Capsaicin affects the structure and phase organization of phospholipid membranes

AbstractCapsaicin is a natural compound with pharmacological and toxicological effects, which given its hydrophobicity, can influence the structure of membranes. The interaction of capsaicin with model membranes of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine and dielaidoylphosphatidylethanolamine has been studied by using differential scanning calorimetry, fluorescent probe spectroscopy and 31P-nuclear magnetic resonance. Capsaicin remarkably affects the phase transition of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine, shifting the transition temperature to lower values, and giving rise, at relatively high capsaicin concentrations, to the appearance of two peaks in the thermogram. These peaks may correspond to separated phases as indicated by the partial phase diagram. Whereas capsaicin did not affect the fluorescence polarization of the probes diphenylhexatriene and trimethylammonium-diphenylhexatriene, it clearly affected that of the probe 2-anthroyloxystearic acid, indicating that the perturbation produced by capsaicin on the membrane would be mainly at the position where this fluorophore is located. On the other hand, capsaicin, at relatively low concentrations, gives rise to immiscible phases in the presence of dielaidoylphoshatidylethanolamine and decrease the temperature of the lamellar to hexagonal HII phase transition. At concentrations of capsaicin higher than 0.3 mol fraction, isotropic phases were detected. The possible implications of the effects of capsaicin on biological membranes are discussed

Magnetic extractions and electronic microscopy observations in Jurassic remagnetized carbonates

IX Congreso Geológico de España, Huelva, 12-14 de septiembre, 2016El estudio de la remagnetización en rocas carbonatadas viene realizándose durante los últimos 40 años, tanto por medio del análisis de sus propiedades magnéticas como tratando de realizar observaciones por medio de microscopía electrónica (SEM/TEM). Los resultados obtenidos con el primer análisis han proporcionado numerosos datos y hoy en día sabemos que generalmente la remagnetización es portada por magnetita. Ésta es de tamaño nanométrico generada durante la diagénesis, correspondiéndose con una remagnetización química. Sin embargo, los numerosos intentos de observación de dichos cristales por medio de SEM/TEM siempre han sido infructuosos y los cristales observados siempre presentan tamaños dentro del rango multidominio. En un nuevo intento de observación directa de dichos cristales mediante microscopía electrónica, hemos realizado nuevos ensayos sobre extractos magnéticos en calizas jurásicas remagnetizadas de las cuencas del Alto Atlas (Marruecos), Cameros y Vasco-Cantábrica (España) según las últimas técnicas propuestas en la literatura. Las propiedades magnéticas de los diferentes subproductos provenientes del proceso de extracción indican una pérdida de material magnético durante el mismo, principalmente las partículas de grano más fino (granos de tamaño monodominio y superparamagnético). Igualmente, mediante SEM/TEM únicamente han podido observarse cristales de magnetita multidominio.Since the last 40 years the analysis of remagnetized carbonates is under debate, by studying their magnetic properties and by using electronic microscopy (SEM/TEM). Results obtained from the first analyses allowed to infer that remagnetization is carried generally by nanometric magnetite and generated during the diagenesis, therefore it corresponds to a chemical remagnetization. However, several attempts to observe these magnetites by SEM/TEM were unsuccessful and in all cases the observed magnetite was in the range of multidomain size. In a new attempt to observe these crystals by electronic microscopy we did new magnetic extracts (according the last techniques proposed in the literature) in Jurassic remagnetized limestones of the High Atlas (Morocco), Cameros and Basque-Cantabrian (Spain) basins. Magnetic properties of the different sub-products of the extracts show a lost of magnetic material during the procedure, mostly of the smallest size (superparamagnetic and single-domain size). Likewise, only multi-domain magnetite grains were observed by SEM/TEM.proyecto CGL2012-38481 de la DGICyT, MINECO y fondos FEDER de la Unión Europea, así cómo por el programa de financiación de la NSF (EEUU) al Institute for Rock Magnetis

pySCu: A new python code for analyzing remagnetizations directions by means of small circle utilities

