Presencia de estratificación cruzada Hummocky en depósitos lacustres del Terciario de la Depresión del Ebro

En algunos depósitos carbonatado-terrígenos del Terciario lacustre de la Depresión del Ebro se han reconocido estructuras sedimentarias generadas por olas entre las que se han identificado ripples de oscilación así como estratificaciones cruzadas «Hummocky» y «Swaley» que evidencian etapas de alta energía. Las investigaciones realizadas ponen de manifiesto que las facies de «ripples» y «hummocky» pudieron originarse entre profundidades de 1 y 7 m bajo la acción de vientos de 50 km/h como mínimo. Los materiales estudiados son afectados por fallas sin sedimentarias con superficies lístricas de 1,5 m de salto. Las capas con HCS fosilizan estas fallas o están cerca de los estratos que las recubren. Por tanto, en la génesis de las facies de HCS se puede considerar la posible acción de «tsunamis» lacustres conectados con la inestabilidad sin sedimentaria provocada por las fallas antes mencionadas

Quantum tunneling and level crossings in the squeeze-driven Kerr oscillator

This research was supported by the NSF CCI grant (Award No. 2124511). F.P.-B. is grateful for funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under Grant No. PID2019-104002GB-C21 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and, as appropriate, by ERDF A way of making Europe, by the European Union, or by the European Union Next Generation EU/PRTR. Computing resources supporting this work were partially provided by the CEAFMC and Universidad de Huelva High Performance Computer located on the Campus Universitario el Carmen and funded by FEDER/MINECO Project No. UNHU-15CE-2848.The quasienergy spectrum recently measured in experiments with a squeeze-driven superconducting Kerr oscillator showed good agreement with the energy spectrum of its corresponding static effective Hamiltonian. The experiments also demonstrated that the dynamics of low-energy states can be explained with the same emergent static effective model. The spectrum exhibits real (avoided) level crossings for specific values of the Hamiltonian parameters, which can then be chosen to suppress (enhance) quantum tunneling. Here we analyze the spectrum and the dynamics of the effective model up to high energies, which should soon be within experimental reach. We show that the parameter values for the crossings, which can be obtained from a semiclassical approach, can also be identified directly from the dynamics. Our analysis of quantum tunneling is done with the effective flux of the Husimi volume of the evolved states between different regions of the phase space. Both initial coherent states and quench dynamics are considered. We argue that the level crossings and their consequences on the dynamics are typical to any quantum system with one degree of freedom, whose density of states presents a local logarithmic divergence and a local step discontinuity.CEAFMCEuropean Union Next Generation EU/PRTRUniversidad de Huelva High Performance ComputerNational Science Foundation 2124511 NSFEuropean Commission ECMinisterio de Economía y Competitividad UNHU-15CE-2848 MINECOHorizon 2020 MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033, PID2019-104002GB-C21European Regional Development Fund ERD

Combined therapies of antithrombotics and antioxidants delay in silico brain tumor progression

Glioblastoma multiforme, the most frequent type of primary brain tumor, is a rapidly evolving and spatially heterogeneous high-grade astrocytoma that presents areas of necrosis, hypercellularity and microvascular hyperplasia. The aberrant vasculature leads to hypoxic areas and results in an increase of the oxidative stress selecting for more invasive tumor cell phenotypes. In our study we assay in silico different therapeutic approaches which combine antithrombotics, antioxidants and standard radiotherapy. To do so, we have developed a biocomputational model of glioblastoma multiforme that incorporates the spatio-temporal interplay among two glioma cell phenotypes corresponding to oxygenated and hypoxic cells, a necrotic core and the local vasculature whose response evolves with tumor progression. Our numerical simulations predict that suitable combinations of antithrombotics and antioxidants may diminish, in a synergetic way, oxidative stress and the subsequent hypoxic response. This novel therapeutical strategy, with potentially low or no toxicity, might reduce tumor invasion and further sensitize glioblastoma multiforme to conventional radiotherapy or other cytotoxic agents, hopefully increasing median patient overall survival time.Comment: 8 figure

