Heparinization of beta tricalcium phosphate: osteo-immunomodulatory effects

"This is the pre-peer reviewed version of the following article: A. Diez-Escudero, M. Espanol, M. Bonany, X. Lu, C. Persson, M.-P. Ginebra, Adv. Healthcare Mater. 2018, 7, 1700867, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1002/adhm.201700867. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving."Immune cells play a vital role in regulating bone dynamics. This has boosted the interest in developing biomaterials that can modulate both the immune and skeletal systems. In this study, calcium phosphates discs (i.e., beta-tricalcium phosphate, ß-TCP) are functionalized with heparin to investigate the effects on immune and stem cell responses. The results show that the functionalized surfaces downregulate the release of hydrogen peroxide and proinflammatory cytokines (tumor necrosis factor alpha and interleukin 1 beta) from human monocytes and neutrophils, compared to nonfunctionalized discs. The macrophages show both elongated and round shapes on the two ceramic substrates, but the morphology of cells on heparinized ß-TCP tends toward a higher elongation after 72 h. The heparinized substrates support rat mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) adhesion and proliferation, and anticipate the differentiation toward the osteoblastic lineage as compared to ß-TCP and control. The coupling between the inflammatory response and osteogenesis is assessed by culturing MSCs with the macrophage supernatants. The downregulation of inflammation in contact with the heparinized substrates induces higher expression of bone-related markers by MSCsPeer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Raising awareness of pragmatics in the EFL classroom: a proposal

The present article deals with some potential applications deriving from introducing reflection on contrastive pragmatics in EFL teaching. Specifically, it focuses on an area of politeness theory that tends to be problematic for Catalan learners of English, namely, the formulation of polite requests. The article includes a framework for the development of contrastive language awareness in the classroom and the explanation of a didactic unit intended to help learners discover the similarities and differences between polite requests in their L1 and English.El presente artículo aborda la introducción de la pragmática contrastiva en la enseñanza del inglés como lengua extranjera. Específicamente, se centra en la formulación de peticiones, un área de la teoría de la cortesía verbal que generalmente presenta problemas para los estudiantes de inglés cuya primera lengua es el catalán. El artículo contiene un marco para el desarrollo de la conciencia lingüística contrastiva en el aula y la explicación de una unidad didáctica diseñada para ayudar a los alumnos a descubrir las similitudes y diferencias entre las peticiones corteses en su L1 y en inglés

Compositional analysis of correlation of weather parameters with russet of 'golden delicious' apples

The development of russet on 'Golden Delicious' apples is a problem of concern to growers of fresh market apples. Russeting is considered to be due to untimely divisions of cells in the epidermis of the fruit initiated by environmental or cultural conditions. The etiology of nonculturally induced russet is intimately associated with the presence of water on the surface of the fruit. The initiation of russet clearly occurs during the ¯rst 30 days of fruit development, and is frequently visible at the end of that period. Creasy (1980) concluded that high relative humidity was positively correlated with the degree of incidence of russeting, especially 16-25 days after full bloom of apple trees. This study was conducted to establish the correlation between weather parameters and the incidence of russeting on apples. We have recorded the incidence rates of russeting on 'Golden Delicious' grown in 'Mas Badia' ¯eld station (La Tallada, Girona), from 1986 to 2002. Each year a sample of apples was picked at random. Each fruit was evaluated for the percent of surface area covered with russet which was categorized into ¯ve ordinal categories. In this way we have the percentage of each russeting-category for each year

Disseny i fabricació del bastidor d'una motocicleta de competició

Donada la participació de l’equip ETSEIB Racing a la competició universitària internacional del MotoStudent sorgeix la necessitat de crear un xassís pel prototip ER20. En conseqüència, l’objecte d’estudi d’aquest treball serà dissenyar, modelar i verificar l’estructura del xassís d’una motocicleta de competició. Per assolir aquesta fita, es procedeix a la recerca d’informació i un cop escollida la tipologia de xassís, es comencen a elaborar els primers dissenys. Un cop es té el disseny final que compleix totes les sol·licitacions geomètriques es procedeix a crear el model estructural a través de la metodologia dels elements finits, per verificar la seguretat del xassís mitjançant càlculs lineals i elàstics. Aquesta verificació no serà immediata sinó que necessitarà una remodelació del disseny per esdevenir favorable. A més a més, donat el complex procés per dissenyar el xassís, es crea un model estructural senzill amb l’objectiu de simplificar el procés de disseny i creació dels models d’estructures tubulars. Els resultats estructurals d’aquest model no seran fiables. Per últim, s’introdueix el càlcul modal mitjançant el mètode dels elements finits per obtenir les freqüències pròpies de l’estructura i verificar que les vibracions provocades pel grup propulsor no suposen cap perill estructural

