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A case study of empirical validation of EnergyPlus infiltration models based on different wind data
No full textBuilding retrofitting is an efficient means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Its first focus is on building façade, as transmission and air leakage are the main sources of energy loss in buildings. Nowadays, building modellers cannot easily implement envelope air leakage and assume constant values, which results in erroneous energy estimates. Additionally, in energy simulations, a weather file is usually inserted with measurements provided by a weather station. In this study, we revealed the use of wind data from the weather file (herein as global wind) to calculate the infiltration of a test case in Spain, using the three algebraic equations of EnergyPlus. Furthermore, four other wind data were applied: eastbound and westbound winds from the weather file and two from in situ measurements (on the southeast and on the northwest façades). The fifteen combinations of the three infiltration models and the five wind data were empirically evaluated, using the tracer gas results performed during three different periods. The combinations were validated according to the American Society for Testing Materials D5157 standard criteria, and the best and the only ones that complied with the standard were those using the wind data from the southeast in situ sensor and the west wind from the weather station. The global wind was not able to generate accurate infiltration models, which raises doubts about its use in the highly-time calibration of energy models. However, its disaggregation was a cost-effective strategy to estimate the infiltration of this case study
Proposal and experimental verification of additive manufactured beam-column connection designed by topological optimization
No full textThe aim of this research is to provide an alternative for the conventional design of beam-to-column connections in building structures. The new design is performed by means of Structural Topological Optimization and executed by means of additive manufacturing with steel. Regarding the methodology, the joint that would be manufactured by conventional methods (i.e. welded and bolted plates) is modelled by means of finite elements in the first place. Its behavior is obtained, as well as the boundary conditions and the loads to be applied to the part that is going to be optimized. Subsequently, a solid part is defined and optimized by means of the optimization module TOSCA. Then, the complete joint is simulated with the optimized connection, and the behavior and the weight of the material used are compared with those of the conventional joint.Some modifications are made to improve some aspects of the design. Afterwards, the optimized joint is printed with steel S316L, the connection is as-sembled with the columns and beams, and it is tested. The experimental results are analyzed to be able to make the necessary adjustments both in the connection and in the design methodology
Presentation. The never-ending challenge: Exploring the renewed impact of digital technologies on journalism
No full textNanomedicines for the Treatment of Pediatric Neuroblastoma
No full textPediatric cancer is still a major challenge to our society. In Spain, more than 1000 cases are diagnosed each year. While there has been clear progress in survival rates over the last 50 years, therapeutic protocols for childhood cancers still face issues related to high toxicity and incorrect dosing regimens. In this context, nanotechnology has shown significant ability to reduce the toxicity of anticancer compounds. Improving the therapeutic index of cytostatic drugs makes this approach an alternative to conventional chemotherapy. However, the lack of nanomedicines specifically designed for pediatric cancer underscore the urgent need to ensure the proper translation of nanomedicines for children.
Among pediatric cancers, embryonal nervous system tumors such as neuroblastoma arise due to disruption of normal early developmental pathways and develop in very young children, usually under 2 years old. This disease only affects around 100 children each year, making it a rare disease. Neuroblastoma exhibit significant genetic heterogeneity and varying clinical outcomes. Nevertheless, some genetic abnormalities, such as MYCN amplification, are found in 30% of cases and are associated with high-risk neuroblastoma and poorer prognosis. For these patients, common treatments are still inefficient or lead to severe long-term consequences that affect these children at adulthood. Additionally, other factors, including the tumor microenvironment, can significantly influence tumor aggressiveness, impacting treatment responses and patient survival.
In this context, the use of lipid nanoparticles, which are considered safe, scalable, easy to produce and suitable for oral administration present an interesting approach to enhance the therapeutic outlook of neuroblastoma patients. This project was centered on the use of very small size particles made of solid lipids (100-200 nanometers) that act as platforms for delivering the antitumor drug, with the aim of improving its therapeutic index and the quality of life of neuroblastoma patients. The primary objective was to develop new therapeutic nanosystems that can be orally administered and potentially offer effective therapy. This involved the delivery of not only a cytostatic drug currently used for neuroblastoma treatment (etoposide), but also a promising antitumor drug (edelfosine) both combined after their vectorization in lipid nanocarriers.
