The use of N^N ligands as an alternative strategy for the sol–gel synthesis of visible-light activated titanias

This work presents the first biphasic brookite–rutile organotitania, TiO2(B,R)–Phen, synthesized by a sol–gel method, under mild conditions and using 1,10-phenanthroline (Phen) as a crystal modifier and as a source of intermediate N2p states. Phen is able to coordinate to the Ti(IV) atom of the titanium alkoxide precursor, tetrabutyl orthotitanate (TBOT), forming an organotitania precursor that leads to the formation of a binary brookite–rutile structure, instead of the typical anatase. Different from the nitrogen-doped titanias, in which the N2p levels form due to the presence of N atoms in the O lattice position of the titania crystal, the coordination between the Ti atom of the titania precursor and Phen is maintained during the whole synthetic process, which is responsible for the presence of intermediate N2p states related to Ti–N bonds in the final materials, which is key to activating the photocatalysis behavior under visible light. Both features allow the simultaneous reduction of charge recombination rate and enhancement of photo-induced electron transfer in the visible range. Indeed, a 10-fold increase in the photocatalytic rate constant along with enhanced stability for the degradation of cationic dyes in aqueous solutions under visible light was noted in stark comparison with reference titanias. The photocatalysis mechanism consists of the self-degradation of the dyes, while the enhanced photoactivity results from a combination of the binary brookite–rutile structure and the blue absorption Ti–N states. As such, this work presents a unique synthesis strategy to obtain biphasic brookite–rutile organotitanias bearing Ti-N bonds that exhibit superior photocatalytic degradation activity of pollutants in aqueous solutions using visible light.This work was supported by the Spanish MICINN and AEI/FEDER (projects CTQ2015-74494-JIN and RTI2018-099504-BC21/A-C22). E. S. and N. L. also thank the University of Alicante for the “Programa de Retención de Talento” (ref. UATALENTO16-03 and 17-05, respectively). I. G. P and R. D. C. acknowledge the program “Ayudas para la atracción de talento investigador – Modalidad 1 of the Consejería de Educación, Juventud y Deporte – Comunidad de Madrid with reference number 2016-T1/IND-1463”. R. D. C. also acknowledges the Spanish MINECO for the Ramon y Cajal program (RYC-2016-20891), and HYNANOSC (RTI2018-099504-A-C22). R. D. C. also acknowledges the FOTOART-CM project funded by the Madrid region under program P2018/NMT-4367

Immediate and 24-h post-marathon cardiac troponin T is associated with relative exercise intensity

Purpose We aimed at exploring whether cardiopulmonary ftness, echocardiographic measures and relative exercise intensity were associated with high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-TNT) rise and normalization following a marathon. Methods Nighty-eight participants (83 men, 15 women; 38.72±3.63 years) were subjected to echocardiographic assessment and a cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) before the race. hs-TNT was measured before, immediately after and at 24, 48, 96, 144 and 192 h post-race. Speed and mean heart rate (HR) during the race were relativized to CPET values: peak speed (%VVMAX), peak HR (HR%MAX), speed and HR at the second ventilatory threshold (HR%VT2 and %VVT2). Results Hs-TNT increased from pre- to post-race (5.74±5.29 vs. 50.4±57.04 ng/L; p<0.001), seeing values above the Upper Reference Limit (URL) in 95% of the participants. At 24 h post-race, 39% of the runners still exceeded the URL (High hs-TNT group). hs-TNT rise was correlated with marathon speed %VVT2 (r=0.22; p=0.042), mean HR%VT2 (r=0.30; p=0.007), and mean HR%MAX (r=0.32; p=0.004). Moreover, the High hs-TNT group performed the marathon at a higher Speed %VVT2 (88.21±6.53 vs. 83.49±6.54%; p=0.002) and Speed %VVMAX (72±4.25 vs. 69.40±5.53%; p=0.009). hsTNT showed no signifcant associations with cardiopulmonary ftness and echocardiographic measures, except for a slight correlation with left ventricular end systolic diameter (r=0.26; p=0.018). Conclusion Post-race hs-TNT was above the URL in barely all runners. Magnitude of hs-TNT rise was correlated with exercise mean HR; whereas, its normalization kept relationship with marathon relative speed

Contemporary characteristics and outcomes in chagasic heart failure compared with other nonischemic and ischemic cardiomyopathy

