Nota de los editores

La acreditación incorpora un mecanismo intrínseco no sólo para garantizar la Calidad sino también para mejorarla de forma contextualizada. De este modo, la acreditación se ha convertido en un instrumento importante para la garantía de la calidad en la educación superior en todo el mundo. En la reunión de la GUNI de diciembre de 2005, su comité ejecutivo aprobó el tema del segundo informe sobre educación superior en el mundo: "La educación superior en el mundo 2007, Acreditación para la garantía de la calidad. ¿Qué está en juego?"Peer Reviewe

Relative space-time scaling of electromagnetic soundings arrays

Treballs Finals de Grau de Física, Facultat de Física, Universitat de Barcelona, Any: 2015, Tutora: Pilar Queralt CapdevilaThere are many methods for the study of near-surface applied geophysics. This study will not only help understand how the main geoelectrical methods works (DC and MT) but also improve the technique used for analysis, combining the best of both methods and takes advantage of the best each. I test an empirical relation between the DC and MT data on synthetic models and I applied it on real data. A discussion of the limits and utility of this relationship is also presented

Cell death induced by the application of alternating magnetic fields to nanoparticle-loaded dendritic cells

In this work, the capability of primary, monocyte-derived dendritic cells (DCs) to uptake iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) is assessed and a strategy to induce selective cell death in these MNP-loaded DCs using external alternating magnetic fields (AMFs) is reported. No significant decrease in the cell viability of MNP-loaded DCs, compared to the control samples, was observed after five days of culture. The amount of MNPs incorporated into the cytoplasm was measured by magnetometry, which confirmed that 1 to 5 pg of the particles were uploaded per cell. The intracellular distribution of these MNPs, assessed by transmission electron microscopy, was found to be primarily inside the endosomic structures. These cells were then subjected to an AMF for 30 min, and the viability of the blank DCs (i.e., without MNPs), which were used as control samples, remained essentially unaffected. However, a remarkable decrease of viability from approximately 90% to 2-5% of DCs previously loaded with MNPs was observed after the same 30 min exposure to an AMF. The same results were obtained using MNPs having either positive (NH2+) or negative (COOH-) surface functional groups. In spite of the massive cell death induced by application of AMF to MNP-loaded DCs, the amount of incorporated magnetic particles did not raise the temperature of the cell culture. Clear morphological changes at the cell structure after magnetic field application were observed using scanning electron microscopy. Therefore, local damage produced by the MNPs could be the main mechanism for the selective cell death of MNP-loaded DCs under an AMF. Based on the ability of these cells to evade the reticuloendothelial system, these complexes combined with an AMF should be considered as a potentially powerful tool for tumour therapy.Comment: In Press. 33 pages, 11 figure