Graphene Materials to Remove Organic Pollutants and Heavy Metals from Water: Photocatalysis and Adsorption

Since graphene was isolated from graphite, different researches have been developed around it. The versatility of graphene properties and their derivates, such as graphene oxide or doped and functionalized graphene materials have expanded the possible applications of these nanostructures. The areas studied of graphene include the following: nanocomposites, drug delivery, transistors, quantum dots, optoelectronic, storage energy, sensors, catalyst support, supercapacitors, among others. However, other important field of these materials is their applications in environment, mainly in the removal of pollutants in water. In this context, there are two possible alternatives to use graphene materials in water purification: photocatalysis and adsorption. In the first case, the key is related to the bandgap and semiconductors properties of these materials, also the versatility of different graphene structures after the oxidation or functionalization, play an important role to get different arrangements useful in photocatalysis and avoid recombination, one of the problems of typical semiconductors photocatalysts. In the second case, surface area and useful chemical groups in carbon material give different options to produce efficient adsorbents depending on different synthesis conditions. Thus, this book chapter covers a review of the photocatalytic activity of graphene materials with emphasis in the removal of organic pollutants and heavy metals from water, in the next topics: graphene-based semiconductor photocatalyst and graphene oxide as photocatalyst. On the other hand, the chapter also discusses the research related to the removal of organic compounds and heavy metals using graphene materials as adsorbents, the topics in this second part are as follows: graphene and graphene oxide as adsorbent of heavy metals from water, graphene, and graphene oxide as adsorbent of organic pollutants from water, functionalized graphene materials as adsorbent of water pollutants, carbon nanomaterials vs. graphene as adsorbents. Therefore, the book chapter presents a review and the discussion of the keys that play an important role in the advances in the research of graphene materials as photocatalysts. In addition, the isotherms and kinetic that produce these materials as adsorbents are also reviewed and discussed, because adsorption process in these materials is important to remove pollutants from water, but also for adsorption is a first step to achieve photocatalyst. The future of this topic in graphene materials is also analyzed

Factores predictores en el consumo de apuestas deportivas entre los adolescentes

La situación actual que presenta nuestra sociedad con el incremento del consumo de apuestas deportivas, y en concreto, en el colectivo adolescente, provoca el interés de investigaren dicho ámbito debido a la preocupación suscitada. Según Odriozola (2012), factores personales, familiares y sociales favorecen dicha conducta de consumo, frente a la autoestima y a las habilidades sociales que se consideran factores de protección ante lamisma. Las campañas publicitarias cada vez más llamativas, atractivas y con un mayor conocimiento del consumidor, están favoreciendo el progresivo aumento de las apuestas deportivas en este colectivo en concreto. De hecho, si observamos los clubes que integran la Liga Santander de fútbol profesional, 15 de los 20 clubes (75%) poseen como patrocinador una casa de apuestas deportivas (Eljarrat, 2017). Por todo ello, se tiene como objetivo analizar tanto el consumo de apuestas deportivas como los factores predictores en el consumo de estas entre los adolescentes.The current situation our society presents with the increase in the consumption of sports betting, and in particular, in the adolescent collective, produces the interest of investigating in this area due to the concern raised. According to Odriozola (2012), personal, familiar and social factors favour this consumer behaviour, as opposed to self-esteem and social skills that are considered protection factors. The advertising campaigns increasingly striking, and appealing with a greater knowledge of the consumer, are favouring the progressive increase of sports betting in this group in particular. In fact, if we look at the clubs that make up the Santander League of professional football, 15 of the 20 clubs (75%) have a sports betting house as a sponsor (Eljarrat, 2017). For all these purposes, the aim is to analyse both the consumption of sports bets and the predictive factors in the consumption of sports bets among youngsters.Ciencias de la Actividad Física y del Deport

From Raw Data to FAIR Data: The FAIRification Workflow for Health Research

BackgroundFAIR (findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability) guidingprinciples seek the reuse of data and other digital research input, output, and objects(algorithms, tools, and workflows that led to that data) making themfindable, accessible,interoperable, and reusable. GO FAIR - a bottom-up, stakeholder driven and self-governedinitiative-defined a seven-step FAIRificationprocessfocusingondata,butalsoindicatingtherequired work for metadata. This FAIRification process aims at addressing the translation ofraw datasets into FAIR datasets in a general way, without considering specific requirementsand challenges that may arise when dealing with some particular types of data.This work was performed in the scope of FAIR4Healthproject. FAIR4Health has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovationprogramme under grant agreement number 824666

El índice de legibilidad y el factor de impacto en artículos recientes sobre covid-19

Scientific articles are one of the main sources of research information, to be published in an appropriate medium (journal) they must go through a well-structured process. However, the recent health crisis by COVID-19 has caused these writings to be approved in less time than they were subject to. Here, we analyzed already published papers on COVID-19, through the Readability index (“Flesch Reading Ease” score formula) and its relationship with the impact factor to know the readability status of the new information. We found a relationship between the Readability index and the impact factor, which should be corroborated by more studies. A low score is also observed in the papers; however, this was already expected. What made us concerned was that, as specialized scientific information, information for the general public tends to have low scores. This indicates that we should look for a more appropriate way to communicate new information in the medical literature to the general public.Los artículos científicos son una de las principales fuentes de información en materia de investigación, para ser publicados en un medio adecuado (revista) deben pasar por un proceso estructurado. Sin embargo, la reciente crisis sanitaria a causa de la COVID-19 ha provocado que estos escritos hayan sido aprobados en un tiempo menor al que estaban sujetos. Aquí, analizamos artículos científicos ya publicados sobre la COVID-19, a través del índice de Legibilidad “Flesch Reading Ease” (FRE) y su relación con el factor de impacto para conocer el estado de legibilidad de la nueva información. Encontramos una relación entre el índice de Legibilidad y el factor de impacto, la cual debe ser corroborada con más estudios. También, observamos una puntuación baja en los escritos; aunque, esto ya se esperaba. Lo que nos hizo preocuparnos fue que, al igual la información científica especializada, la información para el público en general tiende a un bajo puntaje. Esto indica que debemos buscar una forma más adecuada de comunicar la nueva información de la literatura médica al público en general

Assessment of nocturnal aerosol optical depth from lunar photometry at the Izaña high mountain observatory

This work involves a first analysis of the systematic errors observed in the AOD retrieved at nighttime using the Sun–sky–lunar CE318-T photometer. In this respect, this paper is a first attempt to correct the AOD uncertainties that currently affect the lunar photometry by means of an empirical regression model. We have detected and corrected an important bias correlated to the Moon's phase and zenith angles, especially at longer wavelength channels.AERONET Sun photometers at Izaña have been calibrated within the AERONET Europe TNA, supported by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement no. 654109 (ACTRIS-2)

Actitudes y percepciones de la población de La Habana sobre la COVID-19

Objective: To explore the attitudes and perceptions of the population of Havana about COVID-19. Material and methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out in a population of 2012 citizens of Havana who, anonymously and voluntarily, answered an online questionnaire distributed on social networks between May and June 2021. Variables on demographic characterization and related to the object of study grouped into causes to which they attribute the current epidemiological situation: social, state and external. The ꭕ2 statistical test and the Corrected Residuals model were used. Results: the participants from the municipalities of “Playa” (14.1%), “Plaza de la Revolución” (13.2%) and “10 de Octubre” (12.7%) were the most predominant. The three predominant causes according to more than 80% of citizens were "Violation of social distancing", "Cracking of social discipline" and "Celebration and festivities". The referred causes related to the state dimension highlighted the violations of social distancing, the opening of airports, and the elimination of active investigations in the community. 43.5% (13,411) of the responses to 14 of the 32 indicated by the respondents are related to the population's low perception of risk. Conclusions: From the perception of the population, it is evident that it is not possible to attribute the epidemiological situation of Havana due to COVID-19 only as a consequence of the low perception of risk in society, this is a multi-causal phenomenon with causes attributed to state action / inaction and social behavior.Objetivo: Explorar sobre las actitudes y percepciones de la población de La Habana sobre la COVID-19. Material y métodos: Se realizó un estudio descriptivo transversal en una población de 2012 ciudadanos habaneros que, de forma anónima y voluntaria, respondieron un cuestionario en línea distribuido en redes sociales entre mayo y junio de 2021. Se emplearon variables sobre la caracterización demográfica y las relacionadas con el objeto de estudio agrupadas en causas a las que atribuyen la situación epidemiológica actual: sociales, estatales y externas. Se utilizó prueba estadística ꭕ2 y modelo de los Residuos Corregidos. Resultados: los participantes de los municipios de Playa (14,1%), Plaza de la revolución (13,2%) y 10 de octubre (12,7%) fueron los más predominantes. Las tres causas predominantes según más del 80% los ciudadanos fueron “Violación del distanciamiento social”, “Resquebrajamiento de la disciplina social” y “Celebración y festividades”. Las causas referidas relacionadas con la dimensión estatal se destacaron las violaciones del distanciamiento social, la apertura de los aeropuertos, y la eliminación de las pesquisas activa en la comunidad. El 43.5% (13,411) de las respuestas a 14 de las 32 señaladas por los encuestados están relacionadas con la baja percepción de riesgo de la población. Conclusiones: Desde la percepción de la población se evidencia que no es posible atribuir la situación epidemiológica de La Habana debido a la COVID-19 solo a consecuencia de la baja percepción de riesgo de la sociedad, este es un fenómeno multicausal con causas atribuidas a la acción/inacción estatal y al comportamiento social

Effect of a dietary intervention based on the mediterranean diet on the quality of life of patients recovered from depression: analysis of the PREDIDEP randomized trial

Introduction: There is substantial evidence supporting that improving diet quality leads to improved healthrelated quality of life (HRQoL). Our major aim was to assess the effectiveness of a Mediterranean diet–based nutritional intervention to improve HRQoL in the context of a secondary prevention trial of depression. Secondarily to assess its effectiveness among adults aged 60 or more years. Methods: The PREDIDEP study is a 2-year multicentre, randomized, single-blinded nutritional trial. At baseline and at 1-year and 2-year follow-up, SF-36 health survey questionnaire was collected to evaluate participants' HRQoL (total and specific range for each of the 8 dimensions: 0 to 100 points). Mixed effect linear models were used to assess changes in HRQoL according to adherence to the Mediterranean diet. The trial was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03081065. Results: After 2 years of intervention, the Mediterranean Diet intervention group compared to control group (without nutritional intervention, only usual clinical care) showed an improvement in some dimensions of HRQoL such as Mental Health (7.22; 95 % CI = 2.22–12.22) (between-group difference: 6.79; 95 % CI − 0.14–13.73, p = 0.055); Vitality (9.51; 95 % CI = 4.00–15.03) (between-group difference: 9.00; 95 % CI 1.75–16.25, p = 0.020); Mental Summary Component (2.83; 95 % CI = 0.55–5.11) (between-group difference: 1.17; 95 % CI = − 1.96–4.30, p = 0.462); and General Health (10.70; 95 % CI = 5.58–15.81) (between-group difference: 6.20; 95 % CI = − 0.89–13.28, p = 0.086). Similar results were observed for participants aged 60 or more years. Conclusion: The intervention based on Mediterranean diet in patients with previous depression seems to be effective in improving HRQoL, especially the mental dimensions. This effect is also observed among participants aged 60 or more years.This study was externally funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (Carlos III National Health Institute-ISCIII), PI16/01274

Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry Analysis of Ulva fasciata

The chemical composition and biological properties of Ulva fasciata aqueous-ethanolic extract were examined. Five components were identified in one fraction prepared from the extract by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and palmitic acid and its ethyl ester accounted for 76% of the total identified components. Furthermore, we assessed the extract’s antioxidant properties by using the DPPH, ABTS, and lipid peroxidation assays and found that the extract had a moderate scavenging effect. In an experiment involving preexposition and coexposition of the extract (1–500 µg/mL) and benzo[a]pyrene (BP), the extract was found to be nontoxic to C9 cells in culture and to inhibit the cytotoxicity induced by BP. As BP is biotransformed by CYP1A and CYP2B subfamilies, we explored the possible interaction of the extract with these enzymes. The extract (25–50 µg/mL) inhibited CYP1A1 activity in rat liver microsomes. Analysis of the inhibition kinetics revealed a mixed-type inhibitory effect on CYP1A1 supersome. The effects of the extract on BP-induced DNA damage and hepatic CYP activity in mice were also investigated. Micronuclei induction by BP and liver CYP1A1/2 activities significantly decreased in animals treated with the extract. The results suggest that Ulva fasciata aqueous-ethanolic extract inhibits BP bioactivation and it may be a potential chemopreventive agent

Momento Económico (17-18)

En este número Temas de hoy, 2/ Encuentro sobre la Deuda Externa de America Latina y el Caribe, México, Alonso Aguilar, 3/ Fernando Carmona, 5/ Heberto Castillo. 6/ Gantón Garcia Cantú, 7/ Pablo Gómez, 8/ Sergio Méndez Arceo, 9/ Carlos Tello, 11/ Mario J. Zepeda Martinez, 12/ Argentina, Enrique Garcia Vázquez, 16/ Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, 20/ Brasil, Frei Betto, 22/ Ecuador, Blanca Chancoso, 24/ El Salvador, Guillermo Ungo, 25/ República Dominicana, Juan Bosch, 27/ Venezuela, Miguel Ángel Capriles, 28/ Organismos Económicos Latinoamericanos, Homero L. Hernández, 3