Polimerización de benzoxazinas funcionalizadas. Estudio mecanístico.

Actualmente en el campo de los materiales poliméricos se está desarrollando un nuevo tipo de resinas fenólicas a partir de las 3,4-dihidro-2H-1,3-benzoxazinas. La síntesis de estos compuestos heterocíclicos tiene lugar por reacción de un fenol, una amina primaria y formaldehído. Estos monómeros bajo la acción de temperatura o catalizadores dan lugar a las polibenzoxazinas mediante un proceso de apertura de anillo.Los polímeros resultantes poseen buena estabilidad térmica, interesantes propiedades mecánicas, además de una excelente resistencia química y a la radiación UV. El pequeño cambio de volumen que experimentan durante el proceso de polimerización junto con su baja viscosidad que facilita el procesado los hacen muy útiles en la industria. Su baja constante dieléctrica y su bajo nivel de absorción de agua hacen que sean especialmente utilizados como soportes electrónicos. Por último, cabe destacar que la presencia de nitrógeno y anillos aromáticos les confiere cierto carácter retardante a la llama.Normalmente la polimerización de benzoxazinas transcurre a elevadas temperaturas, generalmente superiores a 200ºC. Sin embargo, es habitual el uso de catalizadores de naturaleza ácida para facilitar el proceso. Así, los mecanismos de propagación descritos en la literatura para la polimerización de este tipo de monómeros son de naturaleza catiónica y están basados en el ataque de las posiciones nucleófilas al anillo heterocíclico activado.La mayoría de las benzoxazinas utilizadas a nivel industrial para la obtención de materiales son difuncionales, como las derivadas del Bisfenol-A, ya que dan lugar a estructuras entrecruzadas. Este hecho hace que la mayoría de estudios realizados hasta el momento hagan referencia a este tipo de compuestos y no a las benzoxazinas monofuncionales, por lo que existe poca información acerca del mecanismo y la estructura de este tipo de polímeros. Por esta razón, en este trabajo se ha estudiado la formación de polímeros mediante la polimerización de benzoxazinas monofuncionales preparadas expresamente para dicho fin.Así, el objetivo principal ha consistido en la realización de un minucioso estudio del mecanismo de polimerización. Para ello, se ha llevado a cabo la síntesis de una familia de benzoxazinas que contienen grupos con distinto carácter electrónico, a partir de distintos fenoles y aminas aromáticas, optimizando los métodos de síntesis existentes.En primer lugar se ha estudiado la polimerización térmica de dichos monómeros mediante calorimetría diferencial de barrido, teniendo en cuenta principalmente la influencia de sustituyentes con diferente carácter electrónico sobre la temperatura de polimerización. Además, también se ha estudiado la polimerización térmica en monómeros altamente reactivos que contienen grupos ácido y fenol, observando el efecto activador que originan estos grupos sobre la polimerización.Se ha propuesto un nuevo sistema iniciador consistente en la combinación de trifluoruro de boro con alcoholes basándose en los resultados obtenidos en la polimerización térmica. Este sistema resulta especialmente efectivo en la polimerización en solución de este tipo de monómeros, permitiendo obtener los correspondientes polímeros con elevadas conversiones en unas condiciones de polimerización muy suaves. Se ha demostrado que con este sistema iniciador el mecanismo de propagación es distinto al descrito en la literatura. Se ha propuesto un nuevo mecanismo de polimerización en base a estudios cinéticos, a la caracterización microestructural por RMN, y a la realización de experimentos con monómeros marcados isotópicamente con deuterio.Finalmente, se ha llevado a cabo un estudio de la polimerización térmica de monómeros benzoxazínicos que contienen a la vez grupos glicidilo en su estructura, pudiéndose llegar a separar los dos procesos de polimerización con el uso de catalizadores. Este hecho ha permitido la obtención de poliéteres lineales con grupos benzoxazina laterales, pudiendo ser entrecruzados a temperaturas superiores.Nowadays, in the field of polymeric materials a new type of phenolic resins are being developed from 3,4-dihydro-2H-1,3-benzoxazines. The synthesis of these compounds takes place by reaction of a phenol, a primary amine and formaldehyde. These monomers give polybenzoxazines by means of temperature or catalysts by a ring-opening process.The resulting polymers exhibit good thermal stability, interesting mechanical properties, and excellent resistance to chemicals and radiation UV. The low change of volume during polymerization together with their low viscosity facilitates its processing in industrial applications. Their low dielectric constant and low water absorption make them useful in electronic applications. Finally, the presence of nitrogen and aromatic rings contributes to confer them a flame retardant character.Usually, the benzoxazine polymerization is carried out at high temperatures, generally exceeding 200ºC. Nevertheless, is typical to use acidic catalyst to accelerate the process. The propagation mechanism of benzoxazine polimerization described in the literature is cationic and proceeds through the attack of the nucleophilic positions to the oxonium activated heterocyclic ring.Most benzoxazines used in the industry are difunctional like the Bisphenol-A derivate, and lead to crosslinked materials. Consequently there is not much information concerning the mechanism of polymerization and the structure of these polymers. For this reason this work is focused on the study of the polymer formation by means the use of monofunctional benzoxazines that have been synthesised for this purpose.The main aim of this work is to establish a feasible polymerization mechanism. For this reason a family of benzoxazines containing functional groups with different electron-withdrawing o electron-donating capacity has been prepared.First, the thermal polymerization of these monomers has been studied by differential scanning calorimetry, analysing the influence of the electronic character of the substituents in the polymerization temperature. Moreover, the thermal polymerization of highly reactive monomers that containing acid and phenol groups has been studied. In this case a relationship between the acidity of these groups and the activating effect has been established.Based in the thermal polymerization results a new initiator system consisting in a combination of BF3 and alcohols has been proposed. This initiator system results especially effective in the polymerization in solution of this type of monomers allowing to obtain the corresponding polymers with high conversions in mild polymerization conditions. It has been demonstrated that with this initiator the propagation mechanism is different to the described in the literature. A new polymerization mechanism has been proposed in basis of kinetic studies, NMR microstructural characterization of the polymers and deuterium isotopic labelling experiments.Finally, the thermal polymerization of benzoxazinic monomers that contain glycidyl groups in their structure has been studied. It has been possible to separate the two polymerization processes with the use of an appropriate catalyst. This result allows to prepare linear polyethers with pendant benzoxazine groups that can be further crosslinked at higher temperatures

