Fuel availability and fate in cardiac metabolism: A tale of two substrates

The heart’s extraordinary metabolic flexibility allows it to adapt to normal changes in physiology in order to preserve its function. Alterations in the metabolic profile of the heart have also been attributed to pathological conditions such as ischemia and hypertrophy; however, research during the past decade has established that cardiac metabolic adaptations can precede the onset of pathologies. It is therefore critical to understand how changes in cardiac substrate availability and use trigger events that ultimately result in heart dysfunction. This review examines the mechanisms by which the heart obtains fuels from the circulation or from mobilization of intracellular stores. We next describe experimental models that exhibit either an increase in glucose use or a decrease in FA oxidation, and how these aberrant conditions affect cardiac metabolism and function. Finally, we highlight the importance of alternative, and relatively under investigated, strategies for the treatment of heart failure

Securing coherence rephasing with a pair of adiabatic rapid passages

Coherence rephasing is an essential step in quantum storage protocols that use echo-based strategies. We present a thorough analysis on how two adiabatic rapid passages (ARP) are able to rephase atomic coherences in an inhomogeneously broadened ensemble. We consider both the cases of optical and spin coherences, rephased by optical or radio-frequency (rf) ARPs, respectively. We show how a rephasing sequence consisting of two ARPs in a double-echo scheme is equivalent to the identity operator (any state can be recovered), as long as certain conditions are fulfilled. Our mathematical treatment of the ARPs leads to a very simple geometrical interpretation within the Bloch sphere that permits a visual comprehension of the rephasing process. We also identify the conditions that ensure the rephasing, finding that the phase of the optical or rf ARP fields plays a key role in the capability of the sequence to preserve the phase of the superposition state. This settles a difference between optical and rf ARPs, since field phase control is not readily guaranteed in the former case. We also provide a quantitative comparison between $\pi$-pulse and ARP rephasing efficiencies, showing the superiority of the latter. We experimentally verify the conclusions of our analysis through rf ARP rephasing sequencies performed on the rare-earth ion-doped crystal Tm$^{3+}$:YAG, of interest in quantum memories.Comment: 24 pages, 7 figure

A spectral hole memory for light at the single photon level

We demonstrate a solid state spin-wave optical memory based on stopped light in a spectral hole. A long lived narrow spectral hole is created by optical pumping in the inhomogeneous absorption profile of a Pr$^{3+}$:Y$_2$SiO$_5$ crystal. Optical pulses sent through the spectral hole experience a strong reduction of their group velocity and are spatially compressed in the crystal. A short Raman pulse transfers the optical excitation to the spin state before the light pulse exits the crystal, effectively stopping the light. After a controllable delay, a second Raman pulse is sent, which leads to the emission of the stored photons. We reach storage and retrieval efficiencies for bright pulses of up to $39\,\%$ in a $5 \,\mathrm{mm}$-long crystal. We also show that our device works at the single photon level by storing and retrieving $3\,\mathrm{\mu s}$-long weak coherent pulses with efficiencies up to $31\,\%$, demonstrating the most efficient spin-wave solid state optical memory at the single-photon level so far. We reach an unconditional noise level of $(9\pm1)\times 10^{-3}$ photons per pulse in a detection window of $4\,\mathrm{\mu s}$ leading to a signal-to-noise ratio of $33 \pm 4$ for an average input photon number of 1, making our device promising for long-lived storage of non-classical light.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Estudio comparativo de la mortalidad por cáncer de cérvix en mujeres mayores de 25 años en las CC.AA de Aragón, Cataluña y Comunidad de Madrid y España en los años 2001 y 2009

El virus del papiloma humano se ha considerado el precursor de lesiones planas en el epitelio cervical, las cuales desarrollan el cáncer de cérvix. El objetivo del estudio es comparar los datos de mortalidad por cáncer de cuello uterino en mujeres mayores de 25 años en Aragón, Cataluña, Comunidad de Madrid y España en los años 2001 y 2009. Se realiza un estudio descriptivo de dichos años. Se emplearon las bases de datos PUBMED y MEDLINE y las bases estadísticas del Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE) e Instituto Aragonés de Estadística (IAEST). Para los datos de mortalidad y su evolución también se utilizaron datos del Centro de Epidemiología del Instituto de Salud Carlos III, que provienen de los certificados de defunción. Se observó que la tasa de mortalidad específica de Cataluña era la superior en ambos años. En conclusión, desde el año 2001 al 2009 la mortalidad ha aumentado en todas las áreas geográficas sometidas a estudio

