Nutrient supplemented serum-free medium increases cardiomyogenesis efficiency of human pluripotent stem cells.

AIM: To development of an improved p38 MAPK inhibitor-based serum-free medium for embryoid body cardiomyocyte differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells. METHODS: Human embryonic stem cells (hESC) differentiated to cardiomyocytes (CM) using a p38 MAPK inhibitor (SB203580) based serum-free medium (SB media). Nutrient supplements known to increase cell viability were added to SB medium. The ability of these supplements to improve cardiomyogenesis was evaluated by measurements of cell viability, total cell count, and the expression of cardiac markers via flow cytometry. An improved medium containing Soy hydrolysate (HySoy) and bovine serum albumin (BSA) (SupSB media) was developed and tested on 2 additional cell lines (H1 and Siu-hiPSC). Characterization of the cardiomyocytes was done by immunohistochemistry, electrophysiology and quantitative real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: hESC cell line, HES-3, differentiating in SB medium for 16 d resulted in a cardiomyocyte yield of 0.07 +/- 0.03 CM/hESC. A new medium (SupSB media) was developed with the addition of HySoy and BSA to SB medium. This medium resulted in 2.6 fold increase in cardiomyocyte yield (0.21 +/- 0.08 CM/hESC). The robustness of SupSB medium was further demonstrated using two additional pluripotent cell lines (H1, hESC and Siu1, hiPSC), showing a 15 and 9 fold increase in cardiomyocyte yield respectively. The age (passage number) of the pluripotent cells did not affect the cardiomyocyte yields. Embryoid body (EB) cardiomyocytes formed in SupSB medium expressed canonical cardiac markers (sarcomeric alpha-actinin, myosin heavy chain and troponin-T) and demonstrated all three major phenotypes: nodal-, atrial- and ventricular-like. Electrophysiological characteristics (maximum diastolic potentials and action potential durations) of cardiomyocytes derived from SB and SupSB media were similar. CONCLUSION: The nutrient supplementation (HySoy and BSA) leads to increase in cell viability, cell yield and cardiac marker expression during cardiomyocyte differentiation, translating to an overall increase in cardiomyocyte yield.published_or_final_versio

Extreme ultra-trail race induces muscular damage, risk for acute kidney injury and hyponatremia: A case report

A case study involving a healthy trained male athlete who completed a 786 km multistage ultra-trail race. Several markers were analyzed in blood and urine samples: creatinine (SCR) for kidney damage, sodium ([Na+]) for hyponatremia, creatine kinase (CK) for exertional rhabdo-myolysis, as well as other hematological values. Samples were taken before and after the race and during the recovery period (days 2 and 9 after the race). Results showed: SCR = 1.13 mg/dL, [Na+] =139 mmol/L and CK = 1.099 UI/L. Criteria for the determination of acute kidney damage were not met, and [Na+] concentration was above 135 mEq/L, indicating the absence of hyponatremia. Exer-tional rhabdomyolysis was suffered by the athlete (baseline CK increased fivefold), though this situation was reverted after 9 days of recovery. Ultra-trail races cause biochemical changes in athletes, which should be known about by healthcare professionals. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

New rhenium complexes with ciprofloxacin as useful models for understanding the properties of [99mTc]-ciprofloxacin radiopharmaceutical

Rhenium complexes with the antibiotic ciprofloxacin have been prepared to be studied as models of technetium radiopharmaceuticals. With this aim, the new rhenium complexes 1 {[ReO(Cpf)2]Cl}, 2 {[ReO(CpfH)2]Cl3} and 3 {fac-[Re(CO)3(H2O)(Cpf)]} with ciprofloxacin (CpfH=ciprofloxacin; Cpf=conjugated base of ciprofloxacin) have been synthesised and characterised by elemental analyses, IR, NMR ((1)H, (19)F and (13)C CP-MAS) spectroscopy, as well as MS measurements. All spectroscopic data are consistent with the coordination of ciprofloxacin in all these complexes through the carbonyl and the carboxylate oxygen atoms with the formation of a six member chelate ring. The study of a Tc-ciprofloxacin solution by ESI-MS reveals the presence of [TcO(Cpf)2](+) cations, which agrees with the hypothesis that complexes 1 and 2 can be seen as model rhenium complexes of this radiopharmaceutical. Antimicrobial and DNA gyrase inhibition studies performed with complexes 2 and 3 have shown a very similar behaviour between complex 2 and the free antibiotic, whereas complex 3 exhibit a lower antimicrobial activity. Based on a joint analysis of the data reported in the literature and the chemical and biological results obtained in this study, a tentative proposal to explain some aspects of the behaviour of Tc-ciprofloxacin radiopharmaceutical has been made

Thermal treatment effect on the mechanical, tribological and corrosion properties of Ni-W alloy obtained by direct and pulse plating electrodeposition

Ni-W electrodeposits have emerged as one of the most suitable alternatives to hard chromium mainly owing to their remarkable mechanical and tribological properties. Additionally, advanced technologies that require materials resistant to high temperatures could benefit from the use of Ni-W coatings. In this work, the effect of thermal treatment at different temperatures (300, 500, 700°C) on the characteristics of Ni-W coatings obtained by direct and pulse plating (PP) was studied. The morphology, composition, crystalline structure, hardness, wear rate, friction coefficient and corrosion resistance of the thermally treated coatings were analysed and compared with the performance of hard chromium coatings. The results indicate that the pulse-plated Ni-W coatings show better mechanical and tribological properties than the ones obtained by direct current. A significant improvement in hardness in Ni-W layers was achieved by thermal treatment, mainly in the films grown by PP, with minor changes in wear resistance and corrosion performance

Monolayered versus multilayered electroless NiP coatings: Impact of the plating approach on the microstructure, mechanical and corrosion properties of the coatings

Electroless nickel-phosphorous (NiP) coatings were produced on low carbon steel substrates for a total plating time of 3\u202fh. Different preparation modalities were pursued. Multilayered coatings were produced by stacking three layers of the same composition by successive electroless plating with rinsing steps in between. On the other hand, coatings termed \u2018monolayered\u2019 for the sake of comparison were deposited by one step electroless process, with and without undergoing bath replenishment of the electrolyte during plating. All the samples were subjected to thermal annealing at 400\u202f\ub0C for 1\u202fh under argon atmosphere. The results show that the multilayer approach prevents crack propagation in the as-deposited coatings because the interfaces between layers block the advance of defects. Bath replenishment during monolayered coatings production creates pseudo-interfaces similar to those of the multilayered case but they are ineffective in terms of corrosion protection. Un-replenishment of the electrolyte promotes a change in the coating's microstructure from lamellar to columnar which severely worsens their performance. Upon annealing, the presence of interfaces, along with the recrystallization of the metallic matrix, promotes an upgrading of the corrosion performance of the multi-layered coatings. The corrosion products spread laterally at the interface where they stockpile. At a certain point, the accumulation of these by-products provokes the exfoliation of the outermost layer exposing the layer underneath to the corrosive media, thereby delaying the advancement of the corrosion attack. The results of this study highlight the importance of the plating approach selection, as well as the need for proper electrolyte maintenance during the production of high-performance electroless coatings

Evaluación de los riegos de la Comunidad de Regantes V del Canal de las Bardenas

14 Pag., 2 Tabl., 1 Fig.[ES] En este artículo se presentan los resultados de las evaluaciones de riego que se han llevado a cabo dentro de la segunda fase del trabajo denominado “Mejora de la Gestión Integral del Agua de Riego en la Comunidad de Regantes V del Canal de Bardenas”. El 80 % de la superficie de esta comunidad está ocupado por suelos de plataformas residuales, mientras que el resto son suelos de aluvial. Para caracterizar la capacidad de retención de agua de los suelos (CRA) se realizó un muestro en el que se describieron 50 perfiles. Para determinar la infiltración de los suelos y los índices de calidad del riego por superficie se realizaron 50 evaluaciones de riego. Un adecuado manejo del agua a nivel de parcela y unas texturas francas-franco arenosas permiten alcanzar niveles de eficiencia medios en las parcelas de las plataformas (53 % de media), cuyos suelos se caracterizan por una baja CRA (60 mm de media). En aluviales la eficiencia llega hasta un 80 % de media, gracias a las elevadas capacidades de retención de agua de estos suelos (182 mm de media). Actualmente se está realizado un reaprovechamiento de las aguas de desagüe que posiblemente provoque que la eficiencia a nivel de comunidad sea mayor que la obtenida a nivel de parcela. Estos resultados permiten pensar que la modernización de los regadíos, mediante el cambio a un sistema de riego presurizado, tendría un fuerte impacto sobre la eficiencia en parcela, aunque el impacto sobre la eficiencia en la comunidad sería menor. La modernización tendría resultados muy beneficiosos social y económicamente para los agricultores, además de mejorar la calidad de las aguas de los ríos que atraviesan la comunidad.[EN] Results of the irrigation evaluations performed in the second phase of the project “Improvement of the Water Irrigation Integral Management in the Comunidad de Regantes V del Canal de Bardenas” are presented in this paper. An 80 % of the area of the Irrigation District is occupied by soils of residual platforms, and the rest of the soils are alluvial. A soil survey was performed for characterising the water holding capacity (WHC) of the soils, using 50 soil profiles. A total of 50 irrigation evaluations was performed for determining soil infiltration and the performance indexes of surface irrigation in the study area. An adequate water management in border irrigation and loam-sandy loam textures permit to attain 53 % application efficiency in platforms, whose soils are characterized by a low WHC (with an average of 60 mm). In alluvial soils the application efficiency is higher, with an average of 80 %, due to the high water holding capacity of these soils (an average of 182 mm). Currently, The district is enforcing a program for irrigation return flows reuse. This program surely results in an irrigation district efficiency substantially higher that the average application efficiency. With these results is possible to think that an irrigation modernization, through a change to a pressurized irrigation system will severely improve the application efficiency, but the effect on the irrigation district efficiency will only be moderate. However, this modernisation would have great social and economical benefits for farmers, and also, the water quality of rivers crossing the irrigation district will be improved.Este proyecto de investigación ha sido cofinanciado por la CICYT, por Fondos FEDER, por el CONSI+D y por la Comunidad de Regantes V de Bardenas.Peer reviewe

