Reacciones asimetricas de aza-Henry con n-sulfiniliminas y procesos organocatalizados por alcaloides cinchona

Tesis doctoral inédita. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Facultad de Ciencias, Departamento de Química Orgánica. Fecha de lectura: 24-04-0

Raman Spectra of ZrS2 and ZrSe2 from Bulk to Atomically Thin Layers

In the race towards two-dimensional electronic and optoelectronic devices, semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) from group VIB have been intensively studied in recent years due to the indirect to direct band-gap transition from bulk to the monolayer. However, new materials still need to be explored. For example, semiconducting TMDCs from group IVB have been predicted to have larger mobilities than their counterparts from group VIB in the monolayer limit. In this work we report the mechanical exfoliation of ZrX2 (X = S, Se) from bulk down to the monolayer and we study the dimensionality dependence of the Raman spectra in ambient conditions. We observe Raman signal from bulk to few layers and no shift in the peak positions is found when decreasing the dimensionality. While a Raman signal can be observed from bulk to a bilayer for ZrS2, we could only detect signal down to five layers for flakes of ZrSe2. These results show the possibility of obtaining atomically thin layers of ZrX2 by mechanical exfoliation and represent one of the first steps towards the investigation of the properties of these materials, still unexplored in the two-dimensional limit

Effect of Supervised Resistance Training on Arm Volume, Quality of Life and Physical Perfomance Among Women at High Risk for Breast Cancer-Related Lymphedema: A Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial (STRONG-B)

The study is funded by ANID+FONDEF/XVII Concurso Nacional de Proyectos de Investigacion y Desarrollo en Salud, Fonis (SA20I0060).Objectives: To determine the preventive effects of supervised resistance training on arms volume, quality of life, physical performance, and handgrip strength in Chilean women at high risk for breast cancer-related lymphedema (BCRL) undergoing chemotherapy. Design: Randomized control trial. Participants: One hundred and six women at high risk for breast cancer-related lymphedema aged 18 to 70 years. Interventions: Participants will be randomized into two groups: [a] intervention, who will receive 12 weeks of supervised resistance training (STRONG-B) during adjuvant chemotherapy; and [b] control, who will receive education to promote lymphatic and venous return, maintain range of motion, and promote physical activity. Main Outcome Measures: The primary outcome will be arms volume measured with an optoelectric device (perometer NT1000). Secondary outcomes will be quality of life, handgrip strength, and physical performance. Primary and secondary outcomes will be measured at baseline, just after the intervention, and 3 and 6 months after. Statistical analysis will be performed following intention-to-treat and per-protocol approaches. The treatment effect will be calculated using linear mixed models. Discussion: The STRONG-B will be a tailored supervised resistance training that attempts to prevent or mitigate BCRL in a population that, due to both intrinsic and extrinsic factors, will commonly suffer from BCRL.ANID+FONDEF/XVII Concurso Nacional de Proyectos de Investigacion y Desarrollo en Salud, Fonis SA20I006

Males respond to female begging signals of need: A handicapping experiment in the pied flycatcher, Ficedula hypoleuca

The 'female nutrition' hypothesis proposes that food provided by males during incubation is an important energy source for females in bird species in which females alone incubate. Females should be able to communicate their needs through begging signals to mates and males may compensate for the energetic limitations of females through their feeding visits, owing to their overlapping reproductive interests. To test whether female begging during incubation is an honest signal of energetic need and whether mates respond to it we experimentally handicapped female pied flycatchers at the beginning of incubation by clipping two primary flight feathers on each wing. Experimental manipulation led females to intensify begging displays arising from condition impairment and males accordingly increased their incubation feeding rates. Female begging intensity explained more than half of the variation in male incubation feeding rate, thereby showing that female nutrition is the main factor explaining male incubation feeding. Moreover, handicapped females consumed a higher proportion of male food deliveries during the first few days after hatching and weighed less at the end of the nestling period than control females. Handicapping had no influence on female incubation behaviour, hatching and breeding success, nestling and male condition or female nestling provisioning. The provisioning rates of males in the late nestling stage were higher in experimental nests. This is the first experimental study showing that males adjust incubation feeding rates to behavioural displays of need by their mates. The ability of females to modify their begging displays according to need may be an important adaptation that allows females to maintain a good energetic condition during incubation. © 2014 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.This study was financed by project CGL2010-19233-C03-02 to J.M. from Spanish MICINN.Peer Reviewe

Oxidative Stress in Early Life: Associations with Sex, Rearing Conditions, and Parental Physiological Traits in Nestling Pied Flycatchers

The chapter IV of the dissertation: López-Arrabé, Jimena. Physiological adaptations in the pied flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca): oxidative stress, reproduction and development (2017), reproduces the manuscript of: López-Arrabé, Jimena ; Cantarero, Alejandro ; Pérez-Rodríguez, Lorenzo ; Palma, Antonio; Moreno, Juan. Oxidative Stress in Early Life: Associations with Sex, Rearing Conditions, and Parental Physiological Traits in Nestling Pied Flycatchers. Physiological and Biochemical Zoology, 89(2): 83-92(2016). http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/685476. http://hdl.handle.net/10261/130300El capítulo IV de la tesis doctoral: López-Arrabé, Jimena. Physiological adaptations in the pied flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca): oxidative stress, reproduction and development (2017), reproduce la información del artículo: López-Arrabé, Jimena ; Cantarero, Alejandro ; Pérez-Rodríguez, Lorenzo ; Palma, Antonio; Moreno, Juan. Oxidative Stress in Early Life: Associations with Sex, Rearing Conditions, and Parental Physiological Traits in Nestling Pied Flycatchers. Physiological and Biochemical Zoology, 89(2): 83-92(2016). http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/685476. http://hdl.handle.net/10261/130300Conditions experienced during juvenile development can affect the fitness of an organism. During early life, oxidative stress levels can be particularly high as a result of the increased metabolism and the relatively immature antioxidant system of the individual, and this may have medium- and long-term fitness consequences. Here we explore variation in levels of oxidative stress measured during early life in relation to sex, rearing conditions (hatching date and brood size), and parental condition and levels of oxidative markers in a wild population of the pied flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca) followed for 2 yr. A marker of total antioxidant status (TAS) in plasma and total levels of glutathione (GSH) in red blood cells, as well as a marker of oxidative damage in plasma lipids (malondialdehyde [MDA]), were assessed simultaneously. Our results show that nestling total GSH levels were associated with parental oxidative status, correlating negatively with maternal MDA and positively with total GSH levels of both parents, with a high estimated heritability. This suggests that parental physiology and genes could be determinants for endogenous components of the antioxidant system of the offspring. Moreover, we found that total GSH levels were higher in female than in male nestlings and that hatching date was positively associated with antioxidant defenses (higher TAS and total GSH levels). These results suggest that different components of oxidative balance are related to a variety of environmental and intrinsic—including parental—influencing factors. Future experimental studies must disentangle the relative contribution of each of these on nestling oxidative status and how the resulting oxidative stress at early phases shape adult phenotype and fitness.Peer reviewe

Fluid evolution from extension to compression in the Pyrenean Fold Belt and Basque-Cantabrian Basin: A review

We propose a review to discuss the large number of studies dealing with the fluid history in extensional and compressional sedimentary basins that evolved along the Iberian-Eurasian plate boundary during the full Mesozoic-Cenozoic Wilson Cycle in the Pyrenean fold belt and the Basque-Cantabrian Basin. We integrate classic and modern geochemical and geochronological datasets used in fluid studies with the current tectonic knowledge of the studied area. Late Hercynian fluid systems were dominated by Carboniferous-early Permian magmatic intrusions related to large-scale lithospheric delamination at the end of the collision, which caused the accumulation of skarns at depths of 8000–10,000 m during contact metamorphism. During the Mesozoic extension, early and widespread shallow burial dolomitization of Jurassic and Early-Cretaceous carbonates occurred at burial depths of 500–1000 m due to seawater influx. From Albian to Cenomanian, along the North Pyrenean extensional fault zone, contact metamorphism processes occurred in association with mantle-derived and deep-crustal fluids at temperatures higher than 300 °C, which interacted with Triassic evaporites and formation and marine waters and depths of 2000–3000 m. Away from this fault, fluid systems were dominated by hydrothermal dolomitization and the accumulation of Znsingle bondPb mineralization along diapir walls and faults, whereas in the less extended and proximal domains of the extensional system, fluids were formation waters at temperatures up to 150 °C. The Alpine compressional fluid history registers the increasing influence of meteoric fluids as the foreland basin became overfilled and fluid flow occurred at depths of 2.5–4 km in tectonic units detached in Triassic evaporites and of >4 km in units rooted at depth with the Paleozoic basement. Along and across strike differences in the fluid evolution of the Pyrenees are attributed to changes in the structure of the cover and basement tectonic units, the westward decrease of shortening and in the oblique directions of Upper Triassic successions, which acted as very efficient seals for deep-sourced fluids. Subvertical walls of diapirs are baffles for fluid flow, whereas fracturing and deposition of porous halokinetic successions are effective conduits. Evaporite detachments compartmentalize paleohydrological systems during tectonic deformation, although they may be breached by fluids reaching lithostatic pressures. In large evaporite-bearing provinces, fluid systems may share common patterns during successive extensional and compressional tectonic events, as documented in the Western Mediterranean Mesozoic extensional rift system. In this area, metal-bearing and deep-sourced fluids interacted with Triassic sulphates and organic matter, triggering the accumulation sulphides in rock porosity. However, more research is needed in other large-scale evaporitic provinces of different ages to identify common fluid flow patterns.publishedVersio

