Organic ambipolar semiconductors for TFT applications

In the last years we have devoted some effort to the search of new high-mobility semiconductors with ambipolar performances, good processability and environmental stability. Our approach, which is one of the most widely used, consists in the combination of donor and acceptor moieties in the conjugated skeleton, which allows fine tuning of the frontier molecular orbitals. For OTFT applications, low-lying HOMOs are essential to resist air oxidation and thus increase device stability. However, if the HOMO energy is too low, the resulting barrier to hole injection may compromise the transistor performance. Thus, a delicate balance between these two effects is needed. In particular, we have combined naphthaleneimide-derived moieties as electron accepting groups with electron-rich oligothiophene fragments. In these materials, we have found that the presence of ambipolar transport in these planar molecules can be understood on the basis of three interrelated properties: (i) the absence of skeletal distortions allows closer intermolecular pi-pi stacking and enhanced intramolecular pi-conjugation, (ii) increased pi-conjugation raises the HOMO energy, which approaches the Fermi level of common used electrodes; and (iii) more planar structures translate into lower Marcus reorganization energies. However, one of the limitations of these types of semiconductors is the presence of a molecular dipole moment, which forces the molecules to pack with pairwise intermolecular interactions orienting the naphthaleneimide cores in opposite directions, decreasing in some cases molecular orbitals overlapping. In recent contributions, we have devoted our efforts to analyze the effect of molecular interactions, through chemical modifications in order to induce parallel and antiparallel molecular packing, on the electronic properties of ambipolar semiconductors.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Significado de la anemia en las diferentes etapas de la vida

Overview: Anemia is very common in primary care consultations and pediatrics, and IDA is the cause of 50% of all cases of anemia. Methodology: Literature review and documentary descriptive analysis of the pathogenesis of iron-deficiency anemia, the basic diagnostic tests to study IDA and the significance of such using a specific time period in the documentary search and inclusion criteria that takes into account factors that are analyzed in the study: Ideas about the metabolism of iron. Ideas about hematopoiesis. Laboratory diagnosis and classification of anemia. Clinical features of iron deficiency anemia. Causes of iron deficiency. Results and conclusion: The staged documentary study covers the publications on the pathogenesis of iron deficiency anemia, the basic diagnostic tests to study the IDA and the significance of such, and it shows how important this data is for professional nursing in the area of primary care and pediatrics, to identify it and act accordingly.Resumen: La anemia presenta una elevada prevalencia en las consultas de atención primaria y pediatría, y la ADH representa el 50% de todos los casos de anemia. Metodología: Revisión bibliográfica y análisis descriptivo documental sobre etiopatogenia de la anemia ferropénica, las pruebas diagnósticas básicas para el estudio de la ADH  y su significado, utilizando una temporalidad determinada en la búsqueda documental y criterios de inclusión atendiendo a las dimensiones que se analizan en el estudio: Nociones acerca del metabolismo del hierro. Nociones acerca de la hematopoyesis. Diagnóstico por el laboratorio y clasificación de las anemias. Clínica de la anemia ferropénica. Causas de la deficiencia de hierro. Resultados y conclusión: EL estudio documental efectuado nos presenta la existencia de publicaciones con contenidos sobre etiopatogenia de la anemia ferropénica, las pruebas diagnósticas básicas para el estudio de la ADH  y su significado, evidenciando la importancia de este contenido para el profesional de enfermería en el área de la atención primaria y pediatría

Uprolides N, O and P from the Panamanian Octocoral Eunicea succinea.

Three new diterpenes, uprolide N (1), uprolide O (2), uprolide P (3) and a known one, dolabellane (4), were isolated from the CH₂Cl₂-MeOH extract of the gorgonian octocoral Eunicea succinea, collected from Bocas del Toro, on the Caribbean coast of Panama. Their structures were determined using spectroscopic analyses, including 1D and 2D NMR and high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) together with molecular modeling studies. Compounds 1-3 displayed anti-inflammatory properties by inhibiting production of Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) and Interleukin (IL)-6 induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in murine macrophages

Robots Liability: A Use Case and a Potential Solution

In this chapter, a system of distribution of responsibility for damages caused by robots is introduced, and its practical application on the results obtained in the real experiences at the University of Almería (Spain) is analyzed. The attribution of liability for damages produced by autonomous agents usually focuses the theoretical discussion on legal and ethical fields on robotics. The European Parliament adopted the report with recommendations to the Commission on Civil Law Rules on Robotics (2015/2103(INL)) in February 2017. This work includes the master guidelines that the European Commission should take into account to legislate this technology. In its attempt to attribute responsibility for damages caused by robots, the Committee considers that once responsible parties have been identified, their liability level should range, looking the robot’s learning capability and the knowledge learned from its owner. This work proposes the use of responsibility setting matrix as a mechanism to distribute liabilities between the robot, the manufacturer, and the owner, depending on the knowledge programmed by the manufacturer and the one acquired by the robot (through its learning ability and the adjustments made by the owner), that would distribute the responsibility for damages among the three agents involved

Low molecular weight ϵ-caprolactone-pcoumaric acid copolymers as potential biomaterials for skin regeneration applications

