ALBERT

Description: Here; we have described and tested a microarray based-method for the screening of dengue virus (DENV) serotypes. This DNA microarray assay is specific and sensitive and can detect dual infections with two dengue virus serotypes and single-serotype infections. Other methodologies may underestimate samples containing more than one serotype. This technology can be used to discriminate between the four DENV serotypes. Single-stranded DNA targets were covalently attached to glass slides and hybridised with specific labelled probes. DENV isolates and dengue samples were used to evaluate microarray performance. Our results demonstrate that the probes hybridized specifically to DENV serotypes; with no detection of unspecific signals. This finding provides evidence that specific probes can effectively identify single and double infections in DENV samples.

Description: Sensors, Vol. 18, Pages 1807: Considerations about the Determination of the Depolarization Calibration Profile of a Two-Telescope Lidar and Its Implications for Volume Depolarization Ratio Retrieval Sensors doi: 10.3390/s18061807 Authors: Adolfo Comerón Alejandro Rodríguez-Gómez Michaël Sicard Rubén Barragán Constantino Muñoz-Porcar Francesc Rocadenbosch María José Granados-Muñoz We propose a new method for calculating the volume depolarization ratio of light backscattered by the atmosphere and a lidar system that employs an auxiliary telescope to detect the depolarized component. It takes into account the possible error in the positioning of the polarizer used in the auxiliary telescope. The theory of operation is presented and then applied to a few cases for which the actual position of the polarizer is estimated, and the improvement of the volume depolarization ratio in the molecular region is quantified. In comparison to the method used before, i.e., without correction, the agreement between the volume depolarization ratio with correction and the theoretical value in the molecular region is improved by a factor of 2–2.5.

Description: Energies, Vol. 11, Pages 1064: Comparison of Different Technologies for Integrated Solar Combined Cycles: Analysis of Concentrating Technology and Solar Integration Energies doi: 10.3390/en11051064 Authors: Antonio Rovira Consuelo Sánchez Manuel Valdés Ruben Abbas Rubén Barbero María José Montes Marta Muñoz Javier Muñoz-Antón Guillermo Ortega Fernando Varela This paper compares the annual performance of Integrated Solar Combined Cycles (ISCCs) using different solar concentration technologies: parabolic trough collectors (PTC), linear Fresnel reflectors (LFR) and central tower receiver (CT). Each solar technology (i.e. PTC, LFR and CT) is proposed to integrate solar energy into the combined cycle in two different ways. The first one is based on the use of solar energy to evaporate water of the steam cycle by means of direct steam generation (DSG), increasing the steam production of the high pressure level of the steam generator. The other one is based on the use of solar energy to preheat the pressurized air at the exit of the gas turbine compressor before it is introduced in the combustion chamber, reducing the fuel consumption. Results show that ISCC with DSG increases the yearly production while solar air heating reduces it due to the incremental pressure drop. However, air heating allows significantly higher solar-to-electricity efficiencies and lower heat rates. Regarding the solar technologies, PTC provides the best thermal results.

Description: IJERPH, Vol. 15, Pages 1418: Urinary Inorganic Arsenic Concentration and Gestational Diabetes Mellitus in Pregnant Women from Arica, Chile International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health doi: 10.3390/ijerph15071418 Authors: María Pía Muñoz Macarena Valdés María Teresa Muñoz-Quezada Boris Lucero Paola Rubilar Paulina Pino Verónica Iglesias Introduction: The association of total arsenic exposure with impaired glucose tolerance and gestational diabetes has been shown; however, evidence regarding urinary inorganic arsenic in pregnant women is still limited. Our aim was to evaluate the association between urinary inorganic arsenic concentration and gestational diabetes among pregnant women living in Arica, Chile. Methods: Cross-sectional study of pregnant women receiving care at primary health centers in urban Arica. The exposure was urinary inorganic arsenic concentration, while gestational diabetes was the outcome. The association was evaluated using multiple logistic regression models adjusted by age, education level, ethnicity, and pre-pregnancy body mass index. Results: 244 pregnant women were surveyed. The median urinary inorganic arsenic was 14.95 μg/L, and the prevalence of gestational diabetes was 8.6%. After adjusting, we did not find a significant association between gestational diabetes and inorganic arsenic exposure tertiles (Odds ratio (OR) 2.98, 95% CI = 0.87–10.18), (OR 1.07, 95% CI = 0.26–4.33). Conclusion: This study did not provide evidence on the relationship between urinary inorganic arsenic concentration and gestational diabetes. Further research is needed to elucidate the factors underlying this association.

Description: Sensors, Vol. 18, Pages 1399: Force Trends and Pulsatility for Catheter Contact Identification in Intracardiac Electrograms during Arrhythmia Ablation Sensors doi: 10.3390/s18051399 Authors: David Rivas-Lalaleo Sergio Muñoz-Romero Mónica Huerta Mayra Erazo-Rodas Juan José Sánchez-Muñoz José Luis Rojo-Álvarez Arcadi García-Alberola The intracardiac electrical activation maps are commonly used as a guide in the ablation of cardiac arrhythmias. The use of catheters with force sensors has been proposed in order to know if the electrode is in contact with the tissue during the registration of intracardiac electrograms (EGM). Although threshold criteria on force signals are often used to determine the catheter contact, this may be a limited criterion due to the complexity of the heart dynamics and cardiac vorticity. The present paper is devoted to determining the criteria and force signal profiles that guarantee the contact of the electrode with the tissue. In this study, we analyzed 1391 force signals and their associated EGM recorded during 2 and 8 s, respectively, in 17 patients (82 ± 60 points per patient). We aimed to establish a contact pattern by first visually examining and classifying the signals, according to their likely-contact joint profile and following the suggestions from experts in the doubtful cases. First, we used Principal Component Analysis to scrutinize the force signal dynamics by analyzing the main eigen-directions, first globally and then grouped according to the certainty of their tissue-catheter contact. Second, we used two different linear classifiers (Fisher discriminant and support vector machines) to identify the most relevant components of the previous signal models. We obtained three main types of eigenvectors, namely, pulsatile relevant, non-pulsatile relevant, and irrelevant components. The classifiers reached a moderate to sufficient discrimination capacity (areas under the curve between 0.84 and 0.95 depending on the contact certainty and on the classifier), which allowed us to analyze the relevant properties in the force signals. We conclude that the catheter-tissue contact profiles in force recordings are complex and do not depend only on the signal intensity being above a threshold at a single time instant, but also on time pulsatility and trends. These findings pave the way towards a subsystem which can be included in current intracardiac navigation systems assisted by force contact sensors, and it can provide the clinician with an estimate of the reliability on the tissue-catheter contact in the point-by-point EGM acquisition procedure.

Description: Sensors, Vol. 17, Pages 2957: An Architecture Providing Depolarization Ratio Capability for a Multi-Wavelength Raman Lidar: Implementation and First Measurements Sensors doi: 10.3390/s17122957 Authors: Alejandro Rodríguez-Gómez Michaël Sicard María-José Granados-Muñoz Enis Ben Chahed Constantino Muñoz-Porcar Rubén Barragán Adolfo Comerón Francesc Rocadenbosch Eric Vidal A new architecture for the measurement of depolarization produced by atmospheric aerosols with a Raman lidar is presented. The system uses two different telescopes: one for depolarization measurements and another for total-power measurements. The system architecture and principle of operation are described. The first experimental results are also presented, corresponding to a collection of atmospheric conditions over the city of Barcelona.

Description: Sensors, Vol. 18, Pages 2475: Reduction of the Measurement Time by the Prediction of the Steady-State Response for Quartz Crystal Microbalance Gas Sensors Sensors doi: 10.3390/s18082475 Authors: Diana L. Osorio-Arrieta José L. Muñoz-Mata Georgina Beltrán-Pérez Juan Castillo-Mixcóatl Claudia O. Mendoza-Barrera Víctor Altuzar-Aguilar Severino Muñoz-Aguirre This paper presents a new approach to reduce the measurement time by the prediction of the steady-state using the transient response to ethanol for quartz crystal microbalance gas sensors coated with ethyl cellulose. The experimentally measured response curves were successively fitted using a mathematical model based on the sum of two exponentials with different time constants. The parameters of the model were determined, and the time constants and the magnitude of the steady-state response were analyzed. Even though the time constants did not stabilize well, the parameter corresponding to the magnitude of the steady-state response quickly converged and stabilized after 37 s. Moreover, this calculated parameter was highly correlated with the measured values of the steady-state response, which was measured at five times the longest time constant (83 s) of the model. Therefore, the steady-state response could be predicted with a 55% reduction in the measurement (detection) time.

Description: IntroductionMorphological integration and modularity depend on genetic covariation between traits, which emerges from pleiotropic effects of single loci and genetic linkage between loci. Since chromosomal reorganizations alter meiotic recombination, they might modify groups of linked genes and entail the fixation of new alleles with new pleiotropic effects. As a result, they could contribute to the intraspecific variation of the covariance structure of morphological traits. Although the mouse mandible has long been studied in terms of development and evolution, little is known about how its covariance structure varies in natural populations with chromosomal reorganizations. Consequently, here we analyzed the magnitude and patterns of morphological covariation of mandible shape in groups of mice with different karyotypes from a Robertsonian system of Mus musculus domesticus. Results: The organization of the mouse mandible into two main modules was confirmed in all chromosomal groups, since RV coefficients for the corresponding subdivision of landmarks were always significant. However, substantial variation in the magnitude of integration was detected between groups, especially when the effect of allometry was not removed. A significant positive correlation between differences in magnitude of integration of the symmetric component of shape and karyotypic distances between groups was detected when not correcting for size. Moreover, the degree of dependence of symmetric shape variation on size showed a negative association with the chromosome number and a positive association with the magnitude of integration. All groups showed similar patterns of morphological integration of the mandible, especially regarding the symmetric component of shape. However, the display of landmark displacements and the computation of vector angles highlighted some differences. In addition, distances between groups in terms of covariation matrices of the symmetric component were positively correlated with geographic distance. Conclusions: Robertsonian translocations do not alter the organization of the mouse mandible into two main modules, but do affect the magnitude of integration between them. This effect is mainly due to changes in the allometric relationship. In the ‘Barcelona’ Robertsonian system, geographically structured sources of variation seem to affect the patterns of integration by producing parallel variation in separate developmental pathways. Overall, our results suggest that Robertsonian translocations could play a role in intraspecific differentiation processes by producing changes in the covariance structure of morphological traits.

Description: Background: Modularity is an important feature in the evolvability of organisms, since it allows the occurrence of complex adaptations at every single level of biological systems. While at the cellular level the modular organization of molecular interactions has been analyzed in detail, the phenotypic modularity (or variational modularity) of cell shape remains unexplored. The mammalian spermatozoon constitutes one of the most complex and specialized cell types found in organisms. The structural heterogeneity found in the sperm head suggests an association between its inner composition, shape and specificity of function. However, little is known about the extent of the connections between these features. Taking advantage of the mouse sperm morphology, we analyzed the variational modularity of the sperm head by testing several hypotheses related to its structural and functional organization. Because chromosomal rearrangements can affect the genotype-phenotype map of individuals and thus modify the patterns of covariation between traits, we also evaluate the effect of Robertsonian translocations on the modularity pattern of the sperm head. Results: The results indicated that the mouse sperm head is divided into three variational modules (the acrosomal, post-acrosomal and ventral spur module), which correspond to the main regions of the cytoskeletal mesh beneath the plasma membrane, i.e., the perinuclear theca. Most of the covariation is concentrated between the ventral spur and the acrosomal and post-acrosomal modules. Although the Rb fusions did not alter the main modularity pattern, they did affect the percentages of covariation between pairs of modules. Conclusions: The structural heterogeneity of the cytoskeleton is responsible for the modular organization of the sperm head shape, corroborating the role that this structure has in maintaining the cell shape. The reduction in percentages of shape covariation between pairs of modules in Rb sperms suggests that chromosomal rearrangements could induce changes in the genotype-phenotype map. Nevertheless, how these variations affect sperm fertilization success is yet to be elucidated.

Description: Background: Thiazolidinedione are antidiabetic agents that increase insulin sensitivity but reduce glucoseoxidation, state 3 respiration, and activity of complex I of the mitochondrial respiratory chain(MRC). Mechanisms of the latter effects are unclear. The aim of this study was to determinethe mechanisms by which pioglitazone (PGZ), a member of the thiazolidinedione class ofantidiabetic agents, decreases the activity of MRC. In isolated mitochondria from mouseliver, we measured the effects of PGZ treatment on MRC complexes activity, fully-assembledcomplex I and its subunits, gene expression of complex I and III subunits, and [3H]pioglitazone binding to mitochondrial complexes. Results: (1) In vitro, PGZ decreased activity of complexes I and III of the MRC, but in vivo onlycomplex I activity was decreased in mice treated for 12 weeks with 10 mg/Kg/day of PGZ.(2) In vitro treatment of isolated liver mitochondria with PGZ disassembled complex Iresulting in the formation of several subcomplexes. In mice treated with PGZ, fullyassembled complex I was increased and two additional subcomplexes were found. Formationof supercomplexes CI+CIII2+CIVn and CI+CIII2 decreased in mouse liver mitochondriaexposed to PGZ, while formation of these supercomplexes was increased in mice treated withPGZ. Two dimensional analysis of complex I using BN/SDS-PAGE showed that in vitroPGZ induced the formation of four subcomplexes of 600 (B), 400 (C), 350 (D), and 250 (E)kDa, respectively. Subcomplexes B and C had NADH:dehydrogenase activity, whilesubcomplexes C and D contained subunits of complex I membrane arm. (3) Autoradiographyand coimmunoprecipitation assays showed [3H]PGZ binding to subunits NDUFA9,NDUFB6, and NDUFA6. (4) Treatment with PGZ increased mitochondrial gene transcriptionin mice liver and HepG2 cells. (5) In these cells, PGZ decreased intracellular ATP contentand enhanced gene expression of specific protein-1 and peroxisome-proliferator activatedreceptor (PPAR)-gamma coactivator-1alpha (PGC-1alpha). Conclusions: PGZ binds complex I subunits, which induces disassembly of this complex, reduces itsactivity, depletes cellular ATP, and, in mice and HepG2 cells, upregulates nuclear DNAencodedgene expression of complex I and III subunits.