Aplicació web per a la consulta i gestió de les benzineres estatals

El treball que a continuació es presenta consisteix en l'anàlisi, el disseny i la implementació d'una aplicació web que permeti, principalment, la consulta de preus dels combustibles de les benzineres estatals. La plataforma tecnològica escollida ha estat J2EE ja que aquesta tecnologia, basada principalment en el llenguatge Java, permet programar i executar aplicacions en un servidor d'una forma econòmica i alhora professional. L'aplicació segueix principalment el patró arquitectònic MVC (Model Vista Controlador), utilitzant com a marc de treball Struts2 i per a la persistència de dades Hibernate juntament amb el patró DAO.El trabajo que a continuación se presenta consiste en el análisis, el diseño y la implementación de una aplicación web que permita, principalmente, la consulta de precios de los combustibles de las gasolineras estatales. La plataforma tecnológica elegida ha sido J2EE ya que esta tecnología, basada principalmente en el lenguaje Java, permite programar y ejecutar aplicaciones en un servidor de una forma económica y a la vez profesional. La aplicación sigue principalmente el patrón arquitectónico MVC (Modelo Vista Controlador), utilizando como marco de trabajo Struts2 y para la persistencia de datos Hibernate junto con el patrón DAO.The work presented below consist in the analysis, design and implementation of a web application to consult fuel prices in state gas stations. The technology platform chosen has been J2EE as the technology is mainly based on the Java language, which allows programming and running applications on a server in an inexpensive, yet professional way

Microsphere incorporation as a strategy to tune the biological performance of bioinks

Although alginate is widely used as a matrix in the formulation of cell-laden inks, this polymer often requires laborious processing strategies due to its lack of cell adhesion moieties. The main objective of the present work was to explore the incorporation of microspheres into alginate-based bioinks as a simple and tuneable way to solve the cell adhesion problems, while adding extra biological functionality and improving their mechanical properties. To this end, three types of microspheres with different mineral contents (i.e. gelatine with 0% of hydroxyapatite, gelatine with 25 wt% of hydroxyapatite nanoparticles and 100 wt% of calcium -deficient hydroxyapatite) were synthesised and incorporated into the formulation of cell-laden inks. The results showed that the addition of microspheres generally improved the rheological properties of the ink, favoured cell proliferation and positively affected osteogenic cell differentiation. Furthermore, this differentiation was found to be influenced by the type of microsphere and the ability of the cells to migrate towards them, which was highly dependent on the stiffness of the bioink. In this regard, Ca2+ supplementation in the cell culture medium had a pronounced effect on the relaxation of the stiffness of these cell-loaded inks, influencing the overall cell performance. In conclusion, we have developed a powerful and tuneable strategy for the fabrication of alginate-based bioinks with enhanced biological characteristics by incorporating microspheres into the initial ink formulation.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Hail nets do not affect the efficacy of metamitron for chemical thinning of apple tree

Hail nets reduce photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) and alter the environment under the netting in apple orchards. Thus, we investigated the effect of nets on the efficacy of metamitron, a short-term photosynthesis inhibitor used for fruit thinning. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of the netting and metamitron on thinning efficacy, yield, fruit quality and chlorophyll fluorescence in three apple (Malus domestica Borkh.) cultivars. One or two metamitron applications at different doses or rates were applied the tree under different coloured nets. The reduction of PAR was highest with black nets (19%-22%), followed by green (13%-15%) and white nets (6%-11%). There were no significant differences (P> 0.05) in fruit weight or size with or without nets. Double applications of metamitron increased average fruit fresh weight and reduced the fruit set over four experiments. In contrast, single applications were less effective. In two experiments, thinning was associated with lower yields. However, there was no effect in the other two experiments. The double treatments tended to increase the percentage of the crop with fruit larger than 70 mm in diameter. All thinning strategies showed similar inhibition in fluorescence, with the only observed significant differences between treatments occurring when using a single or double application. The results show that netting does not affect the response to thinning with metamitron.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Screening of eco-friendly thinning agents and adjusting mechanical thinning on ‘Gala’, ‘Golden Delicious’ and ‘Fuji’ apple trees

Fruit thinning is the most important yet difficult practice that drives orchard profitability. High labor costs and difficulty to improve return bloom by hand thinning have left chemical thinning as the main method used by growers. However, unpredictability and safety/environment concerns regarding chemical thinning have set mechanical thinning as a sound alternative. Thirteen field experiments were performed during 2004–2016 in order to evaluate several agents for their use as new thinners, and adjust mechanical thinning on ‘Gala’, ‘Golden Delicious’ and ‘Fuji’. Olive oil applied at bloom reduced crop load, but russetting was also increased. Therefore, while their use is not advisable for russetting prone cultivars such as ‘Golden Delicious’, it could be a good thinner for cultivars like ‘Red Delicious’. Lime sulfur did not have a consistent thinning effect in our study when applied at bloom. Overall, no differences regarding economic value between hand, chemical, and mechanical blossom thinning were observed, suggesting mechanical thinning as a valid alternative approach. For ‘Gala’ strains, 6 km h−1 and 250 rpm with 270 strings was the best configuration to provide an ideal crop load of ∼6 fruit/cm2 of TCSA and an average fruit size of 170 g. For ‘Fuji’, 5 km h−1 and 320 rpm with 270 strings provided a crop load in accordance to the optimum range for this cultivar in our conditions. However, combination of mechanical thinning plus chemical treatments might be the ideal strategy for ‘Fuji’ strains when the initial number of flower clusters per tree is above 500. For ‘Golden Delicious’ strains, 6 km h−1 and 230 rpm with 270 strings was the best configuration to provide an ideal crop load within the optimum range. Mechanical thinning timing was also examined at different phenological stages (E2, F1, F2, and G), with no significant differences regarding yield, fruit size or crop load between them. Two prediction models (‘Gala’ & ‘Golden Delicious’) were developed to adjust the right tractor and rotational speeds depending on the initial number of flower clusters. The method begins with first calculating the final fruit number needed per tree (crop load for each particular cultivar) in order to achieve the desired yield. Then, tractor and rotational speeds can be determined by the model once knowing the initial number of flower clusters per tree.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Brevis thinning efficacy at different fruit size and fluorescence on ‘Gala’ and ‘Fuji’ apples

Brevis thinning efficacy depends on climatic and cultivar conditions. The objective of this work was to evaluate the efficacy of one application of Brevis in ‘Gala’ and ‘Fuji’ apple applied at different fruit sizes (fruit king diameter ranging between 6.5 and 21.5 mm) and to determine which fruit diameters were most sensitive to Brevis application. Trials were conducted over two seasons from 2015 to 2016 in apple orchards in Lleida (Spain). Photosynthesis inhibition caused by Brevis was also analysed and measured, using chlorophyll fluorescence and biexponential pharmacokinetic models. In 2016, for all Brevis treatments and an untreated control, quantum yield (Qy) was measured in all leaves in different shoots, with photosynthesis inhibition and its evolution analysed in three sections (closest to branch, mid-shoot and vegetative section). Under the trial conditions, Brevis thinning effect was observed at king fruit diameters from 9 to 19 mm, with maximum efficacy observed in the 11.5–14 mm range. However, susceptibility to Brevis differed between varieties and years. The fluorescence analysis using a biexponential equation showed adequate fits and the calculated values correlated well with the measured Qy(%) values. The area under curve per day analysis showed that, at the same application dose, fluorescence inhibition decreased with increasing fruit diameter. The fluorescence analysis of shoot sections four days after Brevis application showed differences between varieties, with the inhibition caused by Brevis higher in ‘Gala’ than in ‘Fuji’. However, this analysis showed no significant differences in ‘Gala’, with all sections showing similar inhibition (27%–35%). By contrast, ‘Fuji’ showed different inhibition values in the different sections. The vegetative section showed the significantly highest inhibition, and the zone nearest the branch the lowest.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio