University of Talca

Effects of a Chilean Hazelnut-Supplemented Diet on Oxidative Stress and Cytokine Expression in PBMCs of Hypercholesterolemic Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background/Objectives: Hypercholesterolemia is characterized by alterations in lipid metabolism, oxidative stress, and inflammatory status. Nuts have been shown to mitigate these alterations; however, limited evidence is available regarding their effects in the Chilean population...

Feasibility Region Analysis of a Single-Phase PWM Current Source Converter for Constant Power Loads in Smart Grid and Microgrid Applications

Constant power loads (CPLs) introduce nonlinear voltage–current characteristics that can restrict the feasible operation of power-electronic converters. This paper presents a nonlinear steady-state framework for characterizing the feasible operating region of a single-phase PWM c...

Spatial Differentiation of Population Aging in a Rapidly Aging Latin American Region: Evidence from the Maule Region, Chile, 1992–2024

Population aging is a defining demographic transformation in Latin America, yet its subnational spatial dynamics remain insufficiently understood. We examined population aging in the Maule Region of Chile from 1992 to 2024 using official census data at provincial and commune leve...

Estimation-Robust Minimum-Variance Portfolio Allocation Under Factor-Loading Uncertainty

We study sequential minimum-variance allocation when estimated market-factor loadings are uncertain. At each date, a horizon-one convex problem is solved using an ellipsoidal confidence region for the jointly estimated loading vector. The full loading covariance includes cross-as...

Approximation of Askey-Wilson roots

This note presents a fixed-point formula designed to approximate the roots of Askey-Wilson polynomials for small parameter values.

Computationally Guided Design and Experimental Validation of ssDNA Aptamers Targeting the SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein

Aptamer development has traditionally relied on iterative, labor-intensive experimental approaches. Recent advances in bioinformatics and computational power now enable the rational in silico design of high-affinity nucleic acid ligands, drastically reducing time and cost. Here,...

The Role of Emotion on Autobiographical Memory in a Second Language: A Systematic Narrative Review

Aims and Objectives: This systematic narrative review synthesises 13 peer-reviewed studies examining how emotional valence and intensity influence autobiographical memory retrieval in a second language (L2) versus the first language (L1). It investigates how the language of retri...

Hydrodynamic Modeling and Evaluation of Surface Water Intake Structures in the Maule River Basin Integration of Standard NCh7771 and Climate Change

This paper presents original research on the hydraulic and structural behavior of surface water intake structures in the Maule Riverbasin, contrasting the prescriptive requirements of the Chilean standard NCh777/1 with advanced two-dimensional hydrodynamic models (HECRAS 2D) and...

Short-term macronutrient-specific diets induce distinct metabolic changes detectable in blood and saliva

Background Tools to non-invasively capture dynamic metabolic responses to diet in humans remain limited. Saliva has emerged as an accessible complementary biofluid, but its responsiveness to diet-induced metabolic adaptations remains insufficiently characterized. Methods In this...

Sink prioritization after carbon stress in Quillaja saponaria, a tree species endemic to Mediterranean Chile

Context For plant species adapted to drought, such as those inhabiting Mediterranean regions, carbon (C) allocation to traits related to drought resistance could occur at the expense of growth. Aims We hypothesized that in conditions of C limitation, drought-adapted species prior...

FromChamber to Orchard: Limited Efficacy of Exogenous Salicylic Acid in Field-Grown Sweet Cherry Across Three Seasons

Salicylic acid (SA) is an endogenous phytohormone involved in stress signaling, yet its efficacy under commercial orchard conditions remains insufficiently tested. This multi-season study evaluated foliar SA (72.4 µM) on gas exchange, midday xylem water potential (Ψx), leaf tempe...

Mapping conservation status and land use change drivers in Chilean espinal agroforestry systems using CORONA KH‑4B and Sentinel‑2 data (1972–2023)

Abstract Over the past five decades, land-use change driven by government subsidies for tree planting—particularly of exotic species such as Pinus radiata and Eucalyptus spp.—together with irrigated agricultural expansion, has caused substantial declines in Chile’s ‘espinal’, an...

An exact L2 criterion for periodic neutral equations with distributed delay

We establish a complete characterization of strong periodic solvability for linear neutral differential equations with distributed delay in Hilbert spaces. Our main result shows that strong well-posedness in the natural square-integrable setting is entirely determined by the inve...

An Artificial Reasoning System Dealing with Thales of Miletus’ Theory of the Soul

Abstract The theory of the soul attributed to Thales of Miletus presents a complexity. It seems to imply a contradiction. Thales appears to state that the beings devoid of a soul possess a soul. This claim causes problems with its logical consideration. At least, it reveals probl...

Factors associated with prolonged work absence after occupational injuries in Chile

Abstract Background Prolonged work absence following an occupational injury has important personal, social, and economic consequences, including social isolation, depression, reduced income, and diminished quality of life. Despite its relevance, the demographic, clinical, and inj...

Portable Paper-Based Colorimetric Biosensor for Rapid Screening of Organophosphate Exposure via Acetylcholinesterase Activity and RGB Image Analysis

Background: Rapid screening of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibition is essential for monitoring exposure to organophosphate compounds, particularly in field settings where access to laboratory infrastructure is limited. This study aimed to develop a portable paper-based colorim...

Presenting and Evaluating Smart2: A Bidirectional Real-Time Input Framework for Smartphone–Smartwatch Videogames

Smartwatches offer new opportunities for extending mobile gameplay through wearable input, but their integration into real-time game interactions requires communication frameworks capable of maintaining low and stable latency. This study evaluates Smart2, a smartwatch–smartphone...

Pathways to resilience: how women entrepreneurs build the resilience to become entrepreneurs

Purpose This study investigates how women technology entrepreneurs build the resilience to navigate and persist within hyper-masculinised business incubator environments. It focuses on how formative experiences contribute to the development of resilience, and how these psychologi...

Bioactive Properties and Pharmaceutical Potential of New World Mistletoes of the Genus Tristerix: A Review

Mistletoes of the genus Tristerix, native to South America, represent a unique group of mostly hemiparasitic plants with potential medicinal applications. This review synthesizes existing knowledge on their biological and phytochemical properties, focusing on three main species e...

Differential impact of fire, nitrogen fertilization, and unmanaged soils on the fungal mycobiome of rainfed maize

Maize ( Zea mays L.) is the second most cultivated cereal worldwide, covers approximately 27% of global cereal acreage, and remains a cornerstone of global food security. Climate warming increasingly threatens its yield in rainfed systems, driving the need for agronomic and genet...