Mis fotos

      Today, I should like to show you an interesting video, where a spanish Doctor explain which kind of food must eat that people who suffer strong headache. If you want to watch this video, please click on the link below:

http://www.rtve.es/alacarta/videos/la-manana/dieta-para-dolor-cabeza/3011997/

Ana Bellón (Specializing in Family Medicine. Association of Doctors of Madrid):  “What most interests to patients, suffering from "chronic headache". But as well, overall, I must say that, for those who we have headache, occasionally, they may be two causes, easily solvable, and it is: low blood sugar, when levels of sugar drop  -- sugar can cause pain head-- or when we, for example, slightly dehydrated, can also have headache. Therefore, if the headache occurs, we drink or we eat, because, if it is for these two reasons, that I say to you, we will solve it easily. But, in addition, we will recommend foods, rich in folic acid;  Why?, because a study, published in the journal "Headache" --that is pain in head, in English-- in January 2015, which show that the deficiencies of folic acid, in the blood, can facilitate increase a substance, called Omocisteina, and this Omocisteina favours the appearance of “chronic headache”, especially "Migraine with aura". Where do you find that folic acid ?; well, especially in green leafy vegetables; therefore, the still life, that I have here, today, is very green. It should be in the asparagus, in chard, in spinach, in beans, in peas, in brussels sprouts.... But, keep in mind two things. Many times, we say: Folate and folic acid and, really, they are two forms of Vitamin B: Folate is the form, in which it is naturally in food. And folic acid is when it is synthesized, in the laboratory; ie, the pills of folic acid, which we take. We must bear in mind that an adult should must consume, at least, 400 micrograms of folic acid per day. What happens is that, of course ... in the cooking or how to handle food, you can decrease the amount of folic acid even absorption ....—usually, we only absorb 50% of what we eat and, if instead of drinking water, we drink alcohol, the absorption is decreased still more--. Therefore, we will cook these foods, gently: or steamed, or boiled, but very little time, to try to prevent folic acid is retained, the Folate is kept at its maximum and, despite that is not enough, because we have to go to the pharmacy, with a prescription from the doctor, so that we prescribe folic acid, as such. You see, Mariló, it is easy or, at least, you can prevent migraines with catering”.

      Well, as I said, at the begining of this post, I find so interesting this news, because, many times, I have suffered headaches and I know people who is suffering this problem too.

      Until my next post, kind regards,

Luis.

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         Today, I should like to show you another news about Canary Islands: “Eight new seamounts are identified in the southwestern Canary Islands”.

      The scientific team of oceanographic campaign, “Drago 0511”,  has identified eight new seamounts, in the southwest of Canary, --the largest of them, with the same height of the Teide--, which are ancient islands, that are now sunk, by the cooling effect of the earth's crust.

Image of the eight new mountains in Canary

          The discovery of these eight seamounts are added to the five, which were knew until now, in the south of the Canary Islands, and are a kind of "underwater grandmothers" of the islands, almost "a Canary Atlantis", has explained Luis Somoza, marine geologist from the Geological and Mining Institute of Spain (IGME). 

        Some of these hills "formed islands, now under water, which have plunged more than 300 metres", and therefore "they are the ancestors of the Canary Islands", Somoza tells in detail.

        The mountains were identified, by the team of scientists, who conducted the study, to extend the continental shelf of Spain, to the west of the Canary Islands, and the discoveries have taken place after five years of “detailed mapping expeditions" of the canaries deep seabeds.

        This discovery shows this area, to the southwest of the islands, is a natural extension of the land territory of the Canary Islands.

        The top of the seamounts is from 4,000 meters to 300 meters, under water, and the geologist insists that they are ancient Canary Islands, now sunken, by effect of cooling of the earth's crust.

        In some cases, their shape resembles the current of the islands of Tenerife, La Gomera and El Hierro and, according to the data of bathymetry, the largest seamounts are between 90 and 35 kilometers long, and the smallest, between 6 and 20 .

        These ancient islands are risen over 3,500 meters, above the surrounding plains deep and as Somoza detailed: "from deep funds would be similar to how we see the Teide from the coast".

        Seamounts are formed by the same process as the Canary islands, ie, due to a "hot spot", under the islands, that generate by partial melting of rocks of the Earth's mantle and leads to rise of magma ocean bottom deep.

        "It is similar to what can happen to "a soufflé" ,  if we pulled out of the oven quickly", says Luis Somoza, who also points out that "this does not mean that the Canary Islands to sink immediately", although it they do with the geological time.

       "It will take millions of years and, if the 'hot spot', that has made them, moves or disappears, then they will gradually sinking themselves, like their predecessors, these seamounts", he explains.

        Furthermore, sea action will progressively "making up" the tops of the islands and the end "our future descendants will see a satin Teide or the boiler Taburiente, plain. But this will happen within millions of years".

        Also, continues the researcher, scientists hypothesize that, having the same nature, these seamounts than their descendants, the Canary Islands, it is shown that this area is the submerged natural extension of the archipelago, for the purpose of extending the continental shelf Spanish law.

        Luis Somoza added that the scientific team has sent, to the International Hydrographic Commission, proposals for eight names, eminently canaries seamounts, as they are: Drago, Bimbache, Ico, Pelicar, Malpaso, Turtle and Infinity, and The Grandmothers.

       The names of the five seamounts, known until now, were given by their English discoverers and they are: The Daughters, Echo, The Paps, Drago and Tropic.

       Luis Somoza also indicates that there have been six scientific expeditions, in the vicinity of the canaries deep sea aboard the oceanographic ships, Hesperides, Sarmiento de Gamboa and Miguel Oliver.

      The scientific team was made up of researchers, from the Marine Geology of the Geological Survey of Spain, the Spanish Institute of Oceanography and Marine Hydrographic Institute.

      Well, I did not know this news and I think it is so curious. Do not you think the same?.

      Until my next post, kind regards,

Luis.

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        Today, I should like to bring you a news that, exactly, said the following: “The largest neutrino telescope in the world is prepared in Valencia”.

      KM3NeT will be the first experiment, to detect cosmic neutrinos, with very high energy, in the northern hemisphere, from the sea. This week, Valencia (eastern Spain) hosts a meeting of a hundred researchers, to discuss about this experiment and another known as ANTARES.

      These two experiments consist of a series of detectors, arranged in line and submerged more than 2,000 meters deep, in the Mediterranean. Their spheres, with ultrafast sensors, capture the light signal, that emit particles, created by neutrinos, with very high energy, to interact with matter.

Design of the arrangement of the sensors of the KM3NeT telescope

         This bluish light, called Cherenkov light, is a type of electromagnetic radiation, produced by the particles, charged in water, when traveling in it faster than light.

      These neutrinos have energies, much higher than the particles, produced by the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Experts are still debating their origin, although supernova explosions, the active centers of galaxies, where there are huge black holes, or gamma ray bursts, would be some of their sources.

      As they have no electric charge and barely mass, "neutrinos are very interesting, to study the cosmos, as they travel intergalactic distances, without being absorbed or deflected, something not possible, with photons or cosmic rays", explains Juan José Hernández Rey , CSIC research professor, at IFIC, participant in KM3NeT and one of the organizers of the meeting.

      This new way of studying the universe, through neutrinos, was proved, in late 2013, when a similar experiment, at the South Pole, called “IceCube”, reported in Science, the detection of the first cosmic neutrinos, of very high energy, whose origin is outside our system Solar.

