Proyecto de la variante de Sant Martí Sarroca (Barcelona)

Sant Martí Sarroca es un municipio, con gran dedicación a la vitivinicultura. En los últimos años se ha evidenciado un aumento del número de habitantes en la zona, lo que ha acrecentado la afluencia del tráfico en sus carreteras. Por este motivo en la actualidad surge un problema, el tránsito de vehículos pesados y de velocidad reducida que transcurren por la vía principal que atraviesa el pueblo. Se presenta el actual proyecto con el fin de resolver dicho problema, por lo que se propone el diseño de una circunvalación que desvía el tráfico actual por la zona norte del municipio, vertebrando así la red de carreteras y teniendo acceso al núcleo urbano únicamente aquellos vehículos que lo deseen. Se expone en este proyecto el estudio de las diferentes etapas que preceden a la ejecución de una carretera. El estudio para la ubicación de ésta y el estudio de trazado. El estudio del terreno para el diseño es el proceso preliminar de acopio de datos y reconocimiento de campo con el objetivo de poder realizar posteriormente el estudio de trazado. En esta etapa se elaboran croquis, se obtiene información, se efectúan mediciones y se evalúa el terreno. Se realiza un levantamiento a escala 1/1000 de la zona y se implanta una red de bases con GPS en método estático para referenciar el proyecto. Para procesar los datos se ha utilizado el programa Ski-Pro. Para el trazado, después de reconocer minuciosamente el terreno, se diseña la propuesta. El software empleado ha sido Clip, un programa de diseño, evaluación y control de ejecución y construcción de trazados de obras lineales que permite el diseño sobre cartografías de volúmenes muy elevados de información. Este nuevo tramo está compuesto por un tronco y dos enlaces en sus extremos que lo anexan a la red de carreteras actuales, modificando los enlaces existentes. El diseño de todos los ejes tiene unas características tales que cumplen la normativa de la actual Instrucción de Carreteras, formados por una sola plataforma compuesta de dos carriles y arcenes considerablemente amplios en comparación con los de las carreteras existentes en la zona. La ubicación del trazado se proyecta afectando lo mínimo posible a las edificaciones existentes y permitiendo que el tronco transcurra durante la mayor longitud posible por los lindes de las parcelas, minimizando las expropiaciones. También se ha realizado una compensación de tierras, tanto para reducir costes como para evitar modificar, en la medida de lo posible, las características del terreno actual y minimizar el impacto medioambiental causado por una construcción de estas características

Proyecto de la variante de Sant Martí Sarroca (Barcelona)

Sant Martí Sarroca es un municipio, con gran dedicación a la vitivinicultura. En los últimos años se ha evidenciado un aumento del número de habitantes en la zona, lo que ha acrecentado la afluencia del tráfico en sus carreteras. Por este motivo en la actualidad surge un problema, el tránsito de vehículos pesados y de velocidad reducida que transcurren por la vía principal que atraviesa el pueblo. Se presenta el actual proyecto con el fin de resolver dicho problema, por lo que se propone el diseño de una circunvalación que desvía el tráfico actual por la zona norte del municipio, vertebrando así la red de carreteras y teniendo acceso al núcleo urbano únicamente aquellos vehículos que lo deseen. Se expone en este proyecto el estudio de las diferentes etapas que preceden a la ejecución de una carretera. El estudio para la ubicación de ésta y el estudio de trazado. El estudio del terreno para el diseño es el proceso preliminar de acopio de datos y reconocimiento de campo con el objetivo de poder realizar posteriormente el estudio de trazado. En esta etapa se elaboran croquis, se obtiene información, se efectúan mediciones y se evalúa el terreno. Se realiza un levantamiento a escala 1/1000 de la zona y se implanta una red de bases con GPS en método estático para referenciar el proyecto. Para procesar los datos se ha utilizado el programa Ski-Pro. Para el trazado, después de reconocer minuciosamente el terreno, se diseña la propuesta. El software empleado ha sido Clip, un programa de diseño, evaluación y control de ejecución y construcción de trazados de obras lineales que permite el diseño sobre cartografías de volúmenes muy elevados de información. Este nuevo tramo está compuesto por un tronco y dos enlaces en sus extremos que lo anexan a la red de carreteras actuales, modificando los enlaces existentes. El diseño de todos los ejes tiene unas características tales que cumplen la normativa de la actual Instrucción de Carreteras, formados por una sola plataforma compuesta de dos carriles y arcenes considerablemente amplios en comparación con los de las carreteras existentes en la zona. La ubicación del trazado se proyecta afectando lo mínimo posible a las edificaciones existentes y permitiendo que el tronco transcurra durante la mayor longitud posible por los lindes de las parcelas, minimizando las expropiaciones. También se ha realizado una compensación de tierras, tanto para reducir costes como para evitar modificar, en la medida de lo posible, las características del terreno actual y minimizar el impacto medioambiental causado por una construcción de estas características

Solving problems in four steps as a didactic projection in the context of Physics teaching

En el contexto de la Escuela de Ingeniería Informática y de Sistemas de la Universidad Privada San Pedro, se analizó la dependencia del procedimiento para resolver problemas de Física I por medio de 4 pasos con respecto al rendimiento académico y actitudes de los estudiantes. Se estableció un grupo experimental y otro de control, se utilizó la enseñanza tradicional al grupo control y al grupo experimental se aplicó la solución de problemas de Física usando 4 pasos. Se concluyó, que el rendimiento académico en los estudiantes del grupo experimental había obtenido mejores puntajes que el grupo control.In the context of the School of Computer and Systems Engineering of the Private University San Pedro, the dependence of the procedure to solve Physics I problems was analyzed by means of 4 steps regarding the academic performance and attitudes of the students. An experimental group and a control group were established, traditional teaching was used for the control group and the solution of Physics problems was applied to the experimental group using 4 steps. It was concluded that the academic performance in the students of the experimental group had obtained better scores than the control group

A simple immunoassay for extracellular vesicle liquid biopsy in microliters of non-processed plasma

Background: Extracellular vesicles (EVs), released by most cell types, provide an excellent source of biomarkers in biological fluids. However, in order to perform validation studies and screenings of patient samples, it is still necessary to develop general techniques permitting rapid handling of small amounts of biological samples from large numbers of donors. Results: Here we describe a method that, using just a few microliters of patient’s plasma, identifies tumour markers exposed on EVs. Studying physico-chemical properties of EVs in solution, we demonstrate that they behave as stable colloidal suspensions and therefore, in immunocapture assays, many of them are unable to interact with a stationary functionalised surface. Using flocculation methods, like those used to destabilize colloids, we demonstrate that cationic polymers increase EV ζ-potential, diameter, and sedimentation coefficient and thus, allow a more efficient capture on antibody-coated surfaces by both ELISA and bead-assisted flow cytometry. These findings led to optimization of a protocol in microtiter plates allowing effective immunocapture of EVs, directly in plasma without previous ultracentrifugation or other EV enrichment. The method, easily adaptable to any laboratory, has been validated using plasma from lung cancer patients in which the epithelial cell marker EpCAM has been detected on EVs. Conclusions: This optimized high throughput, easy to automate, technology allows screening of large numbers of patients to phenotype tumour markers in circulating EVs, breaking barriers for the validation of proposed EV biomarkers and the discovery of new one

A comparative study of the physical properties of Sb2S3 thin films treated with N2 AC plasma and thermal annealing in N2.

As-deposited antimony sulfide thin films prepared by chemical bath deposition were treated with nitrogen AC plasma and thermal annealing in nitrogen atmosphere. The as-deposited, plasma treated, and thermally annealed antimony sulfide thin films have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, UV–vis spectroscopy, and electrical measurements. The results have shown that post-deposition treatments modify the crystalline structure, the morphology, and the optoelectronic properties of Sb2S3 thin films. X-ray diffraction studies showed that the crystallinity of the films was improved in both cases. Atomic force microscopy studies showed that the change in the film morphology depends on the postdeposition treatment used. Optical emission spectroscopy (OES) analysis revealed the plasma etching on the surface of the film, this fact was corroborated by the energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis. The optical band gap of the films (Eg) decreased after post-deposition treatments (from 2.36 to 1.75 eV) due to the improvement in the grain sizes. The electrical resistivity of the Sb2S3 thin films decreased from 108 to 106 V-cm after plasma treatments

AG5 is a potent non-steroidal anti-inflammatory and immune regulator that preserves innate immunity [Oral]

III Jornadas Científicas PTI+ Salud Global, 20-22 noviembre 2023, Madrid[Background] An archetypal anti-inflammatory compound against cytokine storm would inhibit it without suppressing the innate immune response. [Methods] AG5, an anti-inflammatory compound, has been developed as synthetic derivative of andrographolide, which is highly absorbable and presents low toxicity. [Result]. We found that the mechanism of action of AG5 is through the inhibition of caspase-1. interestingly, we show with in vitro generated human monocyte derived dendritic cells that AG5 preserves innate immune response. AG5 minimizes inflammatory response in a mouse model of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced lung injury and exhibits in vivo anti-inflammatory efficacy in the SARS-CoV-2-infected mouse model. Furthermore, AG5 showed interesting antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2 in humanized mice. [Conclusions] AG5 opens up a new class of anti-inflammatories, since contrary to NSAIDs, AG5 is able to inhibit the cytokine storm, like dexamethasone, but, unlike corticosteroids, preserves adequately the innate immunity. This is critical at the early stages of any naïve infection, but particularly in SARS-CoV-2 infectionsN

AG5 is a potent non-steroidal anti-inflammatory and immune regulator that preserves innate immunity

12 pages, 5 figures.-- This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND licenseAn archetypal anti-inflammatory compound against cytokine storm would inhibit it without suppressing the innate immune response. AG5, an anti-inflammatory compound, has been developed as synthetic derivative of andrographolide, which is highly absorbable and presents low toxicity. We found that the mechanism of action of AG5 is through the inhibition of caspase-1. Interestingly, we show with in vitro generated human monocyte derived dendritic cells that AG5 preserves innate immune response. AG5 minimizes inflammatory response in a mouse model of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced lung injury and exhibits in vivo anti-inflammatory efficacy in the SARS-CoV-2-infected mouse model. AG5 opens up a new class of anti-inflammatories, since contrary to NSAIDs, AG5 is able to inhibit the cytokine storm, like dexamethasone, but, unlike corticosteroids, preserves adequately the innate immunity. This is critical at the early stages of any naïve infection, but particularly in SARS-CoV-2 infections. Furthermore, AG5 showed interesting antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2 in humanized miceThis work has been supported by NextGenerationEU Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) through the PTI+ Global Health Platform of Spanish National Research Council, grants SGL2103023 (PBA), SGL2103053 (MMA) and SGL2103015 (MM); by Spanish National Research Council through the program “Ayudas extraodinarias a proyectos de investigacion en el marco de las medidas urgentes extraodinarias para hacer frente al impacto económico y social del COVID-19”, grants CSIC-COV19-093 (PBA) and CSIC-COV19-117 (MM); by Generalitat Valenciana through the program “Ayudas urgentes para proyectos de investigación, desarrollo tecnológico e innovación (I+D+i) por la COVID-19”, grant GVA-COVID19/2021/059 (PBA); by the Conference of Rectors of the Spanish Universities, Spanish National Research Council and Banco Santander through the FONDO SUPERA COVID-19, grant CAPriCORn (JSM, JMB); by Severo Ochoa center of excellence program (grant CEX2021-001230-S) (PBA)Peer reviewe

Clonal chromosomal mosaicism and loss of chromosome Y in elderly men increase vulnerability for SARS-CoV-2

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19) had an estimated overall case fatality ratio of 1.38% (pre-vaccination), being 53% higher in males and increasing exponentially with age. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, we found 133 cases (1.42%) with detectable clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations (mCA) and 226 males (5.08%) with acquired loss of chromosome Y (LOY). Individuals with clonal mosaic events (mCA and/or LOY) showed a 54% increase in the risk of COVID-19 lethality. LOY is associated with transcriptomic biomarkers of immune dysfunction, pro-coagulation activity and cardiovascular risk. Interferon-induced genes involved in the initial immune response to SARS-CoV-2 are also down-regulated in LOY. Thus, mCA and LOY underlie at least part of the sex-biased severity and mortality of COVID-19 in aging patients. Given its potential therapeutic and prognostic relevance, evaluation of clonal mosaicism should be implemented as biomarker of COVID-19 severity in elderly people. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, individuals with clonal mosaic events (clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations and/or loss of chromosome Y) showed an increased risk of COVID-19 lethality

The evolution of the ventilatory ratio is a prognostic factor in mechanically ventilated COVID-19 ARDS patients

Background: Mortality due to COVID-19 is high, especially in patients requiring mechanical ventilation. The purpose of the study is to investigate associations between mortality and variables measured during the first three days of mechanical ventilation in patients with COVID-19 intubated at ICU admission. Methods: Multicenter, observational, cohort study includes consecutive patients with COVID-19 admitted to 44 Spanish ICUs between February 25 and July 31, 2020, who required intubation at ICU admission and mechanical ventilation for more than three days. We collected demographic and clinical data prior to admission; information about clinical evolution at days 1 and 3 of mechanical ventilation; and outcomes. Results: Of the 2,095 patients with COVID-19 admitted to the ICU, 1,118 (53.3%) were intubated at day 1 and remained under mechanical ventilation at day three. From days 1 to 3, PaO2/FiO2 increased from 115.6 [80.0-171.2] to 180.0 [135.4-227.9] mmHg and the ventilatory ratio from 1.73 [1.33-2.25] to 1.96 [1.61-2.40]. In-hospital mortality was 38.7%. A higher increase between ICU admission and day 3 in the ventilatory ratio (OR 1.04 [CI 1.01-1.07], p = 0.030) and creatinine levels (OR 1.05 [CI 1.01-1.09], p = 0.005) and a lower increase in platelet counts (OR 0.96 [CI 0.93-1.00], p = 0.037) were independently associated with a higher risk of death. No association between mortality and the PaO2/FiO2 variation was observed (OR 0.99 [CI 0.95 to 1.02], p = 0.47). Conclusions: Higher ventilatory ratio and its increase at day 3 is associated with mortality in patients with COVID-19 receiving mechanical ventilation at ICU admission. No association was found in the PaO2/FiO2 variation

Clustering COVID-19 ARDS patients through the first days of ICU admission. An analysis of the CIBERESUCICOVID Cohort

Background Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) can be classified into sub-phenotypes according to different inflammatory/clinical status. Prognostic enrichment was achieved by grouping patients into hypoinflammatory or hyperinflammatory sub-phenotypes, even though the time of analysis may change the classification according to treatment response or disease evolution. We aimed to evaluate when patients can be clustered in more than 1 group, and how they may change the clustering of patients using data of baseline or day 3, and the prognosis of patients according to their evolution by changing or not the cluster.Methods Multicenter, observational prospective, and retrospective study of patients admitted due to ARDS related to COVID-19 infection in Spain. Patients were grouped according to a clustering mixed-type data algorithm (k-prototypes) using continuous and categorical readily available variables at baseline and day 3.Results Of 6205 patients, 3743 (60%) were included in the study. According to silhouette analysis, patients were grouped in two clusters. At baseline, 1402 (37%) patients were included in cluster 1 and 2341(63%) in cluster 2. On day 3, 1557(42%) patients were included in cluster 1 and 2086 (57%) in cluster 2. The patients included in cluster 2 were older and more frequently hypertensive and had a higher prevalence of shock, organ dysfunction, inflammatory biomarkers, and worst respiratory indexes at both time points. The 90-day mortality was higher in cluster 2 at both clustering processes (43.8% [n = 1025] versus 27.3% [n = 383] at baseline, and 49% [n = 1023] versus 20.6% [n = 321] on day 3). Four hundred and fifty-eight (33%) patients clustered in the first group were clustered in the second group on day 3. In contrast, 638 (27%) patients clustered in the second group were clustered in the first group on day 3.Conclusions During the first days, patients can be clustered into two groups and the process of clustering patients may change as they continue to evolve. This means that despite a vast majority of patients remaining in the same cluster, a minority reaching 33% of patients analyzed may be re-categorized into different clusters based on their progress. Such changes can significantly impact their prognosis