Longitudinal Study of Total and Pathogenic Vibrio parahaemolyticus (tdh+ and/or trh+) in Two Natural Extraction Areas of Mytilus chilensis in Southern Chile

Vibrio parahaemolyticus is the leading cause of seafood-associated bacterial gastroenteritis worldwide. Although different studies have focused on its pattern of variation over time, knowledge about the environmental factors driving the dynamics of this pathogen, within the Chilean territory, is still lacking. This study determined the prevalence of total and pathogenic V. parahaemolyticus strains (tdh and/or trh genes) in mussels (Mytilus chilensis) collected from two natural growing areas between 2017 and 2018, using selective agar and PCR analysis. V. parahaemolyticus was detected in 45.6% (93/204) of pooled samples from the Valdivia River Estuary. The pathogenic strains carrying the tdh and/or trh gene were detected in 11.8% (24/204): tdh in 9.8% (20/204), trh in 0.5% (1/204), and 1.5% (3/204) presented both genes. In Reloncaví Fjord, V. parahaemolyticus was detected in 14.4% (30/209) of the samples, pathogenic V. parahaemolyticus carrying the trh gene was detected in 0.5% (1/209) of the samples, while the tdh gene was not detected in the samples from this area. The total count of mauve-purple colonies typical of V. parahaemolyticus on CHROMagar was positively associated by multivariate analysis with area, water temperature, and salinity. Similarly, V. parahaemolyticus detection rates by PCR had a positive correlation with the area and water temperature. The chances of detecting total V. parahaemolyticus in the Valdivia River Estuary are significantly higher than in the Reloncaví Fjord, but inversely, during spring-summer months, the interaction factor between the area and temperature indicated that the chances of detecting V. parahaemolyticus are higher in the Reloncaví Fjord. Interestingly, this period coincides with the season when commercial and natural-growing shellfish are harvested. On the other hand, pathogenic V. parahaemolyticus tdh+ was significantly correlated with an increase of water temperature. These environmental parameters could be used to trigger a warning on potential hazard, which would influence human health and economic losses in aquaculture systems.

Graphene Synthesis Using a CVD Reactor and a Discontinuous Feed of Gas Precursor at Atmospheric Pressure

The present work shows a new method in order to cost-effectively achieve the synthesis of graphene by Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD). Unlike most usual processes, where precursors such as argon, H2, CH4, and high purity copper foil are used, the proposed method has replaced the previous ones by N2, N2 (90%) : H2 (10%), C2H2, and electrolytic copper (technical grade) since the use of industrialized precursors helps reduce production costs. On the other hand, the process was modified from a continuous flow system with vacuum to a discontinuous one at atmospheric pressure, eliminating the use of vacuum pump. In addition, this modification optimized the consumption of gases, which reduced the waste and the emission of pollutant gases into the atmosphere. Graphene films were grown under different gas flowrates and temperatures. Then, the obtained material was characterized by TEM, Raman spectroscopy, and AFM, confirming the presence of few graphene layers. In brief, the growth time was reduced to six minutes with acetylene as a carbon precursor at 1000°C and at atmospheric pressure, with a flow rate of 30 sccm. Finally, the reported conditions can be used for the synthesis of good quality graphene films in industrial applications

Clinical subgroups in bilateral meniere disease

Meniere disease (MD) is a heterogeneous clinical condition characterized by sensorineural hearing loss, episodic vestibular symptoms, and tinnitus associated with several comorbidities, such as migraine or autoimmune disorders (AD). The frequency of bilateral involvement may range from 5 to 50%, and it depends on the duration of the disease. We have performed a two-step cluster analysis in 398 patients with bilateral MD (BMD) to identify the best predictors to define clinical subgroups with a potential different etiology to improve the phenotyping of BMD and to develop new treatments. We have defined five clinical variants in BMD. Group 1 is the most frequently found, includes 46% of patients, and is defined by metachronic hearing loss without migraine and without AD. Group 2 is found in 17% of patients, and it is defined by synchronic hearing loss without migraine or AD. Group 3, with 13% of patients, is characterized by familial MD, while group 4, that includes 12% of patients, is associated by the presence of migraine in all cases. Group 5 is found in 11% of patients and is defined by AD. This approach can be helpful in selecting patients for genetic and clinical research. However, further studies will be required to improve the phenotyping in these clinical variants for a better understanding of the diverse etiological factors contributing to BMD

CALIFA, the Calar Alto Legacy Integral Field Area survey: I. Survey presentation

We present here the Calar Alto Legacy Integral Field Area (CALIFA) survey, which has been designed to provide a first step in this direction.We summarize the survey goals and design, including sample selection and observational strategy.We also showcase the data taken during the first observing runs (June/July 2010) and outline the reduction pipeline, quality control schemes and general characteristics of the reduced data. This survey is obtaining spatially resolved spectroscopic information of a diameter selected sample of $\sim600$ galaxies in the Local Universe (0.005< z <0.03). CALIFA has been designed to allow the building of two-dimensional maps of the following quantities: (a) stellar populations: ages and metallicities; (b) ionized gas: distribution, excitation mechanism and chemical abundances; and (c) kinematic properties: both from stellar and ionized gas components. CALIFA uses the PPAK Integral Field Unit (IFU), with a hexagonal field-of-view of \sim1.3\sq\arcmin', with a 100% covering factor by adopting a three-pointing dithering scheme. The optical wavelength range is covered from 3700 to 7000 {\AA}, using two overlapping setups (V500 and V1200), with different resolutions: R\sim850 and R\sim1650, respectively. CALIFA is a legacy survey, intended for the community. The reduced data will be released, once the quality has been guaranteed. The analyzed data fulfill the expectations of the original observing proposal, on the basis of a set of quality checks and exploratory analysis. We conclude from this first look at the data that CALIFA will be an important resource for archaeological studies of galaxies in the Local Universe.Comment: 32 pages, 29 figures, Accepted for publishing in Astronomy and Astrophysic

High-pressure theoretical and experimental study of HgWO4

This is an Author's Accepted Manuscript of an article published in Lopez-Solano, J.; Rodriguez-Hernandez, P.; Muñoz, A.; Santamaria-Perez, D. et al.(2011). High-pressure theoretical and experimental study of HgWO4. High Pressure Research. 31(1):58-63. doi:10.1080/08957959.2010.521735HgWO 4 at ambient pressure is characterized using a combination of ab initio calculations, X-ray diffraction and Raman scattering measurements. The effect of low pressure and temperature on the structural stability is analysed. Extending our ab initio study to the range of higher pressures, a sequence of stable phases up to 30GPa is proposed. © 2011 Taylor & Francis.We thank J.M. Menendez for his help in the use of the GIBBS code. This work has been supported by the Spanish MEC under Projects MAT2007-65990-C03-01/03, MAT2010-21270-C04-03/04 and CSD-2007-00045 and by the "Vicerrectorado de Innovacion y Desarrollo de la UPV" (PAID-05-2009 through project UPV2010-0096). We gratefully acknowledge computational time provided by the "Red Espanola de Supercomputacion" at the supercomputer "Atlante". S. R. acknowledges financial support from the "Vicerrectorado de Investigacion de la UPV" through grant PAID-02-09-3085.Lopez-Solano, J.; Rodriguez-Hernandez, P.; Muñoz, A.; Santamaria-Perez, D.; Manjón Herrera, FJ.; Ray, S.; Gomis Hilario, O.... (2011). High-pressure theoretical and experimental study of HgWO4. High Pressure Research. 31(1):58-63. https://doi.org/10.1080/08957959.2010.521735S5863311Manjón, F. J., & Errandonea, D. (2009). Pressure-induced structural phase transitions in materials and earth sciences. physica status solidi (b), 246(1), 9-31. doi:10.1002/pssb.200844238Errandonea, D., Manjón, F. J., Garro, N., Rodríguez-Hernández, P., Radescu, S., Mujica, A., … Tu, C. Y. (2008). Combined Raman scattering andab initioinvestigation of pressure-induced structural phase transitions in the scintillatorZnWO4. Physical Review B, 78(5). doi:10.1103/physrevb.78.054116Ruiz-Fuertes, J., López-Moreno, S., Errandonea, D., Pellicer-Porres, J., Lacomba-Perales, R., Segura, A., … González, J. (2010). High-pressure phase transitions and compressibility of wolframite-type tungstates. Journal of Applied Physics, 107(8), 083506. doi:10.1063/1.3380848Lacomba-Perales, R., Errandonea, D., Martinez-Garcia, D., Rodríguez-Hernández, P., Radescu, S., Mujica, A., … Polian, A. (2009). Phase transitions in wolframite-typeCdWO4at high pressure studied by Raman spectroscopy and density-functional theory. Physical Review B, 79(9). doi:10.1103/physrevb.79.094105Manjón, F. J., López-Solano, J., Ray, S., Gomis, O., Santamaría-Pérez, D., Mollar, M., … Muñoz, A. (2010). High-pressure structural and lattice dynamical study ofHgWO4. Physical Review B, 82(3). doi:10.1103/physrevb.82.035212Kresse, G., & Hafner, J. (1993). Ab initiomolecular dynamics for liquid metals. Physical Review B, 47(1), 558-561. doi:10.1103/physrevb.47.558Kresse, G., & Furthmüller, J. (1996). Efficient iterative schemes forab initiototal-energy calculations using a plane-wave basis set. Physical Review B, 54(16), 11169-11186. doi:10.1103/physrevb.54.11169Blöchl, P. E. (1994). Projector augmented-wave method. Physical Review B, 50(24), 17953-17979. doi:10.1103/physrevb.50.17953Perdew, J. P., Ruzsinszky, A., Csonka, G. I., Vydrov, O. A., Scuseria, G. E., Constantin, L. A., … Burke, K. (2008). Restoring the Density-Gradient Expansion for Exchange in Solids and Surfaces. Physical Review Letters, 100(13). doi:10.1103/physrevlett.100.136406Monkhorst, H. J., & Pack, J. D. (1976). Special points for Brillouin-zone integrations. Physical Review B, 13(12), 5188-5192. doi:10.1103/physrevb.13.5188Blanco, M. A., Francisco, E., & Luaña, V. (2004). GIBBS: isothermal-isobaric thermodynamics of solids from energy curves using a quasi-harmonic Debye model. Computer Physics Communications, 158(1), 57-72. doi:10.1016/j.comphy.2003.12.001Kresse, G., Furthmüller, J., & Hafner, J. (1995). Ab initioForce Constant Approach to Phonon Dispersion Relations of Diamond and Graphite. Europhysics Letters (EPL), 32(9), 729-734. doi:10.1209/0295-5075/32/9/005Wahl, R., Vogtenhuber, D., & Kresse, G. (2008). SrTiO3andBaTiO3revisited using the projector augmented wave method: Performance of hybrid and semilocal functionals. Physical Review B, 78(10). doi:10.1103/physrevb.78.104116Jeitschko, W., & Sleight, A. W. (1973). The crystal structure of HgMoO4 and related compounds. Acta Crystallographica Section B Structural Crystallography and Crystal Chemistry, 29(4), 869-875. doi:10.1107/s056774087300347

