MAPbI2.9-xBrxCl0.1 hybrid halide perovskites: Shedding light on the effect of chloride and bromide ions on structural and photoluminescence properties

[EN] The optical and structural properties of CH3NH3PbI3 can be adjusted by introducing other extrinsic ions such as chloride and bromide. In this work, mixed bromide iodide lead perovskites with a 10% fraction of chloride were prepared from methylamine, lead nitrate and the corresponding hydro acid (X = I, Br, Cl). The effect of bromide and chloride incorporation on different properties of perovskite thin film was investigated. The Pawley fit method indicates the formation of the iodide halide MAPbI3 Pm-3 m cubic phase for x = 0 and the tetragonal P4/mmm phase for x ≥ 0.3. All deposited films showed a strong absorbance in the UV vis range. The band gap values were estimated from absorbance measurements. It was found that the onset of the absorption edge for MAPbI2.9-xBrxCl0.1 thin film perovskites ranges between 1.60 and 1.80 eV. Moreover, it was found that both Cl and Br affect the PL emission of the mixed halide lead perovskite, the MAPbI2.9−xBrxCl0.1 films displayed intermediate values from 730 nm (MAPbI2.2Br0.7Cl0.1) to 770 nm (MAPbI2.6Br0.3Cl0.1)This work was supported by Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (ENE2013-46624-C4-4-R) and Generalitat Valenciana (Prometeus 2014/044).Atourki, L.; Vega-Fleitas, E.; Marí, B.; Mollar García, MA.; Ahsaine, H.; Bouabid, K.; Ihlal, A. (2016). MAPbI2.9-xBrxCl0.1 hybrid halide perovskites: Shedding light on the effect of chloride and bromide ions on structural and photoluminescence properties. Applied Surface Science. 390:744-750. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2016.08.17674475039

A Chloroplast COR413 protein from physcomitrella patens is required for growth regulation under high light and ABA responses

COR413 genes belong to a poorly characterized group of plant-specific cold-regulated genes initially identified as part of the transcriptional activation machinery of plants during cold acclimation. They encode multispanning transmembrane proteins predicted to target the plasma membrane or the chloroplast inner membrane. Despite being ubiquitous throughout the plant kingdom, little is known about their biological function. In this study, we used reverse genetics to investigate the relevance of a predicted chloroplast localized COR413 protein (PpCOR413im) from the moss Physcomitrella patens in developmental and abiotic stress responses. Expression of PpCOR413im was strongly induced by abscisic acid (ABA) and by various environmental stimuli, including low temperature, hyperosmosis, salinity and high light. In vivo subcellular localization of PpCOR413im-GFP fusion protein revealed that this protein is localized in chloroplasts, confirming the in silico predictions. Loss-of-function mutants of PpCOR413im exhibited growth and developmental alterations such as growth retardation, reduced caulonema formation and hypersensitivity to ABA. Mutants also displayed altered photochemistry under various abiotic stresses, including dehydration and low temperature, and exhibited a dramatic growth inhibition upon exposure to high light. Disruption of PpCOR413im also caused altered chloroplast ultrastructure, increased ROS accumulation, and enhanced starch and sucrose levels under high light or after ABA treatment. In addition, loss of PpCOR413im affected both nuclear and chloroplast gene expression in response to ABA and high light, suggesting a role for this gene downstream of ABA in the regulation of growth and environmental stress responses. Developmental alterations exhibited by PpCOR413im knockout mutants had remarkable similarities to those exhibited by hxk1, a mutant lacking a major chloroplastic hexokinase, an enzyme involved in energy homeostasis. Based on these findings, we propose that PpCOR413im is involved in coordinating energy metabolism with ABA-mediated growth and developmental responses

