XML-Based Representation Formats of Local Grammars for the NL

(4 pp.)International audienc

Efficient passivated phthalocyanine-quantum dot solar cells

The power conversion efficiency of CdSe and CdS quantum dot sensitized solar cells is enhanced by passivation with asymmetrically substituted phthalocyanines. The introduction of the phthalocyanine dye increases the efficiency up to 45% for CdSe and 104% for CdS. The main mechanism causing this improvement is the quantum dot passivation. This study highlights the possibilities of a new generation of dyes designed to be directly linked to QDs instead of the TiO2 electrodes.This work has been supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, Generalitat Valenciana and the European FEDER funds (CTQ2011-26455, PROMETEO 2012/010, ACOMP/2013/024 and ISIC/2012/008)

Некоторые особенности структурной динамики межсекторальных ресурсных потоков в научной системе Украины

Представлен анализ динамики финансирования научно-технической деятельности в аспекте основных источников средств и исполнителей за весь период независимости Украины. Изложен авторский подход к оцениванию роли государства и других экономических субъектов, который адаптирует требования международных учетных стандартов к реалиям отечественной экономики.Представлено аналіз динаміки фінансування науково-технічної діяльності в аспекті головних джерел коштів та виконавців за весь період незалежності України. Викладено авторський підхід до оцінювання ролі держави та інших економічних суб’єктів, що адаптує вимоги міжнародних облікових стандартів до реалій вітчизняної економіки.An analysis of the R&D funding dynamics in terms of main funding sources and performers over the period of the Ukrainian independence is given. The author’s approach to evaluating the role of the government and other economic entities, which adapts the requirements of international accounting standards to the realities of the national economy, is shown

Large-Size Star-Shaped Conjugated (Fused) Triphthalocyaninehexaazatriphenylene

Star-shaped triphthalocyaninehexaazatriphenylene 1 was synthesized via condensation between a new building block 1,2-diaminophthalocyanine and cyclohexanehexaone. Compound 1 represents the largest star-shaped phthalocyanine-fused hexaazatriphenylene reported so far. This largely expanded phthalocyanine shows good solubility and has a strong tendency to aggregate in both solution and on surface, indicating its potential as active component in organic electronic devices.This research was financially supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Mineco) of Spain [CTQ2014-55798-R, CTQ2015-71936-REDT, CTQ2013-40480-R and “Severo Ochoa” Programme for Centres of Excellence in R&D (SEV-2015-0496)], Generalitat Valenciana (Prometeo 2012/010), the Networking Research Center on Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN) and by ERC StG 2012-306826 e-GAMES. A. C. acknowledges the Materials Science PhD program of UAB.Peer reviewe

Recursos de osteosíntesis en fémur porótico.

Objetivos. Exponer dos técnicas quirúrgicas de refuerzo de una osteosíntesis convencional en situaciones especiales de debilidad ósea del fémur, como son las fracturas periprotésicas, las fracturas patológicas y los fracasos de osteosíntesis previas en pacientes de edad avanzada. La debilidad del hueso puede llegar a dificultar la realización de osteosíntesis estables en fracturas de fémur porque impide el correcto anclaje del material, ya sean agujas, cerclajes o especialmente tornillos. Material y método. Se evaluaron 13 pacientes (media de edad de 78,3 años), 9 de los cuales sufrieron fracturas periprotésicas de fémur, dos fracasos de osteosíntesis previas, un caso de pseudoartrosis tras una fractura periprotésica y una fractura diafisaria en un fémur muy osteoporótico, en los cuales se han utilizado dos técnicas de refuerzo del hueso: el cementado endomedular y el implante de contraplacas atornilladas de aloinjerto óseo congelado. Resultados. Se realizó un seguimiento de estos pacientes en un período que oscila entre 12 y 72 meses (media de 26,2 meses). En un caso se produjo una pseudoartrosis de la fractura por ocupación accidental del foco de fractura por el cemento acrílico. En los 12 casos restantes se consiguió la consolidación. Conclusiones. El cementado endomedular y la utilización de contraplacas atornilladas de aloinjerto óseo son dos recursos técnicos útiles en situaciones especiales en las que es necesario realizar una osteosíntesis estable sobre un hueso muy débil

Revealing the Specificity of Human H1 Influenza A Viruses to Complex N-Glycans

Influenza virus infection remains a threat to human health since viral hemagglutinins are constantly drifting, escaping infection and vaccine-induced antibody responses. Viral hemag-glutinins from different viruses display variability in glycan recognition. In this context, recent H3N2 viruses have specificity for alpha 2,6 sialylated branched N-glycans with at least three N- acetyllactosamine units (tri-LacNAc). In this work, we combined glycan arrays and tissue binding analyses with nuclear magnetic resonance experiments to characterize the glycan specificity of a family of H1 variants, including the one responsible for the 2009 pandemic outbreak. We also analyzed one engineered H6N1 mutant to understand if the preference for tri-LacNAc motifs could be a general trend in human-type receptor-adapted viruses. In addition, we developed a new NMR approach to perform competition experiments between glycans with similar compositions and different lengths. Our results point out that pandemic H1 viruses differ from previous seasonal H1 viruses by a strict preference for a minimum of di-LacNAc structural motifs.R.P.d.V. is a recipient of an ERC Starting grant from the European Commission (802780) and a Beijerinck Premium of the Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences. The glycan array setup was supported by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO, TOP-PUNT 718.015.003 to G.-J.P.H.B.). Dr. Lin Liu (CCRC) and Dr. Margreet A . Wolfert (Utrecht University) developed, printed, and validated the glycan microarray. We would like to thank Nikoloz Nemanichvili for technical assistance. A.C. acknowledges funding from Agencia Estatal de Investigacion "Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation" (MICINN) project PID2019-105237GB-I00. J.P.C. acknowledges funding by the Spanish MICINN, grant no. RTI2018-095588-B-I00 (co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund/European Social Fund, "Invest-ing in your future"). JJB also tha n k s funding by the European Research Council (RECGLYCANMR, Advanced grant no. 788143), the Agencia Estatal de Investigacion (Spain) for grants RTI2018-094751-B-C21 and C22 and PDI2021-1237810B-C21 and C22, and CIBERES, an initiative of the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), Madrid, Spain. The NMR spectra were acquired at the NMR service of CIBMargarita Salas and in the NMR faci l i t y of the UCM. We also acknowledge Prof. Robert Woods group for sending us the coordinates of a glycan-hemagglut i n i n model

Solvent-dependent photo-induced dynamics in a non-rigidly linked zinc phthalocyanine-perylenediimide dyad probed using ultrafast spectroscopy

In this work, we characterize the energy and electron transfer kinetics of a zinc phthalocyanine-perylenediimide dyad (ZnPc-PDI) in various solvents using steady-state and tunable narrowband pump-probe spectroscopy. We fit the ultrafast data with global analysis techniques and find that upon excitation of the PDI moiety (pump pulse at 540 nm), the excitation energy transfer (EET) rate to the ZnPc moiety displays a solvent sensitivity that we attribute to changes in the relative equilibrium moiety orientation. We rationalize these observations by considering the nature of the non-rigid bridge used to link the two moieties as well as the degenerate nature of the Q band transitions in the ZnPc species. By tuning the pulse into resonance with the ZnPc Q band (685 nm) we can directly photo-induce an electron transfer (ET) process back to the PDI moiety. Employing the same global analysis, we find that the dynamics of the ultrafast electron transfer are completely kinetically controlled according to the Bixon-Jortner model of barrierless solvent-controlled curve crossing, while the recombination to reform the ground state is well-described using the static energetic picture according to Marcus theory

Oxidative Release of O-Glycans under Neutral Conditions for Analysis of Glycoconjugates Having Base-Sensitive Substituents

Protein O-glycosylation is one of the most diverse post-translational modifications. A critical step in the analysis of O-glycomes is the release of glycans from glycoconjugates. Current release methods rely mainly on β-elimination, which can result in peeling reactions and loss of base-sensitive functionalities leading to misidentification of glycans. To address this challenge, well-defined synthetic glycopeptides were used to establish a robust workflow for the oxidative release of O-glycans suitable for glycomics. Treatment of O-glycopeptides with neutralized hypochlorite resulted in the selective formation of lactic/glycolic acid glycosides, thereby retaining unique information of the parent amino acid (serine/threonine) that is lost by β-elimination. It locks the glycan in a closed ring configuration, thereby preventing peeling, and furthermore, the carboxylate of the anomeric tag promotes ionization in negative ion mode mass spectrometry, thereby increasing signal intensities. Labile modifications such as sialic acids, sulfates, and acetyl esters are maintained during the release procedure. The promise of the approach was demonstrated by the analysis of O-glycans from bovine submaxillary mucin, which identified mono- and di- O-acetylated sialoglycans as well as previously undetected tri- O-acetylated and sulfated glycans. The use of well-defined glycopeptide standards made it also possible to identify reaction intermediates, which in turn allowed us to postulate a reaction mechanism for oxidative O-glycan release under neutral conditions

Social and environmental aspects of the energy transition

The need to promote a swift, efficient and fair energy transition to clean, secure and efficient energy production, storage, transport, and consumption is a major challenge for the future of the planet ( EC 2020 ). Currently, massive emissions of greenhouse gases ( particularly CO2 ) and other pollutants are changing global climate, and the lasts report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC 2018 ) advised that keeping the temperature increase below 1.5 ºC will require drastic, urgent and internationally coordinated actions. These initiatives will greatly affect advanced economies, characterized by high energy consumption, which should seek for clean and secure local energy sources, but they are also highly relevant for quickly developing countries, whose biodiversity, natural resources and standards of living are at risks due to over exploitation of local resources or to accumulation of waste products of energy production technologies coming from elsewhere. These processes of transition, though, have generated a variety of social and environmental impacts and, at the same time, have triggered complex questions about sustainability and social acceptance ( i.e. Sánchez-Zapata et al. 2019 for wind and solar energy production in Spain ). Social and environmental aspects of the transition to clean, secure and efficient energy production, storage, transport, and consumption should then be fully incorporated into research on new energy sources to ensure its sustainability.Peer reviewe