How does iron interact with sporopollenin exine capsules? An X-ray absorption study including microfocus XANES and XRF imaging

Sporopollenin exine capsules (SECs) derived from plant spores and pollen grains have been proposed as adsorption, remediation and drug delivery agents. Despite many studies there is scant structural data available. This X-ray absorption investigation represents the first direct structural data on the interaction of metals with SECs and allows elucidation of their structure–property relationships. Fe K-edge XANES and EXAFS data have shown that the iron local environment in SECs (derived from Lycopodium clavatum) reacted with aqueous ferric chloride solutions is similar to that of ferrihydrite (FeOOH) and by implication ferritin. Fe Kα XRF micro-focus experiments show that there is a poor correlation between the iron distribution and the underlying SEC structure indicating that the SEC is coated in the FeOOH material. In contrast, the Fe Kα XRF micro-focus experiments on SECs reacted with aqueous ferrous chloride solutions show that there is a very high correlation between the iron distribution and the SEC structure, indicating a much more specific form of interaction of the iron with the SEC surface functional groups. Fe K-edge XANES and EXAFS data show that the FeII can be easily oxidised to give a structure similar to, but not identical to that in the FeIII case, and that even if anaerobic conditions are used there is still partial oxidation to FeIII

Anthropometric Specificity and Level of Participation in Acrobatic Gymnastics Based on Sex

AGRADECIMIENTOS. A todos los gimnastas de acrobática y entrenadores de los clubs de Gimnasia en España.Las diferencias de sexo es un aspecto muy presente en el mundo laboral y deportivo. Esto se traduce en la diferenciación de actividades deportivas, determinadas como masculinas o femeninas. De ahí que el objetivo del estudio fue analizar el nivel de participación y características morfológicas en gimnastas de acrobática y ver las diferencias en relación al sexo y rol: portor y ágil. Se analizó la participación en los Campeonatos de España entre 2011 y 2018, y se comparó medidas antropométricas, composición corporal y de proporcionalidad, en función del rol de actuación y sexo. El Comité Autonómico de Ética de Investigación de la Xunta de Galicia (España) aprobó la metodología de trabajo. Los resultados mostraron un porcentaje mucho mayor de participación en función del sexo a favor del sexo femenino en todos los campeonatos analizados. Sin embargo, el peso, índice de masa corporal y el porcentaje muscular no fueron diferentes entre sexos en ninguno de los dos roles. De las 62 variables morfológicas evaluadas, existe un mayor predominio de las diferencias en los portores que en los ágiles en relación al sexo, destacando el porcentaje de grasa.Sex differences are a very present aspect in the world of work and sports. This translates into the differentiation of sports activities, determined as masculine or feminine. Hence, the aim of the study was to analyze the level of participation and morphological characteristics in acrobatic gymnasts and to see the differences in relation to sex and role: Base and top. Participation in the Spanish Championships between 2011 and 2018 was analyzed, and anthropometric measures, body composition and proportionality were compared, depending on the role of performance and sex. The Autonomous Committee of Research Ethics of the Xunta de Galicia (Spain) approved the work methodology. The results showed a much higher percentage of participation according to sex in favor of the female sex in all the analyzed championships. However, the weight, body mass index and muscle percentage were not different between sexes in either of the two roles. Of the 62 morphological variables evaluated, there is a greater predominance of differences in the bases than in the tops ones in relation to sex, highlighting the percentage of fat

Theoretical modelling of quaternary GaInAsSb/GaAs self-assembled quantum dots

Trabajo presentado al "Quantum Dot", celebrado en Nottingham (UK) del 26 al 30 de Abril de 2010.InAs/GaAs quantum dots exposed to Sb after growth exhibit spectral changes. We study in the present paper an idealized nanostructure consisting of a homogeneous distribution of the quaternary GaInAsSb surrounded by a barrier of GaAs. We nd that the valence band o set is a critical parameter in modelling its electronic structure. Depending on this value, we predict a transition from type-I to type-II band alignment at a di erent Sb concentration. The addition of Sb to reduce the transition energy while keeping a type-I alignment is only of bene t at low Sb concentrationThis work was supported by the Spanish MICINN (projects TEC2008-06756-C03-01/02/TEC, CONSOLIDER INGENIO 2010 CSD2006-0019 and CSD2009-00013), the Junta de Andalucía (PAI research groups TEP-120 and TIC-145; project P08-TEP-03516) and Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid S2009ESP-1503.Peer reviewe

Stress compensation by GaP monolayers for stacked InAs/GaAs quantum dots solar cells

Trabajo presentado en el 33rd IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, celebrado en San Diego, CA (Estados Unidos), del 11 al 16 de mayo de 2008In this work we report the stacking of 10 and 50 InAs quantum dots layers using 2 monolayers of GaP for stress compensation and a stack period of 18 nm on GaAs (001) substrates. Very good structural and optical quality is found in both samples. Vertical alignment of the dots is observed by transmission electron microscopy suggesting the existence of residual stress around them. Photocurrent measurements show light absorption up to 1.2 µm in the nanostructures together with a reduction in the blue response of the device. As a result of the phosphorus incorporation in the barriers, a very high thermal activation energy (431 meV) has also been obtained for the quantum dot emission.The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support by the Spanish MEC and CAM through projects 200560M089, S-05050/ENE-0310, TEC-2005-05781-C03- 01 and -02, Consolider-Ingenio 2010 CSD2006-0004, the Junta de Andalucia (project TEP383, group TEP120) and by the European Commission through the SANDIE Network of Excellence (NMP4-CT-2004-500101).Peer reviewe

From harmful Microcystis blooms to multi-functional core-double-shell microsphere bio-hydrochar materials

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) induced by eutrophication is becoming a serious global environmental problem affecting public health and aquatic ecological sustainability. A novel strategy for the utilization of biomass from HABs was developed by converting the algae cells into hollow mesoporous biohydrochar microspheres via hydrothermal carbonization method. The hollow microspheres were used as microreactors and carriers for constructing CaO2 core-mesoporous shell-CaO2 shell microspheres (OCRMs). The CaO2 shells could quickly increase dissolved oxygen to extremely anaerobic water in the initial 40 min until the CaO2 shells were consumed. The mesoporous shells continued to act as regulators restricting the release of oxygen from CaO2 cores. The oxygen-release time using OCRMs was 7 times longer than when directly using CaO2. More interestingly, OCRMs presented a high phosphate removal efficiency (95.6%) and prevented the pH of the solution from rising to high levels in comparison with directly adding CaO2 due to the OH− controlled-release effect of OCRMs. The distinct core-doubleshell micro/nanostructure endowed the OCRMs with triple functions for oxygen controlled-release, phosphorus removal and less impact on water pH. The study is to explore the possibility to prepare smarter bio-hydrochar materials by utilizing algal blooms

Whole genome sequencing of turbot (Scophthalmus maximus; Pleuronectiformes):a fish adapted to demersal life

12 páginas, 5 figuras.-- Antonio Figueras ... et al.-- This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly citedThe turbot is a flatfish (Pleuronectiformes) with increasing commercial value, which has prompted active genomic research aimed at more efficient selection. Here we present the sequence and annotation of the turbot genome, which represents a milestone for both boosting breeding programmes and ascertaining the origin and diversification of flatfish. We compare the turbot genome with model fish genomes to investigate teleost chromosome evolution. We observe a conserved macrosyntenic pattern within Percomorpha and identify large syntenic blocks within the turbot genome related to the teleost genome duplication. We identify gene family expansions and positive selection of genes associated with vision and metabolism of membrane lipids, which suggests adaptation to demersal lifestyle and to cold temperatures, respectively. Our data indicate a quick evolution and diversification of flatfish to adapt to benthic life and provide clues for understanding their controversial origin. Moreover, we investigate the genomic architecture of growth, sex determination and disease resistance, key traits for understanding local adaptation and boosting turbot production, by mapping candidate genes and previously reported quantitative trait loci. The genomic architecture of these productive traits has allowed the identification of candidate genes and enriched pathways that may represent useful information for future marker-assisted selection in turbotThis work was funded by the Spanish Government: projects Consolider Ingenio: Aquagenomics (CSD2007-00002) and Metagenoma de la Península Ibérica (CSD2007-00005), Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad and European Regional Development Funds (AGL2012-35904), and Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (AGL2014-51773 and AGL2014-57065-R); and Local Government Xunta de Galicia (GRC2014/010). P.P. and D.R. gratefully acknowledge the Spanish Ministerio de Educación for their FPU fellowships (AP2010-2408, AP2012-0254). Funding to pay the Open Access publication charges for this article was provided by the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (AGL2014-51773) and Xunta de Galicia (GRC2014/010)Peer reviewe

Higher COVID-19 pneumonia risk associated with anti-IFN-α than with anti-IFN-ω auto-Abs in children

We found that 19 (10.4%) of 183 unvaccinated children hospitalized for COVID-19 pneumonia had autoantibodies (auto-Abs) neutralizing type I IFNs (IFN-alpha 2 in 10 patients: IFN-alpha 2 only in three, IFN-alpha 2 plus IFN-omega in five, and IFN-alpha 2, IFN-omega plus IFN-beta in two; IFN-omega only in nine patients). Seven children (3.8%) had Abs neutralizing at least 10 ng/ml of one IFN, whereas the other 12 (6.6%) had Abs neutralizing only 100 pg/ml. The auto-Abs neutralized both unglycosylated and glycosylated IFNs. We also detected auto-Abs neutralizing 100 pg/ml IFN-alpha 2 in 4 of 2,267 uninfected children (0.2%) and auto-Abs neutralizing IFN-omega in 45 children (2%). The odds ratios (ORs) for life-threatening COVID-19 pneumonia were, therefore, higher for auto-Abs neutralizing IFN-alpha 2 only (OR [95% CI] = 67.6 [5.7-9,196.6]) than for auto-Abs neutralizing IFN-. only (OR [95% CI] = 2.6 [1.2-5.3]). ORs were also higher for auto-Abs neutralizing high concentrations (OR [95% CI] = 12.9 [4.6-35.9]) than for those neutralizing low concentrations (OR [95% CI] = 5.5 [3.1-9.6]) of IFN-omega and/or IFN-alpha 2

Multiple Scenario Generation of Subsurface Models:Consistent Integration of Information from Geophysical and Geological Data throuh Combination of Probabilistic Inverse Problem Theory and Geostatistics

Neutrinos with energies above 1017 eV are detectable with the Surface Detector Array of the Pierre Auger Observatory. The identification is efficiently performed for neutrinos of all flavors interacting in the atmosphere at large zenith angles, as well as for Earth-skimming \u3c4 neutrinos with nearly tangential trajectories relative to the Earth. No neutrino candidates were found in 3c 14.7 years of data taken up to 31 August 2018. This leads to restrictive upper bounds on their flux. The 90% C.L. single-flavor limit to the diffuse flux of ultra-high-energy neutrinos with an E\u3bd-2 spectrum in the energy range 1.0 7 1017 eV -2.5 7 1019 eV is E2 dN\u3bd/dE\u3bd < 4.4 7 10-9 GeV cm-2 s-1 sr-1, placing strong constraints on several models of neutrino production at EeV energies and on the properties of the sources of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays

Strength programs in the muscular architecture of the quadriceps femoris: A systematic review

Introducción y objetivo La arquitectura muscular es la disposición de los elementos contráctiles del músculo definidos como longitud del fascículo (LF), ángulo de peneación (AP), grosor muscular (GM) y área de sección transversal (ASTA). Estas se ven alteradas por las lesiones siendo en el cuádriceps uno de los grupos musculares con mayor incidencia. Por tanto, la exploración de las variables que influyen en dicha circunstancia constituye una labor relevante. El objetivo fue el de evaluar cómo afectan los entrenamientos de fuerza y de fuerza resistencia en la arquitectura muscular del cuádriceps femoral. Métodos Se llevó a cabo una búsqueda sistemática sin limitación temporal, desde el 2007 hasta diciembre de 2019, en las bases de datos Medline, Sport discus, Cinahl y Scopus, obteniendo 13 ensayos clínicos después de aplicar los criterios de selección. Resultados Los resultados muestran una elevada heterogeneidad en los programas y metodologías de intervención, pero se observa que la arquitectura muscular se modifica tras un programa de fuerza, sobre todo en aquellos que utilizan métodos excéntricos (AP Recto femoral: [Pre] 12,44 ± 2,98 / [Post] 13,82 ± 3,8; GM Recto femoral [Pre] 2,1 ± 0,19 / [Post] 2,28 ± 0,31; LF Vasto Lateral [Pre] 7,82 ± 1,88 / [Post] 8,57 ± 1,14; ASTA Recto femoral [Pre] 9,21 ± 1,86 / [Post] 10,02 ± 1,98), que más frecuentemente obtienen cambios significativos y en todos los elementos arquitectónicos, e isométricos que han demostrado cambios en todos los vientres musculares del cuádriceps estudiados. Conclusión Los programas de fuerza afectan a la arquitectura muscular, sobre todo aquellos basados en ejercicios excéntricos e isométricos.Introduction and aim Muscle architecture is the arrangement of the contractile elements of the muscle defined as fascicle length (FL), penneatión angle (PA), muscle thickness (MT) and cross-sectional area (CSA). These are altered by injuries, being the quadriceps one of the muscle groups with the highest incidence. Therefore, the exploration of the variables that influence this circumstance constitutes a relevant task. The objective was to evaluate how strength and endurance training affect the muscle architecture of the quadriceps femoris. Methods A systematic search was carried out without time limitation, where they are included from 2007 to December 2019, in the databases Medline, Sport discus, Cinahl and Scopus obtaining 13 clinical trials after applying the selection criteria. Results The results show a high heterogeneity in the programs and methodologies of intervention, but observes that the muscular architecture sees modified after a program of strength, especially in those that use eccentric methods (PA Rectus femoris [Before] 12.44 ± 2.98/[After] 13.82 ± 3.8; MT Rectus femoris [Before] 2.1 ± 0.19/[After] 2.28 ± 0.31; FL Vastus lateralis [Before] 7.82 ± 1.88/[After] 8.57 ± 1.14; CSA Rectus femoris [Before] 9.21 ± 1.86/[After] 10.02 ± 1.98), that more frequently obtain significant changes in all architectural elements, and isometric that have showed changes in all quadriceps muscles studied. Conclusion Strength programs affect muscular architecture, especially those based on eccentric and isometric exercises