Metastasis Models: Thermodynamics and Complexity.

The thermodynamic formalism of nonequilibrium systems together with the theory of complex systems and systems biology offer an appropriate theoretical framework to explain the complexity observed at the macroscopic level in physiological phenomena. In turn, they allow the establishment of an appropriate conceptual and operational framework to address the study of phenomena such as the emergence and evolution of cancer.This chapter is organized as follows: In Subheading 1, an integrated vision of these disciplines is offered for the characterization of the emergence and evolution of cancer, seen as a nonlinear dynamic system, temporally and spatially self-organized out of thermodynamic equilibrium. The development of the various mathematical models and different techniques and approaches used in the characterization of cancer metastasis is presented in Subheading 2. Subheading 3 is devoted to the time course of cancer metastasis, with particular emphasis on the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT henceforth) as well as chronotherapeutic treatments. In Subheading 4, models of the spatial evolution of cancer metastasis are presented. Finally, in Subheading 5, some conclusions and remarks are presented.

Expression and Characterization of Human Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Produced in SiHa Cells Transduced with Adenoviral Vector.

The vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is an essential factor to pathologic angiogenesis. Disruption of VEGF/VEGF receptor interaction in cancer patients inhibits the development of new and pre-existing tumor blood vessels. Consequently, VEGF becomes an important therapeutic target for handling solid tumors. In this work, human VEGF was produced in the culture supernatant of SiHa cells transduced with a replication-defective adenoviral vector (pAdhVEGF121) encoding this molecule. The 35 kDa VEGF121 homodimer was obtained from clarified culture media as a glycosylated protein. VEGF121 expression levels were strictly dependent on the adenoviral viral load used. VEGF121 was produced with purity over 98% after a single step chromatography by immobilized metal affinity chromatography. Additionally, VEGF121 binds Bevacizumab antibody with a KD of 7 nM. Biological characterization by mitogenic assay in HUVEC and ECV-304 cells showed that VEGF121 stimulates cell proliferation in a dose-dependent manner in both cells. Finally, the neovascularization activity of VEGF121 was demonstrated by vascular permeability assays in matrigel plug-bearing mice, showing significantly increased vasculature leakage after treatment with VEGF121. Consequently, transduction of SiHa cells with adenovirus is a suitable alternative for manufacture heterologous proteins of therapeutic interest.

Enfermedades neurológicas y problemas de atención / Neurological diseases and attention problems

La atención es la capacidad de seleccionar un estímulo particular del conjunto de una experiencia y enfocar y concentrar en él nuestro interés. Se clasifica en pasiva y activa. Sus componentes son: selectividad, concentración, límite y facilidad para desatender. Los trastornos de la atención son: distractibilidad, hipoprosexia, aprosexia, hiperprosexia y perseveración. El déficit de atención como síntoma forma parte de tres grupos de patologías: trastorno de déficit de atención con hiperactividad como trastorno primario y como fenotipo conductual en síndromes neurológicos de la infancia (Down, Tourette, etc.) y en asociación con patologías neuropediátricas diversas (epilepsia, encefalopatías etc.). En el tratamiento del déficit de atención con hiperactividad en niños con otras alteraciones neurológicas se utilizan los estimulantes del sistema nervioso central (metilfenidato) y los neurolépticos como la risperidona.

Algorithmic complexity in the minority game

In this paper, we present our approach for the study of the complexity of Minority Game using tools from thermodynamics and statistical physics. Previous attempts were based on the behavior of volatility, an observable of the financial markets. Our approach focuses on some properties of the binary stream of outcomes of the game. Physical complexity, a magnitude rooted in Kolmogorov-Chaitin theory, allows us to explain some properties of collective behavior of the agents. Mutual information function, a measure related to Shannon's information entropy, was useful to observe a kind of phase transition when applied to the binary string of the whole history of the game.

Estudio de las cimentaciones de un edificio sobre suelo cohesivo saturado

El trabajo que se presenta abarca el tema de los cimientos, tras un analisis de las condiciones del suelo y los datos de exploracion y muestreo disponibles para determinar el tipo de cimentacion mas adecuado. Para este proposito se sigue el temario del proyecto: Cap. 1: Principios de mecanica de suelos necesarios para el proyecto de cimentacion, suelo, volumen y relaciones de densidad. Limites de Atterberg. Densidad relativa. Clasificacion de los suelos. Resistencia al corte. Caracteristicas de comprension. Sensibilidad. Conceptos basicos necesarios. Cap. 2: Exploracion del suelo y muestreo, importancia de una exploracion. Metodos de exploracion. Planeamiento de un programa de exploracion. Perforacion del suelo. Toma de muestras. Ensayos de penetracion normal. Otros métodos. Cap. 3: Plateas, consideraciones sobre plateas. Capacidad de carga. Efecto de la napa freatica en la capacidad de carga. Transmision de cargas verticales y cálculo de asentamientos. Cap 4: Pilotes, pilotes de hormigon. Algunos aspectos generales sobre los pilotes. Segunda parte: Aplicacion práctica para el caso de un edificio sobre el terreno del palacio de comunicaciones. Cap. 5: Suelo, sistema de exploracion del suelo. Muestreo. Cap 7: Analisis de pilotes, calculo estatico. Calculo dinamico. Cap. 8: Conclusiones, utilizacion de pilotes. Colocado de pilotes. Hinca de pilotes.Diseno estructural de los pilotes vaciados in situ.