El uso de la Química Computacional en el aula de Bachillerato

En la enseñanza de la Física y la Química, la experimentación en el aula juega un papel fundamental para que los estudiantes establezcan una relación entre la teoría y el entorno. Sin embargo, esto no siempre es factible, como ocurre en el caso de fenómenos en la escala atómica. Hemos llevado a cabo una propuesta de innovación educativa para introducir el uso de simulaciones en el aula, empleando softwares de Química computacional de alto rendimiento como herramienta para el aprendizaje de la Química en alumnos de Bachillerato. Aprovechando las funcionalidades de estas herramientas, empleadas casi exclusivamente en la investigación, los estudiantes son capaces de calcular y visualizar propiedades de átomos y moléculas en un contexto mecanocuántico, así como de aumentar su motivación al afrontar la asignatura y establecer contacto con las aplicaciones y la relevancia de la Química computacional en la investigación e industria.When teaching natural sciences, such as Physics and Chemistry, experimentation plays a crucial role in order for the students to establish a link between theory and the reality of their surroundings. However, some experiments are not feasible, as happens with phenomena in the atomic scale. We designed an innovative educational proposal in order to implement the use of simulations in high school education, employing high-performance computational Chemistry packages as a tool for teaching. By making use of their functionalities and capabilities, mainly used in scientific research, we aim to give the students the chance to perform calculations and visualize properties of atoms and molecules within a quantum-mechanical formalism, enhancing their motivation and providing an insight of the state of the art and relevance of computational Chemistry in the context of research and industry.Departamento de Química Física y Química InorgánicaMáster en Profesor de Educación Secundaria Obligatoria y Bachillerato, Formación Profesional y Enseñanzas de Idioma

Propiedades estructurales y magnéticas de nanopartículas de Co2Au10

Hemos llevado a cabo una búsqueda del estado fundamental de la nanoaleación Co2Au10, que hemos comprobado que puede ser vista como un dímero de Co recubierto por diez átomos de Au, con vistas a encontrar un bit magnético estable en el límite de la miniaturización, y hemos estudiado sus propiedades estructurales y magnéticas desde una aproximación relativista escalar. Los cálculos se han realizado empleando el código VASP (Vienna Ab initio Simulation Package), que es una implementación eficiente de la Teoría del Funcional de la Densidad. Hemos determinado el orden energético de las distintas estructuras y hemos caracterizado en profundidad el estado fundamental y primeros isómeros de la nanoaleación, obteniendo el espectro de frecuencias vibracionales, la densidad de estados electrónicos, la distribución local de cargas y momentos magnéticos, así como el momento magnético total del cluster.Grado en Físic

The Potentials of Faecal Sludge Treatment using Local Conditioners in Tanzania: A Review

Worldwide, every day human beings generate millions of tons of Faecal Sludge (FS), which is rich in water, nutrients, energy, and organic compounds. Yet FS is not being managed in a way that permits us to derive value from its reuse, while at the same time, millions of farmers struggle with depleted soils and lack of water. In most of the developing countries, energy for cooking is mainly derived from cutting of trees, either as wood or charcoal. Resource recovery and reuse from FS can create livelihoods, enhance food security, support green economies, reduce waste and contribute to cost recovery in the sanitation chain. Many studies have reported on the different technologies used for FS treatment, such as dewatering and bio-stabilization. The commonly used dewatering technology is sand drying bed, which occupied a large space and has a low dewatering rate. To enhance the dewatering rate of FS as well as reducing the size of the sand drying bed, the use of chemical conditioners has been done. Despite the fact that they have been used successfully, chemical conditioners are expensive, have health and environmentally hazardous. In recent years, attempts have been made to use local conditioners to tackle the drawbacks experienced from chemical conditioners. Although the feasibility of applying local conditioners for FS dewatering has been studied, its potentials on FS treatment have not been well documented. This review indicates that there is potential for local conditioners linked with dewatering, enhancing of FS resources recovery and in reducing costs of operating and maintaining FS treatment plant. Moreover, local conditioners have the potential in contribution to socio-economic development in Tanzania through renewable energy production, income generation and food- health security, soil and water conservation, eco-sanitation and reduction of environmental degradation

Endocannabinoids and related lipids linked to social exclusion in individuals with chronic non-medical prescription opioid use.

Opioid-related overdose deaths are still on the rise in North America, emphasizing the need to better understand the underlying neurobiological mechanisms regarding the development of opioid use disorder (OUD). Recent evidence from preclinical and clinical studies indicate that the endocannabinoid system (ECS) may play a crucial role in stress and reward, both involved in the development and maintenance of substance use disorders. Animal models demonstrate a specific crosstalk between the ECS and the endogenous opioid system. However, translational studies in humans are scarce. Here, we investigated basal plasma levels of the endocannabinoids anandamide (AEA) and 2-arachidonoyglycerol (2-AG), and eight endocannabinoid-related lipids, including oleoylethanolamide (OEA) and palmitoylethanolamide (PEA), as well as whole blood fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) activity in chronic non-medical prescription opioid users (NMPOU; n = 21) compared to opioid-naïve healthy controls (n = 29) considering age, sex, and cannabis use as potential confounders. Additionally, the association of endocannabinoids and related lipids with the participants' response to experimentally induced social exclusion was examined. We found significantly elevated basal AEA, OEA, and PEA levels in NMPOU compared to controls, but no differences in FAAH activity, 2-AG, or other endocannabinoid-related lipids. Within NMPOU, higher AEA levels were associated with lower perception of social exclusion. Robust positive correlations within N-acylethanolamines (i.e., AEA, OEA, and PEA) indicate strong metabolic associations. Together with our recent findings of elevated basal 2-AG levels in dependent cocaine users, present results indicate substance-specific alterations of the ECS that may have implications in the search for novel therapeutic interventions for these populations

Self-Inhibitory Activity of Trichoderma Soluble Metabolites and Their Antifungal Effects on Fusarium oxysporum

[EN] Self-inhibitory processes are a common feature shared by di erent organisms. One of the main mechanisms involved in these interactions regarding microorganisms is the release of toxic di usible substances into the environment. These metabolites can exert both antimicrobial e ects against other organisms as well as self-inhibitory ones. The in vitro evaluation of these e ects against other organisms has been widely used to identify potential biocontrol agents against phytopathogenic microorganisms. In the present study, we performed membrane assays to compare the self-inhibitory e ects of soluble metabolites produced by several Trichoderma isolates and their antifungal activity against a phytopathogenic strain of Fusarium oxysporum. The results demonstrated that Trichoderma spp. present a high self-inhibitory activity in vitro, being a ected in both their growth rate and the macroscopic structure of their colonies. These e ects were highly similar to those exerted against F. oxysporum in the same conditions, showing no significant di erences in most cases. Consequently, membrane assays may not be very informative by themselves to assess putative biocontrol capabilities. Therefore, di erent methods, or a combination of antifungal and self-inhibitory experiments, could be a better approach to evaluate the potential biocontrol activity of microbial strains in order to pre-select them for further in vivo trials.SIThis research was funded by Junta de Castilla y León, Consejería de Educación for the project “Application of Trichoderma strains in sustainable quality bean production”; (LE251P18) and for the grant to Samuel Álvarez García of the Junta de Castilla y León according to ORDER EDU/529/2017, of June 26, co-financed by the European Social Fund. The research has been funded also by the University of León: Universidad de León; Convocatoria de ayudas para el fomento de la publicación en acceso abierto a profesores de nueva incorporación; programa 463A.3.01

Culinary and sensory traits diversity in the Spanish Core Collection of common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.)

The Spanish National Plant Genetic Resource Center's core collection of bean germplasm includes 202 accessions selected from more than 3000 accessions in function of passport data, seed phenotype, genetic background, and agronomic traits. To acquire more useful information about these accessions, we cultivated and characterized them for sensory and culinary traits. We found considerable variation for culinary and sensory traits of the cooked beans (mean coefficients of variation: 41% for the sensory traits and 40% for the culinary traits). The large dataset enabled us to study correlations between sensory and culinary traits and among these traits and geographic origin, seed color, and growth habit. Greater proportion of white in the seed coat correlated positively with brightness and negatively with mealiness (r=0.60, r=-0.60, p<0.001, respectively). Mealiness correlated negatively with seed-coat roughness and rate of water absorption (r=-0.60, r=-0.53, p<0.001, respectively). Materials of Andean origin had lower seed-coat brightness (p<0.01) and seed-coat roughness, and greater seed-coat perceptibility, mealiness, flavor, and aroma (p<0.001) than materials of Mesoamerican origin. Growth habit failed to correlate with culinary or sensory traits.Postprint (published version

Genetic Response of Common Bean to the Inoculation with Indigenous Fusarium Isolates

[EN] Fungal species from the genus Fusarium are important soil-borne pathogens worldwide, causing significant economic losses in diverse crops. The need to find sustainable solutions against this disease has led to the development of new strategies—for instance, the use of biocontrol agents. In this regard, non-pathogenic Fusarium isolates have demonstrated their ability to help other plants withstand subsequent pathogen attacks. In the present work, several Fusarium isolates were evaluated in climatic chambers to identify those presenting low or non-pathogenic behavior. The inoculation with a low-pathogenic isolate of the fungus did not affect the development of the plant, contrary to the results observed in plants inoculated with pathogenic isolates. The expression of defense-related genes was evaluated and compared between plants inoculated with pathogenic and low-pathogenic Fusarium isolates. Low-pathogenic isolates caused a general downregulation of several plant defense-related genes, while pathogenic ones produced an upregulation of these genes. This kind of response to low-pathogenic fungal isolates has been already described for other plant species and fungal pathogens, being related to enhanced tolerance to later pathogen attacks. The results here presented suggest that low-pathogenic F. oxysporum and F. solani isolates may have potential biocontrol activity against bean pathogens via induced and systemic responses in the plantSIThis research was funded by Junta de Castilla y León, Consejería de Educación for the project “Application of Trichoderma strains in sustainable quality bean production” (LE251P18), the grant to SA-G of the Junta de Castilla y León according to ORDER EDU/529/2017, of June 26, co-financed by the European Social Fund, and the grant to AP-A (FPU19/03650) of Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacion y Universidades (Spain)