Vacuum tribological behaviour of self lubricant quasicrystalline composite coatings

High temperature resistant self-lubricant coatings are needed in space vehicles for components that operate at high temperatures and/or under vacuum. Thick composite lubricant coatings containing quasicrystalline alloys (QC) as the hard phase for wear resistance, have been deposited by thermal spray. The coatings also comprise lubricating materials (silver and BaF2-CaF2 eutectic) and NiCr as the tough component. This paper describes the vacuum tribological properties of TH103, a coating belonging to this family, with excellent microstructural quality. The coating was deposited by HVOF and tested under vacuum on a pin-on-disc tribometer. Different loads, linear speeds and pin materials were studied. The pin scars and disc wear tracks were characterized by EDS-SEM. A minimum mean steady friction coefficient of 0.32 was obtained employing a X-750 Ni superalloy pin in vacuum conditions under 10 N load and 15 cm/s linear speed, showing moderate wear of the disc and low wear of the pin

Vacuum Tribological Behaviour of Self-Lubricating Quasicrystalline Composite Coatings

High-temperature-resistant self-lubricating coatings are needed in space vehicles for components that operate at high temperatures and/or under vacuum. Thick composite lubricant coatings containing quasicrystalline alloys as the hard phase for wear resistance can be deposited by a thermal spray technique. The coatings also contain lubricating materials (silver and BaF2CaF2 eutectic) and NiCr as the tough component. This paper describes the vacuum tribological properties of TH103, a coating of this type, with a very good microstructural quality. The coating was deposited by high-velocity oxygen fuel spraying and tested under vacuum using a pin-on-disc tribometer. Different loads, linear speeds, and pin materials were studied. The pin scars and disc wear tracks were characterised using a combination of scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectrometry. A minimum mean steady friction coefficient of 0.32 was obtained when employing an X750 Ni superalloy pin in vacuum conditions under 10 N load and 15 cm/s linear speed, showing moderate wear of the disc and low wear of the pi

Coordinación de pruebas parciales de evaluación en el Grado en Ingeniería Civil

A partir de la reciente evaluación por parte de la agencia española ANECA, se indica que una de las posibles mejoras de la titulación de Ingeniería Civil sería la implementación de medidas de coordinación adicionales. Por tanto, desde la subdirección de la titulación se plantea esta red con el fin de detectar las posibilidades de mejora en la coordinación, especialmente en las pruebas de evaluación continua para evitar acumulaciones en asignaturas del mismo curso. En la presente red se ha contado con miembros de todos los colectivos involucrados en la titulación. En primer lugar la red plantea la recopilación de información de otras titulaciones que ya incorporaron herramientas similares en su coordinación en años anteriores. Posteriormente se evaluará su eficiencia y posibilidad de mejora y aplicación en nuestra titulación

T-cell epitopes of the major peach allergen, Pru p 3: Identification and differential T-cell response of peach-allergic and non-allergic subjects

Lipid transfer proteins (LTPs), particularly peach Pru p 3, are the most relevant plant food allergens in the South of Europe, and, therefore, their allergic properties have been extensively studied. However, neither T-cell epitopes nor their effect on the patients’ T-cell response has been investigated in any member of the LTP panallergen family. The objective of the present study was to map the major T-cell epitopes of Pru p 3, as well as to evaluate their induced T-cell response in peach-allergic versus control subjects. Thus, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from 18 peach-allergic patients and Pru p 3-specific T-cell lines (TCLs) from 9 of them were cultured with Pru p 3 and with a panel of 17 derived peptides (10-mer overlapping in 5 amino acids representing the full sequence of Pru p 3). Proliferation in 5-day assays was carried out via tritiated-thymidine incorporation, while IL4 and IFNγ production was assessed via sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent tests (ELISA) of TCL culture supernatants. The results were compared to those obtained from 10 non-peach allergic control volunteers. Two consecutive peptides showed the highest activation capacity. About 74% of PBMCs and TCLs recognized them, forming a single T-epitope: Pru p 365–80. Additionally, other specific T-cell epitopes were observed. Pru p 325–35 was detected by more than 60% of TCLs from peach-allergic patients, and Pru p 345–55 only activated PBMCs from control subjects. Interestingly, TCLs from patients were associated with a Th2-type, whereas control TCLs presented a Th1-type cytokine response. The major immunogenic T-cell epitope identified in Pru p 3, Pru p 365–80, is a good candidate to develop new vaccines for hypersensitivity reactions associated with LTP allergens from Rosaceae fruits

