Autonomous University of Barcelona

About: Autonomous University of Barcelona is a education organization based out in Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Context (language use). The organization has 37833 authors who have published 80514 publications receiving 2321142 citations. The organization is also known as: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona & Computer Vision Center.

The Trail Making Test: Association With Other Neuropsychological Measures and Normative Values for Adults Aged 55 Years and Older From a Spanish-Speaking Population-Based Sample.

Abstract: The Trail Making Test (TMT) is used as an indicator of visual scanning, graphomotor speed, and executive function. The aim of this study was to examine the TMT relationships with several neuropsychological measures and to provide normative data in community-dwelling participants of 55 years and older. A population-based Spanish-speaking sample of 2,564 participants was used. The TMT, Symbol Digit Test, Stroop Color-Word Test, Digit Span Test, Verbal Fluency tests, and the MacQuarrie Test for Mechanical Ability tapping subtest were administered. Exploratory factor analyses and regression lineal models were used. Normative data for the TMT scores were obtained. A total of 1,923 participants (76.3%) participated, 52.4% were women, and the mean age was 66.5 years (Digit Span = 8.0). The Symbol Digit Test, MacQuarrie Test for Mechanical Ability tapping subtest, Stroop Color-Word Test, and Digit Span Test scores were associated in the performance of most TMT scores, but the contribution of each measure was different depending on the TMT score. Normative tables according to significant factors such as age, education level, and sex were created. Measures of visual scanning, graphomotor speed, and visuomotor processing speed were more related to the performance of the TMT-A score, while working memory and inhibition control were mainly associated with the TMT-B and derived TMT scores.

High-field magnetoresistance at interfaces in manganese perovskites

Abstract: The low-field (LFMR) and high field (HFMR) magnetoresistance response of ceramic ${\mathrm{La}}_{2/3}{\mathrm{Sr}}_{1/3}{\mathrm{MnO}}_{3}$ (LSMO) samples having grain sizes diameters \ensuremath{\emptyset} ranging from 10 \ensuremath{\mu}m to 20 nm have been investigated. A limiting LFMR of about \ensuremath{\approx}30% is obtained for the \ensuremath{\emptyset} \ensuremath{\approx}0.5 \ensuremath{\mu}m but no larger values are obtained by further reduction of the grain size down to the nanometric range. On the contrary, the HFMR progressively rises when reducing the grain size. Magnetic and transport measurements suggest that HFMR originates from the existence of a noncollinear surface layer, having a thickness t that increases when reducing \ensuremath{\emptyset}. We have disclosed a clear relationship between the thickness, the intergranular resistance, and the height of the surface energy barrier. In addition, we show that in samples with submicronic grains, there is an intergranular Coulomb gap.

The genomic history of the Iberian Peninsula over the past 8000 years.

Abstract: J.M.F., F.J.L.-C., J.I.M., F.X.O., J.D., and M.S.B. were supported by HAR2017-86509-P, HAR2017-87695-P, and SGR2017-11 from the Generalitat de Catalunya, AGAUR agency. C.L.-F. was supported by Obra Social La Caixa and by FEDER-MINECO (BFU2015- 64699-P). L.B.d.L.E. was supported by REDISCO-HAR2017-88035-P (Plan Nacional I+D+I, MINECO). C.L., P.R., and C.Bl. were supported by MINECO (HAR2016-77600-P). A.Esp., J.V.-V., G.D., and D.C.S.-G. were supported by MINECO (HAR2009-10105 and HAR2013-43851-P). D.J.K. and B.J.C. were supported by NSF BCS-1460367. K.T.L., A.W., and J.M. were supported by NSF BCS-1153568. J.F.-E. and J.A.M.-A. were supported by IT622-13 Gobierno Vasco, Diputacion Foral de Alava, and Diputacion Foral de Gipuzkoa. We acknowledge support from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (PTDC/EPH-ARQ/4164/2014) and the FEDER-COMPETE 2020 project 016899. P.S. was supported by the FCT Investigator Program (IF/01641/2013), FCT IP, and ERDF (COMPETE2020 – POCI). M.Si. and K.D. were supported by a Leverhulme Trust Doctoral Scholarship awarded to M.B.R. and M.P. D.R. was supported by an Allen Discovery Center grant from the Paul Allen Foundation, NIH grant GM100233, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. V.V.-M. and W.H. were supported by the Max Planck Society.

New insights into PGC-1 coactivators: redefining their role in the regulation of mitochondrial function and beyond.

Abstract: Members of the PGC-1 family of coactivators have been revealed as key players in the regulation of energy metabolism. Early gain- and loss-of-function studies led to the conclusion that all members of the PGC-1 family (PGC-1α, PGC-1β and PRC) play redundant roles in the control of mitochondrial biogenesis by regulating overlapping gene expression programs. Regardless of this, all PGC-1 coactivators also appeared to differ in the stimuli to which they respond to promote mitochondrial gene expression. Although PGC-1α was found to be induced by different physiological or pharmacological cues, PGC-1β appeared to be unresponsive to such stimuli. Consequently, it has long been widely accepted that PGC-1α acts as a mediator of mitochondrial biogenesis induced by cues that signal high-energy needs, whereas the role of PGC-1β is restricted to the maintenance of basal mitochondrial function. By contrast, the function of PRC appears to be restricted to the regulation of gene expression in proliferating cells. However, recent studies using tissue-specific mouse models that lack or overexpress different PGC-1 coactivators have provided emerging evidence not only supporting new roles for PGC-1s, but also redefining some of the paradigms related to the precise function and mode of action of PGC-1 coactivators in mitochondrial biogenesis. The present review discusses some of the new findings regarding the control of mitochondrial gene expression by PGC-1 coactivators in a tissue-specific context, as well as newly-uncovered functions of PGC-1s beyond mitochondrial biogenesis, and their link to pathologies, such as diabetes, muscular dystrophies, neurodegenerative diseases or cancer.