Carbon nanofiber-supported tantalum oxides as durable catalyst for the oxygen evolution reaction in alkaline media

Active and durable electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), capable of replacing noble metal catalysts, are required to develop efficient and competitive devices within the frame of the water electrolysis technology for hydrogen production. In this work, we have investigated tantalum based catalysts supported on carbon nanofibers (CNF) for the first time. The effect of CNF characteristics and the catalyst annealing temperature on the electrochemical response for the OER have been analyzed in alkaline environment using a rotating ring disc electrode (RRDE). The best OER activity and oxygen efficiency were found with a highly graphitic CNF, despite its lower surface area, synthesized at 700 °C, and upon a catalyst annealing temperature of 800 °C. The ordering degree of carbon nanofibers favors the production of oxygen in combination with a low oxygen content in tantalum oxides. The most active catalyst exhibited also an excellent durability.The authors want to thank the Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad (MICINN) and FEDER for the received funding in the project of reference ENE2017-83976-C2-1-R, and to the Gobierno de Aragón (DGA) for the funding to Grupo de Investigación Conversión de Combustibles ( T06_17R ). J.C. Ruiz-Cornejo acknowledges DGA for his PhD grant. D. Sebastián acknowledges the MICINN for the Ramón y Cajal research contract (RyC-2016-20944

Grafting Snake Melon [Cucumis melo L. subsp. melo Var. flexuosus (L.) Naudin] in Organic Farming: Effects on Agronomic Performance; Resistance to Pathogens; Sugar, Acid, and VOC Profiles; and Consumer Acceptance

The performance of snake melon [Cucumis melo var. flexuosus (L.)] in organic farming was studied under high biotic and salt stress conditions. Soilborne diseases (mainly caused by Macrophomina phaseolina and Neocosmospora falciformis), combined with virus incidence [Watermelon mosaic virus (WMV), Zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV), and Tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus (ToLCNDV)] and Podosphaera xanthii attacks, reduced yield by more than 50%. Snake melon susceptibility to M. phaseolina and Monosporascus cannonballus was proved in pathogenicity tests, while it showed some degree of resistance to Neocosmospora keratoplastica and N. falciformis. On the contrary, salt stress had a minor impact, although a synergic effect was detected: yield losses caused by biotic stress increased dramatically when combined with salt stress. Under biotic stress, grafting onto the melon F1Pat81 and wild Cucumis rootstocks consistently reduced plant mortality in different agroecological conditions, with a better performance compared to classic Cucurbita commercial hybrids. Yield was even improved under saline conditions in grafted plants. A negative effect was detected, though, on consumer acceptability, especially with the use of Cucurbita rootstocks. Cucumis F1Pat81 rootstock minimized this side effect, which was probably related to changes in the profile of sugars, acids, and volatiles. Grafting affected sugars and organic acid contents, with this effect being more accentuated with the use of Cucurbita rootstocks than with Cucumis. In fact, the latter had a higher impact on the volatile organic compound profile than on sugar and acid profile, which may have resulted in a lower effect on consumer perception. The use of Cucumis rootstocks seems to be a strategy to enable organic farming production of snake melon targeted to high-quality markets in order to promote the cultivation of this neglected crop.

Effects of an exercise program on brain health outcomes for children with overweight or obesity

