Enantioselective synthesis of tungsten trimetallic cluster chalcogenides

Excision of {W3Q7Br4}n (Q = S, Se) of polymeric phases using chiral diphosphines is a general procedure to synthesize optically pure trinuclear clusters. Chiral transfer from the enantiomerically pure diphosphines (+)-1,2-bis[2,5-(dimethylphospholan-1-yl)]ethane, (R,R)-Me-BPE, (−)-1,2-bis[2,5-(dimethylphospholan-1-yl)]ethane, (S,S)-Me-BPE, and (−)-1,2-bis[2,5-(dimethylphospholan-1-yl)]benzene, (R,R)-DUPHOS, to the inorganic phase affords enantiopure P-[W3S4Br3((R,R)-Me-BPE)3]+, M-[W3S4Br3((S,S)-Me-BPE)3]+ (M-1+), P-[W3Se4Br3((R,R)-Me-BPE)3]+ (P-2+) and P-[W3S4Br3((R,R)-DUPHOS)3]+ (P-3+) clusters. The central W3(μ3-Q)(μ-Q) unit defines an incomplete cuboidal core with the capping chalcogen lying on a threefold axis and an effective C3 symmetry. Symbols P- and M- are used to indicate the rotation of the bromine atoms around the C3 axis, with the chalcogen atom pointing towards the viewer. Invariably, P-W3Q4 complexes are obtained starting from (R,R)-diphosphines, while its M-W3Q4 enantiomer is isolated in the presence of (S,S)-diphosphines. All complexes have been structurally characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction and their enantiomeric character confirmed by CD spectroscopy.The financial support of the Spanish Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (Grants CTQ2011-23157), Universitat Jaume I (research project P1.1B2013-19) and Generalitat Valenciana (Prometeo/2009/053 and ACOMP/2013/215) is gratefully acknowledged. The authors also thank the Serveis Central d’Instrumentació Cientifica (SCIC) of the Universitat Jaume I for providing us with the mass spectrometry, NMR, circular dichroism and X-ray facilities

Engagement of politicians and citizens in the cyber campaign on Facebook: a comparative analysis between Mexico and Spain

Producción CientíficaThis study explores the use of Facebook by political actors in election campaigns, establishing the extent to which candidates, parties and citizens engaged in online participation through different online tools provided by this social networking site. A comparative content analysis of the Facebook pages of the main candidacies in the election campaigns in Spain (Castilla y León) and Mexico (Nuevo León) in 2015 was carried out. The results reveal a positive relationship between types of engagement, especially in the Mexican campaign, where politicians and users score systematically higher in all variables measuring engagement. However, results also indicate that the citizen engagement was of higher quality/ intensity in the Spanish campaign

Sistemas de gestión para la renovación de recetas médicas: estrategia para optimizar su utilización

ResumenObjetivoMejorar el cumplimiento de los pacientes con el sistema de medicación repetida. Evaluar los motivos de impuntualidad en la recogida de las recetas y su relación con el incumplimiento terapéutico declarado por el mismo paciente.DiseñoEstudio de intervención cuasiexperimental antes-después con grupo control.EmplazamientoCentro de atención primaria que atiende a una población de 62.981 habitantes.ParticipantesPacientes con enfermedades crónicas incluidos en el sistema de gestión de medicación repetida (100 en el grupo control y 100 en el grupo intervención) que son impuntuales al recoger las recetas.IntervencionesSesión informativa-educativa consistente en una breve entrevista con la farmacéutica del centro de atención primaria, en la que se educaba al usuario en el cumplimiento del sistema de medicación repetida y del tratamiento, se identificaban los motivos de impuntualidad y se realizaba el test de Morisky-Green.Mediciones principalesPuntualidad de los pacientes en las recogidas de recetas posteriores a la intervención. Motivo de impuntualidad en la recogida de reclutamiento. Cumplimiento terapéutico según el test de Morisky-Green.ResultadosGlobalmente se obtuvo una mejora absoluta de la puntualidad del 17% en el grupo intervención (el 60% de los pacientes del grupo intervención y el 43% del grupo control fueron puntuales tanto en la primera como en la segunda recogida de seguimiento). Las mujeres del grupo intervención fueron más puntuales. No se observaron diferencias por edad, número de medicamentos o motivo de impuntualidad.ConclusionesEs posible mejorar el cumplimiento de los pacientes con el sistema de medicación repetida mediante una sencilla intervención informativa-educativa.AbstractObjectiveTo improve patient compliance with a repeat prescription system. To evaluate the reasons for not being punctual in collecting prescriptions and the non-compliance declared by the patients themselves.DesignQuasi-experimental study before and after intervention including a control group.SettingPrimary health care centre which serves a population of 62,981 inhabitants.ParticipantsPatients with chronic diseases included in the repeat prescription management system (100 in the control group and 100 in the intervention group) who were unpunctual in collecting their prescriptions.InterventionsAn informative-educational session consisting of a short interview with the pharmacist from Primary Health Care Centre, in which the patient was educated on compliance of the repeat prescription system and treatment. The reasons for the unpunctuality were identified and the Moriskey-Green test was performed.Main measurementsPunctuality of the patients in collecting their prescriptions after the intervention. Reasons for unpunctuality recorded at recruitment. Therapeutic compliance according to the Moriskey-Green test.ResultsThere was an overall absolute improvement of 17% in punctuality in the intervention group (60% of the patients in the intervention group and 43% in the control group were punctual in the first as well as in the second follow up. Women were more punctual in the intervention group. There were no differences seen due to age, number of medications or reason for unpunctuality.ConclusionsIt is possible to improve patient compliance with the prescription renewal system using a simple informative-educational intervention

