Data-Analytics Modeling of Electrical Impedance Measurements for Cell Culture Monitoring

High-throughput data analysis challenges in laboratory automation and lab-on-a-chip devices’ applications are continuously increasing. In cell culture monitoring, specifically, the electrical cell-substrate impedance sensing technique (ECIS), has been extensively used for a wide variety of applications. One of the main drawbacks of ECIS is the need for implementing complex electrical models to decode the electrical performance of the full system composed by the electrodes, medium, and cells. In this work we present a new approach for the analysis of data and the prediction of a specific biological parameter, the fill-factor of a cell culture, based on a polynomial regression, data-analytic model. The method was successfully applied to a specific ECIS circuit and two different cell cultures, N2A (a mouse neuroblastoma cell line) and myoblasts. The data-analytic modeling approach can be used in the decoding of electrical impedance measurements of different cell lines, provided a representative volume of data from the cell culture growth is available, sorting out the difficulties traditionally found in the implementation of electrical models. This can be of particular importance for the design of control algorithms for cell cultures in tissue engineering protocols, and labs-on-a-chip and wearable devices applicationsEspaña, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación y Universidades project RTI2018-093512-B-C2

Improvement of sol-gel prepared tungsten trioxide photoanodes upon doping with ytterbium

The development of efficient and stable photoelectrodes keeps on being critical in the implementation of practical water splitting devices. Sol-gel synthesized tungsten trioxide thin film electrodes modified with ytterbium have been prepared on conducting glass substrates. All the obtained electrodes were found to be composed of monoclinic WO3, which is the photoactive crystal phase of WO3 for water oxidation. The photoelectrochemical behavior of both WO3 and WO3:Yb nanostructured electrodes in 0.1 M HClO4 is apparently characterized by a low degree of recombination. Ytterbium addition to tungsten trioxide improves its photoelectrochemical response as larger photocurrents are obtained without a significant change of the onset potential. This behavior is attributed primarily to a surface effect rather than to bulk doping. The addition of H2O2 to the aqueous electrolyte gives rise to both an increment in photocurrent and a shift of the photocurrent onset potential toward less positive values, which can be linked to the fact that hydrogen peroxide acts as an efficient hole scavenger. The implications of these findings in the mechanism of water photooxidation on WO3 are discussed.Financial support of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through project MAT2015-71727-R (FONDOS-FEDER) is gratefully acknowledged. A. K. D.-G. thanks the Mexican government (CONACyT) for the award of a doctoral grant

Sol–gel copper chromium delafossite thin films as stable oxide photocathodes for water splitting

Significant effort is being devoted to the study of photoactive electrode materials for artificial photosynthesis devices. In this context, photocathodes promoting water reduction, based on earth-abundant elements and possessing stability under illumination, should be developed. Here, the photoelectrochemical behavior of CuCrO2 sol–gel thin film electrodes prepared on conducting glass is presented. The material, whose direct band gap is 3.15 eV, apparently presents a remarkable stability in both alkaline and acidic media. In 0.1 M HClO4 the material is significantly photoactive, with IPCE values at 350 nm and 0.36 V vs. RHE of over 6% for proton reduction and 23% for oxygen reduction. This response was obtained in the absence of charge extraction layers or co-catalysts, suggesting substantial room for optimization. The photocurrent onset potential is equal to 1.06 V vs. RHE in both alkaline and acidic media, which guarantees the combination of the material with different photoanodes such as Fe2O3 or WO3, potentially yielding bias-free water splitting devices.We are grateful to the Spanish Ministry of Education and Competitiveness for financial support through project MAT2012-37676 (co-financed with FEDER funds by the European Union). A. K. D.-G. thanks the Mexican government (CONACYT) for the award of a doctoral grant

Integral field spectroscopy of HII regions in M33

Integral field spectroscopy (IFS) is presented for star forming regions in M33. A central area of 300 x 500 pc^2 and the external HII region IC 132, at a galactocentric distance {\sim} 19arcmin (4.69 kpc) were observed with the Potsdam Multi Aperture Spectrophotometer (PMAS) instrument at the 3.5 m telescope of the Calar Alto Hispano- Alem\'an observatory (CAHA). The spectral coverage goes from 3600 A to 1{\mu}m to include from [OII]{\lambda}3727 A to the near infrared lines required for deriving sulphur electron temperature and abundance diagnostics. Local conditions within individual HII regions are presented in the form of emission line fluxes and physical conditions for each spatial resolution element (spaxel) and for segments with similar H{\alpha} surface brightness. A clear dichotomy is observed when comparing the central to outer disc HII regions. While the external HII region has higher electron temperature plus larger H{\beta} equivalent width, size and excitation, the central region has higher extinction and metal content. The dichotomy extends to the BPT diagnostic diagrams that show two orthogonal broad distributions of points. By comparing with pseudo-3D photoionization models we conclude that the bulk observed differences are probably related to a different ionization parameter and metallicity. Wolf-Rayet features are detected in IC 132, and resolved into two concentrations whose integrated spectra were used to estimate the characteristic number of WR stars. No WR features were detected in the central HII regions despite their higher metallicity.Comment: 72 pages, 37 figure

Textile industry indicators for management

Traditional accounting is based on financial indicators; the balanced scorecard divides management into different perspectives, some authors suggesting no more than four or five for each company. To measure each perspective some indicators should be defined. The aim of this work is to propose some indicators that fit each perspective for some textile companies that work in weaving fabrics. These indicators are specific for them, and very useful to help companies' management in the current circumstances of globalisation. Businesses must strive to increase their competitive advantage, which will increasingly depend on the parameters of innovation, development of new products, versatility, quality, costs, etc., and indicators will measure it.Montava Seguí, IJ.; García Paya, R.; Bonet Aracil, MA.; Díaz-García, P. (2010). Textile industry indicators for management. Total Quality Management and Business Excellence. 21(1):1-9. doi:10.1080/14783360903492470S19211Heredia Álvaro, J. A. (2001). Sistema de indicadores para la mejora y el control integrado de la calidad de los procesos. doi:10.6035/athenea.2001.4Kaplan, R. S., & Norton, D. P. (2001). The strategy-focused organization. Strategy & Leadership, 29(3). doi:10.1108/sl.2001.26129cab.002Lleonart, P. and Garola, [Agrave]. 2003. “El impacto de la liberización de los intercambios comerciales en el sector textil confección. Gabinet D'estudis Econòmics S.A. Josep MaArús, Estudis Econòmics I Serveis Empresarials. Minesterio de Ciencia y Tecnología. Boletin Económico de ICE, 2868”. 47–5

Kinematics and stellar populations in active galaxies: the LINER NGC 4579 (M58)

This is an electronic version of an article published in Astronomy and Astrophysics. Palacios, J., García-Vargas, M.L., Diaz, A., Terlevich, R. and E. Terlevich. Kinematics and stellar populations in active galaxies: the LINER NGC 4579 (M58). Astronomy and Astrophysics 323 (1997): 749-76

Economic Analysis of State-Owned Companies. Effects of the 1996 Modernization Programme

Texto dispoñible en galego e españolEste traballo analiza a situación económico-financeira do sector público empresarial dependente do Estado e dá a coñecer os principais trazos que o caracterizan. Para iso, calcúlase unha batería de indicadores no período 1996-2001, e aplícanse técnicas de análise multivariante que permiten resumir os comportamentos e as características empresariais deste colectivo. Os resultados mostran que as consecuencias derivadas do «Programa de modernización do sector público empresarial» do ano 1996 supuxeron cambios importantes na estrutura empresarial destas sociedades. Pódese afirmar que no período analizado se produciu unha mellora da rendibilidade económica e unha redución do endebedamento debido ás reorganizacións que tiveron lugar nos anos obxecto de estudo e que tiñan como obxectivo principal o saneamento financeiro das empresas públicas estataisEste trabajo analiza la situación económico-financiera del sector público empresarial dependiente del Estado y da a conocer los principales rasgos que lo caracterizan. Para ello, se calcula una batería de indicadores en el período 1996-2001, y se aplican técnicas de análisis multivariante que permiten resumir los comportamientos y características empresariales de este colectivo. Los resultados muestran que las consecuencias derivadas del «Programa de modernización del sector público empresarial» del año 1996 han supuesto cambios importantes en la estructura empresarial de estas sociedades. Se puede afirmar que en el período analizado se ha producido una mejora de la rentabilidad económica y una reducción del endeudamiento debido a las reorganizaciones que tuvieron lugar en los años objeto de estudio y que tenían como objetivo principal el saneamiento financiero de las empresas públicas estatalesThis work analyses the economic and financial situation of public sector companies dependent on the state and points out their principal characteristics. To do so, a range of indicators are calculated over the period 1996-2001 and multivariate analysis techniques are applied in order to summarise both the performance and the commercial features of this collective. The results show the consequences of The State Business Sector Modernization Programme of 1996, which entailed major changes in company structure. It may be stated that over the period under analysis there was an improvement in both profitability and debt reduction, due largely to the restructuring of state-owned corporations, aimed mainly at making them leaner and more efficientS

Phosphorylation-mediated unfolding of a KH domain regulates KSRP localization via 14-3-3 binding

The AU-rich element (ARE)-mediated mRNA-degradation activity of the RNA binding K-homology splicing regulator protein (KSRP) is regulated by phosphorylation of a serine within its N-terminal KH domain (KH1). In the cell, phosphorylation promotes the interaction of KSRP and 14-3-3ζ protein and impairs the ability of KSRP to promote the degradation of its RNA targets. Here we examine the molecular details of this mechanism. We report that phosphorylation leads to the unfolding of the structurally atypical and unstable KH1, creating a site for 14-3-3ζ binding. Using this site, 14-3-3ζ discriminates between phosphorylated and unphosphorylated KH1, driving the nuclear localization of KSRP. 14-3-3ζ –KH1 interaction regulates the mRNA-decay activity of KSRP by sequestering the protein in a separate functional pool. This study demonstrates how an mRNA-degradation pathway is connected to extracellular signaling networks through the reversible unfolding of a protein domain.European Molecular Biology Organization 240-2005Italian CIPE-200