Quantitative determination of spring water quality parameters via electronic tongue

[EN] The use of a voltammetric electronic tongue for the quantitative analysis of quality parameters in spring water is proposed here. The electronic voltammetric tongue consisted of a set of four noble electrodes (iridium, rhodium, platinum, and gold) housed inside a stainless steel cylinder. These noble metals have a high durability and are not demanding for maintenance, features required for the development of future automated equipment. A pulse voltammetry study was conducted in 83 spring water samples to determine concentrations of nitrate (range: 6.9-115 mg/L), sulfate (32-472 mg/L), fluoride (0.08-0.26 mg/L), chloride (17-190 mg/L), and sodium (11-94 mg/L) as well as pH (7.3-7.8). These parameters were also determined by routine analytical methods in spring water samples. A partial least squares (PLS) analysis was run to obtain a model to predict these parameter. Orthogonal signal correction (OSC) was applied in the preprocessing step. Calibration (67%) and validation (33%) sets were selected randomly. The electronic tongue showed good predictive power to determine the concentrations of nitrate, sulfate, chloride, and sodium as well as pH and displayed a lower R-2 and slope in the validation set for fluoride. Nitrate and fluoride concentrations were estimated with errors lower than 15%, whereas chloride, sulfate, and sodium concentrations as well as pH were estimated with errors below 10%.The authors gratefully acknowledge the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad and FEDER, providing funds amounting to (sic)664.525,75 for the project "Desarrollo de sistemas basados en lenguas electronicas para el control y monitorizacion del ciclo integral del agua" INNPACTO. IPT-2012-0069-310000. Moreover, the authors gratefully acknowledge the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad and FEDER (projects MAT2015-64139-C4-1-R (MINECO/FEDER), MAT2015-64139-C4-3-R (MINECO/FEDER)), the Generalitat Valenciana (project PROMETEOII/2014/047), and CIBER-BBN (NANOPROBE project) for their financial support.Carbó-Mestre, N.; López-Carrero, J.; Garcia-Castillo, FJ.; Tormos, I.; Olivas, E.; Folch, E.; Alcañiz Fillol, M.... (2018). Quantitative determination of spring water quality parameters via electronic tongue. Sensors. 18(1):1-12. https://doi.org/10.3390/s18010040S112181Winquist, F., Olsson, J., & Eriksson, M. (2011). Multicomponent analysis of drinking water by a voltammetric electronic tongue. Analytica Chimica Acta, 683(2), 192-197. doi:10.1016/j.aca.2010.10.027Storey, M. V., van der Gaag, B., & Burns, B. P. (2011). Advances in on-line drinking water quality monitoring and early warning systems. Water Research, 45(2), 741-747. doi:10.1016/j.watres.2010.08.049Winquist, F. (2008). Voltammetric electronic tongues – basic principles and applications. Microchimica Acta, 163(1-2), 3-10. doi:10.1007/s00604-007-0929-2Garçon, L.-A., Genua, M., Hou, Y., Buhot, A., Calemczuk, R., Livache, T., … Hou, Y. (2017). A Versatile Electronic Tongue Based on Surface Plasmon Resonance Imaging and Cross-Reactive Sensor Arrays—A Mini-Review. Sensors, 17(5), 1046. doi:10.3390/s17051046Hou, Y., Genua, M., Tada Batista, D., Calemczuk, R., Buhot, A., Fornarelli, P., … Livache, T. (2012). Continuous Evolution Profiles for Electronic-Tongue-Based Analysis. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 51(41), 10394-10398. doi:10.1002/anie.201205346Holmin, S., Spångeus, P., Krantz-Rülcker, C., & Winquist, F. (2001). Compression of electronic tongue data based on voltammetry — a comparative study. Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, 76(1-3), 455-464. doi:10.1016/s0925-4005(01)00585-8Campos, I., Alcañiz, M., Aguado, D., Barat, R., Ferrer, J., Gil, L., … Vivancos, J.-L. (2012). A voltammetric electronic tongue as tool for water quality monitoring in wastewater treatment plants. Water Research, 46(8), 2605-2614. doi:10.1016/j.watres.2012.02.029Martı́nez-Máñez, R., Soto, J., Garcia-Breijo, E., Gil, L., Ibáñez, J., & Llobet, E. (2005). An «electronic tongue» design for the qualitative analysis of natural waters. Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, 104(2), 302-307. doi:10.1016/j.snb.2004.05.022Garcia-Breijo, E., Atkinson, J., Gil-Sanchez, L., Masot, R., Ibañez, J., Garrigues, J., … Olguin, C. (2011). A comparison study of pattern recognition algorithms implemented on a microcontroller for use in an electronic tongue for monitoring drinking waters. Sensors and Actuators A: Physical, 172(2), 570-582. doi:10.1016/j.sna.2011.09.039Moreno, L., Merlos, A., Abramova, N., Jiménez, C., & Bratov, A. (2006). Multi-sensor array used as an «electronic tongue» for mineral water analysis. Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, 116(1-2), 130-134. doi:10.1016/j.snb.2005.12.063Sipos, L., Kovács, Z., Sági-Kiss, V., Csiki, T., Kókai, Z., Fekete, A., & Héberger, K. (2012). Discrimination of mineral waters by electronic tongue, sensory evaluation and chemical analysis. Food Chemistry, 135(4), 2947-2953. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2012.06.021Braga, G. S., Paterno, L. G., & Fonseca, F. J. (2012). Performance of an electronic tongue during monitoring 2-methylisoborneol and geosmin in water samples. Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, 171-172, 181-189. doi:10.1016/j.snb.2012.02.092Escobar, J. D., Alcaniz, M., Masot, R., Fuentes, A., Bataller, R., Soto, J., & Barat, J. M. (2013). Quantification of organic acids using voltammetric tongues. Food Chemistry, 138(2-3), 814-820. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2012.11.078Martínez-Bisbal, M. C., Loeff, E., Olivas, E., Carbó, N., García-Castillo, F. J., López-Carrero, J., … Soto, J. (2017). A Voltammetric Electronic Tongue for the Quantitative Analysis of Quality Parameters in Wastewater. Electroanalysis, 29(4), 1147-1153. doi:10.1002/elan.201600717Bonastre, A., Ors, R., Capella, J. V., Fabra, M. J., & Peris, M. (2005). In-line chemical analysis of wastewater: present and future trends. TrAC Trends in Analytical Chemistry, 24(2), 128-137. doi:10.1016/j.trac.2004.09.008Ivarsson, P., Johansson, M., Höjer, N.-E., Krantz-Rülcker, C., Winquist, F., & Lundström, I. (2005). Supervision of rinses in a washing machine by a voltammetric electronic tongue. Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, 108(1-2), 851-857. doi:10.1016/j.snb.2004.12.088Garcia-Breijo, E., Peris, R. M., Pinatti, C. O., Fillol, M. A., Civera, J. I., & Prats, R. B. (2013). Low-Cost Electronic Tongue System and Its Application to Explosive Detection. IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement, 62(2), 424-431. doi:10.1109/tim.2012.2215156Winquist, F., Wide, P., & Lundström, I. (1997). An electronic tongue based on voltammetry. Analytica Chimica Acta, 357(1-2), 21-31. doi:10.1016/s0003-2670(97)00498-4Campos, I., Sangrador, A., Bataller, R., Aguado, D., Barat, R., Soto, J., & Martínez-Máñez, R. (2014). Ammonium and Phosphate Quantification in Wastewater by Using a Voltammetric Electronic Tongue. Electroanalysis, 26(3), 588-595. doi:10.1002/elan.201300538Geladi, P., & Kowalski, B. R. (1986). Partial least-squares regression: a tutorial. Analytica Chimica Acta, 185, 1-17. doi:10.1016/0003-2670(86)80028-9Wold, S., Antti, H., Lindgren, F., & Öhman, J. (1998). Orthogonal signal correction of near-infrared spectra. Chemometrics and Intelligent Laboratory Systems, 44(1-2), 175-185. doi:10.1016/s0169-7439(98)00109-9Sjöblom, J., Svensson, O., Josefson, M., Kullberg, H., & Wold, S. (1998). An evaluation of orthogonal signal correction applied to calibration transfer of near infrared spectra. Chemometrics and Intelligent Laboratory Systems, 44(1-2), 229-244. doi:10.1016/s0169-7439(98)00112-9Rouhollahi, A., Rajabzadeh, R., & Ghasemi, J. (2006). Simultaneous determination of dopamine and ascorbic acid by linear sweep voltammetry along with chemometrics using a glassy carbon electrode. Microchimica Acta, 157(3-4), 139-147. doi:10.1007/s00604-006-0668-9Riahi, S., Ganjali, M., Moghaddam, A., Pourbasheer, E., & Norouzi, P. (2009). Development of a New Combined Chemometrics Method, Applied in the Simultaneous Voltammetric Determination of Cinnamic Acid and 3, 4-Dihydroxy Benzoic Acid. Current Analytical Chemistry, 5(1), 42-47. doi:10.2174/157341109787047925Palacios-Santander, J. M., Cubillana-Aguilera, L. M., Cocchi, M., Ulrici, A., Naranjo-Rodríguez, I., Seeber, R., & Hidalgo-Hidalgo de Cisneros, J. L. (2008). Multicomponent analysis in the wavelet domain of highly overlapped electrochemical signals: Resolution of quaternary mixtures of chlorophenols using a peg-modified Sonogel–Carbon electrode. Chemometrics and Intelligent Laboratory Systems, 91(2), 110-120. doi:10.1016/j.chemolab.2007.10.00

