2,431 research outputs found
Screening of Synergic Interactions of Anti-Angiogenic and Anti-Tumor Compounds
Solid cancers have several common characteristics that Hanahan & Weinberg named as the hallmarks of cancer. Angiogenesis is an essential hallmark of cancer because tumor cells need oxygen and nutrients delivered by the vascular system. In fact, tumor growth and metastasis are angiogenesis dependent, and microvascular endothelial cells recruited by tumors have become an important target in cancer therapy.
Combinations of drugs with different modes of action may lead to enhanced antitumor and antiangiogenic effects without injuring the host. The combined use of two drugs may sometimes produce enhanced, unchanged or diminished effects in comparison with their individual effects. These three different types of behaviour of the interacting drugs are called synergy, additive/indifferent and antagonistic effects.
In the present work, we analyze 105 paired combinations of 15 compounds, some described by our research group as potent antiangiogenic compounds, and others currently used in clinical therapy. Our results show synergistic effects of several paired combinations using the MTT assay.
[Our experimental work is supported by grants BIO2014-56092-R (MINECO and FEDER), P12-CTS-1507 (Andalusian Government and FEDER) and funds from group BIO-267 (Andalusian Government). The "CIBER de Enfermedades Raras" is an initiative from the ISCIII (Spain)].This communication has the support of a travel grant "Universidad de Málaga.Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech".Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech
Minimal formulation of the linear spatial analysis of capillary jets: Validity of the two-mode approach
A rigorous and complete formulation of the linear evolution of harmonically stimulated
capillary jets should include infinitely many spatial modes to account for arbitrary exit
conditions [J. Guerrero et al., J. Fluid Mech. 702, 354 (2012)]. However, it is not rare to
find works in which only the downstream capillary dominant mode, the sole unstable one,
is retained, with amplitude determined by the jet deformation at the exit. This procedure
constitutes an oversimplification, unable to handle a flow rate perturbation without jet
deformation at the exit (the most usual conditions). In spite of its decaying behavior, the
other capillary mode (subdominant) must be included in what can be called a “minimal
linear formulation.” Deformation and mean axial velocity amplitudes at the jet exit are the
two relevant parameters to simultaneously find the amplitudes of both capillary modes.
Only once these amplitudes are found, the calculation of the breakup length may be
eventually simplified by disregarding the subdominant mode. Simple recipes are provided
for predicting the breakup length, which are checked against our own numerical simulations.
The agreement is better than in previous attempts in the literature. Besides, the limits of
validity of the linear formulation are explored in terms of the exit velocity amplitude, the
wave number, the Weber number, and the Ohnesorge number. Including the subdominant
mode extends the range of amplitudes for which the linear model gives accurate predictions,
the criterion for keeping this mode being that the breakup time must be shorter than a
given formula. It has been generally assumed that the shortest intact length happens for the
stimulation frequency with the highest growth rate. However, we show that this correlation
is not strict because the amplitude of the dominant mode has a role in the breakup process
and it depends on the stimulation frequency.Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad, Spain, under Contract No. FIS2014-25161Junta de Andalucía under Contract No. P11-FQM-791
Hydrodynamic changes in Guadalquivir estuary (Spain) due to a hypothetical tidal marsh restoration project
Tidal marsh restoration will be an important management issue in Guadalquivir Estuary in the
near future. The Guadalquivir Estuary has been anthropologically modified several times, the river
is bounded by embankments to protect rice and cotton plantations from tidal inundation, the
meanders have been transformed into straight sections, about 80 % of the original marsh surface
has been lost and approximately one-fourth of the total surface of the estuary is now part of two
protected areas, one of them is a UNESCO, MAB Biosphere Reserve.
A hypothetical restoration of tidal marshes will benefits different species and functions based on
location, elevation, adjacent habitats, degree of hydrodynamic connectivity and would reduce the
present high levels of turbidity. The restoration projects should be accompanied by studies for a
better understanding of the environmental changes expected.
A Large-scale construction of tidal marsh will change tidal dynamics, modify the tidal inundation
regime and the freshwater flow over the surrounding areas. A hydrodynamic model has been
developed to study changes in the tidal propagation and the flow regime due to a hypothetical
marsh restoration.
The model has been calibrated and the output has been validated with in situ water elevation and
good agreement between modelled and real measurements have been obtained. A sensitivity test
changing the size, locations from the estuary mouth and depth has been carried out to highlights
impacts over the tidal propagation, flow regime, salinity intrusion and the tidal inundation regime.
Our preliminary results show that the tidal elevation and the current speed will be considerably
affected in the estuary. The model open the possibility to study interactions among the tidal marsh
restoration project, Seville port operations, fisheries and agricultural activities. The numerical
model will be a powerful tool in restoration projects in a complex socio-ecological system.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech.
Autoridad Portuaria de Sevill
Modeling changes in the tidal propagation and its implication for vessel navigation in Guadalquivir estuary ( Spain)
The Port of Seville is an inland harbour located in the Guadalquivir Estuary some 80 km
from the river mouth and is the unique Spanish inland port. Vessel traffic in the estuary is
a relevant economic activity and a suitable trade-off between vessel draught and safety to
prevent ship aground is required and to optimize the port operability. The Guadalquivir is
a mesotidal estuary with tidal range of 2-3 m, an important fraction of the minimum depth
of the navigation waterway (presently 6.5m). Upstream navigation is favoured around
high water as the tide progresses at 12 knots, which is comparable to the vessel speed,
thus allowing greater vessel draughts. Oceanwards navigation of heavy vessels, on the
contrary, is hampered by the tide because a low water is unavoidably met when heading
downstream.
A 3D, high resolution hydrodynamic model has been implemented in the whole estuary to
study the tidal propagation. The model is forced by the oceanic tide at the mouth and
freshwater discharges controlled by an upstream dam at the head. It has been satisfactorily
validated and predicts tidal oscillations with high accuracy (less than 4 cm in amplitude
and 20 min in phase everywhere in the estuary). Based on the model outputs of tidal
heights and currents and using present-day estuary bathymetry, a MATLAB application
has been developed for shipping planning (Vessel Traffic Decision Support System,
VTDSS). The application allows the final users to test different traffic scheduling
scenarios in order to assess the effects on navigational patterns and explore possible
management and policy scenarios under sea level rise and changes in tidal propagation. A
description of the model and an overview of the VTDSS are presented here; the
effectiveness as a decision support tool is demonstrated via the simulated navigation time
of several vessels.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech.
Autoridad Portuaria de Sevill
Hydroxytyrosol targets extracellular matrix remodeling by endothelial cells and inhibits both ex vivo and in vivo angiogenesis
This is the preprint version of our manuscript, corresponding to the article that has been
published in final form at FOOD CHEMISTRY with DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2016.10.111The health benefits of olive oil are attributed to their bioactive compounds, such as hydroxytyrosol. Previously, we demonstrated that hydroxytyrosol inhibits angiogenesis in vitro. The present study aimed to: i) get further insight into the effects of hydroxytyrosol on extracellular matrix remodeling; and ii) test whether hydroxytyrosol is able to inhibit angiogenesis ex vivo and in vivo. Hydroxytyrosol induced a shift toward inhibition of proteolysis in endothelial cells, with decreased expression of extracellular matrix remodeling-enzyme coding genes and increased levels of some of their inhibitors. Furthermore, this work demonstrated that hydroxytyrosol, at concentrations within the range of its content in virgin olive oil that can be absorbed from moderate and sustained virgin olive oil consumption, is a strong inhibitor of angiogenesis ex vivo and in vivo. These results suggest the need for translational studies to evaluate the potential use of hydroxytyrosol for angio-prevention and angiogenesis inhibition in clinical setting.This work was supported by grants BIO2014-56092-R (MINECO and FEDER) and P12-CTS-1507 (Andalusian Government and FEDER). The “CIBER de Enfermedades Raras” is an initiative from the ISCIII (Spain). The funders had no role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish or preparation of the manuscript
A case study for measuring informal learning in PLEs
The technological support for learning and teaching processes is constantly changing. Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) applied to education, cause changes that affect the way in which people learn. This application introduces new software systems and solutions to carry out teaching and learning activities. Connected
to ICT application, the emergence of Web 2.0 and its use in learning contexts enables an online implementation of the student-centred learning paradigm. In addition, 2.0 trends provide “new” ways to exchange, making easier for informal learning to become patent.