comercialización y alquiler de bicicletas eléctricas

Incluye BibliografíaBe Green será un emprendimiento de comercialización y alquiler de bicicletas eléctricas que nace como propuesta de solución a la conjunción de problemas identificados en la ciudad de Montevideo tal como la congestión del tránsito, el desagrado del sistema de transporte público, problemas en la salud generados por el modelo de movilidad y tendencias mundiales que se basan en el nuevo paradigma de sustentabilidad. El aprovisionamiento de los productos estará a cargo de la empresa Changzhou Aimos Technology Co. ubicada en China. Se dispondrán inicialmente de cuatro modelos seleccionados y la posterior comercialización de dichos productos se hará en cuatro medios distintos: local comercial, un novedoso bike truck, Mercado Libre y un sitio web. El marketing se define como una de las actividades claves del proyecto ya que será necesario generar conocimiento de marca y producto en la sociedad montevideana. Para esto, se plantea una sociedad estratégica con la empresa Happen Marketing que será la encargada del desarrollo de esta actividad

Hydrothermal fractionation of woody biomass: lignin effect over sugars recovery

Producción CientíficaSubcritical water was employed to fractionate woody biomass into carbohydrates and lignin. Nine urban trees species (hardwood and softwood) from Spain were studied. The experiments were carried out in a semi-continuous reactor at 250 °C for 64 min. The hemicellulose and cellulose recovery yields were between 30% wt. and 80% wt. while the lignin content in the solid product ranged between 32% wt. and 92% wt. It was observed that an increment of solubilized lignin disfavored the hydrolysis of hemicelluloses. It was determined that the maximum extraction of hemicellulose was achieved at 20 min of solid reaction time while the extraction of celluloses not exhibited a maximum value. The hydrolysis of hemicellulose and cellulose would be governed by the hydrolysis kinetic and the polymers accessibility. In addition, the extraction of hemicellulose was negatively affected by the lignin content in the raw material while cellulose hydrolysis was not affected by this parameter.FEDER and Spanish Economy and Competitiveness Ministry (former Science and Innovation Ministry) Project Reference: CTQ2011-27347, ENE2012-33613 (FracBioFuel), CTQ2013-44143-R and Junta de Castilla y León Project Reference: VA254B11-2 for fundin

Aerosols measurement as product of biomass burning on cryosphere in the Central Andes

The cryosphere on the Central Andes between Argentina and Chile is an important water reservoir; therefore, it is important to ensure the sustainability of this resource for the ecosystem and millions of people in this region. Then, the knowledge about hydrological cycle and the different phenomena that are affecting its radiative balance caused by absorbing aerosols of solar radiation, some of these aerosols can be generated by large burning of biomass, a practice that occurs during crop changes in the austral spring in South America. For this reason, it has been analyzed in several basins uses remote knowledge data for 17 years (2000 - 2016) and the analysis of variations on snow albedo, aerosol optical depth (ODA) and land surface temperature of several water basins of that region. The partial results indicate a negative tendency in the snow albedo decrease related to the AOD variations. The next step will be collect snow samples to measure levoglucosan, mannosan and galactosan to establish if there is on snow presence of aerosol from the biomass combustion and the type of biomass source.Fil: Bolaño Ortiz, Tomas Rafael. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. Facultad Regional de Mendoza; ArgentinaFil: Pascual Flores, Romina María. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. Facultad Regional de Mendoza; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Ruggeri, María Florencia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Provincia de Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales; ArgentinaFil: Lakkis, Susan Gabriela. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. Facultad Regional Buenos Aires; Argentina. Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina "Santa María de los Buenos Aires". Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias; ArgentinaFil: Puliafito, Salvador Enrique. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. Facultad Regional de Mendoza; ArgentinaSchool of Atmospheric Measurements in Latin America and the Caribbean: Atmospheric particles and Reactive GasesSan JuanPuerto RicoUniversity of Puerto Ric

Adiabatic passage with spin locking in Tm3+:YAG

International audienceIn low-concentration Tm 3+ :YAG, we observe efficient adiabatic rapid passage (ARP) of thulium nuclear spin over flipping times much longer than T 2. Efficient ARP with long flipping time has been observed in monoatomic solids for decades and has been analyzed in terms of spin temperature and of the thermodynamic equilibrium of a coupled spin ensemble. In low-concentration impurity-doped crystals the spin temperature concept may be questioned. A single spin model should be preferred since the impurity ions are weakly coupled together but interact with the numerous off-resonant matrix ions that originate the spin-spin relaxation. The experiment takes place in the context of quantum information investigation, involving impurity-doped crystals, spin hyperpolarization by optical pumping, and optical detection of the spin evolution

Spread of COVID-19, Meteorological Conditions and Air Quality in the City of Buenos Aires, Argentina: Two Facets Observed during Its Pandemic Lockdown

This work studied the spread of COVID-19, the meteorological conditions and the air quality in a megacity from two viewpoints: (1) the correlation between meteorological and air quality (PM10 and NO2) variables with infections and deaths due COVID-19, and (2) the improvement in air quality. Both analyses were performed for the pandemic lockdown due to COVID-19 in the City of Buenos Aires (CABA), the capital and the largest city in Argentina. Daily data from temperature, rainfall, average relative humidity, wind speed, PM10, NO2, new cases and deaths due COVID-19 were analyzed. Our findings showed a significant correlation of meteorological and air quality variables with COVID-19 cases. The highest temperature correlation occurred before the confirmation day of new cases. PM10 presented the highest correlation within 13 to 15 days lag, while NO2 within 3 to 6 days lag. Also, reductions in PM10 and NO2 were observed. This study shows that exposure to air pollution was significantly correlated with an increased risk of becoming infected and dying due to COVID-19. Thus, these results show that the NO2 and PM10 levels in CABA can serve as one of the indicators to assess vulnerability to COVID-19. In addition, decision-makers can use this information to adopt strategies to restrict human mobility during the COVID-19 pandemic and future outbreaks of similar diseases in CABA.Fil: Bolaño Ortiz, Tomas Rafael. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. Facultad Regional de Mendoza; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Pascual Flores, Romina María. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. Facultad Regional Buenos Aires; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Puliafito, Salvador Enrique. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. Facultad Regional de Mendoza; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Camargo Caicedo, Yiniva. Universidad del Magdalena; ColombiaFil: Berná Peña, Lucas Luciano. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. Facultad Regional de Mendoza; Argentina. Ministerio de Ciencia. Tecnología e Innovación Productiva. Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica; ArgentinaFil: Ruggeri, María Florencia. Universidad Tecnica Federico Santa Maria; Chile. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Lopez Noreña, Ana Isabel. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. Facultad Regional de Mendoza; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Tames, María Florencia. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. Facultad Regional de Mendoza; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Cereceda Balic, Francisco. Universidad Tecnica Federico Santa Maria; Chil

Estudio de las respuestas neurofisiológicas y conductuales integradas en el sistema límbico: participación de los neuropéptidos derivados de la pre pro MCH y Angiotensina II

Numerosos estudios indican que la amígdala, se encuentra estrechamente ligada a la generación y modulación de los procesos emocionales. Aunque el complejo de la amígdala generalmente se define por varios grupos distintos de células, los núcleos de la amígdala basolateral que se conectan con el núcleo central y el núcleo de la estría terminal son los que proyectan a las áreas del sistema nervioso central involucradas en el control de las respuestas autónomas, los procesos cognitivos y la respuesta emocional. Además de los ampliamente estudiados sistemas glutamatérgico, gabaérgico, endorfinérgico, CRH, CCK entre otros, en estas áreas de la amígdala se encuentran receptores AT1 del sistema renina-angiotensina cerebral y llegan fibras del sistema de la pre-pro-hormona MCH (ppMCH) de la que se derivan la hormona concentradora de melanina (MCH) y otros dos péptidos biológicamente activos: el neuropéptido glicina (G)-ácido glutámico (E) (NGE) y el neuropéptido glutamina (E)- isoleucina (I) (NEI). Entre las áreas a las que se proyectan los núcleos de la amígdala se destaca la inervación de núcleos dopaminérgicos a través del área tegmental ventral y su influencia sobre la función del eje hipotálamo-hipófiso-adrenal (HHA) por la modulación de la descarga de ACTH a través de la inervación del núcleo hipotalámico paraventricular. Este proyecto tiene como objetivo evaluar los efectos de los neuropéptidos derivados de la ppMCH y Angiotensina II en la amígdala basolateral, sobre: el estado de ansiedad, conducta de exploración, activación del eje HHA y la trasmisión dopaminérgica en las áreas de proyección de la amígdala. Se empleará un modelo de miedo potenciado en ratas, que provoca una mayor activación de la amígdala y el establecimiento de un estado de ansiedad por la exposición previa a una situación de estrés. En este modelo se desencadenan respuestas similares a las encontradas en pacientes que sufren desórdenes de ansiedad, lo que nos permite estudiar el rol de los neuromoduladores en su fisiopatogenia.Fil: Baiardi, Gustavo Carlos. Universidad Católica de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Argentin