Effects of Artificial Light Treatments on Growth, Mineral Composition, Physiology, and Pigment Concentration in Dieffenbachia maculata “Compacta” Plants

Specific wavebands may allow precise control of plant growth. However, light sources must be carefully evaluated before the large-scale use of supplemental light sources can be implemented. Dieffenbachia maculata “Compacta” plants were grown for 8 weeks in pots in a growth chamber under tightly controlled temperature and humidity in order to assess the effects of supplemental light. Three treatments were applied: (i) using 18-W fluorescent bulbs (T1), (ii) using the same bulbs with supplemental light emitting diodes (LEDs) (Pure Blue and Pure Red Mix-Light-Emitting Diodes (BR-LEDs)) (T2), and (iii) using high-efficiency TL5 fluorescents (T3). Plant biomass, mineral composition, and physiological and photosynthetic parameters were assessed under each light treatment. Total plant dry weight was highest in plants grown under treatments T1 and T3. Other differences were observed between different light treatments, including variation in biomass partitioning as well as N and K concentrations in roots, stems, and leaves. Further, proline and indole 3-acetic acid (IAA) levels were higher in plants grown under the T1 treatment, whereas total soluble sugars and starch were higher in plants grown under treatment T3. Plants grown under treatment T1 had the lowest chlorophyll concentrations. No differences were observed in organ water content and P concentration. T2 was not the best treatment, as expected. The model proposed a linear regression between integrated use of spectral energy (IUSE) and total dry weight (TDW), which showed a good relationship with an R2 value of 0.83. Therefore, we recommend this methodology to discern the effects of the different spectral qualities on plant biomass

The effects of orthographic neighborhood in reading and laboratory word identification tasks: A review

This paper reviews recent research on the effects of “orthographic neighbors” (i.e., words that can be created by changing one letter of the stimulus item, preserving letter positions, see Coltheart et al., 1977) on reading and laboratory word identification tasks. We begin this paper with a literature review on the two basic “neighborhood” effects (neighborhood size and neighborhood frequency). This review shows that the number of higher frequency neighbors is inhibitory in reading. We also examine the influence of orthographic structure in form- and repetition-priming effects, which again suggests that orthographic neighbors seem to play an inhibitory role in the selection process. Finally, we discuss the empirical evidence in the context of current models of visual word recognition and reading.Psicologí

The role of letter features in visual-word recognition: Evidence from a delayed segment technique

Available online 9 June 2016Do all visual features in aword's constituent letters have the same importance during lexical access? Herewe examined whether some components of a word's letters (midsegments, junctions, terminals) are more important than others. To that end,we conducted two lexical decision experiments using a delayed segment techniquewith lowercase stimuli. In this technique a partial previewappears for 50ms and is immediately followed by the target item. In Experiment 1, the partial preview was composed of terminals+junctions,midsegments+junctions, or midsegments + terminals — a whole preview condition was used as a control. Results only revealed an advantage of the whole preview condition over the other three conditions. In Experiment 2, the partial preview was composed of the whole word except for the deletion of midsegments, junctions, or terminals — we again employed a whole preview condition as a control. Results showed the following pattern in the latency data: whole preview = delay of terminals b delay of junctions b delay of midsegments. Thus, some components of a word's constituent letters are more critical for word identification than others. We examine how the present findings help adjust current models of visual word identification or develop new ones.The research reported in this article has been partially supported by Grant PSI2014- 53444-P from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness.We thank William Berkson for manipulating the fonts to provide us with our stimuli, and for discussion of scientific methodology and terminology

HDAC4 preserves skeletal muscle structure following long-term denervation by mediating distinct cellular responses

BACKGROUND: Denervation triggers numerous molecular responses in skeletal muscle, including the activation of catabolic pathways and oxidative stress, leading to progressive muscle atrophy. Histone deacetylase 4 (HDAC4) mediates skeletal muscle response to denervation, suggesting the use of HDAC inhibitors as a therapeutic approach to neurogenic muscle atrophy. However, the effects of HDAC4 inhibition in skeletal muscle in response to long-term denervation have not been described yet. METHODS: To further study HDAC4 functions in response to denervation, we analyzed mutant mice in which HDAC4 is specifically deleted in skeletal muscle. RESULTS: After an initial phase of resistance to neurogenic muscle atrophy, skeletal muscle with a deletion of HDAC4 lost structural integrity after 4 weeks of denervation. Deletion of HDAC4 impaired the activation of the ubiquitin-proteasome system, delayed the autophagic response, and dampened the OS response in skeletal muscle. Inhibition of the ubiquitin-proteasome system or the autophagic response, if on the one hand, conferred resistance to neurogenic muscle atrophy; on the other hand, induced loss of muscle integrity and inflammation in mice lacking HDAC4 in skeletal muscle. Moreover, treatment with the antioxidant drug Trolox prevented loss of muscle integrity and inflammation in in mice lacking HDAC4 in skeletal muscle, despite the resistance to neurogenic muscle atrophy. CONCLUSIONS: These results reveal new functions of HDAC4 in mediating skeletal muscle response to denervation and lead us to propose the combined use of HDAC inhibitors and antioxidant drugs to treat neurogenic muscle atrophy