Método de obtención de la fase beta estable de un metal puro de transición del grupo IV del sistema periódico y producto obtenible por dicho método

Método de obtención de la fase beta estable de un metal puro de transición del grupo IV del sistema periódico y producto obtenible por dicho método. Se describe un nuevo método para la fabricación controlada de la fase beta de los metales de transición del grupo IV del sistema periódico que es estable en condiciones ambiente (1 atmósfera y 22ºC). El procedimiento comprende una primera etapa de aplicación, sobre una muestra (2) elaborada de la fase alfa del metal de transición considerado, de una presión de compresión de un valor mínimo de entre 1 y 3 GPa, seguida de una segunda etapa de aplicación, manteniendo dicha presión, de una deformación de cizalladura, de valor mínimo no superior a 39.2. El procedimiento descrito permite obtener fase beta estable de metales de transición del grupo IV empleando presiones y cizalladuras de valores sensiblemente inferiores que en el caso de obtención de dicha fase beta estable por medios que no implican aplicación simultánea de presión y cizalladura.Peer reviewedConsejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (España), Instituto Madrileño de Estudios AvanzadosA1 Solicitud de patente con informe sobre el estado de la técnic

Effects of ultraviolet UV-B (UVB) on different varieties of quinoa. I. Effects on morphology under controlled conditions

Se describen los efectos de la radiación UV-B (RUV-B) sobre algunos parámetros de crecimiento: altura de la planta (A), diámetro de tallo (DT), largo x ancho (LA), número de hojas (NH), área foliar específica (AFE) y masa foliar específica (MFE) en cinco variedades de quinoa. Los efectos de la UV-B fueron diferentes según la variedad y parámetro considerado. Así, A se incrementó en las variedades CICA (P ≤ 0,04) y Robura (P ≤ 0,02); mientras DT fue influenciado positivamente en CICA (P ≤ 0,0002) y Faro Roja (P ≤ 0,017). LA sólo mostró cambios significativos (P ≤ 0,05) en CICA. El NH fue la variable que experimentó cambios positivos en todas las variedades, observándose los más pronunciados en Faro Roja (P ≤ 0,003), CICA (P ≤ 0,003) y Ratuqui (P ≤ 0,015). La MFE cambió positivamente en Faro Roja, Kancolla y Robura (P ≤ 0,05). CICA fue la única variedad que experimentó incrementos significativos en todos los parámetros evaluados, seguida de Faro Roja y Robura. El menor porcentaje de cambios ocurrieron en Kancolla y Ratuqui. Las variaciones observadas se discutieron en términos de adaptación evolutiva.The effects of UV-B radiation (RUV-B) on growth parameters: plant height (H), stem diameter (SD), length x wide (LW), leaf number (LN), specific leaf area (SLA) and specific leaf mass (SLM) of five quinoa varieties are described. RUV-B effects were different according to analyzed variety and parameter. The H was increased in CICA (P ≤ 0,04) and Robura (P ≤ 0,02) varieties, while SD was increased in CICA (P ≤ 0,0002) and Faro Roja (P ≤ 0,017) varieties. The LW changed significantly in CICA (P ≤ 0,05) variety only. The LN showed positive changes in all quinoa varieties exposed to RUV-B. Highest changes were found in Faro Roja (P ≤ 0,003), CICA (P ≤ 0,003) and Ratuqui (P ≤ 0,015) varieties. The SLM positively changed in Faro Roja, Kancolla and Robura varieties (P ≤ 0,05). The CICA variety showed significant increases in all evaluated parameters, followed by Faro Roja and Robura varieties. Less parameter changes occurred in Kancolla and Ratuqui varieties. The observed changes were discussed in terms of adaptive evolution.Fil: Pérez, María Laura. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: González, J. A.. Fundación Miguel Lillo; ArgentinaFil: Prado, Fernando Eduardo. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

CHK1 expression in gastric cancer is modulated by p53 and RB1/E2F1: implications in chemo/radiotherapy response

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.-- et al.Radiation has a limited but relevant role in the adjuvant therapy of gastric cancer (GC) patients. Since Chk1 plays a critical function in cellular response to genotoxic agents, we aimed to analyze the role of Chk1 in GC as a biomarker for radiotherapy resistance. We analyzed Chk1 expression in AGS and MKN45 human GC cell lines by RT-QPCR and WB and in a small cohort of human patient's samples. We demonstrated that Chk1 overexpression specifically increases resistance to radiation in GC cells. Accordingly, abrogation of Chk1 activity with UCN-01 and its expression with shChk1 increased sensitivity to bleomycin and radiation. Furthermore, when we assessed Chk1 expression in human samples, we found a correlation between nuclear Chk1 accumulation and a decrease in progression free survival. Moreover, using a luciferase assay we found that Chk1's expression is controlled by p53 and RB/E2F1 at the transcriptional level. Additionally, we present preliminary data suggesting a posttranscriptional regulation mechanism, involving miR-195 and miR-503, which are inversely correlated with expression of Chk1 in radioresistant cells. In conclusion, Chk1/microRNA axis is involved in resistance to radiation in GC, and suggests Chk1 as a potential tool for optimal stratification of patients susceptible to receive adjuvant radiotherapy after surgery.This work was supported by Instituto de Salud Carlos III–Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria (PS09/1988 to ISP; PI11-00949, pI014-1495 and Feder Funds to RP); Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid-Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (CCG10-UAM/BIO-5871 to ISP); Fundación Leticia Castillejo Castillo and Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (SAF2012-30862 to RSP), Spain. JBI was supported by a fellowship from Catedra Isaac Costero, funded by Banco Santander UAM and is a doctoral student from a double doctorate program in Molecular Biosciences (UAM) and in Biomedical Sciences, (UNAM) and received fellowship CVU:607546 from CONACYT.Peer Reviewe

Effect of implantoplasty on the elastic limit of dental implants of different diameters

Background Implantoplasty reduces both implant diameter and the thickness of its walls, subsequently reducing the ability of the implant to resist fracture in response to functional load. In combination with an increase in the crown-implant ratio due to bone loss, this could increase the lever effect, which in presence of high masticatory forces or parafunctional habits, could lead to complications such as fracture of the implant or loosening of the prosthetic screw. Objectives To determine the elastic limits of internal connection, dental implants of different designs and diameters after an implantoplasty. Materials and methods This in vitro study included 315 tapered internal connection titanium dental implants, the threads of which were removed with an industrial milling machine-for standardized implantoplasty (IMP1; n = 105)-or with the conventional approach-manually, using high-speed burs (IMP2; n = 105). The remaining 105 implants were used as controls. The final implant diameters were recorded. The quality of the newly polished surfaces was assessed by scanning electron microscopy. All implants were subjected to a mechanical pressure resistance test. A Tukey''s test for multiple comparisons was used to detect differences in the elastic limit and final implant diameters between the implant groups. Results There were statistically significant differences in the elastic limit between the IMP1, IMP2, and control groups (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the implant diameter was significantly smaller in the IMP1 and IMP2 groups (p < 0.05). Scanning electron microscopy revealed smooth implant surfaces in the IMP1 and IMP2 groups, with some titanium particles visible in the IMP1 group. Conclusions Implantoplasty significantly decreased the elastic limit of internal connection titanium dental implants, especially in those with a smaller diameter (3-3.5 mm)

A dark energy multiverse

We present cosmic solutions corresponding to universes filled with dark and phantom energy, all having a negative cosmological constant. All such solutions contain infinite singularities, successively and equally distributed along time, which can be either big bang/crunchs or big rips singularities. Classicaly these solutions can be regarded as associated with multiverse scenarios, being those corresponding to phantom energy that may describe the current accelerating universe