Preparation and Characterization of New Liposomes. Bactericidal Activity of Cefepime Encapsulated into Cationic Liposomes

Cefepime is an antibiotic with a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity. However, this antibiotic has several side effects and a high degradation rate. For this reason, the preparation and characterization of new liposomes that are able to encapsulate this antibiotic seem to be an important research line in the pharmaceutical industry. Anionic and cationic liposomes were prepared and characterized. All cationic structures contained the same cationic surfactant, N,N,N-triethyl-N-(12-naphthoxydodecyl)ammonium. Results showed a better encapsulation-efficiency percentage (EE%) of cefepime in liposomes with phosphatidylcholine and cholesterol than with 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine (DOPE). The presence of cholesterol and the quantity of egg-yolk phospholipid in the liposome increased the encapsulation percentage. The bactericidal activity against Escherichia coli of cefepime loaded into liposomes with phosphatidylcholine was measured. The inhibitory zone in an agar plate for free cefepime was similar to that obtained for loaded cefepime. The growth-rate constant of E. coli culture was also measured in working conditions. The liposome without any antibiotic exerted no influence in such a rate constant. All obtained results suggest that PC:CH:12NBr liposomes are biocompatible nanocarriers of cefepime that can be used in bacterial infections against Escherichia coli with high inhibitory activity

Mutation testing from Finite State Machines

A finite state machine (FSM) is a mathematical model of computation defined by a finite list of states, inputs and outputs, in which outputs are not only determined by the last input but also by the current state, and so by past inputs. A mutant of a finite state machine is another finite state machine obtained by mutating the first machine. This mutation can consist in changing response of the machine to an input, be it the output or the state to which the machine transitions, or in adding a new state and its corresponding transitions. A test is a sequence of inputs with its corresponding outputs. The main goal of this project is to develop a system that generates mutations of an FSM and applies a series of tests to evaluate their effectiveness at distinguishing the original FSM from its mutants

Stereoselective synthesis of alpha-monofluorinated phosphonate mimetics of naturally occurring phosphoserine and phosphothreonine, via electrophilic fluorination of lithiated bis-lactim ethers

[Abstract] Electrophilic fluorinations of lithiated bis-lactim ethers derived from cyclo-[L-AP4-D-Val] allow a direct access to alpha-monofluorinated phosphonate mimetics of naturally occurring phosphoserine and phosphothreonine, in enantiomerically pure form and suitable protected for solid-phase peptide synthesis.Xunta de Galicia; PDGIT00PXI10305PRMinisterio de Ciencia y Tecnología; BQU2000-023

Pottery technology as a tool for historical analysis: reflections on the so-called 'ceramic prismatic kiln furniture'

Estudiamos en este trabajo aspectos tipológicos, funcionales y cronológicos de una serie de elementos cerámicos de morfología prismática o semilunar tradicionalmente asociados a tareas alfareras, empleados fundamentalmente como soportes o separadores.Typological, functional and chronological issues of ceramic kiln furniture with prismatic and "crescent shaped" morphologies (traditionally associated with pottery production mainly as supports or spacers) are studied in this paper

Design of lightweight concrete with olive biomass bottom ash for use in buildings

The ash generated during the combustion of biomass in electricity generation plants is a waste that has increased considerably in recent years, and whose management constitutes an environmental problem. In this regard, the recovery of biomass bottom ash as a partial replacement of natural materials for use in different civil engineering applications, as well as for the manufacture of construction materials, has been the subject of numerous studies that have shown its technical feasibility. However, for its application in the development of new sustainable materials, with thermal insulation properties, it is necessary to expand our existing knowledge of it. In this study, the use of bottom ash from original and processed biomass bottom ash in the manufacture of lightweight concrete, as a replacement for sand (15%–25%) and expanded clay (25%–35%), has been evaluated. In addition, after subjecting the ash to a grinding process, it was also incorporated into the concrete by replacing cement. The physical, mechanical, thermal and durability properties were evaluated according to regulations and the results showed that the thermal treatment applied to biomass bottom ash improved the mechanical performance of lightweight concrete. Likewise, thermal conductivity was reduced by up to 43%, which allows these concretes to be used as insulating materials in buildings. Therefore, this study shows the possibility of recovering biomass bottom ash in the manufacture of lightweight concrete for use in construction.Valorization of biomass bottom ash in sustainable construction applications (1264457- R) – BIOCEM, carried out by the University of Cordoba and the University of Granada within the Application for grants for R&D&I projects in the framework of the operational program ERDF Andalusia 2014–202

Influence of organic and inorganic markers in the source apportionment of airborne PM10 in Zaragoza (Spain) by two receptor models

11 pages, 3 figures, 2 tables.- Published online October 23, 2012Improving knowledge on the apportionment of airborne particulate matter will be useful to handle and fulfill the legislation regarding this pollutant. The main aim of this work was to assess the influence of markers in the source apportionment of airborne PM10, in particular, whether the use of particle polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) and ions provided similar results to the ones obtained using not only the mentioned markers but also gas phase PAH and trace elements. In order to reach this aim, two receptor models: UNMIX and positive matrix factorization were applied to two sets of data in Zaragoza city from airborne PM10, a previously reported campaign (2003-2004) (Callén et al. Chemosphere 76:1120-1129, 2009), where PAH associated to the gas and particle phases, ions and trace elements were used as markers and a long sampling campaign (2001-2009), where only PAH in the particle phase and ions were analyzed. For both campaigns, positive matrix factorization was able to explain a higher number of sources than the UNMIX model. Independently of the sampling campaign and the receptor model used, soil resuspension was the main PM10 source, especially in the warm period (21st March-21st September), where most of the PM10 exceedances were produced. Despite some of the markers of anthropogenic sources were different for both campaigns, common sources associated to different combustion sources (coal, light-oil, heavier-oil, biomass, and traffic) were found and PAH in particle phase and ions seemed to be good markers for the airborne PM10 apportionment. © 2012 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.Authors would like to thank Aula Dei-CSIC (R. Gracia) for providing the meteorological data and the CSIC for the Ramón y Cajal contract to J.M.L. Authors would also thank the Spanish Government (MICIIN) for the partial financial support of this work through the contract CGL2009-14113-C02-01 and the E plan for the co-funding.Peer Reviewe

Flipped Learning Approach as Educational Innovation in Water Literacy

Water literacy has become a fundamental aspect in today’s society, as its conservation, preservation and management is key to ensuring human survival. The purpose of this paper was to analyze the effectiveness of flipped learning methodology on a traditional training practice in water literacy at the first level of secondary education. The flipped learning method consisted in providing the contents to the students before the class sessions, encouraging an active learning. A descriptive study was adopted with two experimental groups, two control groups and only post-test. An ad hoc questionnaire was used as an instrument to measure the parameters: Socio-educational, Motivation, Interactions, Autonomy, Collaboration; Deepening of contents; Problem solving, Class time and Ratings. The final sample was composed of 120 students, divided into four groups of 30 students each. The application of the treatment in the experimental groups lasted 10 sessions of 55 min. The results indicate that the use of time in class, the autonomy and the deepening of the contents were the aspects that improved most with the flipped learning approach. However, no significant differences in ratings were found. Finally, the main findings and their implications for water literacy are discussed.Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport of the Government of Spain (Project reference: FPU16/01762)