Linking tourism, retirement migration and social capital

A general trend in the study of international retirement migration has been the increased attention paid to the social contacts and network connections of the migrants in both the destination and the origin areas. These studies have examined the extent to which migrants build social relationships with their neighbours and the host society while also maintaining social links with their countries of origin, addressing the central role that leisure travel plays in sustaining increasingly dispersed social networks and maintaining the social capital of these networks and of the individuals involved in them. Using a case study approach to examine British retirement migration to Spain, we explore the relevance of transnational social networks in the context of international retirement migration, particularly the intensity of bidirectional visiting friends and relatives (VFR) tourism flows and the migrants' social contacts with friends and/or family back in their home country. Building on the concept of social capital and Putnam's distinction between bonding and bridging social capital, we propose a framework for the analysis of the migrants' international social networks. The results of a study conducted based on a sample of 365 British retirees living in the coast of Alicante (Spain) show both the strength of the retirees' international bonding social capital and the role of 'VFR's travel and communication technologies in sustaining the migrants' transnational social practices and, ultimately, their international bonding social capital. It also provides evidence for the reinforcing links between tourism-related mobility and amenity-seeking migration in later life. © 2013 © 2013 Taylor & Francis

Cove‐Edged Nanographenes with Localized Double Bonds

The efficient synthesis and electronic properties of two large‐size cove‐edged nanographenes (NGs), CN1 and CN2, are presented. X‐ray crystallographic analysis reveals a contorted backbone for both molecules owing to the steric repulsion at the inner cove position. Noticeably, the dominant structures of these molecules contain four (for CN1) or six (for CN2) localized C=C double bonds embedded in nine (for CN1) or twelve (for CN2) aromatic sextet rings according to Clar's formula, which is supported by bond length analysis and theoretical (NICS, ACID) calculations. Furthermore, Raman spectra exhibit a band associated with the longitudinal CC stretching mode of olefinic double bonds. Owing to the existence of the additional olefinic bonds, both compounds show a small band gap (1.84 eV for CN1 and 1.37 eV for CN2). They also display moderate fluorescence quantum yield (35 % for CN1 and 50 % for CN2) owing to the contorted geometry, which can suppress aggregation in solution.J.W. acknowleges financial support from the MOE Tier 3 programme (MOE2014-T3-1-004) and NRF Investigatorship (NRF-NRFI05-2019-0005). J.C. acknowledges MINECO and Junta de Andalucía of Spain projects (PGC2018-098533-BI00 and UMA18FEDERJA057). M.A.D.-G. and R.M.-M. thank support from MINECO through the research project MAT2015-66586-R and the FPI fellowship (no. BES-2016-077681), respectively

Triplet formation inhibits amplified spontaneous emission in perylene-based polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) have demonstrated potential as active laser materials, showing good Amplified Stimulated Emission (ASE) properties. However, the molecular origin of their ASE properties is still unclear and depends on the particular compound. In this work we study the ASE properties of polystyrene films hosting three different perylene-based PAHs YZ-1, YZ-2 and YZ-3, where only YZ-3 has displayed ASE. Their molecular structure has been systematically changed to establish the connection between their molecular structure and their ASE properties. A complete spectroscopic study, with ground state and time-resolved techniques, show that, even at low yields, triplets play a critical role as a major loss mechanism. Their slow relaxation to ground state completely hinders the required unbalance of the S1 and S0 states for succesful ASE. Quantum chemical calculations suggest that a lower triplet density of states for YZ-3 is responsible for the blockage in triplet formation and, therefore, does not restrict ASE. This work not only presents a new PAH showing ASE, but also unequivocable proves the massive importance of triplet states in the development of organic lasers.JW acknowledges financial support from A*STAR AME grant (A20E5c0089). The group at the University of Alicante thanks financial support from the “Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación” (MCIN) of Spain and the European Regional Development Fund (grant No. PID2020-119124RB-I00) and from the Generalitat Valenciana though grant No. AICO/2021/093. Besides, this study is part of the Advanced Materials program supported by the Spanish MCIN with funding from European Union Next Generation EU and by Generalitat Valenciana (grant no. MFA/2022/045). The group at the UA thanks Dr. J.M Villalvilla and Dr. J.A. Quintana for useful discussions. We also thank the Research Central Services (SCAI) of the University of Málaga for the access to the EVI, EEL and MENL to perform ground state and transient spectroscopic characterisation. JC thanks funding provided by MINECO/FEDER (PID2021-127127NB-I00, PID2019-110305GB-I00) and Junta de Andalucía (PROYEXCEL-0328)

Carbon regulation of environmental pH by secreted small molecules that modulate pathogenicity in phytopathogenic fungi

[EN]Fruit pathogens can contribute to the acidification or alkalinization of the host environment. This capability has been used to divide fungal pathogens into acidifying and/or alkalinizing classes. Here, we show that diverse classes of fungal pathogens—Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, Penicillium expansum, Aspergillus nidulans and Fusarium oxysporum—secrete small pH-affecting molecules. These molecules modify the environmental pH, which dictates acidic or alkaline colonizing strategies, and induce the expression of PACC-dependent genes. We show that, in many organisms, acidification is induced under carbon excess, i.e. 175 mm sucrose (the most abundant sugar in fruits). In contrast, alkalinization occurs under conditions of carbon deprivation, i.e. less than 15 mm sucrose. The carbon source is metabolized by glucose oxidase (gox2) to gluconic acid, contributing to medium acidification, whereas catalysed deamination of non-preferred carbon sources, such as the amino acid glutamate, by glutamate dehydrogenase 2 (gdh2), results in the secretion of ammonia

Carbon-bridged oligo(p-phenylenevinylene)s for photostable and broadly tunable, solution-processable thin film organic lasers

Thin film organic lasers represent a new generation of inexpensive, mechanically flexible devices for spectroscopy, optical communications and sensing. For this purpose, it is desired to develop highly efficient, stable, wavelength-tunable and solution-processable organic laser materials. Here we report that carbon-bridged oligo(p-phenylenevinylene)s serve as optimal materials combining all these properties simultaneously at the level required for applications by demonstrating amplified spontaneous emission and distributed feedback laser devices. A series of six compounds, with the repeating unit from 1 to 6, doped into polystyrene films undergo amplified spontaneous emission from 385 to 585 nm with remarkably low threshold and high net gain coefficients, as well as high photostability. The fabricated lasers show narrow linewidth (105 pump pulses for oligomers with three to six repeating units) and wavelength tunability across the visible spectrum (408–591 nm).The work in Spain was supported by the Spanish Government (MINECO) and the European Community (FEDER) through grant nos. MAT-2011–28167-C02-01 and CTQ2012-33733 and from the Junta de Andalucía through research project P09-FQM-4708. M.M.-V. has been partly supported by a MINECO FPI fellowship (no. BES-2009-020747). Dr Merino and Dr Retolaza, at Tekniker (Spain), are acknowledged for supplying the NIL fabricated resonators. We also thank I. Garcés for technical assistance. The work in Tokyo was supported by MEXT, Japan (for KAKENHI 15H05754 to E.N. and JST-PRESTO ‘New Materials Science and Element Strategy’ to H.T.)

Amplified Spontaneous Emission in Pentathienoacene Dioxides by Direct Optical Pump and by Energy Transfer: Correlation with Photophysical Parameters

Amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) is observed, under optical pump, in polystyrene films doped with two pentathienoacene derivatives functionalised with thienyl-S,S-dioxide groups (compounds 2 and 3). The effect of the dioxide groups on the ASE properties is analysed by comparing the performance with that of its corresponding non-oxidized analogue (1). Films containing either 2 or 3 show ASE at 511 and 574 nm, respectively, when excited directly (at 435 nm) on their absorption bands, showing thresholds and linewidths larger than those obtained from films doped with 1, pumped at 355 nm. ASE is also observed under excitation at 355 nm, in samples containing 1 (host) and either 2 or 3 (guests), due to energy transfer from host to guest. For the blends with 3, the ASE threshold is lower than that obtained when the films are excited directly. Results are interpreted in terms of the photophysical parameters such as absorption capacity, fluorescence efficiency, singlet-to-triplet intersystem crossing leading to triplet-triplet re-absorptions, bimolecular energy-transfer efficiency, efficiency of internal conversion process, etc. State-of-the-art quantum chemical calculations are used in the interpretation of the experimental results.Authors from the University of Alicante acknowledge support from the Spanish Government (MINECO) and the European Community (FEDER) through grants MAT2008–06648-C02–01 and MAT2011–28167-C02–01. The work at the University of Málaga is supported by the MEC projects CTQ2012–33733 and by the PO9–4708 project by the Junta de Andalucía. Raquel Rondão acknowledges FCT for a PhD grant (SFRH/BD/38882/2007). D.A.S.F. gratefully acknowledges the financial support from the Brazilian Research Councils: CAPES, CNPq (grant 303084/2010–3) and FAP-DF (Fundação de Apoio à Pesquisa do Distrito Federal)

The Q-junction and the inflammatory response are critical pathological and therapeutic factors in CoQ deficiency

Defects in Coenzyme Q (CoQ) metabolism have been associated with primary mitochondrial disorders, neurodegenerative diseases and metabolic conditions. The consequences of CoQ deficiency have not been fully addressed, and effective treatment remains challenging. Here, we use mice with primary CoQ deficiency (Coq9R239X), and we demonstrate that CoQ deficiency profoundly alters the Q-junction, leading to extensive changes in the mitochondrial proteome and metabolism in the kidneys and, to a lesser extent, in the brain. CoQ deficiency also induces reactive gliosis, which mediates a neuroinflammatory response, both of which lead to an encephalopathic phenotype. Importantly, treatment with either vanillic acid (VA) or β-resorcylic acid (β-RA), two analogs of the natural precursor for CoQ biosynthesis, partially restores CoQ metabolism, particularly in the kidneys, and induces profound normalization of the mitochondrial proteome and metabolism, ultimately leading to reductions in gliosis, neuroinflammation and spongiosis and, consequently, reversing the phenotype. Together, these results provide key mechanistic insights into defects in CoQ metabolism and identify potential disease biomarkers. Furthermore, our findings clearly indicate that the use of analogs of the CoQ biosynthetic precursor is a promising alternative therapy for primary CoQ deficiency and has potential for use in the treatment of more common neurodegenerative and metabolic diseases that are associated with secondary CoQ deficiency

Solution-processed nanographene distributed feedback lasers

The chemical synthesis of nanographene molecules constitutes the bottom-up approach toward graphene, simultaneously providing rational chemical design, structure-property control and exploitation of their semiconducting and luminescence properties. Here, we report nanographene-based lasers from three zigzag-edged polycyclic aromatics. The devices consist of a passive polymer film hosting the nanographenes and a top-layer polymeric distributed feedback resonator. Both the active material and the laser resonator are processed from solution, key for the purpose of obtaining low-cost devices with mechanical flexibility. The prepared lasers show narrow linewidth ( < 0.13 nm) emission at different spectral regions covering a large segment of the visible spectrum, and up to the vicinity of the near-infrared. They show outstandingly long operational lifetimes (above 105 pump pulses) and very low thresholds. These results represent a significant step forward in the field of graphene and broaden its versatility in low-cost devices implying light emission, such as lasers.The Alicante team acknowledges support from the Spanish Government (MINECO) and the European Community (FEDER) through grant no. MAT2015-66586-R. The researcher R.M.-M. has been partly supported by a MINECO FPI fellowship (no. BES-2016-077681). The work at the University of Málaga is supported by MINECO FEDER project reference CTQ2015-69391. J.W. acknowledges financial support from the MOE Tier 3 program (MOE2014-T3-1-004) and NRF Investigatorship Award (NRF-NRFI05-2019-0005)

Building and surroundings: thermal coupling

Energy building performance can be different according to outdoor conditions or urban environment, at the same time that this last assess, buildings are also affected by the building envelope, as obvious consequence of the thermal and Aeraulic coupling existing between the indoor and outdoor conditions in buildings. Thus, in this coupling is fundamental to typify the transmission phenomenon through the building envelope. Doing this, it is possible to estimate transmission heating losses and gains and also the superficial temperatures of the envelope. In order to assess the transient behaviour of the building envelope it is necessary to develop a predictive model, precise enough, to be integrated in a simulating tool. Detailed and multidimensional models, based in numerical methods, like Finite Element Method (FEM), has a high precision, but its complexity imply resources consumption and computational time, too high to be integrated in these kind of tools. On the contrary, simplified methods are good enough because they are simple and fast, with an acceptable precision in almost all the situations. The present work is focused: (a) Firstly, to develop a simplified RC-network model. The aim of the model is to characterize and to implement with precision the behaviour of a wall in a simulating software tool based on urban environment, (b) secondly, to express in form of equivalences, the different indoor and outdoor excitations that can exist in the building envelope, and (c) finally, to calibrate the simplified model through its characteristic parameters. For a homogeneous wall and two types of excitations, it has been obtained the characteristic parameters of the model that represent the better adjustment to the real wall. In a first step, it has been obtained the results of the proposal model and a reference model based on FEM, in terms of wall external surface heat flow. Results of both models have been compared, and the resultant characteristic parameters of the model have been obtained through an optimisation method. Results for the wall and for the excitations under analysis show: (1) Characteristic longitude ec, or capacitive node position, it is determined according to a certain value of Fo equal to 2 for both excitations, this value remains constant in time, (2) useful wall thickness, on the contrary, vary as time function, according to a logarithmic law for both excitations, although this function is different depending on the considered excitation, (3) using a constant excitation, coefficients from the previous logarithmic function depends on the range of the excitation, while these are practically independent of the lineal excitation gradient