Introduction to the JOCN special issue on future PON architectures enabled by advanced technology

This JOCN Special Issue, which spans the September and October 2020 issues, investigates the future of passive optical networks (PONs) in light of new enabling technologies that are currently under consideration. The papers present a broad overview of topics of current interest, across both the physical and network layers. They investigate how new technologies (e.g., higher-speed direct detection transceivers, coherent systems, advanced digital signal processing, and new optoelectronic components) and new network-layer approaches may drive the medium- to long-term evolution of PONs

Critical point network for drainage between rough surfaces

In this paper, we present a network method for computing two-phase flows between two rough surfaces with significant contact areas. Low-capillary number drainage is investigated here since one-phase flows have been previously investigated in other contributions. An invasion percolation algorithm is presented for modeling slow displacement of a wetting fluid by a non wetting one between two rough surfaces. Short-correlated Gaussian process is used to model random rough surfaces.The algorithm is based on a network description of the fracture aperture field. The network is constructed from the identification of critical points (saddles and maxima) of the aperture field. The invasion potential is determined from examining drainage process in a flat mini-channel. A direct comparison between numerical prediction and experimental visualizations on an identical geometry has been performed for one realization of an artificial fracture with a moderate fractional contact area of about 0.3. A good agreement is found between predictions and observations

Human or Computer Assisted Interactive Transcription: Automated Text Recognition, Text Annotation, and Scholarly Edition in the Twenty-First Century

Computer assisted transcription tools can speed up the initial process of reading and transcribing texts. At the same time, new annotation tools open new ways of accessing the text in its graphical form. The balance and value of each method still needs to be explored. STATE, a complete assisted transcription system for ancient documents, was presented to the audience of the 2013 International Medieval Congress at Leeds. The system offers a multimodal interaction environment to assist humans in transcribing ancient documents: the user can type, write on the screen with a stylus, or utter a word. When one of these actions is used to correct an erroneous word, the system uses this new information to look for other mistakes in the rest of the line. The system is modular, composed of different parts: one part creates projects from a set of images of documents, another part controls an automatic transcription system, and the third part allows the user to interact with the transcriptions and easily correct them as needed. This division of labour allows great flexibility for organising the work in a team of transcribers.Las herramientas de ayuda a la transcripción automática pueden acelerar el proceso inicial de la lectura y transcripción de textos. Al mismo tiempo, las nuevas herramientas de anotación aportan nuevas formas de acceder al texto en su forma original gráfica. Sin embargo, todavía es necesario evaluar las bondades y capacidades de los distintos métodos. STATE, un completo sistema de asistencia a la transcripción de documentos antiguos, se presentó a la audiencia del International Medieval Congress de 2013 celebrado en Leeds. El sistema ofrece un entorno de interacción multimodal para ayudar a las personas en la transcripción de documentos antiguos: el usuario puede teclear, escribir en la pantalla con un lápiz óptico o corregir usando la voz. Cada vez que el usuario cambia de esta forma una palabra, el sistema utiliza la corrección para buscar errores en el resto de la línea. El sistema está dividido en diferentes módulos: uno crea proyectos a partir de un conjunto de imágenes de documentos, otro módulo controla el sistema de transcripción automática, y un tercer módulo permite al usuario interactuar con las transcripciones y corregirlas fácilmente cuando sea necesario. Esta división de las tareas permite una gran flexibilidad para organizar el trabajo de los transcriptores en equipo

Biomimetic Citrate-Coated Luminescent Apatite Nanoplatforms for Diclofenac Delivery in Inflammatory Environments

Luminescent nanoparticles are innovative tools for medicine, allowing the imaging of cells and tissues, and, at the same time, carrying and releasing different types of molecules. We explored and compared the loading/release ability of diclofenac (COX-2 antagonist), in both undoped-and luminescent Terbium3+ (Tb3+)-doped citrate-coated carbonated apatite nanoparticles at different temperatures (25, 37, 40 °C) and pHs (7.4, 5.2). The cytocompatibility was evaluated on two osteosarcoma cell lines and primary human osteoblasts. Biological effects of diclofenac-loadednanoparticles were monitored in an in vitro osteoblast’s cytokine–induced inflammation model by evaluating COX-2 mRNA expression and production of PGE2. Adsorption isotherms fitted the multilayer Langmuir-Freundlich model. The maximum adsorbed amounts at 37 °C were higher than at 25 °C, and particularly when using the Tb3+-doped particles. Diclofenac-release efficiencies were higher at pH 5.2, a condition simulating a local inflammation. The luminescence properties of diclofenac-loaded Tb3+-doped particles were affected by pH, being the relative luminescence intensity higher at pH 5.2 and the luminescence lifetime higher at pH 7.4, but not influenced either by the temperature or by the diclofenac-loaded amount. Both undoped and Tb3+-doped nanoparticles were cytocompatible. In addition, diclofenac release increased COX-2 expression and decreased PGE2 production in an in vitro inflammation model. These findings evidence the potential of these nanoparticles for osteo-localized delivery of anti-inflammatory drugs and the possibility to localize the inflammation, characterized by a decrease in pH, by changes in luminescence

