Sulfasalazine Microparticles Targeting Macrophages for the Treatment of Inflammatory Diseases Affecting the Synovial Cavity

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease with sulfasalazine (SSZ) extensively used for long-term treatment of both juvenile and adult RA. Its use is associated with adverse effects and toxicity due to its non-selective biodistribution. Macrophages play an important role in inflammatory processes. In order to target SSZ to macrophages in this work two microparticulate systems (MPs) are developed: SSZ-loaded PLGA MPs without and with α-tocopherol, with particle sizes lower than 5 μm and encapsulation efficiencies of 81.07 ± 11% and 63.50 ± 6.62%, respectively. Release of SSZ from MPs prepared with α-tocopherol was prolonged for 20 days. In RAW 264.7 cell macrophages MPs prepared with α-tocopherol were captured faster. Cell viability studies confirmed that SSZ-loaded MPs prepared without and with α-tocopherol did not produce cytotoxicity at the concentrations assayed. The anti-inflammatory activity of SSZ-loaded MPs was studied by quantifying interleukins IL-1, IL-6 and TNF-α in macrophages. All formulations produced a significant reduction of cytokine concentrations after 24 and 72 h, indicating that release of SSZ from the MPs was able to inhibit the inflammatory response induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Gene expression of IL-1, IL-6 and TNF-α was decreased by SSZ-loaded MPs. SSZ-loaded MPs prepared with α-tocopherol will potentially allow increasing the residence time of SSZ in the synovial cavity, prolonging its duration of action, and reducing the adverse effects associated with its non-selective biodistribution

Structure and dynamics of [Nb(η5-C5H4SiMe3) 2(η2-H2BR2)] (R2 = O2C6H4, C8H14, H2) complexes. A combined experimental and theoretical study

Dihydrogen elimination from the reaction of the niobocene trihydride Cp‘2NbH3 (Cp‘ = η5-C5H4SiMe3) and the appropriate borane provides a synthetic route to the new borate-containing niobocene complexes [Nb(η5-C5H4SiMe3)2(η2-H2BR2)] (R2 = O2C6H4 (1), C8H14 (2), H2 (3)). The reaction with H2BO2C6H4 or H2BC8H14 proceeds at mild temperature, and the BH3·THF adduct reacts even at low temperature. Complexes 2 and 3 show dynamic behavior in solution. Spectroscopic and theoretical studies were carried out in order to clarify these dynamic processes. In addition, X-ray diffraction studies of 2 were carried out and the results correlated with the theoretical data. Finally, reactions of Cp‘2Nb(H)(L) (L = CO, CN(2,6-Me2C6H3), tBuOOCHCHCOOtBu) with BH3·THF give rise to the complex 3, with the elimination of the appropriate ancillary ligand L.Financial support from the Spanish Comisión Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnología (Projects PB98-0915, PB98-0916-CO2-01, and PB-95-0023-CO1-CO2) is acknowledged.Peer reviewe

Different methodologies for calculating crown volume of Platanus hispanica trees by terrestial laser scanner and comparison with classical dendrometric measurements

Terrestrial laser scanners (TLSs) are used in forestry and fruit culture applications to perform a threedimensional geometrical characterization of trees and so make it easier to develop management systems based on that information. In addition, this data can improve the accuracy of dendrometric variable estimations, such as crown volume, obtained by standard methods. The main objective of this paper is to compare classical methods for crown volume estimation with the volumes obtained from the processing of point clouds obtained using a terrestrial laser scanner (TLS) on urban Platanus hispanica trees. This will allow faster quantification of residual biomass from pruning and therefore an improved management in future. The methods applied using TLS data were also evaluated in terms of processing speed. A set of 30 specimens were selected and their main dendrometric parameters (such as diameter breast height, crown diameter, total height, and distance from the crown base to the soil) were manually measured using classical methods. From these dendrometric parameters, the apparent crown volumes were calculated using three geometric models: cone, hemisphere, and paraboloid. Simultaneously, these trees were scanned with a Leica ScanStation2. A laser point cloud was registered for each tree and processed to obtain the crown volumes. Four processing methods were analyzed: (a) convex hull (an irregular polyhedral surface formed by triangles that surround the crown) applied to the whole point cloud that forms the crown; (b) convex hull using slices of 10 cm in height from the top to the base of the crown; (c) XY triangulation in horizontal sections; and (d) voxel discretization. All the obtained volumes (derived from classical methods and TLS) were assessed and compared. The regression equations that compare the volumes obtained by dendrometry and those derived from TLS data showed coefficients of determination (R2) greater than 0.78. The highest R2 (0.89) was obtained in the comparison between the volume calculated using a paraboloid and flat sections, which was also the fastest method. These results show the potential of TLS for predicting the crown volumes of urban trees, such as P. hispanica, to help improve their management, especially the quantification of residual biomass.The authors appreciate the financial support provided by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation in the framework of the Project AGL2010-15334 and by the Generalitat Valenciana in the framework of the Project GV/2012/003.Fernández-Sarría, A.; Martínez, L.; Velázquez Martí, B.; Sajdak, M.; Estornell Cremades, J.; Recio Recio, JA. (2013). Different methodologies for calculating crown volume of Platanus hispanica trees by terrestial laser scanner and comparison with classical dendrometric measurements. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture. 90(1):176-185. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compag.2012.09.017S17618590

Implante hematopoyético de una serie de pacientes movilizados con Plerixafor. Estudio retrospectivo multicéntrico

Poster [PC-256] Introducción: Plerixafor (PLX) es un inhibidor del receptor CXCR4 de probada eficacia en la recolección de PHSP para autotrasplante hematopoyético (TASPE) en pacientes malos movilizadores. Los estudios llevados a cabo hasta la fecha se han centrado mayoritariamente en aspectos referentes a la cinética de movilización (Mx) y rendimiento. El objetivo de nuestro estudio es recoger una amplia experiencia multicéntrica sobre el injerto hematopoyético a corto y medio plazo de pacientes que habían sido movilizados con PLX. Paciente: s y Métodos: Estudiamos retrospectivamente todos los pacientes que recibieron PLX como parte del esquema de movilización de PHSP para TASPE durante los años 2008-18 en siete hospitales de la zona norte; las enfermedades de base fueron: 94 linfomas no Hogdkin, 14 con enfermedad de Hogdkin, 78 mieloma múltiple y 4 con otros diagnósticos. 108 pacientes eran varones (56%) y 82 mujeres (44%). Su edad mediana era 59 años (4-73). Su peso y su altura oscilaron entre 15-134 kg y 106-188 cm, respectivamente. La mediana de líneas de tratamiento de nuestra serie fue de 2 (1-5); veintiún pacientes habían recibido radioterapia extensa y 15 pacientes uno o varios TASPEs previos. El número de intentos de Mx previos osciló entre 0 y 4 (mediana: 1). La pauta de G-CSF empleada fue de 5-10 mcg/kg/12 h durante 1-14 días (mediana: 6 días) y la dosis de PLX fue la recomendada en ficha técnica (0.24mcg/Kg/24horas). En 36 casos (18, 95%) la movilización se realizó en la fase de recuperación tras un ciclo de la quimioterapia de tratamiento. Tabla 1. Características de la serie y empleo de PLX. Resultados: se realizaron un total de 159 TASPEs. El estatus de la hemopatía en el momento del trasplante era remisión completa en el 50% de los casos. En cuanto a los resultados de movilización y colecta, la mediana de sesiones de aféresis requeridas fue de 2, rango (0-5) y la cifra de células CD34+ recolectada fue de 2, 79 (x 106/kg) con un rango entre 0 y 30, 3. Tabla 2. Datos de implante a corto y medio plazo Conclusiones: 1) el empleo de Plerixafor permitió realizar el TASPE en un alto porcentaje de pacientes malos movilizadores; 2) la calidad del injerto a corto y medio plazo de los pacientes autotrasplantados movilizados con PLX fue óptimo en la gran mayoría de los casos; 3) en nuestro conocimiento, esta serie multicéntrica es una de las mayores comunicadas enfocada en la calidad del implante a corto y medio plazo de pacientes malos movilizadores sometidos a TASPE