Improvement of convective drying of carrot by applying power ultrasound. Influence of mass load density

[EN] Power ultrasound is considered to be a novel and promising technology with which to improve heat and mass transfer phenomena in drying processes. The aim of this work was to contribute to the knowledge of ultrasound application to air drying by addressing the influence of mass load density on the ultrasonically assisted air drying of carrot. Drying kinetics of carrot cubes were carried out (in triplicate) with or without power ultrasound application (75 W, 21.7 kHz) at 40 C, 1 m/s, and several mass load densities: 12, 24, 36, 42, 48, 60, 72, 84, 96, 108, and 120 kg/m3 . The experimental results showed a significant (p < 0.05) influence of both factors, mass load density and power ultrasound application, on drying kinetics. As expected, the increase of mass load density did not affect the effective moisture diffusivity (De, m2 /s) but produced a reduction of the mass transfer coefficient (k, kg water/m2 /s). This was explained by considering perturbations in the air flow through the drying chamber thus creating preferential pathways and, as a consequence, increasing external mass transfer resistance. On the other hand, it was found that the power ultrasound application increased the mass transfer coefficient and the effective moisture diffusivity regardless of the mass load density used. However, the influence of power ultrasound was not significant at the highest mass load densities tested (108 and 120 kg/m3 ), which may be explained from the high ratio (acoustic energy/sample mass) found under those experimental conditions. Therefore, the application of ultrasound was considered as a useful technology with which to improve the convective drying, although its effects may be reduced at high mass load densities.The authors acknowledge the financial support of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology (DPI2009-14549-C04-04) and the Universidad Politecnica de Valencia (PAID-06-08-3180).Cárcel Carrión, JA.; García Pérez, JV.; Riera, E.; Mulet Pons, A. (2011). Improvement of convective drying of carrot by applying power ultrasound. Influence of mass load density. Drying Technology. 29(2):174-182. https://doi.org/10.1080/07373937.2010.483032S17418229

Living biointerfaces based on non-pathogenic bacteria to direct cell differentiation

Genetically modified Lactococcus lactis, non-pathogenic bacteria expressing the FNIII7-10 fibronectin fragment as a protein membrane have been used to create a living biointerface between synthetic materials and mammalian cells. This FNIII7-10 fragment comprises the RGD and PHSRN sequences of fibronectin to bind α5β1 integrins and triggers signalling for cell adhesion, spreading and differentiation. We used L. lactis strain to colonize material surfaces and produce stable biofilms presenting the FNIII7-10 fragment readily available to cells. Biofilm density is easily tunable and remains stable for several days. Murine C2C12 myoblasts seeded over mature biofilms undergo bipolar alignment and form differentiated myotubes, a process triggered by the FNIII7-10 fragment. This biointerface based on living bacteria can be further modified to express any desired biochemical signal, establishing a new paradigm in biomaterial surface functionalisation for biomedical applications

Sistema experto para apoyo del proceso de despacho de trámites de un organismo judicial

Si bien existe un creciente interés en el desarrollo de sistemas de inteligencia artificial, por parte de los organismos gubernamentales en todo el mundo, es toda-vía muy poco lo realmente desarrollado. Este trabajo llevado adelante en forma inter-disciplinaria entre especialistas del área Jurídica provincial, técnicos de la Corte Suprema de la Provincia de Bs.As. e Investigadores de la Universidad Nacional de La Matanza, aborda el análisis, diseño y construcción de una herramienta informática que ayude a la sistematización y optimización de varios de los procesos judiciales que actualmente se realizan en forma manual o semiautomática en dicho juzgado. Este desarrollo, que se denomina “Experticia”, pretende dar soporte a los operadores de la justicia en su decisión para la resolución de una causa. De esta manera se busca estandarizar el proceso de despacho de trámites, y a la vez agilizar y reducir los tiempos de carga, minimizando posibles errores como en el ingreso de datos. A partir de las bases de información generadas con Experticia sentarán las bases para a futuro aplicar otras técnicas asociadas a la Inteligencia Artificial en búsqueda de la optimización de los procesos.Sociedad Argentina de Informática e Investigación Operativ

Measurement of 73 Ge(n,γ) cross sections and implications for stellar nucleosynthesis

© 2019 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V.73 Ge(n,γ) cross sections were measured at the neutron time-of-flight facility n_TOF at CERN up to neutron energies of 300 keV, providing for the first time experimental data above 8 keV. Results indicate that the stellar cross section at kT=30 keV is 1.5 to 1.7 times higher than most theoretical predictions. The new cross sections result in a substantial decrease of 73 Ge produced in stars, which would explain the low isotopic abundance of 73 Ge in the solar system.Peer reviewe

Counteracting gradients of light and soil nutrients in the understorey of Mediterranean oak forests.

The forest canopy modifies the availability of resources (light, water, and soil nutrients) in the understorey. In this paper we analyze the relationships between woody canopy density, litter accumulation, and topsoil N and P availability in the understorey of two oak forests: one in southern Portugal and the other in southern Spain. Both forests persist on low-nutrient soils, particularly poor in P. We hypothesize that direct and indirect effects of the canopy overstorey cause opposite gradients in the availability of essential resources (light and key soil nutrients) in the understorey. In both studied forests we found significant relationships between the overall canopy density, light availability, topsoil litter accumulation, and the availability of N and P, which frequently limit plant growth. Path analysis (by Shipley’s d-sep method) showed that the available data were consistent with the proposed causal model. The average values of soil variables at the end quartiles of the light-availability gradient were compared. Results showed large differences in litter accumulation (~30×) and available-N and -P topsoil concentrations (~3×) in the Spanish forest (with the wider environmental gradient). Furthermore, P increased from the ‘very low’ range to the ‘low’ or even the ‘optimum’ range of availability (according to standard plant growth criteria), which suggests potential effects on the growth of the understorey plant species. We conclude that the counteracting gradients of the essential resources -light and nutrients- in the forest understorey resulted from direct and indirect effects of the canopy overstorey, respectively. We suggest that these counteracting effects of the woody canopy on essential resources of different nature must be considered when interpreting the patterns of understorey plant populations and communities.The spanish MEC (CGL2005-05830-C03-01-BOS, DINAMED project) and the Portuguese FCT(SFRH/BD/8322/2002 grant to SMM)supported the research.Peer reviewe