Electrochemical treatment of aluminium alloy 7075 in aqueous solutions of imidazolium phosphonate and phosphate ionic liquids and scratch resistance of the resultant materials

The abilitiy of 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium ethylphosphonate ([ImPhosphonate]) and 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium diethylphosphate ([ImPhosphate]) ionic liquids (ILs) to interact with anodized Al7075 T6 aluminium alloy has been studied via electrochemical techniques under different applied potentials, inside and outside the passivation regions. SEM, EDX and XPS analysis have been used to study the composition of the surface coatings. The abrasion resistance after treatment with the ILs has been studied by scratch tests under progressive load, and compared with the performance of the unprotected material and the anodized alloy. While conventional anodization only improves the abrasion resistance of Al7075 in a 30%, the maximum reduction of the penetration depth, 86% with respect to Al7075 and 79% with respect to the anodized alloy, is obtained for the material treated with [ImPhosphonate] at 1 V, in the passivation region. Under these conditions, a phosphorus-containing alumina layer is formed. Applied voltages outside the passivation region for each IL activate the dissolution of the alumina layer and reduce abrasion resistance, not only with respect to the anodized material, but also with respect to the unprotected alloy.This work received the financial support of the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO, Spain) and the EU FEDER Program (Grant MAT2014-55384-P), and the Fundación Séneca, Agencia de Ciencia y Tecnología de la Región de Murcia for a “Ayuda a las Unidades y Grupos de Excelencia Científica de la Región de Murcia (Programa Séneca 2014)” (Grant 19877/GERM/14)

Effects of alternative cassava and taro feed on the carcass and meat quality of fattening pigs reared under Ecuadorian backyard systems

Ecuadorian small producers use crossbred animals with a low level of genetic improvement, which are fed with alternative feeds to decrease production costs. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of geographical location and three diets according to the amount of cassava and taro incorporated into the feed (T1 conventional feed; T2 and T3 with 32% and 42% of cassava and taro, respectively) in pigs reared under the backyard system. The results did not show many differences between the treatments for morphological traits; however, between geographical locations, significant differences were evidenced. The fat content from the first rib was higher in the T1 group. The intramuscular fat percentage was higher in the T1 group, contrary to the protein levels, which were higher in the T3 group in Esmeraldas and the T2 group in Ro Chico. In the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) and its attached organs, differences were found in the empty stomach weight, full and empty small intestine weight, liver weight, and total GIT weight, with the T2 and T3 groups having the largest and heaviest. Cassava and taro did not affect the morphometric behavior and quality of the carcass but increased the amount of protein in the meat and the weight of the GIT. Geographical location was also observed to have a significant effect

Tourism-related placeness feature extraction from social media data using machine learning models

The study of placeness has been focus for researchers trying to understand the impact of locations on their surroundings and tourism, the loss of it by globalization and modernization and its effect on tourism, or the characterization of the activities that take place in them. Identifying places that have a high level of placeness can become very valuable when studying social trends and mobility in relation to the space in which the study takes place. Moreover, places can be enriched with dimensions such as the demographics of the individuals visiting such places and the activities the carry in them thanks to social media and modern machine learning and data mining methods. Such information can prove to be useful in fields such as urban planning or tourism as a base for analysis and decision-making or the discovery of new social hotspots or sites rich in cultural heritage. This manuscript will focus on the methodology to obtain such information, for which data from Instagram is used to feed a set of classification models that will mine demographics from the users based on graphic and textual data from their profiles, gain insight on what they were doing in each of their posts and try to classify that information into any of the categories discovered in this article. The goal of this methodology is to obtain, from social media data, characteristics of visitors to locations as a discovery tool for the tourism industry.Agencia Estatal de Investigación | Ref. PID2020-116040RB-I0

CO2 capture at low temperature by nanoporous silica modified with amine groups

MCM-41 and SBA-15 were chosen as nanoporous materials based on silica for its modification with aminegroups. This modification was done by two methods: grafting method and wet impregnation method. The firstmethod grafted-amine groups by chemical reaction between surface silanol groups in the nanoporousmaterials and 3-aminopropyltrimetoxilane (APTMS).In the wet impregnation method, low molecular weightpolyethylenimine (PEI) is incorporated trough this method. These modified materials capture CO2 at lowtemperature. CO2 capture on the sorption sites by amine loading is believed to occur via chemisorptionmechanism by formation of ammonium carbamate. The evaluation and analysis of CO2 adsorption was carriedout by two methods: static mode and dynamic mode. The static mode is a pure CO2 adsorption-desorptionisotherms at 298K. The isotherms of the functionalized materials show a behavior by chemisorption, captureat low pressure, being the desorption branch almost horizontal, while nanoporous silica isotherms is due aphysical adsorption, low CO2 capture at low pressure and dependence with pressure, a complete reversibilityof the desorption process. The dynamic mode is a thermogravimetry study at different N2/CO2 concentrations.Isothermal CO2 captures at 298K were carried out to evaluate the suitability of the samples for cyclicoperation. The mass increase during the capture step was interpreted as CO2 adsorption capacity of thesamples. The results obtained by both methods were compared, and, its differences were analyzed

Oral administration of zein-based nanoparticles reduces glycemia and improves glucose tolerance in rats

The aim was to evaluate the effect of zein-based nanoparticles on the glucose homeostasis, following oral administration to Wistar rats. For this purpose, bare nanoparticles (NP, with tropism for the upper intestinal regions) and poly(ethylene glycol)-coated nanoparticles (NP-PEG), with the capability to reach the ileum and cecum of animals, were evaluated. Both formulations were spherical in shape, displaying sizes around 200 nm and a negative surface zeta potential. The oral administration of a single dose of these nanoparticles to animals (50 mg/kg) induced a significant decrease of the glycemia, compared control rats and in animals treated with the free protein (p < 0.001). Moreover, these nanoparticles improved the glycemic control against an intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test; particularly NP-PEG. These findings would be due to an increased release of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) by L-cells, which are more abundant in distal regions of the intestine. In fact, the GLP-1 blood levels of animals treated with nanoparticles were significantly higher than controls (about 40 % and 60 % for NP and NP-PEG groups, respectively). This higher capability of NP-PEG, with respect to NP, to increase the release of GLP-1 and control glycemia would be related to its ability to reach the distal areas of the small intestine

Extraneous cognitive overload in the blended learning paradigm. Case study: Use of social networks in computer science courses

Social networks are becoming a standard way for sharing and collaborating between students and professors. Currently, our Class Website is not the primary source of information and materials. Professors are using a combination of these social networks. For instance, some classical LMS (Learning Management Systems) as Moodle with ludic or general purpose networks as Facebook. This strategy allows learners to access information in their favorite social network. However, gathering and processing this information implies a mental effort since there are multiple distractors (e.g., notifications and friends’ messages). A survey study asked college students, enrolled in computer sciences courses, to describe their behavior and perceptions regarding classroom use of social networks for learning purposes. The study included students of the program of Computer Engineering at the University of Zacatecas (Mexico). Respondents confirmed partially the hypothesis: Class Websites immersed in social networks (no academic ones) implied a heavier cognitive load. Learning tasks completion is affected in consequence. Finally, there is no important difference between using social networks inside and outside the classroom

Preparation and evaluation of PEG-coated zein nanoparticles for oral drug delivery purposes

The aim was to produce PEG-coated nanoparticles (NP-PEG), with mucus-permeating properties, for oral drug delivery purposes by using simple procedures and regulatory-approved compounds in order to facilitate a po- tential clinical development. For this purpose, zein nanoparticles were prepared by desolvation and, then, coated by incubation with PEG 35,000. The resulting nanocarriers displayed a mean size of about 200 nm and a negative zeta potential. The presence of PEG on the surface of nanoparticles was evidenced by electron microscopy and confirmed by FTIR analysis. Likely, the hydrophobic surface of zein nanoparticles (NP) was significantly reduce by their coating with PEG. This increase of the hydrophilicity of PEG-coated nanoparticles was associated with an important increase of their mobility in pig intestinal mucus. In laboratory animals, NP-PEG (fluorescently labelled with Lumogen® Red 305) displayed a different behavior when compared with bare nanoparticles. After oral administration, NP appeared to be trapped in the mucus mesh, whereas NP-PEG were capable of crossing the protective mucus layer and reach the epithelium. Finally, PEG-coated zein nanoparticles, prepared by a simple and reproducible method without employing reactive reagents, may be adequate carriers for promoting the oral bioavailability of biomacromolecules and other biologically active compounds with low permeability propertie

Combined exercise effects on metabolic syndrome

Few randomized trials have examined the optimal mode of exercise or combination of modalities for specific cardiometabolic health benefits [1-3] . Therefore, questions remain unaddressed whether strength training or endurance training alone improves cardiometabolic health in overweight adults; whether a combination of both provides additional improvements [4, 5]

Improved Performance of an Epoxy Matrix as a Result of Combining Graphene Oxide and Reduced Graphene

We present an easy and effective way to improve the mechanical properties of an epoxy matrix by reinforcing it with a combination of graphene oxide (GO) and reduced graphene oxide (RGO). These nanocomposites were prepared with different load of nanofillers: 0.1, 0.4, 0.7, 1.0 wt% and a neat epoxy. Ratios of graphene oxide and reduced graphene (GO : RGO) employed were: 0 : 1, 0.25 : 0.75, 0.5 : 0.5, 0.75 : 0.25, and 1 : 0. Results show that with only 0.4 wt% and a ratio 0.2 : 0.75 of GO : RGO, tensile strength and tensile toughness are 52% and 152% higher than neat epoxy while modulus of elasticity was improved ~20%. The obtained results suggest that it is possible achieve advantageous properties by combining graphene in oxidized and reduced conditions as it shows a synergic effect by the presence of both nanofillers

Modelos empíricos de la calidad de vida en pacientes con cáncer de mama

Capítulo de Libro sobre salida de vida en pacientes con cancer de mamaEl cáncer de mama es la primera causa de muerte en la población femenina en países con ingresos económicos altos, que genera un desgaste emocional en quien la padece; y a lo cual, la psicología busca identificar que recursos perso- nales internos y externos facilitan el mantenimiento de una adecuada calidad de vida de estos pacientes. Es así, que el objetivo de la presente investigación estuvo orientada en identificar si existe un modelo predictivo y/o explicativo ca- paz de fundamentar el efecto de distintos factores psicológicos (afrontamiento, apoyo social, resiliencia, ansiedad, depresión y estrés) sobre la calidad de vida de mujeres con cáncer de mama; se realizó a partir de la revisión sistemática, con la búsqueda de palabras clave: modelo, calidad de vida, cáncer de mama y factores psicológicos, en las bases Sage Journals, PudMed y Psycinfo; en las que se consideraron aquellos estudios (review, metanálisis y journals) del área de psicología, relacionados con calidad de vida de este tipo pacientes (con diagnós- tico y en fase activa de la enfermedad), mayores de 19 años; y de 2013 a 2017. De los cuales, se identificaron ocho estudios que permitieron la aproximación hacia el manejo de estos factores. Esto indica que existen intentos por tratar de explicar la relación de las variables psicológicas sobre la calidad de vida, pero aún no existe algún modelo capaz de explicar de forma integrada tanto aquellos factores que son considerados de protección como de riesgo hacia la calidad de vida del paciente