Attributing trends in extremely hot days to changes in atmospheric dynamics

This paper presents a method for attributing regional trends in the frequency of extremely hot days (EHDs) to changes in the frequency of the atmospheric patterns that characterize such extraordinary events. The study is applied to mainland Spain and the Balearic Islands for the extended summers of the period 1958–2008, where significant and positive trends in maximum temperature (Tx) have been reported during the second half of the past century.This study was supported by the Spanish government and the Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) through the projects SPEQTRES (CGL2011-29672-C02-02) and REPAIR (CGL2014-59677-R). J. P. Montavez also acknowledges the financial support from Fundacion Seneca (Ref 19640/EE/14)

Hydrogen Photo-Production from Glycerol Using Nickel-Doped TiO2 Catalysts: Effect of Catalyst Pre-Treatment

In the present piece of research, hydrogen production via the photo-reforming of glycerol (a byproduct from biodiesel generation) is studied. Catalysts consisted of titania modified by Ni (0.5% by weight) obtained through deposition–precipitation or impregnation synthetic methods (labelled as Ni-0.5-DP and Ni-0.5-IMP, respectively). Reactions were performed both under UV and solar irradiation. Activity significantly improved in the presence of Ni, especially under solar irradiation. Moreover, pre-reduced solids exhibited higher catalytic activities than untreated solids, despite the “in-situ” reduction of nickel species and the elimination of surface chlorides under reaction conditions (as evidenced by XPS). It is possible that the catalyst pretreatment at 400 °C under hydrogen resulted in some strong metal–support interactions. In summary, the highest hydrogen production value (ca. 2600 micromole H2·g−1) was achieved with pre-reduced Ni-0.5-DP solid using UV light for an irradiation time of 6 h. This value represents a 15.7-fold increase as compared to Evonik P25

Cocaína, violencia y género desde el punto de vista de los profesionales

Objetivo: El presente estudio pretende conocer los comportamientos violentos de hombres y mujeres consumidores de cocaína desde la perspectiva de los profesionales del área de drogodependencias y la violencia.Metodología: Se utilizó metodología cualitativa, concretamente se realizaron entrevistas semiestructuradas a una muestra representativa de profesionales de Unidades de Conductas Adictivas (UCA) y de Centros Mujer 24 Horas (CM24H) de la Comunitat Valenciana. El análisis de los datos, a excepción de las preguntas cerradas que se analizaron estadísticamente, se realizó siguiendo la Grounded Theory, lo que implica un método de comparaciones constantes que intenta generar teoría a partir de los datos empíricos y ofrece la posibilidad de comprensión del fenómeno desde el interior del mismo.Resultados: En opinión de los profesionales los hombres manifiestan más violencia de tipo físico que las mujeres, siendo más probable que éstas manifiesten su violencia verbalmente. Las conductas violentas suelen ir dirigidas hacia la pareja en el caso de los hombres y en el caso de las mujeres hacia sus hijos. Los hombres cocainómanos tienen más redes de apoyo en el proceso de tratamiento, normalmente reciben soporte de su pareja, no ocurriendo así en el caso de las mujeres cocainómanas que normalmente comienzan el tratamiento por voluntad propia y son apoyadas por algún miembro de su familia, que normalmente suele ser una mujer. Es habitual la existencia de violencia durante el proceso de tratamiento, pues las mujeres que se encuentran incluidas en estos programas de tratamiento suelen ser víctimas de violencia.Discusión: La relación entre consumo de cocaína y violencia es muy compleja, en este estudio se indica que las conductas violentas entre consumidores de cocaína pueden variar según género. Es importante continuar la tarea investigadora para profundizar en estas diferencias y mejorar así la calidad de los programas asistenciales dirigidos a esta población

Regionalización de las precipitaciones diarias en la Región de Murcia

Ponencia presentada en: XXX Jornadas Científicas de la AME y el IX Encuentro Hispano Luso de Meteorología celebrado en Zaragoza, del 5 al 7 de mayo de 2008.Fundación Séneca de la Región de Murcia, entidad financiadora del proyecto 00619/PI/04, dentro del cual está enmarcado este trabajo

Redox-dependent and redox-independent functions of Caenorhabditis elegans thioredoxin 1

Thioredoxins (TRX) are traditionally considered as enzymes catalyzing redox reactions. However, redox-independent functions of thioredoxins have been described in different organisms, although the underlying molecular mechanisms are yet unknown. We report here the characterization of the first generated endogenous redox-inactive thioredoxin in an animal model, the TRX-1 in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. We find that TRX-1 dually regulates the formation of an endurance larval stage (dauer) by interacting with the insulin pathway in a redox-independent manner and the cGMP pathway in a redox-dependent manner. Moreover, the requirement of TRX-1 for the extended longevity of worms with compromised insulin signalling or under calorie restriction relies on TRX-1 redox activity. In contrast, the nuclear translocation of the SKN-1 transcription factor and increased LIPS-6 protein levels in the intestine upon trx-1 deficiency are strictly redox-independent. Finally, we identify a novel function of C. elegans TRX-1 in male food-leaving behaviour that is redox-dependent. Taken together, our results position C. elegans as an ideal model to gain mechanistic insight into the redox-independent functions of metazoan thioredoxins, overcoming the limitations imposed by the embryonic lethal phenotypes of thioredoxin mutants in higher organisms.NIH Office of Research Infrastructure P40 OD010440Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness BFU2015- 64408-PFondo Social Europeo BFU2015- 64408-PNational Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health R01AI07640

Perspectives of regional paleoclimate modeling

Regional climate modeling bridges the gap between the coarse resolution of current global climate models and the regional‐to‐local scales, where the impacts of climate change are of primary interest. Here, we present a review of the added value of the regional climate modeling approach within the scope of paleoclimate research and discuss the current major challenges and perspectives. Two time periods serve as an example: the Holocene, including the Last Millennium, and the Last Glacial Maximum. Reviewing the existing literature reveals the benefits of regional paleo climate modeling, particularly over areas with complex terrain. However, this depends largely on the variable of interest, as the added value of regional modeling arises from a more realistic representation of physical processes and climate feedbacks compared to global climate models, and this affects different climate variables in various ways. In particular, hydrological processes have been shown to be better represented in regional models, and they can deliver more realistic meteorological data to drive ice sheet and glacier modeling. Thus, regional climate models provide a clear benefit to answer fundamental paleoclimate research questions and may be key to advance a meaningful joint interpretation of climate model and proxy data

Proyecciones de cambio climático en la Península Ibérica: asimetrías espacial y estacional en los patrones de calentamiento

Ponencia presentada en: XXX Jornadas Científicas de la AME y el IX Encuentro Hispano Luso de Meteorología celebrado en Zaragoza, del 5 al 7 de mayo de 2008.Este trabajo ha sido subvencionado por el proyecto 00619/PI/04, financiado por la Fundación Séneca de la Región de Murcia

Hydrogen Production through Glycerol Photoreforming on TiO2/Mesoporous Carbon: Influence of the Synthetic Method

This article explores the effect of the synthetic method of titanium dioxide (TiO2)/C composites (physical mixture and the water-assisted/unassisted sol-gel method) on their photocatalytic activity for hydrogen production through glycerol photoreforming. The article demonstrates that, apart from a high surface area of carbon and the previous activation of its surface to favor titania incorporation, the appropriate control of titania formation is crucial. In this sense, even though the amount of incorporated titania was limited by the saturation of carbon surface groups (in our case, ca. 10 wt.% TiO2), the sol-gel process without water addition seemed to be the best method, ensuring the formation of small homogeneously-distributed anatase crystals on mesoporous carbon. In this way, a ca. 110-fold increase in catalyst activity compared to Evonik P25 (expressed as hydrogen micromole per grams of titania) was achieved

Olive Leaves as Biotemplates for Enhanced Solar-Light Harvesting by a Titania-Based Solid

Olive leaves (by-product from olive oil production in olive mills) were used as biotemplates to synthesize a titania-based artificial olive leaf (AOL). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of AOL showed the successful replication of trichomes and internal structure channels present in olive leaves. The BET surface area of AOL was 52 m2·g−1. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectra revealed that the resulting solid was in the predominantly-anatase crystalline form (7.5 nm average particle size). Moreover, the synthesis led to a red-shift in light absorption as compared to reference anatase (gap energies of 2.98 and 3.2 eV, respectively). The presence of surface defects (as evidenced by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, XPS, and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy, EPR) and doping elements (e.g., 1% nitrogen, observed by elemental analysis and XPS) could account for that. AOL was preliminarily tested as a catalyst for hydrogen production through glycerol photoreforming and exhibited an activity 64% higher than reference material Evonik P25 under solar irradiation and 144% greater under ultraviolet radiation, (under voltage) UV

Simulación del clima de la Península Ibérica: sensibilidad al modelo de suelo

Ponencia presentada en: XXX Jornadas Científicas de la AME y el IX Encuentro Hispano Luso de Meteorología celebrado en Zaragoza, del 5 al 7 de mayo de 2008.Este trabajo se engloba dentro del proyecto CGL2005-06966-C07-04/CLI, financiado por el Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia