Wind powered water pump

Diseñar una pequeña y simple turbina eólica para bombear agua en un país en vías de desarrollo. Tiene que ser transportable y capaz de tomar agua de un pozo de 10 metros de profundidad hasta un tanque de 2 metros de altura (unos 12 metros en total)

Phytotherapy in pregnancy and lactation: benefit or risk? Review of the literature

INTRODUCCIÓN: Durante el embarazo el organismo de la mujer sufre cambios temporales con aparición de estructuras orgánicas nuevas como la placenta. Cualquier sustancia, natural o sintética, que pueda producir una alteración de los procesos fisiológicos propios de esta etapa están contraindicados. OBJETIVO: Dar a conocer los productos de origen vegetal utilizados habitualmente en el embarazo y la lactancia y evaluar su eficacia y seguridad. MATERIAL Y MÉTODOS: Revisión integradora de la literatura en las bases de datos Cochrane Library, Cinahl, Medline, Cuiden, Cuidatge, Bireme, Enfispo y buscadores de la red. Tras la lectura de los artículos, se realizó una valoración crítica, síntesis e interpretación para llegar a conclusiones de todos los estudios seleccionados. RESULTADOS: El uso de plantas medicinales en el embarazo es habitual, encontrándose el jengibre y la equinácea entre las más utilizadas. En cuanto a la etapa del embarazo de mayor consumo, se identifica el primer trimestre. El mayor porcentaje de las gestantes utiliza las plantas sin indicación médica. En cuanto a la eficacia: la equinácea es eficaz para el resfriado común e infecciones vaginales, el arándano rojo para la infección urinaria, la raíz de jengibre y la ipecacuana tienen acción antiemética, la hierba de San Juan es eficaz en la depresión postparto, la valeriana para combatir el nerviosismo y el aceite de onagra para inducir el parto. El nivel de seguridad varía según la planta por lo que se recomienda un control por parte del profesional sanitario. DISCUSIÓN Y CONCLUSIONES: De forma general las mujeres no están educadas en cuanto a la influencia que ejerce el estilo de vida en las primeras células embrionarias. El uso de productos fitoterápicos puede ser eficaz para ayudar a solucionar muchos de los problemas del embarazo pero es necesario ver la relación riesgo-efectividad. Por eso, antes, durante y después del embarazo o lactancia materna las mujeres que desean tomar preparados herbarios, deben consultar con su matrona u otro profesional sanitario bien informado al respecto, porque muchos de los efectos de las plantas sobre los fetos y la leche materna son desconocidos.INTRODUCTION: During pregnancy, women´s body suffers from temporary changes with new organic structures such as placenta. Any subtance, natural or sintetic which may alter physiological proceses on this own state are contraindicated. OBJECTIVE: Dara know the plant products commonly used in pregnancy and lactation and assess their effectiveness and safety. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Integrative review of literature in the databases Cochrane Library, CINAHL, Medline, Cuiden, Cuidatge, Medicine , ENFISPO and Web searches. After reading the articles, critical appraisal, synthesis and interpretation was performed to reach conclusions of all selected studies. RESULTS: The use of medicinal plants during pregnancy is frequent, being ginger and echinace some of the most used ones. Regarding the stage of pregnancy with higher consumption, it is the first term. The highest percentage of pregnant women use plants without any medical advices. As for effectiveness: Echinacea is effective for the common cold and vaginal infections, cranberry for urinary infection, ginger root and ipecac have antiemetic action, St. John's wort is effective in postpartum depression, valerian to combat nervousness and evening primrose oil to induce labor. The security level varies depending on the plant so a control by the health care professional is recommended. DISCUSION AND CONCLUSIONS: Generally, women are not aware of the influence of their life style on the first embryonic cells. The use of herbal products can be effective in helping to solve many of the problems of pregnancy but you need to see the risk-effectiveness. Because of that, previously, during an after pregnancy or breastfeeding, those women who want to take herbalist products, should first consult a midwife or another medical professional who is well-informed about it, because many of the effect of plants on fetus and breastmilk are still unknown

Hypermethylated 14-3-3-σ and ESR1 gene promoters in serum as candidate biomarkers for the diagnosis and treatment efficacy of breast cancer metastasis

9 páginas, 5 figuras, 2 tablas.-- et al.[Methods]: We studied two cohorts of patients: 77 patients treated for breast cancer with no signs of disease, and 34 patients with metastatic breast cancer. DNA was obtained from serum samples, and promoter methylation status was determined by using DNA bisulfite modification and quantitative methylation-specific PCR. [Results]: Serum levels of methylated gene promoter 14-3-3-σ significantly differed between Control and Metastatic Breast Cancer groups (P < 0.001), and between Disease-Free and Metastatic Breast Cancer groups (P < 0.001). The ratio of the 14-3-3-σ level before the first chemotherapy cycle to the level just before administration of the second chemotherapy cycle was defined as the Biomarker Response Ratio [BRR]. We calculated BRR values for the "continuous decline" and "rise-and-fall" groups. Subsequent ROC analysis showed a sensitivity of 75% (95% CI: 47.6 - 86.7) and a specificity of 66.7% (95% CI: 41.0 - 86.7) to discriminate between the groups for a cut-off level of BRR = 2.39. The area under the ROC curve (Z = 0.804 ± 0.074) indicates that this test is a good approach to post-treatment prognosis. [Conclusions]: The relationship of 14-3-3-σ with breast cancer metastasis and progression found in this study suggests a possible application of 14-3-3-σ as a biomarker to screen for metastasis and to follow up patients treated for metastatic breast cancer, monitoring their disease status and treatment response.This study was supported by a grant from the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación: SAF 2004-00889; JL Linares is supported by the Junta de Andalucía (P06-CTS-1385).Peer reviewe

Inactivation of the waterborne marine pathogen Vibrio alginolyticus by photo-chemical processes driven by UV-A, UV-B, or UV-C LED combined with H2O2 or HSO5.

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation is a well-implemented process for water disinfection. The development of emergent UV sources, such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs), has afforded new possibilities for advanced oxidation processes. The emission wavelength is considered to be an important factor for photo-chemical processes in terms of both biological damage and energetic efficiency, as the inactivation mechanisms and mode-of-action may differ according to the wavelength that is applied. In addition, these processes merit exploration for inactivating emerging pathogens, such as marine vibrios, that are important bacteria to control in maritime activities. The main goal of this study was to compare the disinfection efficacy of several UV-LED driven processes with different modes of action. First, the effect of UV-LEDs was assessed at different UV ranges (UV-A, UV-B, or UV-C). Second, the possible enhancement of a combination with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) or peroxymonosulfate salt (HSO5-) was investigated under two different application strategies, i.e. simultaneous or sequential. The results obtained indicate a high sensitivity of Vibrio alginolyticus to UV radiation, especially under UV-B (kobs=0.24cm2/mJ) and UV-C (kobs=1.47cm2/mJ) irradiation. The highest inactivation rate constants were obtained for UV/HSO5- (kobs (cm2/mJ)=0.0007 (UV-A); 0.39 (UV-B); 1.79 (UV-C)) with respect to UV/H2O2 (kobs (cm2/mJ)=0.0006 (UV-A); 0.26 (UV-B); and 1.54 (UV-C)) processes, however, regrowth was avoided only with UV/H2O2. Additionally, the disinfection enhancement caused by a chemical addition was more evident in the order UV-A>UV-B>UV-C. By applying H2O2 (10mg/L) or HSO5- (2.5mg/L) in a sequential mode before the UV, negligible effects were obtained in comparison with the simultaneous application. Finally, promising electrical energy per order (EEO) values were obtained as follows: UV/HSO5- (EEO (kWh/m3)=1.68 (UV-A); 0.20 (UV-B); 0.04 (UV-C)) and UV/H2O2 (EEO (kWh/m3)=2.15 (UV-A); 0.32 (UV-B); 0.04 (UV-C)), demonstrating the potential of UV-LEDs for disinfection in particular activities such as the aquaculture industry or maritime transport

TCFL5 deficiency impairs the pachytene to diplotene transition during spermatogenesis in the mouse

Spermatogenesis is a complex, multistep process during which spermatogonia give rise to spermatozoa. Transcription Factor Like 5 (TCFL5) is a transcription factor that has been described expressed during spermatogenesis. In order to decipher the role of TCFL5 during in vivo spermatogenesis, we generated two mouse models. Ubiquitous removal of TCFL5 generated by breeding TCFL5fl/fl with SOX2-Cre mice resulted in sterile males being unable to produce spermatozoa due to a dramatic alteration of the testis architecture presenting meiosis arrest and lack of spermatids. SYCP3, SYCP1 and H1T expression analysis showed that TCFL5 deficiency causes alterations during pachytene/diplotene transition resulting in a meiotic arrest in a diplotene-like stage. Even more, TCFL5 deficient pachytene showed alterations in the number of MLH1 foci and the condensation of the sexual body. In addition, tamoxifen-inducible TCFL5 knockout mice showed, besides meiosis phenotype, alterations in the spermatids elongation process resulting in aberrant spermatids. Furthermore, TCFL5 deficiency increased spermatogonia maintenance genes (Dalz, Sox2, and Dmrt1) but also increased meiosis genes (Syce1, Stag3, and Morc2a) suggesting that the synaptonemal complex forms well, but cannot separate and meiosis does not proceed. TCFL5 is able to bind to the promoter of Syce1, Stag3, Dmrt1, and Syce1 suggesting a direct control of their expression. In conclusion, TCFL5 plays an essential role in spermatogenesis progression being indispensable for meiosis resolution and spermatids maturatio

Aligned copper nanowires as a cut-and-paste exclusive electrochemical transducer for free-enzyme highly selective quantification of intracellular hydrogen peroxide in cisplatin-treated cells

The role and reliable quantification of intracellular hydrogen peroxide during cancer therapy constitutes an unexplored and fascinating application. In this work, we report the fabrication of vertically aligned copper nanowires (v-CuNWs) using electrosynthesis on templates, and their application as a cut-and-paste exclusive and flexible electrochemical transducer. This easily adaptable electrodic platform is demonstrated for a fast, simple and free-enzyme selective quantification of intracellular hydrogen peroxide in Cisplatin-treated human renal HK-2 cells. The v-CuNWs sensor was compared with an HRP-enzyme-based biosensor showing excellent correlation and indicates the good selectivity and analytical performance of the v-CuNWs. This sensing approach opens novel avenues for monitoring cell death processes and shows the potential of H2O2 as a cellular damage biomarker, with a clear potency for further developments for in vitro diagnosis and its implication in cancer therapy.Comunidad de MadridMinisterio de Economía y CompetitividadMinisterio de Ciencia e Innovació

A Didactic Procedure to Solve the Equation of Steady-Static Response in Suspended Cables

Students in the electrical branch of the short-cycle tertiary education program acquire developmental and design skills for low voltage transmission power lines. Aerial power line design requires mathematical tools not covered well enough in the curricula. Designing suspension cables requires the use of a Taylor series and integral calculation to obtain the parabola’s arc length. Moreover, it requires iterative procedures, such as the Newton–Raphson method, to solve the third-order equation of the steady-static response. The aim of this work is to solve the steady-static response equation for suspended cables using simple calculation tools. For this purpose, the influence of the horizontal component of the cable tension on its curvature was decoupled from the cable’s self-weight, which was responsible for the tension’s vertical component. To this end, we analyzed the laying and operation of the suspended cables by defining three phases (i.e., stressing, lifting, and operation). The phenomena that occurred in each phase were analyzed, as was their manifestation in the cable model. Herein, we developed and validated the solution of the steady-static response equation in suspended cables using simple equations supported with intuitive graphics. The best results of the proposed calculation procedure were obtained in conditions of large temperature variations