Revealing the Intercalation Mechanism of Aluminum Fluoride in Graphite

The electrolyte intercalation mechanism facilitates the insertion/extraction of charge into the electrode material in rechargeable batteries. Aluminum fluoride (AlF$_{3}$) has been used as an electrolyte in rechargeable aluminum batteries with graphite electrodes, demonstrating improved reversibility of battery charging and discharging processes; however, the intercalation mechanism of this neutral molecule in graphite is so far unknown. In this work, we combine scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) in ultra-high vacuum conditions, calculations based on density functional theory, and large-scale molecular dynamics simulations to reveal the mechanism of AlF$_{3}$ intercalation in highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG). We report the formation of AlF$_{3}$ molecules clusters between graphite layers, their self-assembly by graphene buckling-mediated interactions, and explain the origin and distribution of superficial {\it blisters} in the material.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, SI on deman

Principales fallas activas de las Cuencas de Granada y Guadix-Baza (Cordillera Bética)

The Granada and Guadix-Baza Basins, the largest Neogene-Quaternary intramontane basins of the Betic Cordillera (southern Spain), undergo active deformation with an associated moderate level of seismic activity. This deformation is controlled by a NNWSSE compressive regime and an approximate orthogonal tensional regime. The compression produced N70ºE to E-W folds of several scales, the Sierra Nevada antiform being the largest one. The tension is accommodated mainly by NW-SE active normal faults, the most notable being the Baza Fault, in the Guadix-Baza Basin, and the Granada, Sierra Elvira-Dílar and Padul-Dúrcal Faults, in the Granada Basin. In addition, other active faults with different orientations also exist, such as the Alfahuara-Botardo and the Galera faults in the Guadix-Baza Basin, and the Huenes, Obéilar-Pinos Puente and N of Sierra Tejeda Faults in the Granada Basin. Moreover, in several sectors, the presence of orthogonal normal fault sets suggests alternating trends or even radial extension. Slip rates of these active faults, based on geologic markers, vary between 0.06 and 0.5 mm/year. Estimates for the maximum expected magnitude of earthquakes caused by these faults vary between MW 6.0 and 7.0. The N of Sierra Tejeda and the Baza Faults, the largest faults in the Granada and Guadix-Baza Basins, respectively, have the greatest seismic potential. They could cause events up to a magnitude of MW 6.5-7.0, although their reference earthquakes, computed for a return period of 475 years, are on the order of MW 5.0-5.5.Las Cuencas de Granada y Guadix-Baza, las mayores cuencas intramontañosas del Neógeno y Cuaternario de la Cordillera Bética (sur de España), experimentan una deformación activa y tienen asociada una actividad sísmica moderada. La deformación está controlada por una compresión NNO-SSE y una tensión aproximadamente perpendicular. La compresión ha formado pliegues de dirección N70ºE a E-O de muy diferentes tamaños, siendo el antiforme de Sierra Nevada el mayor. La tensión se acomoda sobre todo por fallas normales NO-SE, siendo las más notables de ellas la falla de Baza, en la cuenca de Guadix-Baza, y las de Granada, Sierra Elvira-Dílar y Padul-Dúrcal, en la cuenca de Granada. Además, existen otras fallas activas con diferentes orientaciones, tales como la de Alfahuara-Botardo y la de Galera en la cuenca de Guadix-Baza y las de Huenes, Obéilar-Pinos Puente y norte de Sierra Tejeda en la cuenca de Granada. Además, en varios sectores, la presencia de juegos de fallas ortogonales sugiere cambios en el elipsoide de esfuerzos e incluso una extensión radial. Las tasas de desplazamiento de estas fallas activas, calculadas a partir de marcadores geológicos, varían entre 0,06 y 0,5 mm/año. La estimación del potencial sísmico indica que la máxima magnitud esperable de los terremotos producidos por estas fallas varía entre MW 6,0 y 7,0. La falla del N de Sierra Tejeda y la de Baza, las mayores respectivamente en las Cuencas de Granada y Guadix-Baza, tienen el mayor potencial sísmico. Podrían causar eventos con magnitudes del orden de MW 6,5-7,0, aunque sus terremotos de referencia para un periodo de retorno de 475 años son del orden de MW 5,0-5,5

