Impresoras 3D en la construcción. Cuando la impresión es lo que cuenta

Comenzó como una tendencia para la elaboración de prototipos, pequeñas piezas o maquetas, pero la impresión 3D permite ya construir una casa en pocas horas. Diseños únicos y optimización de materiales, sus grandes ventajas

Surface structuring of fused silica with asymmetric femtosecond laser pulse bursts

Fused silica surface structuring has been performed using temporally shaped femtosecond laser pulses. For this purpose we have designed pulse bursts with a triangular intensity envelope and different slope sign and interpulse separation that were experimentally generated using a home-made temporal pulse shaper. We have found that pulse bursts with decreasing intensity envelopes are remarkably more efficient in terms of surface ablation than bursts with increasing intensity envelopes. The results reveal that laser energy coupling in the material is enhanced as the interpulse spacing decreases. A study of the ablation depth using stretched single pulses was carried out and compared to results obtained for pulse bursts with different interpulse spacing. We find that the deepest crater was achieved with bursts of 0.5 ps interpulse separation and decreasing envelope. This pulse form also induced the largest change of the surface reflectivity after irradiation. The results are discussed in terms of how the laser energy coupling efficiency is linked to the temporal pulse shape. © 2013 Optical Society of America.This work has been partially supported by the Spanish TEC2011-22422 project. J. H.-R. acknowledges a grant awarded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation.Peer Reviewe

Weighted-Interaction Nestedness Estimator

Documentation of the R function "wine" included in the package bipartite. This function calculates the nestedness of a network taking into account the weight of the interactions, according to the method proposed by Galeano et al. (2008)

FPGA-based implementation of the instantaneus frequency estimation of phonocardiographic signals

The instantaneous frequency can be used to provide information about how the frequency content of the phonocardiogram signal varies in time, in order to characterize the heart sounds and murmurs. The instantaneous frequency of a signal can be calculated from the discrete Hilbert transform, computed through the moving discrete Hartley transform, which reduces the computation time. To compute in real time the instantaneous frequency, the algorithms have been implemented in a FPGA device, exploiting the high performance and flexibility of reconfigurable hardware. The results obtained from the FPGA show high accuracy in comparison to those computed with MatlabThis work has been supported by Fundación Séneca of Región de Murcia and Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología of Spain, under grants PB/63/FS/02 and TIC2003-09400-C04-02, respectively

Compression system for the phonocardiographic signal

An FPGA-based approach is proposed for implementing a compression system developed specifically for the signal of phonocardiogram. The compression method offers better rate and distorsion than standard audio compression techniques. Both the algorithm and the details on the solutions adopted for its implementation are presented in this paper.This work has been supported by Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología of Spain, under grant TIN2006-15460-C04-04

Independent control of beam astigmatism and ellipticity using a SLM for fs-laser waveguide writing

We have used a low repetition rate (1 kHz), femtosecond laser amplifier in combination with a spatial light modulator (SLM) to write optical waveguides with controllable cross-section inside a phosphate glass sample. The SLM is used to induce a controllable amount of astigmatism in the beam wavefront while the beam ellipticity is controlled through the propagation distance from the SLM to the focusing optics of the writing setup. The beam astigmatism leads to the formation of two separate diskshaped foci lying in orthogonal planes. Additionally, the ellipticity has the effect of enabling control over the relative peak irradiances of the two foci, making it possible to bring the peak irradiance of one of them below the material transformation threshold. This allows producing a single waveguide with controllable cross-section. Numerical simulations of the irradiance distribution at the focal region under different beam shaping conditions are compared to in situ obtained experimental plasma emission images and structures produced inside the glass, leading to a very satisfactory agreement. Finally, guiding structures with controllable crosssection are successfully produced in the phosphate glass using this approach. © 2009 Optical Society of America.This work was partially supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation under TEC2008-01183 project. A. R. and W. G. acknowledge their I3P-CSIC postdoctoral con- tracts (co-funded by the European Social Fund). D. P. and A. F. acknowledge their grants under Projects TEC 2005-00074 and TEC 2006-04538.Peer Reviewe

Influence of the reducing-end anomeric configuration of the Man9 epitope on DC-SIGN recognition

