Investigaciones financiadas por la Unión Europea (OpenAire) - Europar Batasunak finantzatutako ikerketak (OpenAire)

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Open Access
Experimental evaluation of the safety performance of lithium-ion batteries based on abuse areas
(IEEE, 2024) Lalinde Sainz, Iñaki; Berrueta Irigoyen, Alberto; Valera, Juan José; Arza, Joseba; Sanchis Gúrpide, Pablo; Ursúa Rubio, Alfredo; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoa eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritza; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC; Gobierno de Navarra / Nafarroako Gobernua
Safety issues associated with lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) jeopardize their widespread adoption in both stationary applications and electric vehicles. One of the factors that can most affect the safety of a LIB is its chemistry. For this reason, this article aims to evaluate the safety of the two main current chemistries, LFP and NMC. In particular, the safety of both technologies is examined from the perspective of the areas of abuse that characterize their behavior beyond the safe operation area. A commercial 5 Ah pouch cell with LFP chemistry is subjected to various overtemperature and overcharge abuses at different conditions. The results obtained for LFP chemistry cell are discussed together with those for NMC cell from a previous work of the authors. Identification of the abuse areas allows for a comparative analysis of the safety of both chemistries, providing a valuable tool for classifying the abuse behavior of LIBs.
Open Access
Integrated Lithium-ion battery model and experimental validation of a second-life prototype
(IEEE, 2023-08-31) Pérez Ibarrola, Ane; San Martín Biurrun, Idoia; Sanchis Gúrpide, Pablo; Ursúa Rubio, Alfredo; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoa eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritza; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC; Gobierno de Navarra / Nafarroako Gobernua
A battery model predicts the battery performance, which can be a useful tool for optimizing battery design and preventing unsafe operation. This becomes especially significant in second-life batteries where the cells have already endured degradation and predicting the lifetime becomes challenging. The assessment of physical phenomena is often performed individually, but the overall battery behavior depends on their interaction. For this purpose, an integrated battery model is developed. Equivalent electric circuits are interconnected to represent the electrochemical reactions, thermodynamic phenomena, and heat transfer mechanisms of the battery. To consider cell degradation, calendar and cycling aging were represented using a semi-empirical model. A battery management system is included to oversee and remain within the safe limits of battery voltage, temperature, and current. Additionally, a passive cell balancing distributes charge evenly. The integrated model is applied to a second-life battery prototype with a nominal capacity and power of 45 Ah and 4 kW, respectively. Its performance is validated with constant current and power cycles, as well as in a microgrid with photovoltaic generation under a self-consumption profile. The model accurately reproduces experimental results of battery power, voltage, temperature, and state of charge.
Open Access
Comparing a mid-air two-hand pinching point-and-click technique with mouse, keyboard and touchfree
(Association for Computing Machinery, 2024-01-18) Lafuente Duque, Melchor; Elizondo Martínez, Sonia; Fernández Ortega, Unai Javier; Marzo Pérez, Asier; Estadística, Informática y Matemáticas; Estatistika, Informatika eta Matematika
Some of our daily activities are performed by interacting with public touchscreens, such as food kiosks, bank tellers and newsstands. Nonetheless, the physical contact with these screens that are used by different people may be considered unhygienic. To avoid contact, some screens already integrate one-hand contactless interaction technologies, i.e. Leap Motion Controller, though they may lead to arm fatigue and slow performance. We present LeapPointer, a mid-Air two-hand pinching point-And-click technique. Specifically, this technique relies on a Leap Motion device to track both hands, and proposes a new software tool that allows bimanual selection through pointing and pinching gestures. A user study was performed to compare LeapPointer with two other techniques: The common mouse/keyboard and the current UltraLeap's TouchFree technique. Task completion time and accuracy as well as subjective data were gathered. The analysis of these data suggested that LeapPointer is significantly faster than the other touchless technique although less accurate. Self-reported fatigue was less with LeapPointer than with TouchFree.
