Max Bill, Architecture and Art: Connections between the Ulm School of Design and the Pavilion-Sculptures

[EN] In this article we explore the links between the Pavilion-Sculptures (1968-97) and the Ulm School of Design (1953), both of which formed part of the work of the multitalented artist and architect Max Bill. Through a graphic analysis, we study aspects such as location, movement, or spatial composition in his work, discovering the existence of a connection in the way he planned projects in different disciplines, and the influence of architecture on his sculpture in these two cases. We detect an abstract and historicist presence in the work of this defender of “concrete art,” who, a priori, avoided symbols. Historicist concepts are also found in the work of this artist, heir to the modern principles of the Bauhaus, which he updated to create the Ulm School of Design.[ES] Se establecen las relaciones entre las esculturas-pabellón (1968-97) y la Escuela de Ulm (1953), obras del polifacético artista y arquitecto Max Bill. Para ello se realiza un análisis gráfico de las mismas, estudiando el lugar, las circulaciones y la composición espacial. El hallazgo es la existencia de una relación en el modo de proyectar las diferentes disciplinas y la influencia de la arquitectura sobre la escultura en el caso de estos ejemplos. Por otro lado, se detecta una presencia abstracta en la obra de un defensor del arte concreto, que a priori rehúye del símbolo. También se hallan conceptos historicistas en un heredero de los principios modernos de la Bauhaus, fundamentos que actualiza creando la Escuela de Ulm.Álvarez-García, P.; López-Bahut, E. (2018). Max Bill, Arquitectura y Arte: Conexiones entre Escuela de Ulm y esculturas-pabellón. EGA. Revista de Expresión Gráfica Arquitectónica. 23(33):178-189. doi:10.4995/ega.2018.7970SWORD1781892333Bill, Jakob. 2004. "Las esculturas-pabellón de Max Bill". In: 2G: Revista Internacional de Arquitectura 29-30: 222-231.Bill, Max. 1949. "La concepción matemática en el arte de nuestro tiempo". In: DPA: Documents de Projectes d'Arquitectura 17: 6-10.Bill, Max. 1936-1968. "Max Bill: una antología (1936-1968)". In: Max Bill: obras de arte multiplicadas como originales (1938-1994): Madrid: Fundación Juan March / Editorial de Arte y Ciencia, pp. 263-301.Krauss, Rosalind. 1996. La originalidad de la vanguardia y otros mitos modernos. Madrid: Alianza Editorial.Martínez Castillo, Alberto. 2013. Max Bill: variaciones sobre la búsqueda de la belleza. Doctoral thesis, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. Available at http://oa.upm.es/22370/ [accessed on 10/08/2017]Moos, Stalisnaus von. 2004. "Max Bill: A la búsqueda de la cabaña primitiva". In 2G: Revista Internacional de Arquitectura 29-30: 6-19

Industrial warehouse project for metallurgical industry

[ES] Este proyecto se centra en el diseño y cálculo de una nave industrial destinada al corte y plegado de placas de acero, y su posterior montaje. Todo el proyecto ha sido realizado con el programa informático CYPE. El edificio constará de tres naves anexas constituidas por 22 pórticos rígidos a dos aguas. Además del propio cálculo estructural, se incluirán los cálculos de las diferentes instalaciones necesarias, de manera complementaria, como son fontanería, electricidad, iluminación, saneamiento, fontanería y protección contra incendios.[EN] The main focuses of this project is the design and calculation of an industrial warehouse intender for the cut and folding of steel plates, and its subsequent assembly. The entire project has been calculated through the program CYPE. The building will consist on three attached ships of 22 rigid gabled frames. In addition to the structural calculation itself, the necessary installations on this warehouse such as plumbing, electricity, lighting, sanitary systems and fire protection, have been calculated in a complementary manner

Propiedades de los hilados por zunchado neumático comparados con las de los hilados.

