Exploraciones arqueológicas en la cuenca alta del río Samalá (Guatemala)

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Informe preliminar sobre la cerámica de Las Victorias, Salcajá, Guatemala.

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Orthotropic Piezoelectricity in 2D Nanocellulose

The control of electromechanical responses within bonding regions is essential to face frontier challenges in nanotechnologies, such as molecular electronics and biotechnology. Here, we present I\b{eta}-nanocellulose as a potentially new orthotropic 2D piezoelectric crystal. The predicted in-layer piezoelectricity is originated on a sui-generis hydrogen bonds pattern. Upon this fact and by using a combination of ab-initio and ad-hoc models, we introduce a description of electrical profiles along chemical bonds. Such developments lead to obtain a rationale for modelling the extended piezoelectric effect originated within bond scales. The order of magnitude estimated for the 2D I\b{eta}-nanocellulose piezoelectric response, ~pm V-1, ranks this material at the level of currently used piezoelectric energy generators and new artificial 2D designs. Such finding would be crucial for developing alternative materials to drive emerging nanotechnologies.Comment: 5 figures included. Supp. Mat. available on the online version: https://www.nature.com/articles/srep34616, Others on: http://www.nanowerk.com/nanotechnology-news/newsid=44806.ph

Untangling the eclectronic propierties of triindole-based semiconductors

Organic semiconductors have emerged as an important class of materials that offer interesting prospects for high throughput, low-cost and flexible electronic circuits. In this sense, triindole-based systems have demonstrated great potential as p-type semiconductors in organic field-effect transistors (OFETs).[1] Recently, we have performed a combined experimental and theoretical study of three new crystalline N-trimethyltriindoles endowed with different functionalities at 3, 8 and 13 positions, either unsubstituted or with three methoxy or acetyl groups (Figure 1a), with the main goal of exploring the correlation between the electronic nature of the substituents and their solid-state organization, electronic properties and semiconductor behavior.[2] On the other hand, the design and synthesis of covalent organic framework materials (constructed from the union of different covalently linked conjugated platforms) are being deeply investigated in organic electronics.[3] In line with this , we have also investigated how the structural and the electronic properties of 2D triindole-based polymers (Figure 1b) can be modulated by the (i) modification of the linkage position from para (T2) to meta (T3), (ii) by the insertion of different π-bridges between the cores and (iii) by the increment of the number of π-bridges from 3 to 6 units (T2,3).[4] Overall, the results of this work open the door to the control of the degree of the π-conjugation for their subsequent synthesis and real application in organic electronic devices.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Untangling the electronic and charge transport properties of new Naphthalene and Perylene Diimides based-semiconductors

Organic semiconductors have emerged as an important class of materials that offer interesting prospects for high throughput, low-cost and flexible electronic circuits. Nevertheless, high performance electron-transporting (n-type) semiconductors are still rare compared to their high efficiency hole-transporting (p-type) counterparts. In this sense, the development of high-mobility and environmentally stable n-type materials for thin-film transistors has experienced a tremendous impetus in the last decade. Naphthalene-diimides (NDIs), perylene-diimides (PDIs) and their derivatives have demonstrated great potential as n-type semiconductors in Organic Field-Effect Transistors (OFETs). In this project, a mixed experimental and theoretical study of four new semiconductors (Figure 1) has been carried out with the aim to explore the impact of the following effects on the electronic and charge-transport properties: (i) the extension of the conjugated platform, going from a shorter conjugated core in naphthalene-diimides to a larger conjugated core in perylenediimides, (ii) the different donor units attached to the cores. For that, IR, UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy, and spectroelectrochemical measurements have been used in combination with theoretical calculations based on the Density Functional Theory (DFT). In addition, the four studied compounds have been implemented in OFETs , to assess their potential as active materials in organic electronics.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Failed limb salvage by microsurgery, resolved by super-microsurgery

Advances in perforating artery flaps have improved reconstruction in various body parts, particularly the lower extremities, offering benefits in patient quality of life and reduced public health service costs. The use of flaps and microsurgery extends beyond trauma to address conditions like osteomyelitis, tumor resection, osteoarthritis, and post-radiation necrosis. Notably, the superficial circumflex iliac artery perforator flap (SCIP) is highlighted for its thin profile and utility in limb coverage, minimizing donor site morbidity. Microsurgical techniques contribute to limb salvage, reducing amputation risks in severe fractures and post-osteosynthesis complications. A 29-year-old male with cerebral palsy suffered bimalleolar fracture from a high-energy motor vehicle accident. Initial ALT flap reconstruction failed, leading to flap removal and osteosynthesis exposure. After 48 hours, removal of the flap was necessary due to venous thrombosis. Salvage with SCIP flap involved anastomosis to perforators of both posterior tibial artery and vein. This case details a patient with a bimalleolar fracture post-motorcycle accident, initially treated with conventional microsurgery using an ALT flap. Complications arose from venous thrombosis, necessitating flap removal. Salvage was achieved through a SCIP flap with supermicrosurgery techniques, employing 0.5 mm anastomosis for improved functionality and reduced complications in flap recovery and donor site comorbidities. Successful outcomes in microsurgery and supermicrosurgery necessitate comprehensive training. Specialized limb salvage centers must possess specific equipment and instruments for these techniques. The literature reviewed doesn't indicate contraindications related to the patient's mental state for the execution of microsurgery and supermicrosurgery

