Effects of nitrogen-doped multiwall carbon nanotubes on murine fibroblasts

"The effect of nitrogen-doped multiwall carbon nanotubes (CNx) on the proliferation of NIH-3T3murine fibroblasts is presented. CNTs were dispersed in distillated water and incubated with mammalian cells in order to evaluate their toxicity. Also, the influence of factors such as dosage (7 and 70 mu g/mL), exposure time (24 to 96 h), and the exposure route (before and after cell liftoff) on the cell proliferation was evaluated. When the CNx were simultaneously incubated with the cells, the control culture reached a maximum cell concentration of 1.3 x 10(5) +/- 3.4 x 10(4) cells per well at 96 h, whereas cultures with 7 mu g/mL reached a concentration of 2.6 x 10(4) +/- 5.3 x 10(3) cells. In the case of 70 mu g/mL of CNx most of the cells were dead. The CNx that were added 24 h after cell dissociation showed that live cells decreased, with a cell concentration of 9.6 x 10(4) +/- 9 x 10(3) for 7 mu g/mL and 5.5 x 10(4) +/- 9.5 x 10(3) for 70 mu g/mL, in contrast to control cultures with 1.1 x 10(6) +/- 1.5 x 10(4). The results showed that the CNx had cytotoxic effects depending on the concentration and exposure route.

CarbonNanotubesConjugatedwithTriazole-BasedTetrathiafulvalene-TypeReceptorsfor C60Recognition

Fullerene receptors prepared by a twofold CuI -catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) reaction with -extended tetrathiafulvalene (exTTF) have been covalently linked to singlewalled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). The nanoconjugates obtained were characterized by several analytical, spectroscopic and microscopic techniques (TEM, FTIR, Raman, TGA and XPS), and evaluated as C60 receptors by UV-Vis spectroscopy. The complexation between the exTTF-triazole receptor in the free state and C60 was also studied by UV-Vis and 1 H NMR titrations, and compared with analogous triazole-based tweezer-type receptors containing the electron-acceptor 11,11,12,12-tetracyano-9,10-anthraquinodimethane (TCAQ) and benzene rings instead of exTTF motifs, providing in all cases very similar values for the association constant (log Ka 3.0‒3.1). Theoretical density functional theory (DFT) calculations demonstrated that the enhanced interaction between the host and the guest upon increasing the size of the -conjugated arms of the tweezer is compensated by an increase in the energy penalty needed to distort the geometry of the host to wrap C60

Producción del paisaje en la industria del travel blogging: un estudio de caso

La producción contemporánea del paisaje no es ajena a las prácticas que ocurren en las plataformas sociodigitales. En tal sentido, en la presente investigación se estudian ciertas formas en que se instrumentalizan los paisajes turísticos con el objetivo de mercantilizar su componente visual desde la figura digital del travel blogger. Para ello, a través de la analítica cultural y la entrevista en profundidad, identificamos y comprendimos la retórica visual y las estrategias textuales empleadas por una travel blogger. Específicamente descargamos 450 publicaciones de su perfil de Instagram para distinguir los patrones de comunicación utilizados para instrumentalizar el paisaje en beneficio de la construcción de su personaje. Con la entrevista en profundidad contextualizamos los resultados desde la perspectiva de la microcelebridad. Los resultados indican cómo la presentación del paisaje es configurada desde ciertas estrategias que fragmentan el espacio en función de las cualidades estéticas del personaje, la exposición de los patrocinadores y el deseo por constituirse como una microcelebridad

Engineering without engines

El Trabajo Fin de Grado se plantea como un ejercicio de investigación sobre cómo afectan hoy en día las tecnologías a la sostenibilidad en la arquitectura a través de una serie de proyectos que incorporan la vanguardia tecnológica en el proceso de diseño de los edificios con un enfoque sostenible. Esto nos lleva a analizar la sostenibilidad como un componente integrado en la propia arquitectura en lugar de tratarla como un agente externo o que se incorpora a posteriori, lo cual nos invita a reflexionar acerca de los principios más básicos de la sostenibilidad, aquellos que ya estaban presentes en las construcciones más primitivas y que se han aplicado a lo largo de toda la historia de la arquitectura. De esta forma, tomando como ejemplo de referencia la arquitectura vernácula y viendo cómo ésta ha evolucionado hasta nuestros días, se reflexiona sobre cómo podemos aplicar esos mismos conceptos hoy en día con la posibilidad de complementarlos y potenciarlos en vez de sustituirlos por las tecnologías, generando edificios sostenibles social, económica y ambientalmente. Este análisis se llevará a cabo a través de una serie de obras de dos grandes estudios de arquitectura con una gran repercusión a nivel mundial, Foster & Partners y BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group), ya que se considera que ambos ejemplifican en su aproximación a la arquitectura los conceptos analizados, y a la vez, representan dos enfoques muy distintos a la hora de llevar a cabo estos principios así como en la forma de expresarlos, tanto con palabras como a través de la arquitectura. Se analizarán tres proyectos de cada uno, todos ellos desde el punto de vista del comportamiento general del edificio, tratándolos como grandes mecanismos que funcionan de manera conjunta y que se integran en el entorno en el que se ubican tratando de aprovechar al máximo las oportunidades que éste les ofrece

Sex-Specific Effects of High Yolk Androgen Levels on Constitutive and Cell-Mediated Immune Responses in Nestlings of an Altricial Passerine

Avian embryos are exposed to yolk androgens that are incorporated into the egg by the ovulating female. These steroids can affect several aspects of embryo development, often resulting in increases in overall size or the speed of growth of different traits. However, several studies suggest that they also entail immune costs to the offspring. In this study, we explored whether variation in yolk androgen concentration affected several measures of the constitutive and cell-mediated immune axes in the spotless starling (Sturnus unicolor). Using a within-brood design, we injected different doses of androgens (testosterone and androstenedione) into the eggs. Our study showed that experimentally increased yolk androgens led to sex-specific immunosuppression in both the innate and adaptive axes of the immune system. Both cell-mediated immune response (CMI) and lysozyme activity decreased with increasing androgen levels injected into the egg in the case of male nestlings, whereas there were no effects on females. The effects that we found were always linear: no quadratic or threshold patterns were detected. We found no effects of the experimental treatment in hemolysis or agglutination capacity, but these measures were negatively correlated with CMI, suggesting negative correlation among different branches of the immune system. Blood (trypanosomes and hemosporidians) and intestinal (coccidia) parasites were not affected by the experimental increase of yolk androgen levels. Our results show that in our study species yolk androgens induce immunosuppression in some axes of the male nestling immune system. Further studies should analyze the proximate causes for these contrasting effects in different axes of the immune system and the reason for the differential impact on males and females

Reconocimiento y fluctuación poblacional arvense en el cultivo de espinaca (spinacea oleracea l.) para el municipio de cota, cundinamarca

La presencia de arvenses en los cultivos influye en la cantidad y calidad del producto, sin embargo, los productores no consideran importante su manejo, ya que los daños no se observan directamente como en el caso de plagas o patógenos. En el presente trabajo se realizó un reconocimiento de arvenses asociadas al cultivo de espinaca, se compararon los resultados de fluctuación poblacional encontrados del 2003 al 2007 y se realizó una encuesta a los agricultores, con el fin de determinar el tipo de manejo que realizan. Los valores más importantes en términos de densidad (número de individuos en 0,25 m2) y cobertura (porcentaje de cobertura en 0,25 m2), se presentaron en las especies Urtica urens L. (25,85 y 20,54%), Capsella bursa-pastoris L. (1,78 y 6,71%), Ambrosia sp. (1,61 y 2,46%), Galinsoga ciliata L. (0,79 y 3,67%), Stellaria media (L.) Vill. (0,58 y 4,46%) y Chenopodium album L. (0,52 y 2,21%). Los agricultores que siembran espinaca en Cota se clasificaron en 6 grupos utilizando 31 variables y 251 modalidades; se concluyó que la variable más importante es el tipo de control de arvenses durante el ciclo de cultivo, que permite agruparlos en los que realizan control manual y aquellos que realizan control integrado y manual conjuntamente

Red-Light Irradiation of Horse Spermatozoa Increases Mitochondrial Activity and Motility through Changes in the Motile Sperm Subpopulation Structure