El presente trabajo trata la problemática de la hilatura de la fibra celulósica de alto módulo MODAL según la técnica de hilatura de zunchado neumático por doble tobera de torsión fugaz. Es conocido el hecho de que los hilados producidos según este procedimiento de hilatura ofrecen una estructura filar típicamente helicoidal, algo parecida en este aspecto a la de los hilados OE-rotor. Con objeto de caracterizar las similitudes y divergencias que caracterizan las propiedades de estos dos tipos de hilados se ha procedido a elaborar hilados muestra, utilizando ambos sistemas de hilatura. Para ambos tipos de hilados han sido determinadas sus propiedades físicas. Se hace una exposición de los resultados obtenidos aplicando cada uno de los procesos de hilatura, llegando a la conclusión de que aplicando el proceso de hilatura neumática se puede mantener el nivel de calidad de los hilados dentro de la amplia gama de velocidades entre 150 m/min. y 190 m/min. Para ello hay que tomar las medidas oportunas en cuanto a adecuar la presión de aire en función de la velocidad de producción correspondiente. Por lo general los hilados elaborados según la técnica de zunchado neumático ofrecen una mayor tenacidad y un menor nivel de pilosidad que los correspondientes según la técnica OE-rotor. Por el contrario los hilados por zunchado neúmatico experimentan un mayor encogimiento a la cocción que los hilados OE-rotor.This paper discusses the problems ocurring in the spinning of cellulosic fibre with high MODAL modulus made according to the spinning technique of neumatic wrapping by double wozzle of falce twist. It is known that spun yarns produced by this procedure show a typically helicoidal fibre structure which resembles that of the OE-rotor spun yarns. Both spinning systems have been used to prepare standard spun yarns in order to determine the similitudes and divergentes which characterize the physical properties of these two types of spun yarns. The results achieved are indicated for each spinning process and the conclusion shows that the application of the neumatic spinning process maintains the quality level of the spun yarns within the wide range of speeds between 150 m/min. and 190 m/min. The air pressure will be setwith respect to the production speed. The spun yarns made by the neumatic wrapping technique show more mass regularity, more tenacity and less pilosity level than those made by the OE-rotor technique. On the contrary, the spun yarns made by neumatic wrappíng have more thermal shrinkage than the OE-spun yarns.Le présent travail traite les problemes de la filature de la fibre cellulosique à haut module MODEL suivant la technique de la filature par frettage pneumatique par double tuyère de torsión fugace. Il est connu le fait que les filés produits selon ce procédé de filature offrent une structure du fil typiquement hélicoïdale, un peu semblade, en cet aspect, a celle des filés OE-rotor. Dans le but de caractériser les similutudes et les divergences caractérisant les propriétés de ces deux types de filés, on a procédé A l'élaboration de filés-échantillon, en utilisant les deux systemes de filature. On a determiné les propriétés physiques pour les deux types de filés. On expose les résultats obtenus en appliquant chacun des processus de filature; on parvient à la conclusion que, en appliquant les processus de filature pneumatique on peut maintenir le niveau de qualité des fils dans les différentes vitesses entre 150 m/min. et 190 m/min. Pour cela il faut prendre les mesures opportunes quant à l'ajustement de la pression de l'air en fonction de la vitesse de production correspondante. En général les filés élaborés d'après la technique de frettage pneumatique offrent une plus grande ténacité et un moindre niveau de pilosité que ceux qui ont été obtenus selon la technique OE-rotor. Par contre, les filés obtenus par frettage pneumatique subissent un plus grand rétrécissement a la coction que les filés OE-rotor.Peer Reviewe

Board gender diversity and dividend payout: The critical mass and the family ties effect

Producción CientíficaWe analyse the relationship between female directors and payout policy for a sample of non-financial Spanish listed firms. Based on the critical mass theory, we find an inverted-U shaped relationship. For low levels of female representation in the board, women directors increase dividends in order to reduce agency conflicts, and improve reputation or legitimacy. However, after an inflection point, characteristics traditionally associated to women, such as risk aversion, a conservative and prudent financial attitude, and lower overconfidence emerge and reduce dividend payments. Moreover, our results suggest that female directors play a very different role with the controlling shareholder, depending on what family ties exist. Women directors who have family connections with the dominant shareholder exhibit the same inverted-U shaped relationship with dividends. In contrast, for female directors with no family ties, the relationship with dividends is U-shaped. Our results show the faultlines within the group of female directors depending on the relationship with the family owners, and that the influence of non-family female directors only arises when this group of women gain enough power, visibility, authority, and legitimacy.Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad (projects ECO2017-82259-R and ECO2017-84132-R)Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (project PID2020-114797GB-I00

El método socrático II: balance y perspectivas (proyecto nº 47)

El proyecto "El método socrático II: balance y perspectivas" continúa con el trabajo iniciado el año anterior, en el proyecto "El método socrático", en una doble vía: (1) investigación teórica acerca de los beneficios didácticos de la aplicación del método socrático y (2) aplicación práctica de dicho método en un número de clases

Characterization of microRNA expression profiles in normal and osteoarthritic human chondrocytes