EWS-FLI1-mediated suppression of the RAS-antagonist Sprouty 1 (SPRY1) confers aggressiveness to Ewing sarcoma

Ewing sarcoma is characterized by chromosomal translocations fusing the EWS gene with various members of the ETS family of transcription factors, most commonly FLI1. EWS-FLI1 is an aberrant transcription factor driving Ewing sarcoma tumorigenesis by either transcriptionally inducing or repressing specific target genes. Herein, we showed that Sprouty 1 (SPRY1), which is a physiological negative feedback inhibitor downstream of fibroblast growth factor (FGF) receptors (FGFRs) and other RAS-activating receptors, is an EWS-FLI1 repressed gene. EWS-FLI1 knockdown specifically increased the expression of SPRY1, while other Sprouty family members remained unaffected. Analysis of SPRY1 expression in a panel of Ewing sarcoma cells showed that SPRY1 was not expressed in Ewing sarcoma cell lines, suggesting that it could act as a tumor suppressor gene in these cells. In agreement, induction of SPRY1 in three different Ewing sarcoma cell lines functionally impaired proliferation, clonogenic growth and migration. In addition, SPRY1 expression inhibited extracellular signal-related kinase/mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling induced by serum and basic FGF (bFGF). Moreover, treatment of Ewing sarcoma cells with the potent FGFR inhibitor PD-173074 reduced bFGF-induced proliferation, colony formation and in vivo tumor growth in a dose-dependent manner, thus mimicking SPRY1 activity in Ewing sarcoma cells. Although the expression of SPRY1 was low when compared with other tumors, SPRY1 was variably expressed in primary Ewing sarcoma tumors and higher expression levels were significantly associated with improved outcome in a large patient cohort. Taken together, our data indicate that EWS-FLI1-mediated repression of SPRY1 leads to unrestrained bFGF-induced cell proliferation, suggesting that targeting the FGFR/MAPK pathway can constitute a promising therapeutic approach for this devastating disease.FC-A, LG-G, JCL, AS, PG-M, SEL-P, SM and JA are supported by Asociación Pablo Ugarte and Miguelañez SA, ASION-La Hucha de Tomás, Fundación La Sonrisa de Alex and Instituto de Salud Carlos III (PI12/00816 and Spanish Cancer Network RTICC RD12/0036/0027). TGPG is supported by a grant from ‘Verein zur Förderung von Wissenschaft und Forschung an der Medizinischen Fakultät der LMU München (WiFoMed)’, the Daimler and Benz Foundation in cooperation with the Reinhard Frank Foundation, by LMU Munich’s Institutional Strategy LMUexcellent within the framework of the German Excellence Initiative, the ‘Mehr LEBEN für krebskranke Kinder—Bettina-Bräu-Stiftung’, the Walter Schulz Foundation, the Fritz Thyssen Foundation (FTH-40.15.0.030MN) and by the German Cancer Aid (DKH-111886 and DKH-70112257). The ‘Genetics and Biology of Cancers’ team (TGPG, DS and OD) is supported by grants from the Ligue Nationale Contre Le Cancer (Equipe labellisée). This work was also supported by the European PROVABES, ASSET and EEC FP7 grants. We also thank the following associations for their invaluable support: the Société Française des Cancers de l’Enfant, Courir pour Mathieu, Dans les pas du Géant, Olivier Chape, Les Bagouzamanon, Enfants et Santé and les Amis de Claire. We thank Dr S Navarro (University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain) and Dr TJ Triche (Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, USA) for providing us with Ewing sarcoma cell lines A4573 and TTC-466, respectively.S

