Impact response of repaired sandwich structures

The low-velocity impact behavior of repaired sandwich structures with woven carbon/epoxy face-sheets and Nomex honeycomb core is studied experimentally. First, sandwich plates were subjected to ballistic impacts; the damaged area was removed, filled by nano-enhanced resin and covered by a double-external patch. Afterwards, the repaired sandwich plates were impacted at low-velocity. Peak load and absorbed energy were determined for several impact energies and compared with results for non-repaired (intact) sandwich plates. For all impact energies tested, repaired specimens show higher peak load and lower absorbed energy than the intact ones. Additionally, tested sandwich plates were cut transversally in order to observe the resulting damage, concluding that is different in both configurations, and confirming that it is initiated at higher impact energies in repaired structures.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Grant/Award Number: UID/EMS/00285/2020; Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad, Gobierno de España, Grant/Award Number: DPI2017-86324-R

The microbiome of the uropygial secretion in hoopoes is shaped along the nesting phase

Microbial symbiont acquisition by hosts may determine the effectiveness of the mutualistic relationships. A mix of vertical and horizontal transmission may be advantageous for hosts by allowing plastic changes of microbial communities depending on environmental conditions. Plasticity is well known for gut microbiota but is poorly understood for other symbionts of wild animals. We here explore the importance of environmental conditions experienced by nestling hoopoes (Upupa epops) during the late nesting phase determining microbiota in their uropygial gland. In cross-fostering experiments of 8 days old nestlings, “sibling-sibling” and “mother-offspring” comparisons were used to explore whether the bacterial community naturally established in the uropygial gland of nestlings could change depending on experimental environmental conditions (i.e., new nest environment). We found that the final microbiome of nestlings was mainly explained by nest of origin. Moreover, cross-fostered nestlings were more similar to their siblings and mothers than to their stepsiblings and stepmothers. We also detected a significant effect of nest of rearing, suggesting that nestling hoopoes acquire most bacterial symbionts during the first days of life but that the microbiome is dynamic and can be modified along the nestling period depending on environmental conditions. Estimated effects of nest of rearing, but also most of those of nest of origin are associated to environmental characteristics of nests, which are extended phenotypes of parents. Thus, natural selection may favor the acquisition of appropriated microbial symbionts for particular environmental conditions found in nests.Support by funding was provided by Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, European funds (FEDER) (CGL2013-48193-C3-1-P, CGL2013-48193-C3-2-P), and Junta de Andalucía (P09-RNM-4557). AM-G had a predoctoral grant from the Junta de Andalucía (P09-RNM-4557).Peer reviewe

Septicemic salmonellosis caused by Salmonella Hessarek in wintering and migrating song thrushes (turdus philomelos) in Spain

We investigated two mortality events in wintering and migrating Song Thrushes (Turdus philomelos) in Catalonia, northeastern Spain in 2009 and 2010. Both episodes occurred in late February to mid-March during the spring migration. Salmonellosis produced by the serotype Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serotype Hessarek (S. Hessarek) was identified as the cause of death in both episodes. Poor body condition, marked splenomegaly, and microscopic disseminated intravascular coagulation with numerous intravascular and tissular bacteria were the most consistent findings. Macro-restriction profiling by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) using XbaI was performed for epidemiologic typing of the S. Hessarek isolates. Two clusters were discernible, that are possibly related, with a similarity of 82.8%. Analysis comparing pectoral muscle and subcutaneous fat scores from the Song Thrushes that died from S. Hessarek with those from healthy Song Thrushes from nearby areas during 2009 and 2010 suggest that poor body condition was associated with the S. Hessarek infection

Filaggrin and cytokines in respiratory samples of preterm infants at risk for respiratory viral infection

Respiratory viral infections (RVIs) are frequent in preterm infants possibly inducing long-term impact on respiratory morbidity. Immune response and respiratory barriers are key defense elements against viral insults in premature infants admitted to Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs). Our main goals were to describe the local immune response in respiratory secretions of preterm infants with RVIs during NICU admission and to evaluate the expression and synthesis of lung barrier regulators, both in respiratory samples and in vitro models. Samples from preterm infants that went on to develop RVIs had lower filaggrin gene and protein levels at a cellular level were compared to never-infected neonates (controls). Filaggrin, MIP-1α/CCL3 and MCP-1 levels were higher in pre-infection supernatants compared to controls. Filaggrin, HIF-1α, VEGF, RANTES/CCL5, IL-17A, IL-1β, MIP-1α and MIP-1β/CCL5 levels were higher during and after infection. ROC curve and logistic regression analysis shows that these molecules could be used as infection risk biomarkers. Small airway epithelial cells stimulated by poly:IC presented reduced filaggrin gene expression and increased levels in supernatant. We conclude that filaggrin gene and protein dysregulation is a risk factor of RVI in newborns admitted at the NICU.This study has been partially supported by ISCIII – Instituto de Salud Carlos III, FIS (Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria—Spanish Health Research Fund) grants FI19/00067, PI18/00167, PI21/00896, PI18CIII/00009 and FEDER funds (Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional); Sociedad Española de Alergología e Inmunología Clínica (SEAIC)Beca19A04_Valverde; Alfonso X El Sabio University Grant: VIII Convocatoria Santander-UAX; CIBER de Enfermedades Respiratorias (CIBERES), a Carlos III Institute of Health Initiative.S

3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine enhances kainic acid convulsive susceptibility

Abstract Kainic acid (KA) causes seizures and neuronal loss in the hippocampus. The present study investigated whether a recreational schedule of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) favours the development of a seizure state in a model of KA-induced epilepsy and potentiates the toxicity profile of KA (20 or 30 mg/kg). Adolescent male C57BL/6 mice received saline or MDMA t.i.d. (s.c. every 3 h), on 1 day a week, for 4 consecutive weeks. Twenty-four hours after the last MDMA exposure, the animals were injected with saline or KA (20 or 30 mg/kg). After this injection, we evaluated seizures, hippocampal neuronal cell death, microgliosis, astrogliosis, and calcium binding proteins. MDMA pretreatment, by itself, did not induce neuronal damage but increased seizure susceptibility in all KA treatments and potentiated the presence of Fluoro-Jade-positive cells in CA1. Furthermore, MDMA, like KA, significantly decreased parvalbumin levels in CA1 and dentate gyrus, where it potentiated the effects of KA. The amphetamine derivative also promoted a transient decrease in calbindin and calretinin levels, indicative of an abnormal neuronal discharge. In addition, treatment of cortical neurons with MDMA (1050 μM) for 6 or 48 h significantly increased basal Ca2 +, reduced basal Na+ levels and potentiated kainate response. These results indicate that MDMA potentiates KA-induced neurodegeneration and also increases KA seizure susceptibility. The mechanism proposed includes changes in Calcium Binding Proteins expression, probably due to the disruption of intracellular ionic homeostasis, or/and an indirect effect through glutamate release

Effect of exercise on gut microbiota and metabolic status modulation in an in vivo model of early obesity and NAFLD

1 p.Childhood obesity is one of the most serious public health concerns from this century, associated with metabolic syndrome, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and gut microbiota alterations. Physical exercise improves obesity and NAFLD progression, modulating the gut microbial balance. We aim to investigate the effect of physical exercise on gut microbiota and the metabolic status of an in vivo model of early obesity, metabolic syndrome, and NAFLD. Resumen de un trabajo resultado del proyecto de investigación financiado por la Consejería de Educación de la Junta de Castilla y León (referencia LE063U16)S

Computer Vision and Metrics Learning for Hypothesis Testing: An Application of Q-Q Plot for Normality Test

This paper proposes a new procedure to construct test statistics for hypothesis testing by computer vision and metrics learning. The application highlighted in this paper is applying computer vision on Q-Q plot to construct a new test statistic for normality test. Traditionally, there are two families of approaches for verifying the probability distribution of a random variable. Researchers either subjectively assess the Q-Q plot or objectively use a mathematical formula, such as Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, to formally conduct a normality test. Graphical assessment by human beings is not rigorous whereas normality test statistics may not be accurate enough when the uniformly most powerful test does not exist. It may take tens of years for statistician to develop a new and more powerful test statistic. The first step of the proposed method is to apply computer vision techniques, such as pre-trained ResNet, to convert a Q-Q plot into a numerical vector. Next step is to apply metric learning to find an appropriate distance function between a Q-Q plot and the centroid of all Q-Q plots under the null hypothesis, which assumes the target variable is normally distributed. This distance metric is the new test statistic for normality test. Our experimentation results show that the machine-learning-based test statistics can outperform traditional normality tests in all cases, particularly when the sample size is small. This study provides convincing evidence that the proposed method could objectively create a powerful test statistic based on Q-Q plots and this method could be modified to construct many more powerful test statistics for other applications in the future

Diverse Large HIV-1 Non-subtype B Clusters Are Spreading Among Men Who Have Sex With Men in Spain

In Western Europe, the HIV-1 epidemic among men who have sex with men (MSM) is dominated by subtype B. However, recently, other genetic forms have been reported to circulate in this population, as evidenced by their grouping in clusters predominantly comprising European individuals. Here we describe four large HIV-1 non-subtype B clusters spreading among MSM in Spain. Samples were collected in 9 regions. A pol fragment was amplified from plasma RNA or blood-extracted DNA. Phylogenetic analyses were performed via maximum likelihood, including database sequences of the same genetic forms as the identified clusters. Times and locations of the most recent common ancestors (MRCA) of clusters were estimated with a Bayesian method. Five large non-subtype B clusters associated with MSM were identified. The largest one, of F1 subtype, was reported previously. The other four were of CRF02_AG (CRF02_1; n = 115) and subtypes A1 (A1_1; n = 66), F1 (F1_3; n = 36), and C (C_7; n = 17). Most individuals belonging to them had been diagnosed of HIV-1 infection in the last 10 years. Each cluster comprised viruses from 3 to 8 Spanish regions and also comprised or was related to viruses from other countries: CRF02_1 comprised a Japanese subcluster and viruses from 8 other countries from Western Europe, Asia, and South America; A1_1 comprised viruses from Portugal, United Kingom, and United States, and was related to the A1 strain circulating in Greece, Albania and Cyprus; F1_3 was related to viruses from Romania; and C_7 comprised viruses from Portugal and was related to a virus from Mozambique. A subcluster within CRF02_1 was associated with heterosexual transmission. Near full-length genomes of each cluster were of uniform genetic form. Times of MRCAs of CRF02_1, A1_1, F1_3, and C_7 were estimated around 1986, 1989, 2013, and 1983, respectively. MRCA locations for CRF02_1 and A1_1 were uncertain (however initial expansions in Spain in Madrid and Vigo, respectively, were estimated) and were most probable in Bilbao, Spain, for F1_3 and Portugal for C_7. These results show that the HIV-1 epidemic among MSM in Spain is becoming increasingly diverse through the expansion of diverse non-subtype B clusters, comprising or related to viruses circulating in other countries.This work was funded through Acción Estratégica en Salud Intramural (AESI), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, project “Estudios sobre vigilancia epidemiológica molecular del VIH-1 en España,” PI16CIII/00033; Red de Investigación en SIDA (RIS), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Subdirección General de Evaluación y Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER), Plan Nacional I+D+I, project RD16ISCIII/0002/0004; scientific agreements with Consellería de Sanidade, Government of Galicia (MVI 1004/16) and Osakidetza-Servicio Vasco de Salud, Government of Basque Country (MVI 1001/16); European Research Infrastructures for Poverty Related Diseases (EURIPRED). Seventh Framework Program: FP7-Capacities-infrastructures-2012-1, grant agreement 312661; and Dirección General de Farmacia, Ministerio de Sanidad, Servicios Sociales e Igualdad, Government of Spain (grant EC11-272).S

N7-methylguanosine methylation of tRNAs regulates survival to stress in cancer

Tumour progression and therapy tolerance are highly regulated and complex processes largely dependent on the plasticity of cancer cells and their capacity to respond to stress. The higher plasticity of cancer cells highlights the need for identifying targetable molecular pathways that challenge cancer cell survival. Here, we show that

LOW-COAST: hacia un sistema de monitorización de topo-batimetrías de bajo coste

Se agradece la financiación parcial de los proyectos “SISTEMA INTEGRADO DE PREDICCIÓN PROBABILÍSTICA DE INUNDACIÓN Y EROSIÓN EN PLAYAS” de SODERCAN y “EQUIPAMIENTO PARA MONITORIZACIÓN CON DRONES DE TOPO-BATIMETRÍAS EN PLAYAS Y ESTUARIOS” del Gobierno de Cantabria