Importance Pediatric overweight and obesity are highly prevalent across the world, with implications for poorer cognitive and brain health. Exercise might potentially attenuate these adverse consequences. Objectives To investigate the effects of an exercise program on brain health indicators, including intelligence, executive function, academic performance, and brain outcomes, among children with overweight or obesity and to explore potential mediators and moderators of the main effects of exercise. Design, Setting, and Participants All preexercise and postexercise data for this 20-week randomized clinical trial of 109 children aged 8 to 11 years with overweight or obesity were collected from November 21, 2014, to June 30, 2016, with neuroimaging data processing and analyses conducted between June 1, 2017, and December 20, 2021. All 109 children were included in the intention-to-treat analyses; 90 children (82.6%) completed the postexercise evaluation and attended 70% or more of the recommended exercise sessions and were included in per-protocol analyses. Interventions All participants received lifestyle recommendations. The control group continued their usual routines, whereas the exercise group attended a minimum of 3 supervised 90-minute sessions per week in an out-of-school setting. Main Outcomes and Measures Intelligence, executive function (cognitive flexibility, inhibition, and working memory), and academic performance were assessed with standardized tests, and hippocampal volume was measured with magnetic resonance imaging. Results The 109 participants included 45 girls (41.3%); participants had a mean (SD) body mass index of 26.8 (3.6) and a mean (SD) age of 10.0 (1.1) years at baseline. In per-protocol analyses, the exercise intervention improved crystallized intelligence, with the exercise group improving from before exercise to after exercise (mean z score, 0.62 [95% CI, 0.44-0.80]) compared with the control group (mean z score, –0.10 [95% CI, –0.28 to 0.09]; difference between groups, 0.72 SDs [95% CI, 0.46-0.97]; P < .001). Total intelligence also improved significantly more in the exercise group (mean z score, 0.69 [95% CI, 0.48-0.89]) than in the control group (mean z score, 0.07 [95% CI, –0.14 to 0.28]; difference between groups, 0.62 SDs [95% CI, 0.31-0.91]; P < .001). Exercise also positively affected a composite score of cognitive flexibility (mean z score: exercise group, 0.25 [95% CI, 0.05-0.44]; control group, –0.17 [95% CI, –0.39 to 0.04]; difference between groups, 0.42 SDs [95% CI, 0.13-0.71]; P = .005). These main effects were consistent in intention-to-treat analyses and after multiple-testing correction. There was a positive, small-magnitude effect of exercise on total academic performance (mean z score: exercise group, 0.31 [95% CI, 0.18-0.44]; control group, 0.10 [95% CI, –0.04 to 0.24]; difference between groups, 0.21 SDs [95% CI, 0.01-0.40]; P = .03), which was partially mediated by cognitive flexibility. Inhibition, working memory, hippocampal volume, and other brain magnetic resonance imaging outcomes studied were not affected by the exercise program. The intervention increased cardiorespiratory fitness performance as indicated by longer treadmill time to exhaustion (mean z score: exercise group, 0.54 [95% CI, 0.27-0.82]; control group, 0.13 [95% CI, –0.16 to 0.41]; difference between groups, 0.42 SDs [95% CI, 0.01-0.82]; P = .04), and these changes in fitness mediated some of the effects (small percentage of mediation [approximately 10%-20%]). The effects of exercise were overall consistent across the moderators tested, except for larger improvements in intelligence among boys compared with girls. Conclusions and Relevance In this randomized clinical trial, exercise positively affected intelligence and cognitive flexibility during development among children with overweight or obesity. However, the structural and functional brain changes responsible for these improvements were not identified

Agenda de investigación: smart cities y seguridad en Andalucía = Research agenda: smart cities and security in Andalusia, Spain

Smart cities' security governance is a significant challenge that requires careful planning, design, and management. Unfortunately, the number of Andalusian researchers and research groups working on this topic is currently limited, which hinders scientific progress, international competitiveness, and knowledge transfer. To address this issue, this project aims to establish a research agenda to identify the most relevant topics, facilitate resource allocation, and encourage collaboration among researchers, industry, and the public sector. In the near future, effective security management in smart cities will require multidisciplinary approaches that bring together experts from various fields. By promoting coherent initiatives and establishing robust research programs, we can build a strong foundation for sustainable smart cities.P20-00941Security and Global Affair

Using global team science to identify genetic parkinson's disease worldwide.

No abstract available

Influence of IL28B Polymorphisms on Response to a Lower-Than-Standard Dose peg-IFN-α 2a for Genotype 3 Chronic Hepatitis C in HIV-Coinfected Patients

Background: Data on which to base definitive recommendations on the doses and duration of therapy for genotype 3 HCV/HIV-coinfected patients are scarce. We evaluated the efficacy of a lower peginterferon-α 2a dose and a shorter duration of therapy than the current standard of care in genotype 3 HCV/HIV-coinfected patients. Methods and Findings: Pilot, open-label, single arm clinical trial which involved 58 Caucasian HCV/HIV-coinfected patients who received weekly 135 μg peginterferon-α 2a plus ribavirin 400 mg twice daily during 20 weeks after attaining undetectable viremia. The relationships between baseline patient-related variables, including IL28B genotype, plasma HCV-RNA, ribavirin dose/kg, peginterferon-α 2a and ribavirin levels with virological responses were analyzed. Only 4 patients showed lack of response and 5 patients dropped out due to adverse events related to the study medication. Overall, sustained virologic response (SVR) rates were 58.3% by intention-to-treat and 71.4% by per protocol analysis, respectively. Among patients with rapid virologic response (RVR), SVR and relapses rates were 92.6% and 7.4%, respectively. No relationships were observed between viral responses and ribavirin dose/kg, peginterferon-α 2a concentrations, ribavirin levels or rs129679860 genotype. Conclusions: Weekly 135 μg pegIFN-α 2a could be as effective as the standard 180 μg dose, with a very low incidence of severe adverse events. A 24-week treatment duration appears to be appropriate in patients achieving RVR, but extending treatment up to just 20 weeks beyond negativization of viremia is associated with a high relapse rate in those patients not achieving RVR. There was no influence of IL28B genotype on the virological responses. © 2012 López-Cortés et al.Funding provided by Fundación Pública Andaluza para la gestión de la Investigación en Salud de Sevilla. Hospitales Universitarios Virgen del Rocío. Seville, Spain. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay Hu-INF-α kits for determination of pegIFN-α-2a were financed by Roche Pharma, S.A. (Spain).Peer Reviewe

Genome-wide association study of Tourette Syndrome

Tourette Syndrome (TS) is a developmental disorder that has one of the highest familial recurrence rates among neuropsychiatric diseases with complex inheritance. However, the identification of definitive TS susceptibility genes remains elusive. Here, we report the first genome-wide association study (GWAS) of TS in 1285 cases and 4964 ancestry-matched controls of European ancestry, including two European-derived population isolates, Ashkenazi Jews from North America and Israel, and French Canadians from Quebec, Canada. In a primary meta-analysis of GWAS data from these European ancestry samples, no markers achieved a genome-wide threshold of significance (p<5 × 10−8); the top signal was found in rs7868992 on chromosome 9q32 within COL27A1 (p=1.85 × 10−6). A secondary analysis including an additional 211 cases and 285 controls from two closely-related Latin-American population isolates from the Central Valley of Costa Rica and Antioquia, Colombia also identified rs7868992 as the top signal (p=3.6 × 10−7 for the combined sample of 1496 cases and 5249 controls following imputation with 1000 Genomes data). This study lays the groundwork for the eventual identification of common TS susceptibility variants in larger cohorts and helps to provide a more complete understanding of the full genetic architecture of this disorder

Why Are Outcomes Different for Registry Patients Enrolled Prospectively and Retrospectively? Insights from the Global Anticoagulant Registry in the FIELD-Atrial Fibrillation (GARFIELD-AF).

Background: Retrospective and prospective observational studies are designed to reflect real-world evidence on clinical practice, but can yield conflicting results. The GARFIELD-AF Registry includes both methods of enrolment and allows analysis of differences in patient characteristics and outcomes that may result. Methods and Results: Patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and ≥1 risk factor for stroke at diagnosis of AF were recruited either retrospectively (n = 5069) or prospectively (n = 5501) from 19 countries and then followed prospectively. The retrospectively enrolled cohort comprised patients with established AF (for a least 6, and up to 24 months before enrolment), who were identified retrospectively (and baseline and partial follow-up data were collected from the emedical records) and then followed prospectively between 0-18 months (such that the total time of follow-up was 24 months; data collection Dec-2009 and Oct-2010). In the prospectively enrolled cohort, patients with newly diagnosed AF (≤6 weeks after diagnosis) were recruited between Mar-2010 and Oct-2011 and were followed for 24 months after enrolment. Differences between the cohorts were observed in clinical characteristics, including type of AF, stroke prevention strategies, and event rates. More patients in the retrospectively identified cohort received vitamin K antagonists (62.1% vs. 53.2%) and fewer received non-vitamin K oral anticoagulants (1.8% vs . 4.2%). All-cause mortality rates per 100 person-years during the prospective follow-up (starting the first study visit up to 1 year) were significantly lower in the retrospective than prospectively identified cohort (3.04 [95% CI 2.51 to 3.67] vs . 4.05 [95% CI 3.53 to 4.63]; p = 0.016). Conclusions: Interpretations of data from registries that aim to evaluate the characteristics and outcomes of patients with AF must take account of differences in registry design and the impact of recall bias and survivorship bias that is incurred with retrospective enrolment. Clinical Trial Registration: - URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov . Unique identifier for GARFIELD-AF (NCT01090362)

Improved risk stratification of patients with atrial fibrillation: an integrated GARFIELD-AF tool for the prediction of mortality, stroke and bleed in patients with and without anticoagulation.

OBJECTIVES: To provide an accurate, web-based tool for stratifying patients with atrial fibrillation to facilitate decisions on the potential benefits/risks of anticoagulation, based on mortality, stroke and bleeding risks. DESIGN: The new tool was developed, using stepwise regression, for all and then applied to lower risk patients. C-statistics were compared with CHA2DS2-VASc using 30-fold cross-validation to control for overfitting. External validation was undertaken in an independent dataset, Outcome Registry for Better Informed Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation (ORBIT-AF). PARTICIPANTS: Data from 39 898 patients enrolled in the prospective GARFIELD-AF registry provided the basis for deriving and validating an integrated risk tool to predict stroke risk, mortality and bleeding risk. RESULTS: The discriminatory value of the GARFIELD-AF risk model was superior to CHA2DS2-VASc for patients with or without anticoagulation. C-statistics (95% CI) for all-cause mortality, ischaemic stroke/systemic embolism and haemorrhagic stroke/major bleeding (treated patients) were: 0.77 (0.76 to 0.78), 0.69 (0.67 to 0.71) and 0.66 (0.62 to 0.69), respectively, for the GARFIELD-AF risk models, and 0.66 (0.64-0.67), 0.64 (0.61-0.66) and 0.64 (0.61-0.68), respectively, for CHA2DS2-VASc (or HAS-BLED for bleeding). In very low to low risk patients (CHA2DS2-VASc 0 or 1 (men) and 1 or 2 (women)), the CHA2DS2-VASc and HAS-BLED (for bleeding) scores offered weak discriminatory value for mortality, stroke/systemic embolism and major bleeding. C-statistics for the GARFIELD-AF risk tool were 0.69 (0.64 to 0.75), 0.65 (0.56 to 0.73) and 0.60 (0.47 to 0.73) for each end point, respectively, versus 0.50 (0.45 to 0.55), 0.59 (0.50 to 0.67) and 0.55 (0.53 to 0.56) for CHA2DS2-VASc (or HAS-BLED for bleeding). Upon validation in the ORBIT-AF population, C-statistics showed that the GARFIELD-AF risk tool was effective for predicting 1-year all-cause mortality using the full and simplified model for all-cause mortality: C-statistics 0.75 (0.73 to 0.77) and 0.75 (0.73 to 0.77), respectively, and for predicting for any stroke or systemic embolism over 1 year, C-statistics 0.68 (0.62 to 0.74). CONCLUSIONS: Performance of the GARFIELD-AF risk tool was superior to CHA2DS2-VASc in predicting stroke and mortality and superior to HAS-BLED for bleeding, overall and in lower risk patients. The GARFIELD-AF tool has the potential for incorporation in routine electronic systems, and for the first time, permits simultaneous evaluation of ischaemic stroke, mortality and bleeding risks. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier for GARFIELD-AF (NCT01090362) and for ORBIT-AF (NCT01165710)