On the athermal character of structural phase transitions

The significance of thermal fluctuations on nucleation in structural first-order phase transitions has been examined. The prototype case of martensitic transitions has been experimentally investigated by means of acoustic emission techniques. We propose a model based on the mean first-passage time to account for the experimental observations. Our study provides a unified framework to establish the conditions for isothermal and athermal transitions to be observed.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, accepted in Phys. Rev. Let

Estudio comparativo de dos regímenes de preanestesia : acepromacina/petidina y medetominidina sobre la anestesia con ketamina o alfazalona/alfadolona en el gato

Medicin

Influence of Septal Deviation on the Prognosis of Transcanalicular Diode Laser-Assisted Dacryocystorhinostomy

Purpose. The objective of the present study is to determine whether the success rate in transcanalicular diode laser-assisted dacryocystorhinostomy (TCL DCR) is influenced by the variant septal deviation (SD). Methods. Patients were divided into two groups: one including operated lacrimal pathways (LP) with no anatomical nasosinusal variants and the other group of LP with SD. This study began on January 1, 2008, and ended on December 31, 2010, at Morales Meseguer Hospital. Variables were compared by means of ANOVA and a logistic regression model (LOGIT). Results. Out of the 159 LP operated on, 102 had no nasosinusal anatomic variant, but 39 LP were associated with SD. The first group evidenced a success rate of 67.64%, while the second group evidenced a success rate of 66.7%. Conclusion. We found no significant statistical differences between the success rates in the two groups (with SD and no anatomical variants). So we could avoid previous or concomitant septoplasty in some cases (mild and moderate SD)

Sub-seasonal to seasonal climate predictions for wind energy forecasting

Both renewable energy supply and electricity demand are strongly influenced by meteorological conditions and their evolution over time in terms of climate variability and climate change. However, knowledge of power output and demand forecasting beyond a few days remains poor. Current methodologies assume that long-term resource availability is constant, ignoring the fact that future wind resources could be significantly different from the past wind energy conditions. Such uncertainties create risks that affect investment in wind energy projects at the operational stage where energy yields affect cash flow and the balance of the grid. Here we assess whether sub-seasonal to seasonal climate predictions (S2S) can skilfully predict wind speed in Europe. To illustrate S2S potential applications, two periods with an unusual climate behaviour affecting the energy market will be presented. We find that wind speed forecasted using S2S exhibits predictability some weeks and months in advance in important regions for the energy sector such as the North Sea. If S2S are incorporated into planning activities for energy traders, energy producers, plant operators, plant investors, they could help improve management climate variability related risks.We thank the S2S4E (GA776787), NEWA (PCIN-2014-012-C07-07), ERA4CS-INDECIS (GA690462) and ERA4CS-MEDSCOPE (GA690462) projects funding for allowing us to carry out this research. We acknowledge use of the s2dverification (http://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/s2dverification) and Specs-Verification (http://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/SpecsVerification)R-language-based software packages.We also acknowledge the ECMWF for the provision of the ECMWF SEAS5 and the Monthly Prediction Systemsand the ERA-Interim reanalysis datasets.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Microscopic structures and dynamics of high- and low-density liquid trans-1,2-dichloroethylene

4 págs.; 3 figs.; PACS number s : 64.70.Ja, 61.05.fm, 61.20. p, 61.25.EmWe present a study of the dynamics and structural changes for trans-1,2-dichloroethylene between high- and low-density liquids using neutron-scattering techniques diffraction, small-angle neutron scattering, and time of flight spectroscopy and molecular-dynamics simulations. We show that changes in the short-range ordering of molecules goes along with a change in the molecular dynamics: both structure and dynamics of the highdensity liquid are more cooperative than those of the low-density liquid. The microscopic mechanism underlying the cooperative motions in the high-density liquid has been found to be related to the backscattering of molecules due to a strong correlation of molecular ordering. ©2010 The American Physical SocietyThis work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology Grants No. FIS2008-00837 and No. BES-2007-17418, by the Government of Catalonia Grant No. 2009SGR-1251 and by the European Commission MI3/FP7.Peer Reviewe

