Red Carbon Thin Film: A Carbon-Oxygen Semiconductor with Tunable Properties by Amine Vapors and Its Carbonization toward Carbon Thin Films

The requirements for organic semiconductor materials and new methods for their synthesis at low temperature have risen over the last decades, especially due to concerns of sustainability. Herein, the synthesis of a carbon/oxygen molecular semiconductor thin film, which is promptly reactive toward amines, is presented. This allows for tuning the semiconductor properties and application as amine vapor sensors for a scope of analogous amines. The gas-to-solid phase reaction causes a significant change of the films’ optical properties, blue-shifting the absorption and the photoluminescence spectra from the red to the near UV spectral range. The irreversible chemical reaction between the thin film and the amine vapor is also exploited for the preparation of nitrogen-containing thin carbon films. The herein presented materials and methods will be of interest for gas sensing applications as well as for the development of tunable semiconductors and heteroatom-doped thin films

Comparative study of the environmental footprints of marinas on European Islands

Ports have been key elements in Europe's economic development. This situation is even more relevant on islands, which are highly dependent on the maritime sector. Consequently, over the years, ports with diverse functionalities have been established both in mainland Europe and on its outlying islands. This article discusses the environmental impact of leisure marinas on European islands, especially as they are closely linked to economic development through tourism. The aim is to study the environmental impact of these infrastructures by determining the carbon and water footprints of marinas on European islands in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. The results obtained enable the authors to make recommendations in order to reduce the overall environmental footprint of marinas on islands, considering that these territories are much more vulnerable to climate change than mainland locations in Europe

Gamit! Icing on the Cake for Mathematics Gamification

Indexado en ScopusGamification has permeated education as a strategy to improve the teaching-learning process. Research shows that gamified reward systems based on badges, leaderboards, and avatars modifies the learning environment and student attitudes. This research aimed primarily to assess the change in attitude towards mathematics in high school students through a gamified methodology involving a reward system managed through a web platform called Gamit! This platform was developed by professors from two Latin American universities to manage gamification in a way that ensured that the anonymity of the class rankings was maintained. A mixed (QUAN-Qual) and quasi-experimental methodological approach was used for this study; two questionnaires were applied to 454 high school students and a focus group was performed with a group of seven professors. The quantitative analysis was processed with SPSS and consisted of ANOVAS and post hoc tests for more than two samples, while the focus group analysis was performed through inductive analysis. Results show benefits for professors and learners. Students improved their attitudes toward mathematics, reducing anxiety and improving willingness, while professors found a dynamic and optimal way to manage gamification on Gamit!.Revisión por pare

Experimental observations of fractal landscape dynamics in a dense emulsion

Many soft and biological materials display so-called 'soft glassy' dynamics; their constituents undergo anomalous random motions and complex cooperative rearrangements. A recent simulation model of one soft glassy material, a coarsening foam, suggested that the random motions of its bubbles are due to the system configuration moving over a fractal energy landscape in high-dimensional space. Here we show that the salient geometrical features of such high-dimensional fractal landscapes can be explored and reliably quantified, using empirical trajectory data from many degrees of freedom, in a model-free manner. For a mayonnaise-like dense emulsion, analysis of the observed trajectories of oil droplets quantitatively reproduces the high-dimensional fractal geometry of the configuration path and its associated energy minima generated using a computational model. That geometry in turn drives the droplets' complex random motion observed in real space. Our results indicate that experimental studies can elucidate whether the similar dynamics in different soft and biological materials may also be due to fractal landscape dynamics.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures with Appendice

Terapia celular “neuro-restauradora” en la enfermedad de Parkinson: un debate pendiente

Existe en la actualidad un gran entusiasmo sobre las perspectivas derivadas de la denominada terapia celular en la enfermedad de Parkinson. Este entusiasmo ha sobrepasado la esfera de la comunidad médica, llegando hasta el público general, y se ha venido alimentando de un considerable debate ético y político, hurtándose en todo momento la necesidad de un análisis realmente científico sobre las cualidades y limitaciones reales del tratamiento con células madre en las enfermedades neurodegenerativas. La enfermedad de Parkinson con frecuencia se observa desde una perspectiva simplista, como una mera neurodegeneración de la vía dopaminérgica nigroestriada, punto de vista bajo el que se colocan diferentes diseños tendentes a reemplazar la falta de dopamina en el estriado, mediante el empleo de distintos tipos de terapia celular. En este sentido, es necesario señalar por un lado la naturaleza multisistémica y generalizada de la enfermedad, y por otro lado el carácter progresivo del proceso neurodegenerativo de la enfermedad de Parkinson. Bajo este enfoque, pretender que el mero reemplazo de la dopamina estriatal mediante terapia celular sustitutiva, pueda corregir el carácter generalizado y progresivo de la enfermedad es una aspiración quimérica, que únicamente contribuye a generar expectativas infundadas en el público general. Este artículo pretende argumentar desde un punto de vista puramente científico las dudas sobre las expectativas creadas con estos nuevos diseños terapéuticos.At present there is great enthusiasm over the perspectives deriving from so-called cell therapy in Parkinson’s disease. This enthusiasm has spread beyond the ambit of the medical community, reaching the general public, and has been fuelled by a considerable ethical and political debate, sidestepping the need for a really scientific analysis of the real qualities and limitations of treatment with stem-cells in neurodegenerative diseases. Parkinson’s disease is frequently observed from a simplistic perspective, as a mere neurodegeneration of the nigrostriatal dopaminergic pathway. This viewpoint encompasses different designs that tend to replace the lack of dopamine in the striatum through the use of different types of cell therapy. In this respect, it is important to indicate, on the one hand, the multisystemic and generalised nature of the disease and, on the other, the progressive character of the neurodegenerative process of Parkinson’s disease. With this approach, to claim that the mere replacement of striatal dopamine through replacement cell therapy can correct the generalised and progressive character of the disease is a fanciful aspiration, which can only contribute to generating unfounded expectations in the general public. This article attempts to set out from a purely scientific point of view the doubts over the expectations created by these new therapeutic designs

Application of an evidence-based, out-patient treatment strategy for COVID-19: Multidisciplinary medical practice principles to prevent severe disease☆

The COVID-19 pandemic has devastated individuals, families, and institutions throughout the world. Despite the breakneck speed of vaccine development, the human population remains at risk of further devastation. The decision to not become vaccinated, the protracted rollout of available vaccine, vaccine failure, mutational forms of the SARS virus, which may exhibit mounting resistance to our molecular strike at only one form of the viral family, and the rapid ability of the virus(es) to hitch a ride on our global transportation systems, means that we are will likely continue to confront an invisible, yet devastating foe. The enemy targets one of our human physiology’s most important and vulnerable life-preserving body tissues, our broncho-alveolar gas exchange apparatus. Notwithstanding the fear and the fury of this microbe\u27s potential to raise existential questions across the entire spectrum of human endeavor, the application of an early treatment intervention initiative may represent a crucial tool in our defensive strategy. This strategy is driven by evidence-based medical practice principles, those not likely to become antiquated, given the molecular diversity and mutational evolution of this very clever “world traveler

An introduction to Graph Data Management

A graph database is a database where the data structures for the schema and/or instances are modeled as a (labeled)(directed) graph or generalizations of it, and where querying is expressed by graph-oriented operations and type constructors. In this article we present the basic notions of graph databases, give an historical overview of its main development, and study the main current systems that implement them