Characterization of commercial synthetic resins by pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry : application to modern art and conservation

To characterize a set of synthetic resins, a methodology by pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) has been developed. The studied reference materials were commercial versions of a wide range of synthetic resins. For each polymer, the pyrolytic and chromatographic conditions were optimized to adequately resolve the fragment mixture in a short time. The proposed analytical method does not require previous treatment of the sample, and due to its high sensitivity, only a small sample quantity in the microgram range can be used. The pyrolysis temperature was found to have little effect on the obtained pyrograms. The summarized data set for the individual polymer materials, especially the characteristic fragments with a structure close to the monomeric unit, was useful to identify commercial synthetic resins. These materials were used in the art and conservation field, as binding media, paint additives, painting varnishes, coatings, or consolidants. Two case studies are introduced where direct Py-GC/MS and thermally assisted hydrolysis and methylation GC/MS were applied on art objects: first, a modern gluing material of a medieval reverse glass painting, and the second example, the binding medium of a painting by Georg Baselitz (“Senta”, 1992/1993) from the Sammlung Moderne Kunst at the Pinakothek der Moderne, MunichVersió editoria

Implantación de las buenas prácticas de laboratorio en la asignatura "Química para las Ingenierias" en la Universitat Jaume I

Comunicación presentada en la V Jornada Nacional sobre Estudios Universitarios, celebrades en la Universitat Jaume I (Castellón, España), los dies 12 y 13 de Noviembre de 2015.En el presente artículo, se detalla la implementación de las Buenas Prácticas de Laboratorio (BPL) en el laboratorio de la asignatura «Química para las Ingenierías» (EX1006), impartida en varios grados de ingeniería (Agroalimentaria y del Medio Ambiente, Mecánica, Eléctrica, Tecnologías Industriales y Química) de la Universitat Jaume I. Las BLP son un conjunto de normas y procedimientos operativos acerca de la forma adecuada de organizar y trabajar en el laboratorio en una amplia variedad de disciplinas científicas, incluida la química. El principal objetivo de las BPL es asegurar la fiabilidad, estabilidad y calidad de los resultados. Para ello, se indica cómo el procedimiento experimental debe ser planificado, ejecutado, supervisado, anotado, registrado y archivado. Asimismo, proporciona recomendaciones para la gestión del laboratorio, en especial para minimizar el vertido de residuos tóxicos, e incrementar la seguridad laboral en el laboratorio. Varias organizaciones y agencias internacionales (industria farmacéutica, la Organización para la Cooperación y el Desarrollo Económicos, US Food and Drug Administration y la Comisión Europea), han desarrollado y promulgado varios conjuntos de normas BLP. La Universitat Jaume I considera que un conocimiento profundo y una aplicación adecuada de las BPL son muy importantes para desarrollar un trabajo correcto en el laboratorio químico. Por ello, los estudiantes de química deben ser conscientes desde el primer curso académico de su relevancia, así como conocer las normas principales y la forma de aplicarlas en el laboratorio. Por ello, las BPL se han incluido en la guía docente de la asignatura de Laboratorio de Química para las Ingenierías (1er curso académico) Además, los profesores deben centrarse en las BLP al impartir la docencia, para un correcto aprendizaje por parte de los estudiantes. Se requirió a los estudiantes que evaluasen el proceso de implantación y mostrasen su grado de aceptación de las BPL, mediante un cuestionario global de la asignatura. Como resultado final, se puede remarcar que los estudiantes comprendieron la utilidad de las BPL y la importancia de conocerlas para su futuro laboral, así como la necesidad de su inclusión en la guía docente de las asignatura de laboratorios de química

Design of the laboratory script by the students in chemistry practicals: Analysis of water

Comunicació presentada a INTED2018, 12th International Technology, Education and Development Conference. (March 5-7, 2018, Valencia, Spain).The laboratory practices during the Degree in Chemistry are currently designed so that the student must learn and execute a fully developed experimental protocol, previously written up by the professor, which contains all the information and requirements for the correct development of each laboratory session. Under these conditions, students do not need to take any initiative and, consequently, they do not put enough effort in reaching practical abilities with a well-based scientific criterion and do not try to think over the purpose of each lab operation, as well as the reason to use each material and/or each reagent. Thus, with the aim to promote a more active role of the students in their learning process and to improve their autonomy, a new laboratory practices design has been developed in this work, which follows methodologies on project-based cooperative learning: the students have been requested to elaborate themselves the laboratory script by pairs. With this innovative design, we pursue to involve the students in both elaboration and execution steps of the laboratory practicals, and then to increase their attention on them. Besides, the required bibliographic research would improve their knowledge about the studied topic and all aspects about the work at the laboratory. The practicals to-be-developed were related to the study of the physico-chemical quality of natural water, which has a high social relevance

Management of diversity in master classroom: an increasing challenge for science education in valencian universities

Comunicació presentada a INTED2018, 12th International Technology, Education and Development Conference. (March 5-7, 2018, Valencia, Spain).Currently, many foreign students study a Master degree at the Valencian Universities. We can find students, which have immigrated to Spain in the recent years, and then have partially or fully follow the Spanish curricula (High School and/or Grade), and others which have come specifically to study the Master, attracted by the reputation of the Universities and the job and way-of-life offered by the country, and then have achieved their Grade in their countries. This has increased the diversity of the students in the classrooms, related to the ethnic origin, mother language, study practices, background and integration in the society. The present work gives an overview on how students and teacher manage the heterogeneity and diversity in a Master classroom related to chemistry. The term “diversity” is first detailed prior to discussing explicit studies. Different aspects of diversity are stated. The personal experience of the foreign students to adapt to the Spanish courses and environment was investigated. The actions taken by the lecturer to take advantage of diversity and minimize its negative effects were examined. A comparison between the academic results obtained by international and national students is given. Finally, the attention will be focused on language, study practices and background, since these dimensions are frequently discussed in the Valencian context. The implications and opportunities that offer diversity for national but also for international science research are presented

International Physical Activity Questionnaire Short Form and accelerometer-assessed physical activity: concurrent validity using six cut-points in HF patients

Aims Physical activity (PA) is an important target for improving clinical outcomes in heart failure (HF) patients. Nonetheless, assessing the daily PA profile in this population is a challenging task, traditionally performed using self-report questionnaires such as the International PA Questionnaire Short Form (IPAQ-SF). This study aimed to evaluate the concurrent validity of the IPAQ-SF and accelerometer-assessed PA using six published cut-points in patients with HF and reduced or mildly reduced ejection fraction. Methods and results The concordance between the IPAQ-SF and a hip-worn accelerometer regarding daily time spent performing moderate to vigorous PA in bouts of at least 10 min was assessed in 53 participants for seven consecutive days using six different cut-points (Barnett, Dibben, Mark, Sanders, Troiano, and Vaha-Ypya). Spearman’s correlation and Bland–Altman plots were used to evaluate concurrent validity between methods. Regressions were used to study the association between patient variables, wear protocol (waking hour or 24 h), and absolute bias. The kappa index was used to evaluate the concordance between IPAQ-SF and accelerometry for classifying patients as active or non-active. All analyses were re-run using non-bouted metrics to investigate the effect of bouted versus non-bouted analysis. The IPAQ-SF and accelerometry showed low to negligible correlation (ρ = 0.12 to 0.37), depending on the cut-point used. The regression analysis showed that the absolute bias was higher in participants following the waking-hour protocol at all cut-points except Dibben’s (P ≤ 0.007). The concordance between the two methods to classify patients as active and non-active was low when using Mark (κ = 0.23) and Barnett (κ = 0.34) cut-points and poor for the remaining cut-points (κ = 0.03 to 0.18). The results of the sensitivity analysis showed negligible to low correlation using non-bouted metrics (ρ = 0.27 to 0.33). Conclusions Moderate to vigorous PA measures using IPAQ-SF and accelerometers are not equivalent, and we do not encourage researchers to use IPAQ-SF alone when assessing PA in HF patients. Moreover, applying personalized collection and processing criteria is important when assessing PA in HF patients. We recommend following the 24 h protocol and selecting cut-points calibrated in patients with cardiovascular diseases. Finally, it is necessary to develop a new tailored questionnaire that considers walking intensity and is adjusted to the current World Health Organisation recommendations, which use non-bouted metrics

An Innovative Project to Strengthen and Improve the Knowledge Acquisition in the Degree in Chemistry Using e-Learning Tools

Comunicació presentada a EDULEARN2018, 10th International Conference on Education and New Learning Technologies (July 2-4, 2018, Palma, Mallorca, Spain).The subject "Chemistry II (QU910)" is taught at first academic year (second semester) of the Degree in Chemistry at the University Jaume I. Some of its specific and general competencies are selflearning and writing and oral communication, regarding the main chemical concepts: chemical reactions, elements of the periodic table and calculations of the concentrations of the formed products and the remaining reagents in acid/base, complex, precipitation and redox reactions. We have noticed that 65% of the students have not studied any chemistry subjects (or only one) in High School or Professional Training before undertaking the Degree in Chemistry. The present project aims firstly to help these students to overcome their lack of background, secondly to compare the academic results of the students with and without previous contact with chemistry and finally, to establish actions to solve this prejudicial situation. This objective was reached by the implementation of a zero course, a course including the basic content of chemistry taught in the last years of High School, the month before the beginning of the first academic year. After the first year, students having attended chemistry before university obtained only 0.75/10 points more than the others. The Virtual Classroom, the emails and tutorial played an important role in the achievement of this zero-course

Effects of salt stress on plant growth, abscisic acid and salicylic acid in own-rooted cultivars of Vitis vinifera L.

Aim of study: In most areas of vineyards worldwide, cultivars are frequently grafted on specific rootstocks to avoid Daktulosphaira vitifoliae pest attack. Nevertheless, the absence of this pest in Canary Islands allowed the chance to conserve and cultivate traditional or new own-rooted genotypes without the requirement of the rootstocks. To investigate the responses of own-rooted genotypes of Vitis vinifera L. to salt stress conditions, ‘Castellana Negra’ (‘CN’) and ‘Negramoll’ (‘Ne’) were used with the aim to characterize their morphological and physiological responses.Area of study: Canary Islands, Spain.Material and methods: The effects of NaCl stress on growth, abscisic acid (ABA), salicylic acid (SA) and proline were assessed in ‘CN’ and ‘Ne’ under greenhouse conditions.Main results: In ‘CN’, the decrease of leaf number in stressed plants was lower and started eleven days later than in ‘Ne’. Salt stress also reduced stomatal conductance (gs), although such decrease took place earlier in ‘CN’ than in ‘Ne’. ABA and SA concentrations in ‘CN’ leaves were 2-fold higher than those of ‘Ne’. Salt stress increased leaf ABA and SA content in both genotypes, compared to control. In conclusion, ABA and SA appear to be involved in grapevines responses to salinity and suggest that exogenous SA could be useful to mitigate the stress impacts.Research highlights: ‘CN’ exhibited a better response than ‘Ne’ through the delay of salt injury establishment, and the dissimilar responses between ‘CN’ and ‘Ne’ seem to be associated to the higher accumulation of ABA and SA under salt stress

Proteínas morfogenéticas óseas (BMPs): Efecto de la proteína osteogénica-1 (OP-l/BMP-7) en la condrogénesis y osteogenesis

En la actualidad, los estudios sobre biología molecular han facilitado el análisis de ciertos factores de transformación del crecimiento tipo ß(TGF-ß)I, entre los que destaca una familia de proteínas morfogenéticas óseas (BMPs). Las técnicas de ingeniería genética han permitido replicar alguno de estos factores y localizar los genes que codifican dichas proteínas. La proteína osteogenics-1 (OP-1) ha sido caracterizada y sintetizada in vitro y muestra un elevado potencial osteogénico y condrogénico tanto in vivo como in vitro. Se presenta una revisión de los últimos avances en la aplicación experimental de las BMPs, y especialmente de la OP-1, en el área de la Cirugía Ortopédica y la TraumatologíaNowadays, molecular biology studies have promoted the bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) analysis. These multifunctional proteins are structurally related to transforming growth factor-6 (TGF-6). Genetic engineering techniques have allowed to sequence some of these BMPs. It has been characterized the expression and processing of osteogenic protein-1 (OP-1), a bone morphogenetic protein of the TGF-6 family. The OP-1 shows a high osteogenic and chondrogenic potential. The aim of this paper is to review some updated advances of the BMPs experimental applications, particularly OP-1, in relation to Orthopaedic Surgery and Traumatolog

ATLAS TileCal read-out driver system production and initial performance results

8 pages, 9 figures.-- ISI Article Identifier: 000251744500005The ATLAS Hadronic Tile Calorimeter detector (TileCal) is an iron-scintillating tiles sampling calorimeter designed to operate at the Large Hadron Collider accelerator at CERN. The central element of the back-end system of the TileCal detector is a 9U VME Read-Out Driver (ROD) board. The operation of the TileCal calorimeter requires a total of 32 ROD boards. This paper summarizes the tests performed during the ROD production and the results obtained. Data processing is performed in the ROD by digital signal processors, whose operation is based on the use of online algorithms such as the optimal filtering algorithm for the signal amplitude, pedestal and time reconstruction and the online Muon tagging algorithm which identifies low transverse momentum muons. The initial performance of both algorithms run during commissioning is also presented in this paper.This work was supported by the Spanish Technology and Science Commission under project FPA2003-09220-C02-02.Peer reviewe