Importancia de la atención al niño en edad temprana

A descriptive and cross-sectional study with a universe formed by 26 children between the ages of 0 and five who attended the Early Childhood Attention Services of the Arnaldo Milián Castro Provincial University Hospital during the period from January 2004 to July 2006 was carried out. The objective was to analyze the behavior of visual stimulation in those children. All of them, whenever it was possible, underwent a clinical ophthalmologic assessment and low-vision tests. Most of the patients were females (57.70%) and the most frequent ophthalmologic conditions were the retinopathy of prematurity (eight children), the abiotrophies and albinism (five cases each condition) and congenital cataract (four cases). The most common lenses were the spherical ones and among them the positive ones (14 eyes); only one case of high myopia was diagnosed. Visual efficiency increased in nine of the twelve children from the group of 0 to 2 years of age. Visual acuity of children in the group of 3 to 5 years of age improved in 19 eyes. The visual field was normal in most of the eyes (31) representing 59.63 percent; three eyes presented damage in the central visual field and five in the peripheral field. Color discrimination was normal in 40.38 percent of the eyes and it presented alterations in 2 eyes (3.85%). We did not get answers from the rest: four eyes due to lack of cooperation, five which were null, and the rest due to the age of the children. We used games as a way of stimulating them and the results were: satisfactory in 18 children, not so good in seven children and deficient in a child with retinopathy of prematurity who received treatment but does not have visual capacity. This patient receives stimulation in orientation and mobility.Se realizó un estudio descriptivo transversal a los 26 niños de cero a cinco años que acudieron a la Consulta de Atención a la Edad Temprana del Hospital Provincial Universitario “Arnaldo Milián Castro” durante el período de enero de 2004 a julio de 2006; el objetivo del estudio fue analizar el comportamiento de la estimulación visual en estos pacientes; a todos se les realizaron, siempre que fue posible, evaluación clínico-oftalmológica y pruebas para baja visión. El sexo predominante fue el femenino (57.70%) y las afecciones oftalmológicas más frecuentes fueron la retinopatía de la prematuridad (ocho niños), las abiotrofias y el albinismo (cinco respectivamente) y la catarata congénita (cuatro); las lentes más frecuentes fueron las esféricas y dentro de ellas las positivas (14 ojos), solo se diagnosticó una miopía elevada; la eficiencia visual aumentó en nueve de los 12 niños de cero a dos años y la agudeza visual en el grupo de tres a cinco años mejoró en 19 ojos; el campo visual fue normal en la mayoría de los ojos (31) con 59.63%, tres presentaron daño del campo visual central y cinco del periférico. La discriminación al color fue normal en el 40.38% de los ojos, en dos (3.85%) alterada y en el resto no obtuvimos respuestas: cuatro ojos por falta de cooperación, cinco nulos y los 20 restantes por pertenecer a niños muy pequeños. Empleamos el juego como vía de estimulación y los resultados fueron: satisfactorio en 18 niños, regular en siete y deficiente en uno con retinopatía de la prematuridad, tratado, pero que no conserva resto visual; a él se le brinda estimulación en orientación y movilidad

Longitudinal association between informal unpaid caregiving and mental health amongst working age adults in high-income OECD countries: a systematic review

Background Informal unpaid caregivers provide most of the world's care needs, experiencing numerous health and wealth penalties as a result. As the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted, informal care is highly gendered. Longitudinal evidence is needed to assess the causal effect of caregiving on mental health. This review addresses a gap by summarising and appraising the longitudinal evidence examining the association between unpaid caregiving and mental health among working age adults in high-income Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries and examining gender differences. Methods Six databases were searched (Medline, PsycInfo, EMBASE, Scopus, Web of Science, Econlit) from Jan 1, 2000 to April 1, 2022. Population-based, peer-reviewed quantitative studies using any observational design were included. Population of interest was working age adults. Exposure was any unpaid caregiving, and studies must have had a non-caregiving comparator for inclusion. Mental health outcomes (depression, anxiety, psychological distress/wellbeing) were measurable by validated self-report tools or professional diagnosis. Screening, data extraction and quality assessment (ROBINS-E) were conducted by two reviewers. The study was prospectively registered with PROSPERO (CRD42022312401). Findings Of the 4536 records screened; 13 eligible studies (133,426 participants) were included. Overall quality of evidence was moderate. Significant between-study heterogeneity precluded meta-analysis, so albatross and effect-direction plots complement the narrative synthesis. Results indicate a negative association between informal unpaid care and mental health in adults of working age. Importantly, all included studies were longitudinal in design. Where studies were stratified by gender, caregiving had a consistently negative impact on the mental health of women. Few studies examined men but revealed a negative effect where an association was found. Interpretation Our review highlights the need to mitigate the mental health risks of caregiving in working age adults. Whilst men need to be included in further scholarship, reducing the disproportionate caregiving load on women is a crucial requirement for policy development. Funding Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, Targeted Research Support Grant

Ectopic expression of GmNHX3 and GmNHX1, encoding two Glycine max Na+/H+ vacuolar antiporters, improves water deficit tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana

The importance of Na+/H+ antiporters in salt tolerance in plants has been demonstrated in many studies, but much less is known about their protective role during drought stress. To study their possible contribution to water deficit tolerance, two closely related soybean Na+/H+ antiporters belonging to the intracellular NHX exchanger protein family, GmNHX3 and GmNHX1, were evaluated in transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana. A. thaliana plants ectopically expressing GmNHX3 or GmNHX1 displayed a more drought-tolerant phenotype compared to wild-type plants, which was accompanied by an increase in relative water content and chlorophyll content during stress conditions. Both GmHNX1 and GmHNX3 transgenic lines accumulated higher amounts of Na+ and K+ cations, showed increased antioxidant enzyme activities and less membrane damage due to lipid peroxidation under water deficit, as compared to non-transformed plants. Furthermore, plants expressing GmNHX3 showed an increased sensitivity to abscisic acid as deduced from stomatal closure and seed germination inhibition studies. Finally, a significant up-regulation of abiotic stress-related genes was observed in both transgenic lines compared to wild-type plants in response to abscisic acid and mannitol treatments. These results demonstrate that GmNHX3 and GmNHX1 antiporters confer protection during drought stress in A. thaliana and hence are potential genetic targets to improve drought tolerance in soybean and other crops

Ectopic expression of GmNHX3 and GmNHX1, encoding two Glycine max Na+/H+ vacuolar antiporters, improves water deficit tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana

The importance of Na+/H+ antiporters in salt tolerance in plants has been demonstrated in many studies, but much less is known about their protective role during drought stress. To study their possible contribution to water deficit tolerance, two closely related soybean Na+/H+ antiporters belonging to the intracellular NHX exchanger protein family, GmNHX3 and GmNHX1, were evaluated in transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana. A. thaliana plants ectopically expressing GmNHX3 or GmNHX1 displayed a more drought-tolerant phenotype compared to wild-type plants, which was accompanied by an increase in relative water content and chlorophyll content during stress conditions. Both GmHNX1 and GmHNX3 transgenic lines accumulated higher amounts of Na+ and K+ cations, showed increased antioxidant enzyme activities and less membrane damage due to lipid peroxidation under water deficit, as compared to non-transformed plants. Furthermore, plants expressing GmNHX3 showed an increased sensitivity to abscisic acid as deduced from stomatal closure and seed germination inhibition studies. Finally, a significant up-regulation of abiotic stress-related genes was observed in both transgenic lines compared to wild-type plants in response to abscisic acid and mannitol treatments. These results demonstrate that GmNHX3 and GmNHX1 antiporters confer protection during drought stress in A. thaliana and hence are potential genetic targets to improve drought tolerance in soybean and other crops.Fil: Pardo, Esteban Mariano. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología "Dr. César Milstein". Fundación Pablo Cassará. Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología "Dr. César Milstein"; ArgentinaFil: Toum, Laila. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología "Dr. César Milstein". Fundación Pablo Cassará. Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología "Dr. César Milstein"; ArgentinaFil: Pérez Borroto, Lucía Sandra. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología "Dr. César Milstein". Fundación Pablo Cassará. Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología "Dr. César Milstein"; ArgentinaFil: Fleitas, L.. Universidad de la República; UruguayFil: Gallino, J. P.. Universidad de la República; UruguayFil: Machi, S.. Universidad de la República; UruguayFil: Vojnov, Adrián Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología "Dr. César Milstein". Fundación Pablo Cassará. Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología "Dr. César Milstein"; ArgentinaFil: Castagnaro, Atilio Pedro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología "Dr. César Milstein". Fundación Pablo Cassará. Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología "Dr. César Milstein"; ArgentinaFil: Welin, Björn. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología "Dr. César Milstein". Fundación Pablo Cassará. Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología "Dr. César Milstein"; Argentin

Benznidazole in cerebrospinal fluid: A case series of chagas disease meningoencephalitis in hiv-positive patients

Chagas disease reactivation in HIV-positive people is an opportunistic infection with 79 to 100% mortality. It commonly involves the central nervous system (CNS). Early treatment with trypanocidal drugs such as benznidazole (BNZ) is crucial for this severe manifestation of Trypanosoma cruzi infection. However, limited BNZ clinical pharmacology data are available, especially its concentration in the CNS. We report a series of HIV-positive patients undergoing treatment for T. cruzi meningoencephalitis, their clinical response, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and plasma BNZ concentrations. Measurements were carried out using leftover samples originally obtained for routine medical care. A high-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry bioanalytical method designed for BNZ plasma measurements was adapted and validated for CSF samples. Six patients were enrolled in this study from 2015 to 2019. A total of 6 CSF and 19 plasma samples were obtained. Only three of the CSF samples had detectable BNZ levels, all under 1mg/ml. Fifteen plasma samples had detectable BNZ, and 13 were above 2mg/ml, which is the putative trypanocidal level. We observed BNZ concentrations in human CSF and plasma. CSF BNZ concentrations were low or not measurable in all patients, suggesting that the usual BNZ doses may be suboptimal in HIV-positive patients with T. cruzi meningoencephalitis. While drug-drug and drug-disease interactions may be in part responsible, the factors leading to low CSF BNZ levels remain to be studied in detail. These findings highlight the potential of therapeutic drug monitoring in BNZ treatment and suggest that the use of higher doses may be useful for Chagas disease CNS reactivations

Leading nucleon and inelasticity in hadron-nucleus interactions

We present in this paper a calculation of the average proton-nucleus ine- lasticity. Using an Iterative Leading Particle Model and the Glauber model, we relate the leading particle distribution in nucleon-nucleus interactions with the respective one in nucleon-proton collisions. To describe the leading particle distribution in nucleon-proton collisions, we use the Regge-Mueller formalism. To appear in Journal of Physics G.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figure

Glaucoma como causa de baja visión

A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out at the Low Vision Services of the Arnaldo Milian Castro Provincial University Hospital in Villa Clara with the aim of determining the incidence of glaucoma as a cause of low vision in our environment and the behavior of rehabilitation in those cases. Glaucoma is among the tree main causes of visual disability in the world, being chronic simple glaucoma the most common one. It commonly appears without symptoms, that is why it is called “a thief of sight”. Our study universe was the total amount of adult people attending to the Low Vision Services from September 1997 to September 2007. All the patients underwent a full clinical ophthalmologic assessment and low vision tests. From a total amount of 447 people 13.42 percent presented glaucoma as the cause of visual disability. Most of the patients were males (35); the most affected age group was over 60 years of age (53). Long range visual acuity improved in 45 eyes and none of them presented a worsening in this aspect. The visual field per eyes was: 64 within the limits of normality, 21 between 10°-6°, 17 eyes with 5° or less, and 18 eyes which resulted null. A total of 46 patients (76.67%) were considered rehabilitated when discharged; seven with conventional optical correction for short range vision and 39 with optical aids. Fourteen patients were not considered rehabilitated because they did not reached the goals they had when attended the consulting room, though they improved their visual acuity and, thus, their quality of life.Realizamos un estudio descriptivo transversal en la Consulta de Baja Visión del Hospital Provincial Universitario “Arnaldo Milián Castro” de Villa Clara con el objetivo de determinar la frecuencia de glaucoma como causa de baja visión en nuestro medio y el comportamiento de la rehabilitación en estos casos. El glaucoma se encuentra dentro de las tres primeras causas de discapacidad visual en el mundo; es el glaucoma crónico simple el tipo mas común, generalmente no tiene síntomas y por eso se conoce como “el ladrón de la vista”. Nuestro universo de estudio fue el total de personas adultas que acudieron a la consulta desde septiembre de 1997 a septiembre de 2007; a todos les realizamos evaluación clínico-oftalmológica completa y pruebas para baja visión; del total de personas evaluadas (447) el 13.42% presentaron glaucoma como causa de discapacidad visual, predominó el sexo masculino (35), el grupo etario más afectado fue el de más de 60 años (53); la agudeza visual para lejos mejoró en 45 ojos y en ninguno empeoró; el campo visual por ojos: 64 dentro en los límites de la normalidad, 21 entre 10°-6°, 17 con 5° y menos y 18 resultaron nulos; egresaron, rehabilitados, 46 enfermos (76.67%) -siete con corrección óptica convencional para cerca y 39 con ayudas ópticas- No se consideraron rehabilitados 14 por no alcanzar las metas que perseguían al acudir a consulta, a pesar de mejorar su agudeza visual y, por tanto, su calidad de vida