[Abstract] Background. Osteoarthritis (OA) is a multifactorial disease characterized by destruction of the articular cartilage due to environmental, mechanical and genetic components. The genetics of OA is complex and is not completely understood. Recent works have demonstrated the importance of microRNAs (miRNAs) in cartilage function. MiRNAs are a class of small noncoding RNAs that regulate gene expression and are involved in different cellular process: apoptosis, proliferation, development, glucose and lipid metabolism. The aim of this study was to identify and characterize the expression profile of miRNAs in normal and OA chondrocytes and to determine their role in the OA. Methods. Chondrocytes were moved to aggregate culture and evaluated using histological and qPCR techniques. miRNAs were isolated and analyzed using the Agilent Human miRNA Microarray. Results. Of the 723 miRNAs analyzed, 7 miRNAs showed a statistically significant differential expression. Amongst these 7 human miRNAs, 1 was up-regulated in OA chondrocytes (hsa-miR-483-5p) and 6 were up-regulated in normal chondrocytes (hsa-miR-149*, hsa-miR-582-3p, hsa-miR-1227, hsa-miR-634, hsa-miR-576-5p and hsa-miR-641). These profiling results were validated by the detection of some selected miRNAs by qPCR. In silico analyses predicted that key molecular pathways potentially altered by the miRNAs differentially expressed in normal and OA chondrocytes include TGF-beta, Wnt, Erb and mTOR signalling; all of them implicated in the development, maintenance and destruction of articular cartilage. Conclusions. We have identified 7 miRNAs differentially expressed in OA and normal chondrocytes. Our potential miRNA target predictions and the signalling cascades altered by the differentially expressed miRNAs supports the potential involvement of the detected miRNAs in OA pathology. Due to the importance of miRNA in mediating the translation of target mRNA into protein, the identification of these miRNAs differentially expressed in normal and OA chondrocyte micropellets could have important diagnostic and therapeutic potential. Further studies are needed to know the function of these miRNAs, including the search of their target mRNA genes, which could lead to the development of novel therapeutic strategies for the OA treatment.Instituto de Salud Carlos III; CIBER BBN CB06-01-004

Absence of Cu–Zn superoxide dismutase BCSOD1 reduces Botrytiscinerea virulence in Arabidopsis and tomato plants, revealinginterplay among reactive oxygen species, callose and signallingpathways

Plants activate responses against pathogens, including the oxida-tive burst. Necrotrophic pathogens can produce reactive oxygenspecies (ROS) that benefit the colonization process. Previously, wehave demonstrated that tomato plants challenged with Botrytiscinerea accumulate ROS and callose, together with the inductionof genes involved in defence, signalling and oxidative metabolism.Here, we studied the infection phenotype of the Dbcs od1 strain inboth tomato and Arabidopsis plants. This mutant lacks bcsod1,which encodes Cu–Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD). This enzymecatalyses the conversion of superoxide ion (O–2) into hydrogen per-oxide (H2O2). ROS play a protective role and act as signals inplants. Dbcsod1 displayed reduced virulence compared with wild-type B05.10 in both species. Plants infected with Dbcsod1 accu-mulated less H2O2and more O–2than those infected with B05.10,which is associated with an increase in the defensive polymer cal-lose. This supports a major role of fungal SOD in H2O2productionduring the plant–pathogen interaction. The early induction of thecallose synthase gene PMR4 suggested that changes in ROSaltered plant defensive responses at the transcriptional level. Themetabolites and genes involved in signalling and in response tooxidative stress were differentially expressed on Dbcsod1 infec-tion, supporting the notion that plants perceive changes in ROSbalance and activate defence responses. A higher O2–/H2O2ratioseems to be beneficial for plant protection against this necrotroph.Our results highlight the relevance of callose and the oxylipin 12-oxo-phytodienoic acid (OPDA) in the response to changes in theoxidative environment, and clarify the mechanisms that underliethe responses to Botrytis in Arabidopsis and tomato plants.This work was supported by grants from the Spanish Ministry of Scienceand Innovation (AGL2010-22300-C03-01-02 and AGL2013-49023-C03-01-02), co-funded by the European Regional Development Funds (ERDF)and by Generalitat Valenciana Grupos de Excelencia PROMETEO/2012/066. J.L.-C. and O.C.-S. were recipients of research contracts from thePROMETEO/2012/066 grant. E.F.-C. was the recipient of research con-tracts from grant AGL2010-22300-C03-01. J.L.-C. is the recipient of aresearch contract from grant AGL2013-49023-C03-01

Molecular profile and cellular characterization of human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells: donor influence on chondrogenesis