The Role of Inbreeding in the Extinction of a European Royal Dynasty

The kings of the Spanish Habsburg dynasty (1516–1700) frequently married close relatives in such a way that uncle-niece, first cousins and other consanguineous unions were prevalent in that dynasty. In the historical literature, it has been suggested that inbreeding was a major cause responsible for the extinction of the dynasty when the king Charles II, physically and mentally disabled, died in 1700 and no children were born from his two marriages, but this hypothesis has not been examined from a genetic perspective. In this article, this hypothesis is checked by computing the inbreeding coefficient (F) of the Spanish Habsburg kings from an extended pedigree up to 16 generations in depth and involving more than 3,000 individuals. The inbreeding coefficient of the Spanish Habsburg kings increased strongly along generations from 0.025 for king Philip I, the founder of the dynasty, to 0.254 for Charles II and several members of the dynasty had inbreeding coefficients higher than 0.20. In addition to inbreeding due to unions between close relatives, ancestral inbreeding from multiple remote ancestors makes a substantial contribution to the inbreeding coefficient of most kings. A statistically significant inbreeding depression for survival to 10 years is detected in the progenies of the Spanish Habsburg kings. The results indicate that inbreeding at the level of first cousin (F = 0.0625) exerted an adverse effect on survival of 17.8%±12.3. It is speculated that the simultaneous occurrence in Charles II (F = 0.254) of two different genetic disorders: combined pituitary hormone deficiency and distal renal tubular acidosis, determined by recessive alleles at two unlinked loci, could explain most of the complex clinical profile of this king, including his impotence/infertility which in last instance led to the extinction of the dynasty

The influence of semantic and phonological factors on syntactic decisions: An event-related brain potential study

During language production and comprehension, information about a word's syntactic properties is sometimes needed. While the decision about the grammatical gender of a word requires access to syntactic knowledge, it has also been hypothesized that semantic (i.e., biological gender) or phonological information (i.e., sound regularities) may influence this decision. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were measured while native speakers of German processed written words that were or were not semantically and/or phonologically marked for gender. Behavioral and ERP results showed that participants were faster in making a gender decision when words were semantically and/or phonologically gender marked than when this was not the case, although the phonological effects were less clear. In conclusion, our data provide evidence that even though participants performed a grammatical gender decision, this task can be influenced by semantic and phonological factors

Novel prokaryotic expression of thioredoxin-fused insulinoma associated protein tyrosine phosphatase 2 (IA-2), its characterization and immunodiagnostic application

