Thermal behavior of calafate (Berberis buxifolia) seeds

Low temperature is the most important factor limiting the distribution of plants. In this study the low temperature thermal behavior of calafate seeds was analyzed by Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), and a vibrational characterization of their different components was conducted by infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). In cold-acclimated plants, such as calafate, the total percentage of polyunsaturated fatty acids in their seeds is significantly higher than that of saturated fatty acids. Successive freezing-thawing cycles lead to increased formation of linoleic (LA) and linolenic (LNA) a-crystals. This process would barely modify the phase-transition temperature of the lipid membrane but would lead to an increase in the membrane fluidity (LNA would make the cell membranes more fluid during seed development). It seems that processes in membranes rather than in the glassy cytoplasm may determine the cooling resistance

Interdisciplinariedad en la enseñanza-aprendizaje de la geografía: paisaje andaluz y ejemplificaciones de conceptos químicos

Los proyectos interdisciplinares permiten un mayor aprendizaje significativo al alumnado. Nuestro propuesta es un trabajo conjunto de Ciencias Sociales y Ciencias de la Naturaleza en 1º y 2º de ESO, una unidad integrada del Paisaje Andaluz, centrándonos en paisajes agrarios como el viñedo y el olivar. Los contenidos y materiales trabajados en Geografía son empleados como recursos educativos para el aprendizaje de conceptos científicos, en el bloque de composición y estructura de la materia en Ciencias Naturales, usando paisajes naturales o humanizados como modelos o ejemplificaciones.Universidad de Málaga.Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Vibrational and thermal characterization of seeds, pulp, leaves and seed oil of Rosa rubiginosa

Rosa rubiginosa L. seed oil has been studied for its application in skin care products, but the chemical nature of seeds, pulp and even leaves, apart from that of oil, is also relevant with a view to the application of this weed for biodiesel production. All these vegetal materials were studied by infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) for characterisation purposes. FTIR bands at 3005, 2924, 1740, 1654 and 1456 cm-1 were used to estimate the iodine index, suitable for biofuels, and the oxidation stability degree. From the viewpoint of the thermal stability, both the seed oil (for which pyrolysis occurs at 462°C), the raw seeds and the rosehip pulp (with decomposition temperatures of 373°C and 333°C, respectively) showed potential as a biomass feedstock for conversion into biofuels. Caracterización térmica y vibracional de las semillas, pulpa, hojas y aceite de semillas de Rosa rubiginosa. El aceite de semillas de R. rubiginosa L. ha sido estudiado para su aplicación en productos para el cuidado de la piel, pero la naturaleza química de las semillas, pulpa y hojas, además de la del aceite, también es importante con miras a la aplicación de esta mala hierba para la producción de biodiesel. Los materiales vegetales mencionados se han estudiado mediante espectroscopía infrarroja (FTIR) y calorimetría diferencial de barrido (DSC) con fines de caracterización. Las bandas del espectro infrarrojo en 3005, 2924, 1740, 1654 y 1456 cm-1 han sido utilizadas para estimar el índice de yodo, adecuado para los biocombustibles, y el grado de estabilidad a la oxidación. Desde el punto de vista de la estabilidad térmica, tanto el aceite de semillas (para el que la pirólisis se produce a 462ºC) como las semillas crudas y la pulpa (con temperaturas de descomposición de 373°C y 333°C, respectivamente) mostraron potencial como materia prima de biomasa para su conversión en biocombustibles

Influence of the boundary conditions on the natural frequencies of a Francis turbine

Natural frequencies estimation of Francis turbines is of paramount importance in the stage of design in order to avoid vibration and resonance problems especially during transient events. Francis turbine runners are submerged in water and confined with small axial and radial gaps which considerably decrease their natural frequencies in comparison to the same structure in the air. Acoustic-structural FSI simulations have been used to evaluate the influence of these gaps. This model considers an entire prototype of a Francis turbine, including generator, shaft, runner and surrounding water. The radial gap between the runner and the static parts has been changed from the real configuration (about 0.04% the runner diameter) to 1% of the runner diameter to evaluate its influence on the machine natural frequencies. Mode-shapes and natural frequencies of the whole machine are discussed for all the boundary conditions testedPostprint (published version

Characterization of Collagen from Different Discarded Fish Species of the West Coast of the Iberian Peninsula

