Zeolite based microconcentrators for volatile organic compounds sensing at trace-level: fabrication and performance

A novel 6-step microfabrication process is proposed in this work to prepare microfluidic devices with integrated zeolite layers. In particular, microfabricated preconcentrators designed for volatile organic compounds (VOC) sensing applications are fully described. The main novelty of this work is the integration of the pure siliceous MFI type zeolite (silicalite-1) polycrystalline layer, i.e. 4.0¿¿±¿¿0.5 µm thick, as active phase, within the microfabrication process just before the anodic bonding step. Following this new procedure, Si microdevices with an excellent distribution of the adsorbent material, integrated resistive heaters and Pyrex caps have been obtained. Firstly, the microconcentrator performance has been assessed by means of the normal hexane breakthrough curves as a function of sampling and desorption flowrates, temperature and micropreconcentrator design. In a step further, the best preconcentrator device has been tested in combination with downstream Si based microcantilevers deployed as VOC detectors. Thus, a preliminar evaluation of the improvement on detection sensitivity by silicalite-1 based microconcentrators is presented

School choice in a quasi-market system mediated by the bilingual program

Introduction. This research seeks to understand the reasons that guide the choice of school by families whose children study at public schools of the Community of Madrid. Special emphasis is made on approaching the role played by bilingual schools within the general issues associated with school choice. Method. In order to achieve our aim, a qualitative research is carried out based on semi-structured interviews. The participants are 14 representatives of different Parents Associations from Public Infant and Primary Schools, as well as from High schools –half of them bilingual– within the municipality of Getafe (Region of Madrid, Spain). Results. The affiliation or non-affiliation of the school to the bilingual program has radically altered the school selection criteria by families in recent years. As a result, the proximity to the school and the social perception of the school’s quality have become the most important factors of choice. In the case of belonging to the bilingual programme, it implies as many criticisms as adhesions, with strong rejection by families in many cases due to the segregation it is generating. Discussion. The bilingual programme and the emergence of the single school district is generating a strong polarisation of society that intensifies the segregation of the education system. It seems, necessary to rethink the measures of free choice and handle a global and independent evaluation of the bilingual programme.Esta investigación busca comprender las razones que orientan la elección de centro por parte de las familias cuyas hijas e hijos estudian en centros públicos de la Comunidad de Madrid, haciendo especial énfasis en conocer el papel que juegan los centros bilingües en las problemáticas generales asociadas a la elección de escuela. Método. Para dar respuesta a este objetivo se realiza una investigación cualitativa basada en entrevistas semiestructuradas a 14 representantes de diferentes Asociaciones de Madres y Padres de Alumnos/as tanto de Colegios Públicos de Educación Infantil y Primaria como de Institutos de Secundaria, la mitad de ellos bilingües y la otra mitad no, todos ellos del municipio de Getafe. Resultados. La adscripción o no del centro al programa bilingüe ha alterado radicalmente los criterios de selección de centro por parte de las familias en estos últimos años. De esta forma, la cercanía al centro y la percepción social de la calidad del centro son los factores más importantes de elección. En el caso de la pertenencia al programa bilingüe supone tantas críticas como adhesiones, existiendo fuerte rechazo por las familias en muchos casos por la segregación que está generando. Discusión. El Programa Bilingüe y la aparición del distrito escolar único está generando una fuerte polarización de la sociedad que intensifica la segregación del sistema educativo. Parece, por tanto, necesario replantearse las medidas de libre elección y afrontar una evaluación global e independiente del programa de bilingüism

Portable lock-in amplifier for microcantilever based sensor array. Application to explosives detection using Co-BEA type zeolites as sensing materials