      "This has advantages", Juan de Dios Zornoza Gomez explains, hired Ramon y Cajal of the University of Valencia, in the IFIC, and participant in KM3NeT. "From the northern hemisphere, we have better visibility of the center of our galaxy, and, in the water, can be better reconstructed the direction of arrival of these neutrinos, which is essential for a telescope".

       In the Valencia meeting, the progress made with ANTARES, which takes data from 2008, in front of the coast of Toulon (France) and that, although it has not seen signs of neutrinos of astrophysical origin "because of their modest size" are presented, has shown the viability of the technology.

       The researchers also discuss about plans, for the construction of KM3NeT (acronym for neutrino telescope cubic kilometer), which plans to install 12,000 sensors, distributed in several cubic kilometers in front of the coast of Marseille (France), Sicily (Italy) and Pylos (Greece).

       The first phase of the installation comprises 558 modules, in French and Italian sites, during 2015 and 2016. The next phase will be extended until 2020; but, there is still no date, for completion of the original design. However, researchers can take data, since the first line of sensors are installed.

       In Valencia, the results of the latest tests for Sensor lines, that will be installed, this year, as well as the system design calibration of the detector is exposed. KM3NeT is an international collaboration, consisting of more than 200 scientists and technicians, from 40 institutions and 10 countries.

      The Spanish scientific participation is led by the Institute of Physics Corpuscular (IFIC, CSIC-University of Valencia), with support from the National Center for Particle Physics, Astroparticle and Nuclear (CPAN).

       From the IFIC, are designed crucial elements, in the electronics modules, with sensors and temporal calibration system.

       Physicists of this center also work, in identifying sources of neutrinos and their use, as indirect search for dark matter, which is a quarter of the universe; but it has not yet been detected.  

       In addition to the physic goals, that they hope to achieve, KM3NeT provides an ideal platform, for studying marine biology and geology.

      Other Spanish groups, participating, are the Institute for Integrated Management of Coastal Zone (IGIC) of the Polytechnic University of Valencia, in Gandia, and the Laboratory of Applied Bio-Acoustics (LAB) of the Autonomous University of Barcelona.

      KM3NeT has received European funding, for its preparation and design, while the participating countries finance the construction, mainly France, Italy and the Netherlands.

      Well, although I have studied Letters, I understand that Science is very important, for the development of Society: Improvement in Health, Communications, etc.

      Also, I hope that you consider important this news.

      Until my next post, kind regards,

Luis.

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       Today, I want to share with you a video, where the Doctor Ana Bellón recommends a diet to prevent hair loss.

      If you want to watch this video, please click below:

http://www.rtve.es/alacarta/videos/la-manana/dieta-para-evitar-caida-del-pelo/3004825/

Ana Bellón (Doctor in TVE): “Food .... I can recommend to you, because, as we are well explaining, throughout the program --I have the model in the hand--, what we see is hair that leaves our scalp; but if you watch, the hair comes out of a hair follicle, what we have below are vessels:  there is an artery and a vein; ie, enough blood arrives to the hair and, through blood, nutrients necessaries for hair, to grow healthy and grow…well, but in all its brilliance and splendor. Therefore, what we eat is very important, because if we have nutritional deficiencies, through these vessels, will not get the necessary nutrients and we can lose our hair. So, we need fat, we need vitamins and we need minerals. Within the fat, the most important are the fatty acids, unsaturated, especially Omega 3, why?, because it will shine to the hair and will cause it to grow, to more healthy, because it will nourish, correctly, the follicle hair. Omega 3 are mainly in oily fish --as may be the sardines--; but, also, in seafood: clams or mussels are rich in Omega 3, or even white fish. Algae are very good source of Omega 3  --especially DHA (vitamin)--; but also nuts, such as walnuts and pumpkin seeds give us these fatty acids. .... We have said: fats, vitamins and minerals. Within the minerals, we will highlight the zinc; zinc is necessary for the renewal of cells and there is .... hair is growing steadily; There is zinc in oysters, in salmon, which also gives us these Omega 3 fatty acids, pumpkin seeds, which we saw in the previous tray; therefore, they are very good friends of our hair, sesame seed or wheat germ ... If you have white spots on nails, for example, or have a brittle hair, dry hair, or even that wounds heal badly, we may be telling our body that we are having a deficiency of this mineral, zinc. And within vitamins, I am going to watch Biotin; it came out in the video, that we have seen, that has made our companion, because Biotin, or Vitamin B8, is very important for the proper growth of our hair. It is difficult to take Biotin deficiency, if we have a balanced and varied food, because she is in potatoes, in eggs, in chicken, in nuts ...; but one of the causes, that can lead us Biotin deficiency, which is rare nowadays, is to eat raw egg, because in egg, there is a substance, called Avidin, which binds to biotin and prevents absorbed through the intestine. Formerly, when you threw raw eggs, such as mothers, broths or purees, to try to raise and nurture that patient, convalescent, they were doing a disservice by Avidin; but, today, we do not eat raw egg, we cook it and, therefore, it is easy to have a healthy hair, if we are well nourished, with everything what I am telling you, Mariló”.

      Well, I hope that you have liked these advices and they are good for you.

      Until my next post, kind regards,

Luis.

Sponsored by Costaluz Lawyers.

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       Tomorrow, at dawn, you will can watch, on television, the Academy Awards Ceremony, in Hollywood. So, today, I thought it would be a good opportunity, to share with you a news, about these awards, that I did not know: Juan de la Cierva received the first Oscar in 1970 for a technical invention.

      I should like to show you a video, in which Juan de la Cierva speaks himself. If you want to watch the video, please click below:

http://www.antena3.com/especiales/noticias/sociedad/a-fondo/juan-cierva-recibio-primer-oscar-1970-invento-tecnico_2015022000381.html

Voice in off: “Neither Peter, nor Jose Luis, neither Javier, neither…….Penelope Cruz ...., the first "and the winner is" Spanish is ....”

Juan de la Cierva: “Juan de la Cierva y Hoces”

Voice in off: “Today he is 85 years old and he was 40, that night of film and glamor of 1970, in Los Angeles”.

Juan: “This is Claudia Cardinale”

Voice in off: “Juan poses and alternates, with the great stars of Hollywood, until he receives the Oscar for Best Technical film Contribution; this one, unlike classical little statue”

Juan: “Neither I knew I was the first Spanish, whom they had given him an Oscar….”

Voice in off: “Nephew of gyroplane´s father, this Madrileño (from Madrid) was always considered, above all, an inventor byself....... And this movie was the first, in which his discovery of Oscar was used: what he called "Dynalens" and it came to his mind, while videotaping their children, skiing on water;  the images vibrated ..... Eureka! ... the new device stabilized the camera and movements were nullified”

Juan: “The movement of the image, not the movement of the camera”

Voice in off: “There were more ingenuities: up to 40 patents; but, none like the one, that led him to that gala”

Juan: “I stumbled upon Elizabeth Taylor, who was wearing that famous sparkling of one million dollars”

Voice in off: “16 Spaniards have gotten an Oscar; but his….. was the first one...”

      Well, I have liked to share this video with you, because I studied a degree in “Image and Sound", in Madrid. Therefore, I like movies, video and Photography. I hope that you have liked the video too.

      Until my next post, kind regards,

Luis.

Sponsored by Costaluz Lawyers.

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      Yesterday I saw a video on the website of TVE, where Dr. Ana Bellon explained how to take care of our eyes. I found it very interesting and I would like to share the video with you; if you want to see it, please click below:

http://www.rtve.es/alacarta/videos/la-manana/hay-tomar-carotenos/3003336/

Ana Bellón (Doctor in TVE): “Food for healthy sight, why?, because, as you very well say, overweight conditions that we can be hypertensive or diabetic and that is what really hurts our arteries and can lead to blindness. But we will now keep our eyes on a natural pigment, called "Carotenoids". Carotenoids, as I well say, are pigments, that give color to foods, that have a high antioxidant capacity. Is Beta-Carotene, Lycopene, Lutein, the Ceasantina ....; but which has the greatest antioxidant capacity is the Astaxanthin; the advantage of the Astaxanthin is that it is able to cross the brain-blood barrier and the retina-blood barrier and, therefore, it reaches directly to these organs and prevents, for instance, the occurrence of blindness, cause of cataracts, macular degeneration or, in the Central Nervous System, reduces the risk of dementia or even Alzheimer's disease. This Astaxanthin is what gives the salmon color to salmon; therefore, salmon is one of the richest food, in this powerful antioxidant. But also, shrimp or prawns have astaxanthin. But I have named two other antioxidants, very powerful, they are: Lutein and Ceasantina. Two carotenoids, which are not transformed into vitamin A and having their maximum concentration in the retina, but in a very specific area of the retina, which is the "mácula" (stain), it is what gives the yellow color to the macula (stain)   --in fact, macula (stain), its full name is "macula-lutea", which means "yellow-Spot"-- and it protects it ... of course, the retina is very exposed to light, very exposed to oxygen; therefore it must have substances, with high antioxidant activity, to prevent the formation of free radicals. We have foods, that are rich in Lutein, such as the green, that I have here: it would be Broccoli, they would be spinach or green asparagus. There are other foods, rich in Ceasantina, like oranges, papaya or watercress. And we have foods, they have the two substances: Lutein and Ceasantina, which are egg yolks and corn. But we also talked about the Beta-carotene and lycopene; well, but there is a food, that has the two substances; therefore it has a potent antioxidant capacity, which is the tomato; Tomato lycopene, besides, if we take it with oil, it will absorb much better. Therefore, the serious summary, if you want, if you want to see lots of color, you have to put much color, in your food, especially: green, orange, salmon and red, and, thus, you will give color to your life, because you see everything much better".

      Well, as I said, at the beginning of this post, I found this news very interesting. And I hope that you care of your eyes, as the doctor advises.

      Until my next post, kind regards,

Luis.

Sponsored by Costaluz Lawyers.

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         Yesterday, I found this news: “They show a prototype of exoskeleton, that will replace wheelchairs”. And, this news makes me feel so good, because, since many years ago, I have heard about people who live in the Paraplegic Hospital of Toledo (South of Madrid, Spain). Many times, I could watch, on tv, how they fight, in order to recover themselves, with their rehabilitation.

      But, now, with this prototype, all the patients, who use a wheelchair, will can move without it themselves.

      The news explained the following: An exoskeleton, that is, still, in prototype stage, in the future could allow people, with some form of muscular or paraplegic atrophy, can move.

      Designed by researchers from the group of Neurotechnology, Control and Robotics (Neurocor) of the Polytechnic University of Cartagena (UPCT), the prototype is the first step of Exo-legs (exoskeleton legs for Elder people) project, which involved UPCT, with researchers from Sweden, UK, Switzerland and Germany, reports the university.

Daniela Miranda, Juan Lopez, Antonio Hernández y Carlos Alberto Diaz showing the ptototype of exoskeleton, at the UPCT

         The responsible investigator, Juan López Coronado, explains that it is the prototype of a first basic model.

      This new design allows the elderly, with some type of muscular atrophy or disability, can perform actions, like scrolling motion, sit, stand up or climb and go down stairs.

      This is a first step, towards the standard device, that will offer the opportunity to perform movements, in three dimensions, and even play sports, such as tai chi or skiing.

      "We want it to be the substitute for cane or crutches, that currently use older people. Even it improves the performance of mobility, with health benefits, regarding wheelchairs”, explains Carlos Alberto Díaz, researcher of the Neurocor group.

       The UPCT will test the prototype, at the National Hospital for Paraplegics, in Toledo, and in the nursing home “San Jose and San Enrique” of the town of Cieza (Murcia), have pointed Jorge Luis Feliu and José Muñoz, researchers of Neurocor.  

      The Exo-legs project is a European research program, in which three universities and five companies, health centres, specialized in paraplegia or disabled persons with reduced mobility.

       In recent weeks, the researcher from Britain, Daniela Miranda, has worked with researchers of the UPCT, in implementing models, from a computer simulation.

      It has a budget of over 4.5 million euros and its responsible is Gurvinden Virk, from the University of Gävle (Sweden). The UPTC has been received, concretely, 392,490 euros.

      Well, I hope that they can develop this prototype and are able to take it out to market, in order to help many people.

      Until my next post, kind regards,

Luis.

Sponsored by Costaluz Lawyers.

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         Yesterday, I listened on the radio, an interview with a student, at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, who has created, with 3 other colleagues, a drone to help control poaching of rhinos and elephants, in Africa. This student is called Aleix Figueres.

      A drone, designed and created by a team of four students, from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC) (North eastern Spain), will allow, to the national parks, like Kruger (South Africa), monitor, more effectively and economically, poaching of rhinos and elephants.

The creators of the Ranger Drone to save lives of elephants and rhinos

        The  students have created the unmanned vehicle (UAV), dubbed as 'Ranger Drone', with the premise that it has a low cost, to use it in the natural parks of different African countries.

      The device is programmed to monitor areas of forest or savannah, from the burden of coordinates to the system and it flies with complete autonomy, without any remote control.

      "This will greatly facilitate the task of monitoring the guards, so they can find faster herds of elephants or rhinos, considering that through the system, they will receive the exact coordinates of where they are", says Arnau García, one of the creators and student, at the High Technical School of Industrial and Aeronautical Engineering of Terrassa (ETSEIAT). Thus, "the protection of animals will be much more effective", he adds.

      Now, I should like to show you an interesting video, where the project of this drone is explained very well, in English, through some drawings. If you want to watch this video, please click on the link below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAbsBpecjH8

      The drone, developed by these students, as a project at the end of the degree, is made of fixed wing and it incorporates technology, to detect this type of animals, from the air and send online, in real time, information of their location.

      The project, which has the support of a start up -HEMAV-, installed in the incubator ESA BIC Barcelona, from the European Space Agency (ESA) and created by former students of the UPC, incorporates a thermal camera, that helps detect poachers, from the air. Students are working to also incorporate a system of sounds detection.

      Now, I should like to show you another interesting video, where the project is explained with images of video, from the air. So, you can imagine over where the poachers go.

https://vimeo.com/118475370   

      Information, obtained by the drone, will be sent, instantly, by telemetry, by UHF (Ultra High Frequency) or GSM technology ( of mobile), to the basis of the park rangers, who always will can know where the animals are and what is the area, that is being monitored.

      The prototype has been chosen among 120 teams, by the organization “Wildlife Conservation UAV Challenge”, based in South Africa, to participate in an international competition, organized with the aim of finding an effective solution, to the indiscriminate and illegal hunting of elephants and rhinos. In the month of March 2015, they will present the project, in South Africa, and they will make the final tests, with the six remaining teams.

      Well, I am glad, because a group of Spanish students are able to create a device, to help other countries, where some animals are endangered. Congratulations!!!!.

      Until my next post, kind regards,

Luis.

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       Some days ago, I could read a news full of hope for many people –I think--. The news said the following: “A test allows to diagnose more than 100 rare diseases in 48 hours”.

      A urine sample is sufficient to permit detect or rule, over a hundred of rare diseases, related to metabolism, within 48 hours.

