S isotopes on gypsum of the Oncala Group: evidence for marine influence in Berriasian carbonate-evaporite deposits of the Cameros Basin (La Rioja-Soria)

Comunicación presentada al IX Congreso Geológico de España, Huelva, septiembre 2016.[ES] Discriminar si el origen de las salmueras en las que precipitaron numerosas sucesiones evaporíticas era marino o continental puede resultar complicado usando exclusivamente criterios sedimentológicos si no contienen fósiles diagnósticos. Éste es el caso de los depósitos carbonático-evaporíticos laminados del Gr. Oncala (Berriasiense, cuenca de Cameros oriental), formados en extensos cuerpos de agua someros. En este trabajo se busca determinar el origen de la salmuera en la que se formaron estos sedimentos mediante el análisis de las composiciones del δ34S de los yesos preservados en la unidad. Los valores de δ34S de entre +18,5‰V-CDT y +21,8‰V-CDT (media de +20,5‰V-CDT) de los yesos del Gr. Oncala coinciden con la signatura isotópica de los sulfatos precipitados a partir de agua marina de edad berriasiense de acuerdo con las curvas globales más recientes (≈ +17 - +20‰V-CDT), lo que sugiere que la principal fuente de sulfato en estos cuerpos de agua procedía de aportes de agua marina, en lugar del reciclaje de evaporitas triásicas como se había propuesto anteriormente. El reconocimiento de influencia marina en estos cuerpos de agua permite clasificarlos como salinas costeras.[EN] Determining if the origin of the brine in which an evaporitic succession precipitated was marine or continental by analysing only sedimentological criteria may be difficult if it does not contain diagnostic fossils. This is the case of the laminated carbonate-evaporite deposits of the Oncala Gr (Berriasian, Cameros Basin), which were accumulated in shallow water bodies. The aim of this work is to interpret the origin of the brine in which these sediments were formed by analysing the δ34S compositions of the gypsum preserved in this unit. Gypsum δ34S values between +18,5‰V-CDT and +21,8‰V-CDT (mean value of +20,5‰V-CDT) in the Oncala Gr coincide with the isotopic signature of the sulphates precipitated in Berriasian seawater according to the most recent global curves (≈ +17 - +20‰V-CDT), which suggests that the main sulphate source in the water bodies was marine water, instead of the recycling of Triassic evaporites as previously interpreted. The recognition of marine influence in these water bodies allows us to classify them as coastal salinas.Este trabajo ha sido financiado por los proyectos de investigación CGL2011-22709 y CGL2014-52670-P.Peer reviewe

Price fluctuation, protected geographical indications and employment in the spanish small ruminant sector during the COVID-19 crisis

Official milk prices in the Spanish small ruminant sector were used for 5 years (2015–2019) to analyze the effect caused by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis in 2020. Meat price fluctuations were also studied using the weekly prices officially provided by some of the main agrarian markets of the country (n = 6) in 2019 and 2020. Moreover, the sales and prices of three protected geographical indications (PGI) of lamb meat served to study the marketability when the products are sold or not under these quality labels in a crisis context. According to Spanish Government’s official communications, 2020 was divided in three periods of study (pre-COVID-19, total confinement and post-confinement). The evolution of employment in this subsector in 2020, as a direct consequence of this crisis, was also analyzed considering data provided by producers. Results showed an intra-annual seasonal effect for milk prices in 2020 for both livestock species, as observed in previous years. However, a negative economic impact on goat milk prices due to the pandemic was checked during the confinement and post-confinement months. Sheep milk prices remained stable. Lamb and goat kid meat prices showed a similar trend in comparison with 2019 during the pre-COVID-19 period. The total confinement period recorded a short interval of 1–2 weeks in which the prices declined, before the suspension of quotations in many markets. In contrast, once confinement was completed, meat prices for both ruminant species rapidly reached levels that existed before the coronavirus crisis. Overall data suggested the protective effect of the PGI marks on lamb meat. Lambs with a PGI had better 2020 prices than non-PGI lambs (+8%), regardless of the period analyzed. Moreover, with fewer lambs sold in 2020, there was a relevant drop in sales of non-PGI lambs vs. PGI (-19% vs. -2%) during the first 7 months. Finally, there was little or no readjustment of the workforce in the small ruminant flocks

Formation and emission properties of single InGaAs/GaAs quantum dots and pairs grown by droplet epitaxy