Previous studies in other mammalian species have shown that stimulation of semen with red-light increases sperm motility, mitochondrial activity, and fertilizing capacity. This study sought to determine whether red-light stimulation using a light emitting diode (LED) at 620-630 nm affects sperm motility and structure of motile subpopulations, sperm viability, mitochondrial activity, intracellular ATP levels, rate of O consumption and DNA integrity of horse spermatozoa. For this purpose, nine ejaculates were collected from nine different adult stallions. Upon collection, semen was diluted in Kenney extender, analyzed, its concentration was adjusted, and finally it was stimulated with red-light. In all cases, semen was packaged in 0.5-mL transparent straws, which were randomly divided into controls and 19 light-stimulation treatments; 6 consisted of a single exposure to red-light, and the other 13 involved irradiation with intervals of irradiation and darkness (light-dark-light). After irradiation, sperm motility was assessed using a Computerized Semen Analysis System (CASA). Flow cytometry was used to evaluate sperm viability, mitochondrial membrane potential and DNA fragmentation. Intracellular levels of ATP and O consumption rate were also determined. Specific red-light patterns were found to modify kinetics parameters (patterns: 4, 2-2-2, 3-3-3, 4-4-4, 5-1-5, and 5-5-5 min), the structure of motile sperm subpopulations (patterns: 2, 2-2-2, 3-3-3, and 4-1-4 min), mitochondrial membrane potential (patterns: 4, 3-3-3, 4-4-4, 5-1-5, 5-5-5, 15-5-15, and 15-15-15 min), intracellular ATP levels and the rate of O consumption (pattern: 4 min), without affecting sperm viability or DNA integrity. Since the increase in some kinematic parameters was concomitant with that of mitochondrial activity, intracellular ATP levels and O consumption rate, we suggest that the positive effect of light-irradiation on sperm motility is related to its impact upon mitochondrial activity. In conclusion, this study shows that red LED light stimulates motility and mitochondrial activity of horse sperm. Additional research is needed to address the impact of red-light irradiation on fertilizing ability and the mechanisms through which light exerts its effects

Analysis of a superbolide from a Damocloid observed over Spain on July 13, 2012

A superbolide with an estimated absolute magnitude of-20±1was seen on 2012 July 13 over the centre and south of Spain. This extraordinary event, which was witnessed by numerous casual observers, was recorded in the framework of the continuous fireball monitoring and meteor spectroscopy campaign performed by the SPanish Meteor Network (SPMN). Thus, because of optimal weather conditions, the bolide was imaged from 10 meteor observing stations. Here we present the analysis of this magnificent event, which is the brightest fireball ever recorded by our team. The atmospheric trajectory of the bolide and the orbit in the Solar system of the parent meteoroid were obtained. The emission spectrum produced during the ablation of this particle is also discussed.We found that the meteoroid, which was following a Halley Type Comet orbit, was depleted in Na and had a tensile strength one order of magnitude higher than that corresponding to typical cometary materials. By means of orbital analysis tools we have investigated the likely parent body of this particle and the results suggest that the progenitor is a damocloid. The impact area of the hypothetical remnants of the meteoroid is also given and a search for meteorites was performed, but none was found.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación AYA2009-13227 AYA2009-06330-E AYA2011-26522Junta de Andalucía P09-FQM-455

Lung Ultrasound, Clinical and Analytic Scoring Systems as Prognostic Tools in SARS-CoV-2 Pneumonia: A Validating Cohort

At the moment, several COVID-19 scoring systems have been developed. It is necessary to determine which one better predicts a poor outcome of the disease. We conducted a single-center prospective cohort study to validate four COVID-19 prognosis scores in adult patients with confirmed infection at ward. These are National Early Warning Score (NEWS) 2, Lung Ultrasound Score (LUS), COVID-19 Worsening Score (COWS), and Spanish Society of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology score (SEIMC Score). Our outcomes were the combined variable “poor outcome” (noninvasive mechanical ventilation, intubation, intensive care unit admission, and death at 28 days) and death at 28 days. Scores were analysed using univariate logistic regression models, receiver operating characteristic curves, and areas under the curve. Eighty-one patients were included, from which 21 had a poor outcome, and 9 died. We found a statistically significant correlation between poor outcome and NEWS2, LUS > 15, and COWS. Death at 28 days was statistically correlated with NEWS2 and SEIMC Score although COWS also performs well. NEWS2, LUS, and COWS accurately predict poor outcome; and NEWS2, SEIMC Score, and COWS are useful for anticipating death at 28 days. Lung ultrasound is a diagnostic tool that should be included in COVID-19 patients evaluation