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Blood is the most common and relevant bodily fluid that can be found in crime scenes. It is critical to correctly identify it, and to be able to differentiate it from other substances that may also appear at the crime scene. In this work, several stains of blood, chocolate, ketchup, and tomato sauce on five different substrates (plywood, metal, gauze, denim, and glass) were analysed by ATR FTIR spectroscopy assisted with orthogonal partial least square discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) models. It was possible to differentiate blood from the environmental interfering substances independently of the substrate they were on, and to differentiate bloodstains according to the substrate they were deposited on. These results represent a proof-of-concept that open new horizons to differentiate bloodstains from other interfering substances on common substrates present in crime scenes.

In this paper we deal with the following problem: given an algebraic plane curve C, implicitly defined, we determine its “asymptotic family”, that is, the set of algebraic curves that have the same asymptotic behavior as C., Agencia Estatal de Investigación

The preparation of trans-[Pt(dmso)2ClMe] (2) and cis-[Pt(dmso)2Me2] (3) from cis-[Pt(dmso)2Cl2] (1) and SnMe4 has been reexamined (dmso = dimethyl sulfoxide). The information obtained from experimental and DFT studies has permitted the improvement of previously reported methods for the synthesis of both complexes in terms of reaction times, reaction yields, and atom economy. These studies show that complex 1 reacts with a first equiv of SnMe4 to form trans-[Pt(dmso)2ClMe] (2) as an intermediate that quickly reacts with a second equiv of SnMe4 to yield cis-[Pt(dmso)2Me2] (3). When only 1 equiv of the organostannane reagent is added, the comproportionation of 3 with the excess of unreacted 1 leads the reaction back to the formation of trans-[Pt(dmso)2ClMe] (2). The mechanism of this comproportionation has been studied using DFT calculations.

Pd-containing Al-SBA-15 materials were prepared and characterized in view of their utilization in the two-step valorization of trans-ferulic acid into stilbenes via tandem decarboxylation/Mizoroki-Heck coupling. Materials were found to be highly active and selective in the proposed chemistries, with quantitative conversion to target products under mild reaction conditions (typically 100 °C, 3–6 h reaction). Relevant insights on catalyst deactivation via sintering (Pd nanoparticles agglomeration) were also observed for the synthesized materials.

Magic mushrooms are naturally occurring fungi that are considered hallucinogenic drugs because they contain psilocybin and psilocin. These substances are controlled in almost every country in the world, so the use, possession, cultivation, and sale of magic mushrooms are prohibited in whole or in part. Despite this, the abuse of magic mushrooms continues and can put at risk the life of the consumer and society in general if the consumer behaves in an unsafe manner. The number of mushroom species is very high, making it difficult to correctly identify them based only on physical and morphological characteristics. Therefore, there is a need to develop non-destructive mushrooms analysis methods that have less response time and higher discrimination ability. The present work used Attenuated Total Reflectance Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR-ATR) Spectroscopy to study 64 mushroom samples from different genera including hallucinogenic, edible, and toxic species. In addition, this study used Orthogonal Partial Least Squares - Discriminant Analysis (OPLS-DA), using SIMCA chemometric software to analyse the obtained infrared (IR) spectra. The main molecular vibrations of the components of the fungus were successfully identified by IR spectroscopy. Although the specific bands corresponding to psilocybin or psilocin could not be assigned in the spectra, the regression method was able to discriminate the various species. Hallucinogenic mushrooms were well separated from other species, allowing the method to be used as an initial screening technique to determine whether or not the seized mushrooms are of forensic interest.

Few studies have reported the prevalence or incidence about the consumption of new psychoactive substances (NPS). The hair analysis can be useful for this purpose. At the present, ketamine is the most consumed arylcyclohexylamine associated to young consumers and polyconsumption profiles. For this reason, ketamine consumer cases become very interesting to provide information on NPS prevalence. In this work, ten former cases of the National Institute of Toxicology and Forensic Science (INTCF) of Madrid Department (INTCFM), all of them belonging to defendants accused of crimes against public health and who had been found positive to ketamine, were reassessed. At the first toxicological analysis of those hair samples, a positive consume in ketamine had been determined by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS). In this work, the same hair samples were reanalyzed by high-resolution mass spectrometry ( UHPLC-HRMS/MS) using an incubation methanolic extraction combined with a single, simpler, non-selective and direct sample pre-treatment. After corroborating the GC-MS results previously obtained for the same samples, the detection of additional NPS using this new methodology evidenced its benefits and opened the possibility to perform a NPS prevalence study. In brief, in those cases with a positive consumption in ketamine, a polyconsumption of other drugs and NPS was found, including different arylcyclohexylamines as deschloroketamine, 3-MeO-PCP and methoxetamine; and cathinones as methylmetcathinone and N-ethyl-pentylone., Instituto Universitario de Investigación en Ciencias Policiales (IUICP)

The synthesis of chiral carbosilane dendrimers functionalized with cysteine and Nacetylcysteine groups is presented in this work. These dendrimers were obtained through thiol-ene addition reactions and their application as chiral selectors in Capillary Electrophoresis was investigated. Four drugs used as model compounds were analyzed under different experimental conditions observing that the use of a first generation dendrimer containing 4 terminal N-Acetyl-L-cysteine groups enabled the enantiomeric discrimination of razoxane being this discrimination power similar to that obtained with other powerful chiral selectors such as cyclodextrins.

We propose two vertex-coloring problems for graphs, endorsing the spectrum of colors with a matrix of interferences between pairs of colors. In the Threshold Spectrum Coloring problem, the number of colors is fixed and the aim is to minimize the maximum interference at a vertex (interference threshold). In the Chromatic Spectrum Coloring problem, a threshold is settled and the aim is to minimize the number of colors (among the available ones) for which respecting that threshold is possible. We prove general upper bounds for the solutions to each problem, valid for any graph and any matrix of interferences. We also show that both problems are NP-hard and perform experimental results, proposing a DSATUR-based heuristic for each problem, in order to study the gap between the theoretical upper bounds and the values obtained., Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Comunidad de Madrid

International audience; This paper examines a perspective on the use of newly engineered nanomaterials as effective and safe carriers of genes for the therapy of cancer. Three different groups of cationic dendrimers (PAMAM, phosphorus and carbosilane) were complexed with anticancer siRNA and their biophysical properties of the dendriplexes analyzed. The potential of the dendrimers as nanocarriers for anticancer siBcl-xl, siBcl-2, siMcl-1 siRNAs and a siScrambled sequence was explored. Dendrimer/siRNA complexes were characterized by methods including fluorescence, zeta potential, dynamic light scattering, circular dichroism, gel electrophoresis and transmission electron microscopy. Some of the experiments were done with heparin to check if siRNA can be easily disassociated from the complexes, and whether released siRNA maintains its structure after interaction with the dendrimer. The results indicate that siRNAs form complexes with all the dendrimers tested. Oligoribonucleotide duplexes can be released from dendriplexes after heparin treatment and the structure of siRNA is maintained in the case of PAMAM or carbosilane dendrimers. The dendrimers were also effective in protecting siRNA from RNase A activity. The selection of the best siRNA carrier will be made based on cell culture studies (Part B).

International audience

Scaffold development is a nascent field in drug development. The scaffolds mimic the innate microenvironment of the body. The goal of this study was to formulate a biocompatible and biodegradable scaffold, loaded with an analgesic drug, aceclofenac (Ace). The bioscaffold is aimed to have optimum mechanical strength and rheology, with drug released in a sustained manner. It was prepared via chemical cross-linking method: a chitosan (CS) solution was prepared and loaded with Ace; gelatin (GEL) was added and the mixture was cross-linked to get a hydrogel. 20 formulations were prepared to optimize different parameters including the stirring speed, drug injection rate and crosslinker volume. The optimal formulation was selected based on the viscosity, drug solubility, homogeneity, porosity and swelling index. A very high porosity and swelling index were attained. In vitro release data showed sustained drug delivery, with effective release at physiological and slightly acidic pH. SEM analysis revealed a homogeneous microstructure with highly interconnected pores within an extended polymer matrix. FT-IR spectra confirmed the absence of polymer-drug interactions, XRD provided evidences for efficient drug entrapment within the scaffold. Rheological analysis corroborated the scaffold injectability. Mathematical models were applied to in-vitro data, and the best fit was attained with Korsmeyer-Peppas., Comunidad de Madrid

International audience; The development of medical nanosystems requires knowledge of their behavior in vivo. Clinical chemistry tests are widely used to estimate the systemic toxicity of nanoparticles. In this paper we have explored the impact of small positively charged nanoparticles-poly(amidoamine), phosphorous and carbosilane dendrimers-on biochemical parameters of standardized serum in vitro. All the dendrimers could shift the main biochemical parameters. Thus, in the case of patients having the normal, but 'boundary', values of biochemical parameters, nanoparticle-induced changes can be wrongly interpreted as evidence of some dysfunctions (hepatic, renal, etc.). Moreover, the effects of nanoparticles of metals, carbon nanotubes, quantum dots, fullerenes, dendrimers having been sized up to 4000 nm and the hundreds of reactive groups, can be significantly higher. Thus, preliminary evaluation of any nanomaterial in vitro is required in clinical chemistry tests before its application in vivo to draw the correct conclusions and benefit animals. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

International audience; Intelligent systems designed to reduce highway fatalities have been widely applied in the automotive sector in the last decade. Of all users of transport systems, pedestrians are the most vulnerable in crashes as they are unprotected. This paper deals with an autonomous intelligent emergency system designed to avoid collisions with pedestrians. The system consists of a fuzzy controller based on the time-to-collision estimate - obtained via a vision-based system - and the wheel-locking probability - obtained via the vehicle's CAN bus - that generates a safe braking action. The system has been tested in a real car - a convertible Citroën C3 Pluriel - equipped with an automated electro-hydraulic braking system capable of working in parallel with the vehicle's original braking circuit. The system is used as a last resort in the case that an unexpected pedestrian is in the lane and all the warnings have failed to produce a response from the driver.

The Baxter number can be written as $B_n = \sum_0^n \Theta_{k,n-k-1}$. These numbers have first appeared in the enumeration of so-called Baxter permutations; $B_n$ is the number of Baxter permutations of size $n$, and $\Theta_{k,l}$ is the number of Baxter permutations with $k$ descents and $l$ rises. With a series of bijections we identify several families of combinatorial objects counted by the numbers $\Theta_{k,l}$. Apart from Baxter permutations, these include plane bipolar orientations with $k+2$ vertices and $l+2$ faces, 2-orientations of planar quadrangulations with $k+2$ white and $l+2$ black vertices, certain pairs of binary trees with $k+1$ left and $l+1$ right leaves, and a family of triples of non-intersecting lattice paths. This last family allows us to determine the value of $\Theta_{k,l}$ as an application of the lemma of Gessel and Viennot. The approach also allows us to count certain other subfamilies, e.g., alternating Baxter permutations, objects with symmetries and, via a bijection with a class of plan bipolar orientations also Schnyder woods of triangulations, which are known to be in bijection with 3-orientations., Comment: 31 pages, 22 figures, submitted to JCTA

Breast cancer (BC) is known to be a highly heterogeneous disease that is clinically subdivided into four primary molecular subtypes, each having distinct morphology and clinical implications. These subtypes are principally defined by hormone receptors and other proteins involved (or not involved) in BC development. BC therapeutic vaccines [including peptide-based vaccines, protein-based vaccines, nucleic acid-based vaccines (DNA/RNA vaccines), bacterial/viral-based vaccines, and different immune cell-based vaccines] have emerged as an appealing class of cancer immunotherapeutics when used alone or combined with other immunotherapies. Employing the immune system to eliminate BC cells is a novel therapeutic modality. The benefit of active immunotherapies is that they develop protection against neoplastic tissue and readjust the immune system to an anti-tumor monitoring state. Such immunovaccines have not yet shown effectiveness for BC treatment in clinical trials. In recent years, nanomedicines have opened new windows to increase the effectiveness of vaccinations to treat BC. In this context, some nanoplatforms have been designed to efficiently deliver molecular, cellular, or subcellular vaccines to BC cells, increasing the efficacy and persistence of anti-tumor immunity while minimizing undesirable side effects. Immunostimulatory nano-adjuvants, liposomal-based vaccines, polymeric vaccines, virus-like particles, lipid/calcium/phosphate nanoparticles, chitosan-derived nanostructures, porous silicon microparticles, and selenium nanoparticles are among the newly designed nanostructures that have been used to facilitate antigen internalization and presentation by antigen-presenting cells, increase antigen stability, enhance vaccine antigenicity and remedial effectivity, promote antigen escape from the endosome, improve cytotoxic T lymphocyte responses, and produce humoral immune responses in BC cells. Here, we summarized the existing subtypes of BC and shed light on immunomodulatory and nano-therapeutic strategies for BC vaccination. Finally, we reviewed ongoing clinical trials on BC vaccination and highlighted near-term opportunities for moving forward.

Made available in DSpace on 2021-06-25T10:56:45Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2021-01-01 Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) Smith–Magenis syndrome (SMS) is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder with mild-to-moderate intellectual disability. Speech and language impairments have not been well described as part of the SMS phenotype. This study reports the speech and language characteristics presented by a classical SMS case, a 20-year-old woman with positive deletion in the region 17p11.2. The case presented a borderline IQ on verbal and performance Wechsler scales. Language standardized tests (i.e., Peabody, Token test, CEG test and Boehm test) and naturalistic language sample (i.e. conversation and story generation) were used to assess speech and language performance. Speech characteristics included imprecise speech, with a high speech rate, hoarse voice, hypernasality and intelligibility deficits. The performance in all standardized tests was poor. Socio-communicative deficits included repetitive and persistent verbal behavior, difficulties in the use of linguistic strategies to repair communication breakdowns, limited vocabulary production and short overall length utterances with reduced grammatical components. The results contribute to expanding knowledge about the SMS phenotype, also to highlight the need to include speech and language evaluation as part of the clinical assessment of SMS and, at the same time, to draw attention to the need to include early communications skills in language intervention programs. Departamento de Lingüística Facultad de Filosofía y Letras Universidad autónoma de Madrid Universidad Autónoma de Madrid Universidad de Castilla La Mancha Centro de Educación Superior CUNIMAD Universidad de Alcalá de Henares, Calle de Almansa 101 Departamento de Fonoaudiologia Faculdade de Filosofia e Ciências (FFC) Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Campus de Marília Departamento de Fonoaudiologia Faculdade de Filosofia e Ciências (FFC) Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Campus de Marília CNPq: Pq-CNPq 2013-2016

International audience; Idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by mesencephalic dopaminergic neuron cell death and striatal dopamine (DA) depletion. The factors involved in the pathogenesis of the disease are still unknown. Transforming growth factor beta1 (TGFbeta1) is increased in the striatum of patients with PD. However, the effect of this increase is not known. Here, we show that overexpression of TGFbeta1, by recombinant adenovirus TGFbeta1 gene transfer, in the mesostriatal system of an MPTP mouse model of PD decreased the number of mesencephalic dopaminergic neurons. This effect also involved more extensive DA depletion in the striatum. Striatal enkephalin mRNA levels are augmented, suggesting a decrease in dopaminergic transmission to the postsynaptic target. In the absence of MPTP, TGFbeta1 greatly decreased the number of dopaminergic neurons in the ventral mesencephalon of fully mature mice. These results show that an increase in TGFbeta1 levels aggravate the parkinsonian status of MPTP mice and may therefore be a risk factor for the development of PD.

11 p.-6 fig.-1 tab., Selective and brain-permeable protein kinase inhibitors are in preclinical development for treating neurodegenerative diseases. Among them, MLK3 inhibitors, with a potent neuroprotective biological action have emerged as valuable agents for the treatment of pathologies such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. In fact, one MLK3 inhibitor, CEP-1347, reached clinical trials for Parkinson's disease. Additionally, another compound called prostetin/12k, a potent and rather selective MLK3 inhibitor has started clinical development for ALS based on its motor neuron protection in both in vitro and in vivo models. In this review, we will focus on the role of MLK3 in neuron-related cell death processes, neurodegenerative diseases, and the potential advantages of targeting this kinase through pharmacological modulation for neuroprotective treatment., This work was supporting by AEI (grant no. PID2019-105600RB-I00) and La Caixa and Luzon Foundations (grant no HR21-00931). J.R. acknowledges the “Margarita Salas” Grants of University of Alcalá, while S.D. the JAE-intro grant of CSIC (no. JAEINT_21_01622).

Self-compacting concrete (SCC) is an energy efficient building technology widely used for multiple constructive applications. However, the large flowability of fresh SCC produces an increase of the lateral pressure exerted on the formwork regarding to conventional concretes. One solution to reduce the maximum lateral pressure (Pmax) is to modulate the fresh performance of SCC by the addition of rheology modifiers. Among them, nanocomponents highlight due to their larger efficiency derived from their tiny particle size. In this study, the efficiency of nano-engineered SCC (NE-SCC) combining small amounts of nanocomponents, as nanoclays and nanosilica, with viscosity modifying admixtures (VMAs) to decrease Pmax is explored. Lateral pressure exerted by NE-SCC on cylindrical columns subjected to self-weight and to air pressure was assessed using wall and capillary pressure sensors over time. It was found that the incorporation of attapulgite and bentonite nanoclays combined with VMAs could reduce Pmax. This reduction was measured with wall and capillary pressure sensors on self-weight column and air pressure column laboratory tests, and good correlation between them over time was obtained. A predictive model of the maximum lateral Pressure (Pmax) and its evolution over time (PL) was proposed, related to SCC paste thixotropy (Athix,p), casting height (H) and SCC pressure decay coefficient (Cd)., The authors acknowledge with thanks the financial support provided by the projects NanoCompaC (BIA2016-77911-R), funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, and Print3Dcement (PID2019-106525RB-I00), funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, and the Grant for training of Lecturers (FPU-UAH 2019), funded by University of Alcalá. Finally yet importantly, the authors are grateful to TOLSA GROUP S.A, Master Builders Solutions España SLU, Omya Clariana and Cementos Portland Valderrivas, SA for supplying at no charge some components used in the tests.

Escherichia coli microcin C7 (MccC7) is an antibiotic that inhibits protein synthesis in vivo. It is a heptapeptide containing unknown modifications at the N and C termini (García-Bustos, J. F., Pezzi, N., and Méndez, E. (1985) Antimicrob. Agents Chemoth. 27, 791-797). The chemical structure of MccC7 has been characterized by use of 1H homonuclear and heteronuclear (13C, 15N, 31P) nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy as well as mass spectrometry (1177 +/- 1 Da). The heptapeptide Met-Arg-Thr-Gly-Asn-Ala-Asp is substituted at the N terminus by a N-formyl group. The C-terminal substituent consists of the phosphodiester of 5'-adenylic acid and n-aminopropanol (AMPap), which is linked via the phosphorus atom to an amide group, thus forming a phosphoramide. The main chain carbonyl of the C-terminal aspartic acid residue is connected via this amide bond to the modified nucleotide unit. MccC7 and the peptide unit inhibit protein translation in vitro while a synthetic analog of the AMPap substituent is not active. Neither the peptide nor the AMPap molecule has an effect on the growth of MccC7-sensible cells. Our results strongly suggest that the peptide is responsible for MccC7 antibiotic activity while the C-terminal substituent is needed for MccC7 transport. Implications of the structure determined in this work for MccC7 synthesis and mode of action are discussed.

The μ-basis is a developing algebraic tool to study the expressions of rational curves and surfaces. It can play a bridge role between the parametric forms and implicit forms and show some advantages in implicitization, inversion formulas and singularity computation. However, it is difficult and there are few works to compute the μ-basis from an implicit form. In this paper, we derive the explicit forms of μ-basis for implicit monoid curves and surfaces, including the conics and quadrics which are particular cases of these entities. Additionally, we also provide the explicit form of μ-basis for monoid curves and surfaces defined by any rational parametrization (not necessarily in standard proper form). Our technique is simply based on the linear coordinate transformation and standard forms of these curves and surfaces. As a practical application in numerical situation, if an exact multiple point can not be computed, we can consider the problem of computing “approximate μ-basis” as well as the error estimation., Agencia Estatal de Investigación

A rational translational surface is a typical modeling surface used in computer-aided design and the architecture industry. In this study, we determine whether a given algebraic surface implicitly defined as V is a rational translational surface or not. This problem is reduced to finding the rational parameterizations of two space curves. More important, our discussions are constructive, and thus if V is translational, we provide a parametric representation of V of the form P(t1,t2)=P1(t1)+P2(t2)., Agencia Estatal de Investigación

The micro-generation of electricity arises as a clean and efficient alternative to provide electrical power. However, the unpredictability of wind and solar radiation poses a challenge to attend load demand, while maintaining a stable operation of the microgrids (MGs). This paper proposes the modeling and optimization, using a swarm-intelligent algorithm, of a hybrid MG system (HMGS) with a Net-Metering compensation policy. Using real industrial and residential data from a Spanish region, a HMGS with a generic ESS is used to analyze the influence of four different Net-Metering compensation levels regarding costs, percentage of renewable energy sources (RESs), and LOLP. Furthermore, the performance of two ESSs, Lithium Titanate Spinel (Li4Ti5O12 (LTO)) and Vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFB), is assessed in terms of the final $/kWh costs provided by the MG. The results obtained indicate that the Net-Metering policy reduces the surplus from over 14% to less than 0.5% and increases RESs participation in the MG by more than 10%. Results also show that, in a yearly projection, a MG using a VRFB system with a 25% compensation policy can yield more than 100000$ dollars of savings, when compared to a MG using a LTO system without Net-Metering., European Commission, Agencia Estatal de Investigación, Comunidad de Madrid

Urban development is a process that becomes increasingly complex as the city evolves and in which unexpected events can happen which may alter the envisaged trend over time. To anticipate and examine the sudden emergence of processes that are difficult to predict over long-term future timelines, prospective methodologies are required to manage and implement disruptive narrative storylines in future scenario planning. In this research, a method that combines Land Parcel Cellular Automata (LP-CA) and participatory approaches was developed in order to generate land use trajectories that are spatially consistent with disruptive narrative storylines. The urban-industrial corridor of Henares (Spain), which has undergone important urban transformations in recent decades, was chosen as the study area to test the model. In a preliminary validation of the LP-CA model, a Figure of Merit (FOM) value of 0.2817 indicated satisfactory performance. The results demonstrated the usefulness of the participatory scenario-building and the workshop in supporting the configuration of the model parameters and the spatial representation of complex urban dynamics. In conclusion, this methodology can be used to generate simulations of urban land use change in disruptive future scenarios and to spatially observe the propagation of the uncertainty associated with future events across different urban land uses., This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities and the European Social Fund [grant number PRE2018–084663]; the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness [TRANSURBAN Project CSO2017–86914-C2–1-P]; and the “Estímulo a la Excelencia para Profesores Universitarios Permanentes” research programme funded by the University of Alcal´a and the Regional Government of Madrid [grant number EPU-INV/2020/009].

This work is focused on the study of the metabolomic changes that occur in cocoa powder throughout the alkalization process by using an untargeted ultra high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QTOF-MS) metabolomics approach. With this aim, cocoa powder samples submitted to different alkalization degrees (light, medium, and strong) were analyzed. Metabolite extraction was performed using 75% MeOH in water since it provided the highest number of molecular features. After data processing, non-supervised and supervised methods were applied to carry out the statistical data analysis. Thus, the most significant metabolites that allow establishing differences among the cocoa powder samples submitted to the alkalization processes were pointed out. Thus, 43 and 30 metabolites in positive and negative ionization modes, respectively, demonstrated to be relevant. Among them, 9 compounds were unequivocally identified and 22 tentatively identified. Most of them were amino acids, alkaloids, organic acids or polyphenols, among others., Authors thank the Comunidad of Madrid and European funding from FSE and FEDER programs for project S2018/BAA-4393 (AVANSECAL-II-CM) and the University of Alcalá for project CCGP2017-EXP/057. M.C.P. thanks MINECO for her “Ramón y Cajal” research contract (RYC-2013-12688). M.G. thanks the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities for her pre-doctoral contract (FPU17/01635). Authors also thank OLAM for the kind donation of cocoa powder samples.

The ongoing energy transition is causing rapid changes in the electricity system and, in consequence, the environmental impacts associated with electricity generation. In parallel, the daily variability of generation increases with higher shares of renewable energies. This affects the potential environmental impacts or benefits of devices with variable load or power, such as electric vehicles, storage systems or photovoltaic home systems. However, recent environmental assessments of the actual benefit of such systems are scarce, with existing assessments majorly using average grid mixes that are frequently outdated and disregard the dynamic nature of renewable generation. This article provides detailed hourly average and marginal electricity mixes for each month of the year, determined for Spain as an illustrative country with a diversified (renewable) power generation portfolio that experienced a rapid change in the last years. These are combined with specific life-cycle emission factors for each generation technology. Main drivers for the impacts of the marginal mix turn out to be natural gas plants and imports, but also pumped hydropower due to its comparably low storage efficiency. Applied to a hypothetical photovoltaic rooftop installation, the differences between environmental assessments on hourly and on annual basis are found to be surprisingly low when assuming that the generated electricity replaces the average grid mix, but substantial when considering the marginal generation mix (i.e., the generation technologies that respond to a change in demand at a given time). This highlights the importance of considering the dynamics of the electricity system and the corresponding marginal electricity mixes when optimizing flexible load or generation technologies under environmental aspects.

The present work explores the impact of electro coagulation (EC) method on the treatment of waste from rice mill industries using two different electrode materials (Iron (Fe) and Aluminum (Al)). The influence of different parameters such as inter-electrode distance (4-7 cm), effluent pH (6-8), current density (10-30 mA/cm2) and treatment time (20-40 min) on the reduction of chemical oxygen demand (COD), total dissolved solids (TDS) and total soluble solids (TSS) of rice mill effluent (RME) was evaluated through batch experimental runs using BoxBehnken design. Results reveal that the percentage removal of COD, TDS and TSS increased up to an interelectrode distance of 6 cm, pH of 7, current density of 20 mA/cm2 and treatment time of 30 min and then decreased for both electrodes. In addition, mathematical models were developed for both electrodes in order to predict the experimental data. A numerical optimization method was applied to find out the optimal operating parameters to treat RME, and the percentage removal of COD, TDS and TSS was found to be 94.79, 96.62 and 88.76 %, using the Al electrode, as well as 76.63, 78.51 and 72.03 %, for the Fe electrode, respectively. The comparison of the results attained demonstrate that the Al electrode is more suitable to treat RME than Fe using EC method., Comunidad de Madrid

Evidence of sexual aggression may be obtained from superabsorbent polymer (SAP) sanitary pads, which are used by forensic laboratories for semen evaluation. Semen can be extracted from their upper layers, which are free of SAPs. However, our previous results showed a need to optimize the protocol for semen analysis by considering its extraction from the lower core, often composed of sodium polyacrylate SAPs. SAPs generate a hydrogel, which traps the cellular components, hindering the possibility of obtaining cells and hence their genetic material. Simple filtration has been tried previously, but further maximization by application of a treatment has never been attempted. In this paper, we compare both chemical and physical shredding treatments for maximizing gel-trapped sperm and male cell DNA recaptures from hygienic superabsorbent substrates in sanitary pads, panty-liners or diapers. Our findings suggest that the lower core should be treated to induce a dewaterisation of the SAP hydrogels in order to maximize the extraction of bodily fluids.

In the last years, the fact that water is a "green" solvent capable of tunable their properties by changing temperature has tended to increase publications using pressurized hot water extraction (PHWE) as a "green" extraction technique. PHWE has been established as a special extraction technique employed in obtaining bioactive compounds such as polyphenols, diterpenes and polysaccharides, among others from natural sources. Therefore, the main goal of this review is to provide the reader with a brief description of PHWE fundamentals, an up-to-date overview on the use of PHWE to recover bioactive compounds (2015-present), following our previous work by Plaza and Turner (Trends in Analytical Chemistry 71 (2015) 39-57). The last and future trends in PHWE are presented such as its combination with ionic liquids or deep eutectic solvents as well as its coupling with drying steps in order to get higher extraction yields and dried particle formation from extracts, respectively. (C) 2019 Published by Elsevier B.V.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S002196731930247X?via%3Dihub, Diabetes mellitus is a major health concern nowadays. It is estimated that 40 % of diabetics are affected by diabetic nephropathy, one of the complications derived from high glucose blood levels which can lead to chronic loss of kidney function. It is now clear that the renal proximal tubule plays a critical role in the progression of diabetic nephropathy but research focused on studying the molecular mechanisms involved is still needed. The aim of this work was to develop a liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry platform to carry out, for the first time, the untargeted metabolomic analysis of high glucose-induced changes in cultured human proximal tubular HK-2 cells. In order to find the metabolites which were affected by high glucose and to expand the metabolite coverage, intra- and extracellular fluid from HK-2 cells exposed to high glucose (25 mM), normal glucose (5.5 mM) or osmotic control (5.5 mM glucose + 19.5 mM mannitol) were analyzed by two complementary chromatographic modes: hydrophilic interaction and reversed-phase liquid chromatography. Non-supervised principal components analysis showed a good distribution among the three groups of samples. Statistically significant variables were chosen for further metabolite identification. Different metabolic pathways were affected mainly those derived from amino acidic, polyol, and nitrogenous bases metabolism.

Natural regeneration has been proposed as a cost-effective forest restoration approach for both small and large-scale initiatives. However, attributes for assessing the success of forest restoration through natural regeneration may vary among them in spatial patterns depending on the scale of analysis and on environmental gradients. Here we analysed the spatial patterns of recovery completeness (i.e. how similar attributes in restored forests are to the same attributes in reference forests) in response to environmental factors in a Mediterranean forest landscape of Central Chile. We evaluated (1) forest recovery completeness using basal area (BA), quadratic mean diameter (QMD), adult species density (ASD), adult species richness (ASR), and seedling species richness (SSR); (2) the spatial congruence of recovery completeness estimated by each of these indicators; and (3) the environmental factors potentially shaping these spatial patterns. We used field measurements and geospatial information sources to quantify and predict indicator responses by fitting boosted regression tree models. To assess the spatial congruence of predictions we overlaid high-level recovery completeness values for all indicators. Overall recovery completeness in the study area was 72.7%, suggesting positive prospects for attaining fully restored forests. Recovery completeness had a resulted higher for diversity (92.3%-99.6%) than structural forest attributes (33.5%-76.9%); however, spatial congruence among recovery indicators was low due to the uneven spatial responses of each indicator. The maximum potential spatial congruence was, Universidad de La Frontera, Fundación de Apoyo a la Investigación del Estado de Sao Paulo

This work studied the accumulation of plastic debris in a remote beach located in La Graciosa island (Chinijo archipelago, Canary Islands). Microplastics were sampled in the 1&#-5&;8239#mm mesh opening range. An average plastic density of 36.3 g/m2 was obtained with a large variability along the 90 m of the beach (from 8.5 g/m2 to 103.4 g/m2). Microplastic particles preferentially accumulated in the part of the beach protected by rocks. A total number of 9149 plastic particles were collected, recorded and measured, 87% of which corresponded to fragments. Clear colours and microscopic evidence of weathering corresponded to aged plastics wind-driven by the surface Canary Current. The chemical composition of plastics particles corresponded to PE (63%), PP (32%) and PS (3%). Higher PE/PP ratios were recorded in the more protected parts of the beach, suggesting preferential accumulation of more aged fragments.

An O-[2-(methacryloyloxy)-ethylcarbamoyl]-10,11-dihydroquinidine (MQD)-silica hybrid monolithic column was prepared by a facile "one-step" strategy within a 100 μm I.D. capillary. The influence of the methanol, ethylene glycol and water volume ratio, reaction temperature and time, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide and MQD monomers content and volume ratio of tetramethoxysilane and vinyltrimethoxysilane was investigated to obtain a satisfactory morphology of monolithic columns. The optimized MQD-silica hybrid monolithic column was evaluated in terms of permeability, stability, efficiency, reproducibility, and was characterized by scanning electron microscopy and nano-liquid chromatography. Among the 52 N-derivatized protein and non-protein amino acids, a total of 44 analytes could be baseline enantioseparated using the optimized conditions in either reversed phase mode (RPM) or polar organic phase mode (POM). The results showed that POM (ACN/MeOH/HAc/TEA (60/40/0.055/0.005, v/v/v/v)) offered better performance than RPM (10 mM ammonium acetate/ACN (30/70, v/v) (apparent pH=5.3)) in terms of enantioresolution and efficiency with shorter analysis times.

Part of this work was developed while R.M.Corless was visiting the University of Alcalá, in the frame of the project Giner de los Rios. We acknowledge the support of the Ontario Graduate Institution, the National Science & Engineering Research Council of Canada, the University of Alcalá, the Rotman Institute of Philosophy, the Ontario Research Centre of Computer Algebra, and Western Univ., We show how to construct linearizations of matrix polynomials za(z)d0+c0, a(z)b(z), a(z) +b(z)(when deg (b(z)), Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad

Governments increasingly tend to involve or rely on various societal actors to address social challenges anddevelop cost-effective and high-quality public services. This paper identifies the major themes of social innovationrelating to this type of collaborative governance, by carrying out a conceptual analysis of the scientific andgrey literature on social innovation in five European countries. Depending on the country, different emphases ofsocial innovation are found. One theme that appears common to all countries is social entrepreneurship. Thispaper provides a mapping of these major themes on social innovation. It discusses the nexus of collaborativegovernance and social innovation by theme, and the impact that the history of the national welfare state has onsocial innovation initiatives and forms of collaborative governance.

