Plume dynamics of laser-produced swine muscle tissue plasma

11 págs. 8 figs.; 2 tabs.We report on the plume dynamics of the plasma induced by laser ablation of a swine skeletal muscle tissue sample in different vacuum conditions. Pulses from a transversely excited atmospheric CO2 laser were focused onto a target sample and the induced plasma was allowed to expand in different air pressures. The expansion features were studied using fast photography of the overall visible emission by using a gated intensified charged coupled device. Free expansion and plume splitting were observed at different pressure levels. The expansion of the plasma plume front was analyzed using various expansion models and the velocity of the plume front was estimated. The effect of the number of accumulated laser shots on the crater volume at different ambient air pressures and an elemental analysis of the sample were performed using scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis. The surface morphology of the irradiated surface showed that increasing the pressure of the ambient gas decreased the ablated mass, or in other words it reduced significantly the laser-target coupling.The authors gratefully acknowledge the support received in part by the DGICYT (Spain) Project MICINN: CTQ2013-43086 for this research.Peer reviewe

Functionalization of 3D scaffolds with protein-releasing biomaterials for intracellular delivery

[EN] Appropriate combinations of mechanical and biological stimuli are required to promote proper colonization of substrate materials in regenerative medicine. In this context, 3D scaffolds formed by compatible and biodegradable materials are under continuous development in an attempt to mimic the extracellular environment of mammalian cells. We have here explored how novel 3D porous scaffolds constructed by polylactic acid, polycaprolactone or chitosan can be decorated with bacterial inclusion bodies, submicron protein particles formed by releasable functional proteins. A simple dipping-based decoration method tested here specifically favors the penetration of the functional particles deeper than 300 μm from the materials' surface. The functionalized surfaces support the intracellular delivery of biologically active proteins to up to more than 80% of the colonizing cells, a process that is slightly influenced by the chemical nature of the scaffold. The combination of 3D soft scaffolds and protein-based sustained release systems (Bioscaffolds) offers promise in the fabrication of bio-inspired hybrid matrices for multifactorial control of cell proliferation in tissue engineering under complex architectonic setting-ups.We are indebted to MINECO (BFU2010-17450), AGAUR (2009SGR-0108 and SGR2009-516), DGI (CTQ2010-19501) and CIBER de Bioingenieria, Biomateriales y Nanomedicina (CIBER-BBN, Spain) for funding our research on Inclusion bodies. CIBER-BBN is an initiative funded by the VI National R&D&i Plan 2008-2011, and Iniciativa Ingenio 2010, Consolider Program, CIBER Actions and financed by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III with assistance from the European Regional Development Fund. EGF is supported by the Programa Personal de Tecnico de Apoyo (Modalidad Infraestructuras cientifico-tecnologicas, MICINN). We also thank technical assistance from the Servei de Cultius Celulars, Produccio d'Anticossos i Citometria (SCAC) Laboratori de Luminescencia i Espectroscopia de Biomolecules (LLEB) and Servei de Microscopia, all at the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (UAB). We are also indebted to the Protein Production Platform (CIBER-BBN) for helpful technical assistance and for protein production and purification services (http://bbn.ciber-bbn.es/programas/plataformas/equipamiento). AV received an ICREA ACADEMIA award.Seras-Franzoso, J.; Steurer, C.; Roldan, M.; Vendrell, M.; Vidaurre-Agut, C.; Tarruella, A.; Saldana, L.... (2013). Functionalization of 3D scaffolds with protein-releasing biomaterials for intracellular delivery. Journal of Controlled Release. 171(1):63-72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jconrel.2013.06.034S6372171

Designing Food Supply Chains: An Application of Lean Manufacturing and Lean Supply Chain Paradigms to the Spanish Egg Industry

Since Womack et al. (1990) published “The Machine that Changed the World”, showing the results of an international assembly plant benchmarking study carried out by the MIT International Motor Vehicle Program, the Lean Production paradigm, initially based on the Toyota Production System, has been applied successfully by an increasing number of leading companies within the automotive industry. Currently, Lean Production methodologies and tools have already shown their potential, both in manufacturing and service sectors, to improve dramatically productivity, speed, responsiveness, delivered value, and profits. Lean Manufacturing has also been applied by large companies in the agri-food sector, but there is little information on these applications available in the scientific literature. Similarly to applications of other Total Quality Management improvement methodologies such as Six Sigma, highly specialized consulting companies are playing a major role in supporting and facilitating its introduction in large companies. However, it is not clear whether these methodologies can be applied to SMEs following the same patterns. This paper illustrates the application of Lean Production methodologies and tools in an egg producing medium enterprise. In this initiative, a team from the Technical University of Madrid and consultants from Galgano Group, a consulting company with an extensive experience in Lean Production, have collaborated under the financial support of the Spanish Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology (CDTI). Preliminary results as well as strengths and weaknesses of the Lean Production methodology applied in this specific context are discussed. A connected issue is the role of Lean Manufacturing in the design of Lean Supply Chains for standard food products. Shell eggs are a good example of a standard food product. Advocates of Supply Chain Management maintain that competition is shifting from firm versus firm to supply chain versus supply chain. Supply Chain Management integrates suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, and customers by using information and communication technologies to meet final consumer needs and expectations efficiently and effectively. Researchers in this field are investigating how to design and build more effective supply chains. Recently, a theoretical framework for supply chain design has been proposed. This framework establishes a connection between the type of product being produced (standard, innovative, or hybrid) and the type of supply chain (lean, agile, or hybrid) that could be more effective and competitive. The feasibility of applying this framework to the Spanish egg supply chains is examined. Adopting a case study perspective, this paper explores the possibilities of connecting Lean initiatives at company level with improvements in the coordination of food supply chains. 314 Designing Food Supply Chains: An Application of Lean Manufacturing and Lean Supply Chain paradigms... The results of this case study will be disseminated by the Spanish Association of Egg Producers (ASEPRHU) in the framework of a R&D project financed by the National Institute for Agricultural and Food Research and Technology (INIA)

ECQ: A Simple Query Language for the Semantic Web

Abstract—With the increasing development of real applications using Semantic Web Technologies, it is necessary to provide scalable and efficient ontology querying and reasoning systems. In this paper we present ECQ (Extended Conjunctive Queries), a simple but powerful query language for OWL. ECQ supports Tbox reasoning and complex queries, going beyond conjunctive queries, which are needed for real semantic web applications. The syntax of ECQ is the same as other description logic languages, making it easy to use for this community of researchers. We also present an implementation of the language over a scalable and persistent OWL reasoner, that is called DBOWL. Therefore, queries can use Abox reasoning to obtain more complete results. I

Designing Food Supply Chains: An Application of Lean Manufacturing and Lean Supply Chain Paradigms to the Spanish Egg Industry

Since Womack et al. (1990) published “The Machine that Changed the World”, showing the results of an international assembly plant benchmarking study carried out by the MIT International Motor Vehicle Program, the Lean Production paradigm, initially based on the Toyota Production System, has been applied successfully by an increasing number of leading companies within the automotive industry. Currently, Lean Production methodologies and tools have already shown their potential, both in manufacturing and service sectors, to improve dramatically productivity, speed, responsiveness, delivered value, and profits. Lean Manufacturing has also been applied by large companies in the agri-food sector, but there is little information on these applications available in the scientific literature. Similarly to applications of other Total Quality Management improvement methodologies such as Six Sigma, highly specialized consulting companies are playing a major role in supporting and facilitating its introduction in large companies. However, it is not clear whether these methodologies can be applied to SMEs following the same patterns. This paper illustrates the application of Lean Production methodologies and tools in an egg producing medium enterprise. In this initiative, a team from the Technical University of Madrid and consultants from Galgano Group, a consulting company with an extensive experience in Lean Production, have collaborated under the financial support of the Spanish Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology (CDTI). Preliminary results as well as strengths and weaknesses of the Lean Production methodology applied in this specific context are discussed. A connected issue is the role of Lean Manufacturing in the design of Lean Supply Chains for standard food products. Shell eggs are a good example of a standard food product. Advocates of Supply Chain Management maintain that competition is shifting from firm versus firm to supply chain versus supply chain. Supply Chain Management integrates suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, and customers by using information and communication technologies to meet final consumer needs and expectations efficiently and effectively. Researchers in this field are investigating how to design and build more effective supply chains. Recently, a theoretical framework for supply chain design has been proposed. This framework establishes a connection between the type of product being produced (standard, innovative, or hybrid) and the type of supply chain (lean, agile, or hybrid) that could be more effective and competitive. The feasibility of applying this framework to the Spanish egg supply chains is examined. Adopting a case study perspective, this paper explores the possibilities of connecting Lean initiatives at company level with improvements in the coordination of food supply chains. 314 Designing Food Supply Chains: An Application of Lean Manufacturing and Lean Supply Chain paradigms... The results of this case study will be disseminated by the Spanish Association of Egg Producers (ASEPRHU) in the framework of a R&D project financed by the National Institute for Agricultural and Food Research and Technology (INIA).Lean Manufacturing, Lean Supply Chains, Supply Chain Management, Consumption Egg Production, Agribusiness, Industrial Organization, Livestock Production/Industries,

Intervention strategy to empower women victims of violence: Experience in three localities in Arequipa-Peru 2018-2020

The study is framed in the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, which commit the countries of the world to eliminate all types of gender violence by 2030, aimed to conceptualize and extract the key elements of an intervention strategy to empower women victims of violence. The paper presents an empirical study in three areas of Arequipa with women victims of violence, from the approach of the risk of femicide, information on Law 30364 enacted by Peruvian State to eradicate violence, and obligations of the police. A quasi-experimental design was carried out, with pre-posttest evaluation to experimental-control groups, including 37 educational sessions simultaneously applied to the experimental group at the three sites, with nurses, lawyers and police during the years 2018-2020. The sample includes 300 women, chosen by convenience from 3 vulnerable populations, Zamacola, October 4, Miguel Grau, from neighboring police stations, health facilities and community.&nbsp