Adhesión de streptococcus mutans sobre hidroxiapatita in vitro

En el presente trabajo se evalúa la adhesión de Streptococcus mutans a hidroxiapatitas de diferente naturaleza en una solución oral sintética. La adhesión microbiana fue determinada indirectamente por recuento de los microorganismos viables en suspensiones equilibradas con los sustratos. Los resultados obtenidos mostraron que, a baja concentración de inóculo, la adhesión de Streptococcus mutans puede ser descripta, razonablemente, mediante una única isoterma de Langmuir, introduciendo una pequeña corrección en cada muestra para dar cuenta de las diferencias en la macrorugosidad. La constante de afinidad resultó ser aproximadamente igual a 0,25´10- 8 (bacterias/mL)-1. La falta de influencia del sustrato se interpreta en términos del mecanismo de adsorción del S. mutans, y el gran tamaño de la bacteria, que disimula diferencias químicas y morfológicas de la superficie en la dimensión nanométrica. Estos resultados sugieren que la derivatización de la superficie con grandes polímeros puede ser una alternativa más útil para modificar la adhesión bacteriana. A altas concentraciones de inóculo, se dispara una adhesión multicapa, descrita por una ecuación modificada de Hill, con un coeficiente n = 3, que indica fuertes interacciones atractivas entre bacterias.Peer Reviewe

Ethane internal rotation-Vibrational Hamiltonian

One of the main purposes of a theoretical spectroscopist is to propose a model to reproduce the xperimental spectra available in the literature as accurate and with as much physical information as possible. In this case it has been studied the Far infrared an Infrared spectra of non-rigid molecules, introducing in the Vibrational Potential their dependence on the large amplitude variables. The molecule that has been selected to test our proposed Hamiltonian is ethane which is a very well studied molecule. The molecule is a non-rigid molecule and their experimental spectra have been reported in the literature. © 2008, Sociedad Química de MéxicoPeer Reviewe

Iron substitution in Na4VMn(PO4)3 as a strategy for improving the electrochemical performance of sodium-ion batteries

Six NASICON type samples with Na4-xVFexMn1-x(PO4)3 (0 ≤ x ≤ 1) stoichiometry are examined as positive electrodes for sodium-ion batteries. The structural, morphological, and chemical state of elements in raw samples is unveiled by XRD diffraction, electron microscopy, and Raman and XPS spectroscopies. The effect of the dual Fe/Mn substitution is examined by electrochemical tests using both voltammetric and galvanostatic methods. The results reveal the beneficial effect of the iron substitution, justified by an improvement of the kinetic response, and supported by the calculation of the apparent diffusion coefficients and internal cell resistance

Ability of the isas3fun method to detect sperm acrosome integrity and its potential to discriminate between high and low field fertility bulls

The objective of the present study was to investigate whether fertility differences in bulls are reflected in variations of sperm quality when analysing only one ejaculate per male. Two experiments were performed. In the first experiment, frozen semen samples from 20 adult bulls were tested; 10 bulls had high field fertility and 10 bulls had low field fertility. Analyses of sperm motility, membrane integrity, and membrane–acrosome integrity with the ISAS3Fun method were performed. Sperm morphometry of the fluorescence sperm subpopulations obtained with the ISAS3Fun method was also analysed. Significant differences between high-and low-fertility groups were only found with the ISAS3Fun technique, specifically in sperm acrosome integrity, the proportion of spermatozoa with an intact acrosome and damaged membrane, and in sperm head width of spermatozoa with intact structures. Discriminant analyses allowed us to correctly classify 90% of sperm samples in their fertility group using sperm quality parameters. Given that only the results obtained with the ISAS3Fun technique were related to bull fertility, we performed a second experiment aimed to validate the efficacy of this technique to detect the acrosomal integrity of bull spermatozoa, comparing them with the conventional FITC-PNA/propidium iodide (PNA/PI) combination under capacitating conditions. The results indicated that the ISAS3Fun combination provided an accurate assessment of both viability and acrosomal integrity for ejaculated spermatozoa, while the PNA/PI combination underestimated the extension of acrosomal damage due to false negatives. It was concluded that the simultaneous assessment of sperm plasma membranes and acrosome integrity with the ISAS3Fun method is precise and seems to have a greater potential to discriminate between high-and low-fertility bulls than more conventional in vitro sperm quality tests. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Study of turbocharger shaft motion by means of non-invasive optical techniques: Application to the behaviour analysis in turbocharger lubrication failures

[EN] This paper presents a novel non-invasive technique to estimate the turbocharger shaft whirl motion. The aim of this article is to present a system for monitoring the shaft motion of a turbocharger, which will be used in turbocharger destructive testing. To achieve this, a camera and a light source were installed in a turbocharger test bench with a controlled lubrication circuit. An image recording methodology and a process algorithm have been developed, in order to estimate the shaft motion. This processing consists on differentiating specific zones of the image, in order to obtain their coordinates. Two reference points have been configured on the compressor side, which help to calculate the relative position of the shaft, avoiding the errors due to structural vibrations. Maximum eccentricity of the turbocharger has been determined and it has been compared with shaft motion when it is spinning in different conditions. A luminosity study has been also done, in order to improve the process and to obtain locus of shaft position in a picture exposition time period. The technique has been applied to diagnosis of a lubrication failure test and the main results will be presented in this article: like shaft motion figures; thermodynamic variables and pictures of the shaft while it is spinning at abnormal lubrication conditions. The measuring components used in this technique have the ability to withstand the catastrophic failure of the turbocharger in this type of test. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.Pastor, JV.; Serrano, J.; Dolz, V.; López Hidalgo, M.; Bouffaud, F. (2012). Study of turbocharger shaft motion by means of non-invasive optical techniques: Application to the behaviour analysis in turbocharger lubrication failures. Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing. 32:292-305. doi:10.1016/j.ymssp.2012.04.020S2923053

Association between Birth Plan Use and Maternal and Neonatal Outcomes in Southern Spain: A Case-Control Study

Background: Birth plans are used for pregnant women to express their wishes and expectations about childbirth. The aim of this study was to compare obstetric and neonatal outcomes between women with and without birth plans. Methods: A multicentre, retrospective case–control study at tertiary hospitals in southern Spain between 2009 and 2013 was conducted. A total of 457 pregnant women were included, 178 with and 279 without birth plans. Women with low-risk gestation, at full-term and having been in labour were included. Sociodemographic, obstetric and neonatal variables were analysed and comparisons were established. Results: Women with birth plans were older, more educated and more commonly primiparous. Caesarean sections were less common in primiparous women with birth plans (18% vs. 29%, p = 0.027); however, no significant differences were found in instrumented births, 3rd–4th-degree tears or episiotomy rates. Newborns of primiparous women with birth plans obtained better results on 1 min Apgar scores, umbilical cord pH and advanced neonatal resuscitation. No significant differences were found on 5 min Apgar scores or other variables for multiparous women. Conclusions: Birth plans were related to less intervention, a more natural process of birth and better outcomes for mothers and newborns. Birth plans can improve the welfare of the mother and newborn, leading to birth in a more natural way

Método rápido de obtención de aceite de oliva virgen para determinación de acidez

A rapid and simple method to obtain, from olive samples, enough quantity of oil to determine acidity grade is proposed. From paste samples of milled olives, different fraction are separated to be centrifugated during 5 minutes at 4500 r.p.m. Oil acidity results obtained from sodium sulfate anhidrous and natural microtalc added samples are compared with blank samples, and with those obtained by the Abencor extraction procedure. The correlation between the acidity of oil samples obtained by the Abencor method is also analyzed against other samples obtained by the normalized method in Spain, norm UNE 55070, Soxhlet system. Results show that in all the centrifugated samples enough amount of oil is obtained to determin the acidity grade, it also show that treatment with sodium sulfate anhidrous obtains a bigger recovery percentage, and that in all 3 cases, the acidity shows a good correlation with that of the Abencor system, doubling the number of samples analysed by the Abencor system. It also shows that the acidity grade obtained by using the UNE 55070 norm is aproximately 0,3 grades above that obtained by the Abencor system.<br><br>Se propone un método rápido y sencillo para obtener, a partir de muestras de aceitunas, suficiente cantidad de aceite para determinar su grado de acidez. A partir de muestras de pasta de aceitunas molidas se separan distintas fracciones que se someten a un proceso de centrifugación a 4500 r.p.m. durante 5 minutos. Se comparan los resultados de acidez de los aceites obtenidos de las muestras con adición de microtalco natural y sulfato sódico anhidro, con muestras testigo, así como con el procedimiento de extracción Abencor. Se analiza también la correlación entre la acidez de muestras de aceite obtenidas por el método Abencor, con otras obtenidas por el método normalizado en España, norma UNE 55070, basado en la extracción del aceite por el método Soxhlet. Los resultados ponen de manifiesto que en las muestras centrifugadas se obtiene cantidad suficiente de aceite para la determinación del grado de acidez, que el tratamiento con sulfato sódico anhidro consigue mayor porcentaje de recuperación, y que, en los tres casos, la acidez presenta buena correlación con la del sistema Abencor, duplicando el número de muestras analizadas respecto a este método. Así mismo, se demuestra que el valor de acidez obtenido al aplicar la norma UNE 55070 es aproximadamente 0,3 grados por encima del obtenido por el sistema Abencor