Optimization of the transmitter setup for a molecular communication link based on superparamagnetic iron nanoparticles

The search for innovative applications in the fields of biomedicine and nanotechnology benefit the further advance in molecular communication research. Nevertheless, a fullyfunctional artificial molecular system is not yet a reality. Institute for Electronics Engineering from FAU has developed an experimental molecular communication testbed based on magnetic nanoparticles, which has demonstrated to be effective in the transmission of bit sequences encoded by SPIONs. As part of this work, an optimization of the transmitter of this setup is implemented and tested. This optimization is based on the steering of SPIONs through a desired path after a splitting by use of the magnetic force generated by an electromagnet, which is located tactically in the proximity of the tubes where the nanoparticles flow. The electromagnet size has been selected in proportion to the tubes size of the system. Also, an electronic control circuit to switch automatically the electromagnet has been designed and mounted on a protoboard. Measuring of magnetic particles amount in the tubes of the system is accomplished using a susceptometer coil, an electronic device where the magnetic particles move through and generate an electrical signal. Experimental results for magnetic susceptibility changes in both channels after the Yconnector are presented. They have not been as expected, thus, recommendations in order to acquire more reliable measurements and further advancing in the presented research work are given.Outgoin

Building Accessible Flash Applications: an XML-Based Toolkit

The use of Flash as a web-based multimedia development tool has spread lately. Although a big effort has gone into improving its accessibility, there are still accessibility gaps requiring programming or purchase from another supplier. This makes building an accessible Flash application an ad hoc, complex and time-consuming task. With the aim of lightening the accessibility-related workload, we have implemented a toolkit that helps to create accessible multimedia Flash resources. This toolkit specifies the accessibility features as XML configuration files. It includes a library that works like a wrapper abstracting the logic layer of the different events and iterations from the physical layer. This way, new functionalities can easily be added. Additionally, it has been successfully used to build teaching and teaching support systems

Medida experimental y modelado matemático de módulos fotovoltaicos

En la actualidad, las celdas solares fotovoltaicas de silicio se han convertido en un medio muy utilizado para la generación de energía eléctrica. Uno de los problemas principales de estos elementos es la baja eficiencia de conversión energética y la elevada inversión inicial que se requieren para la puesta en marcha de un sistema de generación fotovoltaica. Por esta razón, es necesario realizar una estimación previa de la energía que se obtendrá a partir de los paneles en una determinada zona geográfica antes de su implementación y así apreciar la relación costo-beneficio para tomar la decisión adecuada. El presente trabajo se enfoca en la medida experimental de un módulo fotovoltaico de prueba en San Luis Potosí, con objeto de analizar y comparar el comportamiento de los diferentes modelos existentes en la literatura para las celdassolares fotovoltaicas.Palabra(s) Clave(s): celda fotovoltaica, eficiencia, irradiancia, modelado, potencia eléctrica

Comunidad Internacional, Oriente Próximo y cultura de paz

Este número es el resultado del III Congreso de Cultura de Paz, titulado Comunidad Internacional, Oriente Próximo y cultura de paz, organizado por el Instituto de Estudios Internacionales y Europeos “Francisco de Vitoria” de la Universidad Carlos III de Madrid y UNESCO-Getafe, y celebrado en el Campus de Getafe de la Universidad Carlos III de Madrid los días 25, 26 y 27 de noviembre de 2013.Contiene: prólogo / Federico Mayor Zaragoza. -- Reflexiones sobre el uso de la fuerza y la protección internacional de los derechos humanos / Carlos Fernández Liesa. -- Sobre la responsabilidad de proteger (RP) y el uso legal de la fuerza (a propósito del conflicto en Siria [2011-2014]) / Cesáreo Gutiérrez Espada. -- Libre determinación de los pueblos y uso de la fuerza: MLNS, rebeldes, resistentes o terroristas / Félix Vacas Fernández. -- Armas de destrucción masiva en oriente próximo / Vicente Garrido Rebolledo. -- España ante el actual proceso de transformación política en el mundo árabe / Tomás López-Vilariño. -- Definiendo conceptos: Sufismo, Fundamentalismo, Salafismo, Islamismo y Wahabismo / Manuel González Hernández. -- Hacia una cultura de paz / Silvia Martínez Cantón

Genomic epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in Madrid, Spain, during the first wave of the pandemic: Fast spread and early dominance by D614G variants

