Desenvolupament d’un sistema OPC per a la supervisió i diagnosi remota d’un sistema d’instrumentació wireless

Amb la realització d'aquest projecte com a Treball de Final de Grau es busca desenvolupar un sistema d'adquisició de dades per al laboratori d'Enginyeria Química, mitjançant un conjunt de hardwares funcionals però no utilitzats per manca d'actualització del software. Aquests hardwares consisteixen en quatre sondes de temperatura sense fil que es comuniquen mitjançant el protocol ZigBee a un receptor, i a la vegada aquest es comunica per Ethernet. A l'hora de desenvolupar el sistema d'adquisició de dades s'ha decidit implementar dues solucions complementàries. Una solució consisteix en un sistema simple i robust per a la visualització remota de dades a partir d'un software, el qual pot generar un fitxer estandarditzat de lectura; aquesta és la solució anomenada comunicació orientada a l'usuari. L'altra solució consisteix en el processament automàtic de les dades mitjançant comunicació OPC UA per a possibles millores en el futur; aquesta és la solució anomenada comunicació orientada a màquina. S'ha decidit implementar la tecnologia OPC UA en aquest projecte perquè és un protocol de comunicació revolucionari i independent del fabricant i del sistema operatiu. Està dissenyat per comunicar-se de forma segura i operativa entre aplicacions, tant en la indústria de l'automatització com en altres sectors. Finalment s'ha procedit a la implementació del sistema, a la seva validació i s'ha preparat un manual d'usuari perquè l'alumnat d'Enginyeria Química, o qualsevol persona amb pocs coneixements d’electrònica pugui fer la posada en marxa del sistema d'adquisició de dades, i a més a més, poder configurar-lo o reparar-lo si és el cas

Influence de plusieurs paramèters de dessin et procès sur le largueur et la résistance du structure tissée

El proceso de tisaje genera unas contracciones en las estructuras tejidas, y estas estructuras tienen unas resistencias que dependen principalmente, y para unos ilados determinados, de unos parámetros geométricos (parámetros relacionados con la geometría de la estructura). En este trabajo se estudia la influencia del coeficiente de ligadura por trama, densidad de trama y, también, de la tensión de la urdimbre en el tisaje sobre el ancho del tejido resultante (y por lo tanto la contracción respecto al ancho de trabajo en el peine del telar) y sus resistencias, de urdimbre y trama. En este trabajo se establecen los modelos de regresión de las resistencias sobre los parámetros indicados; atendiendo a la información obtenida se propone unos niveles óptimos para obtener unas resistencias máximas.The weaving process generates contractions in the woven structures, and these structures have resistances that depend mainly, and for some specifics yarns, of several geometric parameters (parameters related with the geometry of the structure). The present work studies the influence of the interlacing, filling density and, also, of the tension of the warp in the weaving on the width of the fabric (and therefore the contraction regarding the work width in the comb of the loom) and its tensile strength, of warp and weft.In this work, linear models predicting tensile strength response were established; on the basis of the data obtained it’s proposed some good levels to find the maximum tensile strength.Le processus de tissage crée des contractions dans les structures textiles qui ont une certaine résistance qui dépend principalement, et pour quelques fils donnés, des paramètres géométriques de celles-ci. Cette étude se pendre sur l´influence du coefficient du liaison sens trame, sur la densité de trame et, également, sur la tension de la chaîne en tissage sur le largueur du tissu (et par conséquence, la contraction du tissu sur le largeur du peigne au travail) et sa résistance, en sens chaîne et trame. Cette étude établie les modèles de régression de résistance à la traction sur les paramètres indiqués; compte tenu de l´information obtenue, il est proposé quelques bons niveaux obtenir résistances maximales

