Surfaces and Interfaces for Renewable Energy

Energy is a growing need in today’s world. Citizens and governments are increasingly aware of the sustainable use that must be made of natural resources and the great negative impact on the environment produced by conventional energies. Therefore, developments in energy systems based on renewable energies must be carried out in the very near future. To ensure their sustainability, they must be made of durable materials, and for this, the study of coatings is extremely important. This is also vital in systems based on solar energy, where the optical properties of the materials must be preserved as long as possible, and to this must be added the fact that they tend to be installed in very aggressive environments from the point of view of corrosion. Therefore, this special issue aims to contribute to the development of this challenge

Efecto sinérgico de la luz y la gravedad sobre el crecimiento y la proliferación celular en "Arabidopsis thaliana"

La ausencia parcial o total de gravedad afecta al crecimiento y desarrollo de las plantas.Conocer estos efectos es muy importante porque las plantas forman una parte esencial de los Sistemas de Soporte Vital, necesarios para la futura exploración de la Luna, Marte e incluso de planetas fuera de nuestro Sistema Solar, al aportar oxígeno y alimento para los seres humanos. El crecimiento y desarrollo de las plantas son funciones vitales que se basan en la coordinación de procesos celulares como la proliferación y el crecimiento en los tejidos meristemáticos de la planta (“competencia meristemática”). La magnitud del vector gravedad en nuestro planeta (9,8 m/s2 o 1g) ha sido constante a lo largo de la evolución de las plantas y su falta en oscuridad causa la pérdida de la competencia meristemática en la raíz, como demostró nuestro grupo en experimentos realizados en la Estación Espacial Internacional (ISS) y en simuladores de microgravedad en Tierra..

A Simplified Method to Avoid Shadows at Parabolic-Trough Solar Collectors Facilities

Renewable energy today is no longer just an affordable alternative, but a requirement for mitigating global environmental problems such as climate change. Among renewable energies, the use of solar energy is one of the most widespread. Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) systems, however, is not yet fully widespread despite having demonstrated great efficiency, mainly thanks to parabolic-trough collector (PTC) technology, both on a large scale and on a small scale for heating water in industry. One of the main drawbacks to this energy solution is the large size of the facilities. For this purpose, several models have been developed to avoid shadowing between the PTC lines as much as possible. In this study, the classic shadowing models between the PTC rows are reviewed. One of the major challenges is that they are studied geometrically as a fixed installation, while they are moving facilities, as they have a tracking movement of the sun. In this work, a new model is proposed to avoid shadowing by taking into account the movement of the facilities depending on their latitude. Secondly, the model is tested to an existing facility as a real case study located in southern Spain. The model is applied to the main existing installations in the northern hemisphere, thus showing the usefulness of the model for any PTC installation in the world. The shadow projected by a standard, the PTC (S) has been obtained by means of a polynomial approximation as a function of the latitude (Lat) given by S = 0.001 − Lat2 + 0.0121 − Lat + 10.9 with R2 of 99.8%. Finally, the model has been simplified to obtain in the standard case the shadows in the running time of a PTC facility

C3G is upregulated in hepatocarcinoma, contributing to tumor growth and progression and to HGF/MET pathway activation

[EN]The complexity of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) challenges the identification of disease-relevant signals. C3G, a guanine nucleotide exchange factor for Rap and other Ras proteins, plays a dual role in cancer acting as either a tumor suppressor or promoter depending on tumor type and stage. The potential relevance of C3G upregulation in HCC patients suggested by database analysis remains unknown. We have explored C3G function in HCC and the underlying mechanisms using public patient data and in vitro and in vivo human and mouse HCC models. We found that C3G is highly expressed in progenitor cells and neonatal hepatocytes, whilst being down-regulated in adult hepatocytes and re-expressed in human HCC patients, mouse HCC models and HCC cell lines. Moreover, high C3G mRNA levels correlate with tumor progression and a lower patient survival rate. C3G expression appears to be tightly modulated within the HCC program, influencing distinct cell biological properties. Hence, high C3G expression levels are necessary for cell tumorigenic properties, as illustrated by reduced colony formation in anchorage-dependent and -independent growth assays induced by permanent C3G silencing using shRNAs. Additionally, we demonstrate that C3G down-regulation interferes with primary HCC tumor formation in xenograft assays, increasing apoptosis and decreasing proliferation. In vitro assays also revealed that C3G down-regulation enhances the pro-migratory, invasive and metastatic properties of HCC cells through an epithelial-mesenchymal switch that favors the acquisition of a more mesenchymal phenotype. Consistently, a low C3G expression in HCC cells correlates with lung metastasis formation in mice. However, the subsequent restoration of C3G levels is associated with metastatic growth. Mechanistically, C3G down-regulation severely impairs HGF/MET signaling activation in HCC cells. Collectively, our results indicate that C3G is a key player in HCC. C3G promotes tumor growth and progression, and the modulation of its levels is essential to ensure distinct biological features of HCC cells throughout the oncogenic program. Furthermore, C3G requirement for HGF/MET signaling full activation provides mechanistic data on how it works, pointing out the relevance of assessing whether high C3G levels could identify HCC responders to MET inhibitors

Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) in cancer patients: psychometric properties and measurement invariance

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties, convergent validity, and factorial invariance of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) in cancer patients. Method: Confi rmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted to explore the scale's dimensionality and test for strong measurement invariance across sex and age in a cross-sectional, multicenter, prospective study. Patients completed the MSPSS and Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS). Results: A total of 925 consecutive patients were recruited in 13 hospitals between July 2015 and December 2018. The CFA indicated that the original three factor model was replicated in patients with cancer. The results of the multi-group CFA revealed a strong invariance according to sex and age. The Spanish version of the MSPSS had high estimated reliability with values exceeding .90. The simple sum of the items of each scale was a good indicator of oncology patients' perceived social support. The three MSPSS subscales correlated signifi cantly with the SWLS. Women scored higher on social support by friends than men. Conclusion: The Spanish version of the MSPSS proved to be a valid, reliable instrument to assess perceived social support in cancer patients

Manual de casos clínicos de Farmacología

Este manual de casos clínicos de Farmacología, creado como recurso educativo en abierto (REA) para garantizar una educación inclusiva, equitativa y de calidad, constituye una excelente herramienta didáctica para los procesos de enseñanza y aprendizaje en esta área de conocimiento. En este manual se recopilan un total de 15 casos clínicos agrupados en tres grandes bloques: farmacología del sistema nervioso periférico, farmacología de los mediadores celulares y farmacología de los ejes neuroendocrinos. Estos casos clínicos permiten organizar y relacionar los conocimientos adquiridos sobre farmacología, así como ampliarlos y aplicarlos contribuyendo a la consolidación de un aprendizaje significativo integrado y al desarrollo de competencias deductivas y resolutivas.Depto. de Farmacología, Farmacognosia y BotánicaFac. de Farmaciaunpu

Casos clínicos como recursos educativos abiertos para fomentar el aprendizaje significativo de la Farmacología General

Depto. de Farmacología, Farmacognosia y BotánicaFac. de FarmaciaFALSEsubmitte

Estrategias de uso racional de medicamentos en personas mayores como mejora de la calidad de vida y de promoción del bienestar

El proyecto “Estrategias de uso racional de medicamentos en personas mayores como mejora de la calidad de vida y de promoción del bienestar” se basa en la elaboración y diseño de estrategias de prevención y mejora en torno al cumplimiento terapéutico, el uso racional del medicamento, y la identificación temprana de reacciones adversas a medicamentos, entre otros problemas relacionados con el medicamento. Este proyecto es una continuación del anterior ApS UCM 2019 “Identificación de problemas relacionados con el medicamento y estrategias de mejora en personas mayores”. En esta ocasión, y por la pandemia por COVID-19, este ApS será virtual, desarrollándose diversos talleres en formato de vídeo para dar formación a las personas mayores en materia de medicamento y que se centrarán en el tratamiento de las distintas patologías de la meta 3.4. de los ODS 2030, con el fin de aumentar la calidad de vida y el bienestar social de este colectivo. Esta actividad se integra en la docencia de las asignaturas de Farmacología General, y Farmacología y Farmacoterapia del Grado en Farmacia y del Doble Grado de Farmacia y Nutrición como estrategia de aprendizaje para consolidar y profundizar lo aprendido en estas materias

Creación de la Historioteca Veterinaria: píldoras de conocimiento sobre historia de la veterinaria

Proyecto de Innovación Educativo 341 curso 20-21 Creación de la Historioteca Veterinaria: píldoras de conocimiento sobre historia de la veterinaria