Understanding Charge Transfer in Donor-Acceptor/Metal Systems: A Combined Theoretical and Experimental Study

We develop an effective potential approach for assessing the flow of charge within a two-dimensional donor-acceptor/metal network based on core-level shifts. To do so, we perform both density functional theory (DFT) calculations and x-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) measurements of the core-level shifts for three different monolayers adsorbed on a Ag substrate. Specifically, we consider perfluorinated pentacene (PFP), copper phthalocyanine (CuPc) and their 1:1 mixture (PFP+CuPc) adsorbed on Ag(111).Comment: 12 pages, 10 figure

Do teachers believe that video games can improve learning?

Although video games are increasing their presence in teens/children's private entertainment and there is ample evidence to support their educational possibilities, they are seldom introduced in classrooms. One of the least studied factors relative to the insertion of video games in curricula is teachers' conceptions on their effectiveness to foster learning. In this study, we investigate how teachers conceive of the educational usage of video games, considering their reported value and which video game dimensions are reflected to be of importance, as well as personal traits linked to them (gender, educational level, area of knowledge, teaching experience, behavioral intention ...). We designed a Likert questionnaire with three main dimensions: pragmatic play, epistemic play, and learning outcomes (verbal information, skills, and attitudes). 595 Spanish teachers answered the questionnaire online. We applied ANOVA and multiple regression techniques, which revealed a broad acceptance of video games as educational media. The most relevant analyzed factors turned out to be the intention to use video games in classrooms, and the private use of video games. Teachers believe that video games promote more learning when played with an epistemic goal, mediated by scaffolding and especially under the teacher's guidance, compared to pragmatic play related to completion and success in the game. They also consider video games to mainly promote verbal information learning, procedural learning, and finally attitude learning, with the latter being less probable. We suggest the need to strengthen not only teacher training programs in the educational use of video games but also research on relationships between teachers' beliefs and practices in order to convert these favorable beliefs into actual real practicesThis research was supported by Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion of Spain [PID2020-114177RB-I00

Neutronic analysis of a dual He/LiPb coolant breeding blanket for DEMO

A conceptual design of a DEMO fusion reactor is being developed under the Spanish Breeding Blanket Technology Programme: TECNO_FUS based on a He/LiPb dual coolant blanket as reference design option. The following issues have been analyzed to address the demonstration of the neutronic reliability of this conceptual blanket design: power amplification capacity of the blanket, tritium breeding capability for fuel self-sufficiency, power deposition due to nuclear heating in superconducting coils and material damage (dpa, gas production) to estimate the operational life of the steel-made structural components in the blanket and vacuum vessel (VV). In order to optimize the shielding of the coils different combinations of water and steel have been considered for the gap of the VV. The used neutron source is based on an axi-symmetric 2D fusion reaction profile for the given plasma equilibrium configuration. MCNPX has been used for transport calculations and ACAB has been used to handle gas production and damage energy cross sections

Molecular portrait of high alpha-fetoprotein in hepatocellular carcinoma: implications for biomarker-driven clinical trials

The clinical utility of serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is widely recognised. However, a clear understanding of the mechanisms of AFP overexpression and the molecular traits of patients with AFP-high tumours are not known. We assessed transcriptome data, whole-exome sequencing data and DNA methylome profiling of 520 HCC patients from two independent cohorts to identify distinct molecular traits of patients with AFP-high tumours (serum concentration?>?400?ng/ml), which represents an accepted prognostic cut-off and a predictor of response to ramucirumab. Those AFP-high tumours (18% of resected cases) were characterised by significantly lower AFP promoter methylation (p?<?0.001), significant enrichment of progenitor-cell features (CK19, EPCAM), higher incidence of BAP1 oncogene mutations (8.5% vs 1.6%) and lower mutational rates of CTNNB1 (14% vs 30%). Specifically, AFP-high tumours displayed significant activation of VEGF signalling (p?<?0.001), which might provide the rationale for the reported benefit of ramucirumab in this subgroup of patients

Optical absorption spectroscopy of one-dimensional silicon nanostructures

a b s t r a c t During the last decade there has been a great development in nanoscience and nanotechnology. The technology of nanostructures synthesis and characterization has grown rapidly and optical spectroscopy has become a very useful characterization technique, since it provides information on the structural, electronic, optical and dynamical properties of materials. Nanostructures have unique physical properties that are different from bulk materials. A wealth of interesting and new phenomena are associated with nanometer-sized structures, such as size-dependent emission or excitation, metallic and semiconductor behavior, etc. Here we present an overview of the linear optical response of one-dimensional silicon nanostructures. In particular, we make a theoretical study of the effects of the size and shape of onedimensional silicon structures on the absorption spectrum, focusing on the calculation of the linear optical response of clean and hydrogen-adsorbed armchair (6,6) silicon nanotubes. We discuss the changes of the absorption spectrum of silicon nanowires with different diameters and analyze the behavior of the band gap as we go from bulk silicon to one-dimensional silicon nanostructures with nanometer-size diameters

Surgical treatment for colorectal cancer: Analysis of the influence of an enhanced recovery programme on long-term oncological outcomes-a study protocol for a prospective, multicentre, observational cohort study

Introduction The evidence currently available from enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) programmes concerns their benefits in the immediate postoperative period, but there is still very little evidence as to whether their correct implementation benefits patients in the long term. The working hypothesis here is that, due to the lower response to surgical aggression and lower rates of postoperative complications, ERAS protocols can reduce colorectal cancer-related mortality. The main objective of this study is to analyse the impact of an ERAS programme for colorectal cancer on 5-year survival. As secondary objectives, we propose to analyse the weight of each of the predefined items in the oncological results as well as the quality of life. Methods and analysis A multicentre prospective cohort study was conducted in patients older than 18 years of age who are scheduled to undergo surgery for colorectal cancer. The study involved 12 hospitals with an implemented enhanced recovery protocol according to the guidelines published by the Spanish National Health Service. The intervention group includes patients with a minimum implementation level of 70%, and the control group includes those who fail to reach this level. Compliance will be studied using 18 key performance indicators, and the results will be analysed using cancer survival indicators, including overall survival, cancer-specific survival and relapse-free survival. The time to recurrence, perioperative morbidity and mortality, hospital stay and quality of life will also be studied, the latter using the validated EuroQol Five questionnaire. The propensity index method will be used to create comparable treatment and control groups, and a multivariate regression will be used to study each variable. The Kaplan-Meier estimator will be used to estimate survival and the log-rank test to make comparisons. A p value of less than 0.05 (two-tailed) will be considered to be significant. Ethics and dissemination Ethical approval for this study was obtained from the Aragon Ethical Committee (C.P.-C.I. PI20/086) on 4 March 2020. The findings of this study will be submitted to peer-reviewed journals (BMJ Open, JAMA Surgery, Annals of Surgery, British Journal of Surgery). Abstracts will be submitted to relevant national and international meetings. Trial registration number NCT04305314

The joint evaluated fission and fusion nuclear data library, JEFF-3.3

The joint evaluated fission and fusion nuclear data library 3.3 is described. New evaluations for neutron-induced interactions with the major actinides $^{235}$U, $^{238}$U and $^{239}$Pu, on $^{241}$Am and $^{23}$Na, $^{59}$Ni, Cr, Cu, Zr, Cd, Hf, W, Au, Pb and Bi are presented. It includes new fission yields, prompt fission neutron spectra and average number of neutrons per fission. In addition, new data for radioactive decay, thermal neutron scattering, gamma-ray emission, neutron activation, delayed neutrons and displacement damage are presented. JEFF-3.3 was complemented by files from the TENDL project. The libraries for photon, proton, deuteron, triton, helion and alpha-particle induced reactions are from TENDL-2017. The demands for uncertainty quantification in modeling led to many new covariance data for the evaluations. A comparison between results from model calculations using the JEFF-3.3 library and those from benchmark experiments for criticality, delayed neutron yields, shielding and decay heat, reveals that JEFF-3.3 performes very well for a wide range of nuclear technology applications, in particular nuclear energy

Relation between health literacy, self-care and adherence to treatment with oral anticoagulants in adults: a narrative systematic review.

Background Oral anticoagulants (OAC) are widely used in patients with cardiovascular diseases. However, for optimal OAC self-care patients must have skills, among which health literacy (HL) is highlighted. We aimed to describe the relation between HL and self-care in cardiovascular patients on OAC treatment. Methods Electronic searches were carried out in the PubMed, Scopus, Embase, CINAHL, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, SciELO, IME-Biomedicina, CUIDEN Plus and LILACS databases, limited to Spanish and English language and between January 2000-December 2016. Papers reported on adults older than 18 years, taking OAC by themselves for at least three months. PRISMA guidelines were used for paper selection. Results We identified 142 articles and finally included 10; almost all of them about warfarin. Our results suggest that in patients taking OAC treatments there is a positive relationship between HL and the level of knowledge. In addition, a small percentage of participants on the selected papers recognized the side effects and complications associated with OAC treatment. Lower HL level was associated with greater knowledge deficits and less adherence to treatment. Conclusion There is a paucity of research evaluating the effect of HL on diverse aspects of OAC treatments. There is a need to expand the evidence base regarding appropriate HL screening tools, determinants of adequate knowledge and optimal behaviours related to OAC self-management

Benchmarking and validation activities within JEFF project

The challenge for any nuclear data evaluation project is to periodically release a revised, fully consistent and complete library, with all needed data and covariances, and ensure that it is robust and reliable for a variety of applications. Within an evaluation effort, benchmarking activities play an important role in validating proposed libraries. The Joint Evaluated Fission and Fusion (JEFF) Project aims to provide such a nuclear data library, and thus, requires a coherent and efficient benchmarking process. The aim of this paper is to present the activities carried out by the new JEFF Benchmarking and Validation Working Group, and to describe the role of the NEA Data Bank in this context. The paper will also review the status of preliminary benchmarking for the next JEFF-3.3 candidate cross-section files