Effect of Pectin on the Expression of Proteins Associated with Mitochondrial Biogenesis and Cell Senescence in HT29-Human Colorectal Adenocarcinoma Cells

Jose Javier Zamorano-Leon,Sandra Ballesteros,Natalia de las Heras,Luis Alvarez-Sala,Mariano de la Serna-Soto,Khaoula Zekri-Nechar,Gala Freixer,Bibiana Calvo-Rico,Zhengguang Yang,Jose Manuel Garcia-Gar 한국식품영양과학회 2019 Preventive Nutrition and Food Science Vol.24 No.2

Mitochondria dynamic is regulated by different proteins, maintaining a balance between fission and fusion. An imbalance towards mitochondrial fission has been associated with tumor cell proliferation. The aim of this study was to analyze whether pectin modifies the viability of human colon cancer cells and the expression of proteins involved in mitochondrial fusion and fission. The human colon carcinoma cell line HT29 cells was growth in 10% fetal bovine serum in the absence and presence of pectin. Pectin reduced HT29 cell viability in a concentration-dependent manner, reaching a plateau at 150∼300 μ㏖/L pectin. The presence of 200 μ㏖/L pectin reduced the expression of dynamin-related protein-1 and increased expression of the mitochondrial fusion-associated proteins mitofusin-1 and 2. Expression of cyclin B1, a protein involved in G2/M transition, was found decreased in pectin-incubated HT29 cells. Moreover, expression of p53 protein, the amount of p53 in the nucleous and β-galactosidase activity, which are all biomarkers for cellular senescence, were significantly higher in pectin-incubated HT29 cells than in HT29 cells incubated without pectin. Expression of the protein B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) homologous antagonist/killer was increased in response to incubation with pectin. However, incubation with pectin did not affect expression of Bcl-2-associated X protein or Bcl-2, or the caspase-3 activity. Overall, we concluded that pectin reduces the viability of human HT29 colon cancer cells, which is accompanied with a shift in the expression of proteins associated with mitochondrial dynamics towards mitochondrial fusion. Moreover, incubation with pectin favors cellular senescence over apoptosis in HT29 cells.

Static and Dynamic Behavior of Transitions between Different Railway Track Typologies

T. Real,C. Zamorano,C. Hernández,J. A. García,J. I. Real 대한토목학회 2016 KSCE JOURNAL OF CIVIL ENGINEERING Vol.20 No.4

A railway track stretch comprising three different track typologies (i.e., ballasted track, asphalt slab track and concrete slab track) has been modeled using a three-dimensional Finite Elements model, which has been calibrated and validated using real acceleration records. In this model, two different analyses have been run: a static analysis to assess the stiffness evolution and a dynamic analysis to calculate the accelerations induced by the train loads along the transition zones. These analyses have been used to assess the performance of three different techniques existing in the literature to improve the structural behavior of the track in the transition areas: the variation of the stiffness of the elastomers, the implementation of additional rails and the use of resilient mats. Results have demonstrated that these techniques perform generally better in the track vertical stiffness transition between the concrete and asphalt slab tracks while the dynamic response is not significantly altered in any scenario.

New Third Rail Implementation System for Conventional Railroad Tracks in Service

Laura Montalbán Domingo,Clara Zamorano Martín,Julia I. Real Herráiz,Laura Gómez del Rey 대한토목학회 2018 KSCE JOURNAL OF CIVIL ENGINEERING Vol.22 No.2

Two track gauges coexist in Spain, the Iberian gauge (1668 mm) and the international gauge (1435 mm). Solutions applied on the track were considered to improve the interoperability in Spain. First solution proposed was tracks with two-gauge-ready sleepers. This solution allows changing the gauge from Iberian to International gauge or from International to Iberian gauge. The need of two gauges evolved this solution to the third rail system with two-simultaneous-gauge sleepers. In this paper, a new third-rail track solution is proposed. This solution is a novel system based on the introduction of special concrete blocks between the existing sleepers to fasten the third rail. Thus, the conventional railroad track becomes in a double-simultaneous-gauge lines without needing change existing sleepers and make long traffic interruptions of the track like in common third-rail systems. In the present study, threedimensional numerical models are generated using finite-element method. The analysis of the vertical displacements of the top head of the rails, vertical stresses transmitted to the substructure layers and vertical track stiffness, demonstrate the good vertical performance of the new system compared to the conventional lines with dual-gauge-ready sleepers and the common third rail tracks.

Treatment of Osteochondritis Dissecans of the Knee with Autologous Iliac Bone Graft and Hyaluronic Acid Scaffold

Jaime Hinzpeter,Alvaro Zamorano,Maximiliano Barahona,Pablo Campos 대한슬관절학회 2019 대한슬관절학회지 Vol.31 No.2

Osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) is a condition that corresponds to an idiopathic focal lesion affecting the subchondral bone with possible compromise of the stability of the adjacent cartilage. Treatment depends on the size of the lesion, cartilage stability, and the physeal status. The case reported is about an 18­year­old male patient who complained of suffering from knee pain for a period of ten months. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a lesion of 2 cm2 in the medial femoral condyle that compromised the subchondral bone, compatible with OCD. He underwent surgery that consisted of filling the subchonral defect with an iliac crest autograft and sealing the defect with a hyaluronic acid scaffold. At the 12­month follow­up, the MRI shows complete healing and the patient has resumed sports activities. Management with autologous iliac crest graft and hyaluronic acid scaffold represents an effective alternative treatment for OCD.

Experimental modal analysis of transverse-cracked rails- influence of the cracks on the real track behavior

Laura Montalbán Domingo,Beatriz Baydal Giner,Clara Zamorano Martín,Julia I. Real Herráiz 국제구조공학회 2014 Structural Engineering and Mechanics, An Int'l Jou Vol.52 No.5

Rails are key elements in railway superstructure since these elements receive directly the train load transmitted by the wheels. Simultaneously, rails must provide effective stress transference to the rest of the track elements. This track element often deteriorates as a consequence of the vehicle passing or manufacturing imperfections that cause in rail several defects. Among these rail defects, transverse cracks highlights and are considered a severe pathology because they can suddenly trigger the rail failure. This study is focused on UIC-60 rails with transverse cracks. A 3-D FEM model is developed in ANSYS for the flawless rail in which conditions simulating the crack presence are implemented. To account for the inertialoss of the rail as a consequence of the cracking, a reduction of the bending stiffness of the rail is considered. The numerical models have been calibrated using the first four bending vibration modes in terms of frequencies. These vibration frequencies have been obtained using the Experimental Modal Analysis technique, studying the changes in the modal parameters of the rails induced by the crack and comparing the results obtained by the model with experimental results. Finally, the calibrated and validated models for the single rail have been implemented in a complete railway ballasted track FEM model in order to study thestatic influence of the cracks on the rail deflection caused by a load passing.

Experimental modal analysis of transverse-cracked rails-influence of the cracks on the real track behavior

Domingo, Laura Montalban,Giner, Beatriz Baydal,Martin, Clara Zamorano,Herraiz, Julia I. Real Techno-Press 2014 Structural Engineering and Mechanics, An Int'l Jou Vol.52 No.5

Rails are key elements in railway superstructure since these elements receive directly the train load transmitted by the wheels. Simultaneously, rails must provide effective stress transference to the rest of the track elements. This track element often deteriorates as a consequence of the vehicle passing or manufacturing imperfections that cause in rail several defects. Among these rail defects, transverse cracks highlights and are considered a severe pathology because they can suddenly trigger the rail failure. This study is focused on UIC-60 rails with transverse cracks. A 3-D FEM model is developed in ANSYS for the flawless rail in which conditions simulating the crack presence are implemented. To account for the inertia loss of the rail as a consequence of the cracking, a reduction of the bending stiffness of the rail is considered. The numerical models have been calibrated using the first four bending vibration modes in terms of frequencies. These vibration frequencies have been obtained using the Experimental Modal Analysis technique, studying the changes in the modal parameters of the rails induced by the crack and comparing the results obtained by the model with experimental results. Finally, the calibrated and validated models for the single rail have been implemented in a complete railway ballasted track FEM model in order to study the static influence of the cracks on the rail deflection caused by a load passing.

Modeling the Calculation of Lateral Accelerations in Railway Vehicles as a Tool of Alignment Design

Nasarre, J.,Cuadrado, M.,Requejo, P.Gonzalez,Romo, E.,Zamorano, C. The Korean Society for Railway 2009 International Journal of Railway Vol.2 No.3

Railway track alignment Standards set a minimum lenght value for straight and circular alignments (art. 5.2.9.), in order to ensure passenger ride comfort in railway vehicles of which dynamic oscillations will thus have to be limited. The transitions between alignments can cause abrupt changes (usually called discontinuities or singular points of the alignment) of curvature, of rate of change of curvature or of rate of change of cant. A passenger is likely to experience effects due to the excitation of the elastic suspension of the vehicle which generates oscillations that are damped as the vehicle moves away from the singularity. The amplitude of these oscillations should be adequately attenuated by the damping of the suspension system within the interval between two successive singular points, especially to avoid resonances. Therefore minimum lengths between two successive singular points are stated in alignment standards. Nevertheless, these nonnative values can be overly conservative in some cases. As an alternative, track alignment designers could try to assess how much the excitation has been attenuated between two successive singular points and thus assess at which point a new singularity may be present without affecting ride comfort. Although such assessment can be made with commercial SW packages which simulate the dynamic behavior of a vehicle considered as a set of rigid bodies interconnected with elastic elements simulating the suspension systems (such as SIMPACK, ADAMS or VAMPIRE), a simplified and user-friendly computation method (based upon the analytical solution of differential equations governing the phenomenon) is made available in this paper to track design engineers, not always used to working with full dynamic models.

Experimental modal analysis of railway concrete sleepers with cracks

Real, J.I.,Sanchez, M.E.,Real, T.,Sanchez, F.J.,Zamorano, C. Techno-Press 2012 Structural Engineering and Mechanics, An Int'l Jou Vol.44 No.1

Concrete sleepers are essential components of the conventional railway. As support elements, sleepers are always subjective to a variety of time-dependent loads attributable to the train operations, either wheel or rail abnormalities. It has been observed that the sleepers may deteriorate due to these loads, inducing the formation of hairline cracks. There are two areas along the sleepers that are more prone to crack: the central and the rail seat sections. Several non-destructive methods have been developed to identify failures in structures. Health monitoring techniques are based on vibration responses measurements, which help engineers to identify the vibration-based damage or remotely monitor the sleeper health. In the present paper, the dynamic effects of the cracks in the vibration signatures of the railway pre-stressed concrete sleepers are investigated. The experimental modal analysis has been used to evaluate the modal bending changes in the vibration characteristics of the sleepers, differentiating between the central and the rail seat locations of the cracks. Modal parameters changes of the 'healthy' and cracked sleepers have been highlighted in terms of natural frequencies and modal damping. The paper concludes with a discussion of the most suitable failure indicator and it defines the vibration signatures of intact, central cracked and rail seat cracked sleepers.

Modeling the Calculation of Lateral Accelerations in Railway Vehicles as a Tool of Alignment Design

J. Nasarre,M. Cuadrado,P. Gonzalez Requejo,E. Romo,C. Zamorano 한국철도학회 2009 International Journal of Railway Vol.2 No.3

Railway track alignment Standards set a minimum lenght value for straight and circular alignments (art. 5.2.9.), in order to ensure passenger ride comfort in railway vehicles of which dynamic oscillations will thus have to be limited. The transitions between alignments can cause abrupt changes (usually called discontinuities or singular points of the alignment) of curvature, of rate of change of curvature or of rate of change of cant. A passenger is likely to experience effects due to the excitation of the elastic suspension of the vehicle which generates oscillations that are damped as the vehicle moves away from the singularity. The amplitude of these oscillations should be adequately attenuated by the damping of the suspension system within the interval between two successive singular points, especially to avoid resonances. Therefore minimum lengths between two successive singular points are stated in alignment standards. Nevertheless, these normative values can be overly conservative in some cases. As an alternative, track alignment designers could try to assess how much the excitation has been attenuated between two successive singular points and thus assess at which point a new singularity may be present without affecting ride comfort. Although such assessment can be made with commercial SW packages which simulate the dynamic behavior of a vehicle considered as a set of rigid bodies interconnected with elastic elements simulating the suspension systems (such as SIMPACK, ADAMS or VAMPIRE), a simplified and user-friendly computation method (based upon the analytical solution of differential equations governing the phenomenon) is made available in this paper to track design engineers, not always used to working with full dynamic models.

Experimental modal analysis of railway concrete sleepers with cracks

J.I. Real,M.E. Sánchez,T. Real,F.J. Sánchez,C. Zamorano 국제구조공학회 2012 Structural Engineering and Mechanics, An Int'l Jou Vol.44 No.1

Concrete sleepers are essential components of the conventional railway. As support elements, sleepers are always subjective to a variety of time-dependent loads attributable to the train operations, either wheel or rail abnormalities. It has been observed that the sleepers may deteriorate due to these loads, inducing the formation of hairline cracks. There are two areas along the sleepers that are more prone to crack: the central and the rail seat sections. Several non-destructive methods have been developed to identify failures in structures. Health monitoring techniques are based on vibration responses measurements, which help engineers to identify the vibration-based damage or remotely monitor the sleeper health. In the present paper, the dynamic effects of the cracks in the vibration signatures of the railway pre-stressed concrete sleepers are investigated. The experimental modal analysis has been used to evaluate the modal bending changes in the vibration characteristics of the sleepers, differentiating between the central and the rail seat locations of the cracks. Modal parameters changes of the ‘healthy’ and cracked sleepers have been highlighted in terms of natural frequencies and modal damping. The paper concludes with a discussion of the most suitable failure indicator and it defines the vibration signatures of intact, central cracked and rail seat cracked sleepers.