La Albufera Mallorquina: ¿Campesinos o pescadores?.

Sin resume

Bioceramics and scaffolds: a winning combination for tissue engineering

In the last few decades we have assisted to a general increase of elder population worldwide with associated age-related pathologies. Therefore, there is the need for new biomaterials that can substitute damaged tissues, stimulate the body’s own regenerative mechanisms and promote tissue healing. Porous templates referred to as scaffolds are thought to be required for three-dimensional tissue growth. Bioceramics, a special set of fully, partially or non-crystalline ceramics (e.g. calcium phosphates, bioactive glasses and glass-ceramics) that are designed for the repair and reconstruction of diseased parts of the body, have high potential as scaffold materials. Traditionally, bioceramics have been used to fill and restore bone and dental defects (repair of hard tissues). More recently, this category of biomaterials has also revealed promising applications in the field of soft tissue engineering. Starting with an overview of the fundamental requirements for tissue engineering scaffolds, this article provides a detailed picture on recent developments of porous bioceramics and composites, including a summary of common fabrication technologies and a critical analysis of structure-property and structure-function relationships. Areas of future research are highlighted at the end of this review, with special attention to the development of multifunctional scaffolds exploiting therapeutic ion/drug release and emerging applications beyond hard tissue repair

Mar enterrado, mar compartido, mar separado. Distintas formas de ser marinero en las Baleares

The author approaches from three angles the connections between the culture of the Balearle Islands and the sea as social, economic and identifying space, within the larger socio-economic context of mass tourism on the Islands. First, he analyzes the paradoxically secondary role that maritime cultural elements play in the identity of the Islanders. Then, he discusses the different mechanism by which life at sea is perceived from the standpoint of the earthbound identities prevalent in the archipelago. Finally, he explains the key components of the perceptions, relationships and cultural reproductions of fishermen in each of the spaces considered.Este artículo aborda a tres niveles las relaciones entre las construcciones de las culturas de las Islas Baleares y el mar como espacio social, económico e identificador. El primer nivel analiza el papel secundario que, paradójicamente, desempeñan los elementos culturales marítimos en las identidades isleñas. El segundo aborda los mecanismos diferentes mediante los cuales se conciben los mundos marineros desde las identidades terrestres y mayoritarias de cada una de las islas componentes. Finalmente, explica los componentes fundamentales de las percepciones, relaciones y reproducciones culturales de los pescadores de cada uno de los espacios analizados. Todo ello en el marco de un universo socioeconómico centrado en el turismo de masas

Spine-Ghost: A New Bioactive Cement for Vertebroplasty

An innovative, resorbable and injectable composite cement (Spine-Ghost) to be used for augmentation and restoration of fractured vertebrae was developed. Type III α-calcium sulfate hemihydrate (CSH) was selected as the bioresorbable matrix, while spray-dried mesoporous bioactive particles (SD-MBP, composition 80/20% mol SiO2/CaO), were added to impart high bioactive properties to the cement; a glass-ceramic containing zirconia was chosen as a second dispersed phase, in order to increase the radiopacity of the material. After mixing with water, an injectable paste was obtained. The developed cement proved to be mechanically compatible with healthy cancellous bone, resorbable and bioactive by soaking in simulated body fluid (SBF), cytocompatible through in-vitro cell cultures and it could be injected in ex-vivo sheep vertebra. Comparisons with a commercial control were carried out

CFD modelling based X-ray microtomography reconstruction of lyophilized products

In this work, 3D non-destructive X-ray micro-CT tomography is used to analyze and reconstruct the internal structure of lyophilized samples, and CFD simulations for calculating their structural properties, i.e., porosity, pore diameter, tortuosity, and permeability

Phosphate glass fibrous scaffolds: tailoring of the properties and improvement of the bioactivity through the incorporation of mesoporous glasses

Introduction. Synthetic bone scaffolds are proposed as an alternative to the use of bone grafting technique for bone regeneration. Porous scaffold obtained from glass fibres randomly arranged into a mould shows an interconnected porosity generated by the free space between fibres and they do not need of any further material or processing step before sintering. In this work, a resorbable phosphate glass was selected for the fibre drawing and bioactive mesoporous glasses with different morphology and size were incorporated into the fibrous scaffold to combine the resorption property of the fibres with the bioactivity of the mesoporous powders. Materials and methods. Fibres of a TiO2-containing phosphate glass (TiPS2.5) were fabricated following the preform drawing approach as described elsewhere [1]. A dense silica-based bioactive glass (CEL2) [2] was produced by melt quenching as reference sample. Spherical micro-sized mesoporous glass based on SiO2-CaO system (SD_MBG) was produced by an aerosol-assisted spray-drying technique [3]. Cu-containing (85SiO2-13CaO-2CuO, % mol, referred as Cu_BGn2%) mesoporous glass nanoparticles were synthetized by an ultra-sound assisted sol-gel method to impart antibacterial properties. To fabricate the fibrous scaffolds, the selected powder and phosphate glass fibres, cut at precise length, were placed in a beaker containing 2 ml of ethanol. After ethanol evaporation, the powder/fibre mixture was randomly placed inside a zirconia cylindrical mould [4]. After the thermal treatment, the scaffolds were analyzed through micro-CT in order to investigate their inner structure. Furthermore, their ability to form hydroxyapatite was studied by soaking them in a simulated body fluid (SBF). The scaffold morphology before and after immersion in SBF was studied by FESEM. Results and discussion. FESEM micrographs show that CEL2 are not well incorporated into the fibre surface. On the contrary, SD-MBG (Figure 1.a, Figure 1.b and Figure 1.d) and Cu_BGn2% particles homogeneously cover the whole surface. Micro-CT analysis did not reveal the presence of powder agglomerates for all the observed scaffolds and showed a homogeneous porosity of 58 vol.% for CEL2/fibre scaffold, 53 vol.% for SD_MBG/scaffold (Figure 1.c) and 33% for Cu_BGn2%/scaffold. In CEL2/fibre scaffolds, glass particles were removed during soaking in SBF, leaving some pits on the fibre surface: FESEM analysis revealed few particles still anchored to the scaffold surface after 7 days. On the contrary, after 7 days in SBF, SD-MBG and Cu_BGn2% particles were clearly visible on the surface of the scaffolds and after 1 day of soaking in SBF, they appeared (Figure 2) fully covered with a HA layer, showing the typical "cauliflower-like" morphology. Conclusion. The incorporation of mesoporous bioactive glass powder in the phosphate glass fibrous scaffold resulted to be a very interesting strategy to impart multifunctional properties to the scaffold. These promising results encourage further investigation in order to fully exploit the ability of mesoporous particles to act as a system for smart release of therapeutic ions and drugs

Structure optimisation and biological evaluation of bone scaffolds prepared by co-sintering of silicate and phosphate glasses

A degradable phosphate glass (ICEL) and a bioactive silicate glass (CEL2) were mixed in different ratios (wt-%: 100%ICEL, 70%ICEL-30%CEL2, 30%ICEL-70%CEL2, 100%CEL2; codes 100-0, 70-30, 30-70, 0-100) and then co-sintered to obtain three-dimensional porous scaffolds by gel casting foaming. Thermal analyses were carried out on the glass mixtures and were used as a starting point for the optimisation of the scaffold sintering treatment. The microcomputed tomography and field emission scanning electron microscope analyses allowed the selection of the optimal sintering temperature to obtain an adequate structure in terms of total and open porosity. The scaffolds showed an increasing solubility with increasing ICEL glass content, and for 30-70 and 0-100, the precipitation of hydroxyapatite in simulated body fluid was observed. In vitro tests indicated that all the scaffolds showed no cytotoxic effect. The co-sintering of silicate and phosphate glasses showed to be a promising strategy to tailor the scaffold osteoconductivity, degradation and bioactivit