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[EN] Quadrantanopia caused by inadvertent severing of Meyer's Loop of the optic radiation is a well-recognised complication of temporal lobectomy for conditions such as epilepsy. Dissection studies indicate that the anterior extent of Meyer's Loop varies considerably between individuals. Quantifying this for individual patients is thus an important step to improve the safety profile of temporal lobectomies. Previous attempts to delineate Meyer's Loop using diffusion MRI tractography have had difficulty estimating its full anterior extent, required manual ROI placement, and/or relied on advanced diffusion sequences that cannot be acquired routinely in most clinics. Here we present CONSULT: a pipeline that can delineate the optic radiation from raw DICOM data in a completely automated way via a combination of robust pre-processing, segmentation, and alignment stages, plus simple improvements that bolster the efficiency and reliability of standard tractography. We tested CONSULT on 696 scans of predominantly healthy participants (539 unique brains), including both advanced acquisitions and simpler acquisitions that could be acquired in clinically acceptable timeframes. Delineations completed without error in 99.4% of the scans. The distance between Meyer's Loop and the temporal pole closely matched both averages and ranges reported in dissection studies for all tested sequences. Median scan-rescan error of this distance was 1¿mm. When tested on two participants with considerable pathology, delineations were successful and realistic. Through this, we demonstrate not only how to identify Meyer's Loop with clinically feasible sequences, but also that this can be achieved without fundamental changes to tractography algorithms or complex post-processing methods.

[EN] Previous literature about the structural characterization of the human cerebellum is related to the context of a specific pathology or focused in a restricted age range. In fact, studies about the cerebellum maturation across the lifespan are scarce and most of them considered the cerebellum as a whole without investigating each lobule. This lack of study can be explained by the lack of both accurate segmentation methods and data availability. Fortunately, during the last years, several cerebellum segmenta- tion methods have been developed and many databases comprising subjects of dif- ferent ages have been made publically available. This fact opens an opportunity window to obtain a more extensive analysis of the cerebellum maturation and aging. In this study, we have used a recent state-of-the-art cerebellum segmentation method called CERES and a large data set (N = 2,831 images) from healthy controls covering the entire lifespan to provide a model for 12 cerebellum structures (i.e., lob- ules I-II, III, IV, VI, Crus I, Crus II, VIIB, VIIIA, VIIIB, IX, and X). We found that lobules have generally an evolution that follows a trajectory composed by a fast growth and a slow degeneration having sometimes a plateau for absolute volumes, and a decreasing tendency (faster in early ages) for normalized volumes. Special consider- ation is dedicated to Crus II, where slow degeneration appears to stabilize in elder ages for absolute volumes, and to lobule X, which does not present any fast growth during childhood in absolute volumes and shows a slow growth for normalized volumes.

[EN] The work here reported analyzes the effect of increased efficiency of brainderived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) production by electroporated Schwann cells (SCs) on the axonal extension in a coculture system on a biomaterial platform that can be of interest for the treatment of injuries of the nervous system, both central and peripheral. Rat SCs are electrotransfected with a plasmid coding for the BDNF protein in order to achieve an increased expression and release of this protein into the culture medium of the cells, performing the best balance between the level of transfection and the number of living cells. Gene-transfected SCs show an about 100-fold increase in the release of BDNF into the culture medium, compared to nonelectroporated SCs. Cocultivation of electroporated SCs with rat dorsal root ganglia (DRG) is performed on highly aligned substrates of polylactic acid (PLA) microfibers coated with the electroconductive polymer polypyrrol (PPy). The coculture of DRG with electrotransfected SCs increase both the axonal extension and the axonal sprouting from DRG neurons compared to the coculture of DRG with nonelectroporated SCs. Therefore, the use of PLA¿PPy highly aligned microfiber substrates preseeded with electrotransfected SCs with an increased BDNF secretion is capable of both guiding and accelerating axonal growth.

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: del Mar Álvarez-Torres, M., Juan-Albarracín, J., Fuster-Garcia, E., Bellvís-Bataller, F., Lorente, D., Reynés, G., Font de Mora, J., Aparici-Robles, F., Botella, C., Muñoz-Langa, J., Faubel, R., Asensio-Cuesta, S., García-Ferrando, G.A., Chelebian, E., Auger, C., Pineda, J., Rovira, A., Oleaga, L., Mollà-Olmos, E., Revert, A.J., Tshibanda, L., Crisi, G., Emblem, K.E., Martin, D., Due-Tønnessen, P., Meling, T.R., Filice, S., Sáez, C. and García-Gómez, J.M. (2020), Robust association between vascular habitats and patient prognosis in glioblastoma: An international multicenter study. J Magn Reson Imaging, 51: 1478-1486, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1002/jmri.26958. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving., [EN] Background Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most aggressive primary brain tumor, characterized by a heterogeneous and abnormal vascularity. Subtypes of vascular habitats within the tumor and edema can be distinguished: high angiogenic tumor (HAT), low angiogenic tumor (LAT), infiltrated peripheral edema (IPE), and vasogenic peripheral edema (VPE). Purpose To validate the association between hemodynamic markers from vascular habitats and overall survival (OS) in glioblastoma patients, considering the intercenter variability of acquisition protocols. Study Type Multicenter retrospective study. Population In all, 184 glioblastoma patients from seven European centers participating in the NCT03439332 clinical study. Field Strength/Sequence 1.5T (for 54 patients) or 3.0T (for 130 patients). Pregadolinium and postgadolinium-based contrast agent-enhanced T-1-weighted MRI, T-2- and FLAIR T-2-weighted, and dynamic susceptibility contrast (DSC) T-2* perfusion. Assessment We analyzed preoperative MRIs to establish the association between the maximum relative cerebral blood volume (rCBV(max)) at each habitat with OS. Moreover, the stratification capabilities of the markers to divide patients into "vascular" groups were tested. The variability in the markers between individual centers was also assessed. Statistical Tests Uniparametric Cox regression; Kaplan-Meier test; Mann-Whitney test. Results The rCBV(max) derived from the HAT, LAT, and IPE habitats were significantly associated with patient OS (P < 0.05; hazard ratio [HR]: 1.05, 1.11, 1.28, respectively). Moreover, these markers can stratify patients into "moderate-" and "high-vascular" groups (P < 0.05). The Mann-Whitney test did not find significant differences among most of the centers in markers (HAT: P = 0.02-0.685; LAT: P = 0.010-0.769; IPE: P = 0.093-0.939; VPE: P = 0.016-1.000). Data Conclusion The rCBV(max) calculated in HAT, LAT, and IPE habitats have been validated as clinically relevant prognostic biomarkers for gli

[EN] Buildings account 40% of the EU's total energy consumption. Therefore, they represent a key potential source of energy savings to fight, among others, against climate change. Furthermore, around 54% of the buildings in Spain date back before 1980, when no thermal regulation was available. The refurbishment of a façade of an old building is usually the most effective way to improve its energy efficiency, by adding layers to the external envelope in order to reduce its thermal transmittance. This paper deals with the problem of minimizing costs for the thermal refurbishment of a façade with thickness and thermal ransmittance bounds and with an intervention both on the opaque part (wall) and the transparent part (windows). Among thousands, even millions of combinations of materials and thicknesses for the different layers to be added to the opaque part, types of frame, and combinations of glasses and air chambers for the transparent part, the aim is to choose the one that minimizes the cost without violating any restriction imposed to the thermal refurbishment, in particular the current energy efficiency regulations in the zone. To optimally solve this problem, it will be modelled as an Integer Linear Programming problem with binary variables. The case study will be Building 1B of the School for Building Engineering of the Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain. It was built in the late 1960s and has had a very inefficient energy consumption record. The optimal solution will be found among more than 6 million feasible solutions.

[EN] Deep neural networks (DNNs) have emerged as a state-of-the-art tool in very different research fields due to its adaptive power to the decision space since they do not presuppose any linear relationship between data. Some of the main disadvantages of these trending models are that the choice of the network underlying architecture profoundly influences the performance of the model and that the architecture design requires prior knowledge of the field of study. The use of questionnaires is hugely extended in social/behavioral sciences. The main contribution of this work is to automate the process of a DNN architecture design by using an agglomerative hierarchical algorithm that mimics the conceptual structure of such surveys. Although the train had regression purposes, it is easily convertible to deal with classification tasks. Our proposed methodology will be tested with a database containing socio-demographic data and the responses to five psychometric Likert scales related to the prediction of happiness. These scales have been already used to design a DNN architecture based on the subdimension of the scales. We show that our new network configurations outperform the previous existing DNN architectures.

[EN] In Physics, many quantities are vectors, and their use requires typical operations such as addition, subtraction, scalar multiplication, scalar product (dot product), vector product (cross product), and scalar triple product. This is a very basic topic in all General Physics courses for Engineering degrees. However, we have detected that some students lack a deep understanding of vector operations and their properties. In this study, we present a virtual laboratory (developed using the tool Easy Java Simulations) for the study and understanding of these topics. The user can introduce the components of the input vectors and gets a three-dimensional representation, which can be scaled and rotated for better visualization. Any of the aforementioned operations can be selected, and the result is shown both numerically and graphically. The user can also modify any represented vector. In this way, the virtual lab provides a real-time visualization of how the change affects the result. The possibility of limiting the changes to either magnitude or direction is also included. The efficiency of the virtual laboratory has been tested analyzing the results obtained in two groups of students (virtual laboratory vs traditional resources). A satisfaction survey has been also carried out.

[EN] A highly regio- and stereoselective synthesis of 3-alkylidene-2-oxindoles has been described through a nucleophilic vinylic substitution (SNV) of (E)-3-(nitromethylene)indolin-2-one using pyrazol-3-ones as nucleophiles and Et3N as a base. The reaction affords selectively the Z-isomer when pyrazol-3-ones without substituents at the 4 position are used. While the reaction is E-selective with 4- substituted pyrazolones. The stereoselectivity (up to >20:1) and the yields (up to 98%) are very high under mild reaction conditions.

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Xie, L, Wisse, LEM, Pluta, J, et al. Automated segmentation of medial temporal lobe subregions on in vivo T1-weighted MRI in early stages of Alzheimer's disease. Hum Brain Mapp. 2019; 40: 3431 3451, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.24607. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving., [EN] Medial temporal lobe (MTL) substructures are the earliest regions affected by neurofibrillary tangle pathology-and thus are promising biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, automatic segmentation of the MTL using only T1-weighted (T1w) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is challenging due to the large anatomical variability of the MTL cortex and the confound of the dura mater, which is commonly segmented as gray matter by state-of-the-art algorithms because they have similar intensity in T1w MRI. To address these challenges, we developed a novel atlas set, consisting of 15 cognitively normal older adults and 14 patients with mild cognitive impairment with a label explicitly assigned to the dura, that can be used by the multiatlas automated pipeline (Automatic Segmentation of Hippocampal Subfields [ASHS-T1]) for the segmentation of MTL subregions, including anterior/posterior hippocampus, entorhinal cortex (ERC), Brodmann areas (BA) 35 and 36, and parahippocampal cortex on T1w MRI. Cross-validation experiments indicated good segmentation accuracy of ASHS-T1 and that the dura can be reliably separated from the cortex (6.5% mislabeled as gray matter). Conversely, FreeSurfer segmented majority of the dura mater (62.4%) as gray matter and the degree of dura mislabeling decreased with increasing disease severity. To evaluate its clinical utility, we applied the pipeline to T1w images of 663 ADNI subjects and significant volume/thickness loss is observed in BA35, ERC, and posterior hippocampus in early prodromal AD and all subregions at later stages. As such, the publicly available new atlas and ASHS-T1 could have important utility in the early diagnosis and monitoring of AD and enhancing brain-behavior studies of these regions.

"This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: [FULL CITE], which has been published in final form at [Link to final article using the DOI]. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.", [EN] Hydroquinine 2,5-diphenyl-4,6-pyrimidinediyl diether [(DHQ)(2)Pyr] catalyzed the regio-, diastereo-, and enantioselective addition of 4-substituted pyrazolones to isatin-derived nitroalkenes, providing a variety of chiral alkenylpyrazolone adducts containing a tetrasubstituted stereocenter bearing an oxindole moiety with excellent yields, regioselectivity, and diastereoselectivity, as well as a moderate enantioselectivity (up to 98 % yield, > 20:1 E/Z ratio dr and 78 % ee). The reaction harnesses a nitroalkene as an alkenylating agent through a Nucleophilic Vinylic Substitution (SNV) reaction.

[EN] Dynamics of multilayer adsorption of macromolecules with different degree of polymerization is studied by coarse¿grained Monte Carlo simulations, focusing on both the interface macromolecule¿surface and chain¿chain interaction in and out of equilibrium conditions. The interfacial interaction between the solid flat surface and the macromolecules is modeled by means of a Lennard¿Jones potential, and inter¿ and intrachain interactions are simulated using bond angle, bond length, and Lennard¿Jones potentials. The results show that local and conformational motions near the glass transition temperature promote configurations with minimal energy, which induce better space efficiency and favor aligned conformations at the interface. In this context, it is also found that restriction of movement, together with the connectivity effect exerted by the partially adsorbed segments, leads to a range of chain lengths that maximizes the molecular groups adsorbed.

[EN] A highly enantioselective addition of hydroxyquinolines to isatin-derived ketimines has been realized using a quinine-derived thiourea organocatalyst. The reaction affords chiral 3-amino-2-oxindoles bearing a quinoline moiety with a quaternary stereocenter in high yields (up to 98%) and excellent enantioselectivities (up to 99%). Moreover, we can extend this methodology for the enantioselective functionalization of 5-hydroxyisoquinoline. This methodology represents, to the best of our knowledge, the first enantioselective addition of hydroxyquinolines to imines.

[EN] Polymer blends based on poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) and poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) have been prepared to analyze the crystallization kinetics of poly(ethylene oxide) confined in semicrystalline PVDF with different ratios of both polymers. Both blend components were dissolved in a common solvent, dimethyl formamide. Blend films were obtained by casting from the solution at 70 degrees C. Thus, PVDF crystals are formed by crystallization from the solution while PEO (which is in the liquid state during the whole process) is confined between PVDF crystallites. The kinetics of crystallization of the confined PEO phase was studied by isothermal and nonisothermal experiments. Fitting of Avrami model to the experimental DSC traces allows a quantitative comparison of the influence of the PVDF/PEO ratio in the blend on the crystallization behavior. The effect of melting and further recrystallization of the PVDF matrix on PEO confinement is also studied. (c) 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2018, 56, 588-597

[EN] Boron ion is essential in metabolism and its concentration is regulated by ion-channel NaBC1. NaBC1 mutations cause corneal dystrophies such as Harboyan syndrome. Here we propose a 3D molecular model for NaBC1 and show that simultaneous stimulation of NaBC1 and vascular growth factor receptors (VEGFR) promote angiogenesis in vitro and in vivo with ultra-low concentrations of VEGF. We show Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells (HUVEC) organization into tubular structures indicative of vascularization potential. Enhanced cell sprouting was found only in the presence of VEGF and boron, effect abrogated after blocking NaBC1. We demonstrate that stimulated NaBC1 promotes angiogenesis via PI3k-independent pathways and that ¿5ß1/¿vß3-integrin binding is not essential to enhanced HUVEC organization. We describe a novel vascularization mechanism that involves the crosstalk and colocalization between NaBC1/VEGFR receptors. This has important translational consequences: just by administering boron, taking advantage of endogenous VEGF, in vivo vascularization is shown in a chorioallantoic membrane assay.

"This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Huerta, Antonio, Enrique Nadal, and Francisco Chinesta. 2018. Proper Generalized Decomposition Solutions within a Domain Decomposition Strategy. International Journal for Numerical Methods in Engineering 113 (13). Wiley: 1972 94. doi:10.1002/nme.5729, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1002/nme.5729. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.", [EN] Domain decomposition strategies and proper generalized decomposition are efficiently combined to obtain a fast evaluation of the solution approximation in parameterized elliptic problems with complex geometries. The classical difficulties associated to the combination of layered domains with arbitrarily oriented midsurfaces, which may require in-plane-out-of-plane techniques, are now dismissed. More generally, solutions on large domains can now be confronted within a domain decomposition approach. This is done with a reduced cost in the offline phase because the proper generalized decomposition gives an explicit description of the solution in each subdomain in terms of the solution at the interface. Thus, the evaluation of the approximation in each subdomain is a simple function evaluation given the interface values (and the other problem parameters). The interface solution can be characterized by any a priori user-defined approximation. Here, for illustration purposes, hierarchical polynomials are used. The repetitiveness of the subdomains is exploited to reduce drastically the offline computational effort. The online phase requires solving a nonlinear problem to determine all the interface solutions. However, this problem only has degrees of freedom on the interfaces and the Jacobian matrix is explicitly determined. Obviously, other parameters characterizing the solution (material constants, external loads, and geometry) can also be incorporated in the explicit description of the solution.

"This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Ibáñez, Jordi, Oriol Blázquez, Sergi Hernández, Blas Garrido, Plácida Rodríguez-Hernández, Alfonso Muñoz, Matias Velázquez, Philippe Veber, and Francisco Javier Manjón. 2018. Lattice Dynamics Study of Cubic Tb 2 O 3. Journal of Raman Spectroscopy 49 (12). Wiley: 2021 27. doi:10.1002/jrs.5488, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1002/jrs.5488. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.", [EN] We report a joint experimental and theoretical study of the lattice dynamics of cubic Tb2O3. Up to 16 optical Raman-active modes have been observed with polarized and unpolarized Raman scattering measurements on a high-quality Tb2O3 single crystal. The measured wavenumbers have been compared with those of other rare-earth (RE) and related sesquioxides with cubic (C-type or bixbyite) structure. First-principles calculations have allowed us to assign the symmetry of the experimentally observed Raman-active modes. Additional lattice-dynamical calculations on the related cubic RE sesquioxides Dy2O3, Gd2O3, Eu2O3, and Sm2O3 indicate that the phonon wavenumbers of the Raman-active modes in these compounds are monotonically reduced with increasing the lattice parameter along the Dy2O3-Tb2O3-Gd2O3-Eu2O3-Sm2O3 series, thus prompting for a revision of the experimental Raman spectra of some of these compounds (mainly Eu2O3 but also Gd2O3).

"This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Planche, V., Koubiyr, I., Romero, J. E., Manjon, J. V., Coupé, P., Deloire, M., ... & Tourdias, T. (2018). Regional hippocampal vulnerability in early multiple sclerosis: Dynamic pathological spreading from dentate gyrus to CA 1. Human brain mapping, 39(4), 1814-1824., which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.23970. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.", [EN] Background: Whether hippocampal subfields are differentially vulnerable at the earliest stages of multiple sclerosis (MS) and how this impacts memory performance is a current topic of debate. Method: We prospectively included 56 persons with clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) suggestive of MS in a 1-year longitudinal study, together with 55 matched healthy controls at baseline. Participants were tested for memory performance and scanned with 3T MRI to assess the volume of 5 distinct hippocampal subfields using automatic segmentation techniques. Results: At baseline, CA4/dentate gyrus was the only hippocampal subfield with a volume significantly smaller than controls (p < .01). After one year, CA4/dentate gyrus atrophy worsened (-6.4%, p < .0001) and significant CA1 atrophy appeared (both in the stratum-pyramidale and the stratum radiatum-lacunosum-moleculare, -5.6%, p < .001 and -6.2%, p < .01, respectively). CA4/dentate gyrus volume at baseline predicted CA1 volume one year after CIS (R-2 = 0.44 to 0.47, p < .001, with age, T2 lesion-load, and global brain atrophy as covariates). The volume of CA4/dentate gyrus at baseline was associated with MS diagnosis during follow-up, independently of T2-lesion load and demographic variables (p < .05). Whereas CA4/dentate gyrus volume was not correlated with memory scores at baseline, CA1 atrophy was an independent correlate of episodic verbal memory performance one year after CIS (beta = 0.87, p < .05). Conclusion: The hippocampal degenerative process spread from dentate gyrus to CA1 at the earliest stage of MS. This dynamic vulnerability is associated with MS diagnosis after CIS and will ultimately impact hippocampal-dependent memory performance.

[EN] Two new 3D spin-crossover (SCO) Hofmann-type coordination polymers {Fe(2,6-naphthy)[Ag(CN)2][Ag2(CN)3]} (1; 2,6-naphthy = 2,6-naphthyridine) and {Fe(2,6-naphthy)- [Au(CN)2]2}·0.5PhNO2 (2) were synthesized and characterized. Both derivatives are made up of infinite stacks of {Fe[Ag(CN)2]2- [Ag2(CN)3]}n and {Fe[Au(CN)2]2}n layered grids connected by pillars of 2,6-naphthy ligands coordinated to the axial positions of the FeII centers of alternate layers.

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Ramirez Hoyos, P.; Cervera Montesinos, J.; Gómez Lozano, V.; Ali, M.; Nasir, S.; Ensinger, W.; Mafé, S. (2018). Optimizing Energy Transduction of Fluctuating Signals with Nanofluidic Diodes and Load Capacitors. Small. 14(18). doi:10.1002/smll.201702252, which has been published in final form at http://doi.org/10.1002/smll.201702252. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.", [EN] The design and experimental implementation of hybrid circuits is considered allowing charge transfer and energy conversion between nanofluidic diodes in aqueous ionic solutions and conventional electronic elements such as capacitors. The fundamental concepts involved are reviewed for the case of fluctuating zero-average external potentials acting on single pore and multipore membranes. This problem is relevant to electrochemical energy conversion and storage, the stimulus-response characteristics of nanosensors and actuators, and the estimation of the accumulative effects caused by external signals on biological ion channels. Half-wave and full-wave voltage doublers and quadruplers can scale up the transduction between ionic and electronic signals. The network designs discussed here should be useful to convert the weak signals characteristic of the micro and nanoscale into robust electronic responses by interconnecting iontronics and electronic elements.

[EN] A highly enantioselective Strecker reaction with dibenzo[b,f][1,4]oxazepines has been described using a dihydroquinine-derived thiourea as organocatalyst. The reaction affords chiral 10,11-dihydrodibenzo[b,f][1,4] oxazepine 11-carbonitrile derivatives in excellent yields (up to 99%) and excellent enantioselectivities (up to 98%) under mild reaction conditions.

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Fuster García, Elíes, Juan -Albarracín, Javier, García-Ferrando, Germán Adrián, Martí-Bonmatí, Luis , Aparici-Robles , F, Garcia-Gomez, Juan M. (2018). Improving the estimation of prognosis for glioblastoma patients by MR based hemodynamic tissue signatures.NMR in Biomedicine, 31, 12. DOI: 10.1002/nbm.4006, which has been published in final form at http://doi.org/10.1002/nbm.4006. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving, [EN] Advanced MRI and molecular markers have been raised as crucial to improve prognostic models for patients having glioblastoma (GBM) lesions. In particular, different MR perfusion based markers describing vascular intrapatient heterogeneity have been correlated with tumor aggressiveness, and represent key information to understand tumor resistance against effective therapies of these neoplasms. Recently, hemodynamic tissue signature (HTS) markers based on MR perfusion images have been demonstrated to be useful for describing the heterogeneity of GBM at the voxel level, as well as demonstrating significant correlations with the patient's overall survival. In this work, we analyze the abilities of these markers to improve the conventional prognostic models based on clinical, morphological, and demographic features. Our results, in both the regression and classification tests, show that inclusion of the HTS markers improves the reliability of prognostic models. The HTS method is fully automatic and it is available for research use at http://www.oncohabitats.upv.es.

"This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Coupé, Pierrick, Gwenaelle Catheline, Enrique Lanuza, and José Vicente Manjón. 2017. Towards a Unified Analysis of Brain Maturation and Aging across the Entire Lifespan: A MRI Analysis. Human Brain Mapping 38 (11). Wiley: 5501 18. doi:10.1002/hbm.23743, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.23743. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.", [EN] There is no consensus in literature about lifespan brain maturation and senescence, mainly because previous lifespan studies have been performed on restricted age periods and/or with a limited number of scans, making results instable and their comparison very difficult. Moreover, the use of nonharmonized tools and different volumetric measurements lead to a great discrepancy in reported results. Thanks to the new paradigm of BigData sharing in neuroimaging and the last advances in image processing enabling to process baby as well as elderly scans with the same tool, new insights on brain maturation and aging can be obtained. This study presents brain volume trajectory over the entire lifespan using the largest age range to date (from few months of life to elderly) and one of the largest number of subjects (N=2,944). First, we found that white matter trajectory based on absolute and normalized volumes follows an inverted U-shape with a maturation peak around middle life. Second, we found that from 1 to 8-10 y there is an absolute gray matter (GM) increase related to body growth followed by a GM decrease. However, when normalized volumes were considered, GM continuously decreases all along the life. Finally, we found that this observation holds for almost all the considered subcortical structures except for amygdala which is rather stable and hippocampus which exhibits an inverted U-shape with a longer maturation period. By revealing the entire brain trajectory picture, a consensus can be drawn since most of the previously discussed discrepancies can be explained. Hum Brain Mapp 38:5501-5518, 2017. (C) 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

[EN] Carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) is herein proposed as additive in polycaprolactone (PCL) matrices to obtain composites with tunable hydrophilicity. This composite material can be obtained by compression molding. The thermogravimetric degradation profile, the FTIR spectra, values of the water contact angle (WCA), water and phosphate-buffered saline uptake values, and the results of a cytotoxicity assessment are presented herein. The concentrations of CMC in the groups of samples are 0, 2, 5, 10, and 20%. The WCA on the prewetted state decreases proportionally to the concentration of the additive. These results evidence the possibility of obtaining a PCL-based composite with tunable hydrophilicity. Besides, the biological assessment does not reveal any cytotoxic effects. Therefore, the addition of CMC entails an innovative strategy to control the water affinity of PCL in biomedical applications where such feature is required to improve diffusion of biological medium through, or accelerate degradation by hydrolysis.

[EN] A conceptually new type of corneal inlays for a customized treatment of presbyopia is presented. The diffractive inlay consists on a small aperture disc having an array of micro-holes distributed inside the open zones of a Fresnel zone plate. In this way, the central hole of the disc lets pass the zero order diffraction and produces an extension of the depth of far focus of the eye, while the diffracted light through the holes in the periphery produce the near focus. Additionally, the micro-holes in the inlay surface fulfill the essential requirement of allowing the flow of nutrients through it to the cells of the corneal stroma. Theoretical and optical-bench experimental results for the polychromatic axial Point Spread Function (PSF) were obtained, showing an improved performance compared to the small aperture corneal inlay currently in the market (Kamra). Images of a test object, obtained at several vergences in the surroundings of the far and near foci, are also shown. Picture: Simulation of the appearance of the Diffractive corneal inlay on a real eye.

[EN] Highly swellable hydrogels were produced by crosslinking of high molecular weight carboxymethylated chitosan (CmCHT) with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) oligomers. The hydrogel swelling capacity could be controlled via the crosslinking density and ranged from 900% to 5600%. The hydrogels showed good homogeneity with a high interconnected porosity in the swollen state and with nanodomains rich in CmCHT and others rich in PEG diglycidyl ether. Oscillatory frequency sweep analysis showed a storage modulus of 27kPa for the hydrogel with the highest crosslinking density, which together with the exhibited enzyme degradability with lysozyme at 59days indicate that these hydrogels have potential use in delivery systems or soft tissue regeneration.

[EN] This work is an analysis of the application of the generalized Monod kinetics model describing human corneal oxygen consumption during soft contact lens wear to models previously used by Chhabra et al. (J Biomed Mater Res B Appl Biomater, 2009a;90:202-209, Optom Vis Sci 2009b;86:454-466) and Larrea and Buchler (Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2009;50:1076-1080). We use oxygen tension from in vivo estimations provided by Bonanno [Bonanno et al., Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2002;43:371-376, and Bonanno et al 2009]. We consider four hydrogel and six silicone hydrogel lenses. The cornea is considered a single homogeneous layer, with constant oxygen permeability regardless of the type of lens worn. Our calculations yield different values for the maximum oxygen consumption rate Q(c,max), whith differents oxygen tensions (high and low p(c)) at the cornea-tears interface. Surprisingly, for both models, we observe an increase in oxygen consumption near an oxygen tension of 105 mmHg until a maximum is reached, then decreasing for higher levels of oxygen pressure. That is, when lowering the pressure of oxygen, the parameter Q(c,max) initially increases depending on the intensity of the change in pressure. Which, it could be related with the variation of the pH. Furthermore, it is also noted that to greater reductions in pressure, this parameter decreases, possibly due to changes in the concentration of glucose related to the anaerobic respiration. The averaged in vivo human corneal oxygen consumption rate of 1.47 x 10(-4) cm(3) of O-2/cm(3) tissue s, with Monod kinetics model, considering all the lenses studied, is smaller than the average oxygen consumption rate value obtained using the Larrea and Buchler model. The impact that these calculations have on the oxygen partial pressure available at different depths in the corneal tissue is presented and discussed, taking into consideration previous models used in this study.

[EN] The label¿free detection of pyrophosphate (PPi) anions with a nanofluidic sensing device based on asymmetric nanopores is demonstrated. The pore surface is functionalized with zinc complexes based on two di(2¿picolyl)amine [bis(DPA)] moieties using carbodiimide coupling chemistry. The complexation of zinc (Zn2+) ion is achieved by exposing the modified pore to a solution of zinc chloride to form bis(Zn2+¿DPA) complexes. The chemical functionalization is demonstrated by recording the changes in the observed current¿voltage (I¿V) curves before and after pore modification. The bis(Zn2+¿DPA) complexes on the pore walls serve as recognition sites for pyrophosphate anion. The experimental results show that the proposed nanofluidic sensor has the ability to sense picomolar concentrations of PPi anion in the surrounding environment. On the contrary, it does not respond to other phosphate anions, including monohydrogen phosphate, dihydrogen phosphate, adenosine monophosphate, adenosine diphosphate, and adenosine triphosphate. The experimental results are described theoretically by using a model based on the Poisson¿Nernst¿Planck equations.

[EN] Oxygen permeability, diffusion coefficient of the sodium ions and water flux and permeability in different conventional hydrogel (Hy) and silicone-hydrogel (Si-Hy) contact lenses have been measured experimentally. The results showed that oxygen permeability and transmissibility requirements of the lens have been addressed through the use of siloxane containing hydrogels. In general, oxygen and sodium chloride permeability values increased with the water content of the lens but there was a percolation phenomenon from a given value of water uptake mainly in the Si-Hy lenses which appeared to be related with the differences between free water and bound water contents. The increase of ion permeability with water content did not follow a unique trend indicating a possible dependence of the chemical structure of the polymer and character ionic and non-ionic of the lens. Indeed, the salt permeability values for silicone hydrogel contact lenses were one order of magnitude below those of conventional hydrogel contact lenses, which can be explained by a diffusion of sodium ions occurring only through the hydrophilic channels. The increase of the ionic permeability in Si-Hy materials may be due to the confinement of ions in nanoscale water channels involving possible decreased degrees of freedom for diffusion of both water and ions. In general, ionic lenses presented values of ionic permeability and diffusivity higher than most non-ionic lenses. The tortuosity of the ionic lenses is lower than the non-ionic Si-Hy lenses. Frequency 55 and PureVision exhibited the highest water permeability and flux values and, these parameters were greater for ionic Si-Hy lenses than for ionic conventional hydrogel lenses.

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Vega-Fleitas, Erica, Mollar García, Miguel Alfonso, Marí, B.. (2016). Synthesis of MAPbBr3-iYi (Y=I, Cl; i=0 ,1 ,2, 3) perovskite thin films .physica status solidi (c), 13, 1, 30-34. DOI: 10.1002/pssc.201510107, which has been published in final form at http://doi.org/10.1002/pssc.201510107. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving., [EN] Methylammonium lead halide perovskites with different halides (iodide, bromide and chloride) have been synthetized from methylamine, lead nitrate and the corresponding hydroX acid (X = I, Br, Cl) precursors. Subsequently MAPbBr3-iYi (Y= I, Cl; i=0, 1, 2, 3) perovskites were deposited as thin films onto FTO substrates by spin coating or dipping. Thin film perovskites were then characterized by X-Ray Diffraction, elemental analysis and optical spectrometry. Crystallites sizes are between 100-600 nm depending on the synthesis temperature. All synthetized MAPbX3-iYi perovskites crystallized in the same cubic phase irrespective of the X and Y components and a unique phase is observed. Elemental analy- sis shows that in all cases the atomic components meet the expected stoichiometric formulae. The bandgap of thin film MAPbX3-iYi perovskites were inferred from transmittance and reflectance spectral measurements. It is found that the on-set of the absorption edge for thin film MAPbX3 perovskites is about 1.66, 2.55 and 3.37 eV for X= I, Br, Cl, respectively "and it reaches intermediate values for mixed MAPbX3-iYi perovskites.

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Adhikari, Krishna R., Gurung, S., Bhattarai, Binod, Marí, B.. (2016). Comparative study on MAPbI3 based solar cells using different electron transporting materials.physica status solidi (c), 13, 1, 13-17. DOI: 10.1002/pssc.201510078 , which has been published in final form at http://doi.org/10.1002/pssc.201510078 . This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving., [EN] This paper presents a comparative study on organometal halide perovskite based solar cells using two different transparent conducting oxides such as TiO2 and ZnO as electron transporting materials. Simulation is an interesting tool for studying the behavior of every component of a solar cell device as well as for analyzing the performance of the full device. Solar cell capacitance simulator (SCAPS)-1D has been the tool used for numerical simulation of such devices. Influences of thickness of absorber and ETMs, interface trap density of states and dopant concentration of ETMs on the performance of photovoltaic solar cells are studied. Comparable efficiencies of 22.35% and 22.49% for PV devices made of spiro-MeOTAD/MAPbI3/TiO2 and spiroMeOTAD/MAPbI3/ZnO, respectively, with 400/400/90 nm thicknesses under 1 Sun illumination are observed. The performance of both devices indicates the replacement of the TiO2 by a ZnO layer. It could be a good option to reduce the cost and increase the mobility of ETM for this type of solar cells. Generally, increase in thickness of MAPbI3 perovskite up to around 700 nm results into increase in the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the solar cells. On the other hand, TiO2 and ZnO layers thicker than 90 nm results into decrease in the efficiency of the devices. Furthermore, the increase in interface trap density is found to reduce the efficiency of the devices.