The Small Circle (SC) methods are founded upon two main starting hypotheses: (i) the analyzed sites were remagnetized contemporarily, acquiring the same paleomagnetic direction. (ii) The deviation of the acquired paleomagnetic signal from its original direction is only due to tilting around the bedding strike and therefore the remagnetization direction must be located on a small circle (SC) whose axis is the strike of bedding and contains the in situ paleomagnetic direction. Therefore, if we analyze several sites (with different bedding strikes) their SCs will intersect in the remagnetization direction. The SC methods have two applications: (1) the Small Circle Intersection (SCI) method is capable of providing adequate approximations to the expected paleomagnetic direction when dealing with synfolding remagnetizations. By comparing the SCI direction with that predicted from an apparent polar wander path, the (re)magnetization can be dated. (2) Once the remagnetization direction is known, the attitude of the beds (at each site) can be restored to the moment of the acquisition of the remagnetization, showing a palinspastic reconstructuion of the structure. Some caveats are necessary under more complex tectonic scenarios, in which SC-based methods can lead to erroneous interpretations. However, the graphical output of the methods tries to avoid ‘black-box’ effects and can minimize misleading interpretations or even help, for example, to identify local or regional vertical axis rotations. In any case, the methods must be used with caution and always considering the knowledge of the tectonic frame. In this paper, some utilities for SCs analysis are automatized by means of a new Python code and a new technique for defining the uncertainty of the solution is proposed. With pySCu the SCs methods can be easily and quickly applied, obtaining firstly a set of text files containing all calculated information and subsequently generating a graphical output on the fly.CGL2012-38481 and CGL2016-77560 of the MINECO (Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness) with also FEDER founding (European Union). PC acknowledges the MINECO for the F.P.I. research grant BES-2013-062988. LT acknowledges support from National Science Foundation grant # EAR 1345003

Kinematics of Structures and Basin Evolution in the Central High Atlas: constraints from AMS and Paleomagnetic Data

[EN] From the application of the magnetic techniques (Anisotropy of Magnetic Susceptibility and paleomagnetism) it can be seen that to determine the age (and origin) of structures in the Moroccan Central High Atlas is not straightforward from geometrical features only and that similar structures can have different origins, or that the two limbs of a particular structure can have developed at different times. A classification of structures is proposed showing all these possibilities. As a general rule, many structures were initiated before compression and, with local exceptions associated with salt structures, paleo-dips were shallow at the remagnetization stage. This has allowed the restoration of structures and the characterization of the overall geometry of the atlasic basin as a narrow, steer’s head strongly subsiding basin whose geometry strongly conditioned its tectonic inversion during the Cenozoic compressional stage. As a synthesis, the Central High Atlas constitutes a good example of intra-plate chain in which different models of basin formation (continental rifting, salt tectonics, transtension) and inversion (thrust tectonics, transpression, buttressing and internal deformation…) can be tested and visualized.This work is part of the I+D+i research projects CGL2009-10840, CGL2009-8969, CGL2012-38481, CGL2016-77560-C2 (C21 and C22) and PID2019-108753GB-C2 (C21 and C22), funded by mICIN/AEI/https://doi.org/10.13039/501100011033 and by “ERDF A way of making Europe”.Peer reviewe

Age and date for early arrival of the Acheulian in Europe (Barranc de la Boella, la Canonja, Spain)

The first arrivals of hominin populations into Eurasia during the Early Pleistocene are currently considered to have occurred as short and poorly dated biological dispersions. Questions as to the tempo and mode of these early prehistoric settlements have given rise to debates concerning the taxonomic significance of the lithic assemblages, as trace fossils, and the geographical distribution of the technological traditions found in the Lower Palaeolithic record. Here, we report on the Barranc de la Boella site which has yielded a lithic assemblage dating to ,1 million years ago that includes large cutting tools (LCT). We argue that distinct technological traditions coexisted in the Iberian archaeological repertoires of the late Early Pleistocene age in a similar way to the earliest sub-Saharan African artefact assemblages. These differences between stone tool assemblages may be attributed to the different chronologies of hominin dispersal events. The archaeological record of Barranc de la Boella completes the geographical distribution of LCT assemblages across southern Eurasia during the EMPT (Early-Middle Pleistocene Transition, circa 942 to 641 kyr). Up to now, chronology of the earliest European LCT assemblages is based on the abundant Palaeolithic record found in terrace river sequences which have been dated to the end of the EMPT and later. However, the findings at Barranc de la Boella suggest that early LCT lithic assemblages appeared in the SW of Europe during earlier hominin dispersal episodes before the definitive colonization of temperate Eurasia took place.The research at Barranc de la Boella has been carried out with the financial support of the Spanish Ministerio de Economı´a y Competitividad (CGL2012- 36682; CGL2012-38358, CGL2012-38434-C03-03 and CGL2010-15326; MICINN project HAR2009-7223/HIST), Generalitat de Catalunya, AGAUR agence (projects 2014SGR-901; 2014SGR-899; 2009SGR-324, 2009PBR-0033 and 2009SGR-188) and Junta de Castilla y Leo´n BU1004A09. Financial support for Barranc de la Boella field work and archaeological excavations is provided by the Ajuntament de la Canonja and Departament de Cultura (Servei d’Arqueologia i Paleontologia) de la Generalitat de Catalunya. A. Carrancho’s research was funded by the International Excellence Programme, Reinforcement subprogramme of the Spanish Ministry of Education. I. Lozano-Ferna´ndez acknowledges the pre-doctoral grant from the Fundacio´n Atapuerca. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript

Le peuplement humain pendant le Pléistocène et l’Holocène dans la province de Jerada, Maroc oriental : introduction d’un projet de recherche

[EN] The Aïn Beni Mathar – Guefaït (ABM-GFT) region in Eastern Morocco is the object of an archaeological, palaeontological, geological and geochronological research project, led by an international team since 2006. The research in this former fluvio-lacustrine basin, roughly 2000 km2, has revealed a significant number of Pleistocene and Holocene sites. Here we introduce the research project, that we conduct in the region, the main issues it aims to address, and the results already obtained.[FR] Depuis 2006, la région de Aïn Beni Mathar – Guefaït (ABM-GFT) au Maroc Oriental, fait l’objet d’un projet de recherche en archéologie, paléontologie, géologie et géochronologie, mené par une équipe internationale. Ces recherches ont permis la découverte d’un nombre significatif de gisements d’âge Pléistocène et Holocène, dans un ancien bassin fluvio-lacustre, qui s’étend sur une surface de 2000 km2. Notre objectif ici est de présenter le projet de recherche, que nous entamons dans la région, la problématique qu’il traite et les premiers résultats déjà obtenus.Funding for this research was provided by: Palarq Foundation, Spanish Ministry of Culture and Sport (Ref: 42-T002018N0000042853 & 170-T002019N0000038589), Direction of Cultural Heritage (Ministry of Culture and Communication, Morocco), Faculty of Sciences (Mohamed 1r University of Oujda, Morocco), INSAP (Institut National des Sciences de l’Archéologie et du Patrimoine), Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (Ref: CGL2016-80975-P, CGL2016-80000-P, PGC2018-095489-B-I00 and PGC2018-093925-B-C31) and Research Groups Support of the Catalonia Government (2017 SGR 836 and 2017 SGR 859). R.S-R, M.G.CH., J.I.M., A.C., F.R., A.R.-H., E.A., I.E., F.B., J.A., HA.B., P.S., P.P., D.L., I.R. y E.M. research is funded by CERCA Programme/ Generalitat de Catalunya. J.I.M. and A.R.-H research is funded by the Spanish Minitry of Science and Innovation under the “María de Maeztu” Program for Unities of Excellence (CEX2019-000945-M). M.S. has been granted by the Research Program UAM Tomás y Valiente 2019. C.T. is funded by the Ramón y Cajal Program. M.F. and M.E.A. received a fellowship under the Erasmus Mundus Scholarship of the European Education and Culture Executive Agency in the Master in Quaternary and Prehistory at URV. The research of M.D. is funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC) Future Fellowship Grant FT150100215 and the Ramón y Cajal Program (RYC2018-025221-I). P.P. has been granted a post-doctoral post under the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation “Juan de la Cierva-Incorporación” Program (Ref. IJC2020-044108-I). E.M-R. is beneficiary of a PTA Ref. PTA201714619-I. G.G.-A. has been granted a “Ford - Apadrina la Ciencia” contract. C.D.-C has been granted a Fundación Atapuerca fellowship. A.C.A. was funded by Junta de Castilla y León (project BU235P18) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The Institut Catalá de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES-CERCA) has received financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through the ‘María de Maeztu’ program for Units of Excellence (CEX2019-000945-M).Peer reviewe

Primeros resultados magnetoestratigráficos del Triásico MedioSuperior (Ladiniense-Karniense) en la Cordillera Ibérica occidental (Cuevas de Ayllón)

A magnetostratigraphic investigation on a Middle-Late Triassic section outcropping at Cuevas de Ayllón (westernmost margin of the Iberían Ranges, Spain) has been performed. The section most1y consists of a thick sequence of interbedded mudstones and sandstones. The age of the sampled formation has been established as Ladinian-Karnian on the basis of palynological assemblages. 123 samples were subjected to a progressive thermal demagnetization up to 680º C. A multicomponent magnetization behaviour has been observed. The characteristic component could be isolated from 575-620º C up to 680º C, in 74 samples showed both polarities and allowed to define a consistent magnetic zonation. The data presented wil1 contribute to the construction of a standard polarity sea/e for the Triassic time span.Peer reviewe

Switch of Mesozoic extensional tectonic style in the Lusitanian basin (Portugal): Insights from magnetic fabrics