Trabajo presentado a la 30th International Conference on the Physics of Semiconductors, celebrada en Seul (Korea) del 25 al 30 de Julio de 2010.The emission properties of lateral and vertical QD pairs grown on GaAs nanoholes are investigated. Vertical QD pairs with different size asymmetry have been fabricated controlling the bottom QD size independently of the areal density. The emission of individual pairs is dominated by spectral diffusion effects and charge instabilities induced by the local charge environment. Lateral QD pairs have been fabricated on GaAs nanoholes and studied as a function of an electric field applied in the growth plane.Peer Reviewe

Las cuevas de la Sierra de Atapuerca y el uso humano del paisaje kárstico durante el Pleistoceno (Burgos, España)

El karst de la Sierra de Atapuerca representa un interesante sistema multinivel, inactivo y heredado de antiguos niveles de base plio-pleistocenos, que alberga los enclaves prehistóricos más importantes para el conocimiento del poblamiento antiguo en Eurasia, y que fue declarado Patrimonio de la Humanidad en 2000 por la UNESCO. Estas cuevas se originan a partir de conductos subhorizontales con paleodrenajes en sentido SN, localizándose la zona de descarga en la cabecera del río Pico. Los conductos están organizados en tres niveles principales que aparecen colgados entre 90 y 60 m sobre el actual cauce del río Arlanzón, coincidiendo con los niveles de base generados por sus terrazas fluviales T2, T3 y T5. La incisión fluvial liberó de las aguas los conductos superiores mientras se excavaban los niveles inferiores del karst. Las cuevas que iban quedando accesibles fueron utilizadas por la fauna y los homininos, conservando un registro arqueo-paleontológico de más de 1,2 Ma

Assessing the influence of isotopic composition of water on that of clay minerals during chemical treatments.

The isotopic composition of hydrogen in authigenic minerals is a useful tool to reconstruct past paleo-environments. Clay minerals are an important component of authigenic minerals in soils and sediments but they usually occur with other compounds that must be eliminated before the analysis, such as organic matter and carbonates. Thus, various “pre-treatments” are used, generally involving dilute HCl and H2O2 solutions in water. In this work, the influence of the isotopic composition of the water used in these pre-treatment solutions is assessed, using ten different samples of clay minerals. The isotopic composition of hydrogen was measured in each sample after HCl pre-treatment alone, H2O2 pre-treatment alone and both HCl and H2O2 pre-treatments in sequence, using two types of water in the pre-treatment solutions: one 2H-enriched and one 2H-depleted. The results indicate some influence of the isotopic composition of the water on the clay minerals after pre-treatment. In general, the samples showed significant alteration by HCl pre-treatment and negligible alteration by H2O2 pre-treatment. A pure kaolinite reference material did not show any change by chemical pre-treatment while a smectite reference material did show significant effects. Other samples (Ethiopian lacustrine sediment samples and Spanish cave sediments) showed important differences, which also depend on clay mineralogy. Thus, mineralogy seems to be the main cause of the variability in the alteration, especially the quantity of smectite. In addition, this result challenges the utility of clay minerals for isotope studies in acid conditions, such as in acidic soils, to reconstruct past environments and, therefore, climate changes.This study was developed during a stay supported by predoctoral mobility grant from the Spanish MINECO. Financial support for this work was obtained from MINECO Grant CGL2015-65387-C3-3-P. I. Campaña was the beneficiary of a predoctoral FPI Grant from the Spanish MINECO. We thank Jessica Wilson at the University of South Florida School of Geosciences who supported the isotopic analysis. J.G. Wynn was supported by an NSF IR/D program. Special thanks to the local resident of Burgos that help us remove the car from a mud puddle. // Funding for open access charge: Universidad de Málaga / CBU

Integral field spectroscopy of H II region complexes: the outer disc of NGC 6946

This is an electronic version of an article published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. García-Benito, R., Díaz, A., Hägele, G.F., Pérez-Montero, E., López, J., Vílchez, J.M., Pérez, E., Terlevich, E., Terlevich, R., D. Rosa-González. Integral field spectroscopy of H II region complexes: the outer disc of NGC 6946. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 408 (2010): 2234-225

Screening of autochthonous lactic acid bacteria strains from artisanal soft cheese: probiotic characteristics and prebiotic metabolism

Today's growing interest in functional foods is due to their positive impacts on human health. The aim of this study was to evaluate the probiotic properties and prebiotic metabolism of autochthonous lactic acid bacteria from artisanal Serpa cheese. Twenty strains presented better tolerance to stress conditions found in the gastrointestinal tract, highlighting Lactobacillus brevis C1Lb21 for its adequate auto-aggregating ability and significantly higher hydrophobicity. However, eight strains were discarded for their antibiotic resistance and biogenic amine production. Finally, prebiotic fermentation study showed that lactulose supported better growth of lactobacilli and induced the production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFA). During lactulose fermentation, Lb. pentosus G4Lb7 produced statistically more SCFA, and Lb. plantarum G1Lb5 lactic acid. Thus, Lb. brevis C1Lb21, Lb. plantarum G1Lb5 and Lb. pentosus G4Lb7 are promising probiotic candidates, and in combination with lactulose could be used for developing a symbiotic cheese

Trifaceted Mickey Mouse Amphiphiles for Programmable Self-Assembly, DNA Complexation and Organ-Selective Gene Delivery

Instilling segregated cationic and lipophilic domains with an angular disposition in a trehalose-based trifaceted macrocyclic scaffold allows engineering patchy molecular nanoparticles leveraging directional interactions that emulate those controlling self-assembling processes in viral capsids. The resulting trilobular amphiphilic derivatives, featuring a Mickey Mouse architecture, can electrostatically interact with plasmid DNA (pDNA) and further engage in hydrophobic contacts to promote condensation into transfectious nanocomplexes. Notably, the topology and internal structure of the cyclooligosaccharide/pDNA co-assemblies can be molded by fine-tuning the valency and characteristics of the cationic and lipophilic patches, which strongly impacts the transfection efficacy in vitro and in vivo. Outstanding organ selectivities can then be programmed with no need of incorporating a biorecognizable motif in the formulation. The results provide a versatile strategy for the construction of fully synthetic and perfectly monodisperse nonviral gene delivery systems uniquely suited for optimization schemes by making cyclooligosaccharide patchiness the focus.Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades y Agencia Estatal de Investigación de España. RTI2018-097609-B-C21, RTI2018-097609-B-C22 y PID2019-105858RB-I00Universidad de Alcalá de Henares, Madrid. CCG19/CC-03

Reconstructing depositional environments through cave interior facies: The case of Galería Complex (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain)

This work showed that cave sediments are useful for geomorphologic studies and for reconstructing depositional environments. While the cave entrance facies have been extensively studied for their relationship with the fossil and archaeological record, the cave interior facies have received much less attention, although they can provide much information on the geomorphological evolution of the karst. This work presents the stratigraphic and sedimentological study of a section >6 m thick and 10 m long of cave interior sediments of Galería Complex (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain). Galería Complex is a cavity infill of the Sierra de Atapuerca (Spain), composed of three sections filled by at least 30 m of Pleistocene sediments. This sequence is divided into 5 lithostratigraphic units named from bottom to top: GI – GV. GI unit is 19 m thick of interior facies in the base of the Galería Complex, divided into two sub-unit, GIa and GIb, by the Matuyama-Bruhnes paleomagnetic boundary. GI unit shows an issue with the chronology since has uncoherent between TT-OSL and ESR/U-series and paleomagnetism dates. This work has been done by combining field observation with laboratory sedimentary analysis to characterize the texture and structure of the sediments. Based on these studies, 12 layers and 9 sedimentary facies have been identified. The facies associations indicate a clear separation between GIa and GIb sub-units. GIa sub-unit is dominated by epiphreatic conditions and represents continuous relativity sedimentation during the Early Pleistocene; meanwhile, GIb shows important erosion events and facies with reworked materials that indicate vadose conditions during the Middle Pleistocene. This environmental change is related to the geomorphological evolution of the Arlanzón River. In addition, soft-sediment deformation structures have been described, including faults and low-angle folds...Funding for open access charge: Universidad de Málaga / CBU

Spiral-like star-forming patterns in CALIFA early-type galaxies

Based on a combined analysis of SDSS imaging and CALIFA integral field spectroscopy data, we report on the detection of faint (24 < {\mu}$_r$ mag/arcsec$^2$ < 26) star-forming spiral-arm-like features in the periphery of three nearby early-type galaxies (ETGs). These features are of considerable interest because they document the still ongoing inside-out growth of some local ETGs and may add valuable observational insight into the origin and evolution of spiral structure in triaxial stellar systems. A characteristic property of the nebular component in the studied ETGs, classified i+, is a two-radial-zone structure, with the inner zone that displays faint (EW(H\alpha)$\simeq$1{\AA}) low-ionization nuclear emission-line region (LINER) properties, and the outer one (3{\AA}<EW(H\alpha)<~20{\AA}) HII-region characteristics. This spatial segregation of nebular emission in two physically distinct concentric zones calls for an examination of aperture effects in studies of type i+ ETGs with single-fiber spectroscopic data.Comment: Accepted to A&A, 5 pages, 1 figur