Open Access
ZnO based, piezotronic optical fiber sensors for tracing volatile organic compounds
(IEEE, 2023-09-04) López Torres, Diego; Elosúa Aguado, César; Pappas, Georgios A.; Konstantaki, Maria; Klini, Argyro; Lappas, Alexandros; Arregui San Martín, Francisco Javier; Pissadakis, Stavros; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoa eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritza
The detection of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is a major market and research domain, where optical sensing technologies have shown promising advances. Accordingly, ZnO has been extensively used as a transduction material in the sensing of VOCs in the vapour phase, while employing both resistive and optical detection methodologies. ZnO also exhibits significant piezoelectric properties, which in turn have been recently used in the development of piezotronic self-powered, sensing and actuating devices.
Open Access
Real-time object geopositioning from monocular target detection/tracking for aerial cinematography
(IEEE, 2023-12-08) Aláez Gómez, Daniel; Mygdalis, Vasileios; Villadangos Alonso, Jesús; Pitas, Ioannis; Estadística, Informática y Matemáticas; Estatistika, Informatika eta Matematika
In recent years, the field of automated aerial cinematography has seen a significant increase in demand for real-time 3D target geopositioning for motion and shot planning. To this end, many of the existing cinematography plans require the use of complex sensors that need to be equipped on the subject or rely on external motion systems. This work addresses this problem by combining monocular visual target detection and tracking with a simple ground intersection model. Under the assumption that the targets to be filmed typically stand on the ground, 3D target localization is achieved by estimating the direction and the norm of the look-at vector. The proposed algorithm employs an error estimation model that accounts for the error in detecting the bounding box, the height estimation errors, and the uncertainties of the pitch and yaw angles. This algorithm has been fully implemented in a heavy-lifting aerial cinematography hexacopter, and its performance has been evaluated through experimental flights. Results show that typical errors are within 5 meters of absolute distance and 3 degrees of angular error for distances to the target of around 100 meters.
Open Access
Spin waves in ferrimagnets near the angular magnetization compensation temperature: a micromagnetic study
(American Institute of Physics, 2024) Sánchez-Tejerina, Luis; Osuna Ruiz, David; Martínez, Eduardo; López-Díaz, Luis; Raposo Víctor; Alejos, Óscar; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoa eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritza
Spin wave propagation along a ferrimagnetic strip with out-of-plane magnetization is studied by means of micromagnetic simulations. The ferrimagnetic material is considered to be formed by two antiferromagnetically coupled sub-lattices. Two critical temperatures can be defined for such systems: that of magnetization compensation and that of angular momentum compensation, both different due to distinct Landé factors for each sub-lattice. Spin waves in the strip are excited by a spin current injected at one of its edges. The obtained dispersion diagrams show exchange-dominated forward volume spin waves. For a given excitation frequency, the Néel vector describes highly eccentric orbits, the eccentricity depending on temperature, whose semi-major axis is oriented differently at distinct locations on the FiM strip.
Open Access
Harnessing the potential of radiative cooling for the built environment: a new comprehensive protocol for materials' characterization
(Elsevier, 2024-07-26) Chiatti, Chiara; Marchini, Francesco; Fabiani, Claudia; Kousis, Ioannis; Carlosena Remírez, Laura; Pisello, Anna Laura; Ingeniería; Ingeniaritza; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC
The pursuit of novel materials for radiative cooling (RC) holds immense promise in addressing building energy saving and urban overheating. RC capitalizes on the principle of dissipating heat energy into space, specifically through the atmospheric window between 8-13 μm, to achieve passive cooling of surfaces. However, the absence of a standardized and reliable methodology for characterizing RC materials has introduced inconsistencies in research findings, impeding collective advancements in the field. To address this issue, a dedicated experimental protocol is here introduced, as a unifying benchmark for the characterization of RC materials. This procedure aims to provide comprehensive, consistent, and precise data regarding crucial properties of RC cooling materials, including thermal stability, spectral radiative behavior, and thermal performance under both controlled and realistic boundary conditions. To demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed methodology, we designed and implemented a comparative study involving an aluminum-based and a Vikuiti-based sample incorporating a silica-derived polymer as an emissive layer. Notably, our findings reveal that the Vikuiti prototype outperforms the aluminum counterpart, primarily attributable to its superior solar reflectance and thermal emittance characteristics. This research not only advances our understanding of RC materials but also offers a crucial step toward uniform characterization methods that can catalyze further research and scaling up of radiative cooling technologies.
Open Access
Synthesis and raman detection of 5-amino-2-mercaptobenzimidazole self-assembled monolayers in nanoparticle-on-a-mirror plasmonic cavity driven by dielectric waveguides
(American Chemical Society, 2024) Redolat, Javier; Camarena-Pérez, María; Griol, Amadeu; Sinusia Lozano, Miguel; Gómez-Gómez, María Isabel; Vázquez Lozano, Juan Enrique; Miele, Ermanno; Baumberg, Jeremy J.; Martínez, Alejandro; Pinilla-Cienfuegos, Elena; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoa eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritza; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC
Functionalization of metallic surfaces by molecular monolayers is a key process in fields such as nanophotonics or biotechnology. To strongly enhance light-matter interaction in such monolayers, nanoparticle-on-a-mirror (NPoM) cavities can be formed by placing metal nanoparticles on such chemically functionalized metallic monolayers. In this work, we present a novel functionalization process of gold surfaces using 5-amino-2-mercaptobenzimidazole (5-A-2MBI) molecules, which can be used for upconversion from THz to visible frequencies. The synthesized surfaces and NPoM cavities are characterized by Raman spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and advancing-receding contact angle measurements. Moreover, we show that NPoM cavities can be efficiently integrated on a silicon-based photonic chip performing pump injection and Raman-signal extraction via silicon nitride waveguides. Our results open the way for the use of 5-A-2MBI monolayers in different applications, showing that NPoM cavities can be effectively integrated with photonic waveguides, enabling on-chip enhanced Raman spectroscopy or detection of infrared and THz radiation.
Open Access
Cases of trisomy 21 and trisomy 18 among historic and prehistoric individuals discovered from ancient DNA
(Nature Research, 2024) Rohrlach, Adam Benjamin; Rivollat, Maïté; Miguel-Ibáñez, Patxuka de; Moilanen, Ulla; Liira, Anne-Mari; Teixeira, João C.; Roca-Rada, Xavier; Armendáriz Martija, Javier; Boyadzhiev, Kamen; Boyadzhiev, Yavor; Llamas, Bastien; Tiliakou, Anthi; Mötsch, Angela; Tuke, Jonathan; Prevedorou, Eleni-Anna; Polychronakou-Sgouritsa, Naya; Buikstra, Jane; Onkamo, Päivi; Stockhammer, Philipp W.; Heyne, Henrike O.; Lemke, Johannes R.; Risch, Roberto; Schiffels, Stephan; Krause, Johannes; Haak, Wolfgang; Prüfer, Kay; Ciencias humanas y de la educación; Giza eta Hezkuntza Zientziak
Aneuploidies, and in particular, trisomies represent the most common genetic aberrations observed in human genetics today. To explore the presence of trisomies in historic and prehistoric populations we screen nearly 10,000 ancient human individuals for the presence of three copies of any of the target autosomes. We find clear genetic evidence for six cases of trisomy 21 (Down syndrome) and one case of trisomy 18 (Edwards syndrome), and all cases are present in infant or perinatal burials. We perform comparative osteological examinations of the skeletal remains and find overlapping skeletal markers, many of which are consistent with these syndromes. Interestingly, three cases of trisomy 21, and the case of trisomy 18 were detected in two contemporaneous sites in early Iron Age Spain (800-400 BCE), potentially suggesting a higher frequency of burials of trisomy carriers in those societies. Notably, the care with which the burials were conducted, and the items found with these individuals indicate that ancient societies likely acknowledged these individuals with trisomy 18 and 21 as members of their communities, from the perspective of burial practice.
