Controlled deformation of vesicles by flexible structured media

Liquid crystalline (LC) materials, such as actin or tubulin networks, are known to be capable of deforming the shape of cells. Here, elements of that behavior are reproduced in a synthetic system, namely, a giant vesicle suspended in a LC, which we view as a first step toward the preparation of active, anisotropic hybrid systems that mimic some of the functionality encountered in biological systems. To that end, we rely on a coupled particle-continuum representation of deformable networks in a nematic LC represented at the level of a Landau–de Gennes free energy functional. Our results indicate that, depending on its elastic properties, the LC is indeed able to deform the vesicle until it reaches an equilibrium, anisotropic shape. The magnitude of the deformation is determined by a balance of elastic and surface forces. For perpendicular anchoring at the vesicle, a Saturn ring defect forms along the equatorial plane, and the vesicle adopts a pancake-like, oblate shape. For degenerate planar anchoring at the vesicle, two boojum defects are formed at the poles of the vesicle, which adopts an elongated, spheroidal shape. During the deformation, the volume of the topological defects in the LC shrinks considerably as the curvature of the vesicle increases. These predictions are confirmed by our experimental observations of spindle-like shapes in experiments with giant unilamellar vesicles with planar anchoring. We find that the tension of the vesicle suppresses vesicle deformation, whereas anchoring strength and large elastic constants promote shape anisotropy

Unprecedented magnetoresistance in Cd-substituted Tl2Mn2O7 pyrochlores

3 pages, 3 figures.Moderate pressure techniques (P = 20 kbar) have been used to prepare Tl2–xCdxMn2O7 (0x0.4) pyrochlore-like materials. The x = 0.2 compound has been characterized by neutron powder diffraction, magnetic, magnetotransport, and Hall measurements. This material is ferromagnetic below TC = 110 K. Both electrical resistance and magnetoresistance (MR) are enhanced with respect to stoichiometric Tl2Mn2O7, due to the drastic reduction in the number of carriers (electrons) induced by hole doping. MR(0.5 T) is higher than 106% at 120 K, and MR(9 T) is 30% at room temperature. We show that hole doped derivatives of Tl2Mn2O7 are promising candidates in which to search for large bulk magnetoresistance.The author are grateful for the financial support of CICyT (Project Nos. PB97-1181 and MAT99-1045).Peer reviewe

Reestudio del conjunto con grabados de tendencia naturalista de la Fuente del Cabrerizo (Albarracín, Teruel)

Se analiza uno de los conjuntos más paradigmáticos del arte rupestre de la Sierra de Albarracín, la Fuente del Cabrerizo, que cuenta con dos figuraciones zoomorfas grabadas de tendencia naturalista. Estos motivos han sido objeto de fuerte controversia acerca de su filiación dentro del denominado arte levantino, siendo definidos como ejemplos singulares de grabados pertenecientes a este ciclo artístico. A pesar de que algunos autores han apuntado la dificultad de enmarcar crono-culturalmente estos motivos, otros investigadores han seguido defendiendo su adscripción al ciclo referido. La reciente documentación integral realizada en el conjunto, mediante el uso de diferentes tipos de escáneres y el tratamiento digital de la imagen, así como el análisis técnico y estilístico nos permite desvincular ambas figuraciones del denominado arte levantino. Asimismo, se ha llevado a cabo un importante estudio acerca del estado de conservación del conjunto. The following is an analysis of one of the most interesting rock art shelters in the Mountain range of Albarracín: Fuente del Cabrerizo. There are two different engraved motifs on the site. Even today, more than 100 years after the discovery, there is a great controversy about the chrono-cultural classification of those motifs in so-called Levantine Rock Art, being defi as singular examples of isolated Levantine engravings. Despite the fact that some authors have pointed out the difficulty in dating these figures, some others have insisted on their ascription to the artistic cycle. The recent documentation carried out on the site, together with the use of different scanning systems, digital enhancement of the images, and the technique and stylistic analysis of the figures, allows us to disassociate both motifs from the so-called Levantine rock art. At the same time, an important study about the global preservation of the decorated group has been carried out

Preliminary results on the application of the aminoacid racemization technique in the Murcia Region (SE Iberian Peninsula) and their interest in paleoseismological research

Geochronology is a critical issue in paleoseismological research. The aminoacid racemization technique shows important advantages respect to more traditional dating methods; not just for the lower costs and promptness, also because the object to analyze is relatively frequent, in this study: terrestrial gastropods. Furthermore, the costs of the analysis are by far faster and cheaper compared to other dating techniques. Racemization results allow comparing the relative age from different sedimentary units from one trench to another.Additionally, the racemization technique can also be used as a geochronological tool, provided a calibration curve has been first obtained for the particular climate for the area and, ideally, for a particular genus. In this study we show the results obtained from the analysis of 40 samples of terrestrial gastropods from 7 different trenches located in the Murcia Region (SE Spain). Making use of the D/L ratio of aspartic acid we show the coherence found between relative stratigraphic ages and the racemization age. Finally, we show a provisional conversion equation between age of racemization, obtained from Torres et al. (1997) algorithm, and the likely age of the samEl control geocronológico es una cuestión crítica en los estudios de paleosismología. La técnica de racemización de aminoácidos ofrece importantes ventajas respecto a otros métodos de datación, tanto en los costes y rapidez, como en la facilidad de encontrar el objeto de análisis; en este estudio, gasterópodos terrestres. Los resultados permiten comparar la edad relativa entre unidades sedimentarias diferentes de unas zanjas a otras. La técnica de racemización también es una herramienta geocronológica, si bien es necesario primero establecer una curva de calibración para el ambiente climático de la zona e, idealmente, para un género concreto. En este estudio se muestran los resultados obtenidos en 40 muestras de gasterópodos terrestres recogidas en 7 zanjas de investigación paleosismológica en la Región de Murcia. Haciendo uso de la relación D/L del ácido aspártico mostramos la coherencia entre las edades relativas estratigráficas y su edad de racemización. Finalmente, proponemos una relación provisional de conversión entre las edades de racemización obtenidas por el algoritmo de Torres et al. (1997) para gasterópodos de la zona central de la Península Ibérica y la edad probable de las muestra

Discrete Nonholonomic Lagrangian Systems on Lie Groupoids

This paper studies the construction of geometric integrators for nonholonomic systems. We derive the nonholonomic discrete Euler-Lagrange equations in a setting which permits to deduce geometric integrators for continuous nonholonomic systems (reduced or not). The formalism is given in terms of Lie groupoids, specifying a discrete Lagrangian and a constraint submanifold on it. Additionally, it is necessary to fix a vector subbundle of the Lie algebroid associated to the Lie groupoid. We also discuss the existence of nonholonomic evolution operators in terms of the discrete nonholonomic Legendre transformations and in terms of adequate decompositions of the prolongation of the Lie groupoid. The characterization of the reversibility of the evolution operator and the discrete nonholonomic momentum equation are also considered. Finally, we illustrate with several classical examples the wide range of application of the theory (the discrete nonholonomic constrained particle, the Suslov system, the Chaplygin sleigh, the Veselova system, the rolling ball on a rotating table and the two wheeled planar mobile robot).Comment: 45 page

Spain

This chapter presents a review of the situation concerning the various geomorphological hazards in the country, including some information about existing programmes for research, control and mitigation. With its great variety of climatic, geological and morphodynamic environments, Spain is subject to every kind of natural hazard: tsunamis, floods, volcanism, and mass movements. The whole of the territory is prone to some kind of geomorphological hazard but it is in the eastern and southern coastal strips that the risks are greatest. One of the main problems for the mitigation of geomorphological hazards in Spain is the lack of an appropriate regulatory framework for the incorporation of natural hazard assessments into land-use planning and management at the macro-, meso- and micro-planning levels. The coverage of hazard mapping is still far from complete or adequate, and much work remains to be done. There has been considerable diversity in the methods used for risk assessment and for the cartographic representation of natural hazards. An urgent need is to establish common, accepted methodologies and criteria, based on indicators defined as clearly as possible, and to standardize map legends and scales for different planning levels. Information programmes for the general public also need to be considerably expanded

COPD Clinical Control: predictors and long-term follow-up of the CHAIN cohort

CHAIN Study Investigators.[Background] Control in COPD is a dynamic concept that can reflect changes in patients’ clinical status that may have prognostic implications, but there is no information about changes in control status and its long-term consequences.[Methods] We classified 798 patients with COPD from the CHAIN cohort as controlled/uncontrolled at baseline and over 5 years. We describe the changes in control status in patients over long-term follow-up and analyze the factors that were associated with longitudinal control patterns and related survival using the Cox hazard analysis.[Results] 134 patients (16.8%) were considered persistently controlled, 248 (31.1%) persistently uncontrolled and 416 (52.1%) changed control status during follow-up. The variables significantly associated with persistent control were not requiring triple therapy at baseline and having a better quality of life. Annual changes in outcomes (health status, psychological status, airflow limitation) did not differ in patients, regardless of clinical control status. All-cause mortality was lower in persistently controlled patients (5.5% versus 19.1%, p = 0.001). The hazard ratio for all-cause mortality was 2.274 (95% CI 1.394–3.708; p = 0.001). Regarding pharmacological treatment, triple inhaled therapy was the most common option in persistently uncontrolled patients (72.2%). Patients with persistent disease control more frequently used bronchodilators for monotherapy (53%) at recruitment, although by the end of the follow-up period, 20% had scaled up their treatment, with triple therapy being the most frequent therapeutic pattern.[Conclusions] The evaluation of COPD control status provides relevant prognostic information on survival. There is important variability in clinical control status and only a small proportion of the patients had persistently good control. Changes in the treatment pattern may be relevant in the longitudinal pattern of COPD clinical control. Further studies in other populations should validate our results.[Trial registration] Clinical Trials.gov: identifier NCT01122758.This study has been funded by AstraZeneca.Peer reviewe

Critical review of technologies for the on-site treatment of hospital wastewater: From conventional to combined advanced processes

In this work, a raw and low cost mineral, ilmenite (FeTiO3), has been tested for the first time as a photocatalyst paired with peroxymonosulfate (HSO5-; PMS) for the inactivation of Enterococcus faecalis as an alternative to conventional treatments to disinfect wastewater for reuse. The influence of some operational parameters such as reagent dosage, catalyst concentration, initial pH, or flow rate was also studied and optimized. After several tests, the scarce pure photoactivity under UV-A was remarked by ilmenite because of its high iron content, which favors photogenerated charge recombination. However, ilmenite activity was highly promoted when combined with low concentrations of PMS and UV-A light, reaching total inactivation of Enterococcus faecalis in 120 min. Quenching tests were performed using methanol, tert-butyl alcohol, furfuryl alcohol, and Cu(II) to assess the main reactive species involved in the disinfection process determining the critical role of both HO·and SO4·- radicals in the process. Finally, the influence of the water matrix was also evaluated by studying the effect of water hardness and the presence of nutrients on the system. Overall, the PMS/Ilmenite/UV-A system yielded promising results with a total removal of Enterococcus faecalis in 120 min. However, it also showed the need for further study and understanding of the disinfection mechanism to achieve the same level of performance in real wastewaterThe "Comunidad de Madrid" supported this research through REMTAVARES S2013/MAE-2716 and S2018/EMT-434

Impact of Sexualized Substance Use and Other Risk Practices on HCV Microelimination in gbMSM Living with HIV: Urgent Need for Targeted Strategies

In the original publication of the article, the article funding note was incorrectly published, the correct one should read as: This study has been funded by Instituto de Salud Carlos III through the project ‘‘PI18/00583’’ and co-funded by European Regional Development Fund ‘‘A way to make Europe’’. This has been corrected in this paper. © The Author(s) 2022

Predicting long-term disease control in transplant-ineligible patients with multiple myeloma: impact of an MGUS-like signature

Disease control at 5 years would be a desirable endpoint for elderly multiple myeloma (MM) patients, but biomarkers predicting this are not defined. Therefore, to gain further insights in this endpoint, a population of 498 newly diagnosed transplant-ineligible patients enrolled in two Spanish trials (GEM2005MAS65 and GEM2010MAS65), has been analyzed. Among the 435 patients included in this post-hoc study, 18.6% remained alive and progression free after 5 years of treatment initiation. In these patients, overall survival (OS) rate at 10 years was 60.8% as compared with 11.8% for those progressing within the first 5 years. Hemoglobin (Hb) = 12 g/dl (OR 2.74, p = 0.001) and MGUS-like profile (OR 4.18, p = 0.005) were the two baseline variables associated with long-term disease-free survival. Upon including depth of response (and MRD), Hb = 12 g/dl (OR 2.27) and MGUS-like signature (OR 7.48) retained their predictive value along with MRD negativity (OR 5.18). This study shows that despite the use of novel agents, the probability of disease control at 5 years is still restricted to a small fraction (18.6%) of elderly MM patients. Since this endpoint is associated with higher rates of OS, this study provides important information about diagnostic and post-treatment biomarkers helpful in predicting the likelihood of disease control at 5 years