Early stages of LDL oxidation: apolipoprotein B structural changes monitored by infrared spectroscopy.

Changes in the conformation of apoliprotein B-100 in the early stages of copper-mediated low density lipoprotein oxidation have been monitored by infrared spectroscopy. During the lag phase no variation in structure is observed, indicating that copper binding to the protein does not significantly affect its structure. In the propagation phase, while hydroperoxides are formed but the protein is not modified, no changes in secondary structure are observed, but the thermal profile of the band corresponding to alpha-helix is displaced in frequency, indicating changes in tertiary structure associated with this conformation but not with beta-sheet components. When aldehyde formation starts, a decrease of approximately 3% in the area of bands corresponding to alpha-helix and beta-sheet is produced, concomitantly with an increase in beta-turns and unordered structure. The two bands corresponding to beta-turns vary as well under these conditions, indicating changes in these structures. Also at this stage the thermal profile shows variations in frequency for the bands corresponding to both alpha-helix and beta-sheet.The results are consistent with the hypothesis that as soon as the polyunsaturated fatty acids from the particle core are modified, this change is reflected at the surface, in the alpha-helical components contacting the monolayer.Fil: Chehin, Rosana Nieves. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas; España. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Instituto Superior de Investigaciones Biológicas. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Instituto Superior de Investigaciones Biológicas; Argentina. Universidad del País Vasco; EspañaFil: Rengel, David. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas; España. Universidad del País Vasco; EspañaFil: Milicua, José Carlos G.. Universidad del País Vasco; España. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas; EspañaFil: Goñi, Félix M.. Universidad del País Vasco; España. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas; EspañaFil: Arrondo JL. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas; España. Universidad del País Vasco; EspañaFil: Pifat, Greta. Rudjer Bošković Institute; Croaci

Balanced Islands in Two Colored Point Sets in the Plane

Let $S$ be a set of $n$ points in general position in the plane, $r$ of which are red and $b$ of which are blue. In this paper we prove that there exist: for every $\alpha \in \left [ 0,\frac{1}{2} \right ]$, a convex set containing exactly $\lceil \alpha r\rceil$ red points and exactly $\lceil \alpha b \rceil$ blue points of $S$; a convex set containing exactly $\left \lceil \frac{r+1}{2}\right \rceil$ red points and exactly $\left \lceil \frac{b+1}{2}\right \rceil$ blue points of $S$. Furthermore, we present polynomial time algorithms to find these convex sets. In the first case we provide an $O(n^4)$ time algorithm and an $O(n^2\log n)$ time algorithm in the second case. Finally, if $\lceil \alpha r\rceil+\lceil \alpha b\rceil$ is small, that is, not much larger than $\frac{1}{3}n$, we improve the running time to $O(n \log n)$

Collaborations in Liberal Arts Colleges in Support of Digital Humanities

The field of digital humanities has been rapidly expanding over the course of the last decade. As such, academic institutions have been working to identify ways of supporting these new endeavors in a time of economic struggles. The Digital Humanities Initiative (DHi) at Hamilton College was conceived as one possible model of supporting digital humanities scholarship at a liberal arts institution. The DHi model relies heavily on collaboration among different teams in the Library and Information Technology Services across campus, and with institutions across the United States. DHi also has international partnerships that promote its goals in research, learning, and public humanities. This chapter will describe the various collaborations of DHi and offer suggestions for how others can implement similar support models at their institutions

Dissimilar esponses of ancient grapevines recovered in Navarra (Spain) to arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis in terms of berry quality

The exploitation of genetic diversity within agricultural plants, including grapevine, is suggested as a valuable tool to cope with the negative impacts of climate change on yield and crop quality. In some winegrowing regions of Europe, there is a renewed interest in knowing the grapevine genetic resources available, focusing on the prospection, recovery, and study of ancient cultivars typical of every zone. Grapevines are naturally associated with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), which provide some benefits to the host plant, although such effects depending on many factors, including variety. Therefore, the aim of this research was to characterize the potential fruit quality of eight old grapevine varieties recovered in Navarre (northeastern of the Iberian Peninsula), associated or not with AMF. The study was carried out on fruit-bearing cuttings grown under controlled conditions (greenhouse). Overall, AMF inoculation reduced bunch and berry mass, as well as phenolic content in fruits. In some varieties, AMF association improved some berry traits by increasing the concentrations of soluble solids and anthocyanins; in others, berry colour, total phenolic and anthocyanin content were diminished in AMF-inoculated plants. The results, therefore, suggest that intraspecific diversity of old grapevines could include different abilities to respond to arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis

On the common occurrence of sulphate with elevated δ34S in European mine waters : sulphides, evaporites or seawater?

The stable isotopic (δ34S, δ18O, δ2H) composition of mine waters has been examined from coal and metal mines, of varying depth, in Spain (Asturias), the UK (north Derbyshire/Yorkshire) and Poland (Bytom, Upper Silesia). δ18O and δ2H data confirm a meteoric origin for all waters. The mine waters have elevated sulphate concentrations relative to recent meteorically-derived groundwaters and have elevated SO42−/Cl− ratios relative to marine water. In the shallower mines and Markham No. 3, the dissolved sulphate δ34S is low, suggesting the sulphate is derived from the oxidation of sulphide minerals. In most of the deeper mines, the dissolved sulphate δ34S is too high (>15‰), to be derived from simple pyrite oxidation. In the deep Polish and Spanish mine waters, the source of sulphate may be evaporite mineral dissolution, but such a mechanism is problematic in the case of the Caphouse (UK) mine. Fractionation associated with sulphate reduction may have contributed to elevated dissolved sulphate δ34S. Elevated sulphate in deep coal mine waters may not always be simply derived from pyrite oxidation. The consistent observation of elevated dissolved sulphate δ34S in deep coal mines suggests a distinct genetic pathway, the origin of which as yet remains equivocal

Galaxy clusters and groups in the ALHAMBRA Survey

We present a catalogue of 348 galaxy clusters and groups with $0.2<z<1.2$ selected in the 2.78 $deg^2$ ALHAMBRA Survey. The high precision of our photometric redshifts, close to $1\%$, and the wide spread of the seven ALHAMBRA pointings ensure that this catalogue has better mass sensitivity and is less affected by cosmic variance than comparable samples. The detection has been carried out with the Bayesian Cluster Finder (BCF), whose performance has been checked in ALHAMBRA-like light-cone mock catalogues. Great care has been taken to ensure that the observable properties of the mocks photometry accurately correspond to those of real catalogues. From our simulations, we expect to detect galaxy clusters and groups with both $70\%$ completeness and purity down to dark matter halo masses of $M_h\sim3\times10^{13}\rm M_{\odot}$ for $z<0.85$. Cluster redshifts are expected to be recovered with $\sim0.6\%$ precision for $z<1$. We also expect to measure cluster masses with $\sigma_{M_h|M^*_{CL}}\sim0.25-0.35\, dex$ precision down to $\sim3\times10^{13}\rm M_{\odot}$, masses which are $50\%$ smaller than those reached by similar work. We have compared these detections with previous optical, spectroscopic and X-rays work, finding an excellent agreement with the rates reported from the simulations. We have also explored the overall properties of these detections such as the presence of a colour-magnitude relation, the evolution of the photometric blue fraction and the clustering of these sources in the different ALHAMBRA fields. Despite the small numbers, we observe tentative evidence that, for a fixed stellar mass, the environment is playing a crucial role at lower redshifts (z$<$0.5).Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS. Catalogues and figures available online and under the following link: http://bascaso.net46.net/ALHAMBRA_clusters.htm

Ornamental plants and the production of nature(s) in the Spanish real estate boom and bust: the case of Alicante

The Spanish real estate boom and bust of the 2000s caused immense economic, social, and environmental changes across the country. Massive urbanization, however, does not necessarily entail the end of nature and natural processes, instead marking a radical transformation of environments and societies. Through a political ecology approach, we analyze how ornamental species have become a fundamental part of new natures induced by urbanization in the Spanish province of Alicante. We connect the economic and ecological characteristics of ornamental plants like the palm tree to urbanization and real estate trends in Alicante. Our evidence indicates that, in Alicante, economic recession and environmental crises (manifested in the pests affecting palm trees) have mutually reinforced one other, creating a new geography of ecological desolation in many areas.Financial support for this research was provided by the Spanish CICYT under grants [grant number CSO2009-12772-03-01], [grant number CSO2009-12772-03-03]