Analysis of parcel-based image classification methods for monitoring the activities of the Land Bank of Galicia (Spain)

[EN] The abandonment of agricultural plots entails a low economic productivity of the land and a higher vulnerability to wildfires and degradation of affected areas. In this sense, the local government of Galicia is promoting new methodologies based on high-resolution images in order to classify the territory in basic and generic land uses. This procedure will be used to control the sustainable management of plots belonging to the Land Bank. This paper presents an application study for maintaining and updating land use/land cover geospatial databases using parcel-oriented classification. The test is performed over two geographic areas of Galicia, in the northwest of Spain. In this region, forest and shrublands in mountain environments are very heterogeneous with many private unproductive plots, some of which are in a high state of abandonment. The dataset is made of high spatial resolution multispectral imagery, cadastral cartography employed to define the image objects (plots), and field samples used to define evaluation and training samples. A set of descriptive features is computed quantifying different properties of the objects, i.e. spectral, texture, structural, and geometrical. Additionally, the effect on the classification and updating processes of the historical land use as a descriptive feature is tested. Three different classification methodologies are analyzed: linear discriminant analysis, decision trees, and support vector machine. The overall accuracies of the classifications obtained are always above 90 % and support vector machine method is proved to provide the best performance. Forest and shrublands areas are especially undefined, so the discrimination between these two classes is low. The results enable to conclude that the use of automatic parcel-oriented classification techniques for updating tasks of land use/land cover geospatial databases, is effective in the areas tested, particularly when broad and well defined classes are required.The authors appreciate the collaboration and support provided by Xunta de Galicia, Sociedade para o Desenvolvemento Comarcal de Galícia, and Banco de Terras de Galicia. The financial support provided by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación in the framework of the projects CGL2010-19591/BTE and CGL2009-14220 is also acknowledged.Hermosilla, T.; Díaz Manso, J.; Ruiz Fernández, LÁ.; Recio Recio, JA.; Fernández-Sarría, A.; Ferradáns Nogueira, P. (2012). Analysis of parcel-based image classification methods for monitoring the activities of the Land Bank of Galicia (Spain). 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La Gestión Urbanística en la Provincia de Salta : Hacia un Sistema Integrado de Gestión Territorial basado en programas de mejora continua e indicadores críticos (Etapa I). Modelo normativo y organizacional para la gestión territorial (Etapa II)

En la última década, en la provincia de Salta se han generado múltiples instrumentos de planificación territorial de escala provincial, metropolitana y municipal. De acuerdo a los resultados de la investigación, la mayor parte de esos instrumentos no han tenido correlato en impactos territoriales concretos y tangibles...Fil: Grandinetti, Rita M.. Universidad Católica de Salta; Argentina.Fil: Fernández, Pedro D.. Universidad Católica de Salta; Argentina.Fil: Muchut, Gisele. Universidad Católica de Salta; Argentina.Fil: Hermosilla, Graciela. Universidad Católica de Salta; Argentina.Fil: Escalante, María Emilia. Universidad Católica de Salta; Argentina.Fil: Fernández Acevedo, Lorena. Universidad Católica de Salta; Argentina

Vision-Based System for Automated Estimation of the Frontal Area of Swimmers: Towards the Determination of the Instant Active Drag: A Pilot Study

Swimmers take great advantage by reducing the drag forces either in passive or active conditions. The purpose of this work is to determine the frontal area of swimmers by means of an automated vision system. The proposed algorithm is automated and also allows to determine lateral pose of the swimmer for training purposes. In this way, a step towards the determination of the instantaneous active drag is reached that could be obtained by correlating the effective frontal area of the swimmer to the velocity. This article shows a novel algorithm for estimating the frontal and lateral area in comparison with other models. The computing time allows to obtain a reasonable online representation of the results. The development of an automated method to obtain the frontal surface area during swimming increases the knowledge of the temporal fluctuation of the frontal surface area in swimming. It would allow the best monitoring of a swimmer in their swimming training sessions. Further works will present the complete device, which allows to track the swimmer while acquiring the images and a more realistic model of conventional active drag ones