Open Access
Von Neumann entropy and Lindblad decoherence in the high-energy limit of strong interactions
(American Physical Society, 2024) Chachamis, Grigorios; Hentschinski, Martin; Sabio Vera, Agustin; Estadística, Informática y Matemáticas; Estatistika, Informatika eta Matematika
Quantum properties of the state associated to the gluon Green's function in the Balitsky-Fadin-Kuraev-Lipatov approach are studied using a discretization in virtuality space. Considering the coupling constant as imaginary, its density matrix corresponds to a pure state for any energy. Nonlinear corrections due to high gluon densities are modeled through a suppression of infrared modes in the Hamiltonian making it no longer Hermitian. This introduces quantum decoherence into the evolution equation. When the coupling is real this leads to unbounded normalization of states which becomes bounded for sufficient saturation of infrared modes. Physical quantum properties, such as a purity smaller than one or a positive von Neumann entropy, hence are recovered when the infrared/ultraviolet original symmetry of the formalism is broken. Similarly to the work of Armesto, Domínguez, Kovner, Lublinsky and Skokov in [J. High Energy Phys. 05 (2019) 025JHEPFG1029-847910.1007/JHEP05(2019)025], an evolution equation of Lindblad type for the normalized density matrix describing the open system is obtained.
Open Access
Interplay of the mediterranean diet and genetic hypertension risk on blood pressure in european adolescents: findings from the HELENA study
(Springer, 2024) Pérez-Gimeno, Gloria; Seral-Cortes, Miguel; Sabroso-Lasa, Sergio; Esteban, Luis Mariano; Widhalm, Kurt; Gottrand, Frédéric; Stehle, Peter; Meirhaeghe, Aline; Muntaner, Manon; Kafatos, Antonios; Gutiérrez, Ángel; Manios, Yannis; Anastasiou, Costas A.; González Gross, Marcela; Breidenassel, Christina; Censi, Laura; Henauw, Stefaan de; Labayen Goñi, Idoia; Bueno-Lozano, Gloria; Rupérez, Azahara I.; Moreno, Luis A.; Ciencias de la Salud; Osasun Zientziak; Institute on Innovation and Sustainable Development in Food Chain - ISFOOD
Early-life onset of high blood pressure is associated with the development of cardiovascular diseases in adulthood. In adolescents, limited evidence exists regarding the association between adherence to the Mediterranean Diet (MedDiet) and normal blood pressure (BP) levels, as well as its potential to modulate genetic predisposition to HTN. This study investigated the interaction between a MedDiet score and a recently developed HTN-genetic risk score (HTN-GRS) on blood pressure levels in a European adolescent cohort. The MedDiet score was derived from two non-consecutive 24-h dietary recalls and ranged from 0 (indicating low adherence) to 9 (indicating high adherence). Multiple linear regression models, adjusted for covariates, were employed to examine the relationship between the MedDiet score and BP z-scores and to assess the interaction effects between the MedDiet score and HTN-GRS on BP z-scores. MedDiet score showed a negative association with z-systolic BP (SBP) (ß = -0.40, p < 0.001) and z-diastolic BP (DBP) (ß = -0.29, p = 0.001). Additionally, a significant interaction effect was identified between the MedDiet score and HTN-GRS on z-SBP (ß = 0.02, p < 0.001) and z-DBP (ß = 0.02, p < 0.001). The modulatory effect of the MedDiet was more pronounced in females than in males, and HTN-GRS exhibited a stronger influence on DBP than on SBP. Conclusion: The study suggests that higher adherence to the MedDiet is associated with reduced BP levels in adolescents and provides evidence of a genetic-diet interaction influencing BP in adolescents. (Table presented.)
Open Access
Preserving the fairness guarantees of classifiers in changing environments: a survey
(Association for Computing Machinery, 2023) Barrainkua, Ainhize; Gordaliza Pastor, Paula; Lozano, Jose Antonio; Quadrianto, Novi; Estadística, Informática y Matemáticas; Estatistika, Informatika eta Matematika
The impact of automated decision-making systems on human lives is growing, emphasizing the need for these systems to be not only accurate but also fair. The ield of algorithmic fairness has expanded signiicantly in the past decade, with most approaches assuming that training and testing data are drawn independently and identically from the same distribution. However, in practice, diferences between the training and deployment environments exist, compromising both the performance and fairness of the decision-making algorithms in real-world scenarios. A new area of research has emerged to address how to maintain fairness guarantees in classiication tasks when the data generation processes difer between the source (training) and target (testing) domains. The objective of this survey is to ofer a comprehensive examination of fair classiication under distribution shift by presenting a taxonomy of current approaches. The latter is formulated based on the available information from the target domain, distinguishing between adaptive methods, which adapt to the target environment based on available information, and robust methods, which make minimal assumptions about the target environment. Additionally, this study emphasizes alternative benchmarking methods, investigates the interconnection with related research ields, and identiies potential avenues for future research.
Open Access
The marbling of carcases is determined more by the characteristics of the animals themselves than by farming practices
(Taylor and Francis Group, 2024) Albechaalany, John; Insausti Barrenetxea, Kizkitza; Ellies-Oury, Marie Pierre; Institute on Innovation and Sustainable Development in Food Chain - ISFOOD
Improved marbling could be of great benefit to the beef industry, responding more effectively to consumer preferences and increasing the market value of the product. To identify the management elements that could determine the degree of marbling of carcases, 128 cows were collected on six different farms, each using different breeding and feeding practices. Multiple statistical tests were carried out to determine whether marbling was more influenced by animal characteristics than by management practices. As expected, within the same farm, the practices used to finish the cows were the same from one animal to the next. We confirm that there was indeed a general level of marbling per farm (highly marbled animals coming from farms ‘used’ to producing highly marbled animals), without being able to determine the weight of genetic choices or feeding and management practices in this determinism. However, we were able to establish that very high marbled carcases came from heavier slaughtered animals and were associated with (1) management that maximised finishing times and time spent on grass (during the animal’s life) and (2) finishing diets rich in maize (grain or silage) and containing flax. The practices and performances associated with low and medium marbling carcases were difficult to separate using the indicators available in this study but were opposite to those of high marbling carcases. This ‘overall level of marbling’ on the farm makes it possible to prioritise the practices that favour or do not favour the development of marbling on the carcase, and allows to formulate advice to breeders to increase the marbling of their carcases. However, there are still grey areas to be covered to effectively achieve a maximum success rate, which will require further work and a more detailed characterisation of the practices and genetic orientations of the animals.
Open Access
Nature-based strategies to regenerate the functioning and biodiversity of vineyards
(Wiley, 2024) Ochoa‐Hueso, Raúl; Cantos‐Villar, Emma; Puertas, Belén; Aguiar del Río, Juan F.; Belda, Ignacio; Delgado-Baquerizo, Manuel; Fernández, Victoria; Gallardo, Antonio; García-Morales, José L.; Garde-Cerdán, Teresa; Santesteban García, Gonzaga; Lazcano, Cristina; Liberal, Isabel M.; Serrano-Grijalva, Lilia; Tortosa, Germán; Casimiro‐Soriguer, Ramón; Agronomía, Biotecnología y Alimentación; Agronomia, Bioteknologia eta Elikadura; Institute for Multidisciplinary Research in Applied Biology - IMAB
Grapevine is one of the most important perennial fruit crops worldwide. Historically, vineyards were compatible with soil conservation practices and multitrophic biodiversity, but vineyards are now generally eroded and biologically impoverished, making them more susceptible to pests and diseases. However, the idiosyncrasy of the wine sector places wine growers in a unique position to lead the adoption of a range of sustainable management strategies and, thus, to pioneer a wider transformation of the agricultural sector. In this article, we provide an overview of nature-based management strategies that may be used for the regeneration of the functioning and biodiversity of vineyards and that may also lead to improved plant nutrition, grape berry quality and the suppression of pathogens and pests. These strategies include the use of microbial and nonmicrobial biostimulants, fertilization with organic amendments as well as foliar fertilization with nature-based products, the use of cover crops and the reintegration of livestock in vineyards, especially sheep. We will also pay special attention to the implementation of circular economy in the vineyard in relation to the previously mentioned management strategies and will also discuss the importance of considering all these aspects from a holistic and integrative perspective, rather than taking them into account as single factors. Assuming the integral role of soils in the functioning of agroecosystems, soils will be considered transversally across all sections. Finally, we will argue that the time is now ripe for innovation from the public and private sectors to contribute to the sustainable management of vineyards while maintaining, or even improving, the profit margin for farmers and winemakers.
Open Access
The transcriptional landscape of plant infection by the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae reveals distinct families of temporally co-regulated and structurally conserved effectors
(Oxford University Press, 2023) Yan, Xia; Tang, Bozeng; Ryder, Lauren S.; MacLean, Dan; Were, Vincent M.; Eseola, Alice Bisola; Cruz-Mireles, Neftaly; Ma, Weibin; Foster, Andrew J.; Osés Ruiz, Miriam; Talbot, Nicholas J.; Agronomía, Biotecnología y Alimentación; Agronomia, Bioteknologia eta Elikadura
The rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae causes a devastating disease that threatens global rice (Oryza sativa) production. Despite intense study, the biology of plant tissue invasion during blast disease remains poorly understood. Here we report a high-resolution transcriptional profiling study of the entire plant-associated development of the blast fungus. Our analysis revealed major temporal changes in fungal gene expression during plant infection. Pathogen gene expression could be classified into 10 modules of temporally co-expressed genes, providing evidence for the induction of pronounced shifts in primary and secondary metabolism, cell signaling, and transcriptional regulation. A set of 863 genes encoding secreted proteins are differentially expressed at specific stages of infection, and 546 genes named MEP (Magnaporthe effector protein) genes were predicted to encode effectors. Computational prediction of structurally related MEPs, including the MAX effector family, revealed their temporal co-regulation in the same co-expression modules. We characterized 32 MEP genes and demonstrate that Mep effectors are predominantly targeted to the cytoplasm of rice cells via the biotrophic interfacial complex and use a common unconventional secretory pathway. Taken together, our study reveals major changes in gene expression associated with blast disease and identifies a diverse repertoire of effectors critical for successful infection.
Open Access
New horizons in near-zero refractive index photonics and hyperbolic metamaterials
(American Chemical Society, 2023) Lobet, Michaël; Kinsey, Nathaniel; Liberal Olleta, Íñigo; Caglayan, Humeyra; Huidobro, Paloma A.; Galiffi, Emanuele; Mejía-Salazar, Jorge Ricardo; Palermo, Giovanna; Jacob, Zubin; Maccaferri, Nicolò; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoaren eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritzaren
The engineering of the spatial and temporal properties of both the electric permittivity and the refractive index of materials is at the core of photonics. When vanishing to zero, those two variables provide efficient knobs to control light-matter interactions. This Perspective aims at providing an overview of the state of the art and the challenges in emerging research areas where the use of near-zero refractive index and hyperbolic metamaterials is pivotal, in particular, light and thermal emission, nonlinear optics, sensing applications, and time-varying photonics.
Open Access
Hepatocyte-specific loss of GPS2 in mice reduces non-alcoholic steatohepatitis via activation of PPARα
(Nature Research, 2019) Liang, Ning; Damdimopoulos, Anastasius; Goñi Irigoyen, Saioa; Huang, Zhiqiang; Vedin, Lise-Lotte; Jakobsson, Tomas; Giudici, Marco; Ahmed, Osman; Pedrelli, Matteo; Barilla, Serena; Alzaid, Fawaz; Mendoza, Arturo; Schröder, Tarja; Kuiper, Raoul; Parini, Paolo; Hollenberg, Anthony; Lefebvre, Philippe; Francque, Sven; Van Gaal, Luc; Staels, Bart; Venteclef, Nicolas; Treuter, Eckardt; Fan, Rongrong; Ciencias de la Salud; Osasun Zientziak
Obesity triggers the development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which involves alterations of regulatory transcription networks and epigenomes in hepatocytes. Here we demonstrate that G protein pathway suppressor 2 (GPS2), a subunit of the nuclear receptor corepressor (NCOR) and histone deacetylase 3 (HDAC3) complex, has a central role in these alterations and accelerates the progression of NAFLD towards non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Hepatocyte-specific Gps2 knockout in mice alleviates the development of diet-induced steatosis and fibrosis and causes activation of lipid catabolic genes. Integrative cistrome, epigenome and transcriptome analysis identifies the lipid-sensing peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα, NR1C1) as a direct GPS2 target. Liver gene expression data from human patients reveal that Gps2 expression positively correlates with a NASH/fibrosis gene signature. Collectively, our data suggest that the GPS2-PPARα partnership in hepatocytes coordinates the progression of NAFLD in mice and in humans and thus might be of therapeutic interest.
Open Access
Isolation of Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) from salmonids for potential use as probiotics: in vitro assays and toxicity assessment of salmo trutta embryonated eggs
(MDPI, 2024) Vargas González, Augusto; Barajas Vélez, Miguel Ángel; Pérez Sánchez, Tania; Ciencias de la Salud; Osasun Zientziak
This research investigates the potential of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) from freshwater salmonids as prospective probiotics for application in aquaculture. LAB and pathogenic bacteria were obtained from mucus and tissues of Oncorhynchus mykiss and Salmo trutta from fish farms in northeast Spain that had not used antibiotics for the six months preceding the study. Isolates were identified using Gram staining and sequencing of 16S rRNA and ITS-1. To assess the safety of the LAB, antibiotic susceptibility tests (ASTs) against 23 antimicrobials were performed. In vitro antagonism assays were conducted to evaluate the inhibitory effects of living LAB using the agar diffusion test method and their metabolites using the agar well diffusion method. The assays targeted six specific pathogens: Aeromonas salmonicida subsp. salmonicida, Carnobacterium maltaromaticum, Vagococcus salmoninarum, Yersinia ruckeri, Lactococcus garvieae, and the marine pathogen Vibrio jasicida. Additionally, a toxicity assay was conducted on embryonic eggs of S. trutta. The ASTs on probiotic LAB candidates revealed varied responses to antimicrobials, but no resistance to oxytetracycline or florfenicol, which are two antibiotics commonly used in aquaculture, was detected. The in vitro assays indicate that LAB exhibit antagonistic effects against pathogens, primarily when directly stimulated by their presence. In applications involving embryonic eggs or larvae, certain live strains of LAB were found to have adverse effects, with some isolates resulting in higher mortality rates compared to the control group or other isolates. Furthermore, the potential pathogenicity of certain LAB strains, typically considered safe in salmonids, warrants deeper investigation.
Open Access
Mid-air contactless haptics to augment VR experiences
(Association for Computing Machinery, 2023) Ezcurdia Aguirre, Íñigo Fermín; Fernández Ortega, Unai Javier; Olaz Moratinos, Xabier; Marzo Pérez, Asier; Estadística, Informática y Matemáticas; Estatistika, Informatika eta Matematika; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC
We present four technologies to deliver contactless haptic stimuli for enriching Virtual Reality (VR) experiences. The technologies are electrostatic piloerection, focused light-induced heat, electric plasma, and ultrasound; the user does not require to wear or touch any device. We describe the working principle behind each technology and how these technologies can provide new exciting sensations in VR experiences. Additionally, we showcase a VR demo experience gathering all four remote haptic stimuli along a circuit for the users to experiment with these new sensations.
Open Access
On the characterization of lithium-ion batteries under overtemperature and overcharge conditions: identification of abuse areas and experimental validation
(Elsevier, 2024) Lalinde Sainz, Iñaki; Berrueta Irigoyen, Alberto; Arza, Joseba; Sanchis Gúrpide, Pablo; Ursúa Rubio, Alfredo; Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y de Comunicación; Institute of Smart Cities - ISC; Ingeniaritza Elektrikoa, Elektronikoaren eta Telekomunikazio Ingeniaritzaren; Universidad Pública de Navarra / Nafarroako Unibertsitate Publikoa
Although lithium-ion batteries have gained considerable popularity in renewable energy and electric vehicle applications, their safety still remains a concern under certain voltage, temperature, or state of charge conditions. This can lead to degradation and potential thermal runaway. In order to improve the safety assessment of LIBs based on their operating conditions, it is therefore essential to analyze not only their safe operating area but also their abuse region. This study focuses on the characterization of the abuse region of lithium-ion batteries by proposing a new methodology in which four areas of abuse are identified and experimentally validated using a commercial 3.6 Ah pouch cell. The cell is subjected to overtemperature and overcharge conditions, exploring various states of charge (0 to 200%) and ambient temperatures (25 to 100 °C). The influence of temperature and state of charge on the battery's behavior is thoroughly analyzed to fully characterize the abuse region. Results reveal the limiting temperatures and states of charge that define the boundaries of the abuse areas. By extending the characterization of LIBs behavior beyond the safe operation area with the determination of four areas of abuse, this article contributes to a better understanding of the phenomena and abuse mechanisms produced by overtemperature and overcharge events with an eye to improving battery safety.