      It is possible through a new test created by the doctor,especialise in rare diseases, Domingo González-Lamuño, from the Universitary Hospital Marqués de Valdecilla (Santander), which facilitates early diagnosis of some disorders, detected late, can be "irreversible".

      As González-Lamuño explained, there are over a thousand different rare metabolic diseases, rare diseases or ultra rare diseases, occurring in one in 10,000 children, or even, in one in 100,000.

      Now, it is intended to provide, to any doctor, a simple, fast and affordable test, for early diagnosis of these disorders.

      The first signs of this disorder are "subtles", as a rejection of Baby feeding, growth problems, altered level of consciousness, movement disorders, sensory disturbances or problems with vision and hearing.

      If not identified early, they can lead to various complications, from cerebral palsy to alterations in organs, blindness, hearing problems, or even death, hence the importance of detecting early.

      Usually, the diagnosis depends on very complex metabolic studies, available only a few centres, with highly skilled professionals, who are not so common.

      With this new test, called MetaTest, the answer can be obtained, within 48 hours, from a urine sample, collected on a filter paper, without having a 'great scholar'. "Innovation is the availability of a very complex system to the pediatrician", sums González-Lamuño.

The Doctor Gonzalez-Lamuño

      The test is based on the technology, already used by a group, who works in India and Germany, who applied, to the analysis of samples of healthy babies, what, in the opinion of this specialist from Valdecilla and professor at the University of Cantabria, could cause false positives.

      So, he made contact with them and he proposed them to improve the system, designing algorithms, to associate the changes of metabolites, detected in the urine sample, with different symptoms.

      The result is a reality, and after getting investors for the project (a Spanish-Portuguese group, another Austrian-German, another Hindu and the own González-Lamuño), it has been created the Centre for Diagnosis and Advanced Metabolic Studies of Cantabria (Cdemac).

      In this laboratory, the samples are received, a metabolic profile is obtained, clinical patient data are reviewed and all that information is refered, to the group of India, for analysis, with mathematical system.

The laboratory where the sample, for the test that detects rare diseases, is analyzed

        Since the sample arrives to the laboratory, you can have the result within 48 hours, even less, as happened at Christmas, when, in 36 hours, there was a response, which could be delivered, that was obtained on December 31 morning, "when all laboratories in Spain were closed", says Gonzalez Lamuño.

      In Valdecilla, they began to use this technology, with critical patients, on last fall, and has already been diagnosed three patients. The challenge, now, is to ensure that this system reaches any doctor, not only of Cantabria or Spain, but from anywhere in the world.

      In this sense, the test costs 300 Euros, by the moment, although the intention is to reduce the price further . As the doctor said, it is "cheaper than the most of the tests", that pediatricians apply, in these cases.

      If you also get doctors to suspect soon, after the symptoms of a child, may be a metabolic disease, you can diagnose its ailment "seven, ten, fifteen, twenty, or a month before what is being detected now", which involves identifying the disease at a "very early stage" and have a treatment and prognosis "radically different", concluded González-Lamuño.

      Just this morning, has spoken, on the radio, the Legal Adviser of the Spanish Federation of Rare Diseases and he said that "the problem is not money, to investigate new treatments, but the lack of coordination, between the Central Administration and the Autonomous Communities, because it draws the application of treatments out". I hope this problem is resolved soon, for the sake of patients.

      Until my next post, kind regards,

Luis.

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        I have never been in the Lagoons of Ruidera (Castilla.La Mancha, South eastern Madrid, Spain); but since I have seen it, on the internet, it seems a very nice and interesting place, to be well kept, for the good of all.

      I have just found n interesting video, about these lagoons. If you want to watch this video, please click on the link below:

http://www.rtve.es/alacarta/videos/telediario/tdfs3-lagunas-ruidera-150215/2999447/

Voice in off:  “The Lagoons of Ruidera maintain an optimal level, on half of the hydrological year. The water overflowing on waterfalls and scenery does not disappoint, when you look at it. Many specimen of Mallards, Cormorants, red Ducks and Smormujos enjoy a clean environment, waiting for more rain”    

Jose Antonio Pizarro (Director of the Natural Park Lagoons of Ruidera): “Still we are under 200 liters fallen, as it is the Hydrological Year; but I repeat that it might, now, be solved year and having a good month of March or a good Spring ..... and we have even an exceptional year of rain”

Voice in off: “What makes this environment something unique are tuffaceous barriers, formed by carbonate deposits, although many of the 450,000 annual visitors, to the park, are ignorants. The challenge is to change the massification for a nature tourism, more sustainable. This summer, there will be a new Management Plan, with controlled access, more sevices and information; entrepreneurs of the sector are interested themselves”

Francisca Muñoz (Hotel Manager): “Improve our accommodation, in order that the staff is more prepared, and I think that, gradually, we are getting it, because also the offer is diversifying: hiking is promoted, literary routes”

Amparo Álvarez (Voice in off. Editorial office of Castille-La Mancha): “Future proposals for a space cataloged, by the European Union, “Site of Community Interest”, which aims at conservation, development support”

      Well, I hope that you can visite The Lagoons of Ruidera, if you did not it before.

      Until my next post, kind regards,

Luis.

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         Today I should like to show you an interesting news, that emerged in Spain, on overweight.

      There is a new method, based on biomarkers, to predict and prevent overweight, obesity and its complications. It has been developed and patented, by the Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Nutrition and Biotechnology (LBNB) of the University of the Balearic Islands (UIB).

     Specifically, they have investigated, within the European project BIOCLAIMS, in the field of new nutrigenomics technology, based on the interaction of nutrients genes, to identify good biomarkers and to prevent these diseases, before they occur, as reported by the UIB .

      The fact that it is acquired or not a particular predisposition to obesity, is the result of several factors, often brought about by physiological or pathological changes, that occur at certain stages of life.

      This applies to power, during the early stages of development and maternal nutrition, during pregnancy, which have a decisive role.

A pregnant woman eateing chocolate

      The researchers, led by the director of LBNB, Andreu Palou, suggest that the effects of maternal nutrition, during pregnancy, are recorded, in our genes and chromosomes, and this may determine that the offspring have a greater or lesser predisposition to obesity.

Andreu Palou, director of the LBNB and coordinator of the European project BIOCLAIMS

        In previous studies, in model rats, the researchers, at the UIB, had described a 20% reduction, in caloric intake of mothers, during the first half of pregnancy, is sufficient to print, in offspring, predisposed to developing overweight and obesity which, although it does not manifest in young ages, will appear, as the age advances.

      The team of the Dr. Palou had observed that, the combination of many genes, that are expressed and detected in a fraction of blood cells, could reflect alterations, that occur in organs, that are vital to the regulation, in adulthood, of energy metabolism and body weight, as are the liver, the adipose tissue and the hypothalamus.

      They had also observed that, some alterations, in these organs, could be responsible, for future imbalances of energy balance and promote obesity.

      The researchers of the LBMNB studyied the possibility of quantitative expression of multiple genes, in blood fraction of PBMC, obtained few weeks after birth, may reveal alterations of future predisposition, to obesity.

      Therefore, they studied the expression of 20,000 genes, in these PBMC cells, at early ages.

      They compared the offspring of pregnant rats, who had a normal pregnancy (and, thus, not likely to gain weight), with the offspring of rats, who ever had moderate intake restriction, during the first half of pregnancy and, therefore, they had acquired predisposition to obesity.

      The study found altered expression of 224 genes, that behave differently, in young rats, in adulthood are more likely, to develop obesity and associated complications, compared with those, who have less prone to gaining weight.

      To meet the expression of several groups or combinations of these genes reflects the future trend, to develop or not obesity, with different probabilities. They depend on the number and selection of genes, under study.

      These results have led to a patent, which shall belong to the UIB and the Centre for Biomedical Research Network on Obesity and Nutrition (CIBEROBN) and they will be published, in the open access journal “Scientific Reports”, from the Nature group.

      The patent has been presented, at the International Symposium Biomarkers and Health Claims on Food: BIOCLAIMS Meeting with stakeholders, held at the UIB and which has gathered more than one hundred scientists experts and jurists, in the field of nutrition and health of all Europe.

      Well, I find so interesting this study and I hope that you do it too.

      Until my next post, kind regards,

Luis.

Sponsored by Costaluz Lawyers.

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      Today I should like to show a video, which speaks of the magnificent properties of an antioxidant called "lycopene". If you want to watch this video, please click below:

http://www.rtve.es/alacarta/videos/agrosfera/agrosfera-laboratorio-ideas-licopeno/2534671/

On the image, you can read: The lycopene. A natural antioxidant.

Voice in off: “In these drums, there is olive oil and, in this one: tomato paste. It is the plant of Santa Amalia in Badajoz (South of Toledo, Spain), where the lycopene is extracted using the "Fito-life" method”

Eduardo Fernandez (Technical Responsible on tomatoes of the Guadiana): “Tomato paste  --which is only tomato pulp, to which water has been removed...--; by eliminating the water, content in lycopene is concentrated, the content of Lycopene, per kilo, rises sharply and olive oil too; Virgin olive oil is mixed, intimately, with the paste and we make it transfer, that lycopene is diluted in oil. Subsequently, we separate”.

Voice in off: “In 1996, the Professor from  Extremadura, Eduardo Sabio, began researching the extraction of lycopene. In 2005, he patented the method and "Tomatoes of the Guadiana" has the industrial development of that patent, worldwide. Here, they have the capacity to bottle between 20 and 25,000 liters, per day, of oil, enriched with Lycopene. This is the aspect of the considered "red gold". To understand the benefits of its consumption, we need to understand our body”

Eduardo Sabio (Professor of Thermodynamics in the area of Applied Physics at the University of Extremadura): “We grow old because we oxidize ourselves. There are a number of degradative and oxidative processes, and, then, the body has some defenses, to redress the balance; but, there comes a time, when these defenses are not sufficient to restore the initial conditions and the ageing process begins”.

Voice in off: “The Lycopene is an antioxidant, present in several plants; when consumed, directly, our body absorbs 3%; they tell us that, diluted, the absorption achieves the 90% and that numerous studies show that its consumption helps prevent cardiovascular disease or even cancer”

Eduardo Sabio: “The Cancer is, basically, an oxidation, at the cellular level, reaching the genetic material of cells and, then, these cells begin to reproduce uncontrollably themselves, and they derive, until they lead to Cancer”

Voice in off: “The Lycopene is also used to heal skin: these three friends, from Badajoz, have created a line of natural cosmetics; they made soap and natural oil soap, for body”

Gema Correa (Partner of Natural Cosmetics of the Licopeno): “Very appropriate for people who perhaps might have dermatitis, psoriasis, atopic skins --that there are many and, above all, in cases of children, it is phenomenal…and the soap is also made here and, well, what we make is a very care soap…”

Voice in off: “They take only a few months, in this journey; but they are already thinking about expanding products”

      Well, I Think this discovery is very interesting and I hope that you have liked too.

      Until my next post, kind regards,

Luis.

Sponsored by Costaluz Lawyers.

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       Today, I should like to show you a video, where it is explained how to fry, for example a fillet of beef, without boiling them or stain the kitchen.

      If you want to watch the video, please click on the link below:

http://www.rtve.es/alacarta/videos/esto-me-suena-las-tardes-del-ciudadano-garcia/blog-saber-cocinar-fritos-perfectos/1456356/

Sergio Fernandez (Chef of TVE): “Well, the art of fencing is not mine, ... I can guarantee it to you; but, why have I gone out with that frying pan, with that special cover?..., because Luisa, from Burgos, threw us a question, she said: "When I make grilled meat, I cover, so that the kitchen does not stain to us ...”; of course ... until there, any logical; but, instead of fry, it is boiled...., the steaks are as a stone. Solutions, I want solutions! .... Well, behold ...: we always, when we make a preparation, the frying pan must be hot ...--and fat, where we are going to fry that product, too--; but, what happens is that, quickly, to avoid staining the kitchen, we cover, and what happens is that the vapour is condensed, it releases water and the product, rather than be fried, starts to boil. Therefore, I recommend you that, when you want to cover a frying pan, you cover so, as bad, as leaving a space; so that, any vapour goes out and, if you do not want that happens, look these lids, how originals are ...: a lid, that has, in the centre, a grid that will protect, in order that we can not stain such the kitchen, we cover our frying pan, vapour will come out, without any kind of problem, and, if we have space problem, at home...., nothing happens: we fold our frying pan, we keep it, with the rest of pots, and here we have a superoriginal utensil .... let´s see how you are able to make frieds, from now……”

        Well, I hope that you have liked this advice.

      Until my next post, kind regards,

Luis.

Sponsored by Costaluz Lawyers.

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          A few days ago, I heard on TV, a very special story, saying that "A Spanish lady had left her inheritance to the children of her village". That gave me joy; but, at the same time, I felt pity, because they said that very few people attended her funeral ....; I found it very unfair.

      And, yesterday, I search this news, on Internet, and I found what a very famous Spanish newspaper said about, with this tittle: “She leaves 10 million in order that the children of her village can study but she dies abandoned”.

      Virginia Pérez Buendía was a simple and discreet woman. She was not in the habit to converse with the locals. She went up early, she took care of her animals and she engaged in farm work, her great passion. She spent long periods, in Valverde del Júcar, where she was born and where she inherited numerous lands, farms and other properties. She was the last descendant of a family of entrepreneurs flour. Her brother, Juan Perez Buendia, was devoted to politics, for a time. The neighbours of this small village, of about 1,200 inhabitants, that he helped her to write her will up, in 1983. It never was amended and now she bequeaths her entire patrimony to the people, in order that no child is left unstudied

Valverde del Júcar (Cuenca, South of Madrid, Spain)

The Flour mill of the family of Virginia

      Virginia never got married, she had no children, nor nephews, and, at  86 years old, she had no immediate family. She died in her apartment, on the street Marqués de Cubas, in the capital of Spain, in the most utter solitude. Nobody missed her, until a month later, when they found her body, after entering the house, by court order. Since then, the house is sealed and a court of Madrid investigates the causes of her death. It is believed that it was a massive heart attack.

         Despite the harsh and lonely last stage of her life, “Mrs. Virginia”, as well called her in the village, "she has shown she had a great heart", tells ABC, the Mayor of Valverde, Pedro Esteso, who acknowledges that it has been "a surprise" and he appreciates the great legacy that she  has left. She ordered that all her patrimony, too much money on fixed-term, outstanding of  quantify and shares on the Stock Exchange, which could add a total of several million pesetas, was dedicated to finance the studies of children, from families with fewer resources and with good academic record.

      Doña Virginia proposed the creation of a foundation with her name, directed by the ruler, the magistrate and the parish priest of the village. In a leaden winter evening of the hard winter in Cuenca, the parish priest, Arsenio Triguero, tells ABC that were not many people attended her funeral, held in early November of last year. Her remains rest in the family vault of the municipality. More massive was the reading of her will, the last Sunday, in January, at the House of Culture. There, the neighbors, who, during years, imagined that she would leave her fortune if a religious order or an animal shelter, met her last wishes, remember the parish priest, who notes that the end of her inheritance is "very laudable".

