Introducing multi-energy ratios as an alternative to multi-energy calibration for Br determination: Via high-resolution continuum source graphite furnace molecular absorption spectrometry. A case study

This manuscript explores the advantages of using multi-signal calibration approaches for the determination of non-metals via high-resolution continuum source graphite furnace molecular absorption spectrometry (HR CS GFMAS), targeting Br as an example. Besides multi-energy calibration (MEC), a novel approach deriving from it, multi-energy ratios (MER), is introduced and compared under different conditions. This approach makes use of the same data but in a different way, such that no linear regression is performed; instead, ratios are calculated. This article investigates the potential errors deriving from the use of amounts of spike dissimilar from the sample content, leading to too high (close to 1) or too low (close to 0) slopes/ratios, setting the best conditions in terms of precision and accuracy for the intended determination in the range of approx. 0.5 to 0.6. Also, situations where the use of MER could be recommended over MEC are identified: namely when only a few transitions of sufficient sensitivity and free from overlaps are available or else, many transitions but of similar sensitivity, which may occur when HR CS GFMAS is deployed. Otherwise, for multiple transitions covering a wider sensitivity range, use of linear regression and thus, of MEC, seems favoured, as a better precision can be achieved. The calculation of limits of detection and quantification for both approaches is also discussed. It is finally further demonstrated that these multi-signal strategies help in solving chemical interferences, which very often hamper the determination of non-metals with HR CS GFMAS, and they do so in a simple way, without the need for laborious work or for the preparation of several standards and sample aliquots, therefore making them a very intriguing option when this technique is deployed

Control of serotonergic neurons in rat brain by dopaminergic receptors outside the dorsal raphe nucleus

We studied the control of dorsal raphe (DR) serotonergic neurons by dopaminergic transmission in rat brain using microdialysis and single unit extracellular recordings. Apomorphine (0.5–3.0 mg/kg s.c.) and quinpirole (0.5 mg/kg s.c.) increased serotonin (5-HT) output in the DR and (only apomorphine) in striatum. These effects were antagonized by 0.3 mg/kg s.c. SCH 23390 (in DR and striatum) and 1 mg/kg s.c. raclopride (in DR). 5-HT1A receptor blockade potentiated the 5-HT increase produced by apomorphine in the DR. Apomorphine (50–400 µg/kg i.v.) increased the firing rate of most 5-HT neurons, an effect prevented by SCH 23390 and raclopride. Quinpirole (40–160 µg/kg i.v.) also enhanced the firing rate of 5-HT neurons. When applied in the DR, neither drug increased the 5-HT output in the DR or striatum. Likewise, micropressure injection of quinpirole (0.2–8 pmol) failed to increase the firing rate of 5-HT neurons. In situ hybridization showed that the dopamine (DA) D2 receptor transcript was almost absent in the DR and abundant in the substantia nigra (SN) and the periaqueductal grey matter (PAG). Using dual probe microdialysis, the application of tetrodotoxin or apomorphine in SN significantly increased the DR 5-HT output. Thus, the discrepancy between local and systemic effects of dopaminergic agonists and the absence of DA D2 receptor transcript in 5-HT neurons suggest that DA D2 receptors outside the DR control serotonergic activity.Peer reviewe

High-resolution continuum source graphite furnace molecular absorption spectrometry for the monitoring of Sr isotopes via SrF formation: a case study

High-resolution continuum source graphite furnace molecular absorption spectrometry (HR CS GFMAS) can provide isotopic information under certain conditions, thus broadening its field of application. However, to date, only elements with two major stable isotopes have been monitored via this technique. In this work, the possibilities of HR CS GFMAS to determine isotope ratios of elements with more than two stable isotopes are evaluated for the first time. For this purpose, Sr was chosen as the analyte and SrF as the target species, so four different signals corresponding to four stable Sr isotopes (88Sr, 87Sr, 86Sr and 84Sr) should be distinguished. Nevertheless, due to the number of strontium isotopes, the shape of the peaks, and the resolution that the instrument exhibits in the spectral window, isotopic signals overlap, thus leading to potentially biased results. To circumvent this issue, a deconvolution protocol, consisting of measuring and correcting for the contribution of each isotope on the signals of the rest, was developed. These contributions were calculated as the signal ratio between the absorbance of the monoisotopic profile at the wavelengths where the maxima of other isotopes are expected and at its own maximum. Therefore, the interference can be simply subtracted from the net signal registered for the interfered isotope. The performance of this method was demonstrated for both naturally abundant and isotope-enriched Sr standards, paving the way for future applications in this field. Analysis of a real sample (tap water) spiked with a 84Sr solution is also demonstrated

Biofiltration based on bioactive coatings for the abatement of indoor air VOCs

Producción CientíficaBiotechnologies are a feasible alternative for indoor air pollutant abatement. Among biotechnologies, bioactive coatings consist of microorganisms embedded in polymeric matrices, allowing a direct contact between microorganisms and gas pollutants, thus enhancing their abatement. Three bioreactors (BR1, BR2 and BR3) were inoculated with a VOC-degrading enriched culture, a latex bioactive coating with the VOC-degrading enriched culture, and a latex bioactive coating with fresh activated sludge. The influence of empty bed residence time (EBRT) and inlet concentrations on the removal of toluene, α-pinene and n-hexane was assessed. BR1 and BR2 achieved steady-state toluene and pinene removals >90% down to 30 s. BR3 lower removals could be attributed to the lack of acclimation of activated sludge. When inlet concentrations were progressively reduced to 80% in BR1 and BR2, but only to 64.2% in BR3. Pinene removals reached 90.9% in BR1, and >70% in BR2 and BR3. The bacterial population was dominated by Rhodococcus, Mycobacterium, Devosia and Rhodobacteraceae members in BR1 and BR2. No significant and robust hexane removal was observed regardless of the inoculum or operational conditions, probably due to mass transfer limitations, which entailed a low dominance of organisms with this metabolic capability.Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (project RTI2018-0-096441-B-I00)Junta de Castilla y León y EU-FEDER (program grant number CLU 2017–09, CL-EI-2021-07 and UIC 315)European Commission-H2020-MSCA–IF–2019 grant (ENHANCEMENT, ref. 897284

Ways of evaluating the balance in physical education in the stage of primary education

La presente investigación se centra en examinar los instrumentos más empleados en las clases de Educación Física para la medición del equilibrio en el alumnado de Educación Primaria, clasificándolos según la fiabilidad de los datos que aportan. La metodología utilizada se ha centrado en registrar las investigaciones publicadas en diferentes bases de datos de acceso libre (google schoolar, EBSCO y Pubmed). Entre los criterios de inclusión, se han considerado que tuvieran calidad científica y relevancia en el área de conocimiento.This research is focused on examining the most commonly instruments in Physical Education lessons in order to measure the balance of Primary Education pupils, classifying them according to the reliability of the data they provided. The methodology used, is focused on the recording of the research publications in open-access (Google Scholar, EBSCO and Pubmed). Inclusion criteria, considered scientific quality and relevance in the area of knowledge.Ciencias de la Actividad Física y del Deport

Vaginal Formulations for Prevention of Sexual Transmission of HIV

According to UNAIDS, as there is still no effective vaccine against HIV, pre-exposure prophylasis (PrEP) is necessary to reduce its incidence. Sexual transmission rate is higher from men to women in developing countries and vertical transmission may also occur from mother to child. Hence, vaginal formulations are an interesting proposal for the protection of women, preventing the virus from infecting vagina through different mechanisms. Several drugs, such as Dapivirine, Tenofovir or Maraviroc, have been assessed and showed to be effective in this field. These microbicides are included in different dosage forms able to release the drug once in contact with the vaginal medium. Innovative excipients are being employed for the development of different systems trying to get an easier posology through control release and high comfortability, thus leading to a better compliance. In this line, several formulations have been developed and tested, such as rings, tablets, gels or films. Some of them are nowadays in clinical trials, such as a Tenofovir gel or a Dapivirine vaginal ring. The aim of this chapter is to synthetize the research and findings in the field of the development and assessment of vaginal formulations in the PrEP of HIV sexual transmission

Servicios turísticos en función del contexto basados en semántica

La utilización del contexto del usuario juega un papel fundamental en numerosos servicios y aplicaciones tecnológicas modernas. La capacidad de procesar información contextual y realizar razonamientos basados en el contexto del visitante es esencial, no solamente para sistemas móviles y de computación ubicua, sino también para una amplia gama de aplicaciones adaptativas para el sector turístico. Para incluir procesados contextuales en el campo de los sistemas y servicios inteligentes, será necesaria la capacidad de representar y manipular la información que se extraiga de un número importante de factores contextuales. Será necesario por lo tanto realizar un modelado específico del comportamiento del usuario en el ámbito turístico, así como habilitar las plataformas adecuadas para que en ejecución este conocimiento pueda ser aprovechado por los servicios que el turista recibe. En este trabajo se presenta el modelado y gestión del conocimiento de tipo contextual de un visitante a través de redes de ontologías, las cuales presentan unos beneficios claros en cuanto a interoperabilidad, nivel de abstracción o capacidad de razonamiento. Estas propuestas cobran especial relevancie en el caso del turista, el cual es paradigmático de la problemática de computación ubicua y movilidad, tal y como se presenta en el artículo