First of all, patient neuroblastoma tumors and samples extracted from high-risk neuroblastoma preclinical models were analyzed showing the role of tumor microenvironment elements in the stiffness of the extracellular matrix. These elements play a major role in aggressiveness and tumor progression. Subsequently lipid nanomedicines were developed and thoroughly characterized. In vitro evaluation in cells revealed that nanomedicines could enhance the drugs effectiveness while sparing non-cancerous cells. This was further corroborated in vivo using Caenorhabditis elegans. These studies provided evidence of the efficacy of the proposed lipid nanomedicines in overcoming the gastrointestinal barrier and reducing the toxicity of etoposide. Further in vivo evaluation in mice demonstrated that nanoencapsulation was a good strategy for the oral administration of anticancer drugs and facilitated lymphatic system engagement. Overall, when tested in a neuroblastoma mouse model, the nanomedicines proved to be an effective strategy that maintained the efficacy of anticancer drugs while significantly reducing toxicities. However, the combination of nanomedicines did not exhibit any improvements in terms of antitumor efficacy when compared to single treatments. Nevertheless, the combination of nanomedicines avoided the emergence of lung metastases when compared to single nanomedicines treatment
Steering self-organisation through confinement
No full textSelf-organisation is the spontaneous emergence of spatio-temporal structures and patterns from the interaction of smaller individual units. Examples are found across many scales in very different systems and scientific disciplines, from physics, materials science and robotics to biology, geophysics and astronomy. Recent research has highlighted how self-organisation can be both mediated and controlled by confinement. Confinement is an action over a system that limits its units' translational and rotational degrees of freedom, thus also influencing the system's phase space probability density; it can function as either a catalyst or inhibitor of self-organisation. Confinement can then become a means to actively steer the emergence or suppression of collective phenomena in space and time. Here, to provide a common framework and perspective for future research, we examine the role of confinement in the self-organisation of soft-matter systems and identify overarching scientific challenges that need to be addressed to harness its full scientific and technological potential in soft matter and related fields. By drawing analogies with other disciplines, this framework will accelerate a common deeper understanding of self-organisation and trigger the development of innovative strategies to steer it using confinement, with impact on, e.g., the design of smarter materials, tissue engineering for biomedicine and in guiding active matter
Report on palliative care development in Uruguay based on the WHO indicators
No full textThis report describes the current palliative
care (PC) situation in Uruguay,
highlighting the challenges the country
faces in providing PC to over 17,000 Uruguayans
who – according to estimates –
require PC each year. Commissioned by
the WHO - PAHO representation in Uruguay,
the WHO Collaborating Centre ATLANTES
organised a two-day workshop
in Montevideo to examine and adapt the
WHO PC development indicators to the
Uruguayan context in collaboration with
the National PC Program. WHO invited
representatives from the health, education,
ministries, and social organisations
sectors, who worked on a data collection
tool whose responses could be categorised
into four levels of development:
initial, intermediate, established, and
advanced. The report highlights each indicator’s
strengths and weaknesses and
summarises the level of implementation
in each area of the country.
The empowerment of individuals and
communities is explored through two
indicators. The first reveals a strong presence
of patient and family associations
advocating for PC and promoting patient
rights, as well as the existence of the Uruguayan
Society of Medicine and Palliative
Care (SUMCP). The second confirms the
existence of a national policy on advance
care planning (advanced level). Since
2013, there has been a National PC Plan.
PC services are included in the list of
health services provided by the primary
level of care (with an audit mechanism
carried out by the Ministry of Public
Health (MSP)), and there is a national
authority coordinating PC care crystallised
in the National PC Program. The
latter depends on and is based on the
MSP. Although it has no budget, it has a
growing scientific and technical structure
with adequate staff (advanced level)
A comparison of models for the forecast of daily concentration thresholds of airborne fungal spores
No full textAerobiological predictive model development is of increasing interest, despite the distribution and variability of data and the limitations of statistical methods making it highly challenging. The use of concentration thresholds and models, where a binary response allows one to establish the occurrence or non-occurrence of the threshold, have been proposed to reduce difficulties. In this paper, we use logistic regression (logit) and regression trees to predict the daily concentration thresholds (low, medium, high, and very high) of six airborne fungal spore taxa (Alternaria, Cladosporium, Agaricus, Ganoderma, Leptosphaeria, and Pleospora) in eight localities in Catalonia (NE Spain) using data from 1995 to 2014. The predictive potential of these models was analyzed through sensitivity and specificity. The models showed similar results regarding the relationship and influence of the meteorological parameters and fungal spores. Ascospores showed a strong relationship with precipitation and basidiospores with minimum temperature, while conidiospores did not indicate any preferences. Sensitivity (true-positive) and specificity (false-positive) presented highly satisfactory validation results for both models in all thresholds, with an average of 73%. However, seeing as logit offers greater precision when attempting to establish the exceedance of a concentration threshold and is easier to apply, it is proposed as the best predictive model
On the trajectory of discrimination: A meta-analysis and forecasting survey capturing 44 years of field experiments on gender and hiring decisions
No full textA preregistered meta-analysis, including 244 effect sizes from 85 field audits and 361,645 individual job applications, tested for gender bias in hiring practices in female-stereotypical and gender-balanced as well as male-stereotypical jobs from 1976 to 2020. A “red team” of independent experts was recruited to increase the rigor and robustness of our meta-analytic approach. A forecasting survey further examined whether laypeople (n = 499 nationally representative adults) and scientists (n = 312) could predict the results. Forecasters correctly anticipated reductions in discrimination against female candidates over time. However, both scientists and laypeople overestimated the continuation of bias against female candidates. Instead, selection bias in favor of male over female candidates was eliminated and, if anything, slightly reversed in sign starting in 2009 for mixed-gender and male-stereotypical jobs in our sample. Forecasters further failed to anticipate that discrimination against male candidates for stereotypically female jobs would remain stable across the decades
Diagnosis and Treatment of Pleural Effusion. Recommendations of the Spanish Society of Pulmonology and Thoracic Surgery. Update 2022
No full textPleural effusion (PE) is a common yet complex disease that requires specialized, multidisciplinary management. Recent advances, novel diagnostic techniques, and innovative patient-centered therapeutic proposals have prompted an update of the current guidelines. This document provides recommendations and protocols based on a critical review of the literature on the epidemiology, etiology, diagnosis, prognosis, and new therapeutic options in PE, and addresses some cost-effectiveness issues related to the main types of PE