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was first detected in Madrid, Spain, on 25 February 2020. It increased in frequency very fast and by the end of May more than 70,000 cases had been confirmed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). To study the lineages and the diversity of the viral population during this first epidemic wave in Madrid we sequenced 224 SARS-CoV-2 viral genomes collected from three hospitals from February to May 2020. All the known major lineages were found in this set of samples, though B.1 and B.1.5 were the most frequent ones, accounting for more than 60% of the sequences. In parallel with the B lineages and sublineages, the D614G mutation in the Spike protein sequence was detected soon after the detection of the first coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) case in Madrid and in two weeks became dominant, being found in 80% of the samples and remaining at this level during all the study periods. The lineage composition of the viral population found in Madrid was more similar to the European population than to the publicly available Spanish data, underlining the role of Madrid as a national and international transport hub. In agreement with this, phylodynamic analysis suggested multiple independent entries before the national lockdown and air transportation restrictions.This research was partially supported through the European Commission Horizon 2020 Framework Programme (VIRUSCAN, FETPROACT-2016). E.D. was recipient of a Marie Skłodowska- Curie Individual Fellowship (Grant Agreement number 796084). E.V. is supported by the Subprograma Juan Rodés, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Subdirección General de Redes y Centros de Investigación Cooperativa, Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, Spain (JR18/00048). R.R. is supported by the Subprograma Río Hortega, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Subdirección General de Redes y Centros de Investigación Cooperativa, Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, Spain (CM19/00229)

CASCADE: Naked eye-detection of SARS-CoV-2 using Cas13a and gold nanoparticles

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to light the need for fast and sensitive detection methods to prevent the spread of pathogens. The scientific community is making a great effort to design new molecular detection methods suitable for fast point-of-care applications. In this regard, a variety of approaches have been developed or optimized, including isothermal amplification of viral nucleic acids, CRISPR-mediated target recognition, and read-out systems based on nanomaterials. Herein, we present CASCADE (CRISPR/CAS-based Colorimetric nucleic Acid DEtection), a sensing system for fast and specific naked-eye detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA. In this approach, viral RNA is recognized by the LwaCas13a CRISPR protein, which activates its collateral RNase activity. Upon target recognition, Cas13a cleaves ssRNA oligonucleotides conjugated to gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), thus inducing their colloidal aggregation, which can be easily visualized. After an exhaustive optimization of functionalized AuNPs, CASCADE can detect picomolar concentrations of SARS-CoV-2 RNA. This sensitivity is further increased to low femtomolar (3 fM) and even attomolar (40 aM) ranges when CASCADE is coupled to RPA or NASBA isothermal nucleic acid amplification, respectively. We finally demonstrate that CASCADE succeeds in detecting SARS-CoV-2 in clinical samples from nasopharyngeal swabs. In conclusion, CASCADE is a fast and versatile RNA biosensor that can be coupled to different isothermal nucleic acid amplification methods for naked-eye diagnosis of infectious diseases.This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (SAF2017-87305-R, PID2020-119352RB-I00), Instituto de Salud Carlos III (FONDO-COVID19:COV20/00144 and COV20/00122) and Madrid Regional Government (NANOCOV-CM and IND2017/IND7809). C.E-N, M. L-V and C.R-D thank Madrid Regional Government for the pre-doctoral Grants (PEJD-2017-PRE/BMD-3730, PEJD-2018-PRE/IND-9584 and PEJD-2017-PRE/IND-4438). P.M.R thanks the Ministry of Economy, Industry and competitiveness of Spain for the FPI fellowship (BES-2017.082521). IMDEA Nanociencia acknowledges support from the ‘Severo Ochoa’ Programme for Centres of Excellence in R&D (MINECO, Grant SEV-2016-0686, CEX2020-001039-S).Peer reviewe

Methylene Blue functionalized carbon nanodots combined with different shape gold nanostructures for sensitive and selective SARS-CoV-2 sensing

The development of DNA-sensing platforms based on new synthetized Methylene Blue functionalized carbon nanodots combined with different shape gold nanostructures (AuNs), as a new pathway to develop a selective and sensitive methodology for SARS-CoV-2 detection is presented. A mixture of gold nanoparticles and gold nanotriangles have been synthetized to modify disposable electrodes that act as an enhanced nanostructured electrochemical surface for DNA probe immobilization. On the other hand, modified carbon nanodots prepared a la carte to contain Methylene Blue (MB-CDs) are used as electrochemical indicators of the hybridization event. These MB-CDs, due to their structure, are able to interact differently with double and single-stranded DNA molecules. Based on this strategy, target sequences of the SARS-CoV-2 virus have been detected in a straightforward way and rapidly with a detection limit of 2.00 aM. Moreover, this platform allows the detection of the SARS-CoV-2 sequence in the presence of other viruses, and also a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs). The developed approach has been tested directly on RNA obtained from nasopharyngeal samples from COVID-19 patients, avoiding any amplification process. The results agree well with those obtained by RT-qPCR or reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction technique.We acknowledge the support from the Comunidad de Madrid (TRANSNANOAVANSENS-CM, S2018/NMT-4349, NANOCOV-CM, SI3/PJI/2021–00341) and Ministerio de economia y competitividad de España (PID2020–116728RB-100, CTQ2015–71955-REDT (ELECTROBIONET)). IMDEA Nanociencia acknowledges support from the Programme for Centres of Excellence in R&D ‘Severo Ochoa’ (CEX2020–001039-S, MINECO). Authors also acknowledge REACT EU NANOCOV-CM project. RdC acknowledges support from Fundación IMDEA Nanociencia, Banco Santander, UAM (convocatoria CRUE- SANTANDER-CSIC, reference 10.01.03.02.41).Peer reviewe