Assessment of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) severity with novel serum-based markers: A pilot study

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) represents a significant public health issue. Identifying patients with simple steatosis from those with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is crucial since NASH is correlated with increased morbidity and mortality. Serum-based markers, including adipokines and cytokines, are important in the pathogenesis and progression of NAFLD. Here we assessed the usefulness of such markers in patients with NAFLD. METHODS: This prospective, cross-sectional study included 105 adult patients with varying severity of NAFLD. Twelve serum-based markers were measured by 3 biochip platforms and 2 enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) methods. We also developed a NAFLD individual fibrosis index (NIFI) using the serum-based markers mostly correlated with fibrosis severity. RESULTS: Sixty-one out of 105 patients were male (58.1%) with mean age was 53.5 years. Higher Interleukin-6 (IL-6) increased (p = 0.0321) and lower Matrix Metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) serum levels (p = 0.0031) were associated with higher fibrosis as measured by Fibroscan® in multivariable regression analysis. Using receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis for the NIFI, area under the curve for predicting Fibroscan values ≥ 7.2 kPa was 0.77 (95%CI: 0.67, 0.88, p<0.001), with sensitivity of 89.3%, specificity of 57.9% and a positive likelihood ratio of 2.8. CONCLUSIONS: Increasing fibrosis severity in NAFLD is associated with differential expression of IL-6 and MMP-9. NIFI could be valuable for the prediction of advanced NAFLD fibrosis and potentially help avoid unnecessary interventions such as liver biopsy in low-risk patients

Recuperación de agrosistemas degradados en la cuenca del lago de Cuitzeo (Michoagán, México): II. Control de Cárcavas.

II SIMPOSIO NACIONAL SOBRE CONTROL DE LA DEGRADACIÓN DE SUELOS. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid.{ESP}Con la participación de instituciones de investigación europeas y mejicanas concurrentes en el Proyecto REVOLSO/INCO (, se evaluó durante 3 años consecutivos, en la cuenca del Lago de Cuitzeo (Michoacán, Méjico), la construcción de pequeñas represas con neumáticos de desecho para la retención de azolves y control de cárcavas, producto del efecto erosivo del escurrimiento del agua de escorrentía producida por la compactación del suelo. La estabilización de taludes se realizó con veza (Vicia villosa), janamargo (V. sativa), pasto llorón (Eragrostis curvula), acacia (Acacia retinoides) y garrapata (Desmodium grahamii). Como resultados de estas medidas (basadas en el conocimiento de procesos de recuperación de suelos) se contribuye al mejoramiento de áreas productivas y se diminuye la erosión de las cárcavas, con lo cual se reduce el aporte de sedimentos a los cuerpos de agua y, en suma, se mejora el ambiente, aportándose soluciones de bajo costo que pueden romper el círculo vicioso erosión-pobreza.{ENG}Different European and Mexican institutions are collaborating in an international Project (named REVOLSO, INCO Program) working at the Cuitzeo Basin (Michoacán, Mexico). During 3 years the efficience of small dams built with tyres for the erosion control of gullies was assessed. Plant species tested for gullies stabilization were: Vicia villosa, V. sativa, Eragrostis curvula, Acacia retinoides, and Desmodium grahamii. Results are promising, because a deacreasing of erosion process was evident to a low cost. In this way, this actions could improve the soil conservation, diminishing the amount of sediments arriving to the big dams and broken the feedback circle soil erosion-poverty.Universidad Autónoma de Madrid Consejería de Economía e Innovación Tecnológic

Anti-tumor activity of functionalized biomimetic magnetite nanoparticles produced in the presence of MamC protein of Magnetococcus marinus MC-1

Magnetite Nanoparticles (MNPs) find many applications, including biotechnology, as they can be manipulated by an external magnetic field and functionalized with different molecules. Magnetotactic bacteria bio-mineralize magnetosomes (membrane-enveloped magnetites), which are the ideal magnetic particle. However, scaling-up magnetosome production is still challenging, so bio-mimetics, i.e. in vitro magnetite synthesis mediated by magnetosome-associated proteins is being explored. Our group is working with MamC from Magnetococcus marinus MC-1 that controls the morphology and size of the crystals, producing well faceted Biomimetic Magnetic Nanoparticles (BMNPs) of ~40 nm, which are paramagnetic at room and body temperature while having a large magnetic moment per particle under an external magnetic field. These BMNPs were cytocompatible and biocompatible in vivo. BMNPs were functionalized (isothermal adsorption) with a monoclonal antibody (mAb) recognizing the ectodomain of the human Met/HGF receptor (overexpressed in many cancers) and the chemotherapeutic Doxorubicin (DOXO). The functionalized BMNPs present hyperthermia and were stable at physiological pH, while releasing the adsorbed DOXO at acidic pH. mAb functionalization of BMNPs favored their interaction with cells expressing the Met/HGFR and cellular DOXO uptake and toxicity, which was enhanced upon cell exposition to a continuous magnetic field. Real-time cytotoxicity of the BMNPs showed that DOXO-mAb-BMNPs were significantly more toxic than DOXO-BMNPs on Met/HGFR expressing cells, while no differential toxicity was observed on cells not expressing this receptor. When DOXO-BMNPs were injected intravenously in tumor bearing mice and an external magnetic field was applied there, a higher amount of BMNPs accumulated in the tumor and tumor growth was decreased in comparison to mice in which no magnetic field was applied. These BMNPs could thus represent effective nano-carriers for targeted drug delivery and might be combined with hyperthermia to increase efficiency, resulting in a targeted local treatment of tumors with a decrease in the deleterious systemic side effects

Effect of dietary seaweed (Ascophyllum nodosum) supplementation on milk mineral concentrations, transfer efficiency, and hematological parameters in lactating Holstein cows

This study investigated the effect of feeding seaweed (Ascophyllum nodosum) to dairy cows on milk mineral concentrations, feed-to-milk mineral transfer efficiencies and hematological parameters. Lactating Holstein cows (n = 46) were allocated to one of 2 diets (n = 23 each): (i) control (CON; without seaweed), and (ii) seaweed (SWD; replacing 330 g/d of dried corn meal in CON with 330 g/d dried A. nodosum). All cows were fed the CON diet for 4 weeks before the experiment (adaptation period); and animals were then fed the experimental diets for 9 weeks. Samples included sequential 3-week composite feed samples, a composite milk sample on the last day of each week, and a blood sample at the end of the study. Data were statistically analyzed using a linear mixed effects model with diet, week, and their interaction as fixed factors; cow (nested within diet) as a random factor and data collected on the last day of the adaptation period as covariates. Feeding SWD increased milk concentrations of Mg (+6.6 mg/kg), P (+56 mg/kg), and I (+1720 μg/kg). It also reduced transfer efficiency of Ca, Mg, P, K, Mn, and Zn, and increased transfer efficiency of Mo. Feeding SWD marginally reduced milk protein concentrations while there was no effect of SWD feeding on cows' hematological parameters. Feeding A. nodosum increased milk I concentrations, which can be beneficial when feed I concentration is limited or in demographics or populations with increased risk of I deficiency (e.g., female adolescents, pregnant women, nursing mothers). However, care should also be taken when feeding SWD to dairy cows because, in the present study, milk I concentrations were particularly high and could result in I intakes that pose a health risk for children consuming milk.The project leading to these results has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement no. 730924 (SmartCow). The analysis of macrominerals and trace elements in feed, milk, and blood plasma was funded by the University of Reading (Reading, UK); special thanks go to the laboratory personnel at the University of Reading who supported the analysis of feed, milk, and blood plasma. This output reflects only the authors' views, and the European Union cannot be held responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein. The data set supporting the conclusions of this article is available on request from the corresponding authors. Eric E. Newton: conceptualization, methodology, software, validation, formal analysis, investigation, data curation, writing–original draft, writing–review and editing, visualization. Katerina Theodoridou: conceptualization, methodology, resources, writing–review and editing, supervision, project administration, funding acquisition. Marta Terré: project administration, investigation, resources, writing–review and editing. Sharon Huws: writing–review and editing. Partha Ray: conceptualization, methodology, software, supervision. Christopher K. Reynolds: writing–review and editing, supervision. N. Prat: investigation, resources. D. Sabrià: investigation, resources. Sokratis Stergiadis: conceptualization, methodology, resources, data curation, writing–original draft, writing–review and editing, visualization, supervision, project administration. All authors reviewed and approved the manuscript. Animals were managed with common rearing conditions under the supervision of Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology (IRTA, Monells, Spain) technicians and the approval of the Animal Care Committee of the Government of Catalonia (authorization code 11392). The authors have not stated any conflicts of interest.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio