Andrés Sanz García

Harvard University | Harvard · Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering

Upon surgery, local inflammatory reactions and postoperative infections cause complications, morbidity, and mortality. Delivery of human adipose mesenchymal stem cells (hASC) into the wounds is an efficient and safe means to reduce inflammation and promote wound healing. However, administration of stem cells by injection often results in low cell r...

Hippo effectors YAP/TAZ act as on–off mechanosensing switches by sensing modifications in extracellular matrix (ECM) composition and mechanics. The regulation of their activity has been described by a hierarchical model in which elements of Hippo pathway are under the control of focal adhesions (FAs). Here we unveil the molecular mechanism by which...

Heart disease, including valve pathologies, is the leading cause of death worldwide. Despite the progress made thanks to improving transplantation techniques, a perfect valve substitute has not yet been developed: once a diseased valve is replaced with current technologies, the newly implanted valve still needs to be changed some time in the future...

HUMAN ADIPOSE STEM CELLS (HASCS) PLAY A CRUCIAL ROLE IN THE FIELDS OF REGENERATIVE MEDICINE AND TISSUE ENGINEERING FOR DIFFERENT REASONS: the abundance of adipose tissue, their easy harvesting, the ability to multipotent differentiation and the fact that they do not trigger allogeneic blood response or secrete cytokines that act as immunosuppressan...

BACKGROUND Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are cell-derived membrane vesicles. EVs contain several RNAs such as mRNA, microRNAs, and ncRNAs, but less is known of their genomic DNA (gDNA) content. It is also unknown whether the DNA cargo is randomly sorted or if it is systematically packed into specific EV subpopulations. The aim of this study was to a...

In this paper, we focus on the social value of the entrepreneurship competence by describing the implementation of a service-learning project named OSOR (Open-source and SOcial Responsibility). OSOR is aimed to provide assistive products to people in a dependency situation. The needs to be solved are proposed by patients from specialized institutio...

We present PSO-PARSIMONY, a new methodology to search for parsimonious and highly accurate models by means of particle swarm optimization. PSO-PARSIMONY uses automatic hyperparameter optimization and feature selection to search for accurate models with low complexity. To evaluate the new proposal, a comparative study with Multilayer Perceptron algo...

Three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting promises to be essential in tissue engineering for solving the rising demand for organs and tissues. Some bioprinters are commercially available, but their impact on the field of Tissue engineering (TE) is still limited due to their cost or difficulty to tune. Herein, we present a low-cost easy-to-build printhead...

Three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting promises to be essential in tissue engineering for solving the rising demand for organs and tissues. Some bioprinters are commercially available, but their impact on the field of TE is still limited due to their cost or difficulty to tune. Herein, we present a low-cost easy-to-build printhead for microextrusion-ba...

Classical quality control (QC) methods of solar irradiance apply easy-to-implement physical or statistical limits that are incapable of detecting low-magnitude measuring errors due to the large width of the intervals. We previously presented the bias-based quality control (BQC), a novel method that flags samples in which the bias of several indepen...

The purpose of universities, apart from produce qualified professionals with problem-solving capabilities and soft-skills, should be to develop the social responsibility sense on their students. In this context, our proposal combines project based learning (PBL) and service based learning (SBL) along with gamming and the use of open-source machines...

Different types of measuring errors can increase the uncertainty of solar radiation measurements, but most common quality control (QC) methods do not detect frequent defects such as shading or calibration errors due to their low magnitude. We recently presented a new procedure, the Bias-based Quality Control (BQC), that detects low-magnitude defect...

Hybrid constructs represent substantial progress in tissue engineering (TE) towards producing implants of a clinically relevant size that recapitulate the structure and multicellular complexity of the native tissue. They are created by interlacing printed scaffolds, sacrificial materials, and cell-laden hydrogels. A suitable biomaterial is a polyca...

Solar radiation databases used for simulating PV systems are typically selected according to their annual bias in global horizontal irradiance (GH) because this bias propagates proportionally to plane-of- array irradiance (GPOA) and module power (PDC). However, the bias may get amplified through the simulations due to the impact of deviations in es...

Most of the studies in three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting have been traditionally based on printing a single bioink. Addressing the complexity of organ and tissue engineering, however, will require combining multiple building and sacrificial biomaterials and several cells types in a single biofabrication session. This is a significant challenge, an...

The major sources of uncertainty in short-term assessment of global horizontal radiation (G) are the pyranometer type and their operation conditions for measurements, whereas the modeling approach and the geographic location are critical for estimations. The influence of all these factors in the uncertainty of the data has rarely been compared. Con...

We present a hybrid quality control (QC) for identifying defects in ground sensors of solar radiation. The method combines a window function that flags potential defects in radiation time series with a visual decision support system that eases the detection of false alarms and the identification of the causes of the defects. The core of the algorit...

This study examines the progress made by two new reanalyses in the estimation of surface irradiance: ERA5, the new global reanalysis from the ECMWF, and COSMO-REA6, the regional reanalysis from the DWD for Europe. Daily global horizontal irradiance data were evaluated with 41 BSRN stations worldwide, 294 stations in Europe, and two satellite-derive...

This article presents a hybrid methodology in which a KDD scheme is optimized to build accurate parsimonious models. The methodology tries to find the best model by using genetic algorithms to optimize a KDD scheme formed with the following stages: feature selection, transformation of the skewed input and the output data, parameter tuning and parsi...

Several quality control (QC) procedures are available to detect errors in ground records of solar radiation, mainly range tests, model comparison and graphical analysis, but most of them are ineffective in detecting common problems that generate errors within the physical and statistical acceptance ranges. Herein, we present a novel QC method to de...

An assessment program to evaluate microproject-based teaching/learning (MicroPBL) methodology on the technical subject ‘Manufacturing Technology’ was implemented for four consecutive academic years. Students from three different engineering degrees were involved providing feedback through different surveys that allowed us to perform a proper evalua...

According to the CDIO (Conceive-Design-Implement-Operate) Syllabus, apart from technical knowledge, labour markets are demanding engineers with personal, interpersonal and system building skills. The current educational system, however, is based on teaching theoretical concepts rather than on practical activities. Makerspaces could become a bridge...

Hippo effectors YAP/TAZ act as on–off mechanosensing switches by sensing modifications in extracellular matrix (ECM) composition and mechanics. The regulation of their activity has been described by a hierarchical model in which elements of Hippo pathway are under the control of focal adhesions (FAs). Here we unveil the molecular mechanism by which...

List of transcription factors identified as potentially binding to the motifs obtained by ChIP-seq analysis in CAL51 WT cells.

3D confocal reconstruction of single AD-MSCs grown onto 10,000 μm2 micropatterns and stained for vinculin (green), F-actin (red) and DAPI.

Full list of genes with the accession number analyzed by PCR arrays in AD-MSCs and CAL51 cells.

3D confocal reconstruction of single shYAP AD-MSCs grown onto 10000 μm2 micropatterns and stained for vinculin (green), F-actin (red) and DAPI.

List of antibodies used in the study.

Supplementary Figures

3D confocal reconstruction of single shTAZ AD-MSCs grown onto 10000 μm2 micropatterns and stained for vinculin (green), F-actin (red) and DAPI.

Representative 3D confocal reconstruction of spheroids obtained by culturing WT CAL51 and C3 cells (CRISPR/Cas9:YAP1) into growth factor reduced MatrigelTM for 120 hours. Cells were stained for F-actin (red) and DAPI.

List of YAP targets as identified by ChIP-seq analysis in CAL51 WT cells.

Breakdown of the target genes as members of given functional clusters with their respective P value.

Rubber profile manufacturers have strong incentives to optimize the design of their extrusion dies and reduce the longer development times. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling is today the most effective alternative to traditional methods for adjusting die geometry and extrusion parameters. However, in practical terms, CFD modeling is often...

Solar radiation can be estimated by a variety of methods in an attempt to overcome the limitations of on-ground records. Novel methods are often appearing but these are rarely com- pared to others from a different approach. This study surveys the main types of estimation methods for daily Global Horizontal Irradiation (GHI), and then, one character...

Precision viticulture requires the characterisation of the spatio-temporal variability of the vineyard status to design the appropriate management for each area. The goal of this work was to characterise the spatio-temporal variability of leaf chlorophyll (Chl) and nitrogen (N) content and their relationship with the vegetative growth in a three ha...

Background: Although new therapeutic approaches for burn treatment have made progress, there is still need for better methods to enhance wound healing and recovery especially in severely burned patients. Nanofibrillar cellulose (NFC) has gained attention due to its renewable nature, good biocompatibility and excellent physical properties that are...

The 21st century university has the big educational challenge of how to encourage “a will to learn” in students living in a world saturated with a huge amount of information and distractions. A needed step to keep students motivated is to update their learning environments. Herein we present a proposal with a methodology based on microprojects in D...

Room demand estimation models are crucial in the performance of hotel revenue management systems. The advent of websites for online room booking has produced a decrease in the accuracy of prediction models due to the complex customers’ patterns. A reduction that has been particularly dramatic due to last-minute reservations. We propose the use of p...

Sustainable development in construction is based on three fundamental pillars: economic, environmental and social. This type of approach aims to identify the best possible solutions for sustainably developing structures by conducting a joint evaluation of the impact on those three pillars. The proposed methodology incorporates metadata on the Spani...

Background Recent studies have reported the potential of near infrared (NIR) spectral analyzers for monitoring the ripeness of grape berries alternatively to wet chemistry methods. This study covers various aspects regarding the calibration and implementation of predictive models of total soluble solids (TSS) in grape berries using laboratory and i...

This paper deals with the implementation of an educational methodology based on microprojects into the subject ‘Manufacturing Technology’ of the EHEA (European Space of Higher Education) engineering degrees. The main idea is to consolidate the theoretical background by working on microprojects ordered by foreign entities. Under this approach studen...

This article proposes a new genetic algorithm (GA) methodology to obtain parsimonious support vector regression (SVR) models capable of predicting highly precise setpoints in a continuous annealing furnace (GA-PARSIMONY). The proposal combines feature selection, model tuning, and parsimonious model selection in order to achieve robust SVR models. T...

In the early design phase of steel structures, the maximum capacity of the connections is one of the critical parameters that ought to be calculated first. Determining this force by means of analytical methods usually leads to overestimations, given its highly non-linear behaviour. The finite element (FE) method, a hard computing approach, represen...

This paper presents a hybrid methodology, in which a KDD-scheme is optimized to build accurate parsimonious models. The methodology tries to find the best model by using genetic algorithms to optimize a KDD scheme formed with the following stages: feature selection, transformation of the skewed input and output data, parameter tuning, and parsimoni...

Most of the research on estimating Solar Global Irradiation (SGI) is based on the development of parametric models. However, the use of methods based on the use of statistics and machine-learning theories can provide a significant improvement in reducing the prediction errors. The chapter evaluates the performance of different Soft Computing (SC) m...

The use of animal products in the derivation and maintenance of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) limits their possible applications in research and in clinics. Thus, one of the major goals in regenerative medicine is the establishment of animal-free conditions to support the culture and differentiation of human stem cells. Human fibroblasts pro...

Most of the research on estimating solar global irradiation (SGI) is based on the development of parametric models. However, the use of methods based on the use of statistics and machine learning theories can provide a significant improvement in reducing the prediction errors. The article evaluates the performance of different soft computing (SC) m...

Sistema y procedimiento para determinar automáticamente el número de flores de una inflorescencia. El procedimiento comprende: - capturar una imagen original de la inflorescencia sobre un fondo que contraste con la inflorescencia; - convertir la imagen original al espacio de color CIELAB; - segmentar dicha imagen convertida aplicando un umbral de s...

Introduction: Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most frequent malignancy in men in developed countries and the sixth leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have been suggested as a source of more specific and sensitive biomarkers of PCa. The aim of this study was firstly to analyze whether different PCa EV subpopulatio...

Flowers, flowering and fruit set are key determinants of grapevine yield. Currently, practical methods to assess the flower number per inflorescence, necessary for fruit-set estimation, are time and labour demanding. This work aims at developing a simple, cheap, fast, accurate and robust machine vision methodology to be applied to RGB images taken...

In structural and mechanical fields, there is a growing trend to replace expensive numerical simulations with more cost-effective approximations. In this context, the use of metamodels represents an attractive option. Without significant loss of accuracy, metamodelling techniques can drastically reduce the computational burden required by simulatio...

In the component-based method, the ductility characterisation of the tension component plays a primary role in accurately predicting the rotation capacity of the whole connection. In this paper, a refined finite element (FE) model is presented to assess the complete force–displacement response of the T-stub component, from the initial stiffness up...

The accuracy of the component-based method relies heavily on the characteristic response of their constitutive elements. To properly assess the deformation capacity of the whole connection, modelling the complete force–displacement curves of the components, from the initial stiffness to fracture, is necessary. This paper presents a numerical-inform...

Solar radiation estimates with clear sky models require estimations of aerosol data. The low spatial resolution of current aerosol datasets, with their remarkable drift from measured data, poses a problem in solar resource estimation. This paper proposes a new downscaling methodology by combining support vector machines for regression (SVR) and kri...

Introduction: Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have an important role in the intercellular transfer of genetic information. EVs have been shown to contain nucleic acids such as mRNA, microRNAs, ncRNAs and even DNA. However, less is known of the genomic DNA (gDNA) packed into EVs. It is also unknown, whether the gDNA cargo is randomly sorted to the diff...

A promising field of research in steel structures regarding their preliminary design and optimization is the replacement of expensive computational finite element models with more efficient techniques. Without a significant loss of accuracy, new proposals should be able to consider not only the ideal load-displacement response but also relevant fai...

An optimization based on genetic algorithms for both feature selection and model tuning is presented to improve the prediction of set points in industrial lines. The objective is the development of an automatic procedure that efficiently generates parsimonious prediction models with higher generalisation capacity. These models can achieve higher ac...

In this paper we propose different strategies to apply non-parametric multiple comparisons in industrial environments. These techniques have been widely used in theoretical studies and research to evaluate the performance of models, but they are still far from being implemented in real applications. So, we develop three new automatized strategies t...