Recent advances in microcantilever-based sensors have led to a significant increase in sensitivity, making them a competitive solution in highly demanding applications as explosives detection. However, these sensors face severe challenges related to: reliability, sensitivity, reproducibility and throughput; that have yet to be solved for commercial applications. This paper describes our efforts in this direction, particularly on the reproducible detection of nitroaromatic type explosives by means of parallelization combined with: i) nanoporous solids as sensing materials; and, ii) a portable lowpower electronic readout interface capable of both excitation and measurement of the multisensing platform. The response of the sensor array, comprising 4 microcantilevers, due to presence of 2-nitrotoluene, a common explosive taggant, has been properly monitored. The obtained results with 4 identical Co-BEA coated Si microcantilevers underline the importance of a proper sensing material degassing on the sensor performance

Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Anaplasma marginale Elicit Different Gene Expression Responses in Cultured Tick Cells

The genus Anaplasma (Rickettsiales: Anaplasmataceae) includes obligate tick-transmitted intracellular organisms, Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Anaplasma marginale that multiply in both vertebrate and tick host cells. Recently, we showed that A. marginale affects the expression of tick genes that are involved in tick survival and pathogen infection and multiplication. However, the gene expression profile in A. phagocytophilum-infected tick cells is currently poorly characterized. The objectives of this study were to characterize tick gene expression profile in Ixodes scapularis ticks and cultured ISE6 cells in response to infection with A. phagocypthilum and to compare tick gene expression responses in A. phagocytophilum- and A. marginale-infected tick cells by microarray and real-time RT-PCR analyses. The results of these studies demonstrated modulation of tick gene expression by A. phagocytophilum and provided evidence of different gene expression responses in tick cells infected with A. phagocytophilum and A. marginale. These differences in Anaplasma-tick interactions may reflect differences in pathogen life cycle in the tick cells

Explosives detection by array of Si µ-cantilevers coated with titanosilicate type nanoporous materials

An array comprising 4 Si microcantilevers coated with nanoporous ETS-10 crystals sub-micrometric in size has been deployed as a multisensing platform for 2-nitrotoluene (an explosive related molecule) recognition. For such purposes, the adsorption properties of synthetic microporous ETS-10 titanosilicate type materials have been tailored by means of the Si/Ti ratio, and surface grafting with organic groups (amine, imidazol). Our general strategy for vapor detection of explosives involves the combination of Si based nanoporous solids as sensing materials and resonating Si cantilevers provided with self-heating elements as tiny microbalances (mass sensitivity factors ~18 Hz/ng). Particularly for this work, ETS-10 type titanosilicates with promoted basic properties (Si/Ti=4, -NH2 anchored on the external surface) exhibit the higher affinity towards nitroaromatic derivatives as electron defficient molecules. A high remarkable hydrophilic character is shown by titanosilicates modified by covalent linkage with imidazole based organosilane (above 17% wt. water uptake at room temperature). Accounting from such versatile sorption behavior, the family of nanoporous ETS-10 crystals has been deployed by microdropping technique over the 8 Si-microcantilevers chip. By means of a portable lowpower electronic interface capable of the simultaneous excitation and measurement of 4 sensor output signals, such multisensing platform has been successfully applied for 2-nitrotoluene detection at trace level

Explosives Detection by Array of Si µ -Cantilevers Coated with Titanosilicate-Type Nanoporous Materials

An array comprising four Si µ -cantilevers coated with nanoporous functionalized ETS-10 crystals sub-micrometric in size has been developed as a multisensing platform for explosives recognition in vapor phase. The detection capabilities of the proposed device have been tested for common taggants such as 1-methyl-2-nitro-benzene (o-MNT)] and explosives (commercial detonation cord, a plastic tube filled with pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN); and C-4, a mixture of cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine (RDX), binders and plastifiers). The general strategy for the detection of explosives in vapor phase is based on the characteristic fingerprint each one produces as a result of the dissimilar chemical interactions between the ETS-10 coated µ -cantilevers and the target molecules emanating from the explosives and swept by ambient air. A portable lock-in amplifier has been implemented to exploit the truly benefits of the array in terms of portability, reduced size, and energy consumption. Such low-power electronic interface is capable of creating the excitation signal as well as obtaining the response values of four resonating µ -cantilevers simultaneously. The resulting sensing platform has successfully been applied for the o-MNT, PETN, and RDX detection at trace level

Cognitive stimulation as alternative treatment to improve psychological disorders in patients with mild cognitive impairment

(1) Background: Mild cognitive impairment is becoming one of the most common clinical manifestations affecting older people. For this reason, developing non-pharmacological strategies to help improve or maintain the physical condition of patients with mild dementia has become a priority. Therefore, the objective of this study is to provide evidence about the effects of a cognitive stimulation program on cognitive performance, anxiety, depression, and quality of life in people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and aged > 70. (2) Methods: This study is a randomized clinical trial. A total of 72 elderly people with MCI participated: 35 in the control group who did not receive any intervention and 36 in the experimental group who received a cognitive stimulation program for 12 weeks. Cognitive performance, depression, anxiety and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) were measured using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Yesavage Geriatric Depression Scale, the Hamilton Rating Scale, and the SF-12, respectively. (3) Results: In the experimental group, significant results were obtained on cognitive performance, depression, anxiety and general health, emotional role, social functioning, vitality, mental health and mental component summary domains of the SF-12. (4) Conclusions: a cognitive stimulation program of 12 weeks improves cognitive performance, anxiety, depression, and HRQoL in people with MCI aged > 70

Current Advances in the Biochemical and Physiological Aspects of the Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus with Thiazolidinediones

The present review summarizes the current advances in the biochemical and physiological aspects in the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2) with thiazolidinediones (TZDs). DM2 is a metabolic disorder characterized by hyperglycemia, triggering the abnormal activation of physiological pathways such as glucose autooxidation, polyol’s pathway, formation of advance glycation end (AGE) products, and glycolysis, leading to the overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and proinflammatory cytokines, which are responsible for the micro- and macrovascular complications of the disease. The treatment of DM2 has been directed toward the reduction of hyperglycemia using different drugs such as insulin sensitizers, as the case of TZDs, which are able to lower blood glucose levels and circulating triglycerides by binding to the nuclear peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) as full agonists. When TZDs interact with PPARγ, the receptor regulates the transcription of different genes involved in glucose homeostasis, insulin resistance, and adipogenesis. However, TZDs exhibit some adverse effects such as fluid retention, weight gain, hepatotoxicity, plasma-volume expansion, hemodilution, edema, bone fractures, and congestive heart failure, which limits their use in DM2 patients

Hedgehog Pathway Inhibition Hampers Sphere and Holoclone Formation in Rhabdomyosarcoma

Altres ajuts: This work was supported by grants from Institut Català d'Oncologia (ICO), Instituto de Salud Carlos III (RTICC-RD12/0036/0016 and RD12/0036/0027; PI11/00740 and PI14/00647), Fundació A. BOSCH, and ajuts predoctorals VHIR.Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is the most common type of soft tissue sarcoma in children and can be divided into two main subtypes: embryonal (eRMS) and alveolar (aRMS). Among the cellular heterogeneity of tumors, the existence of a small fraction of cells called cancer stem cells (CSC), thought to be responsible for the onset and propagation of cancer, has been demonstrated in some neoplasia. Although the existence of CSC has been reported for eRMS, their existence in aRMS, the most malignant subtype, has not been demonstrated to date. Given the lack of suitable markers to identify this subpopulation in aRMS, we used cancer stem cell-enriched supracellular structures (spheres and holoclones) to study this subpopulation. This strategy allowed us to demonstrate the capacity of both aRMS and eRMS cells to form these structures and retain self-renewal capacity. Furthermore, cells contained in spheres and holoclones showed significant Hedgehog pathway induction, the inhibition of which (pharmacologic or genetic) impairs the formation of both holoclones and spheres. Our findings point to a crucial role of this pathway in the maintenance of these structures and suggest that Hedgehog pathway targeting in CSC may have great potential in preventing local relapses and metastases