Moving forward in the Euro-Mediterranean research and innovation partnership : the experience of the MIRA project

Cet article analyse le cadre politique Euro-Med qui affecte les coopérations en matière de recherche depuis la déclaration de Barcelone jusqu'à la politique de voisinage. Nous examinons les orientations de politique et ses changements, les effets qu’ils ont sur les collaborations scientiiques en termes de publications et de gouvernance de la recherche en utilisant les données de l'enquête MIRA sur les collaborations scientiiques. Nous comparons aussi les programmes inancés par l’Europe et ceux inancés par les coopérations bilatérales. Enin nous identiions des propositions pour générer des partenariats cofinancés et co-décidés

Using the Resected Kidney for Transplantation After Nephrectomy for Nutcracker Syndrome

Nutcracker syndrome (NCS) is the clinical manifestation of unilateral renal venous hypertension. It develops secondary to the nutcracker phenomenon caused by compression of the left renal vein between the superior mesenteric artery and the aorta. We present the case of a 43-year-old female with a history of left flank pain, pelvic congestion, and hematuria secondary to NCS. The patient frequently required high-dose non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications with minimal relief. She initiated a kidney donor evaluation after electing to undergo a nephrectomy for the possible long-term resolution of NCS symptoms. If diagnosed early, NCS does not generate pathology within the kidney. This finding allows an individual with medically refractory NCS to avoid the morbidity of a complex surgical procedure by instead donating their kidney. Attention to this treatment modality could provide individuals with NCS resolution of symptoms while providing someone with end-stage renal disease with a life-saving organ

Cerro Prieto cold water injection: effects on nearby production wells

The liquid-dominated Cerro Prieto geothermal field of northern Baja California, Mexico has been under commercial exploitation since 1973. During the early years of operation, all waste brines were sent to an evaporation pond built west of the production area. In 1989, cooled pond brines began to be successfully injected into the reservoir along the western boundary of the geothermal system. The injection rate varied over the years, and is at present about 20% of the total fluid extracted. As expected under the continental desert conditions prevailing in the area, the temperature and salinity of the pond brines change with the seasons, being higher during the summer and lower during the winter. The chemistry of pond brines is also affected by precipitation of silica, oxidation of H{sub 2}S and reaction with airborne clays. Several production wells in the western part of the field (CP-I area) showed beneficial effects from injection. The chemical (chloride, isotopic) and physical (enthalpy, flow rate) changes observed in producers close to the injectors are reviewed. Some wells showed steam flow increases, in others steam flow decline rates flattened. Because of their higher density, injected brines migrated downward in the reservoir and showed up in deep wells

Resonant Raman scattering off neutral quantum dots

Resonant inelastic (Raman) light scattering off neutral GaAs quantum dots which contain a mean number, N=42, of electron-hole pairs is computed. We find Raman amplitudes corresponding to strongly collective final states (charge-density excitations) of similar magnitude as the amplitudes related to weakly collective or single-particle excitations. As a function of the incident laser frequency or the magnetic field, they are rapidly varying amplitudes. It is argued that strong Raman peaks should come out in the spin-density channels, not related to valence-band mixing effects in the intermediate states.Comment: Accepted in Physical Review

Radiative open charm decay of the Y(3940), Z(3930), X(4160) resonances

We determine the radiative decay amplitudes for decay into $D^*$ and $\bar{D} \gamma$, or $D^*_s$ and $\bar{D}_s \gamma$ of some of the charmonium like states classified as X,Y,Z resonances, plus some other hidden charm states which are dynamically generated from the interaction of vector mesons with charm. The mass distributions as a function of the $\bar{D} \gamma$ or $\bar{D}_s \gamma$ invariant mass show a peculiar behavior as a consequence of the $D^* \bar{D}^*$ nature of these states. The experimental search of these magnitudes can shed light on the nature of these states.Comment: 18 pages, 9 figure

Preferred growth direction by PbS nanoplatelets preserves perovskite infrared light harvesting for stable, reproducible, and efficient solar cells

Formamidinium-based perovskite solar cells (PSCs) present the maximum theoretical efficiency of the lead perovskite family. However, formamidinium perovskite exhibits significant degradation in air. The surface chemistry of PbS has been used to improve the formamidinium black phase stability. Here, the use of PbS nanoplatelets with (100) preferential crystal orientation is reported, to potentiate the repercussion on the crystal growth of perovskite grains and to improve the stability of the material and consequently of the solar cells. As a result, a vertical growth of perovskite grains, a stable current density of 23 mA cm(-2), and a stable incident photon to current efficiency in the infrared region of the spectrum for 4 months is obtained, one of the best stability achievements for planar PSCs. Moreover, a better reproducibility than the control device, by optimizing the PbS concentration in the perovskite matrix, is achieved. These outcomes validate the synergistic use of PbS nanoplatelets to improve formamidinium long-term stability and performance reproducibility, and pave the way for using metastable perovskite active phases preserving their light harvesting capability

Genes of the antioxidant system of the honey bee: annotation and phylogeny

Antioxidant enzymes perform a variety of vital functions including the reduction of life-shortening oxidative damage. We used the honey bee genome sequence to identify the major components of the honey bee antioxidant system. A comparative analysis of honey bee with Drosophila melanogaster and Anopheles gambiae shows that although the basic components of the antioxidant system are conserved, there are important species differences in the number of paralogs. These include the duplication of thioredoxin reductase and the expansion of the thioredoxin family in fly; lack of expansion of the Theta, Delta and Omega GST classes in bee and no expansion of the Sigma class in dipteran species. The differential expansion of antioxidant gene families among honey bees and dipteran species might reflect the marked differences in life history and ecological niches between social and solitary species