Spatial distribution of economic activities in heritage cities: The case of the historic city of Toledo, Spain

[EN] This paper presents the initial results of an ongoing research on the spatial distribution of economic activities in Spanish heritage cities. The study investigate the influence of spatial accessibility and proximity to monuments on the location of businesses in the historic city of Toledo. The research includes two surveys of the entrnaces to monuments and ground florr businesses within the old town, and uses space syntax techniques and tools to determine spatial accessibility. Then, a GIS model of the street segments of the city registers this monuments have a significant impact on the distribution of business in the old town and investigates further to understand and quantify this effect. however, it does not find strong correlations between the considered variables nor a suitable model to explain the differences in business intensity across the street segments within the historic city of Toeldo.This research has been funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through the project Tejidos históricos, paisaje urbanos y movilidad. Análisis y propuestas de regeneración de áreas de borde, espacios públicos y ejes viarios (CSO2015-63815-R).Ruiz-Apilánez, B.; Solís, E.; García-Camacha, I.; Romero De Ávila, V.; Alía, C.; Martín, R. (2018). Spatial distribution of economic activities in heritage cities: The case of the historic city of Toledo, Spain. En 24th ISUF International Conference. Book of Papers. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 221-230. https://doi.org/10.4995/ISUF2017.2017.5164OCS22123

Improvement of balance in a 7-year-old child through a six-week learning programme

Given that human beings are constantly subjected to equilibration processes, developing basic perceptual motor skills, especially balance, is important. The main purpose of this study is the validation of the tasks and the progression of activities that form the learning programme for balance development in a six-week didactic unit of 12 sessions (2 sessions per week), for 6 to 9-year-old children (1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade of elementary school in Brazil). The changes in balance after applying the programme are also analysed through a new measuring protocol using baropodometry. Although the session was put into practice in a class of 28 children, data were extracted from a 7-year-old child. This is a single-case study in which analysis has been performed measuring pressure, surface and area, points of peak plantar pressure, and stabilometry, with the help of a baropodometer. Results obtained show the highest score areas are in the Quartiles (Q) forming the hindfoot (A= 60.40 cm2; SD= 3.68 cm2; p=.047), with a higher score in the peak pressure of Q2, located in the forefoot, (A= 0.54 kgf/cm2; SD= 0.04 kgf/cm2; p= .030), and improvement in lateral oscillation of dominant foot (A= 1.12 Hz; SD= .00 Hz; p= .00). The data obtained show the participation of the 7-year-old child in the balance development learning programme improves the area and the surface of support of the Centre of Pressure (COP) in both feet, particularly in the dominant

Eudragit® L100/chitosan composite thin bilayer films for intravaginal pH-responsive release of Tenofovir

[EN] The high rate of HIV new infections and AIDS-related deaths each year make prevention tools still necessary today. Different dosage forms – including films – for vaginal administration of antiretroviral drugs have been developed for this purpose. Six batches of Tenofovir-loaded films were formulated based on Eudragit® L100 (EL100) and chitosan, containing triethyl citrate and glycerol. In all the cases films structured in two layers – the upper layer mainly attributed to EL100 and the lower layer to chitosan – were revealed by SEM. A higher content in EL100 and plasticizers improves the mechanical properties and control over drug release in the vaginal medium without affecting mucoadhesion. The EL100-based layer acts as a structuring agent that controls Tenofovir release for days in the vaginal medium while it occurs in a few hours in the presence of seminal fluid. Bilayer films with the highest tested content of EL100 and plasticizers would be the most suitable as vaginal microbicides as they are easier to administer due to their excellent mechanical properties and they offer more comfortable posology and enhanced protection against HIV during intercourse due to their pH-responsive release of Tenofovir.This work was supported by the Spanish Research Agency and the European Regional Development Fund (AEI/FEDER, UE) [MAT2016-76416-R]