Influencia del ángulo de orientación de estribos y espigones en los procesos de erosión local

[ES] El objeto de este trabajo es estudiar la influencia del ángulo de orientación con respecto a la corriente de un estribo de puente o espigón en la evolución temporal y en el valor final de la erosión local. Con los resultados obtenidos en el laboratorio se ha definido la curva q - Kq, siendo _ el ángulo de inclinación y Kq la relación entre las erosiones máximas para un ángulo q cualquiera y q = 90º (estribo perpendicular a la corriente). Las conclusiones extraídas confirman las hipótesis de los trabajos más recientes que afirman que el valor máximo de erosión corresponde al ángulo de 90º. Se ha estudiado también la evolución temporal de la profundidad de la cavidad siguiendo las formulaciones de Ettema, Franzetti et al. y Whitehouse obteniéndose, en general, buenas correlaciones.El estudio fue realizado con el apoyo del Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia, el proyecto HID96-0971, la Xarxa d’Hidrologia Mediterrània de la Generalitat de Catalunya y en el ámbito de los proyectos PBIC/C/CEG/2355/95 y PRAXIS/3/3.2/CEG/32/94 financiados por la ‘Fundaçao para a Ciência e Tecnologia’ de Portugal.Roca I Collell, M.; Heleno Cardoso, A.; Martín Vide, JP.; Bateman Pinzón, A. (2000). Influencia del ángulo de orientación de estribos y espigones en los procesos de erosión local. Ingeniería del Agua. 7(3):263-269. https://doi.org/10.4995/ia.2000.2849SWORD26326973Ahmad, M. (1953) Experiments on designs and behaviour of spur dikes. Proc. IAHR. Conf. Minnesota, pp 145-159.Cardoso, A.H. Eros (es localizadas junto de espor(es fluviais e de encontros e pilares de pontos. Informe del CEHIDRO, Instituto Superior Técnico, UTL, Lisboa (versión provisional).Cardoso, A.H., Bettes, R. Time evolution and effect of channel geometry on local scour at bridge abutment. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering (aceptado para su publicación).Dongol, D.M.S. (1984) Local scour at bridge abutments. Tesi de doctorado. University of Auckland. Department of civil engineering. Report nº 544.Ettema, R. (1980). Scour at bridge piers. University of Auckland. Department of civil engineering. Report nº 216.Franzetti, S., larcan, E., Mignosa, P. (1982). Influence of tests duration on the evaluation of ultimate scour around circular piers. International Conference on the Hydraulic Modelling of Civil Engineering Structures, paper G2, Coventry, England.Kandasamy, J.K. (1985). Local scour at skewed abutments. University of Auckland. Department of civil engineering. Report nº 375.Kandasamy, J.K. (1989) Abutment scour. Tesi de doctorado. University of Auckland. Department of civil engineering. Report nº 458.Kothary, U.C., Ranga Raju, K.G., Garde, R.J. (1992) Livebed scour around cylindrical bridge piers. Journal of Hydraulic Research. Vol. 30, nº 5. pp 701-715.Kwan, T.F. (1984) Study of abutment scour. University of Auckland. Department of civil engineering. Report nº 328.Kwan, T.F. (1988) A study of abutment scour. Tesi de doctorado. University of Auckland. Department of civil engineering. Report nº 451.Laursen, E.M. (1958) Scour at bridge crossings. Iowa. Highway Research Board Bulletin, nº 8, Iowa Institute of Hydraulic Research, State University of Iowa, USA.LNEC (1982) Canal de inclinaç(o variável. Descriç (o do tanque de montante, canal propiamente dito, tanque de jusante e circuito de retorno. Ministerio de Habitaç (o eobras públicas. Laboratorio Nacional de Engenharia Civil.Melville, B.W. (1992). Local scour at bridge abutments. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, ASCE. Vol. 118, nº 4 April, pp 615-631.Melville, B.W. (1995). Bridge abutment scour in compound channels. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, ASCE. Vol. 121, nº 12 December, pp 863-868.Melville, B.W. (1997). Pier and abutment scour: integrated approach. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, ASCE. Vol. 123, nº 2, February, pp 125-136.Richardson, E.V., Harrison, L.J., Richardson, J.R. Davies, S.R. (1993). Evaluating scour at bridges. Federal Highway Administration, Pub. FHWA-P-90-017, Virginia, USA.Whitehouse, R.J.S. (1997). Scour at marine structures: a manual for engineers and scientists. HR Wallingford Research, report SR417, Wallingford, UK

Liquid fructose downregulates SIRT1 expression and activity and impairs the oxidation of fatty acids in rat and human liver cells

Fructose ingestion is associated with the production of hepatic steatosis and hypertriglyceridemia. For fructose to attain these effects in rats, simultaneous induction of fatty acid synthesis and inhibition of fatty acid oxidation is required. We aimed to determine the mechanism involved in the inhibition of fatty acid oxidation by fructose and whether this effect occurs also in human liver cells. Female rats were supplemented or not with liquid fructose (10% w/v) for 7 or 14 days; rat (FaO) and human (HepG2) hepatoma cells, and human hepatocytes were incubated with fructose 25 mM for 24 h. The expression and activity of the enzymes and transcription factors relating to fatty acid β-oxidation were evaluated. Fructose inhibited the activity of fatty acid β-oxidation only in livers of 14-day fructose-supplemented rats, as well as the expression and activity of peroxisome proliferator activated receptor α (PPARα). Similar results were observed in FaO and HepG2 cells and human hepatocytes. PPARα downregulation was not due to an osmotic effect or to an increase in protein-phosphatase 2A activity caused by fructose. Rather, it was related to increased content in liver of inactive and acetylated peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma coactivator 1α, due to a reduction in sirtuin 1 expression and activity. In conclusion, fructose inhibits liver fatty acid oxidation by reducing PPARα expression and activity, both in rat and human liver cells, by a mechanism involving sirtuin 1 down-regulation

Incisión, erosión transitoria y formas de fondo en los tramos medio y bajo del río Tordera

[ES] Se presenta en este trabajo los datos de campo y análisis que prueban el comportamiento dinámico del río Tordera. El aspecto más llamativo es el descenso general (incisión) del cauce del río, del orden de 3m y a lo largo de unos 15 km, en los últimos 40 años. Se muestra con datos de campo que la erosión general transitoria del cauce arenoso puede ser del orden de metros y que el lecho presenta grandes dunas.Martín Vide, JP.; Batalla, RJ.; Roca I Collell, M.; Rovira, A.; Andreatta, A. (2005). Incisión, erosión transitoria y formas de fondo en los tramos medio y bajo del río Tordera. Ingeniería del agua. 12(1):53-62. https://doi.org/10.4995/ia.2005.2551OJS5362121Ackers, P., White, W.R., Perkins, J.A., Harrison, J.M. (1978) "Weirs and flumes for flow measurement". John Wiley and sons, Chichester.Batalla, R.J. (1997): "Evaluating bed-material transport equations using field measurements in a sandy gravel-bed stream (Arbúcies, NE Spain)". Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 22, 2, 121-130Batalla, R.J. Martín-Vide, J.P. (2001) "Thresholds of particle entrainment in a poorly sorted sandy gravel-bed river". Catena 44, 223-243Batalla, R.J., Sala, M., Werrity, A. (1995): "Sediment budget focused on solid material transport in a subhumid Mediterranean drainage basin". Zeitschrift für Geomorphologie, 29, 2, 249-264Church, M.A., McLean, D.G. & Wolcott, J.F. (1987): "River bed gravels: sampling and analysis". A: Thorne, C.R., Barthurst, J.C. & Hey, R.D. (eds.): Sediment transport in gravel-bed rivers. John Wiley & Sons, 43-88Garde, R.J., Ranga Raju, K.G (1977) "Mechanics of sediment transportation and alluvial stream problems". John Wiley and sons, New York 1977.Gutiérrez, C. (1999) "La Tordera. Perspectiva geograficohistòrica d'un riu". Publicacions de la rectoria vella. Sant Celoni.Leopold, L.B., Wolman, M.G., Miller, J.P. (1964) "Fluvial proceses in geomorphology". Dover Publications, New York.Martín Vide, J.P. (2002) "Ingeniería fluvial". Edicions UPC, Barcelona 1997 e "Ingeniería de ríos", Edicions UPC, Barcelona 2002.Pedraza, P. (1998) "Estudio de la erosión general en el río Tordera". Tesina de especialidad, Escuela T.S. de Ing. de Caminos, UPC.Rovira, A. (2001) "Balanç de sediment i dinàmica fluvial en un riu de règim hidrològic transitori (tram final de la Tordera)". Tesi Doctoral, Universitat de Barcelona.Sala, M. (1978) "La cuenca del Tordera. Estudio geomorfológico". Tesis doctoral. Universitat de Barcelona.Schreider, M., Scacchi, G., Franco, F., Fuentes, R., Moreno, Ch. (2001) "Aplicación del método de Lischtvan y Lebediev al cálculo de la erosión general". Ingeniería hidráulica en México, XVI,1, pp.15-25.Wolman, M.G. (1954) "A method of sampling coarse bed-material". American Geophys. Union Trans., 35, 951-956

Factors associated with the clinical outcome of patients with relapsed/refractory CD19+acute lymphoblastic leukemia treated with ARI-0001 CART19-cell therapy

The prognosis of patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) remains poor, particularly for those relapsing after allogeneic hema-topoietic cell transplantation (alloHCT). Novel agents such as inotuzumab ozogamicin or blinatumomab achieve increased response rates, but these are generally transient unless followed by alloHCT. Chimeric antigen receptors (CAR) targeting CD19 have shown promising results in R/R ALL, and one of these products (tisagenlecleucel) has been approved for the treatment of patients with R/R ALL up to 25 years of age

Dementia care in times of COVID-19: Experience at Fundació ACE in Barcelona, Spain

Background: Fundació ACE is a non-profit organization providing care based on a holistic model to persons with cognitive disorders and their families for 25 years in Barcelona, Spain. Delivering care to this vulnerable population amidst the COVID-19 pandemic has represented a major challenge to our institution. Objective: To share our experience in adapting our model of care to the new situation to ensure continuity of care. Methods: We detail the sequence of events and the actions taken within Fundació ACE to swiftly adapt our face-to-face model of care to one based on telemedicine consultations. We characterize individuals under follow-up by the Memory Unit from 2017 to 2019 and compare the number of weekly visits in 2020 performed before and after the lockdown was imposed. Results: The total number of individuals being actively followed by Fundació ACE Memory Unit grew from 6,928 in 2017 to 8,147 in 2019. Among those newly diagnosed in 2019, most patients had mild cognitive impairment or mild dementia (42% and 25%, respectively). Weekly visits dropped by 60% following the suspension of face-to-face activity. However, by April 24 we were able to perform 78% of the visits we averaged in the weeks before confinement began. Discussion: We have shown that Fundació ACE model of care has been able to successfully adapt to a health and social critical situation as COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, we were able to guarantee the continuity of care while preserving the safety of patients, families, and professionals. We also seized the opportunity to improve our model of care

Grup d'Innovació Docent en Farmacologia (GIDOF)

Podeu consultar la Setena trobada de professorat de Ciències de la Salut completa a: http://hdl.handle.net/2445/4335

Creació de recursos en línea per a l’autoaprenentage, foment de l’esperit crític i emprenedor i formació d’un comité d’avaluació externa en el màster MERIT

El projecte es desenvolupa en el marc de la titulació oficial de màster MERIT del Departament de Teoria del Senyal i Comunicacions. El màster, orientat a la recerca i integrat dins del programa Erasmus Mundus, presenta trets esfecífics donat l’origen variat dels estudiants i que s’imparteix integrament en anglès. El projecte s’articula en 4 eixos: 1. Millorar el sistema d’acollida i integració dels estudiants en el programa formatiu del màster mitjançant la creació de recursos docents en xarxa (campus digital), i la incorporació de nous elements tecnològics a l’aula. 2. Millorar el seguiment dels estudiants de primer curs mitjançant suport als professors per part d’estudiants avantatjats de segon curs. 3. Fomentar el desenvolupament de competències transversals dels estudiants mitjançant la impartició d’assignatures que fomentin l’esperit crític i emprenedor. 4. Establir un mecanisme d’assegurament de la qualitat basat en un Comitè d’Avaluació Extern (CAE) d’acord amb les directrius de l’AQUPeer Reviewe

Genome-wide association analysis of dementia and its clinical endophenotypes reveal novel loci associated with Alzheimer's disease and three causality networks : The GR@ACE project

Introduction: Large variability among Alzheimer's disease (AD) cases might impact genetic discoveries and complicate dissection of underlying biological pathways. Methods: Genome Research at Fundacio ACE (GR@ACE) is a genome-wide study of dementia and its clinical endophenotypes, defined based on AD's clinical certainty and vascular burden. We assessed the impact of known AD loci across endophenotypes to generate loci categories. We incorporated gene coexpression data and conducted pathway analysis per category. Finally, to evaluate the effect of heterogeneity in genetic studies, GR@ACE series were meta-analyzed with additional genome-wide association study data sets. Results: We classified known AD loci into three categories, which might reflect the disease clinical heterogeneity. Vascular processes were only detected as a causal mechanism in probable AD. The meta-analysis strategy revealed the ANKRD31-rs4704171 and NDUFAF6-rs10098778 and confirmed SCIMP-rs7225151 and CD33-rs3865444. Discussion: The regulation of vasculature is a prominent causal component of probable AD. GR@ACE meta-analysis revealed novel AD genetic signals, strongly driven by the presence of clinical heterogeneity in the AD series

SARS-CoV-2 viral load in nasopharyngeal swabs is not an independent predictor of unfavorable outcome

The aim was to assess the ability of nasopharyngeal SARS-CoV-2 viral load at first patient’s hospital evaluation to predict unfavorable outcomes. We conducted a prospective cohort study including 321 adult patients with confirmed COVID-19 through RT-PCR in nasopharyngeal swabs. Quantitative Synthetic SARS-CoV-2 RNA cycle threshold values were used to calculate the viral load in log10 copies/mL. Disease severity at the end of follow up was categorized into mild, moderate, and severe. Primary endpoint was a composite of intensive care unit (ICU) admission and/or death (n = 85, 26.4%). Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed. Nasopharyngeal SARS-CoV-2 viral load over the second quartile (≥ 7.35 log10 copies/mL, p = 0.003) and second tertile (≥ 8.27 log10 copies/mL, p = 0.01) were associated to unfavorable outcome in the unadjusted logistic regression analysis. However, in the final multivariable analysis, viral load was not independently associated with an unfavorable outcome. Five predictors were independently associated with increased odds of ICU admission and/or death: age ≥ 70 years, SpO2, neutrophils > 7.5 × 103/µL, lactate dehydrogenase ≥ 300 U/L, and C-reactive protein ≥ 100 mg/L. In summary, nasopharyngeal SARS-CoV-2 viral load on admission is generally high in patients with COVID-19, regardless of illness severity, but it cannot be used as an independent predictor of unfavorable clinical outcome

The evolution of the ventilatory ratio is a prognostic factor in mechanically ventilated COVID-19 ARDS patients

Background: Mortality due to COVID-19 is high, especially in patients requiring mechanical ventilation. The purpose of the study is to investigate associations between mortality and variables measured during the first three days of mechanical ventilation in patients with COVID-19 intubated at ICU admission. Methods: Multicenter, observational, cohort study includes consecutive patients with COVID-19 admitted to 44 Spanish ICUs between February 25 and July 31, 2020, who required intubation at ICU admission and mechanical ventilation for more than three days. We collected demographic and clinical data prior to admission; information about clinical evolution at days 1 and 3 of mechanical ventilation; and outcomes. Results: Of the 2,095 patients with COVID-19 admitted to the ICU, 1,118 (53.3%) were intubated at day 1 and remained under mechanical ventilation at day three. From days 1 to 3, PaO2/FiO2 increased from 115.6 [80.0-171.2] to 180.0 [135.4-227.9] mmHg and the ventilatory ratio from 1.73 [1.33-2.25] to 1.96 [1.61-2.40]. In-hospital mortality was 38.7%. A higher increase between ICU admission and day 3 in the ventilatory ratio (OR 1.04 [CI 1.01-1.07], p = 0.030) and creatinine levels (OR 1.05 [CI 1.01-1.09], p = 0.005) and a lower increase in platelet counts (OR 0.96 [CI 0.93-1.00], p = 0.037) were independently associated with a higher risk of death. No association between mortality and the PaO2/FiO2 variation was observed (OR 0.99 [CI 0.95 to 1.02], p = 0.47). Conclusions: Higher ventilatory ratio and its increase at day 3 is associated with mortality in patients with COVID-19 receiving mechanical ventilation at ICU admission. No association was found in the PaO2/FiO2 variation