Experimental Estimation of Slipping in the Supporting Point of a Biped Robot

When developing a gait cycle on a low-friction surface, a biped robot eventually tends to slip. In general, it is commonto overcome this problem by means of either slow movements or physical adaptations of the robot at the contact pointwith the walking surface in order to increase the frictional characteristics. In the case of slipping, several types ofsensors have been used to identify the relative displacement at the contact point of the supporting leg with the walkingsurface for control purposes. This work is focused on the experimental implementation of a low-cost force sensor as ameasurement system of the slipping phenomenon. It is shown how, supported on a suitable change of coordinates,the force measurement at the contact point is used to obtain the total displacement at the supporting point due to thelow-friction conditions. This is an important issue when an accurate Cartesian task is required

A sequence stratigraphic based geological model for constraining hydrogeological modeling in the urbanized area of the Quaternary Besòs delta (NW Mediterranean coast, Spain)

The Quaternary Besòs delta is located on the Mediterranean coast in NE Spain. The Besòs Delta Complex includes 3 aquifers constituted by 3 sandy and gravelly bodies, separated by lutitic units. These aquifers supply water for domestic and industrial use in this area. Management of groundwater has been problematic in the Besòs delta since the 1960s, and continues to pose major problems for subsurface engineering works in this highly urbanized region. This study seeks to demonstrate the advantages of detailed geological characterization and modeling for designing and constructing a hydrogeological model. Available information of the subsurface was compiled, integrated and homogenized in a geospatial database. The interpretation of these data enabled us to delimit geological units by means of a sequence stratigraphic subdivision. A three-dimensional facies belt-based model of the Besòs delta was built on the basis of this geological characterization. This model was used to constrain the distribution of hydraulic parameters and thus to obtain a consistent hydrogeological model of the delta, which was calibrated by data of water management and production over the last hundred years. The resulting hydrogeological model yielded new insights into water front displacements in the aquifer during the time-span considered, improving predictions in an attempt to optimize aquifer management

Integration of genetic data on fisheries management models. The European hake case.

The European hake is one of the major commercially important species in Western Europe fisheries. Currently its management is divided into different functional units in the Mediterranean (GFCM, General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean) and two stocks in the Atlantic: the Southern and the Northern Stock. The basis for the definition of this management stock structure is under permanent discussion and in the latest years there were an increased amount of genetic studies addressing this topic. Integrated ecosystem assessment requires an improved understanding of the marine ecosystem to provide an effective advice. To this end we have gathered hake genetic information from different studies with the aim of developing a spatial assessment model that links the current stocks. These studies show a restricted gene flow between Southern hake and Mediterranean hake, although a smaller genetic distance between Southern and Northern stocks than one expected from two independent populations, suggesting the presence of a major gene flow from northern grounds core stock (Porcupine and Great Sole Banks) towards the Bay of Biscay and the northwest coast of the Iberian Peninsula. However the quantitative implementation of genetic metrics (such as Fst, migration rates, etc) into population dynamic models is not straightforward given the different nature and assumptions behind these different approaches. In this work we discuss the problems to link these different disciplines suggesting ways to overcome them. These include ways to improve future genetic sampling and developing plausible scenarios for genetic connectivity in population dynamic models

Customization, extension and reuse of outdated hydrogeological software

Each scientist is specialized in his or her field of research and in the tools that he or she uses during the research in a specified site. Thus, he or she is the most suitable person for improving the tools by overcoming their limitations to realize faster and higher quality analysis. However, most scientists are not software developers. Hence, it is necessary to provide them with an easy approach that enables non-software developers to improve and customize their tools. This paper presents an approach for easily improving and customizing any hydrogeological software. It is the result of experiences with updating several interdisciplinary case studies. The main insights of this approachhave been demonstrated using four examples: MIX (FORTRAN-based), BrineMIX (C++-based), EasyQuim and EasyBal (both spreadsheet-based). The improved software has been proven to be a better tool for enhanced analysis by substantially reducing the computation time and the tedious processing of the input and output data files

Enfoques y desenfoques en la arqueología canaria a inicios del siglo XXI

Se abordan desde una perspectiva no inocente las tendencias de la Arqueología Canaria en las últimas dos década

Susceptibility of biological stages of the horn fly, Haematobia irritans, to entomopathogenic fungi (Hyphomycetes)

The susceptibility of the egg, pupa, and adult of Haematobia irritans (L.) (Diptera: Muscidae) to isolates of the fungi Metarhizium anisopliae (Metsch.) Sor., Beauveria bassiana (Bals.) Vuill., and Paecilomyces fumosoroseus (Wize) Brown and Smith, was evaluated under laboratory conditions. Groups of 20 eggs than 4 h old, pupae less than 48h old and adults were sprayed with a conidial suspension of each isolate. Eggs, pupae and adults of horn fly were susceptible to these entomopathogenic fungi. For treated eggs, the isolates Ma3, Ma 15, Ma25, Pfr1, and Pfr8 reduced adult emergence to 3.8% to 6.3% in comparison with the control (72%). The mortality of pupae infected by the isolates Ma2, Ma25, and Pfr10 ranged between 50% and 71.3%. Mortality of adults after treatment with the isolates Ma6, Ma 10, Ma 14, Ma 15, Pfr 1, Pfr 9, Pfr 10, Pfr 11, and Pfr12 were higher than 90%. The isolate Ma6 produced the lowest LC(50) against adult horn flies (8.08 &times 10(2)conidia/ml). These findings supported the hypotheses that isolates of M. anisopliae, and P. fumosoroseus are pathogenic against the different biological stages of horn flies by reducing adult emergence when applied on groups of eggs and pupae, and producing mortality when applied to adults

Targeting the TWEAK–Fn14 pathway prevents dysfunction in cardiac calcium handling after acute kidney injury

Heart and kidney have a closely interrelated pathophysiology. Acute kidney injury (AKI) is associated with significantly increased rates of cardiovascular events, a relationship defined as cardiorenal syndrome type 3 (CRS3). The underlying mechanisms that trigger heart disease remain, however, unknown, particularly concerning the clinical impact of AKI on cardiac outcomes and overall mortality. Tumour necrosis factor-like weak inducer of apoptosis (TWEAK) and its receptor fibroblast growth factor-inducible 14 (Fn14) are independently involved in the pathogenesis of both heart and kidney failure, and recent studies have proposed TWEAK as a possible therapeutic target; however, its specific role in cardiac damage associated with CRS3 remains to be clarified. Firstly, we demonstrated in a retrospective longitudinal clinical study that soluble TWEAK plasma levels were a predictive biomarker of mortality in patients with AKI. Furthermore, the exogenous application of TWEAK to native ventricular cardiomyocytes induced relevant calcium (Ca2+) handling alterations. Next, we investigated the role of the TWEAK–Fn14 axis in cardiomyocyte function following renal ischaemia–reperfusion (I/R) injury in mice. We observed that TWEAK–Fn14 signalling was activated in the hearts of AKI mice. Mice also showed significantly altered intra-cardiomyocyte Ca2+ handling and arrhythmogenic Ca2+ events through an impairment in sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-adenosine triphosphatase 2a pump (SERCA2a) and ryanodine receptor (RyR2) function. Administration of anti-TWEAK antibody after reperfusion significantly improved alterations in Ca2+ cycling and arrhythmogenic events and prevented SERCA2a and RyR2 modifications. In conclusion, this study establishes the relevance of the TWEAK–Fn14 pathway in cardiac dysfunction linked to CRS3, both as a predictor of mortality in patients with AKI and as a Ca2+ mishandling inducer in cardiomyocytes, and highlights the cardioprotective benefits of TWEAK targeting in CRS3This work was mainly supported by projects from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) (PI20/00763, PI20/01482, CPII20/00022, FI18/00261, FI21/00212, CD19/00029, IFEQ21/00012, PI19/00588, PI22/00469) and co-funded by the European Union, Ministerio de Universidades (FPU20/03005), Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovaci on (RYR2019-026916-I), the Education and Research Council of Madrid (PEJ-2021- AI/SAL-21426), Biomedicine Network Comunidad de Madrid (P2022/BMD-7223 CIFRA_COR-CM), Spanish Network in Inflammasoma and Pyroptosis in Chronic Disease and Cancer (RED2022-134511-T), and the Spanish Society of Nephrology SEN/SENEFRO Foundatio

Specialized pro-resolving mediators prevents cardiac dysfunction by modulating Ca2+ handling and NRF2 axis

Trabajo presentado en el ESC Congress 2021 - The Digital Experience, celebrado en modalidad virtual el 27 de agosto de 2021

Scanning tunneling microscopy of electrochemically activated platinum surfaces : A direct ex-situ determination of the electrode nanotopography

A direct scanning tunneling microscopy ex-situ determination on the nanometer scale of the topography of electrochemically highly activated platinum electrodes is presented. A correlation between catalytic activity and surface microtopography becomes evident. This result gives support to a structural model for the activated electrode surface. In the model, a volume with a pebble-like structure allows electrocatalytic processes to occur practically free of diffusion relaxation contributions under usual voltammetric conditions.Instituto de Investigaciones Fisicoquímicas Teóricas y Aplicada