Experimental scheme for unambiguous discrimination of linearly independent symmetric states

We propose an optimal discrimination scheme for a case of four linearly independent nonorthogonal symmetric quantum states, based on linear optics only. The probability of discrimination is in agreement with the optimal probability for unambiguous discrimination among N symmetric states [Phys. Lett. A \textbf{250}, 223 (1998)]. The experimental setup can be extended for the case of discrimination among $2^M$ nonorthogonal symmetric quantum states

Procedimiento de obtención de partículas de ZnO con morfología acicular

Referencia OEPM: P200001597.-- Fecha de solicitud: 27/06/2000.-- Titular: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC).Procedimiento de obtención de partículas de ZnO con morfología acicular. La presente invención utiliza el método de precipitación controlada para obtener partículas de ZnO con morfología acicular. A través del control de los parámetros de formación de precursores intermedios de compuestos de cinc y la evolución de dichos precursores intermedios mediante el lavado con agua destilada de la suspensión coloidal se obtiene hidróxido de cinc. La destilación entre 100-150°C de una suspensión acuosa del hidróxido de zinc produce la formación de partículas de óxido de cinc con morfología acicular. El tamaño de las partículas varía con las condiciones de obtención, siendo el tamaño estándar de 0.5 μm de diámetro y 5-8 μm de longitud. La eficacia del procedimiento es superior al 90%.Peer reviewe

Novel PITX2 Homeodomain-Contained Mutations from ATRIAL Fibrillation Patients Deteriorate Calcium Homeostasis

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia in the human population, with an estimated incidence of 1¿2% in young adults but increasing to more than 10% in 80+ years patients. Pituitary Homeobox 2, Paired Like Homeodomain 2 (PITX2c) loss-of-function in mice revealed that this homeodomain (HD)-containing transcription factor plays a pivotal role in atrial electrophysiology and calcium homeostasis and point to PITX2 as a candidate gene for AF. To address this issue, we recruited 31 AF patients for genetic analyses of both the known risk alleles and PITX2c open reading frame (ORF) re-sequencing. We found two-point mutations in the homedomain of PITX2 and three other variants in the 5¿untranslated region. A 65 years old male patient without 4q25 risk variants but with recurrent AF displayed two distinct HD-mutations, NM_000325.5:c.309G>C (Gln103His) and NM_000325.5:c.370G>A (Glu124Lys), which both resulted in a change within a highly conserved amino acid position. To address the functional impact of the PITX2 HD mutations, we generated plasmid constructs with mutated version of each nucleotide variant (MD4 and MD5, respectively) as well as a dominant negative control construct in which the PITX2 HD was lacking (DN). Functional analyses demonstrated PITX2c MD4 and PITX2c MD5 decreased Nppa-luciferase transactivation by 50% and 40%, respectively, similar to the PITX2c DN (50%), while Shox2 promoter repression was also impaired. Co-transactivation with other cardiac-enriched co-factors, such as Gata4 and Nkx2.5, was similarly impaired, further supporting the pivotal role of these mutations for correct PITX2c function. Furthermore, when expressed in HL1 cardiomyocyte cultures, the PITX2 mutants impaired endogenous expression of calcium regulatory proteins and induced alterations in sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) calcium accumulation. This favored alternating and irregular calcium transient amplitudes, causing deterioration of the beat-to-beat stability upon elevation of the stimulation frequency. Overall this data demonstrate that these novel PITX2c HD-mutations might be causative of atrial fibrillation in the carrier.This work was supported by grants from The Spanish Ministry of Science Innovation and Universities [SAF2017-88019-C3-1-R] to L.H.-M. V.J.-S. was employed by CIBERCV [RD12/0042/0002] grant. Work was also supported by a PhD scholarship [FPU18/01250] to S.C., and partially funded by grants from Generalitat de Catalunya [SGR2017-1769] and Fundació Marato TV3 [20152030] to L.H.-M., a translational CNIC grant [2009/08] to D.F., R.C. and L.H.-M. and a grant-in-aid from the Junta de Andalucia Regional Council to D.F. and A.A. [CTS-446]

Biological and chemical factors controlling the patchy distribution of soil water repellency among plant species in a Mediterranean semiarid forest