Revisiting the epidemiology of bloodstream infections and healthcare-associated episodes: results from a multicentre prospective cohort in Spain (PRO-BAC Study)

PROBAC REIPI/GEIH-SEIMC/SAEI Group.The epidemiology of bloodstream infections (BSIs) is dynamic as it depends on microbiological, host and healthcare system factors. The aim of this study was to update the information regarding the epidemiology of BSIs in Spain considering the type of acquisition. An observational, prospective cohort study in 26 Spanish hospitals from October 2016 through March 2017 including all episodes of BSI in adults was performed. Bivariate analyses stratified by type of acquisition were performed. Multivariate analyses were performed by logistic regression. Overall, 6345 BSI episodes were included; 2510 (39.8%) were community-acquired (CA), 1661 (26.3%) were healthcare-associated (HCA) and 2056 (32.6%) hospital-acquired (HA). The 30-day mortality rates were 11.6%, 19.5% and 22.0%, respectively. The median age of patients was 71 years (interquartile range 60–81 years) and 3656 (58.3%; 95% confidence interval 57.1–59.6%) occurred in males. The proportions according to patient sex varied according to age strata. Escherichia coli (43.8%), Klebsiella spp. (8.9%), Staphylococcus aureus (8.9%) and coagulase-negative staphylococci (7.4%) were the most frequent pathogens. Multivariate analyses confirmed important differences between CA and HCA episodes, but also between HCA and HA episodes, in demographics, underlying conditions and aetiology. In conclusion, we have updated the epidemiological information regarding patients’ profiles, underlying conditions, frequency of acquisition types and aetiological agents of BSI in Spain. HCA is confirmed as a distinct type of acquisition.This work was financed by grants from Plan Nacional de I+D+i 2013–2016, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Subdirección General de Redes y Centros de Investigación Cooperativa, Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades [PI16/01432] and the Spanish Network for Research in Infectious Diseases (REIPI) [RD16/0016/0001; RD16/0016/0008], co‐financed by the European Development Regional Fund ‘A way to achieve Europe’, Operative program Intelligent Growth 2014–2020

The CARBA-MAP study: national mapping of carbapenemases in Spain (2014–2018)

Introduction:Infections caused by carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) and carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa, including isolates producing acquired carbapenemases, constitute a prevalent health problem worldwide. The primary objective of this study was to determine the distribution of the different carbapenemases among carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE, specifically Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterobacter cloacae complex, and Klebsiella aerogenes) and carbapenemase-producing P. aeruginosa (CPPA) in Spain from January 2014 to December 2018.Methods: A national, retrospective, cross-sectional multicenter study was performed. The study included the first isolate per patient and year obtained from clinical samples and obtained for diagnosis of infection in hospitalized patients. A structured questionnaire was completed by the participating centers using the REDCap platform, and results were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics 29.0.0.Results: A total of 2,704 carbapenemase-producing microorganisms were included, for which the type of carbapenemase was determined in 2692 cases: 2280 CPE (84.7%) and 412 CPPA (15.3%), most often using molecular methods and immunochromatographic assays. Globally, the most frequent types of carbapenemase in Enterobacterales and P. aeruginosa were OXA-48-like, alone or in combination with other enzymes (1,523 cases, 66.8%) and VIM (365 cases, 88.6%), respectively. Among Enterobacterales, carbapenemase-producing K. pneumoniae was reported in 1821 cases (79.9%), followed by E. cloacae complex in 334 cases (14.6%). In Enterobacterales, KPC is mainly present in the South and South-East regions of Spain and OXA-48-like in the rest of the country. Regarding P. aeruginosa, VIM is widely distributed all over the country. Globally, an increasing percentage of OXA-48-like enzymes was observed from 2014 to 2017. KPC enzymes were more frequent in 2017–2018 compared to 2014–2016.Discussion: Data from this study help to understand the situation and evolution of the main species of CPE and CPPA in Spain, with practical implications for control and optimal treatment of infections caused by these multi-drug resistant organisms

Monitorización y seguimiento del esfuerzo realizado por los estudiantes y de su asistencia a actividades presenciales

Este artículo documenta el planteamiento, la metodología y los primeros resultados de un plan de monitorización detallada del esfuerzo y de asistencia a actividades presenciales por parte de los estudiantes de las titulaciones ofertadas por la Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Navales de la Universidad Politécnica de Madrid durante el segundo cuatrimestre del curso 2011-2012. Se ha establecido un sistema mecánico de recogida de datos de esfuerzo por parte de los estudiantes utilizando una hoja tipo test especialmente configurada al efecto. Se pasa una hoja en todas y cada una de las actividades presenciales realizadas y en la hoja se solicita información sobre el trabajo "fuera de clase". Se documenta en este artículo cómo se ha estructurado esa hoja, qué tipo de datos se recogen, cómo se tratan mediante una base de datos creada al efecto, qué tipo de análisis se puede realizar y qué resultados preliminares obtenemos de dichos análisis