Background: Chagas’ disease is an important cause of cardiomyopathy in Latin America. We aimed to compare clinical characteristics and outcomes in patients with heart failure (HF) with reduced ejection fraction caused by Chagas’ disease, with other etiologies, in the era of modern HF therapies. Methods and Results: This study included 2552 Latin American patients randomized in the PARADIGM-HF (Prospective Comparison of ARNI With ACEI to Determine Impact on Global Mortality and Morbidity in Heart Failure) and ATMOSPHERE (Aliskiren Trial to Minimize Outcomes in Patients With Heart Failure) trials. The investigator-reported etiology was categorized as Chagasic, other nonischemic, or ischemic cardiomyopathy. The outcomes of interest included the composite of cardiovascular death or HF hospitalization and its components and death from any cause. Unadjusted and adjusted Cox proportional hazards models were performed to compare outcomes by pathogenesis. There were 195 patients with Chagasic HF with reduced ejection fraction, 1300 with other nonischemic cardiomyopathy, and 1057 with ischemic cardiomyopathy. Compared with other etiologies, Chagasic patients were more often female, younger, and had lower prevalence of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and renal impairment (but had higher prevalence of stroke and pacemaker implantation) and had worse health-related quality of life. The rates of the composite outcome were 17.2, 12.5, and 11.4 per 100 person-years for Chagasic, other nonischemic, and ischemic patients, respectively—adjusted hazard ratio for Chagasic versus other nonischemic: 1.49 (95% confidence interval, 1.15–1.94; P=0.003) and Chagasic versus ischemic: 1.55 (1.18–2.04; P=0.002). The rates of all-cause mortality were also higher. Conclusions: Despite younger age, less comorbidity, and comprehensive use of conventional HF therapies, patients with Chagasic HF with reduced ejection fraction continue to have worse quality of life and higher hospitalization and mortality rates compared with other etiologies. Clinical Trial Registration: PARADIGM-HF: URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01035255; ATMOSPHERE: URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT00853658

A Semantically Enabled Service Architecture for Mashups over Streaming and Stored Data

Sensing devices are increasingly being deployed to monitor the physical world around us. One class of application for which sensor data is pertinent is environmental decision support systems, e.g. good emergency response. However, in order to interpret the readings from the sensors, the data needs to be put in context through correlation with other sensor readings, sensor data histories, and stored data, as well as juxtaposing with maps and forecast models. In this paper we use a good emergency response planning application to identify requirements for a semantic sensor web. We propose a generic service architecture to satisfy the requirements that uses semantic annotations to support well-informed interactions between the services. We present the SemSor-Grid4Env realisation of the architecture and illustrate its capabilities in the context of the example application

Optimal Cyanobacterial Pigment Retrieval from Ocean Colour Sensors in a Highly Turbid, Optically Complex Lake

To date, several algorithms for the retrieval of cyanobacterial phycocyanin (PC) from ocean colour sensors have been presented for inland waters, all of which claim to be robust models. To address this, we conducted a comprehensive comparison to identify the optimal algorithm for retrieval of PC concentrations in the highly optically complex waters of Lake Balaton (Hungary). MEdium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) top-of-atmosphere radiances were first atmospherically corrected using the Self-Contained Atmospheric Parameters Estimation for MERIS data v.B2 (SCAPE-M_B2). Overall, the Simis05 semi-analytical algorithm outperformed more complex inversion algorithms, providing accurate estimates of PC up to ±7 days from the time of satellite overpass during summer cyanobacteria blooms (RMSElog 0.66, p < 0.001). In-depth analysis of the Simis05 algorithm using in situ measurements of inherent optical properties (IOPs) revealed that the Simis05 model overestimated the phytoplankton absorption coefficient [aph(λ)] by a factor of ~2. However, these errors were compensated for by underestimation of the mass-specific chlorophyll absorption coefficient [a*chla(λ)]. This study reinforces the need for further validation of algorithms over a range of optical water types in the context of the recently launched Ocean Land Colour Instrument (OLCI) onboard Sentinel-3

Spanish Preanalytical Quality Monitoring Program (SEQC), an overview of 12 years' experience

Preanalytical variables, such as sample collection, handling and transport, may affect patient results. Preanalytical phase quality monitoring should be established in order to minimize laboratory errors and improve patient safety. A retrospective study (2001-2013) of the results obtained through the Spanish Society of Clinical Biochemistry and Molecular Pathology (SEQC) External quality assessment (preanalytical phase) was performed to summarize data regarding the main factors affecting preanalytical phase quality. Our aim was to compare data from 2006 to 2013 with a previously published manuscript assessing the 2001-2005 period. A significant decrease in rejection rates was observed both for blood and urine samples. For serum samples, the most frequent rejection causes in the first period were non-received samples (37.5%), hemolysis (29.3%) and clotted samples (14.4%). Conversely, in the second period, hemolysis was the main rejection cause (36.2%), followed by non-received samples (34.5%) and clotted samples (11.1%). For urine samples, the main rejection cause overall was a non-received sample (up to 86.1% of cases in the second period, and 81.6% in the first). For blood samples with anticoagulant, the number of rejections also decreased. While plasma-citrate-ESR still showed the highest percentages of rejections (0.980% vs. 1.473%, p<0.001), the lowest corresponded to whole-blood EDTA (0.296% vs. 0.381%, p<0.001). For the majority of sample types, a decrease in preanalytical errors was confirmed. Improvements in organization, implementation of standardized procedures in the preanalytical phase, and participation in a Spanish external quality assessment scheme may have notably contributed to error reduction in this phase

A completely phased diploid genome assembly for "Malbec" cultivar (Vitis vinifera L.)

Most grapevine cultivars originated from the outcrossing of two genetically diverse parents, and are clonally propagated to preserve phenotypes of productive interest. Hence, cultivars are first filial generations (F1) with highly heterozygous diploid genomes, that turn challenging to assemble. "Malbec" is the main cultivar for the Argentine wine industry and it originated in France, from the outcrossing of Magdeleine Noir des Charentes and Prunelard cultivars. Based on that mother-father-offspring relationship, here we followed the algorithm implemented in the software CanuTrio to produce a phased assembly of Malbec genome. For this aim, parental cultivars? Illumina short-reads were used to sort ?Malbec? PacBio long-reads into its haploid complements, to be assembled separately. Post- assembly, bioinformatic procedures were employed to reduce the number of duplicated regions and perform sequence error corrections (using Malbec Illumina short-reads). We obtained two highly complete and contiguous haploid assemblies for Malbec, Haplotype- Prunelard (482.4 Mb size; contig N50=7.7 Mb) and Haplotype-Magdeleine (479.4 Mb size; contig N50=6.6 Mb), with 96.1 and 95.8% of BUSCO genes, respectively. We tested for the composition of both haplophases with the tool Merqury, and observed 15% of both assemblies affected by structural variations, along with 3.2 million SNPs and 0.6 million InDels. Our results indicate that this is a valid approach to assemble highly heterozygous and complex diploid genomes in a completely-phased way.Fil: Calderón, Pablo Luciano Sebastian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Biología Agrícola de Mendoza. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Instituto de Biología Agrícola de Mendoza; ArgentinaFil: Carbonell Bejerano, P.. Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology; AlemaniaFil: Mauri, N. Instituto de Ciencias de la Vid y del Vino; EspañaFil: Muñoz, Claudio Javier. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Biología Agrícola de Mendoza. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Instituto de Biología Agrícola de Mendoza; ArgentinaFil: Bree, Laura. No especifíca;Fil: Sola, C. No especifíca;Fil: Bergamin, D. No especifíca;Fil: Gómez Talquenca, Sebastián. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria; ArgentinaFil: Ibañez, J. Instituto de Ciencias de la Vid y del Vino; EspañaFil: Martinez-Zapater, JM. Instituto de Ciencias de la Vid y del Vino; EspañaFil: Lijavetzky, Diego Claudio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Biología Agrícola de Mendoza. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Instituto de Biología Agrícola de Mendoza; ArgentinaXVIII Congreso Latinoamericano de Genética; LIV Reunión Anual de la Sociedad de Genética de Chile; XLIX Congreso Argentino de Genética; VIII Congreso de la Sociedad Uruguaya de Genética; I Congreso Paraguayo de Genética y V Congreso Latinoamericano de Genética HumanaChileSociedad Argentina de Genétic

Post hoc analyses of SHIFT and PARADIGM-HF highlight the importance of chronic Chagas' cardiomyopathy Comment on: “Safety profile and efficacy of ivabradine in heart failure due to Chagas heart disease: a post hoc analysis of the SHIFT trial” by Bocchi et al.

No abstract available