Natural soil water repellency is a property that has already been observed in forest soils and is characterized by its patchy distribution. There are many factors involved in its development. In this work, we have studied a large number of chemical and biological factors under the influence of different plant species (. Pinus halepensis, Quercus rotundifolia, Cistus albidus and Rosmarinus officinalis) to learn which has the greatest responsibility for its presence and persistence in the top-soil layer. We observed strong and significant correlations between ergosterol, glomalin related soil protein (GRSP), extractable lipids, soil organic matter (SOM) content and water repellency (WR). Our results suggested lipid fraction as the principal factor. Moreover, apart from Pinus, fungal biomass seems to be also related to the SOM content. Soil WR found under Pinus appears to be the most influenced by fungi. Quality of SOM, to be precise, lipid fraction could be responsible for WR and its relationship with fungal activity.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad CGL2010- 21670-C02-01, CGL2012-38655-C04-0

Las comunidades terapéuticas como tratamiento para las drogodependencias: una revisión sistemática del seguimiento a corto plazo

Objetivo. Las comunidades terapéuticas (CT) constituyen uno de los tratamientos más extensos para las drogodependencias; sin embargo, su investigación es escasa. El objetivo fue realizar una revisión sistemática para conocer los elementos metodológicos de los estudios de seguimiento a corto plazo y, a su vez, describir las consecuencias de las CT. Material y método. Se aplicó el "Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and meta- Analyses" (PRISMA) para la búsqueda en Medline, PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES y PsycCRITIQUES de estudios de seguimiento a corto plazo de CT entre 1980 y 2010. Resultados. El seguimiento consiste en un registro inicial y, al menos, otro al medio año de tratamiento; la muestra mínima contiene 60 usuarios con una mayor prevalencia de hombres solteros;el 50% continúa en seguimiento y/o alcanza la abstinencia. Conclusión. Las CT parecen ser beneficiosas para el ajuste del consumo y otros aspectos psicosociales, aunque la falta de información dificulta garantizar la comparación de estos hallazgos. © 2013 Elsevier España, S.L. y SET. Todos los derechos reservados

The 4q25 variant rs13143308T links risk of atrial fibrillation to defective calcium homeostasis

Aims: Single nucleotide polymorphisms on chromosome 4q25 have been associated with risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) but the exiguous knowledge of the mechanistic links between these risk variants and underlying electrophysiological alterations hampers their clinical utility. Here, we here tested the hypothesis that 4q25 risk variants cause alterations in the intracellular calcium homeostasis that predispose to spontaneous electrical activity. Methods and results: Western blotting, confocal calcium imaging, and patch-clamp techniques were used to identify mechanisms linking the 4q25 risk variants rs2200733T and rs13143308T to defects in the calcium homeostasis in human atrial myocytes. Our findings revealed that the rs13143308T variant was more frequent in patients with AF and that myocytes from carriers of this variant had a significantly higher density of calcium sparks (14.1±4.5 vs. 3.1±1.3 events/min, p¿=¿0.02), frequency of transient inward (ITI) currents (1.33±0.24 vs. 0.26±0.09 events/min, p¿<¿0.001) and incidence of spontaneous membrane depolarizations (1.22±0.26 vs. 0.56±0.17 events/min, p¿=¿0.001) than myocytes from patients with the normal rs13143308G variant. These alterations were linked to higher sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium loading (10.2±1.4 vs. 7.3±0.5amol/pF, p¿=¿0.01), SERCA2 expression (1.37±0.13 fold, p¿=¿0.03) and RyR2 phosphorylation at s2808 (0.67±0.08 vs. 0.47±0.03, p¿=¿0.01) but not at s2814 (0.28±0.14 vs. 0.31±0.14, p¿=¿0.61) in patients carrying the rs13143308T risk variant. Furthermore, the presence of a risk variant or AF independently increased the ITI frequency and the increase in the ITI frequency observed in carriers of the risk variants was exacerbated in those with AF. By contrast, the presence of a risk variant did not affect the amplitude or properties of the L-type calcium current in patients with or without AF. Conclusions: We here identify the 4q25 variant rs13143308T as a genetic risk marker for AF, specifically associated with excessive calcium release and spontaneous electrical activity linked to increased SERCA2 expression and RyR2 phosphorylationThis work was supported by multi-centric grants from Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares [CNIC-2009-08 to L.H.-M. and D.F.]; a grant from Fundacio´ Marato´ TV3 [2015-20-30 to L.H.-M.]; and grants from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competition [SAF2014-58286-C2-1-R to L.H.-M.] and [DPI2013-44584-R to R.B.]; and from the Spanish Ministry of Health and Consume, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Red de Investigacio´n Cardiovascular [RD12/0042/0002] and CIBERCV to J.C., and from Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER)