Strain Effects on the Oxidation of CO and HCOOH at Au-Pd Core-Shell Nanoparticles

The mechanism of CO and HCOOH electrooxidation in an acidic solution on carbon-supported Au–Pd core–shell nanoparticles was investigated by differential electrochemical mass spectrometry and in situ Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Analysis performed in nanostructures with 1.3 ± 0.1 nm (CS1) and 9.9 ± 1.1 nm (CS10) Pd shells provides compelling evidence that the mechanism of adsorbed CO (COads) oxidation is affected by structural and electronic effects introduced by the Au cores. In the case of CS10, a band associated with adsorbed OH species (OHads) is observed in the potential range of CO oxidation. This feature is not detected in the case of CS1, suggesting that the reaction follows an alternative mechanism involving COOHads species. The faradaic charge associated with COads oxidation as well as the Stark slope measured from FTIR indicates that the overall affinity and orbital coupling of CO to Pd are weaker for CS1 shells. FTIR spectroscopy also revealed the presence of HCOOads intermediate species only in the case of CS1. This observation allowed us to conclude that the higher activity of CS10 toward this reaction is due to a fast HCOOads oxidation step, probably involving OHads, to generate CO2. Density functional theory calculations are used to estimate the contributions of the so-called ligand and strain effects on the local density of states of the Pd d-band. The calculations strongly suggest that the key parameter contributing to the change in mechanism is the effective lattice strain

“Desarrollo de un software para la empresa “Leterago del Ecuador S.A.” que permitirá la gestión de inventario de licencias para el departamento de TI”

Este proyecto tuvo como objetivo desarrollar un software que facilite el cumplimiento de la gestión de inventarios de licencias en el departamento de TI de la empresa "Leterago del Ecuador SA", apoyado por la metodología ágil SCRUM, ya que en el proceso se involucró a todos los interesados y desarrolladores. Este proyecto fue respuesta a la necesidad de automatizar el proceso de gestión de licencias ya que actualmente el departamento de TI de la empresa cuenta con un control manual de licencias, el cual puede estar sujeto a errores o pérdida de información. El documento se ha dividido en cuatro capítulos. El capítulo uno explica la situación actual de la empresa, el capítulo dos trae algunos conceptos teóricos de los componentes utilizados, el capítulo tres muestra el diseño de la solución y el capítulo cuatro reporta los resultados de las pruebas de software. Esta aplicación para la administración del control de licencias de software ha supuesto un gran cambio ya que el producto final reduce y automatiza el trabajo respecto a cómo se hacía anteriormente.This project was having the aim of developing software that facilitates compliance with license inventory management in the IT department of the company "Leterago del Ecuador SA", aided by the agile SCRUM methodology, since throughout stakeholders and developers were involved in the process. This project was answer to the need to automate license management process since currently the IT department of the company has a license manual control, which may be subject to errors or loss of information. The document has been divided into four chapters. Chapter one explains the current situation of the company, chapter two brings some theoretical concepts of the components used, chapter three shows the design of the solution and chapter four report the results of the software tests. This application to the administration of the control of software licenses has made a great change since the final product reduces and automated the work compared to how it was done previously

Fusarium spp. en el cultivo de maíz: Identificación, distribución geográfica, sintomatología, micotoxinas, ciclo de la enfermedad, control, y desafíos actuales y futuros

