Formation of hollow silver nanoparticles under irradiation with ultrashort laser pulses

9 pags., 5 figs.We have studied the formation of cavities in spherical silver nanoparticles embedded in silica, irradiated with fs laser pulses that produce an intense electronic excitation. Experimentally determined aspect ratio, i.e. the ratio between the cavity and nanoparticle size, for hollow structures formed under different irradiation conditions shows a very good agreement with values obtained by means of atomistic simulations. According to the predictions of the atomistic model, one can produce at will hollow silver nanoparticles with cavities of tailored dimensions, having an accurate control. Hence, laser irradiation can be used to control and design the optical response by tuning the localized surface plasmon resonances of the hollow nanoparticles.This work was partially funded by the regional government of Madrid through the TechnoFusion (III)-CM (S2018/EMT-4437) program, co-financed with Structural Funds (ERDF and ESF) and by the Projects PID2019-105325RB-C32 (Radiafus-5), PID2019-105156GB-I00, PID2021- 123228NB-I00 and PDC2022-133788-I00, funded by the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación of Spain. This work has also been partially funded by the Eurofusion consortium (EH150531176). JK was supported by the Beatriz Galindo Program (BEAGAL18/00130) from the Ministerio de Educación y Formación Profesional of Spain. This work was partially funded by Comunidad de Madrid through the Convenio Plurianual with Universidad Politécnica de Madrid in its line of action Apoyo a la realización de proyectos de I + D para investigadores Beatriz Galindo, within the framework of V PRICIT (V Plan Regional de Investigación Científica e Innovación Tecnológica). AP and FJV were supported by FONDECYT grant 3190123. MLC was supported by the research project “Captación de Talento UAM” Ref: #541D300 supervised by the Vice-Chancellor of Research of Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM). The research leading to this result has been supported by the RADIATE project under the Grant Agreement 824096 from the EU Research and Innovation programme HORIZON 2020

Effectiveness of an mHealth intervention combining a smartphone app and smart band on body composition in an overweight and obese population: Randomized controlled trial (EVIDENT 3 study)

Background: Mobile health (mHealth) is currently among the supporting elements that may contribute to an improvement in health markers by helping people adopt healthier lifestyles. mHealth interventions have been widely reported to achieve greater weight loss than other approaches, but their effect on body composition remains unclear. Objective: This study aimed to assess the short-term (3 months) effectiveness of a mobile app and a smart band for losing weight and changing body composition in sedentary Spanish adults who are overweight or obese. Methods: A randomized controlled, multicenter clinical trial was conducted involving the participation of 440 subjects from primary care centers, with 231 subjects in the intervention group (IG; counselling with smartphone app and smart band) and 209 in the control group (CG; counselling only). Both groups were counselled about healthy diet and physical activity. For the 3-month intervention period, the IG was trained to use a smartphone app that involved self-monitoring and tailored feedback, as well as a smart band that recorded daily physical activity (Mi Band 2, Xiaomi). Body composition was measured using the InBody 230 bioimpedance device (InBody Co., Ltd), and physical activity was measured using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Results: The mHealth intervention produced a greater loss of body weight (–1.97 kg, 95% CI –2.39 to –1.54) relative to standard counselling at 3 months (–1.13 kg, 95% CI –1.56 to –0.69). Comparing groups, the IG achieved a weight loss of 0.84 kg more than the CG at 3 months. The IG showed a decrease in body fat mass (BFM; –1.84 kg, 95% CI –2.48 to –1.20), percentage of body fat (PBF; –1.22%, 95% CI –1.82% to 0.62%), and BMI (–0.77 kg/m2, 95% CI –0.96 to 0.57). No significant changes were observed in any of these parameters in men; among women, there was a significant decrease in BMI in the IG compared with the CG. When subjects were grouped according to baseline BMI, the overweight group experienced a change in BFM of –1.18 kg (95% CI –2.30 to –0.06) and BMI of –0.47 kg/m2 (95% CI –0.80 to –0.13), whereas the obese group only experienced a change in BMI of –0.53 kg/m2 (95% CI –0.86 to –0.19). When the data were analyzed according to physical activity, the moderate-vigorous physical activity group showed significant changes in BFM of –1.03 kg (95% CI –1.74 to –0.33), PBF of –0.76% (95% CI –1.32% to –0.20%), and BMI of –0.5 kg/m2 (95% CI –0.83 to –0.19). Conclusions: The results from this multicenter, randomized controlled clinical trial study show that compared with standard counselling alone, adding a self-reported app and a smart band obtained beneficial results in terms of weight loss and a reduction in BFM and PBF in female subjects with a BMI less than 30 kg/m2 and a moderate-vigorous physical activity level. Nevertheless, further studies are needed to ensure that this profile benefits more than others from this intervention and to investigate modifications of this intervention to achieve a global effect

RICORS2040 : The need for collaborative research in chronic kidney disease

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a silent and poorly known killer. The current concept of CKD is relatively young and uptake by the public, physicians and health authorities is not widespread. Physicians still confuse CKD with chronic kidney insufficiency or failure. For the wider public and health authorities, CKD evokes kidney replacement therapy (KRT). In Spain, the prevalence of KRT is 0.13%. Thus health authorities may consider CKD a non-issue: very few persons eventually need KRT and, for those in whom kidneys fail, the problem is 'solved' by dialysis or kidney transplantation. However, KRT is the tip of the iceberg in the burden of CKD. The main burden of CKD is accelerated ageing and premature death. The cut-off points for kidney function and kidney damage indexes that define CKD also mark an increased risk for all-cause premature death. CKD is the most prevalent risk factor for lethal coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the factor that most increases the risk of death in COVID-19, after old age. Men and women undergoing KRT still have an annual mortality that is 10- to 100-fold higher than similar-age peers, and life expectancy is shortened by ~40 years for young persons on dialysis and by 15 years for young persons with a functioning kidney graft. CKD is expected to become the fifth greatest global cause of death by 2040 and the second greatest cause of death in Spain before the end of the century, a time when one in four Spaniards will have CKD. However, by 2022, CKD will become the only top-15 global predicted cause of death that is not supported by a dedicated well-funded Centres for Biomedical Research (CIBER) network structure in Spain. Realizing the underestimation of the CKD burden of disease by health authorities, the Decade of the Kidney initiative for 2020-2030 was launched by the American Association of Kidney Patients and the European Kidney Health Alliance. Leading Spanish kidney researchers grouped in the kidney collaborative research network Red de Investigación Renal have now applied for the Redes de Investigación Cooperativa Orientadas a Resultados en Salud (RICORS) call for collaborative research in Spain with the support of the Spanish Society of Nephrology, Federación Nacional de Asociaciones para la Lucha Contra las Enfermedades del Riñón and ONT: RICORS2040 aims to prevent the dire predictions for the global 2040 burden of CKD from becoming true

CIBERER : Spanish national network for research on rare diseases: A highly productive collaborative initiative

Altres ajuts: Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII); Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación.CIBER (Center for Biomedical Network Research; Centro de Investigación Biomédica En Red) is a public national consortium created in 2006 under the umbrella of the Spanish National Institute of Health Carlos III (ISCIII). This innovative research structure comprises 11 different specific areas dedicated to the main public health priorities in the National Health System. CIBERER, the thematic area of CIBER focused on rare diseases (RDs) currently consists of 75 research groups belonging to universities, research centers, and hospitals of the entire country. CIBERER's mission is to be a center prioritizing and favoring collaboration and cooperation between biomedical and clinical research groups, with special emphasis on the aspects of genetic, molecular, biochemical, and cellular research of RDs. This research is the basis for providing new tools for the diagnosis and therapy of low-prevalence diseases, in line with the International Rare Diseases Research Consortium (IRDiRC) objectives, thus favoring translational research between the scientific environment of the laboratory and the clinical setting of health centers. In this article, we intend to review CIBERER's 15-year journey and summarize the main results obtained in terms of internationalization, scientific production, contributions toward the discovery of new therapies and novel genes associated to diseases, cooperation with patients' associations and many other topics related to RD research

Electrocatalytic urea mineralization in aqueous alkaline medium using NiIIcyclam-modified nanoparticulate TiO2 anodes and its relationship with the simultaneous electrogeneration of H2 on Pt counterelectrodes

NiIIcyclam-modified nanoparticulate TiO2-coated ITO electrodes (ITO/TiO2//NiIIcyclam) were prepared by electropolymerization of NiIIcyclam monomers to TiO2-coated ITO electrodes (ITO/TiO2) to improve electrocatalytic urea CO(NH2)2 oxidation in alkaline aqueous solutions. A high value adding secondary effect was the collection of electrons at Pt cathodes, to simultaneously generate H2 from water reduction. NiIIcyclam-modified ITO electrodes (ITO//NiIIcyclam) were also prepared by electropolymerization of NiIIcyclam monomers to bare ITO electrodes (ITO) for comparison purposes. In the presence of the TiO2 nanoparticles, the urea mineralization on NiIIcyclam coatings was doubled (23.95% – organic carbon removal at 120 min of electrolysis) compared to those without TiO2 nanoparticles (13.02% – organic carbon removal at 120 min of electrolysis). In agreement, the faradaic efficiency for H2 generation at the Pt cathode, electrically connected to an anode having TiO2 nanoparticles (0.99 at 120 min of electrolysis), was also twice as effective than that observed when the same Pt cathode was electrically connected to an anode without TiO2 nanoparticles (0.46 at 120 min of electrolysis). The experimental results indicated that the poisoning of NiII centers (which is caused by an excessive production of CO intermediates during the urea oxidation on both NiIIcyclam-modified anodes) was strongly inhibited in the presence of the nanoparticulate TiO2|NiIIcyclam junction. A final comparison between our results and those reported in selected publications revealed that the NiIIcyclam-modified nanoparticulate TiO2-coated ITO anodes here developed, constitutes a promising electrocatalytic system for performing direct urea mineralization at a relative short electrolysis time. Furthermore, the combination of the following phenomena: (a) effective charge separation on the semiconducting ITO|nanoparticulate TiO2 junctions, (b) remarkable capabilities of the nanoporous TiO2 films for tuning the load of OH� anions demanded by the urea oxidation and, (c) outstanding capabilities of the TiO2 nanoparticles for capturing CO intermediates (at Ti3+ donor sites), successfully promoted the enhancement of the electron external transport to Pt cathodes, and consequently improved the faradaic efficiency associated to the cathodic generation of H2

Actas de las V Jornadas ScienCity 2022. Fomento de la Cultura Científica, Tecnológica y de Innovación en Ciudades Inteligentes

ScienCity es una actividad que viene siendo continuada desde 2018 con el objetivo de dar a conocer los conocimientos y tecnologías emergentes siendo investigados en las universidades, informar de experiencias, servicios e iniciativas puestas ya en marcha por instituciones y empresas, llegar hasta decisores políticos que podrían crear sinergias, incentivar la creación de ideas y posibilidades de desarrollo conjuntas, implicar y provocar la participación ciudadana, así como gestar una red internacional multidisciplinar de investigadores que garantice la continuación de futuras ediciones. En 2022 se recibieron un total de 48 trabajos repartidos en 25 ponencias y 24 pósteres pertenecientes a 98 autores de 14 instituciones distintas de España, Portugal, Polonia y Países Bajos.Fundación Española para la Ciencia y la Tecnología-Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades; Consejería de la Presidencia, Administración Pública e Interior de la Junta de Andalucía; Estrategia de Política de Investigación y Transferencia de la Universidad de Huelva; Cátedra de Innovación Social de Aguas de Huelva; Cátedra de la Provincia; Grupo de investigación TEP-192 de Control y Robótica; Centro de Investigación en Tecnología, Energía y Sostenibilidad (CITES

Repositioning of the global epicentre of non-optimal cholesterol

High blood cholesterol is typically considered a feature of wealthy western countries1,2. However, dietary and behavioural determinants of blood cholesterol are changing rapidly throughout the world3 and countries are using lipid-lowering medications at varying rates. These changes can have distinct effects on the levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and non-HDL cholesterol, which have different effects on human health4,5. However, the trends of HDL and non-HDL cholesterol levels over time have not been previously reported in a global analysis. Here we pooled 1,127 population-based studies that measured blood lipids in 102.6 million individuals aged 18 years and older to estimate trends from 1980 to 2018 in mean total, non-HDL and HDL cholesterol levels for 200 countries. Globally, there was little change in total or non-HDL cholesterol from 1980 to 2018. This was a net effect of increases in low- and middle-income countries, especially in east and southeast Asia, and decreases in high-income western countries, especially those in northwestern Europe, and in central and eastern Europe. As a result, countries with the highest level of non-HDL cholesterol—which is a marker of cardiovascular risk—changed from those in western Europe such as Belgium, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and Malta in 1980 to those in Asia and the Pacific, such as Tokelau, Malaysia, The Philippines and Thailand. In 2017, high non-HDL cholesterol was responsible for an estimated 3.9 million (95% credible interval 3.7 million–4.2 million) worldwide deaths, half of which occurred in east, southeast and south Asia. The global repositioning of lipid-related risk, with non-optimal cholesterol shifting from a distinct feature of high-income countries in northwestern Europe, north America and Australasia to one that affects countries in east and southeast Asia and Oceania should motivate the use of population-based policies and personal interventions to improve nutrition and enhance access to treatment throughout the world.</p

