Publications by authors named "Pablo Gracia"

Lone mothers have been found to report lower average mental health than partnered mothers. Following the 'stress process model', disparities in women's mental health by family structure could be explained by lone mothers' higher exposure to multiple forms of stressors, compared to partnered mothers. Yet, this hypothesis has not been tested in previous studies.

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This paper presents innovative tools and methodologies for the theoretical assessment of optical properties in refractive multifocal designs. Utilizing lens segmentation techniques and classical Fourier optics, these tools can be of help evaluating multifocal contact lenses, intraocular lenses, small aperture designs, and corneal inlays. As an example of their utility, this study presents the through-focus Visual Strehl ratios in the frequency domain of 12 multifocal contact lenses from four companies, derived from the sagittal power profiles obtained with a NIMO equipment (LAMBDA-X) for three base prescriptions (- 6.

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Previous studies have largely omitted a dynamic analysis of how the transition into parenthood shapes gender differences in mental health trajectories. This study adopts a life course approach to examine how transitioning into parenthood affects men's and women's mental health across multiple domains over time, using large-scale panel data from the 'UK Household Longitudinal Study' (2009-2020). Results from fixed effects models with discrete-time trends show that: (1) women's mental health is more largely affected by parenthood than men's; (2) women's overall mental health shows stable improvements following childbirth, while men's shows mostly insignificant changes; (3) role and social functioning are largely improved among women following childbirth, but only marginally among men; (4) emotional functioning and vitality demonstrate the counteracting effects of parenthood for both genders, with increases in feeling happy but a deterioration in feeling calm and having energy, particularly during care-intensive years; (5) women show larger variations by socioeconomic characteristics than men, with women from higher socioeconomic backgrounds and working full-time experiencing smaller mental health benefits from parenthood compared to less privileged women or having lower paid work constraints.

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Introduction: Despite a growing body of research on associations between adolescent digital use and well-being, few studies have investigated these associations a) longitudinally and b) across socioeconomic status. The present study uses high-quality longitudinal data to examine how digital engagement shapes socioemotional and educational outcomes from early to late adolescence across socioeconomic status (SES).

Methods: Participants are 7685 individuals (49.

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How divorce influences parents' and children's time use has received very little scientific attention. This study uses high-quality longitudinal time-diary data across six waves from the to examine how parental separation shapes parent-child time and children's daily activities. Results show that separation leads to a strong increase of gender inequalities in parents' time use.

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Amyloid protein aggregation is widely involved in a number of neurodegenerative diseases for which novel therapeutic and diagnostic strategies are still needed. Owing to the complex and heterogeneous nature of the aggregated species responsible for toxicity in these disorders, a detailed characterization of the interaction of molecules of interest with the amyloid aggregates is a challenging endeavor. Here, we present the experimental and analytical steps of a protocol which combines dual-color fluorescence cross-correlation spectroscopy and dual-color single-particle fluorescence spectroscopy to quantify the binding affinity and stoichiometry of an inhibitor of α-synuclein amyloid aggregation.

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Amyloid aggregation of α-synuclein (αS) is the hallmark of Parkinson's disease and other synucleinopathies. Recently, Tau protein, generally associated with Alzheimer's disease, has been linked to αS pathology and observed to co-localize in αS-rich disease inclusions, although the molecular mechanisms for the co-aggregation of both proteins remain elusive. We report here that αS phase-separates into liquid condensates by electrostatic complex coacervation with positively charged polypeptides such as Tau.

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This study uses largescale cross-national time-diary data from the Multinational Time Use Study (MTUS) (N = 201,972) covering the period from 2005 to 2015 to examine gender differences in time use by age groups. The study compares ten industrialized countries across Asia, Europe, and North America. In all ten countries, gender differences in time use are smaller in personal care, sleeping and meals, followed by leisure time (including screen-based leisure and active leisure), and largest in housework, care work and paid work activities.

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α-synuclein aggregation is present in Parkinson's disease and other neuropathologies. Among the assemblies that populate the amyloid formation process, oligomers and short fibrils are the most cytotoxic. The human Hsc70-based disaggregase system can resolve α-synuclein fibrils, but its ability to target other toxic assemblies has not been studied.

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Purpose: To assess the effect of decentration and tilt combined with prior myopic ablations on the optical performance of a trifocal intraocular lens (IOL) and a novel IOL with an extended depth of focus (EDOF) design.

Methods: The XACT Mono-EDOF ME4 (Santen Pharmaceutical Co Ltd) and the trifocal FineVision (PhysIOL) IOLs were analyzed with and without simulated previous myopic ablations. The optical quality of the IOLs was evaluated with the PMTF optical bench (LAMBDA-X).

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Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a morbid disease whose complications can be prevented if prompt and correctly treated.

Objective: To assess the usefulness of an early AF diagnosis programme in at-risk individuals in primary care centres.

Methods: In an open-label, multi-centre, controlled interventional study, individuals with one or more risk factors for AF but without known AF were enrolled.

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α-Synuclein aggregation is a key driver of neurodegeneration in Parkinson's disease and related syndromes. Accordingly, obtaining a molecule that targets α-synuclein toxic assemblies with high affinity is a long-pursued objective. Here, we exploit the biophysical properties of toxic oligomers and amyloid fibrils to identify a family of α-helical peptides that bind to these α-synuclein species with low nanomolar affinity, without interfering with the monomeric functional protein.

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Article Synopsis
  • * Researchers found that α-synuclein can group together in a specific way without needing a surface to help it, and this grouping can be tied to the development of toxic forms of the protein.
  • * Water plays an important role in how and when these clumps form, affecting the types of protein structures created in different environments inside cells.
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The understanding of the complex conformational landscape of amyloid aggregation and its modulation by relevant physicochemical and cellular factors is a prerequisite for elucidating some of the molecular basis of pathology in amyloid related diseases, and for developing and evaluating effective disease-specific therapeutics to reduce or eliminate the underlying sources of toxicity in these diseases. Interactions of proteins with solvating water have been long considered to be fundamental in mediating their function and folding; however, the relevance of water in the process of protein amyloid aggregation has been largely overlooked. Here, we provide a perspective on the role water plays in triggering primary amyloid nucleation of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) based on recent experimental evidences.

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α-Synuclein amyloid aggregation is a defining molecular feature of Parkinson's disease, Lewy body dementia, and multiple system atrophy, but can also be found in other neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease. The process of α-synuclein aggregation can be initiated through alternative nucleation mechanisms and dominated by different secondary processes giving rise to multiple amyloid polymorphs and intermediate species. Some aggregated species have more inherent abilities to induce cellular stress and toxicity, while others seem to be more potent in propagating neurodegeneration.

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Purpose: To assess the effect of prior myopic ablations on the optical performance of a trifocal diffractive intraocular lens (IOL) and a novel extended depth of focus (EDOF) diffractive design.

Methods: The novel XACT Mono-EDOF ME4 diffractive IOL (Santen Pharmaceutical) and the trifocal diffractive FineVision IOL (PhysIOL) were analyzed standing alone and combined with a simulated myopic corneal ablation. The optical quality of the IOLs in both situations was evaluated with the PMTF optical bench (LAMBDA-X).

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Background: The aim was to assess the impact of 5- and 10-degree rotations in the optical quality of a trifocal toric intraocular lens with different amounts of cylinder.

Methods: Two Physiol Toric intraocular lenses with 1.5 and 3.

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Significance: Electronic display devices used before bed may negatively affect sleep quality through the effects of short-wavelength (blue) light on melatonin production and the circadian cycle. We quantified the efficacy of night-mode functions and blue-light-reducing lenses in ameliorating this problem.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the radiation produced by smartphones that reaches the eye when using night-mode functions or blue-light-reducing spectacle lenses.

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Background: Many patients voice concerns regarding poor night vision, even when they see 20/20 or better in the exam room. During mesopic and scotopic conditions the pupil size increases, increasing the effects on visual performance of uncorrected (residual) refractive errors. The i.

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Proteins fold on timescales from hours to microseconds. In addition to protein size, sequence, and topology, the environment represents an equally important factor in determining folding speed. This is particularly relevant for proteins that require a lipid membrane or a membrane mimic to fold.

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Purpose: Evaluate the importance of orientation of multifocal lens designs with angular increments of addition.

Methods: Optical properties of one monofocal and three multifocal designs were analysed with the visual Strehl ratio (VSOTF) metric through-focus (-1 to 5 D). Designs were tested in combination with the higher-order aberrations (HOAs) of 782 subjects (1564 eyes).

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Structural and dynamic investigations of unfolded proteins are important for understanding protein-folding mechanisms as well as the interactions of unfolded polypeptide chains with other cell components. In the case of outer-membrane proteins (OMPs), unfolded-state properties are of particular physiological relevance, because these proteins remain unfolded for extended periods of time during their biogenesis and rely on interactions with binding partners to support proper folding. Using a combination of ensemble and single-molecule spectroscopy, we have scrutinized the unfolded state of outer-membrane phospholipase A (OmpLA) to provide a detailed view of its structural dynamics on timescales from nanoseconds to milliseconds.

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This study uses time-diary data for dual-earner couples from Belgium, Denmark, Spain, and the United Kingdom to analyze educational inequalities in parental care time in different national contexts. For mothers, education is significantly associated with parenting involvement only in Spain and the United Kingdom. In Spain these differences are largely explained by inequalities in mothers' time and monetary resources, but not in the United Kingdom, where less-educated mothers disproportionally work in short part-time jobs.

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