Final Report of the Fifth Meeting of Scientific Experts on Fish Stocks in the Central Arctic Ocean

This report provides a summary of the 5th meeting of scientific experts on Fish Stocks in the Central Arctic Ocean (FiSCAO) on October 24‐26, 2017, in Ottawa, Canada. At the request of the 10 parties negotiating on an agreement to prevent unregulated commercial fishing in the High Seas portion of the Central Arctic Ocean (CAO), participants of the 5th FiSCAO meeting were tasked with addressing four Terms of Reference, summarized below: ToR 1. Design a 1‐3 year long mapping program. ToR 2. Design a monitoring program. ToR 3. Identify human, financial, vessel/equipment resources needed for mapping and monitoring. ToR 4. Develop data collection, sharing, and hosting protocols that outline the details of what and how data shall be collected, shared, and hosted for consideration by the Parties. The 5th FiSCAO meeting included scientific representatives from seven states including Canada, the People's Republic of China, the European Union, Iceland, the Republic of Korea, the Kingdom of Norway and the United States of America. The meeting also included representatives from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), the North Pacific Marine Science Organization (PICES) and the Arctic Council’s Protection of the Arctic Marine Environment (PAME) and Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) working groups. The report summarizes the elements for collecting baseline data (i.e., a mapping program) in the high seas CAO to achieve the goals of documenting species distributions, relative abundances and key ecosystem parameters (ToR 1). The mapping program describes the priority areas to sample, the types of data to collect and possible data collection approaches to employ. Participants emphasized that existing planned surveys are very limited, and that significant dedicated resources will be required to implement the mapping program. The report outlines a strategy for monitoring indicators of fish stocks and ecosystem components (ToR 2). The report includes a list of existing monitoring programs and a prioritized list of indicators to detect environmental change in the high seas CAO. Further refinement of a monitoring program will use information from the mapping program (ToR 1). Participants emphasized the need to begin monitoring as soon as possible and that additional research is required to operationalize monitoring indicators. The report summarizes the preliminary cost estimates (ToR 3) to implement a mapping program to collect data in the high seas portion of the CAO using a vessel of opportunity and in the Pacific Gateway region of the CAO using an independently‐organized survey. Cost implications for the monitoring program and other scientific activities are also listed (e.g., data analysis, data management). The report includes a draft data sharing policy as the foundation for a future data sharing protocol, including the technical specifications for data sharing (ToR 4). The development of the data sharing protocol will require negotiation and legal review among the participating states. A data management and data sharing pilot study on a CAO fish database is suggested to test a framework

Análisis de impacto del Plan Nacional Integrado de Energía y Clima PNIEC 2021-2030 de España

Este artículo recoge un análisis del impacto del borrador del Plan Nacional Integrado de Energía y Clima (PNIEC) 2021-2030 de España, cuyo objetivo central es reducir las emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero (GEI) un 23 por 100 con respecto a 1990. El estudio utiliza varios modelos (DENIO y FASTT-TM5) para abordar los impactos de una forma integrada y multidisciplinar. Los resultados obtenidos muestran que el PNIEC movilizaría 241.000 millones de euros, de los cuales un 80 por 100 provendría de financiación privada. Las medidas del PNIEC reducirían en 67.000 millones de euros la importación de combustibles fósiles, que serían sustituidos por energías renovables autóctonas, y generarían un aumento del PIB del 1,8 por 100 en 2030 y del empleo neto entre 253.000 y 348.000 empleos/año. La reducción de GEI, lleva asociada una importante reducción de emisiones de contaminantes atmosféricos que causan daño a la salud (SO2, NOX, PM2.5, entre otras), lo que supondría una reducción del 27 por 100 de las muertes prematuras. Una conclusión robusta de este trabajo, similar a la de otros estudios recientes (OCDE, 2017; Comisión Europea, 2018; FUNSEAM, 2018 o IRENA, 2019), es que las soluciones para la crisis climática además de urgentes y necesarias, son una oportunidad, si son bien aprovechadas por aquellos países importadores netos de combustibles fósiles y que además disponen de recursos renovables.Los autores/as agradecen al equipo de la Subdirección General de Energías Renovables y Estudios del MITECO, a cargo de la mode-lización energética: Patricia Bañón, Miriam Bueno, Alejandro Fernández, Javier Galar-za, Víctor Marcos y Manuel Pérez. También a Pedro Linares (Universidad P. Comillas), Antxon Olabe (MITECO), Sara Aagesen (MITECO), Hugo Lucas (IDAE) y Eduardo González (OECC) por los comentarios recibi-dos, así como a IDAE y la Oficina Española de Cambio Climático y la Unidad de Inventarios por la información proporcionada. Cualquier error es responsabilidad de los autores. Fi-nalmente, agradecen la cofinanciación del Gobierno Vasco a través del programa BERC 2018-2021 y del Gobierno de España a tra-vés de la acreditación de BC3 como centro María de Maeztu (MDM-2017-0714) y MI-NECO (RTI2018-093352-B-I00)