Introducing Axial Chirality into Mesoionic 4,4′-Bis(1,2,3-triazole) Dicarbenes

Mesoionic 4,4′-bis(1,2,3-triazole-5,5′-diylidene) Rh(I) complexes having a C2 chiral 4,4′-axis were accessed from 3-alkyltriazolium salts in virtually complete de. Their structure and configurational integrity were assessed by NMR spectroscopy, X-ray crystallography, and chiral HPLC. Computational analysis of the MICs involved in the reaction suggested the formation of a highly stable and unprecedented cation-carbene intermediate species, which could be evidenced experimentally by cyclic voltammetry analysis

Functional macroporous iron-phosphorous films by electrodeposition on colloidal crystal templates

Altres ajuts: Oréal-Unesco For Women in Science programme. The authors would like to acknowledge networking support by the COST Action e-MINDS MP1407Pseudo-ordered macroporous iron-phosphorous (Fe-P) films have been electrodeposited potentiostatically from a citrate-sulfate bath onto Au surfaces pre-patterned with a colloidal crystal mask of polystyrene spheres of 350 nm in diameter. The electrolyte contained sodium hypophosphite as the P source, enabling the incorporation of 6-14 at.% P. For comparative purposes, continuous films have been obtained galvanostatically on unpatterned Au surfaces. In both cases, the P content could be varied to a certain extent by adjusting the deposition potential or current density. Tunable microstructure and magnetic response was observed due to the dissimilar chemical composition, with coercivity values being larger in the macroporous films. Additionally, wettability analyses showed that these were more hydrophobic, reaching contact angle values of about 130∘. In spite of their hydrophobic character, the samples were catalytic toward oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in alkaline media. The macroporous Fe-P films showed faster kinetics for OER than their nonporous counterparts. Our results show that electrodeposited porous Fe-P based materials show an interesting combination of properties which make them appealing for applications including water cleaning, soft-magnetic components, or electrocatalytic production of oxygen, to name a fe

Electroless Palladium-Coated Polymer Scaffolds for Electrical Stimulation of Osteoblast-Like Saos-2 Cells

Three-dimensional porous scaffolds offer some advantages over conventional treatments for bone tissue engineering. Amongst all non-bioresorbable scaffolds, biocompatible metallic scaffolds are preferred over ceramic and polymeric scaffolds, as they can be used as electrodes with different electric field intensities (or voltages) for electric stimulation (ES). In the present work we have used a palladium-coated polymeric scaffold, generated by electroless deposition, as a bipolar electrode to electrically stimulate human osteoblast-like Saos-2 cells. Cells grown on palladium-coated polyurethane foams under ES presented higher proliferation than cells grown on foams without ES for up to 14 days. In addition, cells grown in both conditions were well adhered, with a flat appearance and a typical actin cytoskeleton distribution. However, after 28 days in culture, cells without ES were filling the entire structure, while cells under ES appeared rounded and not well adhered, a sign of cell death onset. Regarding osteoblast differentiation, ES seems to enhance the expression of early expressed genes. The results suggest that palladium-coated polyurethane foams may be good candidates for osteoblast scaffolds and demonstrate that ES enhances osteoblast proliferation up to 14 days and upregulate expression genes related to extracellular matrix formation

Tribological performance of novel Nickel-based composite coatings with lubricant particles

Abstract The present study is focused on the evaluation of the tribological performance of novel Ni/hBN and Ni/WS2 composite coatings electrodeposited from an additive-free Watts bath with the assistance of ultrasound. Lubricated and non-lubricated scratch tests were performed on both novel composite coatings and on standard Ni deposits used as a benchmark coating to have an initial idea of the effect of the presence of particles within the Ni matrix. Under lubricated conditions, the performance of the Ni/hBN composite coating was very similar to the benchmark Ni coating, whereas the Ni/WS2 behaved quite differently, as the latter did not only show a lower coefficient of friction, but also prevented the occurrence of stick-slip motion that was clearly observed in the other coatings. Under non-lubricated conditions, whereas the tribological performance of the Ni/hBN composite coating was again very similar to that of the benchmark Ni coating, the Ni/WS2 composite coatings again showed a remarkable enhancement, as the incorporation of the WS2 particles into the Ni coating not only resulted in a lower coefficient of friction, but also in the prevention of coating failure