Estudio geológico del Eoceno prepirenaico del Ripollés oriental

The main results of the geological study of folded Pre-pyrenean Eocene (Ripollés Oriental area, Gerona and Barcelona piovinces) are presented in this paper. An interpretative section of the sedimentary basin as well as the age and genesis of the different litliological units are given. It is also discussed the origin of the tectonic structures

A structural approach including the behavior of collagen cross-links to model patient-specific human carotid arteries

The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10439-014-0995-7The objective of this work is to develop a remodeling model for biological matter coupling two different processes in a 3D framework: reorientation of the preferential direction of a given fibered structure and reorientation of the fibrils or filaments that make up such a structure. This work uses the microsphere-based approach to take into account the micro mechanics involved in biological fibered structures regarding both their passive behavior and the reorientation of their micro constituents. Moreover, the macro behavior of the material as a whole is obtained by means of homogenizing the underlying micro response. We associate the orientation space of the integration directions to the physical space of micro-fibrils. To approximate the directional distribution of the fibrils within each fiber bundle, a Bingham probability orientation density function is introduced into the Helmholtz energy function. With all these assumptions, the problem is studied from an energetic point of view, describing the dissipation inherent to remodeling processes, and the evolution equations for both reorientations (change in preferential direction of the network and change in shape of the fibril distribution) re obtained. The model is included in a finite element code which allows computing different geometries and boundary value problems. This results in a complete methodology for characterizing the reorientation evolution of different fibered biological structures, such as cells. Our results show remodeling of fibered structures in two different scales, presenting a qualitatively good agreement with experimental findings in cell mechanics. Hierarchical structures align in the direction of the maximum principal direction of the considered stimulus and narrow in the perpendicular direction. The dissipation rates follows predictable trends although there are no experimental findings to date for comparison. The incorporation of metabolic processes and an insight into cell-oriented mechano-sensing processes can help to overcome the limitations involved.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Origen y desarrollos actuales de la predicción meteorológica

La Meteorología es una ciencia relativamente moderna si la comparamos con otras disciplinas científicas. Sus principales bases teóricas no quedaron establecidas hasta las primeras décadas del siglo XX, gracias a la labor de un grupo de brillantes meteorólogos suecos y noruegos, con Vilhem Bjerknes a la cabeza. Sin embargo, no fue hasta la década de 1950 cuando la Meteorología dio su gran salto cualitativo, gracias a la llegada de los ordenadores, lo que permitió el desarrollo y la puesta en marcha de las predicciones meteorológicas. Desde entonces, paralelamente al aumento exponencial de la capacidad de cálculo computacional, su desarrollo ha sido imparable, alcanzando en la actualidad un alto nivel de confianz

Computational modeling of hypertensive growth in the human carotid artery

The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00466-013-0959-zArterial hypertension is a chronic medical condition associated with an elevated blood pressure. Chronic arterial hypertension initiates a series of events, which are known to collectively initiate arterial wall thickening. However, the correlation between macrostructural mechanical loading, microstructural cellular changes, and macrostructural adaptation remains unclear. Here, we present a microstructurally motivated computational model for chronic arterial hypertension through smooth muscle cell growth. To model growth, we adopt a classical concept based on the multiplicative decomposition of the deformation gradient into an elastic part and a growth part. Motivated by clinical observations, we assume that the driving force for growth is the stretch sensed by the smooth muscle cells. We embed our model into a finite element framework, where growth is stored locally as an internal variable. First, to demonstrate the features of our model, we investigate the effects of hypertensive growth in a real human carotid artery. Our results agree nicely with experimental data reported in the literature both qualitatively and quantitatively.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

El rol antibacteriano de la activación fotodinámica de agentes fotosensibilizantes nanoencapsulados en los canales radiculares.

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Hierarchical micro-adaptation of biological structures by mechanical stimuli

Remodeling and other evolving processes such as growth or morphogenesis are key factors in the evolution of biological tissue in response to both external and internal epigenetic stimuli. Based on the description of these processes provided by Taber, 1995 and Humphrey et al., 2002 for three important adaptation processes, remodeling, morphogenesis and growth (positive and negative), we shall consider the latter as the increase/decrease of mass via the increase/decrease of the number or size of cells, leading to a change in the volume of the organ. The work of Rodriguez et al. (1994) used the concept of natural configuration previously introduced by Skalak et al. (1982) to formulate volumetric growth. Later, Humphrey et al. (2002) proposed a constrained-mixture theory where changes in the density and mass of different constituents were taken into account. Many other works about biological growth have been presented in recent years, see e.g. Imatani and Maugin, 2002, Garikipati et al., 2004, Gleason and Humphrey, 2004, Menzel, 2004, Amar et al., 2005, Ganghoffer et al., 2005, Ateshian, 2007, Goriely et al., 2007, Kuhl et al., 2007, Ganghoffer, 2010a, Ganghoffer, 2010b and Goktepe et al., 2010. Morphogenesis is associated to changes in the structure shape (Taber, 1995 and Taber, 2009) while remodeling denotes changes in the tissue microstructure via the reorganization of the existing constituents or the synthesis of new ones with negligible volume change. All these processes involve changes in material properties. Although remodeling and growth can, and usually do, occur simultaneously, there are some cases where these processes develop in a decoupled way. For example, Stopak and Harris (1982) reported some experimental results showing remodeling driven by fibroblasts, with no volume growth. We will assume this scenario in this contribution, focusing exclusively on remodeling processes and on the reorientation of fibered biological structures. It is well known that biological tissue remodels itself when driven by a given stimulus, e.g. mechanical loads such as an increase in blood pressure, or changes in the chemical environment that control the signaling processes and the overall evolution of the tissue. Biological remodeling can occur in any kind of biological tissue. In particular, the study of collagen as the most important substance to be remodeled, in all its types (preferentiallyPeer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Mathematical modeling of collagen turnover in biological tissue

The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00285-012-0613-yWe present a theoretical and computational model for collagen turnover in soft biological tissues. Driven by alterations in the mechanical environment, collagen fiber bundles may undergo important chronic changes, characterized primarily by alterations in collagen synthesis and degradation rates. In particular, hypertension triggers an increase in tropocollagen synthesis and a decrease in collagen degradation, which lead to the well-documented overall increase in collagen content. These changes are the result of a cascade of events, initiated mainly by the endothelial and smooth muscle cells. Here, we represent these events collectively in terms of two internal variables, the concentration of growth factor TGF-$\beta$ and tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases TIMP. The upregulation of TGF-$\beta$ increases the collagen density. The upregulation of TIMP also increases the collagen density through decreasing matrix metalloproteinase MMP. We establish a mathematical theory for mechanically-induced collagen turnover and introduce a computational algorithm for its robust and efficient solution. We demonstrate that our model can accurately predict the experimentally observed collagen increase in response to hypertension reported in literature. Ultimately, the model can serve as a valuable tool to predict the chronic adaptation of collagen content to restore the homeostatic equilibrium state in vessels with arbitrary micro-structure and geometry.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

An anisotropic microsphere-based approach for fiber orientation adaptation in soft tissue

Evolutionary processes in biological tissue, such as adaptation or remodeling, represent an enterprising area of research. In this paper, we present a multiscale model for the remodeling of fibered structures, such as bundles of collagen fibrils. With this aim, we introduce a von Mises statistical distribution function to account for the directional dispersion of the fibrils, and we remodel the underlying fibrils by changing their orientation. To numerically compute this process, we make use of the microsphere approach, which provides a useful multiscale tool for homogenizing the microstructure behavior, related to the fibrils of the bundle, in the macroscale of the problem. The results show how the fibrils respond to the stimulus by reorientation of their structure. This process leads to a stiffer material eventually reaching a stationary state. These results are in agreement with those reported in the literature, and they characterize the adaptation of biological tissue to external stimuli.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Anisotropic microsphere-based approach to damage in soft fibered tissue

The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10237-011-0336-9An anisotropic damage model for soft fibered tissue is presented in this paper, using a multi-scale scheme and focusing on the directionally dependent behavior of these materials. For this purpose, a micro-structural or, more precisely, a microsphere-based approach is used to model the contribution of the fibers. The link between micro-structural contribution and macroscopic response is achieved by means of computational homogenization, involving numerical integration over the surface of the unit sphere. In order to deal with the distribution of the fibrils within the fiber, a von Mises probability function is incorporated, and the mechanical (phenomenological) behavior of the fibrils is defined by an exponential-type model. We will restrict ourselves to affine deformations of the network, neglecting any cross-link between fibrils and sliding between fibers and the surrounding ground matrix. Damage in the fiber bundles is introduced through a thermodynamic formulation, which is directly included in the hyperelastic model. When the fibers are stretched far from their natural state, they become damaged. The damage increases gradually due to the progressive failure of the fibrils that make up such a structure. This model has been implemented in a finite element code, and different boundary value problems are solved and discussed herein in order to test the model features. Finally, a clinical application with the material behavior obtained from actual experimental data is also presented.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft