Non-symmetric liquid crystal dimer containing a carbohydrate-based moiety

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Do vegetation patch spatial patterns disrupt the spatial organization of plant species?

Thelong-range spatial autocorrelationwasevaluated based on the dispersal abilities of the species.Among the 106 species evaluated, 39%of thewoody species, 17% of the forbs, and 12% of the grasses exhibited disrupted long-range spatial autocorrelation where patches were small. The species that are more vulnerable to the effects of fragmentation tended to be those that have restricted dispersal, such as those that have short-range ispersal (atelechoric), e.g., Phlomis purpurea, Cistus albidus, Teucrium pseudochamaepytis, Brachypodium retusum, and the ballistic species, Genista spartioides. Helianthemumalmeriense is another vulnerable species that has actively restricted dispersal (antitelechory), which is common in arid regions. Wind dispersers such as Launaea lanifera were less vulnerable to the effects of fragmentation. Long-distance dispersers whose persistence depends on facilitative interactions with other individuals, e.g., allogamous species such as Thymus hyemalis, Ballota hirsuta, and Anthyllis cytisoides, exhibit disrupted long-range spatial autocorrelation when patch size is reduce

Twist-Bend Nematogenic Supramolecular Dimers and Trimers Formed by Hydrogen Bonding

The work was supported by the National Science Centre (Poland) under the grant no. 2016/22/A/ST5/00319.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

The role of conductivity and molecular mobility on the photoanisotropic response of a new azo-polymer containing sulfonic groups

This work was supported by the University Malaya under the UMRG grant RP038B-17AFR. NFKA and AMF would like to thank the Royal Academy of Engineering, U.K., and Academy of Science, Malaysia, for the grant NRCP1516/4/61, from the Newton Research Collaboration Programme, and the University of Aberdeen, for the award of the grant SF10192, corresponding to the Global Challenge Research Fund Internal Pump Priming Fund Round 2. AMF would like to acknowledge the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland for the award of one Scottish Research Incentive Grant (RIG008586).Peer reviewedPostprintPostprin

Different Impacts of Cardiovascular Risk Factors on Oxidative Stress

The objective of the study was to evaluate oxidative stress (OS) status in subjects with different cardiovascular risk factors. With this in mind, we have studied three models of high cardiovascular risk: hypertension (HT) with and without metabolic syndrome, familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) and familial combined hyperlipidemia (FCH) with and without insulin resistance. Oxidative stress markers (oxidized/reduced glutathione ratio, 8-oxo-deoxyguanosine and malondialdehide) together with the activity of antioxidant enzyme triad (superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase) and activation of both pro-oxidant enzyme (NAPDH oxidase components) and AGTR1 genes, as well as antioxidant enzyme genes (CuZn-SOD, CAT, GPX1, GSR, GSS and TXN) were measured in mononuclear cells of controls (n = 20) and patients (n = 90) by assessing mRNA levels. Activity of some of these antioxidant enzymes was also tested. An increase in OS and pro-oxidant gene mRNA values was observed in patients compared to controls. The hypertensive group showed not only the highest OS values, but also the highest pro-oxidant activation compared to those observed in the other groups. In addition, in HT a significantly reduced antioxidant activity and mRNA induction of antioxidant genes were found when compared to controls and the other groups. In FH and FCH, the activation of pro-oxidant enzymes was also higher and antioxidant ones lower than in the control group, although it did not reach the values obtained in hypertensives. The thioredoxin system was more activated in patients as compared to controls, and the highest levels were in hypertensives. The increased oxidative status in the presence of cardiovascular risk factors is a consequence of both the activation of pro-oxidant mechanisms and the reduction of the antioxidant ones. The altered response of the main cytoplasmic antioxidant systems largely contributes to OS despite the apparent attempt of the thioredoxin system to control it

Photo-driven effects in twist-bend nematic phases : dynamic and memory response of liquid crystalline dimers

AMF would like to acknowledge the Scottish Government and the Royal Society of Edinburgh, for the award of one SAPHIRE project, the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland, for the award of the RIG008586 project, the Royal Society, for the Research Grant RGS\R1\201397, and the Royal Society of Chemistry, for the award of the mobility grant M19-0000. AMF and AK would also like to acknowledge the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland, for the award of one Carnegie Trust Vacation Scholarships. All authors would like to thank the School of Engineering and the Department of Chemistry of the University of Aberdeen, for financial support.Peer reviewedPostprin

Ionically conducting and photoresponsive liquid crystalline terpolymers : towards multifunctional polymer electrolytes

ARG and AMF thank the financial support of the Generalitat Valenciana, through the Grisolia and Forteza programs, and the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, through the Research Projects ENE2007-67584-C03 and UPOVCE-3E-013 and the awarding of two FPI and FPU pre-doctoral grants. AMF and NFKA would like to thank the Royal Academy of Engineering for the award of the Newton Research Collaboration Programme grant NRCP1516/4/61. AMF acknowledges the School of Engineering of the University of Aberdeen for financial support.Peer reviewedPostprin

Contemporary characteristics and outcomes in chagasic heart failure compared with other nonischemic and ischemic cardiomyopathy

Background: Chagas’ disease is an important cause of cardiomyopathy in Latin America. We aimed to compare clinical characteristics and outcomes in patients with heart failure (HF) with reduced ejection fraction caused by Chagas’ disease, with other etiologies, in the era of modern HF therapies. Methods and Results: This study included 2552 Latin American patients randomized in the PARADIGM-HF (Prospective Comparison of ARNI With ACEI to Determine Impact on Global Mortality and Morbidity in Heart Failure) and ATMOSPHERE (Aliskiren Trial to Minimize Outcomes in Patients With Heart Failure) trials. The investigator-reported etiology was categorized as Chagasic, other nonischemic, or ischemic cardiomyopathy. The outcomes of interest included the composite of cardiovascular death or HF hospitalization and its components and death from any cause. Unadjusted and adjusted Cox proportional hazards models were performed to compare outcomes by pathogenesis. There were 195 patients with Chagasic HF with reduced ejection fraction, 1300 with other nonischemic cardiomyopathy, and 1057 with ischemic cardiomyopathy. Compared with other etiologies, Chagasic patients were more often female, younger, and had lower prevalence of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and renal impairment (but had higher prevalence of stroke and pacemaker implantation) and had worse health-related quality of life. The rates of the composite outcome were 17.2, 12.5, and 11.4 per 100 person-years for Chagasic, other nonischemic, and ischemic patients, respectively—adjusted hazard ratio for Chagasic versus other nonischemic: 1.49 (95% confidence interval, 1.15–1.94; P=0.003) and Chagasic versus ischemic: 1.55 (1.18–2.04; P=0.002). The rates of all-cause mortality were also higher. Conclusions: Despite younger age, less comorbidity, and comprehensive use of conventional HF therapies, patients with Chagasic HF with reduced ejection fraction continue to have worse quality of life and higher hospitalization and mortality rates compared with other etiologies. Clinical Trial Registration: PARADIGM-HF: URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01035255; ATMOSPHERE: URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT00853658

Spontaneous chirality through mixing achiral components : A twist-bend nematic phase driven by hydrogen-bonding between unlike components

Acknowledgments: The work was supported by the National Science Centre (Poland) under the grant no. 2016/22/A/ST5/00319. RW gratefully acknowledges the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland for funding the award of a PhD scholarship.Peer reviewedPostprin

Hybrid Stars in a Strong Magnetic Field

We study the effects of high magnetic fields on the particle population and equation of state of hybrid stars using an extended hadronic and quark SU(3) non-linear realization of the sigma model. In this model the degrees of freedom change naturally from hadrons to quarks as the density and/or temperature increases. The effects of high magnetic fields and anomalous magnetic moment are visible in the macroscopic properties of the star, such as mass, adiabatic index, moment of inertia, and cooling curves. Moreover, at the same time that the magnetic fields become high enough to modify those properties, they make the star anisotropic.Comment: Revised version with updated reference