Iodine monoxide in the north subtropical free troposphere

Iodine monoxide (IO) differential slant column densities (DSCD) have been retrieved from a new multi-axis differential optical absorption spectroscopy (MAX-DOAS) instrument deployed at the Iza˜na subtropical observatory as part of the Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change (NDACC) programme.We acknowledge the support of the European Commission through the GEOmon (Global Earth Observation and Monitoring) Integrated Project under the 6th Framework Program (contract number FP6-2005-Global-4-036677) and NORS (Demonstration Network Of ground-based Remote Sensing Observations in support of the GMES Atmospheric Service) Integrated Project under the 7th Framework Program (contract number FP7-SPACE- 2011-284421)

Catalytic transfer hydrogenation of furfural to furfuryl alcohol over calcined MgFe hydrotalcites

Catalytic transfer hydrogenation is an alternative catalytic approach for the reduction of carbonyl groups, instead of the use of dihydrogen gas. In this sense, a series of catalysts has been prepared by thermal treatment of layered double hydroxides, hydrotalcite type, of Mg(II) and Fe(III), with different Mg/Fe molar ratios. The resulting mixture of metal oxides was characterized by X-ray diffraction, TEM, N2 adsorption-desorption, CO2-TPD, NH3-TPD and XPS, and then catalysts were tested in the Meenwein-Ponndorf-Verley (MPV) reduction of furfural to obtain furfuryl alcohol. The catalytic results show that the catalysts with a Mg/Fe molar ratio of 3 allows reaching the highest furfural conversion at a lower reaction time, with a FOL yield close to 90% after 6 h of reaction at 443 K. The detailed analysis of these catalysts also revealed that the basicity has a more predominant role in the MPV reaction than acid sites.Spanish Ministry of Innovation, Science and Universities (Project RTI2018-094918-B-C44) and FEDER (European Union) funds. J.A.C. and C.G.S. thank University of Malaga for contracts of PhD incorporation. R.M.T. thanks to the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (IEDI-2016-00743) for the financial support within the I3 program

Carbosilane dendritic nanostructures, highly versatile platforms for pharmaceutical applications

Dendrimers are multifunctional molecules with well-defined size and structure due to the step-by-step synthetic procedures required in their preparation. Dendritic constructs based on carbosilane scaffolds present carbon-carbon and carbon-silicon bonds, which results in stable, lipophilic, inert, and flexible structures. These properties are highly appreciated in different areas, including the pharmaceutical field, as they can increase the interaction with cell membranes and improve the therapeutic action. This article summarizes the most recent advances in the pharmaceutical applications of carbosilane dendritic molecules, from therapeutics to diagnostics and prevention tools. Dendrimers decorated with cationic, anionic, or other moieties, including metallodendrimers; supramolecular assemblies; dendronized nanoparticles and surfaces; as well as dendritic networks like hydrogels are described. The collected examples confirm the potential of carbosilane dendrimers and dendritic materials as antiviral or antibacterial agents; in therapy against cancer, neurodegenerative disease, or oxidative stress; or many other biomedical applications.This article is categorized under:Nanotechnology Approaches to Biology > Nanoscale Systems in BiologyTherapeutic Approaches and Drug Discovery > Nanomedicine for Infectious DiseaseTherapeutic Approaches and Drug Discovery > Nanomedicine for Oncologic DiseaseMinisterio de Economía y CompetitividadComunidad de MadridJunta de Comunidades de Castilla-La ManchaUniversidad de Alcal

Antioxidant and Antibacterial Properties of Carbosilane Dendrimers Functionalized with Polyphenolic Moieties

A new family of polyphenolic carbosilane dendrimers functionalized with ferulic, caffeic, and gallic acids has been obtained through a straightforward amidation reaction. Their antioxidant activity has been studied by different techniques such as DPPH (2,2 '-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging assay, FRAP assay (ferric reducing antioxidant power), and cyclic voltammetry. The antioxidant analysis showed that polyphenolic dendrimers exhibited higher activities than free polyphenols in all cases. The first-generation dendrimer decorated with gallic acid stood out as the best antioxidant compound, displaying a correlation between the number of hydroxyl groups in the polyphenol structure and the antioxidant activity of the compounds. Moreover, the antibacterial capacity of these new systems has been screened against Gram-positive (+) and Gram-negative (-) bacteria, and we observed that polyphenolic dendrimers functionalized with caffeic and gallic acids were capable of decreasing bacterial growth. In contrast, ferulic carbosilane dendrimers and free polyphenols showed no effect, establishing a correlation between antioxidant activity and antibacterial capacity. Finally, a viability assay in human skin fibroblasts cells (HFF-1) allowed for corroborating the nontoxicity of the polyphenolic dendrimers at their active antibacterial concentration.Ministerio de Economía y CompetitividadJunta de Comunidades de Castilla-La ManchaComunidad de Madri

Metabolic Reprogramming Helps to Define Different Metastatic Tropisms in Colorectal Cancer

Approximately 25% of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients experience systemic metastases, with the most frequent target organs being the liver and lung. Metabolic reprogramming has been recognized as one of the hallmarks of cancer. Here, metabolic and functional differences between two CRC cells with different metastatic organotropisms (metastatic KM12SM CRC cells to the liver and KM12L4a to the lung when injected in the spleen and in the tail vein of mice) were analysed in comparison to their parental non-metastatic isogenic KM12C cells, for a subsequent investigation of identified metabolic targets in CRC patients. Meta-analysis from proteomic and transcriptomic data deposited in databases, qPCR, WB, in vitro cell-based assays, and in vivo experiments were used to survey for metabolic alterations contributing to their different organotropism and for the subsequent analysis of identified metabolic markers in CRC patients. Although no changes in cell proliferation were observed between metastatic cells, KM12SM cells were highly dependent on oxidative phosphorylation at mitochondria, whereas KM12L4a cells were characterized by being more energetically efficient with lower basal respiration levels and a better redox management. Lipid metabolism-related targets were found altered in both cell lines, including LDLR, CD36, FABP4, SCD, AGPAT1, and FASN, which were also associated with the prognosis of CRC patients. Moreover, CD36 association with lung metastatic tropism of CRC cells was validated in vivo. Altogether, our results suggest that LDLR, CD36, FABP4, SCD, FASN, LPL, and APOA1 metabolic targets are associated with CRC metastatic tropism to the liver or lung. These features exemplify specific metabolic adaptations for invasive cancer cells which stem at the primary tumour.This work was supported by grants cofounded by Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional -FEDER- PI17CIII/00045 and PI20CIII/00019 from the AES-ISCIII program to RB from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) and grants from Spanish Ministry of Science (Plan Nacional I+D+i PID2019-110183RBC21), Regional Government of Community of Madrid (P2018/BAA-4343-ALIBIRD2020-CM, and Y2020/BIO-6350), and Ramón Areces Foundation (CIVP19A5937) to AR. AM-C FPU predoctoral contract is supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Educació n, Cultura y Deporte. AQ-F acknowledges Comunidad de Madrid for the Garantıa Juvenil PEJD-2017-RE/BMD-3394 contract. GS-F is a recipient of a predoctoral contract (grant number 1193818N) supported by the Flanders Research Foundation (FWO).S

Seguimiento y mejora de las asignaturas de segundo curso del Grado en Ingeniería Informática durante el curso 2013-2014

En esta memoria se describe el trabajo de la red docente para el seguimiento y control de calidad de las asignaturas del segundo curso del Grado en Ingeniería Informática impartido en la Escuela Politécnica Superior de la Universidad de Alicante. En esta edición, el trabajo de la red se ha centrado en el estudio de las necesidades formativas y los contenidos impartidos en las asignaturas. El resultado ha sido la creación de un grafo de dependencias entre asignaturas de segundo y primer curso (y de segundo curso entre sí), un mapa de necesidades formativas para acceder a las asignaturas de segundo curso y un mapa de los contenidos impartidos en éstas. Asimismo, se ha elaborado un calendario on-line de evaluaciones para el curso 2014-2015

Paleoclimatic reconstruction during the Little Ice Age in the Llanganuco basin, Cordillera Blanca (Peru)

The Equilibrium Line Altitude (ELA, m) is a good indicator for the impact of climate change on tropical glaciers , because it varies in time and space depending on changes in temperature and/or precipitation.The estimation of the ELA and paleoELA using the Area x Altitude Balance Ratio method (AABR; Osmaston, 2005) requires knowing the surface and hypsometry of glaciers or paleoglaciers (Benn et al. 2005) and the Balance Ratio (BR) correct (Rea, 2009). In the Llanganuco basin (~ 9°3´S; 77°37´W) there are very well preserved moraines near the current glaciers front. These deposits provide information to reconstruct the extent of paleoglaciers since the Little Ice Age (LIA) and deduce some paleo-climatic variables. The goal of this work has been to reconstruct the paleotemperature (°C) during LIA, deduced from the difference between ELA AABR2016 and paleoELA AABRLIA. The paleoclimatic reconstruction was carried out in 6 phases: Phase 1) Development of a detailed geomorphological map (scale 1/10,000), in order to identify glacial landforms (advance moraines and polished rocks) which, due to their geomorphological context, can be considered of LIA, so palaeoglaciers can be delimited. Current glacial extension was done using dry season, high resolution satellite images. Phase 2) Glacial bedrock Reconstruction from glacier surface following the GLABTOP methodology (Linsbauer et al 2009). Phase 3) 3D reconstruction of paleoglacial surface using GLARE tool, based on bed topography and flow lines for each defined paleoglacial (Pellitero et al., 2016). As perfect plasticity model does not reflect the tension generated by the side walls of the valley, form factors were calculated based on the glacier thickness, lateral moraines and the geometry of the valley following the equation proposed by Nye (1952), adjusting the thicknesses generated in the paleoglacial front. Phase 4) Calculation of BR in a reference glacier (Artesonraju; 8° 56’S; 77º38’W), near to the study area, using the product BR = b • z • s, where BR= Balance Ratio; b= mass balance measured in fieldwork 2004-2014 (m); z= average altitude (meters) and s= surface (m2) of each altitude band of the glacier (with intervals of 100 m altitude). A value BR = 2.3 was estimated. Phase 5) Automatic reconstruction of the ELA AABR2016 and paleoELA AABRLIA using ELA Calculation tool (Pellitero et al. 2015) after 3D reconstruction of the glacial and paleoglacial surface in phases 2 and 3. Phase 6) Estimation of paleotemperature during LIA by solving the equation of Porter et al. (1995): ∆T (°C)= ∆ELA • ATLR, where ∆T= air temperature depression (ºC); ∆ELA = variation of ELA AABR 2016-LIA and ATLR = Air Temperature Lapse Rate, using the average global value of the Earth (0.0065 °C/m), considered valid for tropics. The results obtained were: ELA AABR2016= 5260m, paleoELA AABRLIA= 5084m, and ∆T = 1.1 °C. The reconstruction of air paleotemperature is consistent with different studies that have estimated values between 1–2 °C colder than the present, with intense rainfall (Matthews & Briffa, 2005; Malone et al., 2015)