Corn ear rot caused by species of the Fusarium genus is one of the many problems faced by producers worldwide due to its wide geographical distribution, leading to various diseases such as stalk, root, and ear rot. The identification of the pathogen can be carried out through morphological and molecular techniques, with the latter being necessary for species-level identification. Additionally, the pathogen can produce mycotoxins such as Deoxynivalenol (DON), Zearalenone (ZEA), and Fumonisins (FB), which contaminate the grain, posing a risk to both human and animal health. It has been reported that the pathogen can survive in crop residues, entering the plant through the roots, often via wounds caused by insects or agricultural practices. Once inside the roots, the phytopathogen colonizes the xylem vessels and is transported through the plant's vascular system, spreading systemically within the plant, colonizing the stalk and other vascular tissues, and eventually reaching the ear. The introduction of resistant cultivars, crop residue management, irrigation, and biological control of diseases are key strategies in agricultural practices to reduce the incidence and spread of diseases caused by Fusarium. However, current and future challenges include the increasing resistance of strains, distribution, and methods for pathogen identification.La pudrición de mazorca de maíz ocasionada por especies del género Fusarium es uno de los varios problemas que enfrentan los productores a nivel mundial debido a su amplia distribución geográfica, ocasionando varias enfermedades como pudrición de tallo, raíz y mazorca. La identificación del patógeno se realiza a través de técnicas morfológicas y moleculares, siendo la última necesaria para identificación a nivel de especies. Además, el patógeno tiene la capacidad de producir micotoxinas como Deoxinivalenol (DON), Zearalenona (ZEA) y Fumonisinas (FB) las cuales contaminan el grano llegando a representar un riesgo tanto para la salud humana como animal. Esta reportado que el patógeno puede llegar a sobrevivir en los restos del cultivo ingresando a la planta a través de las raíces, a menudo por heridas causadas por insectos o prácticas de cultivo, una vez dentro de las raíces, el fitopatógeno coloniza los vasos del xilema y se transporta a través del sistema vascular de la planta, transportándose sistémicamente dentro de la misma, colonizando el tallo y otros tejidos vasculares llegando así a la mazorca. El uso de cultivares resistentes, el manejo de residuos de cultivos, riego y control biológico de enfermedades son alternativas enmarcadas en las prácticas agrícolas para disminuir la incidencia y propagación de enfermedades causadas por Fusarium. Sin embargo, los desafíos actuales y futuros incluyen la creciente resistencia de los hongos y el impacto del cambio climático en la distribución y severidad de las enfermedades

COVID-19 in Pregnant Women, Maternal—Fetal Involvement, and Vertical Mother-to-Child Transmission: A Systematic Review

Pregnant women are included in the COVID-19 risk groups even if they do not have any pathology. This requires an analysis of research focused on pregnant women to understand the impact of SARS-CoV-2 on their condition. There is also a need to know whether there is vertical mother-to-child transmission, as well as other consequences in case the pregnant woman is infected and COVID-19 positive. A systematic review was carried out to analyze the existing information on the complications of a pregnant woman infected with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus and the possibility of vertical transmission from mother to child, registered in the PROSPERO website and searched in the PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL, and Cochrane Library databases. Finally, 22 articles were included in the review. The review suggests that vertical transmission from mother to child could be exceptionally possible at the time of delivery or breastfeeding, but not through the placenta. It is interesting to point out the good acceptance of vaccination by pregnant women, which may be the reason for the low infectivity. Further research on pregnant women should be carried out to provide evidence on vertical mother-to-child transmission and the role of breast milk in relation to SARS-CoV-2

Impacts of the Tropical Pacific/Indian Oceans on the Seasonal Cycle of the West African Monsoon

The current consensus is that drought has developed in the Sahel during the second half of the twentieth century as a result of remote effects of oceanic anomalies amplified by local land–atmosphere interactions. This paper focuses on the impacts of oceanic anomalies upon West African climate and specifically aims to identify those from SST anomalies in the Pacific/Indian Oceans during spring and summer seasons, when they were significant. Idealized sensitivity experiments are performed with four atmospheric general circulation models (AGCMs). The prescribed SST patterns used in the AGCMs are based on the leading mode of covariability between SST anomalies over the Pacific/Indian Oceans and summer rainfall over West Africa. The results show that such oceanic anomalies in the Pacific/Indian Ocean lead to a northward shift of an anomalous dry belt from the Gulf of Guinea to the Sahel as the season advances. In the Sahel, the magnitude of rainfall anomalies is comparable to that obtained by other authors using SST anomalies confined to the proximity of the Atlantic Ocean. The mechanism connecting the Pacific/Indian SST anomalies with West African rainfall has a strong seasonal cycle. In spring (May and June), anomalous subsidence develops over both the Maritime Continent and the equatorial Atlantic in response to the enhanced equatorial heating. Precipitation increases over continental West Africa in association with stronger zonal convergence of moisture. In addition, precipitation decreases over the Gulf of Guinea. During the monsoon peak (July and August), the SST anomalies move westward over the equatorial Pacific and the two regions where subsidence occurred earlier in the seasons merge over West Africa. The monsoon weakens and rainfall decreases over the Sahel, especially in August.Peer reviewe

Measurements of the pp → ZZ production cross section and the Z → 4ℓ branching fraction, and constraints on anomalous triple gauge couplings at √s = 13 TeV

Four-lepton production in proton-proton collisions, pp -> (Z/gamma*)(Z/gamma*) -> 4l, where l = e or mu, is studied at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV with the CMS detector at the LHC. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb(-1). The ZZ production cross section, sigma(pp -> ZZ) = 17.2 +/- 0.5 (stat) +/- 0.7 (syst) +/- 0.4 (theo) +/- 0.4 (lumi) pb, measured using events with two opposite-sign, same-flavor lepton pairs produced in the mass region 60 4l) = 4.83(-0.22)(+0.23) (stat)(-0.29)(+0.32) (syst) +/- 0.08 (theo) +/- 0.12(lumi) x 10(-6) for events with a four-lepton invariant mass in the range 80 4GeV for all opposite-sign, same-flavor lepton pairs. The results agree with standard model predictions. The invariant mass distribution of the four-lepton system is used to set limits on anomalous ZZZ and ZZ. couplings at 95% confidence level: -0.0012 < f(4)(Z) < 0.0010, -0.0010 < f(5)(Z) < 0.0013, -0.0012 < f(4)(gamma) < 0.0013, -0.0012 < f(5)(gamma) < 0.0013

MicroRNAs hsa-miR-99b, hsa-miR-330, hsa-miR-126 and hsa-miR-30c: Potential Diagnostic Biomarkers in Natural Killer (NK) Cells of Patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS)/ Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME)

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS/ME) is a complex multisystem disease of unknown aetiology which causes debilitating symptoms in up to 1% of the global population. Although a large cohort of genes have been shown to exhibit altered expression in CFS/ME patients, it is currently unknown whether microRNA (miRNA) molecules which regulate gene translation contribute to disease pathogenesis. We hypothesized that changes in microRNA expression in patient leukocytes contribute to CFS/ME pathology, and may therefore represent useful diagnostic biomarkers that can be detected in the peripheral blood of CFS/ME patients.miRNA expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from CFS/ME patients and healthy controls was analysed using the Ambion Bioarray V1. miRNA demonstrating differential expression were validated by qRT-PCR and then replicated in fractionated blood leukocyte subsets from an independent patient cohort. The CFS/ME associated miRNA identified by these experiments were then transfected into primary NK cells and gene expression analyses conducted to identify their gene targets.Microarray analysis identified differential expression of 34 miRNA, all of which were up-regulated. Four of the 34 miRNA had confirmed expression changes by qRT-PCR. Fractionating PBMC samples by cell type from an independent patient cohort identified changes in miRNA expression in NK-cells, B-cells and monocytes with the most significant abnormalities occurring in NK cells. Transfecting primary NK cells with hsa-miR-99b or hsa-miR-330-3p, resulted in gene expression changes consistent with NK cell activation but diminished cytotoxicity, suggesting that defective NK cell function contributes to CFS/ME pathology.This study demonstrates altered microRNA expression in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of CFS/ME patients, which are potential diagnostic biomarkers. The greatest degree of miRNA deregulation was identified in NK cells with targets consistent with cellular activation and altered effector function