[Abstract] Background. The use of autologous or allogenic stem cells has recently been suggested as an alternative therapeutic approach for treatment of cartilage defects. Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) are well-characterized multipotent cells that can differentiate into different cell types. Understanding the potential of these cells and the molecular mechanisms underlying their differentiation should lead to innovative protocols for clinical applications. The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of surface antigen selection of BM-MSCs and to understand the mechanisms underlying their differentiation. Methods. MSCs were isolated from BM stroma and expanded. CD105+ subpopulation was isolated using a magnetic separator. We compared culture-expanded selected cells with non-selected cells. We analyzed the phenotypic profiles, the expression of the stem cell marker genes Nanog, Oct3/4, and Sox2 and the multi-lineage differentiation potential (adipogenic, osteogenic, and chondrogenic). The multi-lineage differentiation was confirmed using histochemistry, immunohistochemistry and/or real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) techniques. Results. The selected and non-selected cells displayed similar phenotypes and multi-lineage differentiation potentials. Analyzing each cell source individually, we could divide the six donors into two groups: one with a high percentage of CD29 (β1-integrin) expression (HL); one with a low percentage of CD29 (LL). These two groups had different chondrogenic capacities and different expression levels of the stem cell marker genes. Conclusions. This study showed that phenotypic profiles of donors were related to the chondrogenic potential of human BM-MSCs. The chondrogenic potential of donors was related to CD29 expression levels. The high expression of CD29 antigen seemed necessary for chondrogenic differentiation. Further investigation into the mechanisms responsible for these differences in BM-MSCs chondrogenesis is therefore warranted. Understanding the mechanisms for these differences will contribute to improved clinical use of autologous human BM-MSCs for articular cartilage repair.Servizo Galego de Saúde; PS07/84Instituto de Salud Carlos III; CIBER BBN CB06-01-004

Therapeutic Management and Long-Term Outcome of Hyperthyroidism in Patients with Antithyroid-Induced Agranulocytosis: A Retrospective, Multicenter Study

Agranulocitosis; Antitiroideos; CarbimazolAgranulocitosi; Antitiroïdals; CarbimazolAgranulocytosis; Antithyroid; CarbimazoleBackground: Antithyroid drug-induced agranulocytosis (AIA) (neutrophils <500/µL) is a rare but serious complication in the treatment of hyperthyroidism. Methodology: Adult patients with AIA who were followed up at 12 hospitals in Spain were retrospectively studied. A total of 29 patients were studied. The etiology of hyperthyroidism was distributed as follows: Graves’ disease (n = 21), amiodarone-induced thyrotoxicosis (n = 7), and hyperfunctioning multinodular goiter (n = 1). Twenty-one patients were treated with methimazole, as well as six patients with carbimazole and two patients with propylthiouracil. Results: The median (IQR) time to development of agranulocytosis was 6.0 (4.0–11.5) weeks. The most common presenting sign was fever accompanied by odynophagia. All of the patients required admission, reverse isolation, and broad-spectrum antibiotics; moreover, G-CSF was administered to 26 patients (89.7%). Twenty-one patients received definitive treatment, thirteen patients received surgery, nine patients received radioiodine, and one of the patients required both treatments. Spontaneous normalization of thyroid hormone values occurred in six patients (four patients with amiodarone-induced thyrotoxicosis and two patients with Graves’ disease), and two patients died of septic shock secondary to AIA. Conclusions: AIA is a potentially lethal complication that usually appears around 6 weeks after the initiation of antithyroid therapy. Multiple drugs are required to control hyperthyroidism before definitive treatment; additionally, in a significant percentage of patients (mainly in those treated with amiodarone), hyperthyroidism resolved spontaneously

Relationship between the Dynamics of Gross Composition, Free Fatty Acids and Biogenic Amines, and Microbial Shifts during the Ripening of Raw Ewe Milk-Derived Idiazabal Cheese

This study reports for the first time the relationship between bacterial succession, characterized by high-throughput sequencing (sequencing of V3–V4 16S rRNA regions), and the evolution of gross composition, free fatty acids (FFAs) and biogenic amines (BAs) during cheese ripening. Specifically, Idiazabal PDO cheese, a raw ewe milk-derived semi-hard o hard cheese, was analysed. Altogether, 8 gross parameters were monitored (pH, dry matter, protein, fat, Ca, Mg, P and NaCl) and 21 FFAs and 8 BAs were detected. The ripening time influenced the concentration of most physico-chemical parameters, whereas the producer mainly affected the gross composition and FFAs. Through an O2PLS approach, the non-starter lactic acid bacteria Lactobacillus, Enterococcus and Streptococcus were reported as positively related to the evolution of gross composition and FFAs release, while only Lactobacillus was positively related to BAs production. Several environmental or non-desirable bacteria showed negative correlations, which could indicate the negative impact of gross composition on their growth, the antimicrobial effect of FFAs and/or the metabolic use of FFAs by these genera, and their ability to degrade BAs. Nonetheless, Obesumbacterium and Chromohalobacter were positively associated with the synthesis of FFAs and BAs, respectively. This research work provides novel information that may contribute to the understanding of possible functional relationships between bacterial communities and the evolution of several cheese quality and safety parameters.This research was funded by the Basque Government, grant number IT944-16. G. Santamarina-García received a predoctoral grant from the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU)