Hydrothermal Transformation of Eggshell Calcium Carbonate into Apatite Micro-Nanoparticles: Cytocompatibility and Osteoinductive Properties

This research was funded by Spanish Agencia Estatal de Investigación of the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación y Universidades (MCIU), Bioscaffold project, ref. PGC2018-102047-B-I00 (MCIU/AEI/FEDER, UE). The Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation of Colombia provided support for A.T-M´s participation. P.Á.-L. acknowledge support from MCIN project PCI2019–111931-2 and the European Regional Development Fund–ERDF)—Next Generation/EU program. J.G.-M. acknowledges PCI2020-112108 funded by MCI/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 (Spain) and the European Union “NextGeneration/PRTR”. PCI2020-112108 is part of the CASEAWA project of the ERA-NET Cofund BlueBio Programme, supported by the European Union (H2020). The authors acknowledge the staff of Scientific Instrumentation Centre (CIC) of the University of Granada for HRSEM and TGA characterizations and Scientific and Technical Services of the University of Oviedo for XRD analyses.Supplementary Materials: The following supporting information can be downloaded at: https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/nano13162299/s1The eggshell is a biomineral consisting of CaCO3 in the form of calcite phase and a pervading organic matrix (1-3.5 wt.%). Transforming eggshell calcite particles into calcium phosphate (apatite) micro-nanoparticles opens the door to repurposing the eggshell waste as materials with potential biomedical applications, fulfilling the principles of the circular economy. Previous methods to obtain these particles consisted mainly of two steps, the first one involving the calcination of the eggshell. In this research, direct transformation by a one-pot hydrothermal method ranging from 100-200 C-circle was studied, using suspensions with a stoichiometric P/CaCO3 ratio, K2HPO4 as P reagent, and eggshells particles (phi < 50 mu m) both untreated and treated with NaClO to remove surface organic matter. In the untreated group, the complete conversion was achieved at 160 C-circle, and most particles displayed a hexagonal plate morphology, eventually with a central hole. In the treated group, this replacement occurred at 180 C-circle, yielding granular (spherulitic) apatite nanoparticles. The eggshell particles and apatite micro-nanoparticles were cytocompatible when incubated with MG-63 human osteosarcoma cells and m17.ASC murine mesenchymal stem cells and promoted the osteogenic differentiation of m17.ASC cells. The study results are useful for designing and fabricating biocompatible microstructured materials with osteoinductive properties for applications in bone tissue engineering and dentistry.Spanish Agencia Estatal de Investigación of the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación y Universidades (MCIU)Bioscaffold project PGC2018-102047-B-I00 (MCIU/AEI/FEDER, UE)Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation of ColombiaMCIN project PCI2019–111931-2European Regional Development Fund–ERDF—Next Generation/EU programMCI/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 (Spain) PCI2020-112108European Union “NextGeneration/PRTR”European Union (H2020), CASEAWA of ERA-NET, PCI2020-112108University of Granada, Scientific Instrumentation Centre (CIC)University of Oviedo, Scientific and Technical Service

Adaptive support ventilation: State of the art review

Mechanical ventilation is one of the most commonly applied interventions in intensive care units. Despite its life-saving role, it can be a risky procedure for the patient if not applied appropriately. To decrease risks, new ventilator modes continue to be developed in an attempt to improve patient outcomes. Advances in ventilator modes include closed-loop systems that facilitate ventilator manipulation of variables based on measured respiratory parameters. Adaptive support ventilation (ASV) is a positive pressure mode of mechanical ventilation that is closed-loop controlled, and automatically adjust based on the patient?s requirements. In order to deliver safe and appropriate patient care, clinicians need to achieve a thorough understanding of this mode, including its effects on underlying respiratory mechanics. This article will discuss ASV while emphasizing appropriate ventilator settings, their advantages and disadvantages, their particular effects on oxygenation and ventilation, and the monitoring priorities for clinicians

Fray Lorenzo de San Nicolás: arte y uso de la arquitectura en la Basílica del Prado

[EN] The knowledge of architecture, initially through the direct follow-up of the Vitruvio`s manuscript and later from the intervention of the writers and architects of the Renaissance, has sought to be transmitted over time through the meeting of Its precepts in theoretical works capable of maintaining the principles of shape, style and proportion, guideline and basis for architects and future works. As regards the architect and treatise writer Fray Lorenzo de San Nicolás, we have seen that the theoretical proposals collected in his book Arte y Uso de Arquitectura are reflected in their own buildings. Through digital photogrammetric rising techniques we have been able to analyze the degree of approximation or coherence between the theory and the built project.[ES] El conocimiento de la arquitectura, inicialmente mediante el seguimiento directo del manuscrito de Vitruvio, y más tarde a partir de la intervención de los arquitectos tratadistas del Renacimiento, ha buscado transmitirse a lo largo del tiempo a través de la reunión de sus preceptos en obras teóricas capaces de mantener los principios de forma, estilo y proporción, pauta y base para arquitectos y obras venideras. Por lo que se refiere al arquitecto y tratadista Fray Lorenzo de San Nicolás, hemos podido comprobar que las propuestas teóricas recogidas en su obra Arte y Uso de Arquitectura se ven reflejadas en sus propios edificios. A través de técnicas digitales fotogramétricas de levantamiento hemos podido analizar el grado de aproximación o coherencia entre la teoría y el proyecto construido.Garcia León, J.; Ros Torres, J.; Fernández Vázquez, J.; García Córdoba, M. (2023). Fray Lorenzo de San Nicolás: art and use of architecture in the Prado Basilica. EGE Revista de Expresión Gráfica en la Edificación. (19):65-81. https://doi.org/10.4995/ege.2023.2072365811

Principios básicos de la propagación de fractura por fatiga y estimación de los factores de intensidad de esfuerzos en placas de acrílicos fracturadas utilizando simulación numérica con validación experimental

actualidad la mecánica de fractura se utiliza ampliamente en los distintos sectores industriales que trabajan con materiales frágiles de alta resistencia como lo son el acero, el hormigón y las aleaciones industriales. Estas investigaciones se vienen enfocando en la determinación de la vida remanente de elementos mecánicos y estructurales agrietados, así como la implementación de simuladores para determinar las causas de las grietas de elementos sometidos a causas externas. Se define elemento estructural a un elemento que transmite esfuerzos mecánicos o retenga fluidos a presión como función principal. Se define falla a cualquier situación que provoque que un elemento o componente deje de cumplir su función. Se conoce como modo de falla al fenómeno o mecanismo responsable del evento o condición de falla.Incluye bibliografí

SISMO-HAÏTI: Projet de coopération pour le calcul de l´aléa et le risque sismique en Haïti

La presentación contiene un resumen de los resultados del proyecto SISMO-HAITI. Se trata de un proyecto de cooperación financiado por la Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), y llevado a cabo por un grupo de Universidades españolas, La Universidad de Kanagawa (Japón),los institutos sismológicos de República Dominicana y Puerto Rico y el Observatorio Nacional de Medioambiente y Vulnerabilidad de Haití. Fue coordinado por el Grupo de Investigación en Ingeniería Sísmica de la E.T.S.I. Topografía, Geodesia y Cartografía de la UPM. El objetivo del proyecto fue estimar la peligrosidad sísmica de la Isla de La Española de cara a la implementación del primer código sismorresistente de Haití, y la evaluación del riesgo sísmico en Puerto Príncipe (capital de Haití) como base para elaborar los planes de emergencias ante este riesgo

Coupled THCM model of a heating and hydration concrete-bentonite column test

Versión aceptada de https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeochem.2018.05.007[Abstract:] Radioactive waste disposal in deep geological repositories in clay formations envisage a compacted bentonite engineered barrier and a concrete liner. The alkaline conditions caused by the degradation of concrete could affect the performance of the engineered barrier. The geochemical interactions occurring at the concrete-bentonite interface (B-CI) for the non-isothermal unsaturated conditions prevailing at repository post-closure have been studied by CIEMAT with a heating and hydration concrete-bentonite column test. The column consists of a 3 cm thick concrete sample emplaced on top of a 7.15 cm block of compacted bentonite. The column was hydrated through the concrete at a constant pressure with a synthetic clay porewater while the bottom of the column was heated at 100 °C. Here we report a coupled thermo-hydro-chemical-mechanical (THCM) model of the column test, which lasted 1610 days. The model was solved with a THCM code, INVERSE-FADES-CORE. Experimental observations show calcite and brucite precipitation in the concrete near the hydration boundary, portlandite dissolution and calcite and ettringite precipitation in the concrete, calcite and sepiolite precipitation in the bentonite near the B-CI, calcite dissolution in the bentonite far from the B-CI and gypsum precipitation in the bentonite near the heater. Model results attest that advection is relevant during the first months of the test. Later, solute diffusion becomes the dominant transport mechanism. Calcite and brucite precipitate in the concrete near the hydration boundary because the concentrations of dissolved bicarbonate and magnesium in the hydration water are larger than the initial concentrations in the concrete porewater. Calcite and brucite precipitate in both sides of the B-CI. Sepiolite precipitates in the bentonite near the B-CI. The model predicts portlandite and C1.8SH dissolution in the concrete. Ettringite and C0.8SH precipitate near the hydration boundary while ettringite dissolves in the rest of the concrete at very small rates. The porosity changes occur at the hydration boundary and at both sides of the B-CI due to mineral dissolution/precipitation. The porosity reduces to zero in a 0.03 cm thick zone in the concrete near the B-CI due to brucite and calcite precipitation. The high pH front (pH > 8.5) diffuses from the concrete into the bentonite and penetrates 1 cm at the end of the test after 1610 days. Model results are sensitive to grid size. Mineral precipitation and the thickness of the zone affected by mineral precipitation in the bentonite near the B-CI increase when the grid size increases while pore clogging in the concrete near the B-CI is computed only for grid sizes smaller than 0.018 cm. The non-isothermal conditions play an important role in mineral precipitation. The reduction in porosity in the B-CI for constant temperature is smaller than that of the non-isothermal run. The model reproduces the on-line measured temperature and relative humidity data as well as the water content and porosity data collected at the end of the test. Model results capture the main trends of the mineralogical observations, except for ettringite and CSH phases for which the predicted precipitation is smaller than the observed values. Model results improve when the specific surface of ettringite is increased by a factor of 10.The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union's European Atomic Energy Community's (Euratom) Horizon 2020 Programme (NFRP-2014/2015) under grant agreement, 662147 – CEBAMA. This work was partly funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Grant number CGL2016-78281) with support from the FEDER funds and the Galician Regional Government (Grant number ED431C 2017/67 from “Consolidación e estruturación de unidades de investigación competitivas”, Grupos de referencia competitiva). The second author enjoyed a research contract from University of A Coruña. We thank the comments, corrections and suggestions of the Guest Editor and the two anonymous reviewers who contributed to the improvement of the paper.Xunta de Galicia; ED431C 2017/6

Bentonite powder XRD quantitative analysis using Rietveld refinement: Revisiting and updating bulk semiquantitative mineralogical compositions

Bentonite is a claystone formed by a complex mineralogical mixture, composed of mont-morillonite, illite, and accessory minerals like quartz, cristobalite, feldspars, carbonates, and minor amounts of iron oxy-hydroxides. Bentonite presents complexity at various scales: (1): a single mineral may present different chemical composition within the same quarry (e.g., feldspars solid solu-tions); (2): montmorillonite presents variability in the cation-exchange distribution while illite may be presented as mixed-layer with smectite sheets; and (3): hardness and crystal size are larger in accessory minerals than in clay minerals, preventing uniform grinding of bentonite. The FEBEX bentonite used is originally from Almería (Spain), and it is a predominantly calcium, magnesium, and sodium bentonite. This Spanish FEBEX bentonite has been hydrothermally altered at laboratory scale for 7–14 years. A thermal gradient was generated by heating a disk of pressed iron powder, simulating the metal waste canister, in contact with the compacted bentonite sample. Hydration was forced from the opposite direction. XRD recorded patterns were very similar. In order to min-imize the bias of XRD semi-quantitative determination methods, Rietveld refinement was per-formed using BGMN software and different structural models. Confidence in the quantification of the main phases allows us to convincingly detect other subtle changes such as the presence of calcite in the hydration front, right at the interface between the saturated and unsaturated bentonite, or the presence of goethite, and not hematite, in the saturated bentonite, near the source of hydration. Smectite component was 72 ± 3% and the refinement was consistent with the presence of ~10% illite, comparable with previous characterization

Urinary concentrations of bisphenol A, parabens and benzophenone-type ultra violet light filters in relation to sperm DNA fragmentation in young men: A chemical mixtures approach

People are daily exposed to multiple endocrine disruptor compounds (EDCs) that may interfere with different molecular and cellular processes, promoting a potential estrogenic, androgenic, or anti-androgenic state. However, most epidemiological studies attempting to establish relationships between EDCs exposure and health effects are still considering individual compounds. A few studies have shown associations between exposure to individual non-persistent EDCs and sperm DNA fragmentation (SDF) in different male populations. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate associations between combined exposure to non-persistent EDCs and SDF index in young men. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 158 healthy university students from Southeaster Spain. The participants provided spot urine and semen samples on the same day. The concentrations of urinary bisphenol A (BPA), benzophenones [2,4-dihydroxybenzophenone (BP-1); 2,2′,4,4′-tetrahydroxybenzophenone (BP-2), 2-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzophenone (BP-3), 2,2′-dihydroxy-4-methoxybenzophenone (BP-8), 4-hydroxybenzophenone (4OHBP)], and parabens (methylparaben, ethylparaben, propylparaben, butylparaben) were measured by dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction and ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry detection. SDF was analysed using a Sperm Chromatin Dispersion test. Statistical analyses were carried out using Bayesian Kernel Machine Regression models to evaluate associations between combined exposure to these compounds and SDF index while adjusting by relevant covariates. The increase in urinary concentration of 4OHBP was found to be the most important contributor to the negative association between urinary EDCs concentrations and SDF index, being of -5.5 % [95 % CI: -10.7, -0.3] for those in percentile 50, and -5.4 % [95 % CI: -10.8, -0.1] for those in percentile 75. No significant associations were observed between other EDCs and SDF index. Our findings show that urinary 4OHBP levels may be associated with a decrease in the SDF index. Nonetheless, the effects we observed were likely to be small and of uncertain clinical significance. Further research is needed to replicate our findings in other male populations.Fundación Séneca, Agencia de Ciencia y Tecnología de la Región de Murcia [08808/PI/08, 19443/PI/14]Consejería de Innovación, Junta de Andalucía [P09-CTS-5488]Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (Acción Estratégica en Salud, AES) [PI10/00985, PI13/01237, PI13/ 02406

Governance Review Commission General Rationale Rev 2

Bacterial infectious diseases produced by Vibrio are the main cause of economic losses in aquaculture. During recent years it has been shown that the expression of virulence genes in some Vibrio species is controlled by a population-density dependent gene-expression mechanism known as quorum sensing (QS), which is mediated by the diffusion of signal molecules such as N-acylhomoserine lactones (AHLs). QS disruption, especially the enzymatic degradation of signalling molecules, known as quorum quenching (QQ), is one of the novel therapeutic strategies for the treatment of bacterial infections. In this study, we present the detection of AHLs in 34 marine Vibrionaceae strains. Three aquaculture-related pathogenic Vibrio strains, V. mediterranei VibC-Oc-097, V. owensii VibC-Oc-106 and V. coralliilyticus VibC-Oc-193 were selected for further studies based on their virulence and high production of AHLs. This is the first report where the signal molecules have been characterized in these emerging marine pathogens and correlated to the expression of virulence factors. Moreover, the results of AHL inactivation in the three selected strains have been confirmed in vivo against brine shrimps (Artemia salina) and Manila clams (Venerupis philippinarum). This research contributes to the development of future therapies based on AHL disruption, the most promising alternatives for fighting infectious diseases in aquaculture.This research was supported in part by grants from the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (Spain) (http://www.mineco.gob. es/portal/site/mineco/idi) (AGL2012-39274-C02- 02; AGL2015-68806-R; AGL2015-63740-C2-2-R). José Carlos Reina is supported by a FPU fellowship rom the Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte (Spain) (https://www.mecd.gob.es/ portada-mecd/) (FPU15-01717) and a Initiation to Research fellowship for Master Students (2016) from the University of Granada (Spain

Geochemical interactions at the steel-bentonite interface caused by a hydrothermal gradient

Bentonites are used in deep geological disposal facilities as an engineered barrier to isolate high level radioactive waste, contained in metallic canisters. The present study, performed at laboratory scale, evaluated the behaviour of MX-80 (Na-bentonite) and FEBEX (Ca-Mg-Na-bentonite) in contact with carbon steel, subjected to a hydrothermal gradient. A dominant Na-Cl-SO4 saline solution was injected towards the compacted bentonite from the top, while a heater, located at the bottom in contact with the steel disc, maintained a constant temperature of 100 °C. The cells were studied after one and six months of interaction. Changes in the physical (water content and specific surface area) and chemical (cation exchange capacity and element distribution) properties of the bentonite were observed, as well as the formation of a corrosion layer on the steel, at the interface with bentonite, mainly composed of magnetite, maghemite and hematite. The bentonites were mainly altered at the mm scale, being enriched in iron content, and changing their ion distribution to Ca-dominant smectite (in MX-80 bentonite)This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme 2014-2018 under grant agreement N◦84759