ϵ-caprolactone-p-coumaric acid copolymers at different mole ratios (ϵ-caprolactone:p-coumaric acid 1:0, 10:1, 8:1, 6:1, 4:1, and 2:1) were synthesized by melt-polycondensation and using 4-dodecylbenzene sulfonic acid as catalyst. Chemical analysis by NMR and GPC showed that copolyesters were formed with decreasing molecular weight as p-coumaric acid content was increased. Physical characteristics, such as thermal and mechanical properties, as well as water uptake and water permeability, depended on the mole fraction of pcoumaric acid. The p-coumarate repetitive units increased the antioxidant capacity of the copolymers, showing antibacterial activity against the common pathogen Escherichia coli. In addition, all the synthesized copolyesters, except the one with the highest concentration of the phenolic acid, were cytocompatible and hemocompatible, thus becoming potentially useful for skin regeneration applications

Casimir torque

We develop a formalism for the calculation of the flow of angular momentum carried by the fluctuating electromagnetic field within a cavity bounded by two flat anisotropic materials. By generalizing a procedure employed recently for the calculation of the Casimir force between arbitrary materials, we obtain an expression for the torque between anisotropic plates in terms of their reflection amplitude matrices. We evaluate the torque in 1D for ideal and realistic model materials.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figs, Submitted to Proc. of QFEXT'05, to appear in J. Phys.

Flavonoid and Capsaicinoid Contents and Consumption of Mexican Chili Pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) Landraces

There is insufficient evidence to identify the precise health effects of chili pepper consumption. However, there is evidence of their topical use as an analgesic to decrease pain from rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, neuralgias, neuropathic diabetes, neuronal dysfunctions and inflammation, among others. In this work, the diversity and variety of consumed forms of chilis in Mexico, flavonoid and capsaicinoid content in fruits, and their potential health uses are documented, based on various research results and bibliographic information. In Mexico, more than 150 landraces of wild and cultivated origins are consumed and preserved and are distributed throughout the country; the greatest diversity is concentrated in the central and south-southeastern regions. Consumption per capita in urban households is from 8 to 9 kg, and in rural communities, it varies from 14 to 17 kg. Chili peppers contain up to 23 flavonoids and 20 capsaicinoids, differing among landraces because of crop management, maturation of fruits, postharvest management and ecological-environmental influences. Flavonoids and capsaicinoids confer antioxidant, anticarcinogenic properties on the fruit and have lipolytic and preventative effects on chronic degenerative diseases. However, in vitro and in vivo experimental trials of capsaicinoids and flavonoids with beneficial effects must be conducted with regard to human health

FERTILIZACIÓN FOSFÓRICA Y POTÁSICA DE LA YUCA (MANIHOT SCULENTA, CRANTZ) EN ROTACIÓN DE CULTIVOS

Con el objetivo de determinar el posible efecto directo y residual del fósforo y el potasio en el rendimiento de la yuca colocada al final de la secuencia de cultivos y en el contenido de nutrientes en el suelo, se estudiaron diferentes sistemas de fertilización fosfórica y potásica en dos experimentos estacionarios sobre un suelo Ferralítico Rojo Compactado de la Estación Experimental "Juan Tomás Roig" de la Universidad de Ciego de Ávila, con bajo contenido de fósforo y alto contenido de potasio, típico de la provincia de Ciego de Ávila. La base de los tratamientos consistió en variar las cantidades de cada uno de los nutrientes utilizados desde dosis cero hasta altas aplicaciones a largo plazo para toda la rotación. Se encontraron altos rendimientos de la yuca cuando el suelo se encuentra medianamente abastecido en fósforo (P).  Por otra parte no se encontró respuesta en rendimiento, producción de masa seca, número de raíces por planta ni peso promedio de la raíz a las aplicaciones de potasio (K). Los contenidos de K intercambiable y P movible en el suelo mostraron diferencias significativas entre los tratamientos, con los mayores tenores en las dosis altas de fertilizante. Los resultados indican que es posible utilizar la yuca en un lugar postrero de la rotación sin que requiera de nuevas aplicaciones de P y K

Biopolymeric Nanoparticle Synthesis in Ionic Liquids

Recently, much research has focused on the use of biopolymers, which are regarded as biodegradable, natural, and environmentally friendly materials. In this context, biopolymeric nanoparticles have attracted great attention in the last few years due to their multiple applications especially in the field of biomedicine. Ionic liquids have emerged as promising solvents for use in a wide variety of chemical and biochemical processes for their extraordinary properties, which include negligible vapor pressure, high thermal and chemical stability, lower toxicity than conventional organic solvents, and the possibility of tuning their physical–chemical properties by choosing the appropriate cation and anion. We here review the published works concerning the synthesis of biopolymeric nanoparticles using ionic liquids, such as trimethylsilyl cellulose or silk fibroin. We also mention our recent studies describing how high-power ultrasounds are capable of enhancing the dissolution process of silk proteins in ionic liquids and how silk fibroin nanoparticles can be directly obtained from the silk fibroin/ionic liquid solution by rapid desolvation in polar organic solvents. As an example, their potential biomedical application of curcumin-loaded silk fibroin nanoparticles for cancer therapy is also discussed