Carbon Xerogels: The Bespoke Nanoporous Carbons

This chapter focuses on the main features of resorcinol-formaldehyde–based carbon xerogels. The first part of the chapter discusses ways of synthesizing these materials and the different variables involved. Then a review of the ways in which the meso- and macroporosity of organic xerogels can be controlled by adjusting the synthesis conditions is undertaken. Special attention is paid to the pH and components of the precursor solution and how these variables are interrelated with each other. The formation of the microporosity during the carbonization or activation processes that give rise to the carbon xerogels is also briefly discussed. Besides the fact that the porosity of these materials can be tailored during the synthesis, another notable characteristic is that, compared with most porous carbons, they possess a relatively high electrical conductivity, which make them ideal materials for use as electrodes in energy storage devices. Their use in supercapacitors and in lithium ion batteries is addressed in the last part of the chapter

Lack of association of vitamin D receptor BsmI gene polymorphism with bone mineral density in Spanish postmenopausal women

La osteoporosis es un trastorno poligénico que está determinada por los efectos de varios genes, cada uno con efectos relativamente modestos en la masa ósea. El objetivo de este estudio es determinar si el receptor de la vitamina D, único nucleótido polimorfismo BsmI, está asociado con la densidad mineral ósea (DMO) de mujeres posmenopáusicas españolas. Un total de 210 mujeres posmenopáusicas sanas, mayores de 60 ± 8 años, fueron genotipificadas utilizando ensayos de genotipado SNP TaqMan® lumbar y la DMO femoral; y se determinó por la absorciometría de rayos X de energía dual (DEXA) la cantidad diaria de calcio y vitamina D. No se encontraron diferencias en el cuello femoral, trocánter, triángulo de salas, L2, L3, L4, L2-L4, o entre el cuello femoral y la DMO de cadera total tras el ajuste para posibles factores de confusión (P > 0,05) (edad, IMC, años después de la menopausia y la ingesta diaria de calcio). La BsmI polimorfismo en el gen VDR no se asoció con la DMO en mujeres posmenopáusicas españolas.Osteoporosis is a polygenic disorder that is determined by the effects of several genes, each with relatively modest effects on bone mass. The aim of this study was to determine whether the vitamin D receptor single nucleotide polymorphism BsmI is associated with bone mineral density (BMD) in Spanish postmenopausal women. A total of 210 unrelated healthy postmenopausal women aged 60 ± 8 years were genotyped using TaqManR SNP Genotyping Assays. Lumbar and femoral BMD were determined by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). Daily calcium and vitamin D intake were determined by a food questionnaire. No differences were found in the femoral neck, trochanter, Ward’s Triangle, L2, L3, L4, L2-L4, or between the femoral neck and total hip BMD after further adjustment for potential confounding factors (P > 0.05) (age, BMI, years since menopause and daily calcium intake). The BsmI polymorphism in the VDR gene was not associated with BMD in Spanish postmenopausal women.peerReviewe

The role of conductive additives on the performance of hybrid carbon xerogels as electrodes in aqueous supercapacitors

Three different hybrid carbon xerogels containing Graphene Oxide (AXGO), Micronized Graphite (AXMG) and Carbon Black (AXCB) were synthesized using an easy, fast and affordable method. These three additives were initially selected to improve the electrical conductivity of the pristine activated carbon xerogel (AX) thus expecting to improve its performance in aqueous supercapacitors. Capacitances of the corresponding devices were measured as a function of current density and results of the high and low charge transfer regime of the supercapacitors were discussed separately. In both regimes, the differences observed between the hybrid electrodes were analyzed on the basis of the concurrent influence of the micro and mesoporosity, surface chemistry and electrical conductivity of the materials. Accordingly, even though all the hybrid carbon xerogels showed higher electrical conductivities, only AXGO rendered a better performance than AX, showing the highest capacitances in the whole interval of intensities studied. Consequently, at 16 A g−1, the energy and power densities of the AXGO supercapacitors increased up to 16% and 97%, respectively, with respect to AX, and of 143% and 409%, respectively, with respect to a commercial activated carbon used as reference. The performance of AXCB and, especially AXMG was worse than AX supercapacitors due to a combination of inadequate pore size distributions and/or a poor surface chemistry. Finally, TEM analysis helped to understand the different way the three additives were affecting the nanostructure (and final properties) of the hybrid carbon xerogels.Authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support from the Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad from Spain (Project CTQ2017-87820-R). MCR also acknowledges CSIC (Project I.E. 201880E010)

Determinant influence of the electrical conductivity versus surface area on the performance of graphene oxide-doped carbon xerogel supercapacitors

A series of resorcinol formaldehyde based carbon xerogels were synthesized under identical conditions using different graphene oxide loads. The gelification reaction was carried out using a stable aqueous suspension of graphene oxide, yielding organic gels with graphene oxide concentrations ranging from 1.2–2.5%. After the carbonization, xerogels with medium surface area (650 m2/g) and a highly improved electrical conductivity were obtained. Specific capacitance of 120 F/g of one electrode at very high scan rate of 500 mV/s were achieved, as well as power densities above 30 kW/kg, which is a significant improvement of 180% with respect to the pristine xerogels. Carbonized xerogels were further steam activated to yield activated carbon xerogels with surface areas of up to 1800 m2/g. The use of activated xerogels improves slightly the specific capacitance at low scan rates only, and there is a sharp decrease above 20 mV/s, resulting in a worse performance than graphene oxide doped carbonized xerogels. The electrical conductivity of the graphene oxide-doped carbon xerogels decreases upon activation, which means that the influence of the electrical conductivity on a carbon xerogel is greater than its specific surface area, which it is the first time it is observed for porous carbons.The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad of Spain, MINECO (Project CTQ2014-54772-P and CTQ2013-44213-R), and Generalitat Valenciana (project PROMETEOII/2014/007)

3D printing with star-shaped strands: a new approach to enhance in vivo bone regeneration

Concave surfaces have shown to promote bone regeneration in vivo. However, bone scaffolds obtained by direct ink writing, one of the most promising approaches for the fabrication of personalized bone grafts, consist mostly of convex surfaces, since they are obtained by microextrusion of cylindrical strands. By modifying the geometry of the nozzle, it is possible to print 3D structures composed of non-cylindrical strands and favor the presence of concave surfaces. In this work, we compare the in vivo performance of 3D-printed calcium phosphate scaffolds with either conventional cylindrical strands or star-shaped strands, in a rabbit femoral condyle model. Monocortical defects, drilled in contralateral positions, are randomly grafted with the two scaffold configurations, with identical composition. The samples are explanted eight weeks post-surgery and assessed by µ-CT and resin-embedded histological observations. The results reveal that the scaffolds containing star-shaped strands have better osteoconductive properties, guiding the newly formed bone faster towards the core of the scaffolds, and enhance bone regeneration, although the increase is not statistically significant (p > 0.05). This new approach represents a turning point towards the optimization of pore shape in 3D-printed bone grafts, further boosting the possibilities that direct ink writing technology offers for patient-specific applications.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Utilización de la herramienta DIAGNOdent pen en las prácticas clínicas de la asignatura Patología y Terapeútica Dental (PTD) II y su analisis mediante Inteligencia Artificial (IA)

Depto. de Odontología Conservadora y PrótesisFac. de OdontologíaFALSEsubmitte

Examining the immune signatures of SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnancy and the impact on neurodevelopment: Protocol of the SIGNATURE longitudinal study.

The COVID-19 pandemic represents a valuable opportunity to carry out cohort studies that allow us to advance our knowledge on pathophysiological mechanisms of neuropsychiatric diseases. One of these opportunities is the study of the relationships between inflammation, brain development and an increased risk of suffering neuropsychiatric disorders. Based on the hypothesis that neuroinflammation during early stages of life is associated with neurodevelopmental disorders and confers a greater risk of developing neuropsychiatric disorders, we propose a cohort study of SARS-CoV-2-infected pregnant women and their newborns. The main objective of SIGNATURE project is to explore how the presence of prenatal SARS-CoV-2 infection and other non-infectious stressors generates an abnormal inflammatory activity in the newborn. The cohort of women during the COVID-19 pandemic will be psychological and biological monitored during their pregnancy, delivery, childbirth and postpartum. The biological information of the umbilical cord (foetus blood) and peripheral blood from the mother will be obtained after childbirth. These samples and the clinical characterisation of the cohort of mothers and newborns, are tremendously valuable at this time. This is a protocol report and no analyses have been conducted yet, being currently at, our study is in the recruitment process step. At the time of this publication, we have identified 1,060 SARS-CoV-2 infected mothers and all have already given birth. From the total of identified mothers, we have recruited 537 SARS-COV-2 infected women and all of them have completed the mental health assessment during pregnancy. We have collected biological samples from 119 mothers and babies. Additionally, we have recruited 390 non-infected pregnant women

Implantación de un sistema integral de gestión del conocimiento para los procesos de innovación docente de la Universidad de Salamanca

Memoria ID-0312. Ayudas de la Universidad de Salamanca para la innovación docente, curso 2014-2015

Implantación de un sistema integral de gestión del conocimiento para los procesos de innovación docente de la Universidad de Salamanca

Memoria ID-0312. Ayudas de la Universidad de Salamanca para la innovación docente, curso 2014-2015