Cellulose-based scaffolds enhance pseudoislets formation and functionality

In vitro research for the study of type 2 diabetes (T2D) is frequently limited by the availability of a functional model for islets of Langerhans. To overcome the limitations of obtaining pancreatic islets from different sources, such as animal models or human donors, immortalized cell lines as the insulin-producing INS1E β-cells have appeared as a valid alternative to model insulin-related diseases. However, immortalized cell lines are mainly used in flat surfaces or monolayer distributions, not resembling the spheroid-like architecture of the pancreatic islets. To generate islet-like structures, the use of scaffolds appeared as a valid tool to promote cell aggregations. Traditionally-used hydrogel encapsulation methods do not accomplish all the requisites for pancreatic tissue engineering, as its poor nutrient and oxygen diffusion induces cell death. Here, we use cryogelation technology to develop a more resemblance scaffold with the mechanical and physical properties needed to engineer pancreatic tissue. This study shows that carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) cryogels prompted cells to generate β-cell clusters in comparison to gelatin-based scaffolds, that did not induce this cell organization. Moreover, the high porosity achieved with CMC cryogels allowed us to create specific range pseudoislets. Pseudoislets formed within CMC-scaffolds showed cell viability for up to 7 d and a better response to glucose over conventional monolayer cultures. Overall, our results demonstrate that CMC-scaffolds can be used to control the organization and function of insulin-producing β-cells, representing a suitable technique to generate β-cell clusters to study pancreatic islet function

Evaluación del cayente de los tejidos: métodos y métrica

Bajo el título “Relación entre el cayente y los parámetros mecánicos de los tejidos” publicado en el Nº 462 de noviembre del 2008 de esta revista introducimos el concepto de cayente, y comentamos unas experiencias para encontrar unas relaciones entre el coeficiente de caída y las características estructurales y los parámetros funcionales de los tejidos analizados. En el presente artículo comparamos varios métodos para valorar el coeficiente de caída y profundizamos en su métrica: valoramos los tejidos con distintos indicadores propuestos por investigadores y determinamos las relaciones entre ellos.Postprint (author’s final draft

Els diputats altempordanesos de la Mancomunitat. Apunts biogràfics

L’article és un recull de les biografies dels diputats provincials escollits en el districte de Figueres i que formaren part de l’Assemblea de la Mancomunitat de Catalunya entre  1914 i 1925.This article is a collection of biographies of provincial deputees chosen in the district of Figueres who belonged to the Assembly of the Mancomunitat de Catalunya between 1914-1925

Cecal Ligation and Puncture-Induced Sepsis Promotes Brown Adipose Tissue Inflammation Without Any Impact on Expression of Thermogenic-Related Genes

Background and Aims: The negative effects of chronic low-level inflammation on adipose tissue physiology have been extensively demonstrated, whereas the effects of acute inflammation are less studied. Here, we aimed to investigate the effects of sepsis-induced acute inflammation on gene expression markers of brown and white adipose tissue functionality. Methods: Brown adipose tissue (BAT) and perirenal white adipose tissue (prWAT) gene expression markers were analyzed in cecal ligation and puncture (CLP)-induced sepsis mice model. Results: CLP-induced sepsis attenuated expression of adipogenesis-related genes, in parallel to increased Tnf, Il6, and Ltf gene expression in prWAT. In contrast, CLP-induced sepsis resulted in increased expression of pro-inflammatory genes (Il6, Ltf, and Lbp) in BAT, without affecting expression of genes encoding for thermogenic activity. Conclusion: Sepsis promotes both prWAT and BAT inflammation, associated with reduced adipogenesis-related gene expression in prWAT, without significant effects on BAT thermogenic genes

The effect of anode support on the electrochemical performance of microtubular solid oxide fuel cells fabricated by gel-casting

Different cell configurations of anode-supported microtubular solid oxide fuel cells (mT-SOFCs) using samaria-doped ceria (SDC) as the electrolyte were fabricated. Several cells were processed varying the porosity and wall thickness (outer diameter) of NiOSDC tubular supports. Suitable aqueous slurry formulations of NiOSDC for gel-casting were prepared using agarose, as a gelling agent, and sucrose, as a pore former. The subsequent NiOSDC anode functional layer (AFL), the SDC electrolyte and the La0.6Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3-dSDC cathode were deposited by spray-coating. Pre-sintering temperatures of the supports were optimized from linear shrinkage curves, thus obtaining after co-sintering, a dense electrolyte without anode-electrolyte delamination. Electrochemical characterization of mT-SOFC cells fabricated by agarose gel-casting is reported by the first time. The cell with a support of 2.6 mm diameter, 380 mm wall thickness, an active area of 1 cm2 and added porosity, using 10 wt% sucrose, achieved a maximum power density of about 400 mW cm2 at 650 ºC

In Situ LSPR Sensing of Secreted Insulin in Organ-on-Chip

Organ-on-a-chip (OOC) devices offer new approaches for metabolic disease modeling and drug discovery by providing biologically relevant models of tissues and organs in vitro with a high degree of control over experimental variables for high-content screening applications. Yet, to fully exploit the potential of these platforms, there is a need to interface them with integrated non-labeled sensing modules, capable of monitoring, in situ, their biochemical response to external stimuli, such as stress or drugs. In order to meet this need, we aim here to develop an integrated technology based on coupling a localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) sensing module to an OOC device to monitor the insulin in situ secretion in pancreatic islets, a key physiological event that is usually perturbed in metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes (T2D). As a proof of concept, we developed a biomimetic islet-on-a-chip (IOC) device composed of mouse pancreatic islets hosted in a cellulose-based scaffold as a novel approach. The IOC was interfaced with a state-of-the-art on-chip LSPR sensing platform to monitor the in situ insulin secretion. The developed platform offers a powerful tool to enable the in situ response study of microtissues to external stimuli for applications such as a drug-screening platform for human models, bypassing animal testing

Decay of linkage disequilibrium within genes across HGDP-CEPH human samples: most population isolates do not show increased LD

9 pages, 2 figures, 4 additional files.[Background] It is well known that the pattern of linkage disequilibrium varies between human populations, with remarkable geographical stratification. Indirect association studies routinely exploit linkage disequilibrium around genes, particularly in isolated populations where it is assumed to be higher. Here, we explore both the amount and the decay of linkage disequilibrium with physical distance along 211 gene regions, most of them related to complex diseases, across 39 HGDP-CEPH population samples, focusing particularly on the populations defined as isolates. Within each gene region and population we use r2 between all possible single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) pairs as a measure of linkage disequilibrium and focus on the proportion of SNP pairs with r2 greater than 0.8.[Results] Although the average r2 was found to be significantly different both between and within continental regions, a much higher proportion of r2 variance could be attributed to differences between continental regions (2.8% vs. 0.5%, respectively). Similarly, while the proportion of SNP pairs with r2 > 0.8 was significantly different across continents for all distance classes, it was generally much more homogenous within continents, except in the case of Africa and the Americas. The only isolated populations with consistently higher LD in all distance classes with respect to their continent are the Kalash (Central South Asia) and the Surui (America). Moreover, isolated populations showed only slightly higher proportions of SNP pairs with r2 > 0.8 per gene region than non-isolated populations in the same continent. Thus, the number of SNPs in isolated populations that need to be genotyped may be only slightly less than in non-isolates.[Conclusion] The "isolated population" label by itself does not guarantee a greater genotyping efficiency in association studies, and properties other than increased linkage disequilibrium may make these populations interesting in genetic epidemiology.This research was supported by "Fundación Genoma España" (proyectos piloto CEGEN 2004–2005), Dirección General de Investigación, Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia of Spain (grants BFU2005-00243, BFU2006-01235, BFU2006-15413-CO2-01, SEJ2006-13537) and Direcció General de Recerca, Generalitat de Catalunya (2005SGR00608). SNP genotyping services were provided by the Spanish "Centro Nacional de Genotipado"Peer reviewe