Distribución biogeográfica de las especies de hidrozoos tecados bentónicos recogidas durante la campaña “Antártida 8611”

The biogeographical distribution of the benthic hydroid species collected during the Spanish Antarctic expedition Antártida 8611 has been studied. An inventory of the Antarctic and Magellan benthic thecate hydroid faunas, along with a comparison between the two, have been also carried out. 104 and 126 species of thecate hydroids have been considered in the Antarctic and Magellan areas, respectively. 72 species (69%) of the Antarctic species and 49 (39%) of the Magellan species are endemic. 23 species are present both in the Antarctic Region and in the Magellan area, representing 22% and 18% respectively, and indicating an important relationship between both faunas.Se ha estudiado la distribución biogeográfica de las especies de hidrozoos bentónicos recogidos durante la campaña de prospección científico-pesquera “Antártida 8611”. Asimismo, se ha realizado un inventario de la fauna de hidrozoos tecados bentónicos antárticos y magallánicos, habiéndose llevado a cabo una comparación entre ambas faunas. 104 y 126 especies de hidrozoos tecados se han considerado en las áreas antártica y magallánica respectivamente. 72 especies (69%) de las especies antárticas y 49 (39%) de las magallánicas son endémicas. 23 especies están presentes en ambas regiones, representando un 22% y un 18% respectivamente e indicando una importante relación entre ambas faunas

Biological applications of ferroelectric materials

The study and applications of ferroelectric materials in the biomedical and biotechnological fields is a novel and very promising scientific area that spans roughly one decade. However, some groups have already provided experimental proof of very interesting biological modulation when living systems are exposed to different ferroelectrics and excitation mechanisms. These materials should offer several advantages in the field of bioelectricity, such as no need of an external electric power source or circuits, scalable size of the electroactive regions, flexible and reconfigurable “virtual electrodes,” or fully proved biocompatibility. In this focused review, we provide the underlying physics of ferroelectric activity and a recount of the research reports already published, along with some tentative biophysical mechanisms that can explain the observed results. More specifically, we focus on the biological actions of domain ferroelectrics and ferroelectrics excited by the bulk photovoltaic effect or the pyroelectric effect. It is our goal to provide a comprehensive account of the published material so far and to set the stage for a vigorous expansion of the field, with envisioned applications that span from cell biology and signaling to cell and tissue regeneration, antitumoral action, or cell bioengineering to name a fe

Experimental Transmission of African Swine Fever (ASF) Low Virulent Isolate NH/P68 by Surviving Pigs

African swine fever (ASF) has persisted in Eastern Europe since 2007, and two endemic zones have been identified in the central and southern parts of the Russian Federation. Moderate- to low-virulent ASF virus isolates are known to circulate in endemic ASF-affected regions. To improve our knowledge of virus transmission in animals recovered from ASF virus infection, an experimental in vivo study was carried out. Four domestic pigs were inoculated with the NH/P68 ASF virus, previously characterized to develop a chronic form of ASF. Two additional in-contact pigs were introduced at 72 days post-inoculation (dpi) in the same box for virus exposure. The inoculated pigs developed a mild form of the disease, and the virus was isolated from tissues in the inoculated pigs up to 99 dpi (pigs were euthanized at 36, 65, 99 and 134 dpi). In-contact pigs showed mild or no clinical signs, but did become seropositive, and a transient viraemia was detected at 28 days post-exposure (dpe), thereby confirming late virus transmission from the inoculated pigs. Virus transmission to in-contact pigs occurred at four weeks post-exposure, over three months after the primary infection. These results highlight the potential role of survivor pigs in disease maintenance and dissemination in areas where moderate- to low-virulent viruses may be circulating undetected. This study will help design better and more effective control programmes to fight against this disease.EU project, ASFORCE Targeted Research Effort on African Swine Fever (KBBE.2012.1.3-02, 311931) and the European Union Reference laboratory for ASF (grant no UE- LR PPA/03).Peer Reviewe

Sensitivity Analysis and Cross Sections Data Adjustment for Multigroup Transport and Diffusion

Uncertainties in basic nuclear data and other quantities involved in the characterization of an experiment affect the accuracy of the results when the respective experiment is modelled. The impact of these uncertainties on computed responses can be assessed by combining the sensitivities of these responses to the input parameters with data uncertainties and covariances. Furthermore, best estimates of both the input parameters and recomputed responses, with reduced uncertainties, can be obtained by using data assimilation and adjustment procedures. This paper reports the results of using the data adjustment methodology in conjunction with the well-known Godiva experiment and a partial set of uncertainties from the ZZ-COV-15 library for U-235 and U-238, together with sensitivities computed with APOLLO transport code by the Adjoint Sensitivity Analysis Procedure, to obtain best-estimate values for the k eigenvalue of the system, with reduced uncertainties. In parallel, sensitivities were also computed using COBAYA diffusion code, compared with those produced by APOLLO, and then employed in the adjustment formalism to obtain the adjusted k eigenvalue and its corresponding reduced uncertainty

Emotions detection on an ambient intelligent system using wearable devices

In this paper we present an Ambient Intelligent System, the iGenda, and the integration of a wearable device. The aim is to detect emotional states through the wearable device and ultimately represent and manage the social emotion of a group of entities. The advantage of this action is that its usability is in line with retirement homes and similar places, where the community is extended and an harmonious environment is imperative. The iGenda serves has the visual interface and the information centre, receiving the information from the wearable device and managing the community emotion by sending information to the care-receivers, caregivers, or changing home parameters (like music or lighting) to achieve an specific emotion (such as calm or excitement). Thus the goal is to provide an affective system that directly interacts with humans by discreetly improving their lifestyle.FCT - Fuel Cell Technologies Program (UID/CEC/00319/2013)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Changes in oxidant-antioxidant status in young diabetic patients from clinical onset onwards

Oxidative stress has been implicated as a mechanism underlying hyperglycaemia-associated cellular damage and could play a role in the development of diabetes-related complications. This study aimed to evaluate the significance of changes in oxidant-antioxidant status in 176 child and adolescent diabetic patients at clinical onset, during disease progression and when early microvascular complications appeared. Indicative lipid and protein oxidation markers and antioxidant defence activity were measured in plasma and correlated with clinical data, diabetes duration, long-term glycometabolic control and serum lipids. Compared with their respective age-matched controls, diabetic patients had greater oxidative damage to lipids and proteins, demonstrated through the analysis of hydroperoxides, lipoperoxides and oxidation protein products, all of which were significantly raised at onset, decreased during the first 1.5 years of evolution and rose progressively thereafter. Plasma levels of oxidizable lipids were significantly associated with lipid and protein oxidation products. Overall, plasma antioxidant capacity was significantly and consistently lower from clinical onset onwards. These results suggest that insulin therapy in the first year improved metabolic and oxidant homeostasis and consequently hyperglycaemia-derived biomolecular oxidative damage. Diabetes-associated hyperlipidaemia is related to lipid and protein oxidation processes, which supports the concept of glucose toxicity and lipotoxicity being interrelated. The greatest increase in lipid and protein oxidative damage biomarkers in young diabetic patients with premature microangiopathy points to oxidative stress as a possible contributing mechanism of microvascular dysfunction. Consequently, tight lipid and glycometabolic control may have therapeutic potential by diminishing oxidative tissue-damaging effects of hyperglycaemia

Unlocking room-temperature bistable spin transition at the nanoscale: the synthesis of core@shell [Fe(NH 2 trz) 3 (NO 3 ) 2 ]@SiO 2 nanoparticles †

In this work, we address the synthesis of stable spin-crossover nanoparticles capable of undergoing a hysteretic spin transition at room temperature. For this purpose, we use the reverse-micelle protocol to prepare naked [Fe(NH2trz)3](NO3)2 and core@shell [Fe(NH2trz)3](NO3)2@SiO2 nanoparticles. Through meticulous adjustment of synthetic parameters, we achieved nanoparticle sizes ranging from approximately 40 nm to 60 nm. Our findings highlight that [Fe(NH2trz)3](NO3)2 presents a modest thermal hysteresis of 7 K, which decreases by downsizing. Conversely, silica-coated nanoparticles with sizes of ca. 60 and 40 nm demonstrate a remarkable hysteretic response of approximately 30 K, switching their spin state around room temperature. Moreover, the presence of a SiO2 shell substantially enhances the nanoparticles’ stability against oxidation. In this context, the larger 60 nm [Fe(NH2trz)3](NO3)2@SiO2 hybrid remains stable in water for up to two hours, enabling the observation of an unreported water-induced spin transition after 30 min. Therefore, this work also introduces an intriguing avenue for inducing spin transitions through solvent exchange, underscoring the versatility and potential of these nanoparticles

Listado taxonómico comentado de los Capitélidos (Annelida, Polychaeta) de la península Iberica, islas Chafarinas, Baleares y Canarias

The present annotated checklist has been elaborated after revision of preserved materials (from the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Madrid and the reference collection of the Marine Biology Laboratory of the University of Valencia) and published literature related to capitellids from the Iberian Peninsula, Chafarinas, Balearic and Canary Islands. Twenty-four species and subspecies belonging to thirteen genera are recognized as valid taxa. With this checklist we include some taxonomic details and information on distribution at both global and regional levels. This work includes the setal formula and diagrammatic representation of capitellid taxa treated in this study.Se ha elaborado un listado taxonómico comentado de los capitélidos de la Península Ibérica, Islas Chafarinas, Baleares y Canarias a partir de la revisión de materiales (Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Madrid y colección de referencia del Laboratorio de Biología Marina de la Universidad de Valencia) y de la bibliografía publicada referente a este grupo. Se reconocen como taxones válidos 24 especies y subespecies pertenecientes a 13 géneros. En esta lista se incluyen para cada especie algunos detalles taxonómicos e información sobre su distribución geográfica tanto a nivel mundial como regional. Asimismo, se aporta la fórmula setal y el diagrama gráfico para los taxones contemplados en este estudio

Deliberative Context-Aware Ambient Intelligence System for Assisted Living Homes

Monitoring wellbeing and stress is one of the problems covered by ambient intelligence, as stress is a significant cause of human illnesses directly affecting our emotional state. The primary aim was to propose a deliberation architecture for an ambient intelligence healthcare application. The architecture provides a plan for comforting stressed seniors suffering from negative emotions in an assisted living home and executes the plan considering the environment's dynamic nature. Literature was reviewed to identify the convergence between deliberation and ambient intelligence and the latter's latest healthcare trends. A deliberation function was designed to achieve context-aware dynamic human-robot interaction, perception, planning capabilities, reactivity, and context-awareness with regard to the environment. A number of experimental case studies in a simulated assisted living home scenario were conducted to demonstrate the approach's behavior and validity. The proposed methods were validated to show classification accuracy. The validation showed that the deliberation function has effectively achieved its deliberative objectives