Infraestructure readiness for autonomous vehicles

This study is aimed at identifying the major challenges in the infraestructure design, operation and maintenance to allow the implementation of Autonomous Vehicles in interurban and urban road network

Infraestructure readiness for autonomous vehicles

This study is aimed at identifying the major challenges in the infraestructure design, operation and maintenance to allow the implementation of Autonomous Vehicles in interurban and urban road network

Anàlisi dels efectes sobre la inundació de la desobstrucció de ponts al riu Francolí durant la riuada del 22 d'octubre de 2019

Un estudi realitzat sobre la crescuda del riu Francolí el 22 d'octubre de 2019, dut a terme des de la UPC, presenta estimacions dels cabals hidràulics incongruents entre elles mateixes però també incongruents respecte els cabals hidrològics estimats. A més, obre la porta a pensar en un fenomen transitori per a poder explicar aquestes incongruències. El present estudi focalitza en analitzar la hipòtesi del destaponament sobtat, en un instant puntual de l'avinguda, de l'ull d'un pont que hauria restat temporalment obstruït, degut a l'acumulació d'un gran número de troncs de grans dimensions arrossegats per la crescuda, i que hauria permès alliberar un gran volum d'aigua en qüestió de pocs segons, creant, instantàniament, un gran pic de cabal amb una duració molt curta. L'anàlisi hidràulic es planteja a partir de modelitzacions bidimensionals fonamentades en el software Iber. Per a poder estudiar els efectes d'un probable destaponament, s'utilitza una eina específica del programa dissenyada per a simular el trencament de preses. Aquesta eina es fa servir per tal d'aconseguir, en un instant puntual de la simulació, un increment localitzat de la capacitat de desguàs amb l'objectiu d'aportar una explicació científica a les contradiccions en els cabals estimats en el primer estudi.Un estudio realizado sobre la crecida del río Francolí el 22 de octubre de 2019, llevado a cabo desde la UPC, presenta estimaciones de los caudales hidráulicos incongruentes entre sí pero también incongruentes respecto de los caudales hidrológicos estimados. Además, abre la puerta a pensar en un fenómeno transitorio para poder explicar estas incongruencias. El presente estudio focaliza en analizar la hipótesis del destaponamiento repentino, en un instante puntual de la avenida, del ojo de un puente que habría permanecido temporalmente obstruido, debido a la acumulación de un gran número de troncos de grandes dimensiones arrastrados por la crecida, y que habría permitido liberar un gran volumen de agua en cuestión de pocos segundos, creando, instantáneamente, un gran pico de caudal de una duración muy corta. El análisis hidráulico se plantea a partir de modelizaciones bidimensionales basadas en el software Iber. Para poder estudiar los efectos de un probable destaponamiento, se utiliza una herramienta específica del programa para simular la ruptura de presas. Esta herramienta se emplea para conseguir, en un instante puntual de la simulación, un incremento localizado de la capacidad de desagüe con el objetivo de aportar una explicación científica a las contradicciones en los caudales estimados en el primer estudio.An earlier study on the flood event at Francolí River occurred in october 22, 2019, carried out at the Polytechnical University of Catalonia, presents some contradictory flow discharge estimates (arisen from hydraulic computations) when compared between them. These estimates are also incongruent with respect to values obtained from hydrologic calculations. Moreover, the referred study suggests that these incongruences might be explained by a short-tasting transient phenomenon occurred during the event. This study focuses on analysing the hypothesis of a sudden, abrupt release of the long-jam formed upstream at the arch bridge at a given time of the event. Such bridge would have stayed temporarily obstructed by the accumulation of a great number of woody debris dragged by the stream, which would ultimately form a long jam and would have permeated releasing a huge volume of water and wood debris in a few seconds, creating therefore an instantaneous discharge peak with a very short duration. The hydraulic analysis is formulated from bidimensional modelling approach and using unsteady two-dimensional software (Iber). In order to study the possible effects of a likely release of the long-jam, a specific software tool aimed at simulating dam breaching processes is employed. The purpose of employing this tool for this study is to simulate, for a given time of the simulation, a localized increment of the discharge flow in order to provide a scientific explanation of those contradictory flow estimates obtained in the earlier study

Indoxyl sulfate- and P-cresol-induced monocyte adhesion and migration is mediated by integrin-linked kinase-dependent podosome formation

13 p.Cardiovascular disease is an important cause of death in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Protein-bound uremic toxins, such as p-cresyl and indoxyl sulfate (IS), are poorly removed during hemodialysis, leading to vascular endothelial dysfunction and leukocyte extravasation. These processes can be related to dynamic adhesion structures called podosomes. Several studies have indicated the role of integrin-linked kinase (ILK) in the accumulation of integrin-associated proteins in podosomes. Here, we investigated the involvement of ILK and podosome formation in the adhesion and extravasation of monocytes under p-cresol (pc) and IS exposure. Incubation of THP-1 human monocyte cells with these toxins upregulated ILK kinase activity. Together, both toxins increased cell adhesion, podosome formation, extracellular matrix degradation, and migration of THP-1 cells, whereas ILK depletion with specific small interfering RNAs suppressed these processes. Interestingly, F-actin colocalized with cortactin in podosome cores, while ILK was colocalized in podosome rings under toxin stimulation. Podosome Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein (WASP)- interacting protein (WIP) and AKT protein depletion demonstrated that monocyte adhesion depends on podosome formation and that the ILK/AKT signaling pathway is involved in these processes. Ex vivo experiments showed that both toxins induced adhesion and podosome formation in leukocytes from wild-type mice, whereas these effects were not observed in leukocytes of conditional ILK-knockdown animals. In summary, under pc and IS stimulation, monocytes increase podosome formation and transmigratory capacity through an ILK/AKT signaling pathway-dependent mechanism, which could lead to vascular injury. Therefore, ILK could be a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of vascular damage associated with CKD.Ministerio de Economía y Competitivida