Microstructural Characterization of Silver Nanoparticles for Bioimaging Applications

Junta de Andalucía FQM-6615, PI0070, FQM31

Planificación de trabajos en intervalos.

La planificación de trabajos en intervalos aparece en los sistemas en los que cada tarea tiene que ser realizada dentro de un intervalo de tiempo. La planificación de la capacidad en estos sistemas trata tanto de la asignación de los recursos a las tareas atendiendo a un criterio de optimización (planificación operacional), como del cálculo de la capacidad necesaria para realizar todas las tareas (planificación táctica). En este trabajo se establece una clasificación de toda esta clase de problemas, realizando una revisión bibliográfica de los principales trabajos y describiendo las aplicaciones prácticas más relevantes

Thermodynamic Analysis of Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) Reservoirs in Abandoned Mines Using Different Sealing Layers

[EN] Million cubic meters from abandoned mines worldwide could be used as subsurface reservoirs for large scale energy storage systems, such as adiabatic compressed air energy storage (A-CAES). In this paper, analytical and three-dimensional CFD numerical models have been conducted to analyze the thermodynamic performance of the A-CAES reservoirs in abandoned mines during air charging and discharging processes. Unlike other research works, in which the heat transfer coefficient is considered constant during the operation time, in the present investigation a correlation based on both unsteady Reynolds and Rayleigh numbers is employed for the heat transfer coefficient in this type of application. A tunnel with a 35 cm thick concrete lining, 200 m3 of useful volume and typical operating pressures from 5 to 8 MPa were considered. Fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) and steel were employed as sealing layers in the simulations around the fluid. Finally, the model also considers a 2.5 m thick sandstone rock mass around the concrete lining. The results obtained show significant heat flux between the pressurized air and the sealing layer and between the sealing layer and concrete lining. However, no temperature fluctuation was observed in the rock mass. The air temperature fluctuations are reduced when steel sealing layer is employed. The thermal energy balance through the sealing layer for 30 cycles, considering air mass flow rates of 0.22 kg s−1 (charge) and −0.45 kg s−1 (discharge), reached 1056 and 907 kWh for FRP and steel, respectively. In general, good agreements between analytical and numerical simulations were obtained.S

Controlled grain-size thermochromic VO2 coatings by the fast oxidation of sputtered vanadium or vanadium oxide films deposited at glancing angles

An original, simple and cost-effective oxidation strategy to attain thermochromic vanadium dioxide thin films is reported. This two-step procedure comprises the initial deposition of DC magnetron-sputtered vanadium or vanadium oxide films by the combination of glancing angle deposition and, if needed, reactive gas pulsing process, followed by fast oxidation of such layers in air atmosphere at high temperatures. Thanks to the careful control of the thermal treatment parameters, and taking advantage of the superior reactivity of the high surface-to-volume porous deposited structures, the formation of pure VO2 (M1) layers was achieved. The comprehensive characterization of such oxidized systems by means of scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and scanning-transmission electron microscopy techniques such as electron energy-loss spectroscopy, not only confirmed the presence of the VO2 (M1) phase, but also allowed to shed light on the key role that reaction time plays in the selective formation of vanadium dioxide films of adjustable grain size and crystallinity. The optimal conditions to stabilize thermochromic VO2 consists in using large deposition angles (85 degrees) and short oxygen pulses (<= 2 s) during the growth, followed by fast and short thermal treatments (<= 45 s with a heating rate of 42 degrees C s(-1)) in air atmosphere at 550 degrees C. The metal-to-insulator response of the accomplished VO2 layers was finally evaluated by means of temperature dependent Kelvin probe force microscopy measurements, evidencing surface potential drops at heating, greater than those reported in the literature to date for VO2 thin films.A. J. Santos would like to thank the IMEYMAT Institute and the Spanish Ministerio de Educacion y Cultura for the concessions of grants (ICARO-173873 and FPU16-04386) . The "Talent Attraction Program" of the University of Cadiz is acknowledged by supporting B. Lacroix contract code E-11-2017-0117214. University of Cadiz and IMEYMAT are also agreed by financing the mutual facilities available at the UCA R&D Central Services (SC-ICYT) , the UCA projects reference "PUENTE PR2018-040 '' and "PUENTE PR2020-003 '', and the IMEYMAT project references "LINEAS PRIORITARIAS PLP2019120-3 and PLP2021120-1 ''. This work was supported by the Spanish State R&D project (Retos y Generacion de Conocimiento) ref. PID2020-114418RB-I00/AEI/10.13039/501100011033. The regional government of Andalusia with FEDER cofunding also participates through the projects AT-5983 Trewa 1157178 and FEDER-UCA18-10788. M. Dominguez acknowledges financial support from the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion under project reference EQC 2018-004704-P FEDER 2014-2020, "Modernizacion del Servicio de Microscopia de Fuerza Atomica (AFM) del IMEYMAT"

Artrodesis de rodilla por fracaso de la artroplatsia total

Veintiuna artrodesis de rodilla fueron realizadas en nuestro Servicio en los últimos 20 años. Se realiza un estudio retrospectivo con un seguimiento medio de 10 años. Las razones para la artrodesis fueron en 12 ocasiones (57%) infección de la artroplastia total, y en los 9 casos restantes (43%) aflojamiento aséptico. La artrodesis se realizó mediante fijación externa en un solo plano en 11 casos (52%), en biplano se colocó en 7 (33%), 2 casos con placas a compresión (9,5%) y el caso restante mediante un clavo intramedular (5%). La fusión después del procedimiento inicial se obtuvo solamente en 12 pacientes (57%) y añadiendo procedimientos adicionales totalizamos 19 rodillas fusionadas (90%). Las complicaciones encontradas fueron: 9 pseudoartrosis, 2 infecciones en el trayecto de las fichas, 2 roturas del material de fijación, una infección persistente que llevó a la amputación, y una parálisis del nervio ciático poplíteo externo.A total of 21 knee arthrodesis performed in the last 20 years was reviewed with an average follow-up of 10 years. Arthrodesis was performed following deep infection in 12 cases (57%) and aseptic loosening of the prostheses in the remaining 9 cases. TH artrodesis were performed using one-plane external fixation in 11 cases, two-planes external fixation in 7, compression plates in 2, intramedular nailing in only 12 patients. Using additional procedures we obtained 19 fused knees (90 %). The complications in this series were: Psuedarthrosis (9 cases), infection of the fixator pins (2 cases), infection of the fixator pins (2 cases), and broken osteosybrtesis components (2 cases), severe deep infection with final amputation of the limb (1 case), and CPE injury (1 case)

Concentration, Propagation and Dilution of Toxic Gases in Underground Excavations under Different Ventilation Modes

[EN] The drill-and-blast method is widely used for the excavation of hard rock tunnels. Toxic gases such as carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides are released immediately after blasting by the detonation of explosives. To provide a safe working environment, the concentration of noxious gases must be reduced below the threshold limit value according to health and safety regulations. In this paper, one-dimensional mathematical models and three-dimensional CFD numerical simulations were conducted to analyze the concentration, propagation and dilution of the blasting fumes under different operating conditions. Forced, exhaust and mixed ventilation modes were compared to determine the safe re-entry times after blasting in a 200 m-long tunnel excavated using the top-heading-and-benching method. Based on the numerical simulations, carbon monoxide was the most critical gas, as it required a longer ventilation time to reduce its concentration below the threshold limit value. The safe re-entry time reached 480 s under the typical forced ventilation mode, but was reduced to 155 s when a mixed ventilation system was used after blasting, reducing the operating costs. The reduction of the re-entry time represents a significant improvement in the excavation cycle. In addition, the results obtained show that 1D models can be used to preliminary analyze the migration of toxic gases. However, to reliably determine the safe re-entry times, 3D numerical models should be developed. Finally, to verify the accuracy of the CFD results, field measurements were carried out in a railway tunnel using gas sensors. In general, good agreements were obtained between the 3D numerical simulations and the measured values.S

Hardware timestamping for image acquisition system based on FlexRIO and IEEE 1588 v2 Standard

Current fusion devices consist of multiple diagnostics and hundreds or even thousands of signals. This situation forces on multiple occasions to use distributed data acquisition systems as the best approach. In this type of distributed systems, one of the most important issues is the synchronization between signals, so that it is possible to have a temporal correlation as accurate as possible between the acquired samples of all channels. In last decades, many fusion devices use different types of video cameras to provide inside views of the vessel during operations and to monitor plasma behavior. The synchronization between each video frame and the rest of the different signals acquired from any other diagnostics is essential in order to know correctly the plasma evolution, since it is possible to analyze jointly all the information having accurate knowledge of their temporal correlation. The developed system described in this paper allows timestamping image frames in a real-time acquisition and processing system using 1588 clock distribution. The system has been implemented using FPGA based devices together with a 1588 synchronized timing card (see Fig.1). The solution is based on a previous system [1] that allows image acquisition and real-time image processing based on PXIe technology. This architecture is fully compatible with the ITER Fast Controllers [2] and offers integration with EPICS to control and monitor the entire system. However, this set-up is not able to timestamp the frames acquired since the frame grabber module does not present any type of timing input (IRIG-B, GPS, PTP). To solve this lack, an IEEE1588 PXI timing device its used to provide an accurate way to synchronize distributed data acquisition systems using the Precision Time Protocol (PTP) IEEE 1588 2008 standard. This local timing device can be connected to a master clock device for global synchronization. The timing device has a buffer timestamp for each PXI trigger line and requires tha- a software application assigns each frame the corresponding timestamp. The previous action is critical and cannot be achieved if the frame rate is high. To solve this problem, it has been designed a solution that distributes the clock from the IEEE 1588 timing card to all FlexRIO devices [3]. This solution uses two PXI trigger lines that provide the capacity to assign timestamps to every frame acquired and register events by hardware in a deterministic way. The system provides a solution for timestamping frames to synchronize them with the rest of the different signals

Synthesis, Optical Properties, and Antiproliferative Evaluation of NBD-Triterpene Fluorescent Probes

A fluorescent labeling protocol for hydroxylated natural compounds with promising antitumor properties has been used to synthesize 12 derivatives having fluorescent properties and biological activity. The reagent used for the synthesis of these fluorescent derivatives was 7-nitrobenzo-2-oxa-1,3-diazole chloride (NBD-Cl). The linkers employed to bind the NBD-Cl reagent to the natural compounds were ω-amino acids of different chain lengths. The natural triterpene compounds chosen were oleanolic and maslinic acid, as their corresponding 28-benzylated derivatives. Thus, triterpene conjugates with NBD have been studied for their optical fluorescence properties and their biological activities against cell proliferation in three cancer cell lines (B16-F10, HT-29, and HepG2), compared with three nontumor cell lines (HPF, IEC-18, and WRL68) from different tissues. The results of the fluorescence study have shown that the best fluorescent labels are those in which the ω-amino acid chain is shorter, and the carboxylic group is not benzylated. Analysis by confocal microscopy showed that these compounds were rapidly incorporated into cells in all three cancer cell lines, with these same derivatives showing the highest toxicity against the cancer cell lines tested. Then, the fluorescent labeling of these triterpene conjugates with NBD enabled their uptake and subcellular distribution to be followed to probe in detail their biological properties at the cellular and molecular level.Grupo de Investigación "Biotecnología y Química de Productos Naturales" (grupo FQM-139 del PAIDI de la Junta de Andalucía