High-mannose (Man9GlcNAc2) is the main carbohydrate unit present in viral envelope glycoproteins such as gp120 of HIV and the GP1 of Ebola virus. This oligosaccharide comprises the Man9 epitope conjugated to two terminal N-acetylglucosamines by otherwise rarely-encountered β-mannose glycosidic bond. Formation of this challenging linkage is the bottleneck of the few synthetic approaches described to prepare high mannose. Herein, we report the synthesis of the Man9 epitope with both alpha and beta configurations at the reducing end, and subsequent evaluation of the impact of this configuration on binding to natural receptor of high-mannose, DC-SIGN. Using fluorescence polarization assays, we demonstrate that both anomers bind to DC-SIGN with comparable affinity. These relevant results therefore indicate that the more synthetically-accesible Man9 alpha epitope may be deployed as ligand for DC-SIGN in both in vitro and in vivo biological assays.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad CTQ2017- 86265-P, PGC2018-099497-B-100, IJCI-2015-2327

Validation of a Hyperspectral Imaging System for Color Measurement of In-Vivo Dental Structures

A full comprehension of colorimetric relationships within and between teeth is key for aesthetic success of a dental restoration. In this sense, hyperspectral imaging can provide point-wise reliable measurements of the tooth surface, which can serve for this purpose. The aim of this study was to use a hyperspectral imaging system for the colorimetric characterization of 4 in-vivo maxillary anterior teeth and to cross-check the results with similar studies carried out with other measuring systems in order to validate the proposed capturing protocol. Hyperspectral reflectance images (Specim IQ), of the upper central (UCI) and lateral incisors (ULI), were captured on 30 participants. CIE-L*a*b* values were calculated for the incisal (I), middle (M) and cervical (C) third of each target tooth. Delta E-ab* and Delta E-00 total color differences were computed between different tooth areas and adjacent teeth, and evaluated according to the perceptibility (PT) and acceptability (AT) thresholds for dentistry. Non-perceptible color differences were found between UCIs and ULIs. Mean color differences between UCI and ULI exceeded AT (Delta E-ab* = 7.39-7.42; Delta E-00 = 5.71-5.74) in all cases. Large chromatic variations between I, M and C areas of the same tooth were registered (Delta E-ab* = 5.01-6.07 and Delta E-00 = 4.07-5.03; Delta E-ab* = 5.80-8.16 and Delta E-00 = 4.37-5.15; and Delta E-ab* = 5.42-5.92 and Delta E-00 = 3.87-4.16 between C and M, C and I and M and I, respectively). The use of a hyperspectral camera has proven to be a reliable and effective method for color evaluation of in-vivo natural teeth.MCIN/AEI/ERDF "Una manera de hacer Europa" PGC2018-101904-A-I00 PID2021128317OB-I00Junta de Andalucia RDI P20-00200OTRI 474

Dynamics and numerical simulations to predict empirical antibiotic treatment of multi-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection

This work discloses an epidemiological mathematical model to predict an empirical treatment for dogs infected by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. This dangerous pathogen is one of the leading causes of multi-resistant infections and can be transmitted from dogs to humans. Numerical simulations and appropriated codes were developed using Matlab software to gather information concerning long-time dynamics of the susceptible, infected and recovered individuals. All data compiled from the mathematical model was used to provide an appropriated antibiotic sensitivity panel for this specific infection. In this study, several variables have been included in this model to predict which treatment should be prescribed in emergency cases, when there is no time to perform an antibiogram or the cost of it could not be assumed. In particular, we highlight the use of this model aiming to become part of the convenient toolbox of Public Health research and decision-making in the design of the mitigation strategy of bacterial pathogens

Photosynthetic activity of cotyledons is critical during post-germinative growth and seedling establishment

Thioredoxins (Trxs) play a relevant role in thiol-dependent redox regulation, which allows the rapid adaptation of chloroplast metabolism to unpredictable environmental conditions. In chloroplasts, Trxs use reducing equivalents provided by photoreduced ferredoxin (Fdx) via the action of a ferredoxin-thioredoxin reductase (FTR), thus linking redox regulation to light. In addition, these organelles contain an NADPH-thioredoxin reductase, NTRC, with a Trx domain at the C-terminus. NTRC efficiently reduces 2-Cys peroxiredoxins (Prxs), hence having antioxidant function. However, NTRC also participates in the redox regulation of processes, such as starch and chlorophyll biosynthesis, which are known to be regulated by Trxs. Thus, the question arising is whether there is a cross-talk between the 2 redox systems. Arabidopsis mutants simultaneously devoid of NTRC and Trx x or Trxs f show a dramatic growth inhibition phenotype, indicating that NTRC is required for the function of these unrelated Trxs. Remarkably, both the ntrc-trxx double mutant and, to a higher extent, the ntrc-trxf1f2 triple mutant show high mortality at the seedling stage, which is rescued by sucrose. These findings show the relevant role of redox regulation for chloroplast performance and uncover the key function of cotyledons chloroplasts at the transition to autotrophic metabolism during seedling establishment