The antimicrobial lysozyme (Lys) was electrostatically incorporated to negatively charged crosslinked poly(glycidyl methacrylate) (c-PGMA) macromolecular assemblies. The resulting material was characterized by AFM, infrared spectra, water contact angle measurements and the staining with the primary amino specific dye fluorescamine. c-PGMA nanoparticles were successfully loaded with Lys reaching ratios of 27.3 ± 4.0 and 22.5 ± 1.7 mg Lys/g polymer for c-PGMA suspensions and functionalized glass substrates, respectively. Lys-loaded c-PGMA caused clear inhibition zones on S. aureus and E. coli in comparison to neat c-PGMA. c-PGMA functionalized surfaces were intrinsically resistant to colonization, but the incorporation of Lys added resistance to bacterial attachment and allowed keeping surfaces clean of bacterial cells for both strains. A relatively rapid release (24 h) of Lys was observed at physiological pH (7.4). In addition, c-PGMA functionalized substrates could be reloaded several times without losing capacity. c-PGMA macromolecular assemblies did not display cytotoxicity to human dermal fibroblasts as shown in 24 h MTT assays. This work demonstrated that c-PGMA assemblies display durable antibacterial activity, biocompatibility, and full reloading capacity with antimicrobial peptides. c-PGMA functionalized materials have potential application as nanocarriers for anti-infective uses., The authors acknowledge the funding provided by the Spanish Government (RTI2018-094840-B-C31) and the University of Alcala (CCG19/CC-037). LV thanks for FPU grant FPU17/03096 (Spanish Ministry of Education). GA thanks the University of Alcala for her postdoctoral fellowship. MP thanks the University of Alcala for his predoctoral fellowship. We thank ICTS “NANBIOSIS” for the Confocal Microscopy Service and TEM-Biophym Service (V. Souza-Egipsy) at the IEM-CSIC for the use of the facilities.

10 pags., 9 figs., 1 tab., We report the experimental demonstration of a simple passive ultrafast harmonically mode-locked ultralong ring fibre laser architecture using InN-based semiconductor saturable absorber mirrors (SESAMs) that allows for the generation of high peak power ultrashort pulses without the need for external amplification stages. Fundamental mode-locking of the resonator in 1.67 to 2.37 km rings, emitting at 1.56 μm results in pulse widths below 250 fs, with repetition rates between 87 and 124 kHz, pulse energies above 200 nJ and peak powers between 1.0 and 1.27 MW, that could meet the requirements for high peak power demanding applications such as materials processing without additional amplification or compression stages., This work was funded by FP7 ITN programme ICONE (608099); Spanish MINECO grant TEC2015-71127-C2, RTI2018-097957-B-C33 and Comunidad de Madrid grant SINFOTON2-CM (S2018/NMT-4326).

In this paper, for certain type of structured {0, 1, -1}-matrices, we give a complete description of the inner Bohemian inverses over any population containing the set {0, 1, -1}. In addition, when the population is exactly {0, 1, -1}, we provide explicit formulas for the number of inner Bohemian inverses of these type of matrices., Agencia Estatal de Investigación, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada

Non-native trees enhance services that are fundamental for human well-being. Yet, the extensive use of non-native trees has the potential of causing environmental and socio-economic harm. Eucalyptus and Pinus are the most widely distributed and extensively planted tree genera worldwide, because their rapid growth allows profitable production of timber and pulp. Their naturalization is causing severe effects on the environment, but the relative importance of underlying factors determining their demographic performance is not well known. Thus, our aim was to evaluate the relative importance of biotic, abiotic, and anthropogenic factors driving demographic changes of Eucalyptus and Pinus at the regional scale. We compiled environmental variables and demographic data for Eucalyptus globulus, Eucalyptus camaldulensis, and Pinus radiata across 6388 permanent forestland plots surveyed in the Spanish Forest Inventory (SFI). We used the second (1986?1996), third (1997?2007), and fourth (2008?2017) SFI datasets to quantify annual changes in basal area per plot between consecutive inventories (?BA; m2 ha?1 year?1). We also quantified the components of ?BA: tree ingrowth (transitions from juvenile to adult trees), growth, and mortality. We evaluated juvenile recruitment with in-situ regeneration (No. juvenile trees ha?1) within plots already occupied by the focal species in the previous inventory, and with natural colonization of plots where the focal species was absent at the beginning of the time interval. We found that the structure of the biotic community was especially important to explain demographic performance of non-native trees growing in benign environments (E. globulus and P. radiata), whereas abiotic factors were particularly important regulating basal area increments of E. camaldulensis, which occurs in harsher environments. Basal area increments decreased with species and functional richness, heterospecific density, mean annual temperature, and increased with soil capacity to retain nutrients and water. Colonization of new plots increased with propagule availability in the surrounding landscape. Tree cutting was beneficial for P. radiata. Collectively, our results suggest that non-native trees perform better in forests with high propagule pressure, low biotic resistance, favourable abiotic conditions, and human management., Agencia Estatal de Investigación, Universidad de Alcalá, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Comunidad de Madrid

Fifteen pyridazino-pyrrolo-quinoxalinium salts were synthesized and tested for their antiprotozoal activity against Leishmania infantum amastigotes. Eleven of them turned out to be leishmanicidal, with EC values in the nanomolar range, and displayed low toxicity against the human THP-1 cell line. Selectivity indices for these compounds range from 10 to more than 1000. Compounds 3b and 3f behave as potent inhibitors of the oxidoreductase activity of the essential enzyme trypanothione disulfide reductase (TryR). Interestingly, binding of 3f is not affected by high trypanothione concentrations, as revealed by the noncompetitive pattern of inhibition observed when tested in the presence of increasing concentrations of this substrate. Furthermore, when analyzed at varying NADPH concentrations, the characteristic pattern of hyperbolic uncompetitive inhibition supports the view that binding of NADPH to TryR is a prerequisite for inhibitor-protein association. Similar to other TryR uncompetitive inhibitors for NADPH, 3f is responsible for TryR-dependent reduction of cytochrome c in a reaction that is typically inhibited by superoxide dismutase., This research was funded by the Spanish MICINN (Projects PID2019-104070RB-C22 and PCTQ2017-85263-R), the Comunidad de Madrid (Project PLATESA2-CM ref S-2018/BAA-4370 and NOV- ELREN, B2017/BMD-3751) and the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (FEDER funds, RETIC REDINREN RD16/0009/0015). The University of Alcalá and the Spanish Ministry for Culture and Education are gratefully acknowledged for the predoctoral fellowship (FPU16/1647) to J. G.-M. The University of Alcalá is also gratefully acknowledged for the FPU grants to P. S. A. and J. C. G.-S. and the postdoctoral fellowship to H. d. L.

The chemical process that takes place in Cement Based Materials (CBM) produces microstructural changes and the development of mechanical properties at Early Age (EA). CBM composition, curing conditions (temperature, relative humidity and wind speed) and structural member size can modify the chemical reaction and microstructural development, producing undesirable effects, as EA shrinkage and cracking. Thus, a robust testing methodology is required to monitor CBM at EA. To take advantage of Non-Destructive Tests (NDT) for EA monitoring but considering the uncertainty related to indirect measurements, a testing methodology that combines simultaneous measuring of temperature, capillary pressure, evaporation rate, free shrinkage, and p- and s- waves Ultrasonic Pulse Velocities (UPV) was developed. The multi-parameter technique allows to follow both the chemical, microstructural and mechanical properties development processes that take place in CBM at EA. An integrated analysis allowed defining new EA shrinkage, stress demand estimation and cracking risk models combining EA NDT parameters. The experimental setup presented in this study can be used for pastes and concretes and was verified in laboratory conditions, inside a climate chamber and in on-site real scale applications., The authors gratefully acknowledge the funding grants: CCG-08-UAH/MAT 40, co-funded by the University of Alcala and the Community of Madrid; PPII-2014-022-P co-funded by J C Castilla-La Mancha and FEDER; and SCC_Pump (BIA2013-48480-C2-2-R) and NanoCompaC (BIA2016-77911-R) funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness.

In this paper, we provide a method that allows to construct parametric curves having (or not) non-ordinary singularities and having (or not) neighboring points. This method is based on a characterization of the non-ordinary singularities and neighboring points by means of linear equations involving the given parametrization. As a consequence, we obtain an algorithm that constructs a parametrization which contains a given point, P, as a singularity as well as some additional information as for instance, the order of P, parameters corresponding to P, multiplicity of each parameter and the singularities in the first neighborhood of the singularity P., Agencia Estatal de Investigación

It is well known that for two univariate polynomials over the complex number field the number of their common roots is equal to the order of their resultant. In this paper, we show that this fundamental relationship still holds for the tropical polynomials under suitable adaptation of the notion of order, if the roots are simple and non-zero., Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad

A major part of this work was developed while J.R. Sendra was visiting, in the frame of GNSAGA—Istituto Nazionale di Alta Matematica, the University of Genova, and while M.C. Beltrametti and M. Torrente were visiting the University of Alcalá, in the frame of the project Giner de los Rios and of GNSAGA—Istituto Nazionale di Alta Matematica., We consider the problem of deciding whether or not a zero locus, X, of multivariate real analytic functions crosses a given r-norm ball in the real n-dimensional affine space. We perform a local study of the problem, and we provide both necessary and sufficient conditions to answer the question. Our conditions derive from the analysis of differential geometric properties of X at the center of the ball. An algorithm to evaluate r-norms distances is proposed., Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad

International audience; This paper is devoted to the construction and analysis of a new family of three-points nonlinear cell-average subdivision (multiresolution) schemes. They are based on a centered piecewise nonlinear reconstruction adapted to discontinuities. Some theoretical properties of these schemes (convergence, order of approximation, preservation of the monotonicity in the data, stability or absence of the Gibbs phenomenon) are analyzed. Finally, various numerical examples are presented. (C) 2017 International Association for Mathematics and Computers in Simulation (IMACS).

Even with an increasing interest in scaling-up Microbial Electrochemical Technologies (MET), it is still common to focus on their “fundamentals”. An important example is the production of current density (jmax) by microbial anodes in a three-electrode arrangement (3 EA) configuration, e.g.: a graphite plate of well-defined projected (or geometric) surface area (PSA) and a cathode, both parallel to each other. With such type of anode within a 3 EA configuration, jmax‘s calculation is expected to be straightforward. Nonetheless, certain issues prevail. Occasionally, jmax is wrongly overestimated neglecting the surface of the anode that does not directly face the cathode. Here, grown biofilms of the novel electroactive bacterium Geoalkalibacter subterraneus showed that the actual area of anode that contributes to jmax is the total PSA (or apparent geometric area) immersed in the electrolyte available to form a biofilm regardless the side of the anode that faced or opposed the cathode even in a medium with low conductivity such as urban wastewater, a niche of application for METs. For the sake of normalization, researchers (and especially a “freshman” microbial electrochemist) are encouraged to: A) use the total PSA (or apparent geometric area) immersed in the electrolyte to calculate jmax or B) to cover edges and faces hidden of the anode with an electrical insulator to allow the flow of current on the side of the anode that directly faces the cathode prior calculation of jmax. This normalization can be conducted when the main goal is to quantify (and thus properly report) jmax produced when using (e.g.): a novel i) electroactive bacterium, ii) electrode material or iii) reactor design.

Multispectral images of clothing targets shot at seven different distances (from 10 to 220 cm) were recorded at 18 specific wavelengths in the 400&-1000 nm range to visualize the gunshot residue (GSR) pattern. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that the use of violet-blue wavelengths (430, 450 and 470 nm) provided the largest contrast between the GSR particles and the white cotton fabric. Then, the correlation between the amount of GSR particles on clothing targets and the shooting distance was studied. By selecting the blue frame of multispectral images (i.e. the blue frame in the red-green-blue (RGB) system which falls at 470 nm), the amount of pixels containing GSR particles was accounted based on the intensity of pixels in that frame. Results demonstrated that the number of pixels containing GSR exponentially decreases with the shooting distance from 30 to 220 cm following a particular exponential equation. However, the targets shot at the shortest distance (10 cm) did not satisfy the above equation, probably due to the noticeable differences of the GSR-pattern of these targets (e.g. high presence of soot). Then, the equation was applied to validation samples to estimate the shooting distances, obtaining results with an error below 10%.