A Deep Learning-Based Multimodal Architecture to predict Signs of Dementia

This paper proposes a multimodal deep learning architecture combining text and audio information to predict dementia, a disease which affects around 55 million people all over the world and makes them in some cases dependent people. The system was evaluated on the DementiaBank Pitt Corpus dataset, which includes audio recordings as well as their transcriptions for healthy people and people with dementia. Different models have been used and tested, including Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) for audio classification, Transformers for text classification, and a combination of both in a multimodal ensemble. These models have been evaluated on a test set, obtaining the best results by using the text modality, achieving 90.36% accuracy on the task of detecting dementia. Additionally, an analysis of the corpus has been conducted for the sake of explainability, aiming to obtain more information about how the models generate their predictions and identify patterns in the data.We would like to thank “A way of making Europe” European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 for supporting this work under the MoDeaAS project (grant PID2019-104818RB-I00) and AICARE project (grant SPID202200X139779IV0). Furthermore, we would like to thank Nvidia for their generous hardware donation that made these experiments possible

Arabidopsis Heat Stress-Induced Proteins Are Enriched in Electrostatically Charged Amino Acids and Intrinsically Disordered Regions

[EN] Comparison of the proteins of thermophilic, mesophilic, and psychrophilic prokaryotes has revealed several features characteristic to proteins adapted to high temperatures, which increase their thermostability. These characteristics include a profusion of disulfide bonds, salt bridges, hydrogen bonds, and hydrophobic interactions, and a depletion in intrinsically disordered regions. It is unclear, however, whether such differences can also be observed in eukaryotic proteins or when comparing proteins that are adapted to temperatures that are more subtly different. When an organism is exposed to high temperatures, a subset of its proteins is overexpressed (heat-induced proteins), whereas others are either repressed (heat-repressed proteins) or remain unaffected. Here, we determine the expression levels of all genes in the eukaryotic model system Arabidopsis thaliana at 22 and 37 degrees C, and compare both the amino acid compositions and levels of intrinsic disorder of heat-induced and heat-repressed proteins. We show that, compared to heat-repressed proteins, heat-induced proteins are enriched in electrostatically charged amino acids and depleted in polar amino acids, mirroring thermophile proteins. However, in contrast with thermophile proteins, heat-induced proteins are enriched in intrinsically disordered regions, and depleted in hydrophobic amino acids. Our results indicate that temperature adaptation at the level of amino acid composition and intrinsic disorder can be observed not only in proteins of thermophilic organisms, but also in eukaryotic heat-induced proteins; the underlying adaptation pathways, however, are similar but not the same.D.A.-P. and F.F. were supported by funds from the University of Nevada, Reno, and by pilot grants from Nevada INBRE (P20GM103440) and the Smooth Muscle Plasticity COBRE from the University of Nevada, Reno (5P30GM110767-04), both funded by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (National Institutes of Health). M.X.R.-G. and M.A.F. were supported by grants from Science Foundation Ireland (12/IP/1637) and the Spanish Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad, Spain (MINECO-FEDER; BFU201236346 and BFU2015-66073-P) to MAF. MXRG was supported by a JAE DOC fellowship from the MINECO, Spain. 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rpoB Gene mutations in rifampin-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis identified by polymerase chain reaction single-stranded conformational polymorphism.

The use of polymerase chain reaction-single-stranded conformational polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) to study rpoB gene mutations in rifampin-resistant (RIFr) Mycobacterium tuberculosis has yielded contradictory results. To determine the sensitivity of this method, we analyzed 35 RIFr strains and 11 rifampin-susceptible (RIFs) strains, using the DNA sequencing of the core region of rpoB for comparison. Of the RIFr, 24 had a PCR-SSCP pattern identical to that of H37Rv; the other 11 had four different patterns. The 11 RIFs had PCR-SSCP patterns identical to that of H37Rv. The sensitivity of the assay was 31.4%; its specificity was 100%. We observed a strong correlation between the degree of resistance and the type of mutation

Copy number variation mapping and genomic variation of autochthonous and commercial turkey populations

This study aims at investigating genomic diversity of several turkey populations using Copy Number Variants (CNVs). A total of 115 individuals from six Italian breeds (Colle Euganei, Bronzato Comune Italiano, Parma e Piacenza, Brianzolo, Nero d\u2019Italia, and Ermellinato di Rovigo), seven Narragansett, 38 commercial hybrids, and 30 Mexican turkeys, were genotyped with the Affymetrix 600K single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) turkey array. The CNV calling was performed with the Hidden Markov Model of PennCNV software and with the Copy Number Analysis Module of SVS 8.4 by Golden Helix\uae. CNV were summarized into CNV regions (CNVRs) at population level using BEDTools. Variability among populations has been addressed by hierarchical clustering (pvclust R package) and by principal component analysis (PCA). A total of 2,987 CNVs were identified covering 4.65% of the autosomes of the Turkey_5.0/melGal5 assembly. The CNVRs identified in at least two individuals were 362\u2014189 gains, 116 losses, and 57 complexes. Among these regions the 51% contain annotated genes. This study is the first CNV mapping of turkey population using 600K chip. CNVs clustered the individuals according to population and their geographical origin. CNVs are known to be indicators also of adaptation, as some researches in different species are suggesting