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

Bortezomib plus melphalan and prednisone in elderly untreated patients with multiple myeloma: updated time-to-events results and prognostic factors for time to progression

New treatment options offering enhanced activity in elderly, newly diagnosed patients with multiple myeloma are required. One strategy is to combine melphalan and prednisone with novel agents. We previously reported an 89% response rate, including 32% complete responses and 11% near complete responses, in our phase 1/2 study of bortezomib plus melphalan and prednisone (VMP) in 60 newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients with a median age of 75 years. Here, we report updated time-to-events data and the impact of poor prognosis factors on outcome

NGS-Based Molecular Karyotyping of Multiple Myeloma: Results from the GEM12 Clinical Trial

Simple Summary Multiple Myeloma (MM) is considered an incurable chronic disease, which prognosis depends on the presence of different genomic alterations. To accomplish a complete molecular diagnosis in a single essay, we have designed and validated a capture-based NGS approach to reliably identify pathogenic mutations (SNVs and indels), genomic alterations (CNVs and chromosomic translocations), and IGH rearrangements. We have observed a good correlation of the results obtained using our capture panel with data obtained by both FISH and WES techniques. In this study, the molecular classification performed using our approach was significantly associated with the stratification and outcome of MM patients. Additionally, this panel has been proven to detect specific IGH rearrangements that could be used as biomarkers in patient follow-ups through minimal residual disease (MRD) assays. In conclusion, we think that MM patients could benefit from the use of this capture-based NGS approach with a more accurate, single-essay molecular diagnosis. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) has greatly improved our ability to detect the genomic aberrations occurring in multiple myeloma (MM); however, its transfer to routine clinical labs and its validation in clinical trials remains to be established. We designed a capture-based NGS targeted panel to identify, in a single assay, known genetic alterations for the prognostic stratification of MM. The NGS panel was designed for the simultaneous study of single nucleotide and copy number variations, insertions and deletions, chromosomal translocations and V(D)J rearrangements. The panel was validated using a cohort of 149 MM patients enrolled in the GEM2012MENOS65 clinical trial. The results showed great global accuracy, with positive and negative predictive values close to 90% when compared with available data from fluorescence in situ hybridization and whole-exome sequencing. While the treatments used in the clinical trial showed high efficacy, patients defined as high-risk by the panel had shorter progression-free survival (p = 0.0015). As expected, the mutational status of TP53 was significant in predicting patient outcomes (p = 0.021). The NGS panel also efficiently detected clonal IGH rearrangements in 81% of patients. In conclusion, molecular karyotyping using a targeted NGS panel can identify relevant prognostic chromosomal abnormalities and translocations for the clinical management of MM patients

Impact of the first wave of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on the outcome of neurosurgical patients: A nationwide study in Spain

Objective To assess the effect of the first wave of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on the outcome of neurosurgical patients in Spain. Settings The initial flood of COVID-19 patients overwhelmed an unprepared healthcare system. Different measures were taken to deal with this overburden. The effect of these measures on neurosurgical patients, as well as the effect of COVID-19 itself, has not been thoroughly studied. Participants This was a multicentre, nationwide, observational retrospective study of patients who underwent any neurosurgical operation from March to July 2020. Interventions An exploratory factorial analysis was performed to select the most relevant variables of the sample. Primary and secondary outcome measures Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify independent predictors of mortality and postoperative SARS-CoV-2 infection. Results Sixteen hospitals registered 1677 operated patients. The overall mortality was 6.4%, and 2.9% (44 patients) suffered a perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection. Of those infections, 24 were diagnosed postoperatively. Age (OR 1.05), perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection (OR 4.7), community COVID-19 incidence (cases/10 5 people/week) (OR 1.006), postoperative neurological worsening (OR 5.9), postoperative need for airway support (OR 5.38), ASA grade =3 (OR 2.5) and preoperative GCS 3-8 (OR 2.82) were independently associated with mortality. For SARS-CoV-2 postoperative infection, screening swab test <72 hours preoperatively (OR 0.76), community COVID-19 incidence (cases/10 5 people/week) (OR 1.011), preoperative cognitive impairment (OR 2.784), postoperative sepsis (OR 3.807) and an absence of postoperative complications (OR 0.188) were independently associated. Conclusions Perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection in neurosurgical patients was associated with an increase in mortality by almost fivefold. Community COVID-19 incidence (cases/10 5 people/week) was a statistically independent predictor of mortality. Trial registration number CEIM 20/217