Metalogenia del depósito de manganeso Santa Rosa, Baja California Sur, México

The Santa Rosa Mn-Ba deposit is located southwest of the town of San Nicolás and south of the Concepción Peninsula in Baja California Sur (Mexico). It consists of a manganese oxide vein-breccia striking NNW with a subvertical dip to the ENE that is exposed discontinuously over 500 m. The deposit is hosted in conglomerates that belong to the Los Volcanes member of the Pliocene age San Nicolas Formation. The mineralization is characterized mainly by banded and brecciated structures with manganese oxides (romanèchite and pyrolusite), along with barite, opal, quartz, calcite, magnetite-maghemite and minor goethite. The ore contains between 23.6 and 50.0 wt. % MnO, 13.3 and 32.4 wt. % SiO2, and 9.9 and 13.7 wt. % BaO. In addition, the ores are significantly enriched in Sr, Sb, As, Cu and Zn. The NASC normalized REE profles show a pronounced negative Eu anomaly and a more moderate negative Ce anomaly. The Fe/Mn and the Co/Zn ratios range between 0.01 and 0.16, and 0.17 and 0.34, respectively. Microthermometry suggests two fluid inclusion populations: one with an average Th of 136.5°C and estimated salinity of 4.2 wt. % equivalent NaCl, and the other with an average Th of 136°C and estimated salinity of 11.4 wt. % equivalent NaCl. The mineralogical and geochemical composition, together with the ore formation conditions and the geotectonic setting, suggest a genetic relation between the Santa Rosa deposit and the modern coastal hydrothermal systems of the Concepción Bay

Mosquito Microbiome Dynamics, a Background for Prevalence and Seasonality of West Nile Virus

Symbiotic microbial communities augment host phenotype, including defense against pathogen carriage and infection. We sampled the microbial communities in 11 adult mosquito host species from six regions in southern Ontario, Canada over 3 years. Of the factors examined, we found that mosquito species was the largest driver of the microbiota, with remarkable phylosymbiosis between host and microbiota. Seasonal shifts of the microbiome were consistently repeated over the 3-year period, while region had little impact. Both host species and seasonal shifts in microbiota were associated with patterns of West Nile virus (WNV) in these mosquitoes. The highest prevalence of WNV, with a seasonal spike each year in August, was in the Culex pipiens/restuans complex, and high WNV prevalence followed a decrease in relative abundance of Wolbachia in this species. Indeed, mean temperature, but not precipitation, was significantly correlated with Wolbachia abundance. This suggests that at higher temperatures Wolbachia abundance is reduced leading to greater susceptibility to WNV in the subsequent generation of C. pipiens/restuans hosts. Different mosquito genera harbored significantly different bacterial communities, and presence or abundance of Wolbachia was primarily associated with these differences. We identified several operational taxonomic units (OTUs) of Wolbachia that drive overall microbial community differentiation among mosquito taxa, locations and timepoints. Distinct Wolbachia OTUs were consistently found to dominate microbiomes of Cx. pipiens/restuans, and of Coquilletidia perturbans. Seasonal fluctuations of several other microbial taxa included Bacillus cereus, Enterococcus, Methylobacterium, Asaia, Pantoea, Acinetobacter johnsonii, Pseudomonas, and Mycoplasma. This suggests that microbiota may explain some of the variation in vector competence previously attributed to local environmental processes, especially because Wolbachia is known to affect carriage of viral pathogens

Compilation of parameterized seismogenic sources in Iberia for the SHARE European-scale seismic source model.

Abstract: SHARE (Seismic Hazard Harmonization in Europe) is an EC-funded project (FP7) that aims to evaluate European seismic hazards using an integrated, standardized approach. In the context of SHARE, we are compiling a fully-parameterized active fault database for Iberia and the nearby offshore region. The principal goal of this initiative is for fault sources in the Iberian region to be represented in SHARE and incorporated into the source model that will be used to produce seismic hazard maps at the European scale. The SHARE project relies heavily on input from many regional experts throughout the Euro-Mediterranean region. At the SHARE regional meeting for Iberia, the 2010 Working Group on Iberian Seismogenic Sources (WGISS) was established; these researchers are contributing to this large effort by providing their data to the Iberian regional integrators in a standardized format. The development of the SHARE Iberian active fault database is occurring in parallel with IBERFAULT, another ongoing effort to compile a database of active faults in the Iberian region. The SHARE Iberian active fault database synthesizes a wide range of geological and geophysical observations on active seismogenic sources, and incorporates existing compilations (e.g., Cabral, 1995; Silva et al., 2008), original data contributed directly from researchers, data compiled from the literature, parameters estimated using empirical and analytical relationships, and, where necessary, parameters derived using expert judgment. The Iberian seismogenic source model derived for SHARE will be the first regional-scale source model for Iberia that includes fault data and follows an internationally standardized approach (Basili et al., 2008; 2009). This model can be used in both seismic hazard and risk analyses and will be appropriate for use in Iberian- and European-scale assessments

Meanings given to algebraic symbolism in problem posing

Some errors in the learning of algebra suggest students have difficulties giving meaning to algebraic symbolism. In this paper, we use problem posing in order to analyze the students’ capacity to assign meaning to algebraic symbolism and the difficulties that students encounter in this process depending on the characteristics of the algebraic statements given. We designed a written questionnaire composed of eight closed algebraic statements expressed symbolically, which was administered to 55 students who had finished their compulsory education and that had some previous experience in problem posing. In our analysis of the data, we examine both syntactic and semantic structures of the problem posed. We note that in most cases students posed problems with syntactic structures different to those given. They did not include computations within variables, and changed the kinds of relationships connecting variables. Students easily posed problems for statements with additive structures. Other differences in the type of problems posed depend on the characteristics of the given statements

The Hoopoe's Uropygial Gland Hosts a Bacterial Community Influenced by the Living Conditions of the Bird

Molecular methods have revealed that symbiotic systems involving bacteria are mostly based on whole bacterial communities. Bacterial diversity in hoopoe uropygial gland secretion is known to be mainly composed of certain strains of enterococci, but this conclusion is based solely on culture-dependent techniques. This study, by using culture-independent techniques (based on the 16S rDNA and the ribosomal intergenic spacer region) shows that the bacterial community in the uropygial gland secretion is more complex than previously thought and its composition is affected by the living conditions of the bird. Besides the known enterococci, the uropygial gland hosts other facultative anaerobic species and several obligated anaerobic species (mostly clostridia). The bacterial assemblage of this community was largely invariable among study individuals, although differences were detected between captive and wild female hoopoes, with some strains showing significantly higher prevalence in wild birds. These results alter previous views on the hoopoe-bacteria symbiosis and open a new window to further explore this system, delving into the possible sources of symbiotic bacteria (e.g. nest environments, digestive tract, winter quarters) or the possible functions of different bacterial groups in different contexts of parasitism or predation of their hoopoe host.This work was supported by the Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología (projects CGL2005-06975/BOSFEDER; CGL2007-61251/BOSFEDER), the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (projects CGL2009-14006/BOSFEDER; CGL2010-19233-C03-01/BOSFEDER; CGL2010-19233-C03-03/BOSFEDER), the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (projects CGL2013-48193-C3-1-P/BOSFEDER; CGL2013-48193-C3-2-P/BOSFEDER), and the Junta de Andalucía (RNM 345, P09-RNM-4557). SMRR received a grant from the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (FPI program, BES-2011-047677)

High efficacy of Sofosbuvir plus Simeprevir in a large cohort of Spanish cirrhotic patients infected with genotypes 1 and 4

[Abstract] Background and Aims. Hepatitis C (HCV) therapy with Sofosbuvir (SOF)/Simeprevir (SMV) in clinical trials and real‐world clinical practice, showed high rates of sustained virological response (SVR) in non‐cirrhotic genotype (GT)‐1 and GT‐4 patients. These results were slightly lower in cirrhotic patients. We investigated real‐life effectiveness and safety of SOF/SMV with or without ribavirin (RBV) in a large cohort of cirrhotic patients. Methods. This collaborative multicentre study included data from 968 patients with cirrhosis infected with HCV‐GT1 or 4, treated with SOF/SMV±RBV in 30 centres across Spain between January‐2014 and December‐2015. Demographic, clinical, virological and safety data were analysed. Results. Overall SVR was 92.3%; the majority of patients were treated with RBV (62%) for 12 weeks (92.4%). No significant differences in SVR were observed between genotypes (GT1a:94.3%; GT1b:91.7%; GT4:91.1%). Those patients with more advanced liver disease (Child B/C, MELD≥10) or portal hypertension (platelet count≤100×109/L, transient elastography≥21 Kpa) showed significantly lower SVR rates (84.4%‐91.9%) than patients with less advanced liver disease (93.8%‐95.9%, P<.01 in all cases). In the multivariate analysis, the use of RBV, female gender, baseline albumin≥35 g/L, MELD<10 and lack of exposure to a triple therapy regimen were independent predictors of SVR (P<.05). Serious adverse events (SAEs) and SAE‐associated discontinuation events occurred in 5.9% and 2.6%. Conclusions. In this large cohort of cirrhotic patients managed in the real‐world setting in Spain, SOF/SMV±RBV yielded to excellent SVR rates, especially in patients with compensated liver cirrhosis. In addition, this combination showed to be safe, with low rates of SAEs and early discontinuations.Instituto de Salud Carlos III; PI15/0015

Downscaling Climate Change Impacts, Socio-Economic Implications and Alternative Adaptation Pathways for Islands and Outermost Regions

This book provides a comprehensive overview of the future scenarios of climate change and management concerns associated with climate change impacts on the blue economy of European islands and outermost regions. The publication collects major findings of the SOCLIMPACT project’s research outcomes, aiming to raise social awareness among policy-makers and industry about climate change consequences at local level, and provide knowledge-based information to support policy design, from local to national level. This comprehensive book will also assist students, scholars and practitioners to understand, conceptualize and effectively and responsibly manage climate change information and applied research. This book provides invaluable material for Blue Growth Management, theory and application, at all levels. This first edition includes up-to-date data, statistics, references, case material and figures of the 12 islands case studies. ¨Downscaling climate change impacts, socio-economic implications and alternative adaptation pathways for Islands and Outermost Regions¨ is a must-read book, given the accessible style and breadth and depth with which the topic is dealt. The book is an up-to-date synthesis of key knowledge on this area, written by a multidisciplinary group of experts on climate and economic modelling, and policy design