13 páginas, 5 tablas, 3 figuras.-- This is an open Access article. Non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly attributed, cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way, is permitted. The moral rights of the named author(s) have been asserted.Skin collagen of six discarded fish species was analyzed and compared. Acid soluble collagen (ASC) was extracted; a characteristic sodium dodecyl sulfate- polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) profile for type I collagen was obtained, except for Chimaera mostrosa. Contents of collagen calculated from HPro (31.85% average) were higher than those determined from ASC extracts (17.75% average), with Galeus spp. being the species with the higher percentage. Amino acid analysis revealed the typical composition of collagen, with very few differences among species. Specific profiles were obtained after protease digestion. Denaturation temperature of ASC correlated well with imino and hydroxyproline contents. Results demonstrate the feasibility of using the obtained collagens in different industrial applicationsThis work was funded by European Union FEDER POCTEP Project 0330_IBEROMARE_1_P, European Union FEDER Atlantic Area Project MARMED-2011-1/164, Xunta de Galicia Project 10TAL011E, and a contract with the “Cooperativa de Armadores del Puerto de Vigo” and FROM (Ministery of Environment, Rural and Maritime Affairs, Spain)Peer reviewe

Matriz de diodos electroluminiscentes orgánicos emisores en el infrarrojo cercano (1.54 μm) basados en complejos de erbio fabricados por métodos de bajo coste

[EN]: Solution processed 1.54 μm near infrared organic light-emitting diodes (NIR-OLED) based on novel Er(III) complexes, having the general formula[Er(β-diketonate) 3 (N,Ndonor)], have been manufactured by cost-effective methods and their properties studied. 4,4,4-trifluoro-1-(2-naphthyl)-1,3-butanedione (Htfnb or Hnta) or 1,1,1-trifuoro-5,5-dimethyl-2,4-hexanedione (Htpm) are the fluorinated β-diketonate primary sensitizers, and 2,2'-bipyridine (bipy) or 5-nitro-1,10-phenanthroline (5NO2phen) act as N,N-donors. The simple structure of the diodes is glass/indium-tin oxide (ITO)/poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrene sulfonate)/[Er-complex]/Ca/Al. The resulting electroluminescence corresponds with the 4I13/2→4I15/2 Er(III) emission at 1.54 μm and no visible emission is observed. Photophysical characterization proves that, upon organic ligand excitation by UV light, the luminescence from the ligands is totally quenched in favour of 4I13/2→4I15/2 Er(III) emission, confirming a complete resonant energy transfer from the ligands to the Er(III) ion, analogous to that observed in the electroluminescence emission. We present a fabrication method that avoids any photolithographic or mask step. The reported results showa simple way to obtain large area NIR-OLEDs by cost-effective methods. © Sociedad Española de Óptica.[ES]: Se han fabricado y caracterizado diodos orgánicos emisores de luz en el infrarrojo cercano (NIR-OLED) procesados desde solución, basados en nuevos complejos de Erbio (III) con fórmula general [Er(β-d)3(N,N-donor)] utilizando métodos de bajo coste. Los ligandos primarios son β-dicetonatos fluorados 4,4,4-trifluoro-1-(2-naftil)-1,3-butanodiona (Htfnb o Hnta) o 1,1,1-trifluoro -5,5-dimetil-2,4-hexanodiona (Htpm) y los ligandos secundarios 2,2’-bipiridina (bipy) o 5-nitro-1,10-fenantrolina (5NO2phen) actúan como bases de Lewis. La estructura del diodo es vidrio/óxido indio-estaño (ITO)/poli (3,4-etilendioxitiofeno)-poli (estireno sulfonato)/complejo de Er(III)/Calcio/Aluminio. La electroluminiscencia resultante corresponde con la emisión de la transición 4I13/2→4I15/2 del Er(III) a 1.5 μm sin que se observe emisión alguna en el visible. La caracterización fotofísica muestra que, bajo excitación con luz UV, se produce un apagamiento de la emisión de los ligandos acompañado por una emisión en el NIR del Er(III) análoga a la obtenida por excitación eléctrica, confirmando de este modo la transferencia completa de energía desde los ligandos al ion Er(III). Presentamos un método de fabricación que evita cualquier paso fotolitográfico con máscara. Los resultados reportados muestran un camino sencillo para obtener diodos emisores de luz en el infrarrojo cercano utilizando métodos de bajo coste.P. Martín-Ramos thanks the Spanish Ministry of Education and Santander Universidades JPI_2013 for their financial support. Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid under projects S2009/MAT-1756 and S2009/ESP-1781. Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO) under projects MAT2012-37276-C03-03 and TEC2011-13635-E are gratefully acknowledged by C. Coya. CEMDRX group is grateful to the Fundação para Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) under grant PTDC/FIS/102284/2008. UVA group acknowledges financial support of Junta de Castilla y León through project VA300A12-1.Peer Reviewe

Deciphering Strawberry Ripening by Tissue Specific Gene Regulatory Networks

During ripening, fruits undergo a number of metabolic and physiological changes leading to softening and improvement of characters such as flavor and palatability. Insights into transcriptome changes during strawberry fruit ripening have been reported, but always using either complete fruits in the analysis or separating achenes and the fleshy part (receptacle). However, the receptacle is composed of heterogeneous cell types, each of them with different characteristics and functions. Hence, transcriptomic studies performed so far may have lost important regulatory elements which expression is low but important in a specific cell-type specific. In our study, we use Laser Capture Microdissection (LCM) technique for the isolation of cells from specific tissue types such as the epidermis, vascular bundles, cortex, and pith. Transcriptome profiling of these tissue types was performed by RNAseq. A gene co-expression analysis was performed by Weighted Correlation Network Analysis (WGCNA). Ontology analysis of each module showed wax biosynthesis as the main biological pathway enriched at the red epidermis specific module. In order to elucidate the putative regulatory elements that control the synthesis of waxes in this tissue, a Gene Regulatory Network (GRN) was generated using GENIST (de Luis Balaguer, 2017). As a result, we have identified a set of transcription factors that might regulate the expression of eceriferum genes and a fatty acid elongase necessary for wax biosynthesis in ripe epidermis. Ultimately, our results open the possibility of implementing novel targeted breeding approaches. Moreover, this work shows that LCM followed by RNAseq is a powerful tool that can be used to clarify the regulatory scenario of tissue-specific biological processes during strawberry ripening.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Técnicas de excavación en yacimientos paleolíticos. Algunos casos de estudio

Les tècniques d’excavació utilitzades en jaciments arqueològics poques vegades s’especifiquen en les publicacions acadèmiques, sota l’entesa tàcita que els mètodes de treball de camp estan prou estandarditzats per fer-ne la descripció innecessària. No obstant això, tot i que aquest és probablement el cas de l’arqueologia d’urgència, és una suposició injustificada pel que fa a l’arqueologia acadèmica, i deixa de banda l’àmplia gamma de diferents tècniques de camp utilitzades durant les excavacions arqueològiques per cada equip d’investigació. En aquest treball presentem els mètodes de camp utilitzats pel nostre grup de recerca en l’excavació de jaciments paleolítics a Espanya i a l’Àfrica oriental, des de la selecció dels llocs per a l’excavació fins al processament digital de les dades espacials i arqueològiques resultants. El nostre objectiu és contribuir a la consolidació d’un corpus de pràctiques estandarditzades en les excavacions acadèmiques modernes el control de qualitat de les quals és essencial per garantir l’èxit de la recollida de les dades utilitzades per a la interpretació de les restes arqueològiques.Field techniques used in the excavation of archaeological sites are rarely specified in academic publications, under the tacit understanding that fieldwork methods are standardized enough to make their description unnecessary. Although that is probably the case in commercial archaeology, it is however an unwarranted assumption as far as academic archaeology is concern, and neglects the wide range of different field techniques used during archaeological excavations by each research team. In this paper, we outline field methods used by our research group in the excavation of Palaeolithic sites in Spain and East Africa, from the selection of localities for excavation to the digital processing of the resulting spatial and archaeological data. Our aim is to contribute to consolidating a corpus of standard practices in modern research archaeological excavation, whose quality control is essential to guarantee a successful collection of data used for the interpretation of archaeological remains.Las técnicas de excavación utilizadas en los yacimientos arqueológicos rara vez se especifican en las publicaciones académicas, bajo el entendimiento tácito de que los métodos de trabajo de campo están suficientemente estandarizados para hacer su descripción innecesaria. Sin embargo, aunque éste es probablemente el caso de la arqueología de urgencia, es una suposición injustificada en cuanto a la arqueología académica, y obvia la amplia gama de diferentes técnicas de campo utilizadas durante las excavaciones arqueológicas por cada equipo de investigación. En este trabajo presentamos los métodos de campo utilizados por nuestro grupo de investigación en la excavación de yacimientos paleolíticos en España y África oriental, desde la selección de los sitios para la excavación hasta el procesado digital de los datos espaciales y arqueológicos obtenidos. Nuestro objetivo es contribuir a la consolidación de un corpus de prácticas estandarizadas en las excavaciones académicas modernas, cuyo control de calidad es esencial para garantizar el éxito en la recogida de los datos utilizados para la interpretación de los restos arqueológicos