Magnetic fabrics in the Lusitanian basin show extreme variability in the orientation of strain axes during part of its Mesozoic extensional stage. A detailed study of Anisotropy of Magnetic Susceptibility (AMS) was done in Triassic and Upper Jurassic units in the onshore part of the basin. In the Triassic samples, the magnetic lineation shows a dominant NW-SE orientation, perpendicular to the main normal fault set and also to the extension directions inferred from the analysis of brittle mesostructures. For the Late Jurassic period, the AMS analysis indicates a dominant N-S to NE-SW extension. Moreover, these main directions are complicated by perpendicular solutions co-existing in the same sites. Comparison with syn-sedimentary faults reveals the difficulty in interpreting AMS data in these settings, although magnetic stability for the obtained solutions can be tracked through different mineralogical composition for the sampled rocks. Interpretation of the obtained fabrics through a Triassic radial extension regime is consistent with axes switching and local re-orientation of strain axes close to major normal faults related to the opening of the Northern Atlantic during the Jurassic. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.Peer reviewe

Paleomagnetism in the Cambrian Urda-Los Navalucillos Limestone (Montes de Toledo, Spain): Implications for late-Variscan kinematics and oroclinal bending in the Central Iberian Zone

[EN] A magnetic and paleomagnetic study was carried out on weakly metamorphic Cambrian limestones from the southern limb of the Central Iberian Arc (CIA), a late-Variscan orocline located to the south of the Ibero-Armorican Arc (IAA). >270 cores were obtained from 32 sites located at 5 outcropping structures in the Urda-Los Navalucillos Formation of Montes de Toledo (Central Iberian Zone, Spain), in an area close to the hinge zone of the CIA. These outcrops are affected by two regional-scale Variscan folding phases, namely C1 and C3, which developed interference patterns. A characteristic paleomagnetic component was isolated in 19 sites at 4 of the structures, which shows different temporal relationships with C3 folds, ranging from possibly syn-folding to clearly post-folding. The resulting mean directions of the magnetic vector, in geographic coordinates, always show northward to north-western declinations and negative, low inclinations, suggesting acquisition during some normal polarity event(s) when Iberia was located in the southern hemisphere, i.e. prior to the geomagnetic reverse polarity Kiaman superchron. While the inclination of the paleomagnetic mean directions is coherent between structures, the declination ranges from N to NW, suggesting a vertical axis rotation synkinematic to C3 folding, and older than 318 Ma. These directions suggest that the southern limb of the CIA first underwent a 42° clockwise rotation during the late Carboniferous that can be related to the development of the CIA, and which has been differentially recorded by the paleomagnetic directions of the different structures. This was later followed by a large counterclockwise rotation related to the formation of the IAA, which affects to the entire paleomagnetic dataset.This research has been funded by projects CGL2016-78560-P (MINECO-Spain), SA084P20 of the regional government of Castilla y León, FEDER program, PID2019-108753 GB-C21 of the Spanish State Research Agency (AEI/10.13039/ 501100011033 project), and ERDF funding (European Union). MDO acknowledges funding from FPU16/00980 (AEI-Spain) contract, and PC acknowledges funding from PTA2017-14779-I and FJC2019-041058-I (AEI-Spain) contracts.Peer reviewe

Tectonic Evolution of the Moroccan High Atlas: a Paleomagnetic Perspective : Magnetic Techniques (Anisotropy of Magnetic Susceptibility and Paleomagnetism) Applied to the Understanding of the Evolution of an Intra-Plate Mountain Chain

XXII, 646 p.[EN] This book presents a significant amount of structural, paleomagnetic and magnetic fabric data in the Central High Atlas (Morocco). The authors thoroughly described and analyzed the present-day structure of this intraplate chain through 22 of cross-sections, potential field data analysis and 3D reconstruction. In addition, the authors propose a palinspastic reconstruction of the structure of the basin at 100 Ma (i.e., post-extension and pre-compression) to finally evaluate its Mesozoic and Cenozoic geodynamic evolution. This books presents (1) a unique three-dimensional model at the chain scale, (2) an analysis of the ca. 100 Ma remagnetization, to perform palinspastic restorations of most representative structures, (3) as well as the interpretation of the magnetic fabrics in order to unravel the tectonic or deformation setting that the rocks underwent in different parts of the basin. This book is of interest to structural geologists in Northern Africa, the Mediterranean and Iberia, as well as to those interested in inverted intraplate basins and paleomagnetists from around the planet. Also, this book is intended to help students to understand better the geological evolution of the Atlas and therefore Morocco and surrounding areas.This work is part of the I+D+i research projects CGL2009-10840, CGL2009-8969, CGL2012-38481, CGL2016-77560-C2 (C21 and C22) and PID2019-108753GB-C2 (C21 and C22), funded by MICIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by “ERDF A way of making Europe”. Sara Torres acknowledges funding from BES-2010-029970 contract (AEI-Spain). Pablo Calvín acknowledges funding from BES-2013-062988 and PTA2017-14779-I contracts (AEI-Spain).Peer reviewe