Sex-specific associations between telomere dynamics and oxidative status in adult and nestling pied flycatchers

Oxidative stress can contribute to an acceleration of telomere erosion, leading to cellular senescence and aging. Increased investment in reproduction is known to accelerate senescence, generally resulting in reduced future reproductive potential and survival. To better understand the role played by oxidative status and telomere dynamics in the conflict between maintenance and reproduction, it is important to determine how these factors are related in parents and their offspring. We investigated the relationship between oxidative status and telomere measurements in pied flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca). Total antioxidant status (TAS) in plasma, total levels of glutathione in red blood cells (RBCs), and oxidative damage in plasma lipids (malondialdehyde [MDA]) were assessed in both parents and nestlings. Telomeres were measured in RBCs in adults. Our results showed sex differences in oxidative variables in adults that are likely to be mediated by sex steroids, with testosterone and estrogens increasing and reducing, respectively, the production of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species. We found a negative association between telomere length (TL) and MDA in adults in the previous season. Moreover, TL was positively associated with TAS in females, while telomere shortening (ΔTL) correlated positively with MDA in males in the current year. These associations could be reflecting differences between sexes in reproductive physiology. We found a positive correlation between parental ΔTL and nestling MDA, an example of how parental physiological aging could affect offspring quality in terms of oxidative stress that highlights the constraints imposed by higher rates of ΔTL during reproduction and rearing

Confident methods for the evaluation of the hydrogen content in nanoporous carbon microfibers

Abstract Nanoporous carbon microfibers were grown by chemical vapor deposition in the vapor-liquid solid mode using different fluid hydrocarbons as precursors in different proportions. The as-grown samples were further treated in argon and hydrogen atmospheres at different pressure conditions and annealed at several temperatures in order to deduce the best conditions for the incorporation and re-incorporation of hydrogen into the microfibers through the nanopores. Since there are some discrepancies in the results on the hydrogen content obtained under vacuum conditions, in this work, we have measured the hydrogen content in the microfibers using several analytical methods in ambient conditions: surface tension, mass density, and Raman measurements. A discussion on the validity of the results obtained through the correlation between them is the purpose of the present work.Peer Reviewe

Phenotypic plasticity in breeding plumage signals in both sexes of a migratory bird: responses to breeding conditions

Adaptive phenotypic plasticity may respond to present ambient conditions. Sexual and social signals in both sexes may express phenotype performance. Plumage signals that change discontinuously allow relating discrete variation to previous performance. Both sexes of the pied flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca present white patches on the wings and on the forehead, which constitute sexual and social signals. Forehead patches are moulted together with body plumage in Africa, while wing patches are partly moulted in Africa and partly in the breeding area soon after breeding. We studied individual inter‐year changes (corrected for regression to the mean) in the size of forehead and wing patches of both sexes in seven years for females or six years for males in two nearby study areas in central Spain. We found that initial signal extent strongly delimits the possible subsequent changes negatively. There is a negative association of male age with forehead patch changes. Cold and rainy springs are associated in females with decreases in both patch areas and vice versa, while no association with climate is observed in male wing patch changes. Cold pre‐breeding conditions predict positive changes in female wing and male forehead patches. Breeding success is positively associated with forehead patch changes in females. Late‐breeding males experience more positive changes in forehead patch size than early‐breeding males. Some of these trends can be explained by variable costs of breeding in certain conditions for subsequent signal production and/or maintenance, while absence of trends in some cases may be explained by sex differences in costs of breeding and interactions with phenotypic quality of breeders.</p

Los videojuegos en la Rehabilitación Psicosocial de las personas con esquizofrenia

En este documento se sistematiza una experiencia con un grupo de personas con esquizofrenia a las que se les propone participar en una actividad rehabilitadora basada en la práctica del videojuego. A través de esta idea inspirada por la investigación de Daphne Bavelier sobre los efectos de los videojuegos en las funciones cognitivas se pretende comprobar si una actividad de práctica informal del videojuego puede constituir una herramienta para la mejora en la dimensión psicosocial de sus participantes para así configurarse como parte de la intervención en Trabajo Social con personas con esquizofrenia