Metal-Organic Nanocapsules with Functionalized s-Heptazine Ligands

A metalloorganic capsule was synthesized where the ligand is a derivative of heptazine with three carboxylic groups that are coordinated to CuII cations, forming paddle-wheel motifs. Each nanocapsule is neutral, with 12 CuII centers and 8 ligands adopting a rhombicuboctahedron shape. It has almost 3 nm diameter, and the main intermolecular interactions in the solid are π··· π stacking between the C6N7 heptazine moieties. The nanocapsules can form monolayers deposited on graphite as observed by atomic force microscopy, which confirms their stability in solution

Adsorption of bentazon on CAT and CARBOPAL activated carbon: Experimental and computational study

Removal of the bentazon by adsorption on two different types of activated carbon was investigated under various experimental conditions.Kinetics of adsorption is followed and the adsorption isotherms of the pesticide are determined. The effects of the changes in pH, ionic strength and temperature are analyzed. Computational simulation was employed to analyze the geometry and the energy of pesticide absorption on activated carbon. Concentration of bentazon decreases while increase all the variables, from the same initial concentration. Experimental data for equilibrium was analyzed by three models: Langmuir, Freundlich and Guggenheim–Anderson–de Boer isotherms. Pseudo-first and pseudo-second-order kinetics are tested with the experimental data, and pseudo-second-order kinetics was the best for the adsorption of bentazon by CAT and CARBOPAL with coefficients of correlation R 2 = 0.9996 and R 2 = 0.9993, respectively. The results indicated that both CAT and CARBOPAL are very effective for the adsorption of bentazon from aqueous solutions, but CAT carbon has the greater capacity.Fil: Spaltro, Agustín. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Departamento de Química. Laboratorio de Estudio de Compuestos Orgánicos; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Simonetti, Sandra Isabel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Física del Sur. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Física. Instituto de Física del Sur; Argentina. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional; ArgentinaFil: Alvarez Torrellas, Silvia. Universidad Complutense de Madrid,Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Departamento de Ingeniería Química, Grupo de Catálisis y Procesos de Separación; EspañaFil: García Rodriguez, Juan. Universidad Complutense de Madrid,Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Departamento de Ingeniería Química, Grupo de Catálisis y Procesos de Separación; EspañaFil: Ruiz, Danila Luján. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Departamento de Química. Laboratorio de Estudio de Compuestos Orgánicos; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Juan, Alfredo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Física del Sur. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Física. Instituto de Física del Sur; ArgentinaFil: Allegretti, Patricia Ercilia. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Departamento de Química. Laboratorio de Estudio de Compuestos Orgánicos; Argentin

Adsorption of bentazon on CAT and CARBOPAL activated carbon: experimental and computational study

Removal of the bentazon by adsorption on two different types of activated carbon was investigated under various experimental conditions.Kinetics of adsorption is followed and the adsorption isotherms of the pesticide are determined. The effects of the changes in pH, ionic strength and temperature are analyzed. Computational simulation was employed to analyze the geometry and the energy of pesticide absorption on activated carbon. Concentration of bentazon decreases while increase all the variables, from the same initial concentration. Experimental data for equilibrium was analyzed by three models: Langmuir, Freundlich and Guggenheim–Anderson–de Boer isotherms. Pseudo-first and pseudo-second-order kinetics are tested with the experimental data, and pseudo-second-order kinetics was the best for the adsorption of bentazon by CAT and CARBOPAL with coefficients of correlation R 2 = 0.9996 and R 2 = 0.9993, respectively. The results indicated that both CAT and CARBOPAL are very effective for the adsorption of bentazon from aqueous solutions, but CAT carbon has the greater capacity.Laboratorio de Estudio de Compuestos Orgánico

Adsorption of bentazon on CAT and CARBOPAL activated carbon: experimental and computational study

Removal of the bentazon by adsorption on two different types of activated carbon was investigated under various experimental conditions.Kinetics of adsorption is followed and the adsorption isotherms of the pesticide are determined. The effects of the changes in pH, ionic strength and temperature are analyzed. Computational simulation was employed to analyze the geometry and the energy of pesticide absorption on activated carbon. Concentration of bentazon decreases while increase all the variables, from the same initial concentration. Experimental data for equilibrium was analyzed by three models: Langmuir, Freundlich and Guggenheim–Anderson–de Boer isotherms. Pseudo-first and pseudo-second-order kinetics are tested with the experimental data, and pseudo-second-order kinetics was the best for the adsorption of bentazon by CAT and CARBOPAL with coefficients of correlation R 2 = 0.9996 and R 2 = 0.9993, respectively. The results indicated that both CAT and CARBOPAL are very effective for the adsorption of bentazon from aqueous solutions, but CAT carbon has the greater capacity.Laboratorio de Estudio de Compuestos Orgánico

A food web approach reveals the vulnerability of biocontrol services by birds and bats to landscape modification at regional scale

Pest control services provided by naturally occurring species (the so-called biocontrol services) are widely recognized to provide key incentives for biodiversity conservation. This is particularly relevant for vertebrate-mediated biocontrol services as many vertebrate species are of conservation concern, with most of their decline associated to landscape modification for agricultural purposes. Yet, we still lack rigorous approaches evaluating landscape-level correlates of biocontrol potential by vertebrates over broad spatial extents to better inform land-use and management decisions. We performed a spatially-explicit interaction-based assessment of potential biocontrol services in Portugal, using 1853 pairwise trophic interactions between 78 flying vertebrate species (birds and bats) and 53 insect pests associated to two widespread and economically valuable crops in the Euro-Mediterranean region, olive groves (Olea europaea subsp. europaea) and vineyards (Vitis vinifera subsp. vinifera). The study area was framed using 1004 square cells, each 10 × 10 km in size. Potential biocontrol services were determined at all those 10 × 10 km grid-cells in which each crop was present as the proportion of the realized out of all potential pairwise interactions between vertebrates and pests. Landscape correlates of biocontrol potential were also explored. Our work suggests that both birds and bats can effectively provide biocontrol services in olive groves and vineyards as they prey many insect pest species associated to both crops. Moreover, it demonstrates that these potential services are impacted by landscape-scale features and that this impact is consistent when evaluated over broad spatial extents. Thus, biocontrol potential by vertebrates significantly increases with increasing amount of natural area, while decreases with increasing area devoted to target crops, particularly olive groves. Overall, our study highlights the suitability of our interaction-based approach to perform spatially-explicit assessments of potential biocontrol services by vertebrates at local spatial scales and suggest its utility for integrating biodiversity and ecosystem services in conservation planning over broad spatial extents.This work was supported by the projects ECOLIVES (PTDC/AAG-REC/6480/2014) and OLEAdapt (PTDC/ BIA-CBI/1365/2020) both funded by the Portuguese National Public Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation, and the project SHOWCASE (ref. 862480) funded by the Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme from the European Union. and the project NORTE 01-0246-FEDER-000063, funded by Norte Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE2020),under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) JMH and FM were supported, respectively, by the contracts IF/00001/2015 and IF/01053/2015 funded by the FCT. JRP was supported by ‘la Caixa’ and ‘Caja Navarra’ Foundations, under agreement LCF/PR/PR13/51080004 in the framework of UPNA’s ‘Captación de Talento’ program. BS, GJ-N, SV and RM were supported, respectively, by the PhD studentships SFRH/BD/137803/2018, SFRH/BD/133017/2017, SFRH/BD/121388/2016 and SFRH/BD/99746/2014 funded by the FCT

First sexual intercourse and subsequent regret in three developing countries

Purpose: Adolescents who engage in sex can be affected by a range of negative physical and psychological consequences. We intend to analyze the reasons behind first sex, regret, and the association between reasons and regret. Methods: A questionnaire was implemented to 8495 high schools students, aged 14-18, in the Philippines, El Salvador and Peru. Sexually active participants responded whether several circumstances were reasons involved in their first sexual relationship. They also responded whether they regretted having already had sexual relationships. Results: More than a third of respondents reported at least one external pressure leading to first sex, and about half reported at least one reason implying getting carried away by sexual arousal. More females affirmed they regret having already had sex. Logistic regression shows that reasons for first sex associated with regret were partner insistence, "uncontrolled situations" and seeing sexual images. These reasons were associated with regret even when love was also reported as related to first sex. Conclusions: Adolescent sexual experience is often motivated by pressure and circumstances that lower the control over their decisions concerning sex, such as external pressure (because most friends already had sex or because of partner insistence) or getting carried away by sexual arousal (through an "uncontrolled situation" or viewing sexual images) rather than by mature decisions, and this may result in later regret. Adolescents should be helped by parents, educators and policy makers to be aware of these characteristics of adolescent sex and empowered to make assertive and informed decisions concerning their sexuality

Eficacia de la pasteurización y la congelación sobre la inactivación del virus de la leucosis bovina presente en leche

The aim of this work was to evaluate the efficacy of pasteurization and freezing on the inactivation of the bovine leukosis virus present in milk. A bioassay was carried out using 16 sheep. The animals received an intraperitoneal leukocytes inoculum from cow milk with cells infected with bovine leukosis virus (BVL) previously treated with one of the virus inactivation methods. Four study groups were evaluated: a) control group: milk without prior treatment, b) pasteurization group: milk treated by pasteurization, c) 12-hour freezing group: milk treated by freezing for 12 hours, d) 36-hour freezing group: milk treated by freezing for 36 hours. In the week 10 of the inoculation, all animals (4/4) in the control group and 3/4 of the animals in the 12 h freezing group were seropositive for VLB, while no animal was seropositive (0/4) for VLB in the pasteurization and 36-hour freezing groups. Significant differences were found between the pasteurization and 36-hour freezing groups with respect to the control (p=0.029). The results indicate that the 36-hour freezing or pasteurization process is efficient in inactivating the bovine leukosis virus.El objetivo del presente trabajo fue evaluar la eficacia de la pasteurización y la congelación sobre la inactivación del virus de la leucosis bovina presente en leche. Se realizó un bioensayo con 16 ovinos que recibieron, por vía intraperitoneal, un inóculo de leucocitos proveniente de leche bovina con células infectadas por el virus de leucosis bovina (VLB) previamente tratada con uno de los métodos de inactivación del virus. Se evaluaron cuatro grupos de estudio: a) grupo control: leche sin tratamiento previo, b) grupo pasteurización: leche tratada por pasteurización, c) grupo congelación 12 h: leche tratada por congelación durante 12 horas, d) grupo congelación 36 h: leche tratada por congelación durante 36 horas. En la semana 10 de la inoculación, todos los animales (4/4) del grupo control y 3/4 de los animales del grupo congelación 12 h fueron seropositivos al VLB, mientras que ningún animal fue seropositivo (0/4) al VLB en los grupos pasteurización y congelación 36 h. Se encontró diferencias significativas entre los grupos pasteurización y congelación 36 h con respecto al control (p=0.029). Los resultados indican que el proceso de pasteurización o congelación por 36 horas es eficiente para inactivar el virus de leucosis bovina

First-Trimester Sequential Screening for Preeclampsia Using Angiogenic Factors : Study Protocol for a Prospective, Multicenter, Real Clinical Setting Study

The incidence of preeclampsia (PE) is about 2-8%, making it one of the leading causes of perinatal morbidity and maternal mortality in the world. Early prophylactic low dose administration (150 mg) of acetylsalicylic acid is associated with a significant reduction in the incidence of early-onset PE, intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), and neonatal mean stay in the intensive care unit (ICU). Universal implementation of a first-trimester screening system including angiogenic and antiangiogenic markers [the Placental Growth Factor (PlGF) and/or soluble fms-like Tyrosine Kinase-1 (sFlt-1)] has shown a prediction rate of 90% for early-onset PE but entails a high financial cost. The aim of this study is to determine the predictive and preventive capacity of a universal PE first-trimester two-step sequential screening model, determining the PlGF only in patients previously classified as intermediate risk by means of a multivariate model based on resources already used in the standard pregnancy control, in a real clinical setting. We hypothesize that this screening model will achieve similar diagnostic performance as the universal determination of PlGF but at a lower economic cost. This is a prospective, multicentric, cohort study in a real-world clinical setting. Every singleton pregnancy will be recruited at the routine first pregnancy visit. In a first step, the first-trimester risk of PE will be calculated using a multivariate Gaussian distribution model, based on medical history, mean blood pressure, Pregnancy-Associated Plasma Protein A (PAPP-A), and Uterine Artery Doppler Pulsatility Index (UTPI). Patients will be classified into three risk groups for PE: (1) risk ≥ 1/50, high-risk with no further testing (blinded PlGF); (2) risk between 1/51 and 1/500, medium-risk requiring further testing; and (3) risk ≤ 1/501, low-risk with no further testing. In a second step, the PlGF will only be determined in those patients classified as intermediate risk after this first step, and then reclassified into high- or low-risk groups. Prophylactic administration of aspirin (150 mg/day) will be prescribed only in high risk patients. As a secondary objective, sFlt-1 values will be blindly determined in patients with high and intermediate risk to assess its potential performance in the screening for PE. The study will be conducted in accordance with the principles of Good Clinical Practice. This study is approved by the Aragon Research Ethics Committee (CEICA) on 3 July 2020 (15/2020). , identifier: NCT04767438

International psychometric validation of the Living with Chronic Illness Scale in Spanish-speaking patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Objectives To validate the Living with Chronic Illness (LW-CI) Scale in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Design Observational, cross-sectional validation study with retest. Acceptability, reliability, precision and construct validity were tested. Setting The study took place in primary and secondary specialised units of public and private hospitals of Spain and Colombia. Participants The study included 612 patients with COPD assessed from May 2018 to May 2019. A consecutive cases sampling was done. Inclusion criteria included: (A) patients with a diagnosis of COPD; (B) native Spanish speaking; (C) able to read and understand questionnaires; and (D) able to provide informed consent. Exclusion criteria included: (A) cognitive deterioration and (B) pharmacological effect or disorder that could disrupt the assessment. Results The LW-CI-COPD presented satisfactory data quality, with no missing data or floor/ceiling effects, showing high internal consistency for all the domains (Cronbach's alpha for the total score 0.92). Test-retest reliability was satisfactory (intraclass correlation coefficient=0.92). The LW-CI-COPD correlated 0.52-0.64 with quality of life and social support measures. The scale demonstrated satisfactory known-groups validity, yielding signifi cantly different scores in patients grouped according to COPD severity levels. Conclusions This has been the first validation study of the LW-CI-COPD. It is a feasible, reliable, valid and precise self-reported scale to measure living with COPD in the Spanish-speaking population. Therefore, it could be recommended for research and clinical practice to measure this concept and evaluate the impact of centred-care interdisciplinary interventions based on the patients' perspective, focused on providing holistic and comprehensive care to patients with COPDMinistry of Science, Innovation and University (FEDER/Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacion y Universidades -Agencia Estatal de Investigacion)||Universidad de la Saban

Disentangling the seasonal effects of agricultural intensification on birds and bats in Mediterranean olive groves

Assessing the spatio-temporal impact of agricultural intensification on species and communities is key for biodiversity conservation. Here, we investigated the seasonal effects of olive grove intensification at both local (farming practices and grove structural complexity) and landscape scale (land-cover diversity) on birds and bats, at species and community-level. Both groups were surveyed during spring, summer, and autumn in 60 sites representing varying levels of olive grove intensification throughout the Alentejo region (southern Portugal). At the local scale, the number of chemical applications was used as a proxy for the intensification of farming practices and a Structural Index, which accounted for within-grove variability in tree density and features, was used as a measure of grove structural complexity. At landscape scale, we quantified the proportion of the major land-cover types potentially affecting birds and bats. We found that the abundance of ca. 77% of the species analyzed (ca. 84% and 55% of birds and bats respectively) was negatively related to olive grove intensification in at least one season. The Structural Index was the most influential factor at both species and community-levels, especially for birds, with a consistent and strong effect across seasons. Chemical applications had a stronger negative effect on birds, whereas the amount of olive grove cover had a stronger detrimental effect on bats. Birds and bats showed a variable response to predictor variables depending on the season, particularly for the bat community. Our study shows differences in bird and bat responses associated with the spatio-temporal variability of the agricultural intensification components. On the one hand, birds and bats showed a seasonal pattern of association with the different components of olive grove intensification, probably due to their ecological and biological requirements. On the other hand, the responses of both groups also appear to be scale-dependent: while birds seem to respond to in-farm or local intensification more strongly, bats seem to be more influenced by landscape-scale simplification. Overall, we highlight the importance of the structural complexity of olive groves for birds and bats, an aspect that should be considered in the design of agricultural policies aiming to promote biodiversity conservation.11 página