Un graffiti con versos del Vizconde de Altamira en la pared del Castell de Alaquàs (c. 1550)

Cuando se realizan las labores de rehabilitación del Castell de Alaquàs (Valencia), entre 2003 y 2006, los arqueólogos logran sacar a la luz una serie de graffiti antiguos de sus paredes, entre los que destacan diez versos escritos hacia 1550, que corresponderían a una décima del Diálogo ¿entre el Sentimiento y el Conocimiento¿ del II Vizconde de Altamira, reputado poeta cancioneril de la época de los Reyes Católicos. El artículo examina este grafitti, en primer lugar en el contexto general de los escasos testimonios conservados de escritura poética sobre paredes de construcciones medievales civiles o religiosas. En segundo lugar, en el contexto de las otras escrituras o dibujos sobre las paredes descubiertos en el estudio arqueológico del Castell d¿Alaquàs. Finalmente, se estudian los versos en el contexto del poema doctrinal del Vizconde, examinando al detalle las pocas pero significativas variantes que presenta este nuevo y curioso testimonio respecto a la tradición textual hasta hoy conocida

The mineralocorticoid receptor plays a transient role in mouse skin development

3 páginas, 2 figuras. Contiene material suplemenarioGlucocorticoid (GC) hormones can bind two structurally and functionally related steroid receptors: the GC Receptor (GR or Nr3c1) and the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR or Nr3c2), which recognize the same DNA response elements and act as ligand-dependent transcription factors. While the crucial role of GR for skin homeostasis has been widely characterized, the exact role of MR in this tissue deserves further study. We assessed NR3C2 expression in developing and adult WT mouse skin and found a transient peak at embryonic day (E)16.5, which along with low levels of HSD11B2, the enzyme inactivating GCs, supports a role for GC-MR complexes in epidermal maturation. Consistent with this observation, MR-/- embryonic skin showed alterations in early epidermal differentiation that resolved postnatally. The lack of a more severe skin phenotype of MR-/- mice suggests functional compensation by GR in this tissue in the perinatal period.This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI grant numbers 25870545 and 15K09772. Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación. Grant Numbers: SAF2011-28115, SAF2014-59474-RPeer Reviewe

Search for isotropic γ-radiation in the cosmological window between 65-tev and 200-tev

Electromagnetic energy injected into the universe above a few hundred TeV is expected to pile up as γ radiation in a relatively narrow energy interval below 100 TeV due to its interaction with the 2.7°K background radiation. We present an upper limit (90% C.L.) on the ratio of primary γ to charged cosmic rays in the energy interval 65-160 TeV (80- 200 TeV) of 10.3 . 10¯³(7.8 . 10¯³). Data from the HEGRA cosmic-ray detector complex consisting of a wide angle Cerenkov array (AIROBICC) measuring the lateral distribution of air Čerenkov light and a scintillator array, were used with a novel method to discriminate γ-ray and hadron induced air showers. If the presently unmeasured universal far infrared background radiation is not too intense, the result rules out a topological-defect origin of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays for masses of the X particle released by the defects equal to or larger than about 10_(16) GeV

Three new potent cytotoxic macrolides closely related to sphinxolide from the New Caledonia sponge Neosiphonia superstes

Three new macrolides 2-4 have been isolated with sphinxolide 1 from the marine sponge #N. superstes$ collected off New Caledonia. The structures of the new compounds were determined by interpretation of NMR spectral data as well as comparison of spectral data with those of 1. These compounds were highly cytotoxic against various human carcinoma cells. (Résumé d'auteur

Density and reproductive characteristics of female brown bears in the Cantabrian Mountains, NW Spain

Here we present annual nearest-neighbour distances (as a proxy of density) between females with cubs-of-the-year (hereafter FCOY) and reproductive characteristics of brown bears Ursus arctos in the Cantabrian Mountains (NW Spain), from 1989 to 2017. FCOY nearest-neighbour distances and reproduction parameters of 19 focal females followed over several consecutive years (from 2004 to 2017) were obtained from bears inhabiting the western sector of the Cantabrian Mountains, where most of the bear population resides. In contrast, general reproductive characteristics were studied in the whole Cantabrian Mountains (western and eastern sectors together) on a sample of 362 litter sizes and 695 cubs. Mean nearest-neighbour distance between FCOY was 2559 ± 1222 m (range = 1305–4757 m). Mean litter size was significantly larger in the west (1.8 ± 0.2 cubs) than in the east (1.3 ± 0.6 cubs). Mean litter size for the whole of the Cantabrian Mountains was 1.6 ± 0.3 cubs. Litter sizes of one, two and three cubs represented 33.4, 56.1 and 10.5% of observed family groups, respectively. Interannual variations in litter size were not significant for both the western and the eastern areas. Mean cub mortality was 0.2 ± 0.5 cubs and did not vary among years. Cub mortality per litter size was 3.9% for one cub, 69.2% for two cubs and 26.9% for three cubs. Mean reproductive rate of the 19 focal females was 1.5 ± 0.6 cubs (n = 58 litters). Litter size of focal FCOY did not differ from the litter size obtained from systematic observations in the whole Cantabrian Mountains. During this period, cub mortality occurred in 24.1% of the 58 litters. Females usually bred every second year (average litter interval = 2.2 years). The estimated reproductive rate for the bear population was 0.7 young born/year/reproductive adult female

Análisis del decaimiento de Quercus Suber a escala regional en Andalucía: aplicación para una gestión eficaz

1 página. Comunicación oral presentada en la Sesión Ecología y Ecofisiología de la referida Reunión, celebrada en Huelva, 9-11, noviembre, 2011.Los sistemas forestales se están viendo afectados por el cambio global, uno de cuyos principales impulsores es el cambio climático. Actualmente estos cambios ocurren a mayor velocidad de la experimentada hasta ahora a lo largo de la evolución, lo que provoca una gran incertidumbre sobre la capacidad de adaptación de muchas especies. Como consecuencia es necesario conocer la dinámica de los sistemas forestales y los efectos del cambio global para dirigir todos los esfuerzos de gestión hacia objetivos alcanzables para la conservación de estos sistemas y sus valores.Peer reviewe

Development and characterization of a gel formulation integrating microencapsulated nitrofurazone

Nitrofurazone (NTZ) is usually employed in the topical treatment of infected wounds and lesions of both skin and mucosa. Microencapsulation is a process utilized in the incorporation of active ingredients within polymers aiming at, among other objectives, the prolonged release of pharmaceutical compounds and protection from atmospheric agents (viz. moisture, light, heat and/or oxidation). With the goal of utilizing the microparticles containing encapsulated NTZ in pharmaceutical formulations, one prepared microparticles containing NTZ via ionotropic gelation of sodium alginate. The microparticles were characterized via scanning electron microscopy analyses, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analyses, via determination of encapsulation efficiency, and via thermal analyses (both TGA and DSC). The final gel formulation was also characterized rheologically. The extrusion/solidification technique employed to obtain the calcium alginate microparticles with encapsulated NTZ was found to be adequate, and produced an NTZ encapsulation efficiency of ca. 97.8% ± 1.1%. The calcium alginate microparticles thus obtained, with encapsulated NTZ, exhibited an oval shape and hydrodynamic diameters between 500 μm and 800 μm. From the thermal analyses performed, together with information from the infrared spectra, one may conclude that NTZ did not strongly bind to the polymer, which may be favorable for the release of the active ingredient. From the results obtained in the present research effort, one may conclude that the microparticles produced possess the potential to be utilized as carriers for NTZ in pharmaceutical formulations such as gels, ointments, and solutions.Financial support to Victor M. Balcao, via an Invited Research Scientist fellowship (FAPESP Ref. No. 2011/51077-8) by Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP, Sao Paulo, Brazil), is hereby gratefully acknowledged

Experimental study at prototype scale of a self-priming free surface siphon

This study is within the frame of the construction of the rail link between Geneva Cornavin station, Eaux-Vives station and Annemasse (CEVA). The project area is located at a cut-and-cover tunnel built by slurry walls located in the alluvium of the Foron River. The installation of the covered trench cuts the groundwater table flow, which causes a rise of the water table in spite of the partial evacuation by the Foron. It is therefore planned to add about thirty wells in order to transit the waters of the aquifer from one side of the tunnel to the other. A thorough reflection allowed to find an alternative solution to traditional pumping consisting of putting in place self-priming multiphase siphons which forms the basis of the following study. The operating principle of the system is based on the maintenance of a free-surface vortex in a vacuum in what will be called the sealed box which functions by keeping the siphon primed to allow water to be transferred from either side of the gallery. This study explores the performance of a physical model of the system with the following objectives: (1) To characterize the initiation and stability conditions of the system by maintaining the vacuum in the sealed box and (2) to characterize the limiting operating conditions of the system in relation to the ground water table levels which relates to insufficient air entrainment due to low outflow or submergence of the sealed box. The experimental installation is fabricated at a scale of 1:1 so as not to introduce scale effects by the presence of air, the water-air mixture and the free-surface vortex in a vacuum atmosphere