An unexpected actor in ammonium assimilation in conifer trees

Conifers are tree species with enormous environmental and economic interests but with several characteristics that complicate their investigation (big size, secondary compounds, large long-life cycles, megagenomes…). However, they are well adapted to ammonium-rich soils being a good model to study ammonium assimilation in plants. Although they have a special feature, only two glutamine synthetase (GS, EC 6.3.1.2) genes, GS1a and GS1b, coding for cytosolic proteins, have been identified. In angiosperms and in the gymnosperm Ginkgo biloba there are two types of this enzyme responsible of the ammonium assimilation: GS1 expressed in the cytosol and GS2 in the plastids. Until the date, the searches of new GS1 and GS2 genes in conifers have been made with classical biochemical and molecular biology techniques without satisfactory results. In the present context, the emergence of the next generation sequencing (NGS) techniques has open new opportunities in the resolution of old problems. They have allowed the whole sequencing of the massive conifer genomes and the analysis of their transcriptomes. Thus, in the framework of the European project ProCoGen, a gene expression atlas of the tissues of one-month seedlings was carried out using laser capture microdissection (LCM) and massive sequencing in maritime pine (Pinus pinaster), which is a conifer tree from the Southwestern Mediterranean region1. From the analysis of this work, a new gene coding for a new putative cytosolic GS has been identified, PpGS1c. 1Cañas, RA et al. (2017). Plant J, 91. 1064-1087Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. Project funding by Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad BIO2015-69285-R and MicroNUpE (BIO2015-73512-JIN; MINECO/AEI/FEDER, UE

Lexical processing of ambiguous words: dominance or associative strength?

Four experiments examined the role of meaning frequency (dominance) and associative strength (measured by associative norms) in the processing of ambiguous words in isolation. Participants made lexical decisions to targets words that were associates of the more frequent (dominant) or less frequent (subordinate) meaning of a homograph prime. The first two experiments investigated the role of associative strength at long SOAs (Stimulus Onset Asynchrony) (750 ms.), showing that meaning is facilitated by the targets’ associative strength and not by their dominance. The last two experiments traced the role associativestrength at short SOAs (250 ms), showing that the manipulation of the associative strength has no effect in the semantic priming. The conclusions are: on the one hand, semantic priming for homographs is due to associative strength manipulations at long SOAs. On the other hand, the manipulation of the associative strength has no effect when automatic processes (short SOAs) are engaged for homographs.A través de cuatro experimentos, se examinó el papel de la frecuencia del significado (dominancia) y de la fuerza asociativa (medida mediante normas asociativas) en el procesamiento de palabras ambiguas aisladas. Los participantes tomaron decisiones léxicas acerca de palabras meta que eran las asociadas del significado más frecuente (dominante) o menos frecuente (subordinado) de un homógrafo primo. Los primeros dos experimentos investigaron el papel de la fuerza asociativa en las SOAs (asincronía del comienzo del estímulo) largas (750 ms), demostrando que el significado se ve facilitado por la fuerza asociativa de la meta y no por su dominancia. Los segundos experimentos trazaron el papel de la fuerza asociativa en las SOAs cortas (250 ms), demostrando que la manipulación de la fuerza asociativa no influye en la ceba semántica. Se concluye que: (a) la ceba semántica para homográficos se debe a las manipulaciones de la fuerza asociativa en las SOAs largas y (b) la manipulación de la fuerza asociativa no tiene ningún efecto cuando los procesos automáticos (SOAs cortas) están ocupados para los homógrafos

Exosomes: A key piece in asthmatic inflammation

Asthma is a chronic disease of the airways that has an important inflammatory compo-nent. Multiple cells are implicated in asthma pathogenesis (lymphocytes, eosinophils, mast cells, basophils, neutrophils), releasing a wide variety of cytokines. These cells can exert their inflammatory functions throughout extracellular vesicles (EVs), which are small vesicles released by do-nor cells into the extracellular microenvironment that can be taken up by recipient cells. Depending on their size, EVs can be classified as microvesicles, exosomes, or apoptotic bodies. EVs are heterogeneous spherical structures secreted by almost all cell types. One of their main functions is to act as transporters of a wide range of molecules, such as proteins, lipids, and microRNAs (miRNAs), which are single-stranded RNAs of approximately 22 nucleotides in length. Therefore, exosomes could influence several physiological and pathological processes, including those involved in asthma. They can be detected in multiple cell types and biofluids, providing a wealth of infor-mation about the processes that take account in a pathological scenario. This review thus summarizes the most recent insights concerning the role of exosomes from different sources (several cell populations and biofluids) in one of the most prevalent respiratory diseases, asthma.This manuscript was supported by Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria–FIS and FEDER (Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional) [PI15/00803, PI18/00044, and FI16/00036], CIBERES, Merck Health Foundation funds, and RTC-2017-6501-1 (Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades)

Simulación numérica y resultados experimentales del ensayo a tracción de un panel rigidizado de material compuesto

COMATCOMP 09 : Donostia - San Sebastian, 7, 8 y 9 de octubre de 2009Se analiza numérica y experimentalmente un panel rigidizado plano solicitado por una tracción transversal a los rigidizadores. Se han realizado una serie de ensayos hasta rotura en el laboratorio y se cuenta con la lectura de varias bandas extensométricas en función de la carga aplicada. Se han realizado dos modelos de elementos finitos, resueltos con MSC PATRAN-NASTRAN, y se comparan los resultados con las mediciones experimentales. También se incluyen resultados numéricos incluyendo la evolución del daño

Novel technique for estimating pollution-associated leakage current in high voltage insulators based on adaptive filtering in long-term recording

[EN] Moist polluting substances on high-voltage insulator surfaces can cause power-line failures by triggering electric arcs. There are at present no effective methods of measuring insulator pollution levels during normal operations. In this work, we attempt to estimate insulator pollution leakage current (PLC) as an indirect method of measuring deposits in a 30 month period of simultaneously recording leakage current and related environmental variables in substation insulators. We analyzed the relationship between raw leakage current and environmental variables. We canceled out the influence of relative humidity on leakage current by adaptive filtering and then obtained the PLC by filtering out the anomalous peaks in the recording. The proposed method considerably reduces the correlation between leakage current and relative humidity (0.826 vs 0.019). The resulting signal was only slightly correlated with other environmental variables (<0.03), suggesting that the relationships between leakage current and temperature, wind direction and speed are mainly attributable to their influence on relative humidity. The PLC presents a quasi-annual smooth fluctuation over time with a magnitude similar to those obtained in laboratory tests. This novel technique could be used to monitor insulator PLC in real time and thus improve power supply continuity and reduce maintenance costs.Bueno-Barrachina, J.; Cañas Peñuelas, CS.; Ye Lin, Y.; Fuster Roig, VL. (2021). Novel technique for estimating pollution-associated leakage current in high voltage insulators based on adaptive filtering in long-term recording. Measurement Science and Technology. 32(5):1-10. https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6501/abea3dS11032

Diseño y construcción de un tribometro de cilindros cruzados, bajo norma técnica astm g83 – 96

El conocimiento de las características mecánicas de los materiales que se utilizan en la construcción de máquinas que suplan los requerimientos tanto de las personas como de la industria es un factor importante en el diseño y mejoramiento de las mismas. El desgaste de los materiales ha sido un fenómeno que siempre se ha evidenciado buscando combatirlo y prevenirlo. Durante el desarrollo de esta investigación se diseñó construyó y puso en funcionamiento una máquina de cilindros cruzados bajo norma técnica ASTM G83, con el fin de evaluar el desgaste adhesivo de diferentes materiale

MYDAS. Un preprocesador para elementos de contorno

Trabajo reproducido y difundido en el repositorio idUS con permiso de la Asociación Española de Ingeniería Mecánica (AEIM)Se presenta un preprocesador bi y tridimensional para elementos de contorno, con generador automático de mallas, haciendo comentario de sus características generales, comunicación con el usuario, descripción de la base de datos y realización de algunos ejemplos.A bi and tridimensional preprocessor with automatic mesh generation for the boundary element method (BEM) is presented. Its general characteristics, user interface and data base description are explained. Sorne examples are also presented

Open-Source Drone Programming Course for Distance Engineering Education.

This article presents a full course for autonomous aerial robotics inside the RoboticsAcademy framework. This “drone programming” course is open-access and ready-to-use for any teacher/student to teach/learn drone programming with it for free. The students may program diverse drones on their computers without a physical presence in this course. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) applications are essentially practical, as their intelligence resides in the software part. Therefore, the proposed course emphasizes drone programming through practical learning. It comprises a collection of exercises resembling drone applications in real life, such as following a road, visual landing, and people search and rescue, including their corresponding background theory. The course has been successfully taught for five years to students from several university engineering degrees. Some exercises from the course have also been validated in three aerial robotics competitions, including an international one. RoboticsAcademy is also briefly presented in the paper. It is an open framework for distance robotics learning in engineering degrees. It has been designed as a practical complement to the typical online videos of massive open online courses (MOOCs). Its educational contents are built upon robot operating system (ROS) middleware (de facto standard in robot programming), the powerful 3D Gazebo simulator, and the widely used Python programming language. Additionally, RoboticsAcademy is a suitable tool for gamified learning and online robotics competitions, as it includes several competitive exercises and automatic assessment toolspost-print5214 K

Caracterización de uniones material compuesto-hormigón mediante ensayos de pelado, cortadura, tracción plana y torsión

XI CONGRESO NACIONAL DE MATERIALES COMPUESTOS. Celebrado en Móstoles los días 6, 7 y 8 de julio de 2015El presente trabajo se centra en el análisis de diferentes ensayos que permiten determinar la calidad de la unión entre laminados de material compuesto y hormigón. Los ensayos considerados han sido: Pull Off (ensayo a tracción), Shear Torsion (ensayo de torsión), Lap Shear (ensayo de cortadura) y Lap Peeling (ensayo de pelado). La fabricación de las probetas se ha llevado a cabo siguiendo tres procedimientos: por apilado e impregnación manual del material compuesto sobre el hormigón, mediante pegado de laminados de material compuesto prefabricados y mediante impregnación insitu del material compuesto sobre el hormigón a través de técnicas de infusión de resina líquida. Además, dichos ensayos se han realizado sobre probetas de hormigón con dos tratamientos superficiales: amoladora y lija de grano grueso. Tras la realización de los ensayos se ha constatado que predomina la rotura por el hormigón sobre roturas adhesivas o cohesivas, lo que indica una buena adhesión entre éste y el material compuesto, para todos los métodos de fabricación de la unión y tratamientos superficiales del hormigónCentro para el Desarrollo Tecnológico e Industrial (CDTl) lTC-20131020Fondos Europeos de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) lTC-2013102