Given this context, open and user-centered learning environments
are needed to integrate such kinds of tools and trends and are commonly described as Personal Learning Environments. Such environments coexist with the institutional learning management systems and they should interact and exchange information between them. This interaction would allow the assessment of what happens in the personal environment from the institutional side.
This article describes a solution to make the interoperability possible between these systems. It is based on a set of interoperability scenarios and some components and communication channels. In order to test the solution it is implemented as a proof of concept and the scenarios are validated through several pilot experiences. In this article one of such scenarios and its evaluation experiment is described to conclude that functionalities from the institutional environments and the personal ones can be combined and it is possible to assess what happens in the activities based on them.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version
Nuevas formas de envejecer activamente: Calidad de Vida y Actividad Física desde una perspectiva Psicosocial
El objetivo principal de este monográfico se centra en ofrecer una visión holística y diversificada del envejecimiento activo en personas mayores que, de una u otra forma, se relacionan con la práctica de la actividad física. Los trabajos de investigación aquí recogidos suponen una representación variada de estudios de corte empírico aplicados sobres diferentes temáticas, tales como, la felicidad, el cine, la autoestima o las estrategias comunicativas, entre otras
Objective evaluation of static and dynamic behavior of different toric silicone-hydrogel contact lenses
The present study aimed to estimate how orientation position, recovery time, and contact lens decentration, associated with visual performance, may vary on several designs of the most recent toric silicone-hydrogel toric contact lenses in two-time different momentsS
Demand for culture in Spain and the 2012 VAT rise
[EN] This paper analyzes the effects that the 2012 VAT rise in Spain had on household’ demand for cultural goods and services. Household’ demands are modeled as a two-stage QUAIDS. After estimating price and expenditure elasticities, and the pass-through parameter associated with the reform, our results show that the individual welfare loss and the increment in the tax bill increase, but less than proportionately, with income. Consequently, the reform can be considered as regressive. Relating the effects of the VAT reform to households’ incomes also implies a low quantitative effect, because of the low proportion of total household expenditure that cultural expenditure represents. From a social perspective, the size of the induced welfare loss would positively depend on society’s inequality aversion. Regardless of the latter, it cannot be concluded whether the reform would have increased or reduced inequality in the distribution of cultural spending. Our results prove qualitatively robust to alternative values of the pass-through parameter.This study was funded by Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and the European Fund of Regional Development (Grant Numbers ECO2015-64467-R and ECO2016-76884-P (MINECO/FEDER)) and by the Basque Government (Grant Numbers DEUI-IT-793-13 and DEUI-IT-783-13)
Intermediate Macroeconomics : Self-evaluation exercises
This resource can be particularly helpful to students taking the Intermediate Macroeconomics course, which corresponds to the second year of the current Degree in Economics at the University of the Basque Country UPV/ EHU.
The precise content of this resource is a collection of eight chapters of multiple-choice questions. For each question the user is asked to guess which the correct answer is. Finally, the tool will return all the correct answers for the whole test, thereby allowing the user to check the validity of his/her answers. A remarkable feature of the tool is that it has been edited in three versions, for the three languages (Spanish, Basque and English) in which the subject is taught at the UPV/EHU.26 p.This is a self-evaluation learning tool which is designed to serve as a supporting tool for all those interested in macroeconomic theory at an introductory level to medium
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