Los puestos de libros en las gradas de San Felipe el Real de Madrid en el siglo XVIII

During the Eighteenth Century, the loggia or gradas of the Church of San Felipe el Real in Madrid combined its traditional character as a popular market-place for leaflets, broadsides and flyers with a new commercial space for a motley variety of works responding to the diverse changes in mentality parallel to the creation of a new, independent, public opinion. The study of the works sold in these very dynamic book stalls, a true commercial crossroads of the old and the new, could serve as a seismograph of the significant collision between ideas and ways of life that took place under the apparent stability of the last century of the ancien regime.

Energy levels, radiative rates and electron impact excitation rates for transitions in He-like Cl XVI, K XVIII, Ca XIX and Sc XX.

We report calculations of energy levels, radiative rates and electron impact excitation cross
sections and rates for transitions in He-like Cl XVI, K XVIII, Ca XIX and Sc XX. The grasp
(general-purpose relativistic atomic structure package) is adopted for calculating energy levels
and radiative rates. To determine the collision strengths and subsequently the excitation rates,
the Dirac atomic R-matrix code (darc) is used. Oscillator strengths, radiative rates and line
strengths are reported for all E1, E2, M1 and M2 transitions among the lowest 49 levels of
each ion. Collision strengths are averaged over a Maxwellian velocity distribution and the
effective collision strengths obtained listed over a wide temperature range up to 107.4 K.
Comparisons are made with similar data obtained from the flexible atomic code (fac) to
highlight the importance of resonances, included in calculations with darc, in the
determination of effective collision strengths. Discrepancies between the collision strengths
from darc and fac, particularly for forbidden transitions, are also discussed. Additionally,
theoretical lifetimes are listed for all the 49 levels of the above four ions.

An in vitro Study to Assess the Potential of a Unique Micro porous Algal Derived Cap Bone Void Filler in Comparison with Clinically-Used Bone Void Fillers

Macroporosity(>100µm) in bone void fillers is a known prerequisite for tissue regeneration, but recent literature has highlighted the added benefit of microporosity(0.5 - 10µm). The aim of this study was to compare the in vitro performances of a novel interconnective microporous hydroxyapatite (HA) derived from red algae to four clinically available macroporous calcium phosphate (CaP) bone void fillers. The use of algae as a starting material for this novel void filler overcomes the issue of sustainability, which overshadows continued use of scleractinian coral in the production of some commercially available materials, namely Pro-OsteonTM and Bio-Coral®. This study investigated the physicochemical properties of each bone voidfiller material using x-ray diffraction, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, inductive coupled plasma, and nitrogen gas absorption and mercury porosimetry. Biochemical analysis, XTT, picogreen and alkaline phosphatase assays were used to evaluate the biological performances of the five materials. Results showed that algal HA is non-toxic to human foetal osteoblast (hFOB) cells and supports cell proliferation and differentiation. The preliminary in vitro testing of microporous algal-HA suggests that it is comparable to the four clinically approved macroporous bone void fillers tested. The results demonstrate that microporous algal HA has good potential for use in vivo and in new tissue engineered strategies for hard tissue repair.

Landfill cap models under simulated climate change precipitation::Impacts of cracks and root growth

Desiccation crack formation is a key process that needs to be understood in assessment of landfill cap performance under anticipated future climate change scenarios. The objectives of this study were to examine: (a) desiccation cracks and impacts that roots may have on their formation and resealing, and (b) their impacts on hydraulic conductivity under anticipated climate change precipitation scenarios. Visual observations, image analysis of thin sections and hydraulic conductivity tests were carried out on cores collected from two large-scale laboratory trial landfill cap models (∼80 × 80 × 90 cm) during a year of four simulated seasonal precipitation events. Extensive root growth in the topsoil increased percolation of water into the subsurface, and after droughts, roots grew deep into low-permeability layers through major cracks which impeded their resealing. At the end of 1 year, larger cracks had lost resealing ability and one single, large, vertical crack made the climate change precipitation model cap inefficient. Even though the normal precipitation model had developed desiccation cracks, its integrity was preserved better than the climate change precipitation model.

Synthesis of novel pyrophosphorothiolate-linked dinucleoside cap analogues in a ball mill

Michaelis–Arbuzov reactions of S-aryl disulfide derivatives of 3′-thiothymidine or 5′-thioadenosine with tris(trimethylsilyl) phosphite proceeded in high yields to the corresponding phosphorothiolate monoesters. Subsequent hydrolytic desilylation and phosphate coupling were effected in one-pot using liquid-assisted grinding in a vibration ball mill. Novel 3′,5′- and 5′,5′-pyrophosphorothiolate-linked dinucleoside cap analogues were thereby prepared.

A novel inhibitor of channel activating proteases: Putting the CAP on ENaC

Background: Excessive activation of epithelial sodium channels (ENaC) contributes to CF lung pathophysiology due to the resultant dehydration of the airway surface liquid (ASL) and impaired mucociliary clearance. Regulated proteolysis of the endogenous α and γ subunits of ENaC by apical membrane-bound Channel Activating Proteases (CAPs) is a fundamental regulatory mechanism for channel activity. In the CF lung a stark imbalance between the levels of CAPs and their natural inhibitors drives the activation of normally inactive ENaC. On this basis inhibition of CAPs-ENaC signalling represents a potential therapeutic intervention. To this end we have developed a novel cell impermeable active-site directed compound (QUB-TL1) designed to inactivate key trypsin-like CAPs highly relevant in this regard. Objectives & Methods: Utilize differentiated non-CF and CF human airway epithelial cells to assess the impact of QUB-TL1 on a range of parameters including surface CAP activities, ENaC subunit processing/channel activity, ASL height and mucociliary clearance. Results: Treatment of airway epithelial cells with QUB-TL1 results in the significant downregulation of key endogenous CAP activities found to be excessively active at the surface of CF cultures. QUB-TL1-mediated CAP inhibition subsequently causes the internalisation of a pool of processed (active) ENaCγ prominent at the apical surface of CF cultures which correlates with a decline in channel activity. This downregulation of ENaC activity results in an increase in ASL height and improved mucociliary clearance in CF cells. We further find QUB-TL1 uniquely inhibits the ENaC activating enzyme furin, which is in contrast to the alternate trypsin-like CAP inhibitors camostat mesylate and aprotinin. QUB-TL1-mediated furin inhibition correlates with a reduction in neutrophil elastase-induced ENaC activation. Moreover we find QUB-TL1 treatment protects CF cultures from Pseudomonas aeruginosa exotoxin A-induced cytotoxicity. Pseudomonas aeruginosa exotoxin A is a major toxic product activated by furin and positively associated with mortality. Conclusion: The novel inhibitor (QUB-TL1) dampens CAPs-ENaC signalling which improves hydration status mucociliary clearance in CF airway epithelial cell cultures. Moreover this compound provides additional benefit by preventing Pseudomonas aeruginosa exotoxin A-induced cytotoxicity.