Understanding the influence of filler type and asphalt binder content on the moisture and fatigue resistance of asphalt mortars

An adequate moisture resistance is a key element to guarantee the durability of asphalt materials. This paper identifies the influence of filler typology and bitumen content on the mechanical response of asphalt mortars before and after water action. Two fillers were evaluated: Portland cement and Calcium carbonate, along with different contents of a penetration bitumen (B35/50). Stiffness, ductility, and fatigue were evaluated through a new protocol for asphalt mortar samples using a 3-point-bending test on DMA (Dynamic Mechanical Analyzer). The use of Portland cement presents higher stiffness, lower ductility, and improved fatigue and water resistance compared to Calcium carbonate. It is also possible to optimize bitumen content based on fatigue results. Content beyond the optimal reduce variations after water action but compromise fatigue resistance. Lower content leads to a poorer performance in both terms. This methodology enables asphalt mortar characterisation as a tool to optimise the design of asphalt materials.La influencia del tipo de polvo mineral y contenido de ligante bituminoso en la resistencia a la humedad y fatiga de morteros bituminosos. La resistencia al agua es clave para garantizar la durabilidad de los materiales asfálticos. Este estudio identifica la influencia del polvo mineral y contenido de betún en la respuesta mecánica de morteros bituminosos antes y después de la humedad. Se evaluaron dos tipos de filler: cemento Portland y carbonato cálcico (filler calizo), junto con distintos contenidos de betún (B35/50). Rigidez, ductilidad y fatiga fueron evaluados mediante un nuevo ensayo de fatiga a tres puntos para morteros empleando DMA (Dynamic Mechanical Analyzer). El cemento presenta más rigidez, menos ductilidad y mayor resistencia al agua y fatiga que el filler calizo. Los resultados de fatiga permiten además optimizar el contenido de betún. Contenidos por encima del óptimo reducen variaciones tras la humedad pero comprometen la resistencia a fatiga. Contenidos menores conllevan un peor comportamiento en ambos términos. Esta metodología permite usar la caracterización de morteros bituminosos para optimizar el diseño de materiales asfálticos

Comparación del efecto de la concentración de polvo de neumático reciclado y polímeros en el comportamiento de ligantes para mezclas bituminosas

Crumb rubber modified binders are environmental-friendly alternatives to polymer modified bitumens in asphalt mixtures. This paper compares the performance of both types of binders with different modifier contents. Six binders were characterised by conventional tests and analysed using the UCL method. This method evaluates different properties of binders regarding their role in asphalt mixtures (cohesion, water and thermal sensitivity and resistance to ageing). Results showed that i) crumb rubber concentration has to be higher than that of SBS-polymers in order to obtain a similar performance to that of SBS-polymer modified bitumen; ii) crumb rubber modified binders are more stable than SBS-polymer modified binders in terms of modifier concentration; iii) crumb rubber modified binders exhibited less water sensitivity and similar thermal and ageing susceptibility to SBS-polymer modified binders; iv) linear relationships have been found between modifier concentration and the properties studied for both kind of binders.Los betunes modificados con polvo de neumático (PN) son alternativas ambientalmente sostenibles a los betunes modificados con polímeros. Este artículo compara el comportamiento de ambos tipos de betunes con varios contenidos de modificador. Para ello, se caracterizaron seis betunes mediante ensayos convencionales y método UCL. Este método evalúa propiedades de ligantes para su uso en mezclas bituminosas (cohesión, sensibilidad al agua, térmica y al envejecimiento). Los resultados muestran que i) la concentración de PN ha de ser más elevada que la de polímeros para obtener comportamiento semejante; ii) los betunes con PN son más estables ante cambios en la concentración de modificador que los betunes con polímeros; iii) los betunes con PN presentan menor sensibilidad al agua y equivalente susceptibilidad térmica y al envejecimiento que los betunes con polímeros; iv) se encontraron buenos ajustes lineales entre la concentración de modificadores y la evolución de las propiedades estudiadas

Yb-doped strictly all-fiber laser actively Q-switched by intermodal acousto-optic modulation

We show an actively Q-switched ytterbium-doped strictly all-fiber laser. Cavity loss modulation is achieved in a tapered optical fiber by core-to-cladding mode-coupling induced by travelling flexural acoustic waves. When the acoustical signal is switched-off, the optical power losses within the cavity are reduced, and then a laser pulse is emitted. Trains of Q-switched pulses were successfully obtained at repetition rates in the range 1-10 kHz, with pump powers between 59 and 88 mW, at the optical wavelength of 1064.1 nm. Best results were for laser pulses of 118 mW peak power, 1.8 μs of time width, with a pump power of 79 mW, at 7 kHz repetition rate.Fil: Villegas García, Irma Lorena. Universidad de Valencia; España. Centro de Investigaciones en Optica; MéxicoFil: Cuadrado Laborde, Christian Ariel. Universidad de Valencia; España. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Investigaciones Ópticas. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Centro de Investigaciones Ópticas. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Centro de Investigaciones Ópticas; ArgentinaFil: Díez, Antonio. Universidad de Valencia; EspañaFil: Cruz, Jose Luis. Universidad de Valencia; EspañaFil: Martínez Gámez, M. A.. Centro de Investigaciones en Óptica; MéxicoFil: Andrés Bou, Miguel Vicente. Universidad de Valencia; Españ

New perspectives for pharmacological chaperoning treatment in methylmalonic aciduria cblB type

Methylmalonic aciduria cblB type (MMA cblB) is caused by the impairment of ATP:cob(I)alamin adenosyltransferase (ATR), the enzyme responsible for the synthesis of adenosylcobalamin (AdoCbl) from cob(I)alamin. No definitive treatment is available for patients with this condition and novel therapeutic strategies are therefore much needed. Recently, we described a proof-of-concept regarding the use of pharmacological chaperones as a treatment. This work describes the effect of two potential pharmacological chaperones - compound V (N-{[(4-chlorophenyl)carbamothioyl]amino}-2-phenylacetamide) and compound VI (4-(4-(4-fluorophenyl)-5-methyl-1H-pyrazol-3-yl)benzene-1,3-diol) - on six ATR mutants, including the most common, p.Arg186Trp. Comprehensive functional analysis identified destabilizing (p.Arg186Gln, p.Arg190Cys, p.Arg190His, p.Arg191Gln and p.Glu193Lys) and oligomerization (p.Arg186Trp and p.Arg191Gln) mutations. In a cellular model overexpressing the destabilizing/oligomerization mutations, compounds V and VI had a positive effect on the stability and activity of all ATR variants. When provided in combination with hydroxocobalamin a more positive effect was obtained than with the compounds alone, even in mutations previously described as B12 non-responsive. In addition, a normal oligomerization profile was recovered after treatment of the p.Arg186Trp mutant with both compounds. These promising results confirm MMA cblB type as a conformational disorder and hence, pharmacological chaperones as a new therapeutic option alone or in combination with hydroxocobalamin for many patients with MMA cblBThis work was supported by Instituto de Salud Carlos III and (grant PI13/01239) plus grants from the Fundación Isabel Gemio and Obra Social de La Caixa to BP; the Research Council of Norway [nr. 185181 to AM], The KG Jebsen Foundation, and NovoSeeds (Novo Nordisk). AG was supported by a Ramón y Cajal grant from the Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología. This work was supported also by the European Regional Development Fund (PI13/01239

Subsidized pharmacological treatment for smoking cessation by the Spanish public health system

INTRODUCTION Research has shown that financing drug therapy increases smoking abstinence rates, although most of these studies have been carried out in the private healthcare setting. The aim of this work is to assess the effect of subsidized pharmacological treatment on smoking cessation rates by the Spanish public healthcare system. METHODS A pragmatic, randomized, clinical trial was performed by clusters. Randomization unit was the primary healthcare center and the analysis unit was the patient. Smokers consuming ≥10 cigarettes/day were randomly assigned to an intervention group that received financed pharmacological treatment or to a control group that followed usual care. The main outcome was self-reported or CO-confirmed continuous abstinence at 12 months. The main outcome, continuous abstinence rates (%), were compared between groups at 12 months post-intervention. A model was adjusted using mixedeffect logistic regression. RESULTS A total of 1154 patients were included from 23 healthcare centers. In the intention-to-treat analysis, selfreported abstinence after 12 months in the control and intervention groups, respectively, was 9.6% (37/387) and 15.4% (118/767) (gender-adjusted OR=1.75; 95% CI: 1.1– 2.8); for CO-confirmed abstinence the corresponding values were 3.1% (12/387) and 6.4% (49/767) (gender-adjusted OR=1.72; 95% CI: 0.7–4.0). Pharmacological treatment use was 35.1% (136/387) in the control group, and 58.3% (447/767) in the intervention group (adjusted OR=4.25; 95% CI: 1.8–9.9) CONCLUSIONS Subsidizing pharmacological treatment for smoking cessation increases self-reported or CO-confirmed abstinence rates under realistic conditions in the primary care setting of the Spanish public health systemThis trial was funded by the Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias (FIS) del Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) under registration number 07528, as well as the 2016 and 2017 calls for grants for translations and publishing by the Fundación para la Investigación e Innovación Biosanitaria en Atención Primaria (FIIBA

