Fluid flow evolution in the Alpine-related basement and sedimentary cover structures in the Southern Pyrenees: an integrated structural, petrographic and geochemical approach

[eng] This PhD thesis examines the fracture-fluid interactions across different compressional structures affecting both Paleozoic basement and Mesozoic-Cenozoic cover lithologies in the Southern Pyrenees in order to investigate the relationships between fluid flow and deformation. The studied structures include the Estamariu thrust in the Pyrenean Axial Zone and the Sant Corneli-Bóixols anticline along the front of the Bóixols thrust sheet in the Southern-Central Pyrenees. The proposed methodology integrates field data with U-Pb dating and petrographic and geochemical (δ18O, δ13C, 87Sr/86Sr, clumped isotopes and elemental composition) analyses of vein cements, fault rocks and host rocks present in the study area. The Estamariu thrust resulted from a multistage late Paleozoic to Neogene tectonic evolution. Despite this thrust is known to be Variscan in origin, in the study area it places a Devonian pre-Variscan unit on top of a Stephano-Permian late to post-Variscan sequence, indicating that the structures within this thrust zone have to be post-Variscan. The contractional structures found at the contact between Devonian and Stephano-Permian units have been attributed to the Alpine reactivation of the Estamariu thrust. This Alpine-related deformation is consistent with the transposition of the Variscan regional foliation within the main thrust zone and with the formation of a subsidiary thrust zone in the footwall of the Estamariu thrust. Other structures found in the study area, such as extensional fractures, shear bands and normal faults, postdate the reverse structures and have been attributed to the Neogene extension. In the Sant Corneli-Bóixols anticline, the folded units involve Jurassic-mid Upper Cretaceous pre-compression and latest Cretaceous-Paleocene syn-orogenic sedimentary successions detached on Upper Triassic evaporites. Contrary to the Estamariu thrust, in the Sant Corneli- Bóixols anticline this PhD thesis provides the absolute age of deformation reporting 23 U- Pb dates measured in different sets of fracture-filling calcite cements. These U-Pb dates reveal Late Cretaceous to late Miocene age variations, which are coeval with growth strata deposition and Bóixols thrust sheet emplacement (dates from 71.2 ± 6.4 Ma to 56.9 ± 1.4 Ma), tectonic transport of the Bóixols thrust sheet above the southern Pyrenean basal thrust (dates from 55.5 ± 1.2 Ma to 27.4 ± 0.9 Ma) and post-orogenic exhumation of the Sant Corneli-Bóixols anticline (dates younger than 20.8 ± 1.2 Ma). Throughout this long-lived deformation history, the geochemical data of the successive calcite veins allow to analyze the relationships between fluid flow and deformation in the two studied domains. In the Estamariu thrust, the high 87Sr/86Sr ratios of the different calcite cements indicate the interaction between the vein-forming fluids and radiogenic Paleozoic basement rocks. The geochemical evolution from the earliest to the latest calcite cements also evidence a progressive change in the fluid regime and composition during successive compressional and extensional tectonic events. The progressive increase in precipitation temperatures, from 50 ºC to around 210 ºC, and enrichment in δ18Ofluid, from -6.4 to +12 ‰SMOW, in cements attributed to the Alpine compression to cements from the Neogene extension, is probably linked to a higher extent of fluid-rock interaction with basement rocks. By contrast, during the latest stages of the Neogene extension, the geochemistry of the youngest calcite cements evidence the percolation of cold meteoric fluids that indicates a more significant change in the fluid regime, from upward to downward fluid migration. In the Sant Corneli-Bóixols anticline, the fluid origin and the extent of fluid-rock interaction varied in the several structural positions of the fold and according to the age and nature of their stratigraphy and the involved fracture networks. This evidences a compartmentalization of the fluid system. In the core of the anticline and in the lowest part of the synorogenic sequence from the footwall of the Bóixols thrust, the similar petrographic and geochemical features between successive calcite cements and host rocks indicate a closed fluid system, leading to high extent of fluid-rock interaction. This host-rock buffered fluid was likely derived from the surrounding Lower Cretaceous and Upper Cretaceous marine carbonates, respectively. Contrarily, along large faults, such as the Bóixols thrust, which affect the entire anticline and in the fold limbs, the fluid system was open. Large faults registered the upward migration of fluids in thermal and geochemical disequilibrium with surrounding host rocks, as attested by the light δ18O values of their associated vein cements, down to -14 ‰VPDB, and the high temperature of precipitation, up to 120 ºC. The fold limbs registered the infiltration of meteoric waters, corroborated by the low Sr contents and by the δ18O and δ13C values of the vein cements, from -8 to -6 ‰VPDB and down to -10 ‰VPDB, respectively, which are typical values of meteoric carbonates. In the fault zone of the Bóixols thrust, successive fracture systems and related calcite cements highlight an episodic evolution of the thrust zone. The presence of early extensional fractures and a chaotic breccia is consistent with the formation of dilatant fracturing within a process zone (around the fault tip) during initial fault growth, whereas the formation of the latest fracture system points to hybrid shear-dilational failure during propagation of the Bóixols thrust. Similarly, the different structural and fluid flow histories in the footwall and hanging wall of the Bóixols thrust indicate a compartmentalization of the thrust zone. Clumped isotopes applied to vein cements from the footwall evidence a progressive increase in precipitation temperatures from 50 ºC to 117 ºC, approximately, and an enrichment in δ18Ofluid, from -1.8 to +5.5 ‰SMOW. This has been interpreted as a change in the fluid source from meteoric fluids to evolved meteoric fluids due to water-rock interaction at increasing depths and temperatures. Contrary to the footwall, clumped isotopes applied to vein cement from the hanging wall, which is the same cement found in the fault core, revealed temperatures around 95 ºC and δ18Ofluid up to +1.9 ‰SMOW. This has been interpreted as the migration of formation waters from the fault core and towards the hanging wall. Therefore, the Bóixols thrust likely acted as a transverse barrier, dividing the thrust zone into two separate fluid compartments, and a longitudinal drain for migration of fluids. Altogether, the maximum temperatures and δ18Ofluid, up to 120 ºC and +5.5 ‰VSMOW, obtained in the Sant Corneli-Bóixols anticline, implying 3-4 km depth and presence of formation waters, respectively, together with the 87Sr/86Sr ratios of the vein cements, within the range of values documented in the sedimentary cover, discard the transfer of fluids between the basement and the sedimentary cover in the Southern-Central Pyrenees. This indicates that the paleohydrological system in the Sant Corneli-Bóixols anticline was restricted to the Bóixols thrust sheet above the Upper Triassic detachment level. This evaporitic detachment likely acted as a lower fluid barrier, preventing the input of fluids from deeper parts of the belt, as interpreted in other areas of the Pyrenees and in other detached thrust systems as the Central Appalachians and Sierra Madre Oriental. Finally, comparing the results obtained in both studied domains with those reported in previous contributions, this study assesses the fluid flow and deformation relationships at regional scale. On the one hand, this thesis highlights a common fluid flow behavior along strike in the central-eastern part of the southern Pyrenees, where major faults acted as transfer zones for migration of fluid in thermal and geochemical disequilibrium with adjacent host rocks, whereas background fracturing recorded the presence of fluids that highly interacted with surrounding host rocks. Additionally, our data indicates that regardless of the fluid origin and the tectonic context, the fluids that have interacted with basement rocks have a higher 87Sr/86Sr ratio (> 0.710) than those that have circulated through the sedimentary cover (< 0.710). Lastly, extensional deformation structures in the eastern Pyrenees have acted as conduits for hydrothermal fluid migration in Neogene times similarly as in the northern part of the Catalan Coastal Ranges. These fluids likely interacted with basement rocks before ascending through fault zones and related fractures.[cat] Aquesta tesi estudia les interaccions entre fracturació i fluids a diferents estructures (plecs i zones de falles) que afecten els materials del sòcol Paleozoic y de la cobertora Mesozoica- Cenozoica a la Zona Sud-Pirinenca. L’objectiu de la tesi és reconèixer les relacions entre migració de fluids i deformació utilitzant com a anàlegs l’encavalcament d’Estamariu a la Zona Axial i l’anticlinal de Sant Corneli-Bóixols a la part frontal del mantell de Bóixols, Unitat Sud-Pirinenca Central. A cada estructura s’integren dades de camp amb datacions U- Pb i diversos anàlisis petrogràfics i geoquímics (δ18O, δ13C, 87Sr/86Sr, cumpled isòtops i composició elemental) de ciments de calcita, roques de falla i roques encaixants. L'encavalcament d'Estamariu és el resultat d'una evolució tectònica que comprèn des del Paleozoic superior al Neogen, mentre que a l’anticlinal de Sant Corneli-Bóixols, les edats U- Pb revelen deformació des del Cretaci superior fins al Miocè superior. Durant aquesta història de deformació, les dades geoquímiques de les successives venes de calcita permeten analitzar les relacions entre la migració de fluids i la deformació a les dues zones d’estudi. A l’encavalcament d’Estamariu, l'evolució geoquímica dels ciments de calcita evidencia un canvi progressiu en el règim i la composició dels fluids durant successius episodis tectònics de compressió i extensió, de migració ascendent a percolació de fluids. A l’anticlinal de Sant Corneli-Bóixols, l’origen dels fluids i el grau d’interacció fluid-roca van variar en les diverses posicions estructurals del plec i segons l’edat i la naturalesa de la seva estratigrafia i les fractures relacionades. La qual cosa evidencia una compartimentació del sistema de fluids. Al nucli de l’anticlinal i a la part més baixa de la seqüència sinorogènica del bloc inferior del l’encavalcament de Bóixols, les característiques petrològiques i geoquímiques similars entre successius ciments de calcita i les seves roques encaixants indiquen un sistema tancat de fluids i un grau alt d’interacció fluid-roca. Contràriament, al llarg de grans falles, com l’encavalcament de Bóixols, que afecten tot l’anticlinal i als flancs del plec, el sistema de fluids estava obert, registrant la migració ascendent de fluids en desequilibri tèrmic i geoquímic amb les roques encaixants i la infiltració d’aigües meteòriques, respectivament. Tot plegat, aquests resultats indiquen que al anticlinal de Sant Corneli-Bóixols el sistema paleohidrològic estava restringit al mantell de Bóixols per sobre del nivell de desenganxament del Triàsic superior. Aquest nivell evaporític probablement va actuar com un segell evitant l’entrada de fluids de parts més profundes de la serralada, tal com s’interpreta en altres zones del Pirineu i en altres sistemes d’encavalcaments com els Apalatxes centrals i la Sierra Madre Oriental. Finalment, comparant els resultats obtinguts en els dos dominis estudiats amb els resultats reportats en altres contribucions prèvies, aquesta tesi analitza la relació entre migració de fluids i deformació a escala regional. D’una banda, aquesta tesi posa de manifest un comportament comú del flux de fluids al llarg de la part central-oriental de la Zona Sud- Pirinenca, on les falles principals van actuar com a zones de transferència per a la migració de fluids en desequilibri tèrmic i geoquímic amb roques encaixants, mentre que les fractures de escala menor van registrar la presència de fluids equilibrats amb els seus encaixants. A més, les nostres dades també indiquen que, independentment de l’origen del fluid i del context tectònic, els fluids que han interaccionat amb les roques del sòcol tenen una relació de 87Sr/86Sr (> 0,710) superior als fluids que han circulat per la cobertora sedimentària (<0,710). D’altra banda, les estructures de deformació extensiva, tant al Pirineu oriental com a la part nord-est de la Cadena Costera Catalana, han actuat com a conductes per a la migració de fluids hidrotermals al Neogen i en l’actualitat. Aquests fluids probablement van interactuar amb les roques del sòcol abans d’ascendir a través de zones de falla i les fractures relacionades

Interpretación litoestratigráfica y paleogeográfica del Jurásico marino del este Cantabria-oeste de Vizcaya en base a diagrafías de sondeo y su correlación con series tipo

Este trabajo se centra en el estudio del Jurásico marino (Lías y Dogger) de un área de la parte central de La Cuenca Vasco-Cantábrica situada en el este de Cantabria y oeste de Vizcaya donde sus afloramientos son muy escasos pero se dispone de datos de sondeos de exploración petrolífera (Fig 1A y B), poniendo especial interés en la localización y distribución lateral de los niveles de rocas madre de hidrocarburos (black shales) y de potenciales almacenes (unidades carbonatadas fracturadas o dolomitizadas). La sucesión del Jurásico de la Cuenca Vasco-Cantábrica (CVC) está formada por dos unidades diferenciadas por edad y ambiente sedimentario. Por una parte tenemos los materiales del “Jurásico marino” (Robles et al., 1989) que representan la mayor parte de la sucesión (Lías y Dogger) y por otro lado, tenemos los materiales del “Jurásico continental” pertenecientes exclusivamente al Tithoniense Superior y que se engloban en las facies Purbeck que abarcan hasta el Berriasiense (Rat 1962)

Electro-refraction modulation predictions for silicon graphene waveguides in the 1540-1560 nm region

(c) 2016 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other users, including reprinting/ republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted components of this work in other works.We derive analytical approximations for the variation of the effective indices of the fundamental transverse electric (TE) and transverse magnetic (TM) modes with the chemical potential of graphene in three common types of silicon graphene waveguides. In all cases, a third-order polynomial provides an excellent degree of approximation (<; 10-4) over the 1540-1560 nm wavelength band. The approximations can be useful in the design of complex-integrated photonic circuits where graphene is employed to tune the refractive of the dielectric waveguides.This work was supported in part by the Research Excellency Award Program GVA PROMETEO II/2013/012; in part by Spanish MINECO projects TEC2013-42332-P PIF4ESP, TEC2015-69787-REDT PIC4TB, and TEC2014-60378-C2-1-R MEMES; and in part by projects FEDER UPVOV 10-3E-492 and FEDER UPVOV 08-3E-008. The work of D. Perez was supported by the FPI-UPV Grant Program from the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia.Pérez-López, D.; Doménech Gómez, JD.; Muñoz Muñoz, P.; Capmany Francoy, J. (2016). Electro-refraction modulation predictions for silicon graphene waveguides in the 1540-1560 nm region. IEEE Photonics Journal. 8(5):1-13. https://doi.org/10.1109/JPHOT.2016.2598781S1138

Upgrading of oxygenated compounds present in aqueous biomass-derived feedstocks over NbOx-based catalysts

[EN] The influence of synthesis and post-synthesis procedures of different niobium oxides on their catalytic performance in the aqueous phase condensation of oxygenated compounds is studied. Hydrothermally synthesized niobium oxide with a pseudo-crystalline structure shows enhanced acid properties, surface area and consequently better catalytic activity than Nb2O5 prepared by other synthesis methods. The optimized NbOx-based catalyst also demonstrates higher stability after several reuses compared to the Ce-Zr mixed oxide reference catalyst.Financial support by the Spanish Government (CTQ-2015-67592, CTQ-2015-68951-C3-1, and SEV-2012-0267) is gratefully acknowledged. A. F.-A. and D. D. thank the "La Caixa-Severo Ochoa" Foundation and the Severo Ochoa Excellence Program (SVP-2014-068669), respectively, for their fellowships. Authors also thank the Electron Microscopy Service of Universitat Politecnica de Valencia for their supportFernandez-Arroyo, A.; Delgado-Muñoz, D.; Domine, ME.; López Nieto, JM. (2017). Upgrading of oxygenated compounds present in aqueous biomass-derived feedstocks over NbOx-based catalysts. Catalysis Science & Technology. 7(23):5495-5499. https://doi.org/10.1039/c7cy00916jS54955499723Huber, G. W., Iborra, S., & Corma, A. (2006). Synthesis of Transportation Fuels from Biomass:  Chemistry, Catalysts, and Engineering. Chemical Reviews, 106(9), 4044-4098. doi:10.1021/cr068360dTuck, C. O., Perez, E., Horvath, I. T., Sheldon, R. A., & Poliakoff, M. (2012). Valorization of Biomass: Deriving More Value from Waste. Science, 337(6095), 695-699. doi:10.1126/science.1218930Huber, G. W., & Corma, A. (2007). Synergies between Bio- and Oil Refineries for the Production of Fuels from Biomass. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 46(38), 7184-7201. doi:10.1002/anie.200604504Alonso, D. M., Bond, J. Q., & Dumesic, J. A. (2010). Catalytic conversion of biomass to biofuels. Green Chemistry, 12(9), 1493. doi:10.1039/c004654jPinheiro, A., Hudebine, D., Dupassieux, N., & Geantet, C. (2009). Impact of Oxygenated Compounds from Lignocellulosic Biomass Pyrolysis Oils on Gas Oil Hydrotreatment. Energy & Fuels, 23(2), 1007-1014. doi:10.1021/ef800507zBui, V. N., Toussaint, G., Laurenti, D., Mirodatos, C., & Geantet, C. (2009). Co-processing of pyrolisis bio oils and gas oil for new generation of bio-fuels: Hydrodeoxygenation of guaïacol and SRGO mixed feed. Catalysis Today, 143(1-2), 172-178. doi:10.1016/j.cattod.2008.11.024Asadieraghi, M., Wan Daud, W. M. A., & Abbas, H. F. (2014). Model compound approach to design process and select catalysts for in-situ bio-oil upgrading. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 36, 286-303. doi:10.1016/j.rser.2014.04.050Cherubini, F., Jungmeier, G., Wellisch, M., Willke, T., Skiadas, I., Van Ree, R., & de Jong, E. (2009). Toward a common classification approach for biorefinery systems. Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining, 3(5), 534-546. doi:10.1002/bbb.172Gaertner, C. A., Serrano-Ruiz, J. C., Braden, D. J., & Dumesic, J. A. (2009). Catalytic coupling of carboxylic acids by ketonization as a processing step in biomass conversion. Journal of Catalysis, 266(1), 71-78. doi:10.1016/j.jcat.2009.05.015Omata, K., Matsumoto, K., Murayama, T., & Ueda, W. (2016). Direct oxidative transformation of glycerol to acrylic acid over Nb-based complex metal oxide catalysts. Catalysis Today, 259, 205-212. doi:10.1016/j.cattod.2015.07.01

Figures of merit for self-beating filtered microwave photonic systems

© 2016 Optical Society of America. One print or electronic copy may be made for personal use only. Systematic reproduction and distribution, duplication of any material in this paper for a fee or for commercial purposes, or modifications of the content of this paper are prohibited[EN] We present a model to compute the figures of merit of self-beating Microwave Photonic systems, a novel class of systems that work on a self-homodyne fashion by sharing the same laser source for information bearing and local oscillator tasks. General and simplified expressions are given and, as an example, we have considered their application to the design of a tunable RF MWP BS/UE front end for band selection, based on a Chebyshev Type-II optical filter. The applicability and usefulness of the model are also discussed.This research work is funded by INTEL Corporation. In addition, the authors wish to acknowledge the financial support given by the Research Excellency Award Program GVA PROMETEO II/2013/012, Spanish MINECO projects TEC2013-42332-P PIF4ESP, TEC2015-69787-REDT PIC4TB and TEC2014-60378-C2-1-R MEMES, as well as the projects FEDER UPVOV 10-3E-492 and FEDER UPVOV 08-3E-008. The work of D. Perez was supported by the FPI-UPV Grant Program from the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia and the work of I. Gasulla was supported by the Spanish MINECO through the Ramon y Cajal Program.Pérez-López, D.; Gasulla Mestre, I.; Capmany Francoy, J.; Sánchez Fandiño, JA.; Muñoz Muñoz, P.; Alavi, H. (2016). Figures of merit for self-beating filtered microwave photonic systems. Optics Express. 24(9):10087-10102. https://doi.org/10.1364/OE.24.010087S1008710102249Capmany, J., & Novak, D. (2007). Microwave photonics combines two worlds. Nature Photonics, 1(6), 319-330. doi:10.1038/nphoton.2007.89Yao, J. (2009). Microwave Photonics. Journal of Lightwave Technology, 27(3), 314-335. doi:10.1109/jlt.2008.2009551Mitchell, J. E. (2014). Integrated Wireless Backhaul Over Optical Access Networks. Journal of Lightwave Technology, 32(20), 3373-3382. doi:10.1109/jlt.2014.2321774Pastor, D., Ortega, B., Capmany, J., Fonjallaz, P.-Y., & Popov, M. (2004). Tunable microwave photonic filter for noise and interference suppression in UMTS base stations. Electronics Letters, 40(16), 997. doi:10.1049/el:20045500Long live radio. (2011). Nature Photonics, 5(12), 723-723. doi:10.1038/nphoton.2011.316Ricchiuti, A. L., Hervas, J., Barrera, D., Sales, S., & Capmany, J. (2014). Microwave Photonics Filtering Technique for Interrogating a Very-Weak Fiber Bragg Grating Cascade Sensor. IEEE Photonics Journal, 6(6), 1-10. doi:10.1109/jphot.2014.2363443Marpaung, D., Roeloffzen, C., Heideman, R., Leinse, A., Sales, S., & Capmany, J. (2013). Integrated microwave photonics. Laser & Photonics Reviews, 7(4), 506-538. doi:10.1002/lpor.201200032Capmany, J., Mora, J., Gasulla, I., Sancho, J., Lloret, J., & Sales, S. (2013). Microwave Photonic Signal Processing. Journal of Lightwave Technology, 31(4), 571-586. doi:10.1109/jlt.2012.2222348Roeloffzen, C. G. H., Zhuang, L., Taddei, C., Leinse, A., Heideman, R. G., van Dijk, P. W. L., … Boller, K.-J. (2013). Silicon nitride microwave photonic circuits. Optics Express, 21(19), 22937. doi:10.1364/oe.21.022937Gasulla, I., & Capmany, J. (2011). Analytical model and figures of merit for filtered Microwave photonic links. Optics Express, 19(20), 19758. doi:10.1364/oe.19.019758Xie, H., Oliaei, O., Rakers, P., Fernandez, R., Xiang, J., Parkes, J., … Schwartz, D. B. (2012). Single-Chip Multiband EGPRS and SAW-Less LTE WCDMA CMOS Receiver With Diversity. IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, 60(5), 1390-1396. doi:10.1109/tmtt.2012.2187796Rasras, M. S., Chen, Y.-K., Tu, K.-Y., Earnshaw, M. P., Pardo, F., Cappuzzo, M. A., … DeSalvo, R. (2012). Reconfigurable Linear Optical FM Discriminator. IEEE Photonics Technology Letters, 24(20), 1856-1859. doi:10.1109/lpt.2012.2217483Alipour, P., Eftekhar, A. A., Atabaki, A. H., Li, Q., Yegnanarayanan, S., Madsen, C. K., & Adibi, A. (2011). Fully reconfigurable compact RF photonic filters using high-Q silicon microdisk resonators. Optics Express, 19(17), 15899. doi:10.1364/oe.19.015899Ibrahim, S., Fontaine, N. K., Djordjevic, S. S., Guan, B., Su, T., Cheung, S., … Yoo, S. J. B. (2011). Demonstration of a fast-reconfigurable silicon CMOS optical lattice filter. Optics Express, 19(14), 13245. doi:10.1364/oe.19.013245Fandiño, J. S., Doménech, J. D., Muñoz, P., & Capmany, J. (2013). Integrated InP frequency discriminator for Phase-modulated microwave photonic links. Optics Express, 21(3), 3726. doi:10.1364/oe.21.003726Pérez, D., Gasulla, I., & Capmany, J. (2015). Software-defined reconfigurable microwave photonics processor. Optics Express, 23(11), 14640. doi:10.1364/oe.23.014640Capmany, J., Gasulla, I., & Pérez, D. (2015). The programmable processor. Nature Photonics, 10(1), 6-8. doi:10.1038/nphoton.2015.254Liu, W., Li, M., Guzzon, R. S., Norberg, E. J., Parker, J. S., Lu, M., … Yao, J. (2016). A fully reconfigurable photonic integrated signal processor. Nature Photonics, 10(3), 190-195. doi:10.1038/nphoton.2015.281Madsen, C. K. (1998). Efficient architectures for exactly realizing optical filters with optimum bandpass designs. IEEE Photonics Technology Letters, 10(8), 1136-1138. doi:10.1109/68.701527Besse, P. A., Gini, E., Bachmann, M., & Melchior, H. (1996). New 2×2 and 1×3 multimode interference couplers with free selection of power splitting ratios. Journal of Lightwave Technology, 14(10), 2286-2293. doi:10.1109/50.54122

Third-order linearization for self-beating filtered microwave photonic systems using a dual parallel Mach-Zehnder modulator

© 2016 Optical Society of America. One print or electronic copy may be made for personal use only. Systematic reproduction and distribution, duplication of any material in this paper for a fee or for commercial purposes, or modifications of the content of this paper are prohibitedWe develop, analyze and apply a linearization technique based on dual parallel Mach-Zehnder modulator to self-beating microwave photonics systems. The approach enables broadband low-distortion transmission and reception at expense of a moderate electrical power penalty yielding a small optical power penalty (<1 dB).This research work is funded by INTEL Corporation. The work of D. Perez was supported by the FPI-UPV Grant Program from the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia and the work of I. Gasulla was supported by the Spanish MINECO through the Ramon y Cajal Program.Pérez-López, D.; Gasulla Mestre, I.; Capmany Francoy, J.; Sanchez Fandiño, JA.; Muñoz Muñoz, P.; Alavi, H. (2016). Third-order linearization for self-beating filtered microwave photonic systems using a dual parallel Mach-Zehnder modulator. Optics Express. 24(18):20632-20640. doi:10.1364/OE.24.020632S2063220640241

Reflux-synthesized bulk and diluted W-Nb-O mixed oxide bronzes for the valorization of short-chain oxygenates aqueous mixtures

[EN] This work reports the preparation of bulk and KIT-6-diluted W-Nb-O mixed oxide bronzes by a reflux method. The influence of the incorporation of Nb and a mesoporous silica on the physicochemical features of the catalysts is studied. The addition of Nb favors the formation of single-phase oxide bronze structure, with improved Lewis acidity; while the incorporation of KIT-6 gives rise to well-dispersed mixed metal oxide particles on the diluter. These diluted W-Nb-O catalysts present enhanced surface areas and mesopore volumes. The materials have been tested in the valorization of an aqueous model mixture (acetol/propanal/ethanol/acetic acid/water weight ratio of 5/25/10/30/30), through C-C bond formation reactions. The increase in the Lewis nature of surface acid sites stands as the key point to maximize the total organic yield during the reaction (Cs-Cio products). The best catalysts maintain their catalytic behavior after five consecutive uses.Financial support by the Spanish Government (RT12018-099668-B-C21, PGC2018-097277-B-100, and SEV-2016-0683) is gratefully acknowledged. DD and AF-A thank the Severo Ochoa Excellence Program (SVP-2014-068669) and the "La Caixa-Severo Ochoa" Foundation, respectively, for their fellowships. NS thanks "Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico y Tecnologico (CNPq)" in Brasil. Authors are also grateful to the Electron Microscopy Service (Universitat Politecnica de Valencia) for facilities.Delgado-Muñoz, D.; Fernández-Arroyo, A.; La Salvia, N.; Domine, ME.; López Nieto, JM. (2019). Reflux-synthesized bulk and diluted W-Nb-O mixed oxide bronzes for the valorization of short-chain oxygenates aqueous mixtures. Chinese Journal of Catalysis. 40(11):1778-1787. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1872-2067(19)63419-4S17781787401

Immediate loading of implants placed by guided surgery in geriatric edentulous mandible patients

The aim of this study was to show the clinical outcomes of the immediate loading of implants inserted by guided surgery in edentulous mandible patients. Edentulous mandible patients were diagnosed with oral examination, cone beam computerized tomography and diagnostic casts for intermaxillary relations and treated with 8-10 implants for rehabilitation with guided surgery and immediate loading. After flapless surgery, implants were loaded with an immediate acrylic temporary prosthesis. After a period of six months, a ceramic definitive full-arch prosthesis was placed. A total of 22 patients (12 females and 10 males) were treated with 198 implants. Eleven patients (50%) had a previous history of periodontitis. Six patients (27.3%) were smokers. The follow-up was 84.2 ± 4.9 months. Clinical outcomes showed a global success rate of 97.5% of implants. Five implants were lost during the healing phase with provisional prosthesis. Twenty-two fixed full-arch rehabilitations were placed in the patients over the 193 remaining implants. Mean marginal bone loss was 1.44 mm ± 0.45 mm. Six patients (27.3%) showed some kind of mechanical prosthodontic complication. Eighteen (9.3%) of the 193 remaining implants were associated with peri-implantitis. The antecedents of peri-implantitis are critical elements for the survival of the implants. The loss of implants was significant in patients who smoked up to 10 cigarettes, compared to non-smokers. Peri-implantitis is one of the key elements in the long-term follow-up of implants and it was more manifest in smoking patients, and in those with a history of peri-implantitis. Marginal bone loss was more significant in smokers. Full-arch rehabilitation is presented as a predictable alternative with minor fatigue problems that are easily solvable

Plasticization effects of epoxidized vegetable oils on mechanical properties of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)

This is the accepted version of the following article: Garcia-Garcia, D.; J. M. Ferri; N. Montanes; López-Martínez, J.; R. Balart (2016). Plasticization effects of epoxidized vegetable oils on mechanical properties of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate). Polymer International. 65(10):1157-1164. doi:10.1002/pi.5164.], which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/pi.5164.The effect of various epoxidized vegetable oils as potential plasticizers for poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) was evaluated in terms of changes in mechanical and thermal properties and morphology. PHB is a biodegradable aliphatic polyester obtained from bacterial fermentation. High stiffness and fragility are two of its main drawbacks. To overcome this behaviour, PHB was plasticized with various amounts of two different epoxidized vegetable oils: epoxidized linseed oil (ELO) and epoxidized soybean oil (ESBO). The total ELO and ESBO content varied in the range 5 phr (per hundred resin) to 20 phr and plasticized PHB materials were obtained by melt extrusion and compounding followed by injection moulding. The results show that the plasticizing effect provided by ELO is more efficient than that by ESBO with balanced properties at a concentration of 10 phr ELO. ELO addition leads to an improvement in mechanical ductile properties with a noticeable increase in elongation at break and impact absorbed energy. With regard to thermal properties, the addition of both ELO and ESBO leads to a marked increase in thermal stability of PHB. All these findings suggest that addition of 10 phr ELO leads to optimized PHB formulations with potential uses in technical applications. (c) 2016 Society of Chemical IndustryThis research was supported by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness-MINECO, Ref. MAT2014-59242-C2-1-R. The authors also thank the Conselleria d'Educacio, Cultura i Esport -Generalitat Valenciana, Ref. GV/2014/008, for financial support. DG-G thanks the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports for financial support through an FPU grant (FPU13/06011).García García, D.; Ferri Azor, JM.; Montañés Muñoz, N.; López-Martínez, J.; Balart Gimeno, RA. (2016). Plasticization effects of epoxidized vegetable oils on mechanical properties of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate). Polymer International. 65(10):1157-1164. https://doi.org/10.1002/pi.5164S11571164651

Novel chimeric proteins mimicking SARS-CoV-2 spike epitopes with broad inhibitory activity.

SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein mediates virus attachment to the cells and fusion between viral and cell membranes. Membrane fusion is driven by mutual interaction between the highly conserved heptad-repeat regions 1 and 2 (HR1 and HR2) of the S2 subunit of the spike. For this reason, these S2 regions are interesting therapeutic targets for COVID-19. Although HR1 and HR2 have been described as transiently exposed during the fusion process, no significant antibody responses against these S2 regions have been reported. Here we designed chimeric proteins that imitate highly stable HR1 helical trimers and strongly bind to HR2. The proteins have broad inhibitory activity against WT B.1 and BA.1 viruses. Sera from COVID-19 convalescent donors showed significant levels of reactive antibodies (IgG and IgA) against the HR1 mimetic proteins, whereas these antibody responses were absent in sera from uninfected donors. Moreover, both inhibitory activity and antigenicity of the proteins correlate positively with their structural stability but not with the number of amino acid changes in their HR1 sequences, indicating a conformational and conserved nature of the involved epitopes. Our results reveal previously undetected spike epitopes that may guide the design of new robust COVID-19 vaccines and therapies.This work was supported by grants CV20.26565 from the Consejería de Economía y Conocimiento, Junta de Andalucía (Spain), PID2019.107515RB.C21 from the Spanish State Research Agency (SRA/10.13039/501100011033), and co-funded by ERDF/ESF, “A way to make Europe”/“Investing in your future. The work performed in C.M.’s laboratory was supported by grants from ANRS (Agence Nationale de Recherches sur le SIDA et les h´epatites virales), the Investissements d’Avenir program managed by the ANR under reference ANR-10-LABX-77 and EHVA (No. 681032, Horizon 2020). Work in S.B.’s laboratory was supported by grants from the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR) (ANR-11-LABX-0070_TRANSPLANTEX), the INSERM (UMR_S1109), the Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), all the University of Strasbourg (IDEX UNISTRA), the European Regional Development Fund (European Union) INTERREG V program (project no. 3.2 TRIDIAG) and MSD-Avenir grant AUTOGEN