Vicia vulcanorum (Fabaceae), nueva especie para la isla de Lanzarote (Islas Canarias)

Vicia vulcanorum J. Gil & M. L. Gil (Fabaceae), a new species of subg. Cracca (Dumort.) Peterm., sect. Cracca Dumort. is described and illustrated from the island of Lanzarote, Canary Islands, north-west of Africa. It is related to and compared with Vicia cirrhosa C. Sm. ex Webb & Berthel. and Vicia filicaulis Webb & Berthel., two endemic species from the western and central group of the Canary Islands, and Vicia ferreirensis Goyder, an endemic species from Porto Santo Island, Madeira Archipelago.Se describe e ilustra Vicia vulcanorum J. Gil & M. L. Gil (Fabaceae), una nueva especie y endemismo de la isla de Lanzarote, Islas Canarias, perteneciente al subg. Cracca (Dumort.) Peterm., sect. Cracca Dumort. Se encuentra relacionada y es comparada con Vicia cirrhosa C. Sm. ex Webb & Berthel. y Vicia filicaulis Webb & Berthel., especies endémicas de las islas centrales y occidentales del archipiélago canario, y con Vicia ferreirensis Goyder, especie endémica de la isla de Porto Santo, en el archipiélago de Madeira

Temporomandibular joint arthrocentesis. Review of the literature

The treatment of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is still controversial. TMJ arthrocentesis represents a form of minimally invasive surgical treatment in patients suffering from internal derangement of the TMJ, especially closed lock. It consists of washing the joint with the possibility of depositing a drug or other therapeutic substance. Resolution of symptoms is due to the removal of chemical inflammatory mediators and changes in intra-articular pressure. Numerous clinical studies regarding this technique have been published. The goal of this paper is to review all clinical articles that have been published with regard to the critique of this technique. 19 articles with different designs fulfilling selection guidelines were chosen. A series of clinical and procedure variables were analyzed. Although the mean of improvement was higher that 80%, further research is needed to determine more homogeneous indications for TMJ athrocentesis

Diversidad genética de Pinus pinaster en la Península Ibérica: correlación entre isoenzimas y caracteres cuantitativos

The estimation of genetic diversity using molecular markers is a major component of genetic conservation programs. However, molecular data are only weakly correlated with adaptive variation, which seriously limits the value of molecular information for guiding conservation policies. In this paper, we used allozyme markers to analyse the distribution of gene diversity in the native range of Pinus pinaster Ait. in the Iberian Peninsula, including seven marginal populations close to the Mediterranean Basin. Then, the variability of three quantitative traits (total height, stem form and survival) was computed using data from a multisite provenance test in central Spain and the two data sets were compared. Within the general pattern of variation, marginal populations presented levels of diversity closely related to those of nearby central populations, clearly suggesting that historical factors were more important than actual population sizes in determining levels of observed diversity. A weak but nevertheless significant correlation between allozymes and quantitative variability was found in maritime pine. Environmental gradients, as measured by geographic variables, are suggested to have selective effects on quantitative traits and to influence effective population size, which might explain the weak correlation found between allozyme and adaptive variability.Uno de los principales componentes de los programas de conservación genética es el uso de marcadores moleculares para la estimación de la diversidad genética. A pesar de ello, la variación observada en marcadores moleculares está débilmente correlacionada con la variación adaptativa, lo que limita seriamente la aplicación de estos estudios en el desarrollo de políticas de conservación. En este trabajo, se compara la distribución de la diversidad genética de Pinus pinaster Ait. en la Península Ibérica obtenida con marcadores moleculares (isoenzimas) y caracteres cuantitativos (altura, forma del fuste y supervivencia). El estudio incluye siete poblaciones marginales. Éstas, muestran valores de diversidad similares a los de poblaciones centrales próximas lo que sugiere una gran importancia de los procesos históricos regionales frente a efectos relacionados con el tamaño efectivo poblacional. La correlación de los marcadores moleculares utilizados con los caracteres cuantitativos medidos en los ensayos de campo es débil, aunque significativa. Esta correlación podría explicarse considerando efectos selectivos en respuesta a gradientes ambientales que afectan a su vez el tamaño efectivo de las poblaciones

Colored semi-transparent Cu-Si oxide thin films prepared by magnetron sputtering

Colored semi-transparent Cu-Si oxide thin films have been prepared by reactive magnetron sputtering from a single cathode of copper-silicon composition. Thin films of different composition and optical response were obtained by changing process parameters like the relative amount of copper in the target and the O2/Ar mixture of the reactive plasma gas. The film characteristics were analyzed by several techniques. Their optical properties (refractive index, absorption coefficient, color) have been correlated with the process parameters used in the film preparation as well as with the film stoichiometry and chemistry.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación CEN-20072014, MAT2010-18447, MAT2010-21228, CSD2008–00023Junta de Andalucía P09-TEP5283, CTS-518

Predictability of the resonance frequency analysis in the survival of dental implants placed in the anterior non-atrophied edentulous mandible

Background: Dental primary implant stability is considered essential in the success of the osseointegration process. The recent advent of the resonance frequency analysis (RFA) seems to effectively measure primary implant stability, although its relationship with implant survival has to be further established. Patients and Methods: Seventy patients with complete mandibular edentulism underwent dental implant rehabilitation by means of the placement of 68 dental implants within the interforaminal region and subsequent placement of an overdenture. Primary implant stability was measured by means of RFA and it was expressed in terms of implant stability quotient (ISQ) on the day of the implant insertion and at the time of the healing abutment placement in a conventional implant two-stage surgical procedure. Results: Overall implant survival rate was 97.1% at the end of the follow-up period. The mean ISQ value for 3.75 and 4.25 mm diameter implants was 78.4 ± 5.46 and 80.83 ± 5.35 respectively, at the time of the implant placement; and 76.68 ± 4.34 and 78.22 ± 6.87 respectively, at the second surgical stage. No statistical differences were observed in relation to changes in mean ISQ value along the healing process Conclusions: No statistical differences in terms of primary and secondary implant stability measured by RFA exists between 3.75 mm and 4.25 mm diameter implants in the conventional implant two-stage surgical procedure in patients with non-atrophied edentulous mandible being restored with an overdenture. Furthermore, no statistical association between RFA and the implant insertion torque was observed for endosseous dental implant placement at the first surgical stage. © Medicina Oral

Polarized laser light scattering applied to surface morphology characterization of epitaxial III–V semiconductor layers

11 pages.-- PACS: 68.35.Bs; 81.05.Ea; 81.15.Hi; 78.35.+c; 78.66.FdIn this paper, we analyze typical morphologies of epitaxial III–V semiconductor layers by using a polarized laser light scattering technique. Crosshatched topographies, which are developed during heteroepitaxial growth, are studied. A sample with an intentionally high density of oval defects is also explored to establish how the laser light scattering pattern is affected by the presence of these defects, which are unavoidable in the epitaxial layers grown by molecular beam epitaxy. The former topographies produce a scattered light pattern that is highly anisotropic, with the intensity concentrated along two preferential directions; the latter defects give rise to a fairly isotropic pattern. Employing a perturbation-theoretical model, whose applicability and consistency are explicitly demonstrated by our results, the surface power spectral density is retrieved from the angle-resolved light scattering experimental data. For the samples exhibiting crosshatched topography, the scattering measurements provide information that allows us to model the roughness of the surface in terms of two quasi-one-dimensional, anisotropic components, and one two-dimensional, isotropic, long-range background. The root mean square heights and the typical lateral distances between ridges are obtained in quantitative agreement with the values extracted from the atomic force microscopy measurements. For the sample presenting oval defects, we consider their contribution to the surface power spectral density by means of a simple model of randomly distributed particles on a surface, and we compare the resulting power spectral density with typical behavior found in the literature for good-morphology GaAs layers. With the help of the ex situ information thus obtained, we also discuss the implementation of the light scattering technique for in situ monitoring during epitaxial growth.The authors wish to acknowledge the Spanish CICYT for financial support under Project No. TIC96-1020-C02. M.U.G. thanks the Consejería de Educación y Cultura de la Comunidad de Madrid for financial support. J.A.S.-G. acknowledges financial support from the Spanish DGESIC Grant No. PB97-1221.Spanish CICYTConsejería de Educación y Cultura de la Comunidad de MadridPeer reviewe

Grindability and combustion behavior of coal and torrefied biomass blends

Biomass samples (pine, black poplar and chestnut woodchips) were torrefied to improve their grindability before being combusted in blends with coal. Torrefaction temperatures between 240 and 300 °C and residence times between 11 and 43 min were studied. The grindability of the torrefied biomass, evaluated from the particle size distribution of the ground sample, significantly improved compared to raw biomass. Higher temperatures increased the proportion of smaller-sized particles after grinding. Torrefied chestnut woodchips (280 °C, 22 min) showed the best grinding properties. This sample was blended with coal (5–55 wt.% biomass). The addition of torrefied biomass to coal up to 15 wt.% did not significantly increase the proportion of large-sized particles after grinding. No relevant differences in the burnout value were detected between the coal and coal/torrefied biomass blends due to the high reactivity of the coal. NO and SO2 emissions decreased as the percentage of torrefied biomass in the blend with coal increased.This work was part of the subcontracted contribution of INCAR to a project carried out by EDP Spain with the financial support from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and acting IDEPA (Economic Development Agency of the Principality of Asturias) as research funding agency (Ref.: IDE/2013/000233). The authors thank A. J. Martín, member of the PrEM group at INCAR-CSIC, for his contribution.Peer reviewe

The vitamin D decrease in children with obesity is associated with the development of insulin resistance during puberty: The PUBMEP study

Obesity and cardiometabolic risk have been associated with vitamin D levels even in children. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the association between insulin resistance (IR), cardiometabolic risk factors, and vitamin D in children from prepubertal to pubertal stages. A total of 76 children from the PUBMEP study, aged 4–12 years at baseline, were included. Children were evaluated in prepubertal and pubertal stages. Anthropometric measurements and selected cardiometabolic risk biomarkers, such as plasma glucose, blood lipids, insulin, adiponectin, leptin, and blood pressure, and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) were determined. Children were categorized by obesity degree and IR status combined before and after puberty. Paired t-test and multivariate linear regression analyses were conducted. During puberty, the increase in triacylglycerols, insulin, and HOMA-IR and the decrease in QUICKI were significantly associated with the reduction in 25(OH)D (B = -0.274, p = 0.032; B = -0.219, p = 0.019; B = -0.250, p = 0.013; B = 1.574, p = 0.013, respectively) after adjustment by BMI-z, sex, and pubertal stage. Otherwise, prepubertal non-IR children with overweight/obesity that became IR during puberty showed a significant decrease in 25(OH)D and HDL-c, and an increase in waist circumference and triacylglycerol concentrations (p < 0.05 for all) over time. These results suggest that changes in IR seem to be associated with an effect on 25(OH)D levels during puberty, especially in children with overweight. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland