The timely overestimation of Spanish GDP in the great recession

The inefficient institutional design of the Euro allowed guaranteed bank liabilities to be converted into government debt, deepening the Great-Recession in Southern European countries. A recessive feedback process occurred through an increase in sovereign debt risk premiums in a cycle of global risk aversion. However, there was one fact that limited these negative effects. We refer to the overestimation of Spanish gross domestic product (GDP) in the public accounts for the period 2007–2013. We quantified the unexplained overestimation of Spain’s GDP for the period 2007–2013 using three different methodologies, which leads us to a similar conclusion: Spain’s GDP was overestimated by between 17% and 18%. We demonstrate that this overestimation allowed for significant savings in interest payments through a lower risk premium. This overestimation, unknown to investors, shows that markets are not efficient, and that information is incomplete. It is necessary to understand the role of debt under Hyman Minsky financial instability hypothesis

An ICP-MS-based platform for release studies on silver-based nanomaterials

Engineered nanoparticles are being incorporated into different products and nanocomposites. The release of these nanoparticles, as well as other derived species, can subsequently lead to consumer and environmental exposure, being a relevant factor for risk assessment. The need for analytical methods for the detection, characterization and quantitation of these released species under relevant conditions becomes evident. In this work, a platform of methods based on the use of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) is proposed to obtain information about the release of silver from silver based nanocoatings and nanocomposites. The sensitivity and element specific response of conventional ICP-MS is complemented by the use of the technique in single particle mode and in combination with ultrafiltration and asymmetrical flow field flow fractionation. By using these three methods, information about the release of both dissolved and particulate forms of silver, as well as the size of the nanoparticles, can be obtained under a variety of scenarios at concentrations down to 0.1 µg L-1 and a nanoparticle diameter of 5 nm. The feasibility of the platform was checked through a number of paradigmatic cases

About detectability and limits of detection in single particle inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

Single particle inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (SP-ICP-MS) offers unique features for the detection of particles, as well as for their quantification and size characterization. The detection capabilities of SP-ICP-MS are therefore not only limited to the concentration domains (of particles and dissolved related species), but also to the mass of element per particle and particle size domains. Discrimination and detection of particle events, based on the use of robust limits of decision (also known as critical values), and the estimation of the limits of detection in the different domains, require standardized metrological approaches that have not been clearly established yet. As a consequence, harmonized approaches and expressions to allow reliable comparisons between methods and instruments, as well as to process SP-ICP-MS data, are required. This paper is an attempt to summarize and review the different approaches applied up to now in relation to the detectability in SP-ICP-MS, and highlight the peculiarities of this topic in SP-ICP-MS. A holistic approach with criteria and expressions for the estimation of the different critical values and limits of detection in terms of the different instrumental and experimental parameters involved is proposed. Additionally, a calculation tool for estimating and predicting critical values and limits of detection under different experimental conditions is also included

Use of flow-cytometry to distinguish between haploid and diploid strains of Aspergillus fumigatus

Many filamentous fungi with general interest such as plant/human pathogens and enzyme/antibiotic producers lack a sexual cycle. Since sexual crosses are unavailable in these species, the parasexual analysis, apart from physical mapping, is the only way of mapping the chromosomes. The use of the parasexual cycle requires a method to distinguish between haploids and diploids. Here, we report the use of flow-cytometry to distinguish clearly between haploid and diploid strains of Aspergillus fumigatus, a very rapid, simple and accurate technique that can be applied to parasexual analysis in other filamentous fungi

Detection and characterization of biogenic selenium nanoparticles in selenium-rich yeast by single particle ICPMS

A method based on single particle inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (SP-ICPMS) was developed for the analysis of commercial Se-rich yeasts, to confirm the occurrence of selenium nanoparticles in these food supplements. A considerable reduction of background levels was achieved by combining data acquisition at microsecond dwell times and the use of a H2 reaction cell, improving by a factor of 10 the current state-of-the-art methodology, and bringing size detection limits down to 18 nm for selenium nanoparticles. The presence of nanoparticulate selenium was revealed by size-exclusion chromatography ICPMS, with detection of a selenium peak at the exclusion volume of the column showing absorption at a wavelength corresponding to selenium nanoparticles. SP-ICPMS allowed us to confirm the presence of Se-nanoparticles, as well as to calculate the nanoparticle size distribution, from information about the shape and elemental composition of the nanoparticles obtained by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), respectively. These results reveal the significance of nanoparticles in the speciation of metals and metalloids in biological samples and the capability of SP-ICPMS in combination with TEM-EDS to carry out these analyses

Estudio de la actividad biocida de aceites procedentes de plantas aromáticas sobre Tetranychus urticae y Ceratitis capitata