      The Foundation, which is about to become, should be further formed by five other people from five different unions. Specifically, a teacher, a farmer, a businessman, an employee and an industrialist of the village.

      The wording of the foundations, for future Foundation, provides arduous and complicated. In the village, there are a hundred children, in school. About eighty pursue their higher studies outside the municipality. "What criteria should they be used?, Must they have always lived in the village?, What minimum income to be fixed?", some “valverdeños” (neighbours from Valverde) wonder.

      The old woman established that the 85% of the income of the movable assets and the fixed capital  should be earmarked for the purposes of the Foundation, the 10% for funds, while the remaining 5%  for other expenses, provided that her assets could not be sold or disposed.

      The Mayor of Valverde, Pedro Esteso, claimed that "she was very own. She did not like to flaunt. She was in an old Land Rover. She wore on day. She does not stop to talk to the neighbors;  but she has shown a great heart. Sha has thought about the future of her village"…

      For Joaquin, a neighbor of the village, "Gossip tell that she leaves 10 million euros. She did not spend a penny. She lead a life a little bit hermit".

      Well, I think that the people of this village must forgive to Virginia.

      Rest she in peace!.

      Until my next post, kind regards,

Luis.

Sponsored by Costaluz Lawyers.

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           I have just read a news, which can be filled with hope to many old people, around the world: They test successfully in mice a molecule to treat Alzheimer's.

      The news said that a team of researchers has succeeded, in proving successful, in mouse models of Alzheimer's disease, a molecule, that has been shown to have a neuroprotective effect in these animals.

      The multitarget molecule ASS234 has been created by researchers, at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), from the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) and from the University of Barcelona (UB), that they have tested in transgenic mice, experimental model of alzheimer.

      The molecule ASS234 inhibits the enzymes monoamine oxidase (A and B), acetylcholinesterase and butyryl cholinesterase, implicated in biochemical processes, underlying to neurodegenerative disorders.

      The molecule has been developed as a hybrid of two known molecules. One is the donepezil, currently used in the treatment of this neurodegenerative disease.

      The other one: the compound PF9601N, an inhibitor of the enzyme monoamine oxidase B (MAO B), patented and developed by the same researchers, at UAB and CSIC, with neuroprotective effects, proven in different experimental models of Parkinson's disease.

      The molecule ASS234 stimulates cholinergic and monoaminergic transmission antiapotótico shows an antioxidant effect and it is capable of reduce oligomer formation of beta-amyloid, reducing the number of amyloid plaques, in transgenic mice.

      Also, the molecule shows a short positive effect, on the recovery of memory, in mice injured with scopolamine.

      After synthesis and design of the molecule, it has been biologically evaluated and confirmed, as a potential therapeutic agent, in Alzheimer's disease. It has also been characterized its biochemical activity and pharmacological potential and has conducted its synthesis and molecular modeling studies.

      The researchers, responsible for these processes, work for years in the design, synthesis and biological evaluation of new multipotent molecules capable of interacting with multiple cellular targets involved in Alzheimer's.

      The Patent of the ASS234 molecule has, recently, been approved in the United States through the Spanish company Inurrieta Integral Consulting and is currently in phase introduced to different groups of pharmaceutical companies.

     The Alzheimer's is a neurological disorder, with a high incidence in the elderly. It presents a complex neurodegenerative disease, that involves progressive loss of cognitive capacity (memory, language, learning), accompanied by psychiatric disorders (anxiety, depression, apathy, aggression).

         Although, not yet, it is known why it occurs, although senile plaques, neurofibrillary tangles, the oxidative damage, in different cell structures, and low levels of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine are agents of great importance, in the development of this pathology.

      Well, I hope this discovery is a reality, in the next future and it let many old people living a good life, at the end of their lives.

      And I hope that you have liked to read this news.

      Until my next post, kind regards,

Luis.

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         Yesterday, a friend of mine asked me if I knew a typical dish of Algeciras (where I was born): the “Abajá”. I told him that I did not know it. Then, he explained me that dish was similar than a seafood soup. I thought that perhaps I could find something about this dish in Internet; and it has been so.

      Really, I have found an article, telling about the dish “Abajá” and I want to share with you the explanation. This article has been written by Manuel J. Ruiz Torres. He says the following:

      As an introduction to the recipe, I transcribe this article, published in the journal "PubliGuía" No. 1 (June 1997). Interestingly, a few months later, a known writer published "exactly" the same article, adding, as a huge research effort, his own name and omitting only the phrase "I do not know the origin of calling Abajá to this dish", I guess, because he did not it must look reliable display areas of darkness, in his knowledge, a trait of honesty that honors him.

      The “Abajá” of Algeciras is primarily a soup. Although you take it on two plates, or overturning, to take it as a second fish, almost dry, after giving their best, to broth where they baked. A fish utilization is equal to that make the Levantine, in their rice a banda, or Murcians, with their cauldron. And like these, the fish need a sauce, to relieve his shroud, to refresh them. Do not be coincidence that, as its Mediterranean relatives, the Abajá sauce is a kind of aioli, enriched, albeit with a bit of self cooking broth.

       I do not Know the origin of this dish, called “Abajá”. Lowlanders are the inhabitants of the lowlands, coastal and, by extension, are Southerners. WENCESLADA, that is a vocabulary from  Andalusia, defines it, as a soup of Andalusia down, made with water, oil, salt and bread. Related, then, to the Abajao from the Sierra of Cádiz or The Abajá of Arcos, although these are soups with serrano products. As fish soup would have to relate it to some Catalan Suquets (no seafood) or, especially, with bouillabaisse, in Marseille, returning to reveal its Mediterranean origin.

      Kitchen ship at sea, where fish, never fixed, is alternating white with blue, and gave exit to the thorniest, previously difficult to sell in the market, even if those who give the best broth. Today, their high prices, lead to prepare Abajá, of a single fish, including sardines or anchovies. And, with them, a durable product as country bread, brown, fluffy, toasted. A loaf to hold your long journey of fishing. A loaf like from Pelayo.

      This time, changing the magnificent bread of Pelayo, a neighbourhood of Algeciras, close to the pass of El Bujeo, for also notable bread of Medina, I repeat the recipe that brought us together, around this dish, at each end of the contest in the Falla (a famous Theater of Cadiz), to a group of friends, who had specifically chosen Cádiz to live, without forgetting that part of childhood, that is now called roots. Because it is food to share, with that point of exaggeration and the entertainment, necessary to find out what fish of the assortment, half hidden by the sauce, it is that we are eating in every bite. This time we celebrated Juliet and Sophia, new in our ecofeminist consumer group, “The Nine”. And we did it on the piece, that nature rented us around the garden of vegetables Revolution. From there came the vegetables and, from the Strait itself, the whitebait fish, that would produce the broth of background.

      As whitebait, it is, sold in the market of Algeciras, a varied fish, that, in its extraction, does not reach a sufficient quantity, to be sold separately. It is not, as elsewhere, small fish. The lot, so freshest, that had not yet reached the spot, in the first round, that we gave, in that market, was formed by a pair of scorpionfish, a little red sea bream, a flat fish, a sea robin, two pompanos and an spearfish. To strengthen the second rollover, we also bought scorpion fish fillets and scrapie (a type of ray).

        You put to boil, in plenty of water, all the whitebait. In the same water, when it boils, scalded three or four tomatoes. In another saucepan, covered with water, scorpion fish fillets and minced scrapie, and bring to a boil, then extinguished the fire and keeping them, in the heat, to finish to cook.

      In a high fried pan, you prepare a sauté, with four or five cloves of garlic, four green onions, a small bunch of parsley and the tomatoes blanched, once peeled and sliced. Let it make so slowly.

      When the sauté becomes completely dry, it is covered with the strained broth of the whitebait, with a few tablespoons of the broth, from the other cooking. You cut the bread of field up in slices and it is added to the fried pan. You prepare a mashed with threads of saffron, salt, black pepper and plenty of oil; this paste is dissolved with a little broth and it is added to the soup. Boil all about five minutes, breaking the bread with a wooden spoon.

       The soup is served, as a first rollover, fine thickened of texture and well spiced of flavor.

       For the second rollover, at a clay pot, you flake the fishes of the whitebait, cleaning of skin and bones (it does not matter that they are cut up and broken) and are added the other fishes, that remain whole and appetizing, the scorpion fish fillets and pieces of scrapie. A sauce is prepared, in a blender (traditionally in a mortar), with two cloves of garlic, tied with olive oil extra virgin, dropped in trickle, until to get a texture of a little bit light aioli, which is further lightened with a ladle of broth of whitebait, linked, again, with a blow of blender. This sauce is poured over the backs of the fishes, hot preserved.

      We drank beer “Cruzcampo” (let's be honest) and wine “Young White Monteespejo”, a blend of grapes “vidueño”, muscatel and doradilla, a native variety of the Mollina land. A fresh and floral wine,  with pleasant citrus aromas.

         We completed the food, out of the recipe, with a pout delicious croquettes of stew, made by the poet, David Franco, with a Japanese batter of surprising textures.

      Well, I hope that you can try to cook this recipe and you enjoy the result.

      Until my next post, kind regards,

Luis.

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       I have just read a curious news, that has to do with Spain: “A new device that controls light through intelligent windows is discovered in Spain”.

      Really, a new technique, developed by researchers at the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), allows a window, to control the amount of light, passing through a crystal, thereby reducing costs of the 'smart windows'.

A house with smart windows

         As reported by the CSIC, this technology can be activated, in seconds, by a switch. It causes some chemical and physical reactions, which cause that the window transparent glass becomes opaque.

      Unlike other existing, which need drivers glasses or use of liquid crystal, a technology patented by the CSIC and developed by a team from the Institute of Materials Science of Madrid, employs thin films of highly porous material coated.

      By exposure to wet or dry air, these films change their optical transmission, achieving switching between a transparent state and an opaque.

      As explained by the CSIC researcher, David Levy: "While there are already other models, one of the advantages of the technology, that we have developed, is its cost. Its production is easier and cheaper because the materials, that we use are less expensive".

      Levy gave as an example to produce one square meter of other models, costing thousands of euros, while if only costs a few cents. "This will allow a wide 'smart windows' at a reasonable price", he considered.

      The CSIC researcher noted that these windows can be used on flexible surfaces, flat, curved, of crystal or polymer, allowing you to use these glasses, in different types of windows, doors, wall panels in meeting rooms or skylights.

      Besides being useful, in protecting against solar radiation, it also serves as a decoration and privacy protection, both inside and outside of buildings.

      In recent years, the trend, in the construction industry, is to use glass, on facades;  but it is mindful, that are energy sustainable buildings, this team of scientists says.

      "The 'smart windows', that we have developed, fit the need to increase energy efficiency, by applying new technologies, to windows and facades of buildings. They are achieved optimize energy resources, reducing air conditioning load, in summer, and heating, in winter", have highlighted Levy and his partner, Mark Zayat, also from the CSIC.

      Well, I hope these smart windows become cheap, in order that many people can enjoy them.

      Until my next post, kind regards,

Luis.

Sponsored by Costaluz Lawyers.

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      Few days ago, I have read a very important news for Education in Spain: “Next year, student of Secondary, in Madrid, will have to study a subject for learning to program”.

     Pong is the name of one of the video game, in which has been working a student of fourth course of ESO, in IES Humanes (Madrid). Unknowingly, he had changed, from a tutorial and their own imagination, a comparison of Arkanoid, known arcade from 80s.

Pong: a similar game to Arkanoid

         In this elective subject, in the bilingual Institute, 14 students are learning to program with the App Inventor platform. It is a tool, for creating mobile applications, for the Android operating system, initiated by the MIT and now owned by Google Labs.

      Their teacher, Ana Viejo, said that it is the first time, that these students make contact with programming and they began developing, almost by accident, as a complement to the subject.

      The teacher showed the students the development platform and tutorials, available in English, and they began to learn on their own, with the support of their teacher, although most of the work are really performed by the students, themselves in their homes.

      The same student, who created the replica of Arkanoid, has invented, from zero, a new game,”Chaos”, in which, the user has to prevent cars collide at an intersection. "They have a lot of interest and accept, very well, the suggestions and corrections", stressed Viejo.

Chaos: an original game

       The IES Humanes is a pilot experience, for the next school year; it is expected that a new compulsory subject Programming is taught in all courses of ESO of the Community of Madrid, replacing the previous field of technology, as explained the General Manager of Improvement of Teaching Quality, Pablo Hispan.

      In this sense, the Professor, of IES Humanes, commented that she hopes the resources are sufficient during 2015-2016, as Internet connections, more powerful, and there is equipment for all students.

      In the new subject of ESO, students will learn, among others, to use App Inventor and Scratch, another graphic environment of open code of the MIT, to learn programming block. They will also work with the free hardware board, “Arduino”.

      In 2014, more than 1,100 teachers, from public and private educational, received 40 hours of training, through a platform offered by Telefónica, called Codemadrid, and, soon, will be  taught Arduino development classes.

     "The program helps students, who are not just consumers of digital products. The key of the XXI century is being a digital creator, it can not happen to invent others",  he emphasized Hispan, who has indicated that there is a budget of 16 million euros to introduce the subject.

      In this course, the 15 technology institutes in the Community have already begun to teach 'Programming and Communications', as an optional subject, in 4th year of ESO. This is applied in the Institute of Technology of Getafe, Satafi, in which 17 students --of which, 14 are girls and three boys-- receive two hours of class, a week.

      The Professor, Elena Ribón, has commented that, currently, they are learning to develop videogames, as this allows them to think what to do characters, interacting with them and work together. "Learning is pretty self", stressed the teacher, since are the students themselves, who have to investigate, think and share knowledge, with other colleagues.

      However, Ribón has noted that she is advocate that Technology keeps in ESO 1: "It is a more complete course, includes not only digital contents;  a nail and a hammer are also technology".

      In Catalonia, skills in programming began to incorporate in the last year. Some 6,000 secondary students --a 20% of the region-- received training development, in the optional subject of Informatic. In the practical part, they received notions, to program applications, for mobile devices.

      This practice is part of a program called “mSchools” --driven by Catalan public institutions and the GSMA company--,  that promotes the introduction of mobile technology in the classroom.

      Other communities have also begun to take steps to extend knowledge of programming.

      In Castilla-La Mancha, inspired by the global movement of the Time Code (Hour of Code, which seeks to teach programming from four years), the High School of Computing of Ciudad Real has spent three years teaching an introductory course of three hours, at institutes in the region.

      Its main driver, from the Department of Technology and Information Systems of the University of Castilla-La Mancha, Carlos González Morcillo, thinks that knowing how to program "is as important as knowing how to speak or have a mathematical thinking".

      In this sense, he thinks that, because development requires logical thinking way, it also helps solve problems, in other areas. "It furnish well head and I have, very clear, that it is the way, like learning language, mathematics or physical education", has ruled.

      Another example is Andalusia, which, although has no specific subject, dedicated to program, in sixth grade of Primary, there is an area called 'Culture and digital practice', in which students are introduced to the proper use of applications, for phones and tablets; to function in online learning environments, etc.

Students with tablets

         For its part, the educational curriculum, for Secondary Education and A Level, published in the BOE this January, integrates the knowledge and use of computer applications, in multiple subjects –in transversal form-- and in specific areas, that the regions will have to adapt these months.

      In Spain, in recent years have been escalating degrees of computer development of public and private higher education. The pioneering universities, now almost eleven years ago, were the University Pompeu Fabra and the University Complutense of Madrid.

      The director of the Masters in Game Development UCM, Pedro González, said that starting to teach programming in secondary "can lay the foundation for approaching the technology with more confidence".

      He also thinks that the development instills a "systematic way to deal with the complexity", since solving problems of programming, you must use a highly structured instructions.

      González also thinks that learning programming is one way to change the production model. "The creative industries contribute to very big bonus, since they go to international markets. In Spain, we are creative, we have a good technical level", he finished.

      Well, I hope that Spanish students make the most of this opportunity of learning to program.

      Until my next post, kind regards,

Luis.

Sponsored by Costaluz Lawyers.

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         Some days ago, I could read a very interesting news and I thought that perhaps you should like to share it with me: Some Spanish researches create a 3D diagnosis system for back.

      A 3D software, developed by a team of physiotherapists and computer engineers from Barcelona, measure the column clinically. For a picture of the patient, it uses Kinect, a device for the Xbox 360 console; but, in this case, it is used to recognize the user's body.

      The computer program developed, called Adibas Posture, can measure the posture of a person, to analyze the curve of its spine and to detect deformities, in back or legs, among other ailments.

Adibas Posture

         The difference, compared to previous systems, such as the goniometer, plumb or digital photography --ie in 2D--, is that it is a faster and more accurate way to measure, since Kinect gets an image of the patient, in three dimensions, processed with the software.

      As has told one of its creators, the physical therapist and professor at the International University of Catalonia, José Ramírez-Moreno, it also serves to diagnose, from the first day that the patient goes to the surgery, and to compare the results, from the last day after treatment, to observe its evolution.

      "Knowing the curvature of the back is important, because it is a risk factor for having a pain, like a hernia or scoliosis. Ie, the patient has the curve of the spine deformed", he stated and pointed to identify points of problem helps in subsequent processing.

      Ramírez-Moreno has explained that, until now, the patients were sent to get a digital image or a radiograph; the latter method is not safe and that prevents a pregnant woman, for example, can be tested.

      The therapist pointed out that, although this diagnosis in 3D can not be compared with a radiograph --not to view the state of bone inside--, it has a measurement error below 5 degrees and 5 mm, as recorded by an academic study, that he has developed, to demonstrate the validity of the system.

      By the moment, they are interested by this system sports organizations, as one of its applications is to measure the flexibility of the muscles of athletes. "If the test comes out that the person examined is very flexible, you can make a specific treatment for prevent injuries”, Ramírez-Moreno told.

      The project is a joint effort of professionals, from the Institute of Global Physiotherapy Mézières (IFGM), --entity that has funded part of the investigation-- and computer engineering, from the University of Barcelona, who also have created a company to market it, Physicaltech.

      It has been four years of research, that began from the work of the physiotherapists from the IFGM, working on postural reeducation and they needed instruments, to measure patients.

      In a first phase, they employed digital photography, a less accurate system, until the Ramírez-Moreno himself and the engineer, Miguel Reyes, heard about the launch of Kinect 1, in 2010.

      Bought it and began to investigate, "It was an event to have a device that identifies the movement and with which you can interact", says the Chairman of the Board of Physicaltech. Now, the team is already working with the second version of Kinect and doing tests to validate its operation.

      Well, I hope that these researches continue working on this project, to help many people.

      Until my next post, kind regards,

Luis.

Sponsored by Costaluz Lawyers.

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       Perhaps you remember that the last October-17-2014, I published a post with a news that said the following: “Spanish scientists show that lood cells from a patient with myocardial can regenerate it”. Well, but today, I want tell you that, the last Thursday-29, I think, I could read another news that said: “A Spanish pioneer therapy uses cardiac stem cell from donors to treat heart attacks”.

      I think that it is a very important news, an important breakthrough, because heart attack is the “second leading cause of death worldwide”.

      The Universitary General Hospital “Gregorio Marañón”, in Madrid, heads a pioneer in human therapy, using allogeneic cardiac cells, ie from donors, to repair damaged tissue of a patient, after suffering a large acute myocardial infarction.

A heart beats on

          In this first human clinical trial will be treated to 55 patients , although, by the moment, it has intervened on seven. Their evolution, which is very favorable, has shown that these cells can be administered, safely and easily, on patients in a serious situation.

      The trial was presented the last Friday,  by the Minister of Health of the Community of Madrid, Javier Maldonado; the chief of cardiology of the hospital, Francisco Fernández-Avilés, plus the exMinister, Cristina Garmendia (president of the company Genetrix, group that developed the study of these cells, which may be available, when the patient needs) .

      Donor cells are obtained from heart tissue, discarded during surgery, as valvular surgery, and they are expanded, in laboratory, to get the required of 35 million of dose per patient.

      An amount that seems very bulky, but not if you consider that from a biopsy, hundreds of millions of cells are removed, which, according Garmendia, "it takes very few donor biopsies, to  have a very good expansion of them". Specifically, for the test, they were necessary only three.

      The patient profile is that of a person, who has suffered a major myocardial infarction, with severe impairment of cardiac tissue and increased risk of heart failure. This type of infarcted represent 20% of the total.

     The ideal time, to first be given cells, is between the fifth and tenth day, after suffering this episode, in the heart, when his clinical situation has stabilized.

      "It is very attractive able to do it, immediately after suffering a myocardial --Fernández-Avilés has commented--; but, today, we dare not, because it is a very hostile environment, for the cells, by inflammation".

      The cells are administered, to the patient, intracoronary, with a procedure similar to that used to put a stent, with a very small and squishy catheter, that produces no mechanical damage, according to experts.

      The Chief of Cardiology has clarified that, this treatment "is not to treat heart failure; but it is to prevent and it intended act, upon the size of the scar and the evolution of form and function of the left ventricle".

      If the study evidences that it can be obtained shrink the scar and evolve favorably the left ventricle, "it will happen a tremendous impact, on the risk of developing heart failure, in the next three to five years".

      This can be analyzed, at the conclusion of the clinical trial, with 55 patients, which could be at the end of 2016. The therapy, in principle, would not be effective, in patients, who already have a chronic alteration of cardiac tissue.

      According to the expert, "the more one acute episode away, the possibility that cells alone do something decreases in a fast way". To this circumstance, what would it work would be an alternative to transplantation.

      The trial has been endorsed by the European Commission, through the project called “Caremi”, in which more than twenty European entities are involved.

      In the study, also collaborate other health institutions, such as the Hospital of Navarra, University of Donostia, the University Clinic of Valladolid, the Vall d'Hebron (Barcelona) and the University of Salamanca, Virgin of the Victory, in Malaga and Valencia.

      Also the “La Fe” Foundation, the Center for Minimally Invasive Surgery “Jesus Uson” (Cáceres), the Catholic University of Leuven (Belgium) and Saint Louis in Paris.

      Well, I hope that you have liked this news, such as I did.

      Until my next post, kind regards,

Luis.

Sponsored by Costaluz lawyers.

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