Archaeological fieldwork techniques in Stone Age sites : some case studies

Field techniques used in the excavation of archaeological sites are rarely specified in academic publications, under the tacit understanding that fieldwork methods are standardized enough to make their description unnecessary. Although that is probably the case in commercial archaeology, it is however an unwarranted assumption as far as academic archaeology is concern, and neglects the wide range of different field techniques used during archaeological excavations by each research team. In this paper, we outline field methods used by our research group in the excavation of Palaeolithic sites in Spain and East Africa, from the selection of localities for excavation to the digital processing of the resulting spatial and archaeological data. Our aim is to contribute to consolidating a corpus of standard practices in modern research archaeological excavation, whose quality control is essential to guarantee a successful collection of data used for the interpretation of archaeological remains.Les tècniques d'excavació utilitzades en jaciments arqueològics poques vegades s'especifiquen en les publicacions acadèmiques, sota l'entesa tàcita que els mètodes de treball de camp estan prou estandarditzats per fer-ne la descripció innecessària. No obstant això, tot i que aquest és probablement el cas de l'arqueologia d'urgència, és una suposició injustificada pel que fa a l'arqueologia acadèmica, i deixa de banda l'àmplia gamma de diferents tècniques de camp utilitzades durant les excavacions arqueològiques per cada equip d'investigació. En aquest treball presentem els mètodes de camp utilitzats pel nostre grup de recerca en l'excavació de jaciments paleolítics a Espanya i a l'Àfrica oriental, des de la selecció dels llocs per a l'excavació fins al processament digital de les dades espacials i arqueològiques resultants. El nostre objectiu és contribuir a la consolidació d'un corpus de pràctiques estandarditzades en les excavacions acadèmiques modernes el control de qualitat de les quals és essencial per garantir l'èxit de la recollida de les dades utilitzades per a la interpretació de les restes arqueològiques.Las técnicas de excavación utilizadas en los yacimientos arqueológicos rara vez se especifican en las publicaciones académicas, bajo el entendimiento tácito de que los métodos de trabajo de campo están suficientemente estandarizados para hacer su descripción innecesaria. Sin embargo, aunque éste es probablemente el caso de la arqueología de urgencia, es una suposición injustificada en cuanto a la arqueología académica, y obvia la amplia gama de diferentes técnicas de campo utilizadas durante las excavaciones arqueológicas por cada equipo de investigación. En este trabajo presentamos los métodos de campo utilizados por nuestro grupo de investigación en la excavación de yacimientos paleolíticos en España y África oriental, desde la selección de los sitios para la excavación hasta el procesado digital de los datos espaciales y arqueológicos obtenidos. Nuestro objetivo es contribuir a la consolidación de un corpus de prácticas estandarizadas en las excavaciones académicas modernas, cuyo control de calidad es esencial para garantizar el éxito en la recogida de los datos utilizados para la interpretación de los restos arqueológicos

Antifungal activity against Fusarium culmorum of stevioside, Silybum marianum seed extracts, and their conjugate complexes

Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a disease that poses a major challenge in cereal production that has important food and feed safety implications due to trichothecene contamination. In this study, the effect of stevioside—a glycoside found in the leaves of candyleaf (Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni)—was evaluated in vitro against Fusarium culmorum (W.G. Smith) Sacc., alone and in combination (in a 1:1 molar ratio) with polyphenols obtained from milk thistle seeds (Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertn). Different concentrations, ranging from 32 to 512 µg·mL−1, were assayed, finding EC50 and EC90 inhibitory concentrations of 156 and 221 µg·mL−1, respectively, for the treatment based only on stevioside, and EC50 and EC90 values of 123 and 160 µg·mL−1, respectively, for the treatment based on the stevioside–polyphenol conjugate complexes. Colony formation inhibition results were consistent, reaching full inhibition at 256 µg·mL−1. Given that synergistic behavior was observed for this latter formulation (SF = 1.43, according to Wadley’s method), it was further assessed for grain protection at storage, mostly directed against mycotoxin contamination caused by the aforementioned phytopathogen, confirming that it could inhibit fungal growth and avoid trichothecene contamination. Moreover, seed tests showed that the treatment did not affect the percentage of germination, and it resulted in a lower incidence of root rot caused by the pathogen in Kamut and winter wheat seedlings. Hence, the application of these stevioside–S. marianum seed extract conjugate complexes may be put forward as a promising and environmentally friendly treatment for the protection of cereal crops and stored grain against FHB