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Fine-tuning licensing strategies to boost MSCbased immunomodulatory secretome
No full textBackground Immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs) are a major global health challenge, affecting
millions of people and often lacking effective treatments. The mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC)-derived secretome has
emerged as a promising therapeutic approach owing to its potent immunomodulatory properties. However, progress
has been hindered by the lack of standardized protocols for inducing a robust immunomodulatory MSC phenotype.
Methods In this study, we focused on optimizing the MSC-derived secretome to enhance its ability to suppress
activated immune cells. Specifically, we examined (1) the effects of IFN-γ and TNF-α, individually and in combination,
to uncover potential synergy; (2) the ideal cytokine ratio and (3) concentration; (4) the best production time for the
secretome; and (5) the impact of cellular confluence. These factors were systematically evaluated to assess their
influence on cell behavior, viability, cytosolic content release, and the secretion of key immunomodulatory and
regenerative factors.
Results Our results demonstrate that overnight licensing with a 1:1 ratio of IFN-γ and TNF-α at 60 ng/mL, followed
by 48 h of incubation at 90% confluence, yields an optimized conditioned media (CM) with significantly enhanced
immunomodulatory properties. Functional assays showed that this CM can inhibit human peripheral blood
mononuclear cell (PBMC) activation with more than twice the effectiveness of suboptimal protocols. Additionally,
we found that direct cell-cell contact was critical for inducing regulatory T cells (Tregs), highlighting the complex
dynamics of immune regulation.
Conclusions These findings establish a robust and standardized MSC licensing protocol, paving the way for the
development of innovative and effective therapies to combat IMIDs
Construcción de identidad organizacional de marcas colombianas de vestidos de baño en Instagram
No full textJEL: M3[EN] The analysis of brand management through images on social networks has become increasingly important for companies, and this is why the purpose of this article is to analyse how visual content strategies and interactions with consumers on Instagram contribute to the construction of the organizational identity of Colombian swimwear brands through the analysis of netnography, in order to improve the understanding of key attributes of digital marketing management. As a first step in collecting the data, the netnography method was used and then the data was analysed through content analysis. In general, it was observed that organizational identity can be born and raised in two ways, a more tangible one that includes factors that describe what the organization expresses and represents; and another made up of the essence, soul, and heart of the brand, both with equal importance when building the organizational identity in social networks based on images. Human Communications are being shaped by new technologies, so this research for practice could be of great use since SNS today are gaining more and more strength as a marketing and advertising tool within organizations.[ES] Analizar la gestión de la marca a través de las imágenes en las redes sociales se ha vuelto cada vez más importante para las empresas y es por esto que el propósito de este artículo es analizar cómo las estrategias de contenido visual y las interacciones con los consumidores en Instagram contribuyen a la construcción de la identidad organizacional de las marcas colombianas de trajes de baño a través de un análisis netnográfico, con el fin de mejorar la comprensión de los atributos claves de gestión de marketing digital. Como primer paso para recolectar los datos se utilizó el método propuesto por la netnografía y datos fueron analizados a través del análisis de contenido. En general, se observó que la identidad organizacional puede surgir de dos maneras, una más tangible que incluye factores que describen lo que la organización expresa y representa y otra que se compone de la esencia, el alma y el corazón de la marca, ambas con igual importancia a la hora de construir la identidad organizacional en redes sociales basadas en imágenes. Las comunicaciones humanas están siendo moldeadas por las nuevas tecnologías, por lo que esta investigación para la práctica puede ser de gran utilidad ya que hoy en día las redes sociales están ganando cada vez más fuerza como herramienta de marketing y publicidad dentro de las organizaciones
Beyond adjustment: A new paradigm for climate change adaptation in a complex world
No full textClimate change adaptation is central to political and scientific agendas that aim to reduce the impacts of a warming world. However, despite three decades of research and practice, adaptation remains conceptually ambiguous, lacking a clear and comprehensive definition that enables effective on-the-ground action. The foundational idea that adaptation is the process of adjusting to climate and its effects remains central to scientific advancements in the field. Yet, emerging paradigms like adaptation as justice, resilience, or development are gaining traction, reflecting a much larger variety of local needs, knowledge systems, and lived experiences. To examine the notion of adaptation through these evolving lenses, we conducted 50 in-depth interviews with key internationally recognised experts in climate adaptation, including scientists and practitioners from around the globe, with 950 years of combined experience. Over 36 h of interview time, we explored their career trajectories and evolving views to identify key narratives, realisations and catalysts that shifted their conceptualisation and practice of adaptation. Our findings support an updated heuristic framework for adaptation as a process of responding to climate change and its impacts by integrating risk reduction into broader development strategies, ensuring that all individuals can maintain dignified lives in the face of climate challenges. The framework acknowledges the inherent complexity and limitations of adaptation, blending systemic governance with psychosocial insights to address power dynamics and uphold the fundamental right to survival. Findings call for a reconceptualisation of adaptation beyond mere adjustment to risks, in response to shifting paradigms in contemporary adaptation thought and practice.This research is funded by the European Union (ERC, IMAGINE adaptation, 101039429). Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or ERCEA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them. All authors acknowledge the support from María de Maeztu Excellence Unit 2023-2027 Ref. CEX2021- 001201-M, funded by the Spanish Government MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033; and by the Basque Government through the BERC 2022-2025 program. M.O. and A.T.A-M would also like to acknowledge the support of MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and ESF+ (grants RYC2022-037585-I and JDC2023-051821-I, respectively).
We are deeply grateful to the interviewees for generously sharing their knowledge, perspectives, and opinions, which form the foundation of this work. We would also like to acknowledge and thank the constructive feedback of two anonymous reviewers
Model predictive control with self-learning capability for automated demand response in buildings
No full textThis paper presents an optimal management strategy, called Building Optimizer, based on a Model Predictive Control (MPC) approach with self-learning capabilities for buildings. The proposed MPC is a key enabler of cooperative demand response strategies at community level, ensuring the allocation of an optimal demand profile at each participating member of the community according to an optimal consumption reference defined by a complementary agent at community level. In this way, the proposed solution can contribute to provide demand response services exploiting the unlocked residential flexibility. The MPC calculates the optimal setpoints of the HVAC system’s terminal units, considering the expected usage of the buildings and the outdoor conditions, and exploiting the building’s thermal inertia. The models embedded in the MPC are grey-box models representing a thermal zone of the building. An adaptive MPC is proposed to mitigate the high uncertainty present in building management due to the time-variant characteristics of the building and the uncertain internal heat gains due to occupancy and other disturbances. For that, the reduced models incorporate self-learning capabilities implemented as Moving Horizon Estimators that perform a continuous calibration based on real-time measurements. This solution allows full automation for model calibration and management of the terminal units. This paper presents a case study to assess the thermal comfort assurance and power flexibility provision potential of the proposed solution. First, the Building Optimizer is compared to a regular benchmark consisting of an on–off controller, evaluating the performance of each controller for indoor temperature tracking. For the assessment of the flexibility provision, a baseline MPC with fixed model parameters obtained by an offline calibration is used for comparison to the Building Optimizer with self-learning capabilities. Different flexibility scenarios are simulated, considering different restrictions regarding thermal comfort and various flexibility request signals. Notably, the Building Optimizer outperforms the baseline MPC in all scenarios, particularly guaranteeing thermal comfort. Incorporating self-learning capabilities enhances controller performance by mitigating the effect of uncertainty, allowing the Building Optimizer to shift up to 13.08% of peak periods into valley periods, and tracking a flexibility request scenario of 10% with no discomfort.This work has been funded partially funded by Next Generation EU program from the European Union.
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 957823.
Open access funding provided by University of the Basque Country, UPV/EHU
La integración de los derechos humanos de cuarta generación en la información no financiera
No full textLa digitalización ha generado nuevas dimensiones en los derechos humanos, categorizados en la cuarta generación de derechos o llamados derechos digitales. Este Trabajo de Fin de Grado analiza el marco teórico de estos derechos en la sostenibilidad empresarial, con un estudio de caso sobre Telefónica. Se aborda el concepto de derechos humanos de cuarta generación, su panorama normativo, y se examinan iniciativas internacionales que abogan por la cooperación digital. El análisis de la memoria de sostenibilidad de Telefónica permite evaluar sus prácticas en responsabilidad social corporativa y la promoción de los derechos digitales
Genero aldetik anbiguoa den hizketaren sintesia euskaraz hizlari-bektore manipulazioaren bidez
No full textThere is a growing interest in text-to-speech (TTS) systems with gender-ambiguous voices, among other things due to their potential to avoid gender biases and stereotypes in voice assistants and smart speakers. In this paper we present and evaluate some novel methods that apply voice morphing techniques to speaker embeddings in order to obtain neural network-based gender-ambiguous voiced TTS systems for the Basque language. The speaker embeddings are obtained training a multi-speaker Tacotron 2. We compare the performance of systems with and without speaker embedding normalization with a scaling parameter, and also the application of these systems to the average embeddings of each gender and to real voice embeddings. The results prove that the methods presented are valid to obtain gender-ambiguous voices with acceptable, albeit improvable, quality.; Genero aldetik anbiguoa den ahotsa duten text-to-speech (TTS) sistemek gero eta interes handiagoa pizten dute; besteak beste, laguntzaile birtualetan eta bozgorailu adimendunetan genero-alborapenak eta estereotipoak saihesteko duten ahalmenagatik. Artikulu honetan, ahots-bihurketarako teknika berriak aplikatu dizkiegu ahots-bektoreei, sare neuronaletan oinarrituta dauden eta genero aldetik anbiguoak diren euskarazko TTS sistemak lortzeko. Hizlari-bektoreak hiztun anitzeko Tacotron 2-a entrenatuz lortu ditugu. Hizlari-bektoreen normalizazioa eta eskala-parametro bat erabiltzen duten eta erabiltzen ez duten sistemak konparatu ditugu, baita genero bakoitzeko batez besteko hizlari bektore eta ahots errealen hizlari bektoreen erabilera sistema horietan. Emaitzek frogatzen dute aurkeztutako metodoak baliozkoak direla genero aldetik anbiguoak diren ahotsak lortzeko eta kalitate onargarria dutela baina hobetu daitezkeela
On uniform null controllability of transport–diffusion equations with vanishing viscosity limit
No full textThis paper aims to address an interesting open problem, posed in the paper "Singular Optimal Control for a Transport-Diffusion Equation" of Sergio Guerrero and Gilles Lebeau in 2007. The problem involves studying the null controllability cost of a transport-diffusion equation with Neumann conditions, where the diffusivity coefficient is denoted by > 0 and the velocity by (, ). Our objective is twofold. First, we investigate the scenario where each velocity trajectory originating from Ω enters the control region in a shorter time at a fixed entry time. By employing Agmon and dissipation inequalities, and Carleman estimate in the case (, ) is the gradient of a time-dependent scalar field, we establish that the control cost remains bounded for sufficiently small and large control time. Secondly, we explore the case where at least one trajectory fails to enter the control region and remains in Ω. In this
scenario, we prove that the control cost explodes exponentially when the diffusivity approaches zero and the control time is sufficiently small for general velocity.J.A.B.-P. was supported by Grant PID2021-126813NB-I00 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by “ERDF A way of making Europe” and by Grant IT1615-22 funded the Basque Government
Evaluating prognostic factors for falls in Parkinson's disease: A sex-based analysis
No full textIntroduction
Falls are a common and debilitating complication in Parkinson's disease (PD). Previous studies have primarily focused on cohorts with prevalent falls or advanced disease stages. This study assessed risk factors for falls in early-stage falls-naïve cohort stratified by sex.
Methods
A total of 172 PD patients (<5 years disease duration) were selected from a registry-based study that reported no falls at baseline. All patients were assessed with a standardized data extraction form and falls were defined according to UPDRS Item 13. Hazard Ratios were calculated with univariable and stepwise multivariable Cox Proportional Hazard regression models.
Results
Among the study sample, 61 (35.4 %) patients were female. At baseline, female and male PD groups were comparable in terms of age, disease duration, and UPDRS scores, although female PD patients had higher scores for UPDRS IV. Over a mean follow-up period of 3.9 (3.0) years, falls were reported in 13 female (21.3 %) and 18 male (16.2 %) PD patients. In female PD, motor fluctuations (HR [95 %] = 1.8 [1.3 – 2.6], p < 0.001) and postural stability (HR [95 %] = 4.2 [1.6 – 10.6], p = 0.003) emerged as significant predictors for falls, whereas in male PD, stepwise Cox regression selected freezing of gait (HR [95 %] = 2.0 [1.0 – 4.2], p = 0.053) and postural instability (HR [95 %] = 2.2 [0.89 – 5.4], p = 0.089) as the primary predictors for falls, although they were non-significant.
Conclusion
Our findings suggest that the risk factors for falls differ between female and male early-stage PD patients, which may have important implications for clinical management
NIRS-BIDS: Brain Imaging Data Structure Extended to Near Infrared Spectroscop
No full textPublished: 27 January 2025Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is an increasingly popular neuroimaging technique
that measures cortical hemodynamic activity in a non-invasive and portable fashion. Although the
fNIRS community has been successful in disseminating open-source processing tools and a standard
fle format (SNIRF), reproducible research and sharing of fNIRS data amongst researchers has been
hindered by a lack of standards and clarity over how study data should be organized and stored. This
problem is not new in neuroimaging, and it became evident years ago with the proliferation of publicly
available neuroimaging datasets. To solve this critical issue, the neuroimaging community created the
Brain Imaging Data Structure (BIDS) that specifes standards for how datasets should be organized
to facilitate sharing and reproducibility of science. Currently, BIDS supports dozens of neuroimaging
modalities including MRI, EEG, MEG, PET, and many others. In this paper, we present the extension of
BIDS for NIRS data alongside tools that may assist researchers in organizing existing and new data with
the goal of promoting public disseminations of fNIRS datasets.All authors acknowledge the contribution of BIDS Maintainers Ross Blair, Anthony Galassi, Eric Earl, Christine
Rogers, Nell Hardcastle, and Kimberly Ray. LP acknowledges the support of the National Science Foundation
under Grant No. CNS 1650536 and 2137255: I/UCRC for Building Reliable Advances and Innovation in
Neurotechnology (BRAIN). LP also acknowledges the U.S. Fulbright Scholar Program and the Fulbright Spain
Commission for sponsoring his stay at the Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language
Crystallite size effects on the heat of water intrusion/extrusion into/ from metal−organic frameworks
No full textThe wettability of nanoporous materials is a key property for a diverse range of applications. However, the heat generated in this process remains largely unexplored. Herein, the heats of intrusion/extrusion into/from ZIF-8 + water systems of various ZIF-8 crystallite sizes were measured at different temperatures. We found that decreasing crystallite size to the nanoscale resulted in a reduction of the magnitude of the heats of intrusion/extrusion. These results were mirrored in simulations, where the reduction of intrusion heat by reducing the characteristics dependent on crystallite size was comparable to the values obtained experimentally. We related this to the reduction in filling at lower pressures. We recorded the inversion of the sign of the heats of intrusion/extrusion measured at high temperatures. In addition, the heat/work ratio of the intrusion/extrusion processes was dependent on temperature while independent of crystallite size, decoupling the two parameters and making them tunable exogenously.This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 101017858. We also acknowledge the support of the Basque Goverment through the IT-1714-22 project. This work is also part of the grant RYC2021-032445-I funded by MICIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by the European Union NextGenerationEU/PRTR and also received financial support based on Decision No. 2021/43/D/ST5/00062 from the National Science Center (Poland). S. Meloni acknowledges PRACE for computational access to Marconi 100 at CINECA (Bologna, Italy). A. Le Donne, S. Merchiori, and S. Meloni acknowledge the computational support of CINECA through grant IscrB LAUREATE (HP10B2KZAX). A.R. Lowe and M. Chora̧żewski are grateful for the financial support based on Decision No. 2018/31/B/ST8/00599 from the National Science Centre (Poland). We also thank the University of Silesia Machine Shop for helping maintain the Scanning Transitiometer. L.J.W. Johnson is grateful to Francisco Bonilla for their assistance with TEM measurements