On Balance: Intelligence Democratization in Post-Franco Spain

The article of record as published may be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08850607.2018.146658

Correlation between Mn oxidation state and magnetic behavior in Mn/ZnO multilayers prepared by sputtering

Compositional, microstructural, and magnetic characterization of ZnO 30 Å/Mn x n multilayers prepared by sputtering is presented to study the observed ferromagnetism in the Mn-ZnO system. The nominal Mn layer thickness, x, is varied from 3 to 60 Å, while the number of bilayers, n, is increased to maintain the total amount of Mn constant. Microstructure information was deduced from x-ray reflectivity, Mn oxidation state was determined by x-ray absorption spectroscopy, and magnetic properties were measured over a temperature range of 5–400 K. Magnetic behavior of these samples is found to be related to the Mn layer thickness x. Multilayers with x 30 Å exhibit ferromagnetism with a Curie temperature above 400 K, while mostly paramagnetic behavior is obtained for x15 Å. Magnetic behavior is discussed in terms of electronic and structural parameters of samples. Mn-ZnO interface effect is related to the ferromagnetic order of the samples, but it is not a sufficient condition. The essential role of the Mn oxidation state in the magnetic behavior of this system is pointed out. It is shown a correlation between the obtained ferromagnetism and a Mn oxidation state close to 2+.Ministerio de Educación y Ciencias de España-MAT2003-01880 y MAT2006-0100

Epigenetics as a therapeutic target in osteoarthritis

Review[Abstract] Osteoarthritis (OA) is a heterogenous, complex disease affecting the integrity of diarthrodial joints that, despite its high prevalence worldwide, lacks effective treatment. In recent years it has been discovered that epigenetics may play an important role in OA. Our objective is to review the current knowledge of the three classical epigenetic mechanisms—DNA methylation, histone post-translational modifications (PTMs), and non-coding RNA (ncRNA) modifications, including microRNAs (miRNAs), circular RNAs (circRNAs), and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs)—in relation to the pathogenesis of OA and focusing on articular cartilage. The search for updated literature was carried out in the PubMed database. Evidence shows that dysregulation of numerous essential cartilage molecules is caused by aberrant epigenetic regulatory mechanisms, and it contributes to the development and progression of OA. This offers the opportunity to consider new candidates as therapeutic targets with the potential to attenuate OA or to be used as novel biomarkers of the disease.Instituto de Salud Carlos III; PI19/01213Xunta de Galicia; IN607D2022/12Xunta de Galicia; IN607A 2021/

Induced ferromagnetism in Mn3N2 phase embedded in Mn/Si3N4 multilayers

Room temperature ferromagnetism has been obtained for different sets of Mn/Si3N4 multilayers prepared by sputtering. In order to find the most suitable conditions to stabilize the ferromagnetic ordering in this system, the evolution of the magnetic properties has been studied for films in which the Si3N4 layer thickness was maintained constant while that of the Mn layer was varied, Mn tm/Si3N4 3.4 nm n, and conversely, in Mn 0.7 nm/Si3N4 tsn 43 samples, in which the Mn layer thickness was kept constant while varying the Si3N4 layer thickness. Structural, compositional, electronic and magnetic characterizations have been performed by means of x-ray reflectometry, Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, x-ray photoemission spectroscopy, x-ray absorption, and superconducting quantum interference device for further knowledge of the magnetic-structural relationship in this system. Our results show that the peculiar magnetic behavior of these films is mainly related to the stabilization of a slightly distorted Mn3N2 phase that is induced by the Si3N4 at the interfaces. For samples with larger Mn layer thickness, metallic Mn and Mn3N2 phases coexist, which leads to a reduction of the total magnetization per Mn atom due to the presence of metallic Mn. For small Mn layer thickness tm 0.86 nm, where noncontinuous Mn3N2 layers are formed, the magnetization decreases noticeably due to the superparamagnetic size limit. It has been found that the best conditions for the stabilization of the ferromagnetism in this system occur when both, the manganese-rich and the silicon nitride layers, are continuous and with similar thickness, close to 3.5 nm.Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia de España-MAT2006-01004, MAT2008-06542-C04-01, MAT2008-06765-C02-02, S-0505/MAT/0194, Consolider 2010_26400 y Nanoselect CSD2007-0004

Assessing DESS solution for the long-term preservation of nematodes from faecal samples

Preservation of biological samples is a relevant issue for many scientific disciplines. Although traditional preservers, such as formaldehyde or ethanol, imply major disadvantages related to health risks, DNA degradation and distortion of structures, they are widely used. Hence, the search for viable alternatives preserving morphometry and genetics seems necessary. Here we assess the suitability of DESS solution to preserve adult nematodes and their eggs in faeces. Concretely, faecal samples of terrestrial tortoises with oxyurids were used to: (i) compare the 1-month storage efficacy of eggs from different conservation protocols (faeces without preserver at -20 °C, faeces with DESS solution at room temperature, faeces with DESS solution at -20 °C and faeces with ethanol 70% at room temperature); (ii) address morphological nematode identification after 2 years of storage with DESS. We also corroborated that nematode DNA remained viable after 2 years. Overall, our results showed that DESS solution at room temperature is an advisable alternative to conserve both parasite eggs and adult nematodes for morphological identification and genetic purposes. It also offers the advantages of being low-cost, safe and suitable for fieldwork conditions and shipments without refrigeration for nematode preservation.MG was supported by a contract for postdoctoral researchers from the Generalitat Valenciana with reference APOSTD/2021/181. RCRC was supported by the European Union-Next Generation EU in the Maria Zambrano Program (ZAMBRANO 21-26). This research had the financial support of project PID2019-105682RA-I00, funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033

Shorter telomeres are associated with shell anomalies in a long-lived tortoise

Age-related telomere length (TL) variation is relatively well-described for mammals, birds and other model organisms. Nevertheless, it remains largely unknown in ectotherms, especially turtles and tortoises, which are extremely long-lived species with slow or negligible senescence. In this study, we described TL dynamics in wild spur-thighed tortoises (Testudo graeca), one of the chelonian species with the lowest aging rates. By combining cross-sectional (single) and longitudinal (capture–recapture) samplings, we assessed the relationship between TL and individual characteristics (sex, age, individual growth rate, body condition index, presence of shell anomalies). We did not find any association between TL and sex, individual growth rate, or body condition. However, the relationship with age remains uncertain, likely due to the complex dynamics of TL over time. Interestingly, shorter telomeres correlated significantly with shell anomalies, which are usually assumed as a fitness proxy for reptiles. Overall, our results suggest TL as a potential indicator for ontogenetic studies on tortoises, while its utility as a marker of biological age appears limited.This work was supported by Project PID2019-105682RA-I00 and TED2021-130381B-I00, funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033), the last also with the support of the European Union ‘NextGenerationEU/PRTR’. RCRC is supported by the European Union-Next Generation EU in the Maria Zambrano Programme (ZAMBRANO 21-26)