Human-driven coastline changes in the Adra River deltaic system, southeast Spain

The recent evolution of the Adra River delta in southeastern Spain has been reconstructed from historical maps, aerial photographs, and submarine multibeam bathymetric data. We have distinguished three main evolutionary stages whose development took place as a direct response to the main anthropic and natural influences on the river system. The first stage (4000 BC to 1872 AD) represents the natural behavior of the deltaic system with negligible anthropic influence. This long stage is characterized by coastline advance with the formation of a small asymmetric triangular delta in the natural river mouth and a typical prodeltaic deposit. In contrast, the second and third stages are characterized by anthropic interventions in the catchment and the river mouth, which heavily modified the natural dynamics of the deltaic system. The second stage (1872 AD to 1972 AD) coincided with damming of the natural river channel very close to its mouth and the construction of two successive artificial channels to deviate the river flow. The coastal dynamics changed during this second stage with erosion of the original delta and the formation of a new, asymmetrical delta at the mouth of the artificial channels. This younger eastern delta comprises two infralittoral wedges in the submarine realm, which recorded changes of lateral redistribution processes and enhanced influence of energetic events and can only be explained if the sediment supply from the river source was reduced during this period. The third stage (1972 AD to present-day) started with the damming of the trunk river in the central sector of the catchment, thus drastically reducing sediment flow to the coastal realm and triggering general erosion and coastline retreat.Publicado

Isolation of Campylobacter spp. from three species of antarctic penguins in different geographic locations

The presence of Campylobacter species was studied in three Antarctic penguin species, Adélie (Pygoscelis adeliae), chinstrap (Pygoscelis antarctica) and gentoo (Pygoscelis papua). A total of 390 penguins were captured in 12 different rookeries along the Antarctic Peninsula with differences in the amount of human visitation: six colonies were highly visited [Stranger Point, King George Island (P. papua and P. adeliae); Hannah Point, Livingston Island (P. papua and P. antarctica); Deception Island (P. antarctica); and Paradise Bay, Antarctic Peninsula (P. papua)], and six colonies were rarely visited [Devil’s Point, Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island (P. papua); Cierva Cove, Antarctic Peninsula (P. papua); Rongé Island (P. papua and P. antarctica); Yalour Island (P. adeliae); and Avian Island (P. adeliae)]. A total of 23 strains were isolated from penguins from nine different rookeries. Campylobacter lari subsp. lari was isolated from eight samples (seven from P. papua and one from P. adeliae); C. lari subsp. concheus from 13 (ten from P. adeliae and three from P. antarctica) and C. volucris from two samples (both from P. papua). We did not find any significant differences in the prevalence of Campylobacter spp. between the populations in highly and rarely visited areas. This is the first report of C. lari subsp. concheus and C. volucris isolation from penguins in the Antarctic region.Fil: García Peña, F.J.. Laboratorio Central de Veterinaria de Algete; EspañaFil: Llorente, M.T.. Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III; EspañaFil: Serrano, T.. Grupo TRAGSA; EspañaFil: Ruano, M.J.. Laboratorio Central de Veterinaria de Algete; EspañaFil: Belliure, J.. Universidad de Alcalá; EspañaFil: Benzal, J.. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Estación Experimental de Zonas Aridas; EspañaFil: Herrera León, S.. Centro Nacional de MicrobiologíaInstituto de Salud Carlos III; EspañaFil: Vidal, V.. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas. Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales; EspañaFil: D'amico, Veronica Laura. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Nacional Patagónico; ArgentinaFil: Pérez Boto, D.. Centro Nacional de Alimentación (AECOSAN); EspañaFil: Barbosa, A.. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas. Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales; Españ