum airway nitric oxide flux and their correlation with height were studied. The correlation among the fraction of exhaled NO at 50 ml/s (FENO50), CA(NO), Jaw(NO), forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) and the CAN questionnaire was measured and the degree of agreement regarding asthma control assessment was studied using Cohen's kappa. Results: We studied 162 children; 49 healthy (group 1), 23 asthmatic participants without treatment (group 2) and 80 asthmatic patients treated with inhaled corticosteroids (group 3). CA(NO) (ppb) was 2.2 (0.1-4.5), 3 (0.2-9.2) and 2.45 (0.1-24), respectively. Jaw(NO) (pl/s) was 516 (98.3-1470), 2356.67 (120-6110) and 1426 (156-11805), respectively. There was a strong association (r = 0.97) between FENO50 and Jaw(NO) and the degree of agreement was very good in group 2 and was good in group 3. There was no agreement or only slight agreement between the measures used to monitor asthma control (FEV1, CAN questionnaire, CA(NO) and Jaw(NO)). Conclusions: The results for CA(NO) and Jaw(NO) in controls were similar to those found in other reports. There was no agreement or only slight agreement among the three measure instruments analyzed to assess asthma control. In our sample, no additional information was provided by CA(NO) and Jaw(NO).

Estudio y análisis de metodologías para la medida de la QoS en el acceso a Internet.

[ES]En este trabajo fin de grado se presenta un estudio de diferentes metodologías para la estimación de la velocidad de acceso a Internet. En el estudio no sólo se analizan las metodologías de las herramientas más extendidas sino que también se tienen en cuenta los factores de influencia principales examinándose su afección global en los resultados obtenidos. Los resultados de este estudio permitirán a los distintos agentes implicados contar con información de interés para el desarrollo de sus propias herramientas. Además, las conclusiones del estudio podrían conducir, en un futuro próximo, a la estandarización de una metodología unificada, por parte de organismos internacionales del sector, que permita comparativas de datos así como la verificación de los acuerdos de nivel de servicio, de interés para usuarios, operadores y reguladores.

Inferring Population Genetic Structure in Widely and Continuously Distributed Carnivores: The Stone Marten (Martes foina) as a Case Study

The stone marten is a widely distributed mustelid in the Palaearctic region that exhibits variable habitat preferences in different parts of its range. The species is a Holocene immigrant from southwest Asia which, according to fossil remains, followed the expansion of the Neolithic farming cultures into Europe and possibly colonized the Iberian Peninsula during the Early Neolithic (ca. 7,000 years BP). However, the population genetic structure and historical biogeography of this generalist carnivore remains essentially unknown. In this study we have combined mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequencing (621 bp) and microsatellite genotyping (23 polymorphic markers) to infer the population genetic structure of the stone marten within the Iberian Peninsula. The mtDNA data revealed low haplotype and nucleotide diversities and a lack of phylogeographic structure, most likely due to a recent colonization of the Iberian Peninsula by a few mtDNA lineages during the Early Neolithic. The microsatellite data set was analysed with a) spatial and non-spatial Bayesian individual-based clustering (IBC) approaches (STRUCTURE, TESS, BAPS and GENELAND), and b) multivariate methods [discriminant analysis of principal components (DAPC) and spatial principal component analysis (sPCA)]. Additionally, because isolation by distance (IBD) is a common spatial genetic pattern in mobile and continuously distributed species and it may represent a challenge to the performance of the above methods, the microsatellite data set was tested for its presence. Overall, the genetic structure of the stone marten in the Iberian Peninsula was characterized by a NE-SW spatial pattern of IBD, and this may explain the observed disagreement between clustering solutions obtained by the different IBC methods. However, there was significant indication for contemporary genetic structuring, albeit weak, into at least three different subpopulations. The detected subdivision could be attributed to the influence of the rivers Ebro, Tagus and Guadiana, suggesting that main watercourses in the Iberian Peninsula may act as semi-permeable barriers to gene flow in stone martens. To our knowledge, this is the first phylogeographic and population genetic study of the species at a broad regional scale. We also wanted to make the case for the importance and benefits of using and comparing multiple different clustering and multivariate methods in spatial genetic analyses of mobile and continuously distributed species.

Patterns of genetic variation in the endangered European mink (Mustela lutreola L., 1761)

Background: The European mink (Mustela lutreola, L. 1761) is a critically endangered mustelid, which inhabits several main river drainages in Europe. Here, we assess the genetic variation of existing populations of this species, including new sampling sites and additional molecular markers (newly developed microsatellite loci specific to European mink) as compared to previous studies. Probabilistic analyses were used to examine genetic structure within and between existing populations, and to infer phylogeographic processes and past demography. Results: According to both mitochondrial and nuclear microsatellite markers, Northeastern (Russia, Estonia and Belarus) and Southeastern (Romania) European populations showed the highest intraspecific diversity. In contrast, Western European (France and Spain) populations were the least polymorphic, featuring a unique mitochondrial DNA haplotype. The high differentiation values detected between Eastern and Western European populations could be the result of genetic drift in the latter due to population isolation and reduction. Genetic differences among populations were further supported by Bayesian clustering and two main groups were confirmed (Eastern vs. Western Europe) along with two contained subgroups at a more local scale (Northeastern vs. Southeastern Europe; France vs. Spain). Conclusions: Genetic data and performed analyses support a historical scenario of stable European mink populations, not affected by Quaternary climate oscillations in the Late Pleistocene, and posterior expansion events following river connections in both North-and Southeastern European populations. This suggests an eastern refuge during glacial maxima (as already proposed for boreal and continental species). In contrast, Western Europe was colonised more recently following either natural expansions or putative human introductions. Low levels of genetic diversity observed within each studied population suggest recent bottleneck events and stress the urgent need for conservation measures to counteract the demographic decline experienced by the European mink.

Systematic and evolutionary studies of the terrestrial gastropods Helicoidea and Pyramidula

178 p.

Complejos proteicos elipsoidales NP: Octámero y su relación con el ensamblaje de nucleosomas

Se caracterizan los complejos entre la nucleoplasmina, una chaperona nuclear, y el octámero de histonas y se ve su papel en el ensamblaje de nucleosomas.

Propiedades radiativas y ópticas de una herramienta de corte compuesta por nitruro de boro cúbico

Se ha medido la emisividad espectral (2,5-25 micras) normal de una herramienta de corte industrial, compuesta en un 55% por nitruro de boro cúbico (cBN), en el rango de temperaturas 200-1000 ºC. La emisividad medida muestra un comportamiento suavemente descendente al aumentar la longitud de onda, propio de metales, con un descenso pronunciado alrededor de 9 micras. Este valle se corresponde con la emisividad calculada para el cBN cúbico puro en la literatura, que sin embargo no exhibe el comportamiento metálico medido. Así mismo, se observa que la emisividad espectral es esencialmente independiente de la temperatura, aunque no así la emisividad total. Los resultados experimentales para el cBN puro indican que la reflectividad de dicho compuesto se puede explicar satisfactoriamente mediante un modelo de Lorentz para dieléctricos, mientras que el ajuste teórico de la reflectividad medida para la herramienta de corte necesita incluir una contribución del modelo de Drude para explicar el comportamiento metálico observado. Este modelo combinado se ajusta razonablemente bien a las medidas, y revela que la herramienta de corte se comporta como un semiconductor degenerado, con una alta densidad de portadores libres. Además, permite realizar una estimación teórica de sus constantes ópticas. Por último, se ha realizado un estudio sobre la medida y el control de la temperatura de la muestra, empleando distintos métodos de unión termopar.

Two new species of Zospeum Bourguignat, 1856 from the Basque-Cantabrian Mountains, Northern Spain (Eupulmonata, Ellobioidea, Carychiidae)

Two new species of the genus Zospeum Bourguignat, 1856 are described from caves in the Sierra de Aitzgorri (Gipuzkoa) and the Sierra Salvada (Burgos) in Northern Spain. The taxa Z. vasconicum sp. n. and Z. zaldivarae sp. n. have recently, without a formal name, been included in a molecular study of worldwide members of the Carychiidae. In the present paper, the shell morphology and variation of these species is described and illustrated.

Vivir en la precariedad. Trayectorias y estrategias residenciales de la juventud en la Comunidad Autónoma del País Vasco

388 p.