Hydrothermal alteration and accessory minerals in a fault zone of the La Cabrera granite (Spanish Central System)

Depto. de Mineralogía y PetrologíaFac. de Ciencias GeológicasFALSEEspaña. Ministerio de Educación y Cienciapu

Hydrothermal alteration in granites from La Cabrera (Spanish Central System). Study of secondary minerals (SEM) in halos of calcium bearing mineral druses

Depto. de Mineralogía y PetrologíaFac. de Ciencias GeológicasFALSEEspaña. Ministerio de Educación y Cienciapu

Association Between the Use of a Mobile Health Strategy App and Biological Changes in Breast Cancer Survivors: Prospective Pre-Post Study

The objectives of this study were to: (1) check whether it is feasible to find changes in inflammation biomarkers through an mHealth strategy app as a delivery mechanism of an intervention to monitor energy balance; and (2) discover potential predictors of change of these markers in breast cancer survivors (BCSs). Analyzing changes in inflammatory biomarker concentrations after using the mHealth app, differences between preassessment CRP (4899.04 pg/ml; SD 1085.25) and IL-6 (87.15 pg/ml; SD 33.59) and postassessment CRP (4221.24 pg/ml; SD 911.55) and IL-6 (60.53 pg/ml; SD 36.31) showed a significant decrease in both markers, with a mean difference of –635.25 pg/ml (95% CI –935.65 to –334.85; P<.001) in CRP and –26.61 pg/ml (95% CI –42.51 to –10.71; P=.002) in IL-6. Stepwise regression analyses revealed that changes in global quality of life, as well as uMARS score and hormonal therapy, were possible predictors of change in CRP concentration after using the mHealth app. In the same way, the type of tumor removal surgery conducted, as well as changes in weight and pain score, were possible predictors of change in IL-6 concentration after using the app. In conclusion, through the results of this study, we hypothesize that there is a possible association between an mHealth energy balance monitoring strategy and biological changes in BCSs. These changes could be explained by different biopsychosocial parameters, such as the use of the application itself, quality of life, pain, type of tumor removal surgery, hormonal treatment or obesity.The study was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Plan Estatal de I+D+I 2013-2016), Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria del Instituto de Salud Carlos III (PI14/01627), Fondos Estructurales de la Unión Europea (FEDER), and by the Spanish Ministry of Education (FPU14/01069 and FPU17/00939)

Cigarrillos electrónicos

Dispositius electrònics; Cigarretes electròniques; Productes de tabac per escalfamentDispositivos electrónicos; Cigarrillos electrónicos; Productos de tabaco por calentamientoElectronic devices; Electronic cigarettes; Tobacco products for heatingEls dispositius electrònics (DE) són sistemes que proporcionen nicotina i altres substàncies en forma d’aerosol inhalable. Van ser introduïts en el mercat l’any 2003 sense estudis preclínics, proves toxicològiques ni assajos de seguretat a llarg termini, tal com requereixen els productes farmacèutics o els productes sanitaris, i no han estat autoritzats com a productes terapèutics. Hi ha dos tipus principals de DE: les cigarretes electròniques (CE) i els productes de tabac per escalfament (PTE). Els seus efectes sobre la salut a llarg termini són desconeguts i, per tant, no hi ha proves que els DE siguin més segurs que el tabac convencional. A curt termini, poden tenir efectes respiratoris similars als de les cigarretes convencionals. L’any 2019, es va descriure una entitat pròpia de lesions pulmonars associades al vapeig (EVALI, de l’anglès E-cigarette or Vaping Product Use-Associated Lung Injury). També s’han notificat diverses afectacions relacionades dels sistemes respiratori, cardiovascular o immunitari, entre d’altres. Els assaigs clínics publicats fins avui no han aclarit si les CE són efectives per deixar de fumar, bàsicament perquè presenten dèficits metodològics importants. Hi ha una gran evidència (OR 4,59) entre l’ús de CE i la posterior conversió d’aquestes persones en fumadors habituals. L’estratègia més efectiva per ajudar les persones fumadores es basa en el suport psicològic o conductual i la utilització de fàrmacs (teràpia substitutiva de nicotina, bupropió i vareniclina). Els professionals sanitaris haurien de desaconsellar les cigarretes electròniques.Los dispositivos electrónicos (DE) son sistemas que proporcionan nicotina y otras sustancias en forma de aerosol inhalable. Se introdujeron en el mercado el año 2003, sin estudios preclínicos, pruebas toxicológicas, ni ensayos clínicos de seguridad a largo plazo, tal como requieren los medicamentos o los productos sanitarios, y no han sido autorizados como producto terapéutico. Hay dos tipos principales de DE, los cigarrillos electrónicos (CE) y los productos de tabaco por calentamiento (PTC). Los efectos a largo plazo sobre la salud de estos productos son desconocidos y, por tanto, no se dispone de pruebas que permitan afirmar que los DE son más seguros que el tabaco convencional. A corto plazo, pueden tener efectos respiratorios similares a los de los cigarrillos convencionales. En el año 2019, se describió una entidad propia de lesiones pulmonares asociadas al vapeo (EVALI: “E-cigarette Vaping product uso Associated Lung Injury”). También se han notificado varias afectaciones en los sistemas respiratorio, cardiovascular e inmunitario entre otros. Los ensayos clínicos publicados hasta el momento no aclaran si los CE son eficaces para dejar de fumar, básicamente, a causa de que presentan déficits metodológicos importantes. Se dispone de fuerte evidencia (ORO 4,59) entre el uso de CE y la posterior conversión a fumadores habituales. La estrategia más efectiva para ayudar a las personas fumadoras se basa en el apoyo psicológico/conductual y la utilización de fármacos (Terapia sustitutiva de nicotina, bupropión y vareniclina). Los profesionales sanitarios deben desaconsejar el uso de cigarrillos electrónicos

Investigating the effects of lightning on cultural heritage: Characterization of the resulting fulgurite

On average, about 100 lightning discharges occur every second on the Earth. When lightning strikes soil, sand or rock, the high temperatures reached (about 30.000 ºK) promote the formation of melted glass tubular structures known as fulgurites. In the case referred here, lightning stroked a soil (granitic sand plus angular stones of thick-grained two-mica granite) and allochthonous materials supporting the platform of an electric tower. The intense melting produced a cylindrical rod, from which, as if they were roots of a tree, several bifurcating horizontal and subhorizontal branches of decreasing thickness were attached (see figure below).Peer reviewe

Advances in bimodal AFM imaging of molecules in Liquid

Conferencia invitada presentada en la 14th International Conference on Noncontact AFM, celebrada en Lindau (Alemania).Improving spatial resolution, data acquisition times and material properties imaging are some long established goals in atomic force microscopy (AFM). Currently, the most promising approaches to reach those goals involve the excitation and detection of several frequencies of the tip’s oscillation. Usually those frequencies are associated with either the higher harmonics of the oscillation or the eigenmodes of the cantilever. Bimodal AFM is an emerging multifrequency technique that is characterized by a high signal-to-noise ratio and the versatility to measure simultaneously different forces. The method is also compatible with molecular resolution imaging under the application of sub-50 pN peak forces.Peer Reviewe

Un estudio comparativo sobre el pensamiento profesional y la "acción docente" de los profesores de ciencias de Educación Secundaria. Parte II

Este artículo es la segunda parte de una investigación más amplia sobre el pensamiento del profesor (Martínez et al., 2001). En este caso el estudio gira en torno al análisis de las diferencias y similitudes entre dos muestras de profesores de ciencias de educación secundaria que difieren en sus años de docencia y en su trayectoria profesional, definida por la realización de cursos de formación permanente de alta cualificación científica y didáctica. En un primer apartado se analizan facetas relacionadas con la motivación y la satisfacción en la realización de su tarea, la manera de entender la formación del profesor y sus percepciones sobre diferentes factores profesionales. A continuación se aborda lo que «dicen hacer» en relación a aspectos curriculares referidos a contenidos, metodología y evaluación. A partir del análisis de las respuestas a los cuestionarios elaborados se plantean una serie de reflexiones que buscarían mejorar el «desarrollo profesional» de este colectivo de profesores.This article is a part of a wider research on secondary science teachers' beliefs. Through the use of a questionnaire data were obtained from 103 secondary science teachers in service with different degrees of experience. Analysis of data are discussed in terms of their implication in teacher training in service

¿Qué pensamiento profesional y curricular tienen los futuros profesores de ciencias de Secundaria?

This article is a part of a wider research on secondary science teachers' beliefs. Through the use of a questionnaire data were obtained from 211 secondary science teacher candidates. Analyses of data are discussed in terms of their implication in science teacher education

Preparation and characterization of micro-nano engineered targets for high-power laser experiments

[EN] The continuous development of ultra-fast high-power lasers (HPL) technology with the ability of working at unprecedented repetition rates, between 1 and 10 Hz, is raising the target needs for experiments in the different areas of interest to the HPL community. Many target designs can be conceived according to specific scientific issues, however to guarantee manufacturing abilities that enable large number production and still allow for versatility in the design is the main barrier in the exploitation of these high repetition rate facilities. Here, we have applied MEMS based manufacturing processes for this purpose. In particular, we have focused on the fabrication and characterization of submicrometric conductive membranes embedded in a silicon frame. These kinds of solid targets are used for laser-driven particle acceleration through the so-called Target Normal Sheath Acceleration mechanism (TNSA). They were obtained by top-down fabrication alternating pattern transfer, atomic layer deposition, and selective material etching. The adaptability of the approach is then analyzed and discussed by evaluating different properties of targets for use in laser-driven particle acceleration experiments. These characteristics include the surface properties of membranes after fabrication and the high density of the target array. Finally, we were able to show their efficiency for laser-driven proton acceleration in a series of experiments with a 3 TW table-top laser facility, achieving stable proton acceleration up to 2 MeV.The authors highly appreciate the collaboration of Radosys (Budapest) which provided CR-39 detector material, etching bath, and readout equipment. This project has been financed by the Spanish Ministry for Economy and Competitiveness within the Retos-Colaboracion 2015 initiative, ref. RTC-2015-3278-1. P. Mur has received a grant of the Garantia Juvenil 2015 program. This work has made use of the Spanish ICTS Network MICRONANOFABS partially supported by MEINCOM.Zaffino, R.; Seimetz, M.; Quirión, D.; Ruiz-De La Cruz, A.; Sánchez, I.; Mur, P.; Benlliure, J.... (2018). Preparation and characterization of micro-nano engineered targets for high-power laser experiments. Microelectronic Engineering. 194:67-70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mee.2018.03.011S677019