Background The insulinoma associated protein tyrosine phosphatase 2 (IA-2) is one of the immunodominant autoantigens involved in the autoimmune attack to the beta-cell in Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus. In this work we have developed a complete and original process for the production and recovery of the properly folded intracellular domain of IA-2 fused to thioredoxin (TrxIA-2ic) in Escherichia coli GI698 and GI724 strains. We have also carried out the biochemical and immunochemical characterization of TrxIA-2icand design variants of non-radiometric immunoassays for the efficient detection of IA-2 autoantibodies (IA-2A). Results The main findings can be summarized in the following statements: i) TrxIA-2ic expression after 3 h of induction on GI724 strain yielded ≈ 10 mg of highly pure TrxIA-2ic/L of culture medium by a single step purification by affinity chromatography, ii) the molecular weight of TrxIA-2ic (55,358 Da) could be estimated by SDS-PAGE, size exclusion chromatography and mass spectrometry, iii) TrxIA-2ic was properly identified by western blot and mass spectrometric analysis of proteolytic digestions (63.25 % total coverage), iv) excellent immunochemical behavior of properly folded full TrxIA-2ic was legitimized by inhibition or displacement of [35S]IA-2 binding from IA-2A present in Argentinian Type 1 Diabetic patients, v) great stability over time was found under proper storage conditions and vi) low cost and environmentally harmless ELISA methods for IA-2A assessment were developed, with colorimetric or chemiluminescent detection. Conclusions E. coli GI724 strain emerged as a handy source of recombinant IA-2ic, achieving high levels of expression as a thioredoxin fusion protein, adequately validated and applicable to the development of innovative and cost-effective immunoassays for IA-2A detection in most laboratories.Fil: Guerra, Luciano Lucas. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Estudios de la Inmunidad Humoral Prof. Ricardo A. Margni. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Instituto de Estudios de la Inmunidad Humoral Prof. Ricardo A. Margni; ArgentinaFil: Faccinetti, Natalia Ines. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Estudios de la Inmunidad Humoral Prof. Ricardo A. Margni. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Instituto de Estudios de la Inmunidad Humoral Prof. Ricardo A. Margni; ArgentinaFil: Trabucchi, Aldana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Estudios de la Inmunidad Humoral Prof. Ricardo A. Margni. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Instituto de Estudios de la Inmunidad Humoral Prof. Ricardo A. Margni; ArgentinaFil: Rovitto, Bruno David. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Estudios de la Inmunidad Humoral Prof. Ricardo A. Margni. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Instituto de Estudios de la Inmunidad Humoral Prof. Ricardo A. Margni; ArgentinaFil: Sabljic, Adriana Victoria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Estudios de la Inmunidad Humoral Prof. Ricardo A. Margni. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Instituto de Estudios de la Inmunidad Humoral Prof. Ricardo A. Margni; ArgentinaFil: Poskus, Edgardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Estudios de la Inmunidad Humoral Prof. Ricardo A. Margni. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Instituto de Estudios de la Inmunidad Humoral Prof. Ricardo A. Margni; ArgentinaFil: Iacono, Ruben Francisco. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Estudios de la Inmunidad Humoral Prof. Ricardo A. Margni. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Instituto de Estudios de la Inmunidad Humoral Prof. Ricardo A. Margni; ArgentinaFil: Valdez, Silvina Noemi. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Estudios de la Inmunidad Humoral Prof. Ricardo A. Margni. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Instituto de Estudios de la Inmunidad Humoral Prof. Ricardo A. Margni; Argentin

Cueva de La Cocina (Dos Aguas, Valencia) en el marco del Proyecto de Investigación Har2012-33111 “Meso Cocina: Los Últimos Caza-Recolectores y el Paradigma de la Neolitización en el Mediterráneo Peninsular”

Comunicación oral en el VI Congreso del Neolítico en la Península Ibérica: “Los cambios económicos y sus implicaciones sociales durante el Neolítico de la Península Ibérica”, 22-26 junio 2016 GranadaEl objetivo de esta comunicación es dar a conocer los resultados preliminares del proyecto HAR12-33111 “MesoCocina: los últimos caza-recolectores y el paradigma de la neolitización en el Mediterráneo peninsular” que ha tenido como eje de actuación el análisis pormenorizado del excepcional registro prehistórico recuperado en Cueva de la Cocina (Dos Aguas, Valencia). En el transcurso de los tres últimos años se ha procedido al análisis de las colecciones correspondientes a las excavaciones efectuadas por Ll. Pericot en los años 40 del pasado siglo así como aquellos resultados de las campañas dirigidas posteriormente por J. Fortea en los años 70. Al mismo tiempo se han llevado a cabo dos intervenciones de campo en la cavidad con el fin de obtener información precisa sobre las características de una secuencia clave a propósito de las ocupaciones del Mesolítico final en el Mediterráneo occidental, y que además contiene evidencias de frecuentaciones posteriores, desde el Neolítico Antiguo hasta la edad del Bronce. El establecimiento de un marco radiométrico preciso ha sido una de las prioridades junto a la reconstrucción tridimensional de todas las actuaciones realizadas hasta la fecha en el sitio. Bajo esta óptica procederemos a reevaluar la variabilidad de la cultura material, de las actividades de subsistencia, del mundo simbólico y las conexiones sociales en el entorno medioambiental donde se llevaron a cabo desde una amplia perspectiva diacrónica, entre el inicio del IX y el III milenio cal BP. Ciñéndonos al marco de este congreso nos centraremos especialmente en los nuevos datos relativos a la secuencia de los últimos caza-recolectores y el primer Neolítico en la cavidad.Peer Reviewe