Mobile application for recommending courses in University Studies

Los Grados Universitarios en sus planes de estudios tienen asignados una serie de créditos optativos, en los que el estudiante tiene libertad para elegir las asignaturas que más le interesen. Esta elección suele ser bastante complicada para los estudiantes, que si bien cuentan con una guía docente de cada asignatura, que les permite conocer los contenidos teóricos y prácticos, los profesores que la imparten, la metodología y los criterios de evaluación, no suele ser suficiente para decidirse. En este contexto, los estudiantes están interesados en las valoraciones que le pueden ofrecer otros compañeros o compañeras que las cursaron, siendo una práctica habitual que los estudiantes recurran a los estudiantes de otros cursos para que les orienten en el proceso. No obstante, se debe tener cierta precaución con esta práctica, porque no todas las valoraciones que se reciban deberían tener la misma consideración. Por un lado, los intereses y propósitos del estudiante que pide opinión y los del estudiante que la proporciona puede que sean diferentes, y por otro lado, puede que la información se encuentre distorsionada por haber pasado por varios intermediarios. En este escenario, los sistemas de recomendación aparecen como herramientas para ayudar a la toma de decisiones generando recomendaciones a los estudiantes sobre un determinado objeto de estudio, a partir de preferencias y opiniones dadas por otros estudiantes que tienen unos intereses o preferencias similares a los suyos. En este proyecto se ha diseñado e implementado una aplicación móvil, fácil de manejar por los estudiantes y que permite que cualquier estudiante registrado en un determinado Grado pueda obtener una recomendación sobre las asignaturas que más le pueden interesar.University studies contain several optional subjects that can be chosen by students according to their preferences. To make this decision, student has a teaching guide of each subject which contains information about theoretical and practical contents, professors, methodology and assessment process. Despite being useful, in many cases this information is insufficient to make the best decision. In this context, students ask other peer students who have already studied the subject for advice. However, this process should be carried out cautiously. On one hand, the interests and goals of consulted students could be different to those of the student that requires the information, and on the other hand, the information could present a distorted vision of reality due to the intervention of many intermediaries. This project intends to offer recommendations that help students to choose the subjects that could be more interesting for him or her from opinions given by other peers. With this purpose, we design and develop a mobile application that allows students to obtain a recommendation about the more convenient subjects according to his/her preferences

Fe3O4-Au Core-Shell Nanoparticles as a Multimodal Platform for In Vivo Imaging and Focused Photothermal Therapy

In this study, we report the synthesis of gold-coated iron oxide nanoparticles capped with polyvinylpyrrolidone (Fe@Au NPs). The as-synthesized nanoparticles (NPs) exhibited good stability in aqueous media and excellent features as contrast agents (CA) for both magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and X-ray computed tomography (CT). Additionally, due to the presence of the local surface plasmon resonances of gold, the NPs showed exploitable “light-to-heat” conversion ability in the near-infrared (NIR) region, a key attribute for effective photothermal therapies (PTT). In vitro experiments revealed biocompatibility as well as excellent efficiency in killing glioblastoma cells via PTT. The in vivo nontoxicity of the NPs was demonstrated using zebrafish embryos as an intermediate step between cells and rodent models. To warrant that an effective therapeutic dose was achieved inside the tumor, both intratumoral and intravenous routes were screened in rodent models by MRI and CT. The pharmacokinetics and biodistribution confirmed the multimodal imaging CA capabilities of the Fe@AuNPs and revealed constraints of the intravenous route for tumor targeting, dictating intratumoral administration for therapeutic applications. Finally, Fe@Au NPs were successfully used for an in vivo proof of concept of imaging-guided focused PTT against glioblastoma multiforme in a mouse model.Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (CTQ2017-86655-R and BIO2017-84246-C2-1-R)Fondo Social de la DGA (grupos DGA) and by the Regional Ministry of Health of Andalusia (OH-0026-2018).Associate Laboratory for Green Chemistry—LAQVApplied Molecular Biosciences Unit –UCIBIOPortuguese national funds from FCT/MCTES (UIDB/04378/2020 and UIDB/50006/2020

The psychosocial management of rights restitution: tracing technologies for reparation in post-conflict Colombia

Psychosocial assistance is a crucial aspect of recent state reparation and human rights restitution policies in post-conflict Colombia. Drawing on the methodological tools offered by Science and Technology Studies (STS), we follow the trajectories of a psychosocial protocol for emotional recovery as a technology of reparation deployed in rural communities between 2013 and 2017. We ethnographically describe how psychological and administrative projects are merged in practice and come to shape practices and emotional self-valuations. Building on Serres’ concept of betrayal, we reflect on the potential contours of quantifications embedded in psychosocial assistance as opportunities for different forms of reparation to emerge. These forms of reparation coexist in intertwined epistemic practices of psychosocial assistance. We claim that a potentially alternative form of reparation arises despite the predominance of an administrative design mainly concerned with quantification and efficient policy management

Constraining the pˉ/p\bar{p}/p Ratio in TeV Cosmic Rays with Observations of the Moon Shadow by HAWC

An indirect measurement of the antiproton flux in cosmic rays is possible as the particles undergo deflection by the geomagnetic field. This effect can be measured by studying the deficit in the flux, or shadow, created by the Moon as it absorbs cosmic rays that are headed towards the Earth. The shadow is displaced from the actual position of the Moon due to geomagnetic deflection, which is a function of the energy and charge of the cosmic rays. The displacement provides a natural tool for momentum/charge discrimination that can be used to study the composition of cosmic rays. Using 33 months of data comprising more than 80 billion cosmic rays measured by the High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) observatory, we have analyzed the Moon shadow to search for TeV antiprotons in cosmic rays. We present our first upper limits on the $\bar{p}/p$ fraction, which in the absence of any direct measurements, provide the tightest available constraints of $\sim1\%$ on the antiproton fraction for energies between 1 and 10 TeV.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures. Accepted by Physical Review