Connecting chemical worlds for a sustainable future

Chemistry plays a central role in science and is the basis of one of the major, more impactful, and diverse industries. However, to address the most pressing global challenges, we must learn to create connections in an effective and meaningful way, with other disciplines, industries, and society at large. Here, we present the IUPAC Top Ten Emerging Technologies in Chemistry as an example of an initiative that highlights some of the most promising advances in chemistry and contributes to creating connections to accelerate sustainable solutions for our society and our planet

Do all raindrops fall at terminal speed?

A unique relation between raindrop size and fall speed vt(D) is assumed throughout atmospheric science. Yet, our speed versus size measurements of millions of drops during natural rainfall events show that many intermediate sized raindrops fall up to an order of magnitude faster than expected. Furthermore, images of drop clusters reveal that these “super‐terminal drops” are differently sized fragments of a recent break‐up, moving with the speed of the parent drop and relaxing towards vt(D). Additional evidence of the break‐up conjecture includes: (i) positive skewness in the distribution of fall speed deviations, (ii) strong size dependence of fall speed deviations and their maximum values and, (iii) preponderance of super‐terminal drops in the presence of large raindrops (i.e., during periods of high rainfall rates)

Inhibition of the medial amygdala disrupts escalated aggression in lactating female mice after repeated exposure to male intruders

Virgin female laboratory mice readily express pup care when co-housed with dams and pups. However, pup-sensitized virgins fail to express intruder-directed aggression on a single session of testing. To study whether repeated testing would affect the onset and dynamics of maternal or intruder-directed aggression, we tested dams and their accompanying virgins from postpartum day 4 to 6. Repeated testing led to escalated aggression towards male intruders in dams, but virgins never developed aggression. In dams, inhibition of the medial amygdala using DREADD (designer receptors exclusively activated by designer drugs) vectors carrying the hM4Di receptor blocked the expected increase in maternal aggression on the second testing day. Our data support that the onset of maternal aggression is linked to physiological changes occurring during motherhood, and that medial amygdala, a key centre integrating vomeronasal, olfactory and hormonal information, enables the expression of escalated aggression induced by repeated testing. Future studies selectively targeting specific neuronal populations of the medial amygdala are needed to allow a deeper understanding of the control of experience-dependent aggression increase, a phenomenon leading to the high aggression levels found in violent behaviours

Microarray tools to unveil viral-microbe interactions in nature

The interactions between viruses and their microbial hosts play a central role in the control of microbial communities in nature. However, the study of such interactions within the uncultured majority is technically very challenging. Here, we review how microarray tools can be used to analyze the interactions between viruses and their microbial hosts in nature, away from laboratory pure culture-based models. We show examples of how DNA arrays have been used to study the expression of viral assemblages in natural samples, and to assign viruses to hosts within uncultured communities. Finally, we briefly discuss the possibilities of protein and glycan arrays to gain insight into the ways microbes interact with their viruses.Our current studies with viral microarrays are supported by projects CGL2012-39627-C03-01 (to Josefa Antón) and AYA2011-24803 (to Víctor Parro) of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, which are co-financed with FEDER support from the European Union

Los pastos en las fincas de Lugar Nuevo y Selladores-Contadores (Sª de Andújar, Jaén): tipología, calidad y distribución espacial

Las fincas del O. A. Parques Nacionales “Lugar Nuevo” y “Selladores-Contadero” están situadas en el Parque Natural de la Sierra de Andújar (Jaén). Su situación geográfica, y especialmente su historia de usos y propiedad han motivado que hoy sean ejemplo de una flora y vegetación con buen estado de conservación. En trabajos anteriores se han realizado catálogos florísticos de las dos fincas como estudios básicos para la planificación de la gestión y la compatibilidad de la conservación y el aprovechamiento de los recursos en los espacios naturales protegidos. En esta comunicación se realiza un análisis de los pastos herbáceos de las dos fincas que constituyen un recurso estratégico para la alimentación de las poblaciones de herbívoros instaladas en las mismas. Se analizan y cartografían las distintas formaciones de pastos reconocidos (10), su distribución espacial, palatabilidad y grado de utilizació

Enclaves húmedos de interés florístico en Los Quintos de Mora (Toledo)

Los Quintos de Mora es una finca de propiedad estatal situada en el extremo sur de la provincia de Toledo dentro del término municipal de los Yébenes. Las prospecciones llevadas a cabo durante la primavera y el verano de 2008 han dado como resultado varias novedades corológicas y otras citas de interés florístico que destacan por su elevado valor ecológico, biogeográfico o conservacionista. Todas ellas, tienen en mayor o menor grado unos altos requerimientos hídricos y se refugian de la sequía estival en distintos tipos de enclaves húmedos. En este trabajo se destacan los cinco ambientes húmedos de interés en los que se han encontrado las especies de mayor singularidad

The Decreased Growth Hormone Response to Growth Hormone Releasing Hormone in Obesity Is Associated to Cardiometabolic Risk Factors

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the relationship between GHRH-induced GH secretion in obese premenopausal women and cardiovascular risk markers or insulin resistance. Premenopausal obese women, aged 35–52 years, were studied. GH secretion, IGF-I, serum cardiovascular risk markers, insulin, leptin, mid-waist and hip circumference, total body fat, and truncal fat were measured. Subjects were classified as meeting the criteria for GH deficiency (GHD) when peak GH after stimulation with GHRH was ≤3 μg/L. Mean total and LDL cholesterol, fasting insulin, and HOMA-IR were all higher, in subjects who would have been classified as GH-deficient compared with GH-sufficient. Peak GH secretion after stimulation was inversely associated with fasting insulin (R = −0.650, P = .012), HOMA-IR (R = −0.846, P = .001), total cholesterol (R = −0.532, P = .034), and LDL cholesterol (R = −0.692, P = .006) and positively associated with HDL cholesterol (R = 0.561, P = .037). These data strongly suggest a role for insulin resistance in the decreased GH secretion of obesity and that the blunted GH secretion of central obesity could be the pituitary expression of the metabolic syndrome

Synthesis and antibacterial activity of difluoromethyl cinnamoyl amides

Series of novel amides of isoferulic acid, where the phenolic hydroxyl was replaced by a difluoromethyl group, were synthesized and their in vitro antibacterial activities assayed against fourteen bacterial strains (six Gram-positive and eight Gram-negative). A one-pot methodology was developed to obtain the 30-(difluoromethyl)-40-methoxycinnamoyl amides using Deoxofluor® as a fluorinating agent. The N-isopropyl, N-isopentyl, and N-(2-phenylethyl) amides 11b, 11d and 11g were the most active and selective against Mycobacterium smegmatis (MIC = 8 µg/mL) with 11b and 11g displaying negligible or no cytotoxicity against HepG2 and A549 cells. Thirteen analogs of N-isopropylamide 11b were also synthesized and their antibacterial activity assayed. Results show that the difluoromethyl moiety enhanced antibacterial activity and selectivity towards M. smegmatis, changing the microorganism inhibition profile of the parent compound. The selectivity exhibited by some of the compounds towards M. smegmatis makes them potential leads in the search for new narrow spectrum antibiotics against M. tuberculosis.Fil: Martinez, Mario David. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Unidad de Microanálisis y Métodos Físicos en Química Orgánica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Unidad de Microanálisis y Métodos Físicos en Química Orgánica; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Química Orgánica; ArgentinaFil: Riva, Diego Ariel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Química Biológica; ArgentinaFil: Garcia, Cybele. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Química Biológica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Duran, Fernando Javier. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Unidad de Microanálisis y Métodos Físicos en Química Orgánica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Unidad de Microanálisis y Métodos Físicos en Química Orgánica; ArgentinaFil: Burton, Gerardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Unidad de Microanálisis y Métodos Físicos en Química Orgánica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Unidad de Microanálisis y Métodos Físicos en Química Orgánica; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Química Orgánica; Argentin

Retinal-binding proteins mirror prokaryotic dynamics in multipond solar salterns

Microbial opsin (i.e. retinal-binding protein) dynamics has been studied along a salinity gradient in Santa Pola solar salterns (Alicante, Spain) by using culture-independent approaches and statistical analyses. Five ponds of salinities ranging from 18% to above 40% were sampled nine times along a year. Forty-three opsin-like sequences were retrieved by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and clustered into 18 different phylogroups, indicating that their diversity was higher than expected according to previous data. Moreover, the statistical correlation between environmental factors controlling microbial community structure and dynamics of environmental rhodopsin proteins indicated almost identical temporal fluctuations between the opsin-related sequences and their corresponding putative ‘producers’ in nature. Although most sequences were related to others previously detected in hypersaline environments, some pond-specific opsins putatively belonged to previously uncharacterized hosts. Furthermore, we propose that subtle changes in the bacteriorhodopsin ‘retinal proton binding pocket’, which is key in the photocycle function, could be the molecular basis behind a fine ‘photocycle-tuning’ mechanism to avoid inter/intraspecies light-competition in hypersaline environments.This work was supported by project CGL2012-39627-C03-01 of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, which was also co-funded with FEDER support from the European Union

Metabolic rate and hypoxia tolerance in Girardinichthys multiradiatus (Pisces: Goodeidae), an endemic fish at high altitude in tropical Mexico

Artículo científico JCR Q1The darkedged splitfin (Amarillo fish), Girardinichthys multiradiatus is a vulnerable endemic fish species inhabiting central Mexico's high altitude Upper Lerma Basin, where aquatic hypoxia is exacerbated by low barometric pressures (lower PO2s), large aquatic oxygen changes, poor aquatic systems management and urban, agricultural and industrial pollution. The respiratory physiology of G. multiradiatus under such challenging conditions is unknown - therefore the main goal of the present study was to determine metabolic rates and hypoxia tolerance to elucidate possible physiological adaptations allowing this fish to survive high altitude and increasingly eutrophic conditions. Fish came from two artificial reservoirs – San Elías and Ex Hacienda - considered refuges for this species. Both reservoirs showed high dial PO2 variation, with hypoxic conditions before midday and after 20:00 h, ~4 h of normoxia (15 kPa) from 16:00–20:00, and ~4 h of hyperoxia (16–33 kPa) from 12:00–16:00. Standard metabolic rate at 20 ± 0.5 °C of larvae from Ex Hacienda was significantly higher than those from San Elías, but these differences disappeared in juveniles and adults. Metabolic rate at 20 ± 0.5 °C for adults was 9.8 ± 0.1 SEM μmol O2/g/h. The metabolic scaling exponent for adults was 0.58 for San Elías fish and 0.83 for Ex Hacienda fish, indicating possible ecological effects on this variable. Post-larval fish in Ex Hacienda and all stages in San Elias site showed considerable hypoxia tolerance, with PCrit mean values ranging from 1.9–3.1 kPa, lower than those of many tropical fish at comparable temperatures. Collectively, these data indicate that G. multiradiatus is well adapted for the hypoxia associated with their high-altitude habitat.CONACyT PRODEP-SEP UAEMé