The INTEGRAL-OMC Scientific Archive

The Optical Monitoring Camera (OMC) on-board the INTEGRAL satellite has, as one of its scientific goals, the observation of a large number of variable sources previously selected. After almost 6 years of operations, OMC has monitored more than 100 000 sources of scientific interest. In this contribution we present the OMC Scientific Archive (http://sdc.laeff.inta.es/omc/) which has been developed to provide the astronomical community with a quick access to the light curves generated by this instrument.We describe the main characteristics of this archive, as well as important aspects for the users: object types, temporal sampling of light curves and photometric accuracy.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures. "Highlights of Spanish Astrophysics V" Proceedings of the VIII Scientific Meeting of the Spanish Astronomical Society (SEA) held in Santander, July 7-11, 200

Development of a constitutive model for the compaction of recovered polyethylene terephthalate packages

[EN] To date, PET (polyethylene terephthalate) is the most widely used plastic in packaging and also one of the most recycled polymers worldwide. However, the high transport costs and stagnated prices of recycled PET undermine recycling process profits. Transport costs can lower through compaction, which is still not a completely wellknown process. Due to heterogeneous designs, the output density of the compaction process varies. This poses problems during equipment design, selection or operation processes as recovery costs sharply increase if the required density is not met. In this manuscript, the authors develop a constitutive model for the compaction of recovered PET packaging. This experimentally validated model, based on the elasto-plastic behaviour of PET packages, allows the output density range to be predicted according to the compression pressure during PET compaction. Unlike other generic compaction models that need more than two parameters, this model uses only one and better correlates with the experimental results. Unlike existing generic models, the model parameters have a physical meaning, which allows the influence of different factors on the compaction process to be assessed. Finally as a result of the model analysis, we provide some tips to enhance compaction equipment efficiency.Funding for open access charge: CRUE-Universitat Politecnica de Valencia.Sanchez-Caballero, S.; Sellés, M.; Peydro, MA.; H.P. Cherukuri (2021). Development of a constitutive model for the compaction of recovered polyethylene terephthalate packages. Waste Management. 133:89-98. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2021.07.028S899813

Nuclear effects in electron reactions and their impact on neutrino processes

We suggest that superscaling in electroweak interactions with nuclei, namely the observation that the reduced electron-nucleus cross sections are to a large degree independent of the momentum transfer and of the nuclear species, can be used as a tool to obtain precise predictions for neutrino-nucleus cross sections in both charged and neutral current-induced processes.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, proceedings of NUINT09, 6th International Workshop of Neutrino-Nucleus Interactions in the Few-Gev Region, Sitges (Spain), May 18-22, 200

An Efficient COVID-19 Prediction Model Validated with the Cases of China, Italy and Spain: Total or Partial Lockdowns?

[EN] The present work develops an accurate prediction model of the COVID-19 pandemic, capable not only of fitting data with a high regression coefficient but also to predict the overall infections and the infection peak day as well. The model is based on the Verhulst equation, which has been used to fit the data of the COVID-19 spread in China, Italy, and Spain. This model has been used to predict both the infection peak day, and the total infected people in Italy and Spain. With this prediction model, the overall infections, the infection peak, and date can accurately be predicted one week before they occur. According to the study, the infection peak took place on 23 March in Italy, and on 29 March in Spain. Moreover, the influence of the total and partial lockdowns has been studied, without finding any meaningful difference in the disease spread. However, the infected population, and the rate of new infections at the start of the lockdown, seem to play an important role in the infection spread. The developed model is not only an important tool to predict the disease spread, but also gives some significant clues about the main factors that affect to the COVID-19 spread, and quantifies the effects of partial and total lockdowns as well.Sanchez-Caballero, S.; Sellés Cantó, MÁ.; Peydro, MA.; Pérez Bernabeu, E. (2020). An Efficient COVID-19 Prediction Model Validated with the Cases of China, Italy and Spain: Total or Partial Lockdowns?. Journal of Clinical Medicine. 9(5):1-18. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm9051547S11895Huang, C., Wang, Y., Li, X., Ren, L., Zhao, J., Hu, Y., … Cao, B. (2020). Clinical features of patients infected with 2019 novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China. The Lancet, 395(10223), 497-506. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(20)30183-5Al-qaness Mohammed A. A., Ewees, A. A., Fan, H., & Abd El Aziz, M. (2020). Optimization Method for Forecasting Confirmed Cases of COVID-19 in China. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 9(3), 674. doi:10.3390/jcm9030674Roosa, K., Lee, Y., Luo, R., Kirpich, A., Rothenberg, R., Hyman, J. M., … Chowell, G. (2020). Short-term Forecasts of the COVID-19 Epidemic in Guangdong and Zhejiang, China: February 13–23, 2020. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 9(2), 596. doi:10.3390/jcm9020596Shao, N., Zhong, M., Yan, Y., Pan, H., Cheng, J., & Chen, W. (2020). Dynamic models for Coronavirus Disease 2019 and data analysis. Mathematical Methods in the Applied Sciences, 43(7), 4943-4949. doi:10.1002/mma.6345Sun, K., Chen, J., & Viboud, C. (2020). Early epidemiological analysis of the coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak based on crowdsourced data: a population-level observational study. The Lancet Digital Health, 2(4), e201-e208. doi:10.1016/s2589-7500(20)30026-1Zhao, S., & Chen, H. (2020). Modeling the epidemic dynamics and control of COVID-19 outbreak in China. Quantitative Biology, 8(1), 11-19. doi:10.1007/s40484-020-0199-0Kuniya, T. (2020). Prediction of the Epidemic Peak of Coronavirus Disease in Japan, 2020. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 9(3), 789. doi:10.3390/jcm9030789Coronavirus COVID-19 Global Cases by the Center for Systems Science and Engineeringhttps://github.com/CSSEGISandData/COVID-19Wuhan Lockdown “Unprecedented”, Shows Commitment to Contain Virus: WHO Representative in Chinahttps://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-health-who-idUSKBN1ZM1G9First Case of Coronavirus Confirmed in Spainhttps://edition.cnn.com/asia/live-news/coronavirus-outbreak-02-01-20-intl-hnk/h_afcf3a4665521aab11c721c8cc80dd03Coronavirus Confirmed as Pandemic by World Health Organizationhttps://www.bbc.com/news/world-51839944MWC 2020: Smartphone Showcase Cancelled over Coronavirus Fearshttps://www.bbc.com/news/technology-51474116Capacity of the First League Stadiums in Spainhttps://www.enterat.com/actualidad/estadios-futbol-espana.phpMore than 550,000 People Demonstrating for Women Rights in Madrid and Barcelonahttps://www.elmundo.es/espana/2019/03/08/5c82a5da21efa09e348b469c.htmlMadrid Locksdown the Education System and Recommends Teleworkinghttps://www.lavanguardia.com/local/madrid/20200309/474061897680/madrid-ordena-cierre-colegios-coronavirus.htmlAll of Italy Placed under Coronavirus Lockdownhttps://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-51810673State of Alarm Conditionshttps://www.boe.es/eli/es/rd/2020/03/14/463/conMerkel Says ‘Let’s Get through This’ as Shops, Bars and Churches Shuthttps://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-germany-economy/merkel-says-lets-get-through-this-as-shops-bars-and-churches-shut-idUSKBN213178Coronavirus: Europe Plans Full Border Closure in Virus Battlehttps://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-51918596Italy Tightens Virus Lockdown after Worst Daily Death Tollhttps://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-19/italy-is-now-world-s-deadliest-hotspot-in-the-virus-pandemicChina to Lift Lockdown on Wuhan, Ground Zero of Coronavirus Pandemichttps://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/24/asia/coronavirus-wuhan-lockdown-lifted-intl-hnk/index.htmlCoronavirus: Strict New Curbs on Life in UK Announced by PMhttps://www.bbc.com/news/uk-52012432State of Alarm Thighteninghttps://www.boe.es/buscar/doc.php?id=BOE-A-2020-4166Coronavirus: Sharp increase in Deaths and Cases in Hubeihttps://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-51482994Kampf, G., Todt, D., Pfaender, S., & Steinmann, E. (2020). Persistence of coronaviruses on inanimate surfaces and their inactivation with biocidal agents. Journal of Hospital Infection, 104(3), 246-251. doi:10.1016/j.jhin.2020.01.022Coronavirus Disease (COVID-2019) Situation Reportshttps://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/situation-reports

Interleukin-1 receptor antagonist mediates toll-like receptor 3-induced inhibition of trophoblast adhesion to endometrial cells in vitro

STUDY QUESTION Is interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1RA) involved in the toll-like receptor 3 (TLR 3)-induced inhibition of trophoblast cells' adhesion to endometrial cells in vitro? SUMMARY ANSWER IL-1RA mediates the TLR 3-induced inhibition of trophoblast cells' adhesion to endometrial cells in vitro. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY It is well documented that endometrial TLR 3 activation leads to impairment of trophoblast binding to endometrial cells in vitro. IL-1RA is known as an anti-implantation factor, as its injection significantly reduced implantation rates in mice by an effect on endometrial receptivity. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION Poly I:C was used as a TLR3 specific ligand and endometrial cells were either treated or not with Poly I:C (treated versus control) in vitro. IL-1RA was applied to block IL-1 signal transduction. IL-1RA was knocked down by Accell Human IL1RN siRNA. Flagellin was used to stimulate TLR 5. SP600125 (JNK) was applied to inhibit the mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) pathway. BAY11 -7082 was used to inhibit the nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) pathway. The experiments were performed in three replicates on three separate days. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS An in vitro assay was developed using RL95-2 (an endometrial cell line) and JAr (a trophoblast cell line) cells. Initially, the production of IL-1RA in RL95-2 cells in response to TLR 3 activation was measured. To determine whether the TLR 3-induced inhibition of trophoblast binding was mediated through IL-1RA: (i) we evaluated the effect of IL-1RA on the attachment of trophoblast cells to endometrial cells; (ii) we knocked down TLR3-induced IL-1RA gene expression by IL-1RA Small interfering RNA (siRNA) and evaluated trophoblast attachment to endometrial cells. Finally, to clarify through which pathway TLR 3-induced inhibition of trophoblast binding occurs: (i) activation of NF-κB and MAPK was detected by transfecting the cells with secreted placental alkaline phosphatase reporter plasmids bearing promoter sequences for each transcription factor; (ii) the inhibitors for NF-κB and MAPK were used to block signaling; (iii) it was then investigated whether addition of these inhibitors could restore the TLR 3-induced impairment of trophoblast attachment to the endometrial cells. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE Our results showed that addition of polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid (Poly I:C) to RL95-2 cells significantly increased the production of IL-1RA (P < 0.05). Addition of human recombinant IL-1RA to RL95-2 cells remarkably decreased the adhesion rate of trophoblast cells to endometrial cells (P < 0.05). In addition, suppression of TLR3-induced IL-1RA gene expression in RL95-2 cells significantly restored trophoblast cells attachment to endometrial cells in the presence of Poly I:C (P < 0.05). Only TLR3 and not TLR5 induced MAPK activation (P < 0.05). TLR3 ligation did not affect NF-κB activation. Of NF-kB and MAPK inhibitors, only MAPK's inhibitor could achieve restoration of spheroid adhesion to endometrial cells (P < 0.05). LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION This study has been only done in vitro. Future in vivo studies will confirm our data. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS The findings of this study have a potential clinical application in introducing IL-1RA as one of the diagnostic infertility markers in the endometrium, which can affect the process of embryo adhesion at the time of implantation. Moreover, based on the novel data obtained in the current study, blocking and regulating the MAPK pathway by its inhibitors can be used as a new strategy to prevent and treat virus-induced infertility cases in ART techniques. STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST This study was partially funded by a Marie Curie IIF-253948 grant to I.C. and was partially funded by the author's institutions. The authors have no conflict of interest to declare

Neutrino Interactions Importance for Nuclear Physics

We review the general interplay between Nuclear Physics and neutrino-nucleus cross sections at intermediate and high energies. The effects of different reaction mechanisms over the neutrino observables are illustrated with examples in calculations using several nuclear models and ingredients.Comment: To appear in the proceedings of 6th International Workshop on Neutrino-Nucleus Interactions in the Few-GeV Region (NuInt09), Sitges, Spain, 18 - 22 May 200

Obstructive Sleep Apnoea Syndrome, Endothelial Function and Markers of Endothelialization. Changes after CPAP

STUDY OBJECTIVES: This study tries to assess the endothelial function in vivo using flow-mediated dilatation (FMD) and several biomarkers of endothelium formation/restoration and damage in patients with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) syndrome at baseline and after three months with CPAP therapy. DESIGN: Observational study, before and after CPAP therapy. SETTING AND PATIENTS: We studied 30 patients with apnoea/hypopnoea index (AHI) >15/h that were compared with themselves after three months of CPAP therapy. FMD was assessed non-invasively in vivo using the Laser-Doppler flowmetry. Circulating cell-free DNA (cf-DNA) and microparticles (MPs) were measured as markers of endothelial damage and the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) was determined as a marker of endothelial restoration process. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: After three month with CPAP, FMD significantly increased (1072.26 ± 483.21 vs. 1604.38 ± 915.69 PU, p< 0.005) cf-DNA and MPs significantly decreased (187.93 ± 115.81 vs. 121.28 ± 78.98 pg/ml, p<0.01, and 69.60 ± 62.60 vs. 39.82 ± 22.14 U/μL, p<0.05, respectively) and VEGF levels increased (585.02 ± 246.06 vs. 641.11 ± 212.69 pg/ml, p<0.05). These changes were higher in patients with more severe disease. There was a relationship between markers of damage (r = -0.53, p<0.005) but not between markers of damage and restoration, thus suggesting that both types of markers should be measured together. CONCLUSIONS: CPAP therapy improves FMD. This improvement may be related to an increase of endothelial restoration process and a decrease of endothelial damage

Assessment of avocado textural changes during ripening by using contactless air-coupled ultrasound

[EN] In the present study, the use of the air-coupled ultrasonic technique has been analysed as a new tool for the contactless assessment of the avocado post-harvest textural modifications during ripening. Thus, ultrasonic parameters, such as maximum wave amplitude and ultrasound velocity, and textural ones, such as hardness, elastic modulus and relaxation capacity, were measured on avocado slices. During ripening, avocado reduced its elastic modulus (from 2.29 +/- 0.75 to 0.16 +/- 0.08 MPa), became softer and became more viscoelastic, which was well described from zero and first-order kinetic models. These changes increased ultrasound attenuation, decreasing the maximum amplitude of the ultrasonic signal (from 336.6 to 55.4 V/m), while the ultrasonic velocity remained constant, between 320.1 +/- 6.9 and 316.4 +/- 82.6 m/s. Thereby, the maximum ultrasonic amplitude, which adequately correlated with textural parameters (r(avg) = 0.85), could be used to assess the post-harvest ripening on avocado slices.The authors acknowledge the financial support from the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (MINECO) and Agencia Estatal de InvestigaciOn in Spain (Project RTC-2017-6314-2) and the Generalitat Valenciana. M.D. Farifias is grateful to the European Social Fund (ESF 2014-2020) and Generalitat Valenciana for her post-doctoral fellowship (APOSTD/2018/203). The author E.A. Sanchez-Torres acknowledges the support of the undergraduate student Sara Serrano Garcia on the experimental work.Fernandez-Caballero-Fariñas, MD.; Sanchez-Torres, EA.; Sanchez-Jimenez, V.; Díaz, R.; Benedito Fort, JJ.; Garcia-Perez, J. (2021). Assessment of avocado textural changes during ripening by using contactless air-coupled ultrasound. Journal of Food Engineering. 289:1-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2020.1102661928

Research on the Friction Properties of DP600 Stainless Steel as a Function of Bending Angle and Pin Diameter

[EN] The rapid evolution of materials and manufacturing processes, driven by global competition and new safety and environmental regulations has had an impact on automotive structures (Body In White; BIW) manufacturing. The need for lighter vehicles, with more equipment, that are safer and eco-friendly at the same time, relates to the entire life cycle of the car. Car and steelmakers agree that weight reduction is possible, and the solution involves the use of new advanced high-strength steels. Thinner and stronger materials lead to higher demands on stamping, the most used manufacturing in BIW parts. The use of advanced high-strength steels raises new challenges, especially concerning the lubrication between the die and the sheet. To study the lubrication conditions of the stamping process, a sheet metal forming a simulator was developed. The simulator consists of two cylinders that pull the strip of steel and a pin in between. The angle between the cylinders can be adjusted from 0 to 90 degrees, which allows analysis of the effect of the stamping angle. The pull force and velocity can be set and measured, and the peripheric pin velocity, the strain, and the strain velocity can be measured as well. In this work, the tribological properties of Dual-Phase 600 stainless steel using different processing conditions have been analyzed. To this end, a factorial experiments design with twelve parameters that compare the behavior of different angles and diameters was run. The results showed that the friction coefficient increases by increasing the bending angle and decreases with pin diameter.Sanchez-Caballero, S.; Sellés, M.; Pla-Ferrando, R.; Segui Llinares, VJ.; Peydro, MA. (2021). Research on the Friction Properties of DP600 Stainless Steel as a Function of Bending Angle and Pin Diameter. Materials Proceedings. 3(1):1-7. https://doi.org/10.3390/IEC2M-09248173