A Novel Oxygen Carrier (M101) Attenuates Ischemia-Reperfusion Injuries during Static Cold Storage in Steatotic Livers

The combined impact of an increasing demand for liver transplantation and a growing incidence of nonalcoholic liver disease has provided the impetus for the development of innovative strategies to preserve steatotic livers. A natural oxygen carrier, HEMO2life^®, which contains M101 that is extracted from a marine invertebrate, has been used for static cold storage (SCS) and has shown superior results in organ preservation. A total of 36 livers were procured from obese Zucker rats and randomly divided into three groups, i.e., control, SCS-24H and SCS-24H + M101 (M101 at 1 g/L), mimicking the gold standard of organ preservation. Ex situ machine perfusion for 2 h was used to evaluate the quality of the livers. Perfusates were sampled for functional assessment, biochemical analysis and subsequent biopsies were performed for assessment of ischemia-reperfusion markers. Transaminases, GDH and lactate levels at the end of reperfusion were significantly lower in the group preserved with M101 (p < 0.05). Protection from reactive oxygen species (low MDA and higher production of NO2-NO3) and less inflammation (HMGB1) were also observed in this group (p < 0.05). Bcl-1 and caspase-3 were higher in the SCS-24H group (p < 0.05) and presented more histological damage than those preserved with HEMO2life^®. These data demonstrate, for the first time, that the addition of HEMO2life^® to the preservation solution significantly protects steatotic livers during SCS by decreasing reperfusion injury and improving graft function.     

Toward persistent autonomous intervention in a subsea panel

Intervention autonomous underwater vehicles (I-AUVs) have the potential to open new avenues for the maintenance and monitoring of offshore subsea facilities in a cost-effective way. However, this requires challenging intervention operations to be carried out persistently, thus minimizing human supervision and ensuring a reliable vehicle behaviour under unexpected perturbances and failures. This paper describes a system to perform autonomous intervention—in particular valve-turning—using the concept of persistent autonomy. To achieve this goal, we build a framework that integrates different disciplines, involving mechatronics, localization, control, machine learning and planning techniques, bearing in mind robustness in the implementation of all of them. We present experiments in a water tank, conducted with Girona 500 I-AUV in the context of a multiple intervention mission. Results show how the vehicle sets several valve panel configurations throughout the experiment while handling different errors, either spontaneous or induced. Finally, we report the insights gained from our experience and we discuss the main aspects that must be matured and refined in order to promote the future development of intervention autonomous vehicles that can operate, persistently, in subsea facilities.     

Chronic Kidney Disease-Associated Inflammation Increases the Risks of Acute Kidney Injury and Mortality after Cardiac Surgery

Cardiovascular mortality increases with decreasing renal function although the cause is yet unknown. Here, we have investigated whether low chronic inflammation in chronic kidney diseases (CKD) could contribute to increased risk for coronary artery diseases (CAD). Thus, a prospective case–control study was conducted in patients with CAD and CKD undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery with the aim of detecting differences in cardiovascular outcomes, epicardial adipose tissue volume, and inflammatory marker activity associated with renal dysfunction. Expression of membrane CD14 and CD16, inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases and hsa-miR-30a-5p were analyzed in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Epicardial fat volume and tissue inflammation in perivascular adipose tissue and in the aorta were also studied. In the present study, 151 patients were included, 110 with CAD (51 with CKD) and 41 nonCAD controls (15 with CKD). CKD increased the risk of cardiac surgery–associated acute kidney injury (CSA-AKI) as well as the 30-day mortality after cardiac surgery. Higher counts of CD14⁺⁺CD16⁺ monocytes were associated with vascular inflammation, with an increased expression of IL1β, and with CKD in CAD patients. Expression of hsa-miR-30a-5p was correlated with hypertension. We conclude that CKD patients show an increased risk of CSA-AKI and mortality after cardiovascular surgery, associated with the expansion of the CD14⁺⁺CD16⁺ subset of proinflammatory monocytes and with IL1β expression. We propose that inflammation associated with CKD may contribute to atherosclerosis (ATH) pathogenesis.     

Secondary effluent reclamation: combination of pre-treatment and disinfection technologies.

A study was carried out to evaluate the efficiency of secondary effluent additional treatment, using a combination of pre-treatments (ring filter, physico-chemical and infiltration-percolation) followed by disinfection methods (chlorine dioxide, peracetic acid and ultraviolet light). Three different indicator microorganisms were determined: E. coli, total coliforms and somatic bacteriophages. The results show better efficiency of physico-chemical and infiltration-percolation processes. Bacteriophages were eliminated to a lesser extent than bacterial indicators in all the treatment systems. Chlorine dioxide and peracetic acid seems to be more efficient in disinfection than ultraviolet light when a ring filter is the pre-treatment used. For the same doses and contact times, the efficiency of the disinfection methods is higher when the pre-treatment used is the physico-chemical or the infiltration-percolation system. The final effluent quality from the physico-chemical treatment train and the infiltration-percolation treatment train, followed by the disinfectants, achieves an E. coli content that allows the reuse in most of the uses described in the Spanish legislation for wastewater reuse.     

Salting, drying and sensory quality of dry-cured hams subjected to different pre-salting treatments: skin trimming and pressing

The effects of skinning in a V-shape and pressing of hams on salting, drying and sensory characteristics of dry-cured hams were assessed. Salt and water contents and a_w were determined in the central part of the ham during processing by computed tomography. Overall salt and water contents were also chemically analysed. Sensory analyses were performed on the final product. Partial skinning or pressing increased both salt uptake and final weight loss, but did not reduce the intra-batch variability in salt uptake. Moreover, trimmed hams exhibited a higher salt content in the inner areas of the hams after resting. Trimmed dry-cured hams showed less metallic flavour, higher saltiness and more mature flavour in the biceps femoris muscle, and lower pastiness and adhesiveness as well as higher crumbliness and aged flavour in both the biceps femoris and the semimembranosus muscles. Pressing treatment caused less metallic flavour only in biceps femoris muscle and higher saltiness.     

Impact of helix irregularities on sequence alignment and homology modeling of G protein-coupled receptors

Comparison of the crystal structures of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) revealed backbone irregularities in the majority of the transmembrane (TM) helices. Among these, wide (π bulge) and tight (3(10)) helical turns on TM2 and TM5 deserve special attention because of their proximity to the ligand binding site. These irregularities are related to residue insertion or deletion (reflected by inclusion of gaps in sequence alignments) accumulated during the evolution of these two helices. These findings have direct implications for the sequence alignments, phylogeny reconstruction, and homology modeling of class A GPCRs.     

Texture parameters of dry-cured ham m. biceps femoris samples dried at different levels as a function of water activity and water content

Instrumental texture parameters of m. biceps femoris (BF) samples from six commercial dry-cured hams, dried to a different degree, were related to water activity and water content. Samples were carved into cubes and Texture Profile Analysis (compression 50%, 10 mm high samples), water activity (a(w) 25 °C) and water content analyses were performed. A negative non-linear relationship between hardness and water content and water activity was observed. From this relationship, critical X and a(w) values, below which there is a dramatic increase in hardness, can be found (around 0.55 kg H(2)O/kg dry matter and around 0.70, respectively). Cohesiveness and springiness showed a positive linear relationship with water content and water activity.     

Experimental and analytical study of the structural response of segmental tunnel linings based on an in situ loading test. Part 2: Numerical simulation

The numerical simulation of the in situ test described in the part 1 of the paper is performed by means of two different approaches: a 2D plane stress model and a 3D shell elements model. A consistent modeling of the tunnel behavior is achieved through the proper simulation of the main phenomena involved on the structural response of the lining: (1) the steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC) post-cracking behavior, (2) the detailed behavior of the joints between segments and (3) the ground–structure interaction. The origin and the effects of all these phenomena and the modeling techniques employed to simulate them are carefully described and discussed. Finally, the results obtained are compared with the experimental evidences, showing the excellent accuracy achieved in terms of displacements, joints closures and crack patterns.     

Frequency-shift vs phase-shift characterization of in-liquid quartz crystal microbalance applications

The improvement of sensitivity in quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) applications has been addressed in the last decades by increasing the sensor fundamental frequency, following the increment of the frequency/mass sensitivity with the square of frequency predicted by Sauerbrey. However, this sensitivity improvement has not been completely transferred in terms of resolution. The decrease of frequency stability due to the increase of the phase noise, particularly in oscillators, made impossible to reach the expected resolution. A new concept of sensor characterization at constant frequency has been recently proposed. The validation of the new concept is presented in this work. An immunosensor application for the detection of a low molecular weight contaminant, the insecticide carbaryl, has been chosen for the validation. An, in principle, improved version of a balanced-bridge oscillator is validated for its use in liquids, and applied for the frequency shift characterization of the QCM immunosensor application. The classical frequency shift characterization is compared with the new phase-shift characterization concept and system proposed.     

Analysis of numerical methods to solve one-dimensional fluid-dynamic governing equations under impulsive flow in tapered ducts

A comparative study of different schemes to solve one-dimensional (1-D) gas flow equations in tapered pipes was conducted in this paper. The total variation diminishing schemes, flux corrected transport techniques or the innovative space–time conservation element and solution element method have been contrasted with experimental data. The experimental results were obtained with an impulsive flow test rig, where isolated pressure pulses can be generated in order to study the flow-dynamic behaviour of different components, including tapered pipes. The results of the different schemes were compared to the experimental data and a fairly good agreement was achieved when high-resolution schemes were used but with a considerable increment of computational effort. A mass conservation study through the tapered ducts with impulsive flow was also carried out, which demonstrated that it is not the resolution level of the scheme but the governing equations arrangement that has decisive importance in mass conservation.