Données sur le comportement alimentaire chez Aphaenogaster Senilis Mayr 1853 (Hymenoptera Formicidae)

Es descriu la dieta í la conducta de Aphaenogaster senilis en relació amb la recerca, captura, localització i transport de l'aliment. A. senilis és omnívora, però amb preferència per les restes animals. La localització de l'aliment es fa de manera individual. El transport és individual sí la presa és transportable i única. Si és múltiple í transportable, algunes obreres de l'interior del aiu poden esdevenir transportadores. Es descriu el reclutament, de grup sense líder, i el transport col·lectiu per a preses no transportables i el "tool using" per a dissolucions ensucrades. Es fan algunes consideracions sobre variabilitat individual.The diet and food behaviour of A. Senilis are described. The diet is omnivorous, but animal food is prefered. Ants always search for food individually, and carry them individually when food is transportable and unique. If it is multiple and transportable some ants in the nest can be activated and be carriers too. Group recruitment without der to food occurs when the prey is large. Sugared liquid food is exploi ted by tool using. Variability in feeding behaviour is considered

Polariton Lasing in a Multilevel Quantum Dot Strongly Coupled To a Single Photon Mode

We present an approximate analytic expression for the photoluminescence spectral function of a model polariton system, which describes a quantum dot, with a finite number of fermionic levels, strongly interacting with the lowest photon mode of a pillar microcavity. Energy eigenvalues and wavefunctions of the electron-hole-photon system are obtained by numerically diagonalizing the Hamiltonian. Pumping and photon losses through the cavity mirrors are described with a master equation, which is solved in order to determine the stationary density matrix. The photon first-order correlation function, from which the spectral function is found, is computed with the help of the Quantum Regression Theorem. The spectral function qualitatively describes the polariton lasing regime in the model, corresponding to pumping rates two orders of magnitude lower than those needed for ordinary (photon) lasing. The second-order coherence functions for the photon and the electron-hole subsystems are computed as functions of the pumping rate.Comment: version accepted in Phys. Rev.

Graphene-Based Sensors for the Detection of Bioactive Compounds: A Review

Over the last years, different nanomaterials have been investigated to design highly selective and sensitive sensors, reaching nano/picomolar concentrations of biomolecules, which is crucial for medical sciences and the healthcare industry in order to assess physiological and metabolic parameters. The discovery of graphene (G) has unexpectedly impulsed research on developing cost-effective electrode materials owed to its unique physical and chemical properties, including high specific surface area, elevated carrier mobility, exceptional electrical and thermal conductivity, strong stiffness and strength combined with flexibility and optical transparency. G and its derivatives, including graphene oxide (GO) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO), are becoming an important class of nanomaterials in the area of optical and electrochemical sensors. The presence of oxygenated functional groups makes GO nanosheets amphiphilic, facilitating chemical functionalization. G-based nanomaterials can be easily combined with different types of inorganic nanoparticles, including metals and metal oxides, quantum dots, organic polymers, and biomolecules, to yield a wide range of nanocomposites with enhanced sensitivity for sensor applications. This review provides an overview of recent research on G-based nanocomposites for the detection of bioactive compounds, providing insights on the unique advantages offered by G and its derivatives. Their synthesis process, functionalization routes, and main properties are summarized, and the main challenges are also discussed. The antioxidants selected for this review are melatonin, gallic acid, tannic acid, resveratrol, oleuropein, hydroxytyrosol, tocopherol, ascorbic acid, and curcumin. They were chosen owed to their beneficial properties for human health, including antibiotic, antiviral, cardiovascular protector, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, cytoprotective, neuroprotective, antiageing, antidegenerative, and antiallergic capacity. The sensitivity and selectivity of G-based electrochemical and fluorescent sensors are also examined. Finally, the future outlook for the development of G-based sensors for this type of biocompounds is outlined

Graphene Oxides Derivatives Prepared by an Electrochemical Approach: Correlation between Structure and Properties

Graphene oxide (GO) can be defined as a single monolayer of graphite with oxygen-containing functionalities such as epoxides, alcohols, and carboxylic acids. It is an interesting alternative to graphene for many applications due to its exceptional properties and feasibility of functionalization. In this study, electrochemically exfoliated graphene oxides (EGOs) with different amounts of surface groups, hence level of oxidation, were prepared by an electrochemical two-stage approach using graphite as raw material. A complete characterization of the EGOs was carried out in order to correlate their surface topography, interlayer spacing, defect content, and specific surface area (SSA) with their electrical, thermal, and mechanical properties. It has been found that the SSA has a direct relationship with the d-spacing. The EGOs electrical resistance decreases with increasing SSA while rises with increasing the D/G band intensity ratio in the Raman spectra, hence the defect content. Their thermal stability under both nitrogen and dry air atmospheres depends on both their oxidation level and defect content. Their macroscopic mechanical properties, namely the Young's modulus and tensile strength, are influenced by the defect content, while no correlation was found with their SSA or interlayer spacing. Young moduli values as high as 54 GPa have been measured, which corroborates that the developed method preserves the integrity of the graphene flakes. Understanding the structure-property relationships in these materials is useful for the design of modified GOs with controllable morphologies and properties for a wide range of applications in electrical/electronic devices

Tailorable synthesis of highly oxidized graphene oxides via an environmentally friendly electrochemical process

Graphene oxide (GO) is an attractive alternative to graphene for many applications due to its captivating optical, chemical, and electrical characteristics. In this work, GO powders with a different amount of surface groups were synthesized from graphite via an electrochemical two-stage process. Many synthesis conditions were tried to maximize the oxidation level, and comprehensive characterization of the resulting samples was carried out via elemental analysis, microscopies (TEM, SEM, AFM), X-ray diffraction, FT-IR and Raman spectroscopies as well as electrical resistance measurements. SEM and TEM images corroborate that the electrochemical process used herein preserves the integrity of the graphene flakes, enabling to obtain large, uniform and well exfoliated GO sheets. The GOs display a wide range of C/O ratios, determined by the voltage and time of each stage as well as the electrolyte concentration, and an unprecedented minimum C/O value was obtained for the optimal conditions. FT-IR evidences strong intermolecular interactions between neighbouring oxygenated groups. The intensity ratio of D/G bands in the Raman spectra is high for samples prepared using concentrated H2SO4 as an electrolyte, indicative of many defects. Furthermore, these GOs exhibit smaller interlayer spacing than that expected according to their oxygen content, which suggests predominant oxidation on the flake edges. Results point out that the electrical resistance is conditioned mostly by the interlayer distance and not simply by the C/O ratio. The tuning of the oxidation level is useful for the design of GOs with tailorable structural, electrical, optical, mechanical, and thermal properties.Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacion y Universidade

Cretaceous deformation of the southern Central Andes: synorogenic growth strata in the Neuquén Group (35° 300–37° S)

The Neuquén Group is an Upper Cretaceous continental sedimentary unit exhumed during the latest Miocene contractional phase occurred in the southern Central Andes, allowing a direct field observation and study of the depositional geometries. The identification of growth strata on these units surrounding the structures of the frontal parts of the Andes, sedimentological analyses and U–Pb dating of detrital components, allowed the definition of a synorogenic unit that coexisted with the uplift of the early Andean orogen since ca. 100 Ma, maximum age obtained in this work, compatible with previous assignments and constrained in the top by the deposition of the Malarg€ue Group, in the Maastrichtian (ca. 72 Ma). The definition of a wedge top area in this foreland basin system, where growth strata were described, permitted to identify a Late Cretaceous orogenic front and foredeep area, whose location and amplitude contrast with previous hypotheses. This wedge top area was mostly fed from the paleo-Andes with small populations coming from sources in the cratonic area that are interpreted as a recycling in Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous sections, which contrasts with other analyses performed at the foredeep zone that have mixed sources. In particular, Permian sources are interpreted as coming directly from the cores of the basement structures, where Neopaleozoic sections are exposed, next to the synorogenic sedimentation, implying a strong incision in Late Cretaceous times with an exhumation structural level similar to the present. The maximum recognised advance for this Late Cretaceous deformation in the study area is approximately 500 km east of the Pacific trench, which constitutes an anomaly compared with neighbour segments where Late Cretaceous deformations were found considerably retracted. The geodynamic context of the sedimentation of this unit is interpreted as produced under the westward fast moving of South America, colliding with two consecutive mid-ocean ridges during a period of important plate reorganisation. The subduction of young, anhydrous, buoyant lithosphere would have produced changes in the subduction geometry, reflected first by an arc waning/gap and subsequently by an arc migration that coexisted with synorogenic sedimentation. These magmatic and deformational processes would be the product of a shallow subduction regime, following previous proposals, which occurred in Late Cretaceous times, synchronous to the sedimentation of the Neuqu en Group.Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Muse

Desarrollo de un medidor de estrés térmico

Las condiciones ambientales existentes en industrias del nordeste Argentino, en general, presentan un entorno de trabajo térmicamente inadecuado debido a las elevadas temperaturas en los meses de verano y a la falta de condicionamiento térmico de las edificaciones. En esta condición, el trabajador se encuentra en un escenario de falta de confort o de estrés térmico, situación que compromete la concentración y la capacidad física de los trabajadores pudiendo causar accidentes o problemas de salud. En este artículo se presenta un sistema de medición de estrés térmico desarrollado por el Grupo en Energías Renovables (GER) junto con la metodología de cálculo de índices utilizados para evaluar la condición térmica de operarios en diferentes condiciones de trabajo y los valores de índices de estrés térmico medidos en una industria de la región.The environmental conditions in industries in northeastern Argentina, generally present a thermally inadequate working environment due to high temperatures in the summer months and the lack of thermal conditioning of buildings. In this condition, the worker is in a stage of lack of comfort or heat stress, a situation which compromises the concentration and physical capacity of workers being able to cause accidents or health problems. This article presents a system to measure the heat stress developed by the Renewable Energy Group (GER). The index calculation methodology used to evaluate the thermal condition of workers in different working conditions and stress index values heat measured in an industry in the region are presented as well.Asociación Argentina de Energías Renovables y Medio Ambiente (ASADES

Desarrollo de un medidor de estrés térmico

Las condiciones ambientales existentes en industrias del nordeste Argentino, en general, presentan un entorno de trabajo térmicamente inadecuado debido a las elevadas temperaturas en los meses de verano y a la falta de condicionamiento térmico de las edificaciones. En esta condición, el trabajador se encuentra en un escenario de falta de confort o de estrés térmico, situación que compromete la concentración y la capacidad física de los trabajadores pudiendo causar accidentes o problemas de salud. En este artículo se presenta un sistema de medición de estrés térmico desarrollado por el Grupo en Energías Renovables (GER) junto con la metodología de cálculo de índices utilizados para evaluar la condición térmica de operarios en diferentes condiciones de trabajo y los valores de índices de estrés térmico medidos en una industria de la región.The environmental conditions in industries in northeastern Argentina, generally present a thermally inadequate working environment due to high temperatures in the summer months and the lack of thermal conditioning of buildings. In this condition, the worker is in a stage of lack of comfort or heat stress, a situation which compromises the concentration and physical capacity of workers being able to cause accidents or health problems. This article presents a system to measure the heat stress developed by the Renewable Energy Group (GER). The index calculation methodology used to evaluate the thermal condition of workers in different working conditions and stress index values heat measured in an industry in the region are presented as well.Asociación Argentina de Energías Renovables y Medio Ambiente (ASADES

Completeness of reporting of case reports in high-impact medical journals

Introduction: Case reports represent a relevant, timely and important study design in advancing medical scientific knowledge. They allow integration between clinical practice and clinical epidemiology. We aimed to assess the completeness of reporting (COR) of case reports published in high-impact journals. We assessed the COR of case reports using the CARE guidelines. Materials and methods: We selected three high-impact journals and one journal specialized in publishing case reports, in which we included all published case reports from July to December 2017. Median COR score was calculated per study, and CORs were compared between journals with and without endorsement of CARE guidelines. Results: One hundred and fourteen case reports were included. Overall median COR was 81%, IQR [63%-96%]. Sections with the highest COR (84%-100%) were patient information, clinical findings, therapeutic intervention, follow-up and outcomes, discussion and informed consent. Sections with the lowest COR were title, keywords, timeline and patient perspective (2%-34%). COR was higher in journals endorsing in comparison to those not endorsing CARE guidelines (77% vs 65%), respectively, median difference = −12% 95% CI [−16% to −7%]. Discussion: Overall completeness of case reports in included journals is high especially for CARE endorsing and dedicated journals but reporting of some items could be improved. Ongoing and future evaluations of endorsement status of reporting guidelines in medical journals should be assessed to improve completeness and reduce waste of clinical research, including case reports