Se ha estudiado la actividad biocida de aceites esenciales extraídos de plantas aromáticas como el romero (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) y la salvia (Salvia officinalis L.) sobre la araña roja (Tetranychus urticae Koch) y la mosca de la fruta (Ceratitis capitata Wiedemann). El aceite esencial de salvia a la concentración del 1% se mostró capaz de atraer adultos de C. capitata. La mayor actividad frente a la araña roja se observó por parte del aceite esencial de salvia, provocando, con gran rapidez, una alta tasa de mortalidad. El aceite de salvia al 0,25% consiguió reducir el nivel de puesta de T. urticae, llegando incluso a tasas de reducción de un 50%

The assessment off environmenal conditioning techniques and theri energy performance in historic churches loceted in Mediterranean climate

There is a particular approach to the energy performance and indoor microclimate of historic buildings. However, the implementation of energy efficiency in historic buildings is limited, given that the materials, structure, geometry and artworks to be conserved inhibit the improvement of microclimate parameters or energy performance. The main aim of this work is to study the use of environmental conditioning techniques in a historic building and its impact on the conservation of artworks prior to the refurbishment project. This study describes experimental research carried out on the church of Nuestra Senora de la Merced, a historic building in a Mediterranean climate. The building was monitored and measured to validate numerical codes using Design Builder 4.7.027 and Energy Plus 8.3. Software building models made it possible to evaluate the implementation of different environmental techniques – passive, active and combined – in the church with a view to conserving artworks. This study concluded that the use of passive environmental techniques does not completely eliminate the mechanical risk or bio-deterioration that are inherent to movable heritage. Proposals for the use of active systems in com bination with passive techniques improve the initial conservation of artworks and decrease the risk of biological degradation. Although energy consumption is high due to the large size and thermal inertia of the building, consumption is considerably reduced when active and passive systems are combined

Karyotype variability in tropical maize sister inbred lines and hybrids compared with kys standard line.

Maize karyotype variability has been extensively investigated. The identification of maize somatic and pachytene chromosomes has improved with the development of fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) using tandemly repeated DNA sequences as probes. We identified the somatic chromosomes of sister inbred lines that were derived from a tropical flint maize population (Jac Duro [JD]), and hybrids between them, using FISH probes for the 180-bp knob repeat, centromeric satellite (CentC), centromeric satellite 4 (Cent4), subtelomeric clone 4-12-1, 5S ribosomal DNA and nucleolus organizing region DNA sequences. The observations were integrated with data based on C-banded mitotic metaphases and conventional analysis of pachytene chromosomes. Heterochromatic knobs visible at pachynema were coincident with C-bands and 180-bp FISH signals on somatic chromosomes, and most of them were large. Variation in the presence of some knobs was observed among lines. Small 180-bp knob signals were invariant on the short arms of chromosomes 1, 6, and 9. The subtelomeric 4-12-1 signal was also invariant and useful for identifying some chromosomes. The centromere location of chromosomes 2 and 4 differed from previous reports on standard maize lines. Somatic chromosomes of a JD line and the commonly used KYS line were compared by FISH in a hybrid of these lines. The pairing behavior of chromosomes 2 and 4 at pachytene stage in this hybrid was investigated using FISH with chromosome-specific probes. The homologues were fully synapsed, including the 5S rDNA and CentC sites on chromosome 2, and Cent4 and subtelomeric 4-12-1 sites on chromosome 4. This suggests that homologous chromosomes could pair through differential degrees of chromatin packaging in homologous arms differing in size. The results contribute to current knowledge of maize global diversity and also raise

Long-term study of antibiotic presence in Ebro river basin (Spain): identification of the emission sources

Water monitoring is key to determining the presence of potentially hazardous substances related to urban activities and intensive farming. This research aimed to perform a long-term (four years) quantitative monitoring of selected antibiotics (azithromycin, enrofloxacin, trimethoprim and sulfadiazine) both in rivers and wastewaters belonging to the Ebro River basin (North of Spain). The target antibiotics were chosen on the basis of a preliminary multispecies screening. The analysis of the antibiotics was carried out by LC-MS/MS on wastewater-treatment plant (WWTP) effluent, effluents of a slaughterhouse and hospital, rivers downstream and upstream of these WWTPs, and rivers close to extensive farming areas. The ANOVA test was performed to study the significant differences between the points exposed to concrete emission sources and antibiotic concentration. The monitoring, carried out from 2018 to 2020, has been essential to illustrating the presence of the most abundant antibiotics that were detected in the Ebro River basin. Enrofloxacin has appeared in river waters in significant concentrations, especially near intensive farming, meanwhile azithromycin has been frequently detected in wastewaters. Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland