Sustainable materials with high insulation capacity obtained from wastes from hemp industry processed by wet-laid

[EN] This article reports on the revalorization of hemp waste from the textile industry, focusing on the development of new sustainable materials with high insulating properties. Wet-laid technology was used to manufacture nonwovens with different binding fibers, polylactic acid, and viscose fibers. The characterization of the acoustic insulating capacity was carried out using a Kundt tube, and the thermal insulating performance by measuring the heat transmission resistance (R) and thermal conductivity (lambda). The results showed that the developed nonwovens have lower thermal conductivity values of about 0.027-0.034 W/(m K), were even lower than those of traditional thermal insulating materials, being the sample with 100 g/m(2) of areal density and with a composition of 80% of hemp, 10% of polylactide and 10% of viscose the one with the lowest thermal conductivity (0.027 W/(mK). Their acoustic absorption capacity was around 0.76 at a frequency of 6 kHz, in samples containing high hemp waste (>80 wt%). However, the heterogeneous, discontinuous, and high void density structure that contributes to excellent insulating properties, lead to a decrease in their mechanical properties. This demonstrated that these materials are suitable for substituting traditional materials in insulating applications. Additionally, antifungal tests were carried out. However, hemp nonwovens proved to be inefficient against fungal proliferation.The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This Project is funded by CDTI (Centro para el Desarrollo Tecnologico Industrial) within the framework of grants for Technological Centres of Excellence "Cervera". CER-20211013.Gutiérrez-Moscardó, Ó.; Canet, M.; Gómez-Caturla, J.; Lascano-Aimacaña, DS.; Fages, E.; Sanchez-Nacher, L. (2022). Sustainable materials with high insulation capacity obtained from wastes from hemp industry processed by wet-laid. Textile Research Journal. 92(7-8):1098-1112. https://doi.org/10.1177/0040517521104605810981112927-

A systematic review on the ecosystem services provided by green infrastructure

Urbanization and climate change are endangering the sustainability of public spaces through increased land artificialization, ecological fragmentation, reduced resource availability, and limited accessibility to natural and seminatural areas. Properly managing Green Infrastructure (GI) can contribute to mitigating these challenges by delivering multiple provisioning, regulating, supporting and cultural Ecosystem Services (ES). This would facilitate the implementation of strategically planned GI networks in cities for urban regeneration purposes. In this context, this study developed a systematic review on the ES provided by GI using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. The analysis of 199 eligible articles indicated that more efforts should be made to address more ES at once, which connects to the need for conceiving GI as a strategically planned network of areas aimed at delivering diverse benefits. Based on the methods used in the items reviewed, geoprocessing tools and multi-criteria decision analysis are proposed to develop systems of indicators capable of accounting for multiple ES. These systems should also rely on multidisciplinary and participative procedures to encompass various facets of GI and represent the priorities of all relevant stakeholders

A cost-effective retrofitting technique for urm buildings based on steel encirclements in openings: a case study

A project named PERSISTAH is being developed to study the seismic vulnerability of primary schools in Huelva (Spain) and the Algarve (Portugal). This area has a moderate seismicity but this is affected by a nearby area where earthquakes of large magnitude (Mw≥6) and longreturn periods happen. The seismic vulnerability of URM (UnReinforced Masonry) buildings has been observed and analysed in the last decades. The seismic retrofitting of these buildings is required in order to improve their seismic behaviour. Many retrofitting techniques have been developed for that purpose, most of them very complicated and expensive. Therefore, these are not appropriate to retrofit a large number of buildings. This is especially relevant in areas of moderate seismicity where the cost-efficiency ratio must be carefully considered. The aim of this paper has been to develop a simple, effective and affordable technique to retrofit these buildings. These buildings are characterised by numerous openings which causes a great weakness in the URM walls. Then, a technique that consists in installing a steel encirclement or a grille in the openings of the walls has been proposed. This is a specific retrofitting technique for URM walls since this technique substantially improves the seismic capacity of these structures. To test the technique a case study is proposed. The building under study is a primary school located in Huelva and built in 1961. Results have shown that the capacity of the building is notably increased. Also, the performance point and the damage level of the structure are decreased.This work has been supported by the INTERREG-POCTEP Spain-Portugal programme and the European Regional Development Fund through the 0313_PERSISTAH_5_P project; PERSISTAH, Projetos de Escolas Resilientes aos Sismos no Território do Algarve e de Huelvainfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Efecto de cubiertas vegetales permanentes en la fertilidad del cultivo de cítricos ecológicos

Se han estudiado diferentes cubiertas vegetales permanentes en mandarinos ecológicos y convencionales de Alzira, en suelo arenoso, para comprobar su comportamiento fertilizante y su crecimiento. En plantación joven, con aspersión, se sembró alfalfa (Medicago sativa), sola y junto a ray-grass inglés (Lolium perenne), trévoles (Trifolium subterraneum+T. repens) y mielgas (Medicago rugosa+M. truncatula+M. polymorpha). En Clemenules adultos a goteo se estudiaron las silvestres en la conducción ecológica, y el no laboreo con herbicidas en la convencional. La evolución muestra como trévoles y mielgas degeraron muy deprisa, dando paso a silvestres (grama -Cynodon dactylon- en verano, y Bromus spp. y otras en invierno), descartándolos como coberturas en estas condiciones. La alfalfa es la que mejor ha resistido la competencia de las hierbas en condiciones de insolación alta y aspersión. En biomasa y cobertura no se han encontrado diferencias entre alfalfa y grama, mientras que las demás eran menores, sobre todo en los adultos, por su sombreado

Methylglyoxal Produced by Amyloid- Peptide-Induced Nitrotyrosination of Triosephosphate Isomerase Triggers Neuronal Death in Alzheimer’s Disease

Amyloid-β peptide (Aβ) aggregates induce nitro-oxidative stress, contributing to the characteristic neurodegeneration found in Alzheimer's disease (AD). One of the most strongly nitrotyrosinated proteins in AD is the triosephosphate isomerase (TPI) enzyme which regulates glycolytic flow, and its efficiency decreased when it is nitrotyrosinated. The main aims of this study were to analyze the impact of TPI nitrotyrosination on cell viability and to identify the mechanism behind this effect. In human neuroblastoma cells (SH-SY5Y), we evaluated the effects of Aβ42 oligomers on TPI nitrotyrosination. We found an increased production of methylglyoxal (MG), a toxic byproduct of the inefficient nitro-TPI function. The proapoptotic effects of Aβ42 oligomers, such as decreasing the protective Bcl2 and increasing the proapoptotic caspase-3 and Bax, were prevented with a MG chelator. Moreover, we used a double mutant TPI (Y165F and Y209F) to mimic nitrosative modifications due to Aβ action. Neuroblastoma cells transfected with the double mutant TPI consistently triggered MG production and a decrease in cell viability due to apoptotic mechanisms. Our data show for the first time that MG is playing a key role in the neuronal death induced by Aβ oligomers. This occurs because of TPI nitrotyrosination, which affects both tyrosines associated with the catalytic center

A precision medicine test predicts clinical response after idarubicin and cytarabine induction therapy in AML patients

Complete remission (CR) after induction therapy is the first treatment goal in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients and has prognostic impact. Our purpose is to determine the correlation between the observed CR/CRi rate after idarubicin (IDA) and cytarabine (CYT) 3 + 7 induction and the leukemic chemosensitivity measured by an ex vivo test of drug activity. Bone marrow samples from adult patients with newly diagnosed AML were included in this study. Whole bone marrow samples were incubated for 48 h in well plates containing IDA, CYT, or their combination. Pharmacological response parameters were estimated using population pharmacodynamic models. Patients attaining a CR/CRi with up to two induction cycles of 3 + 7 were classified as responders and the remaining as resistant. A total of 123 patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were evaluable for correlation analyses. The strongest clinical predictors were the area under the curve of the concentration response curves of CYT and IDA. The overall accuracy achieved using MaxSpSe criteria to define positivity was 81%, predicting better responder (93%) than non-responder patients (60%). The ex vivo test provides better yet similar information than cytogenetics, but can be provided before treatment representing a valuable in-time addition. After validation in an external cohort, this novel ex vivo test could be useful to select AML patients for 3 + 7 regimen vs. alternative schedules

A precision medicine test predicts clinical response after idarubicin and cytarabine induction therapy in AML patients

Complete remission (CR) after induction therapy is the first treatment goal in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients and has prognostic impact. Our purpose is to determine the correlation between the observed CR/CRi rate after idarubicin (IDA) and cytarabine (CYT) 3 + 7 induction and the leukemic chemosensitivity measured by an ex vivo test of drug activity. Bone marrow samples from adult patients with newly diagnosed AML were included in this study. Whole bone marrow samples were incubated for 48 h in well plates containing IDA, CYT, or their combination. Pharmacological response parameters were estimated using population pharmacodynamic models. Patients attaining a CR/CRi with up to two induction cycles of 3 + 7 were classified as responders and the remaining as resistant. A total of 123 patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were evaluable for correlation analyses. The strongest clinical predictors were the area under the curve of the concentration response curves of CYT and IDA. The overall accuracy achieved using MaxSpSe criteria to define positivity was 81%, predicting better responder (93%) than non-responder patients (60%). The ex vivo test provides better yet similar information than cytogenetics, but can be provided before treatment representing a valuable in-time addition. After validation in an external cohort, this novel ex vivo test could be useful to select AML patients for 3 + 7 regimen vs. alternative schedules

Bone Marrow-Derived Cells from Male Donors Do Not Contribute to the Endometrial Side Population of the Recipient

Accumulated evidence demonstrates the existence of bone marrow-derived cells origin in the endometria of women undergoing bone marrow transplantation (BMT). In these reports, cells of a bone marrow (BM) origin are able to differentiate into endometrial cells, although their contribution to endometrial regeneration is not yet clear. We have previously demonstrated the functional relevance of side population (SP) cells as the endogenous source of somatic stem cells (SSC) in the human endometrium. The present work aims to understand the presence and contribution of bone marrow-derived cells to the endometrium and the endometrial SP population of women who received BMT from male donors. Five female recipients with spontaneous or induced menstruations were selected and their endometrium was examined for the contribution of XY donor-derived cells using fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH), telomapping and SP method investigation. We confirm the presence of XY donor-derived cells in the recipient endometrium ranging from 1.7% to 2.62%. We also identify 0.45–0.85% of the donor-derived cells in the epithelial compartment displaying CD9 marker, and 1.0–1.83% of the Vimentin-positive XY donor-derived cells in the stromal compartment. Although the percentage of endometrial SP cells decreased, possibly being due to chemotherapy applied to these patients, they were not formed by XY donor-derived cells, donor BM cells were not associated with the stem cell (SC) niches assessed by telomapping technique, and engraftment percentages were very low with no correlation between time from transplant and engraftment efficiency, suggesting random terminal differentiation. In conclusion, XY donor-derived cells of a BM origin may be considered a limited exogenous source of transdifferentiated endometrial cells rather than a cyclic source of BM donor-derived stem cells

On the actual nature of the anti-ferromagnetism shown by unrestricted calculations on conjugated hydrocarbon rings

Unrestricted Hartree-Fock (UHF) calculations with spin-polarisation, plus Møller-Plesset (MP) perturbative corrections, have been applied to the study of the first four molecules of the family of n-acenes and also to the ground state of cyclobutadiene. The results are similar to those previously obtained for n-periacenes, which describe anti-ferromagnetic spin-polarised electronic structures. The projection to pure spin states gives results that recover the usual description of these molecules, i.e., non spin-polarised ground states. Extended coupled cluster calculations reinforce the projected results, also giving non spin-polarised ground states