Global assessment of marine plastic exposure risk for oceanic birds

Plastic pollution is distributed patchily around the world’s oceans. Likewise, marine organisms that are vulnerable to plastic ingestion or entanglement have uneven distributions. Understanding where wildlife encounters plastic is crucial for targeting research and mitigation. Oceanic seabirds, particularly petrels, frequently ingest plastic, are highly threatened, and cover vast distances during foraging and migration. However, the spatial overlap between petrels and plastics is poorly understood. Here we combine marine plastic density estimates with individual movement data for 7137 birds of 77 petrel species to estimate relative exposure risk. We identify high exposure risk areas in the Mediterranean and Black seas, and the northeast Pacific, northwest Pacific, South Atlantic and southwest Indian oceans. Plastic exposure risk varies greatly among species and populations, and between breeding and non-breeding seasons. Exposure risk is disproportionately high for Threatened species. Outside the Mediterranean and Black seas, exposure risk is highest in the high seas and Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) of the USA, Japan, and the UK. Birds generally had higher plastic exposure risk outside the EEZ of the country where they breed. We identify conservation and research priorities, and highlight that international collaboration is key to addressing the impacts of marine plastic on wide-ranging species

Novel genes and sex differences in COVID-19 severity

[EN] Here, we describe the results of a genome-wide study conducted in 11 939 coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) positive cases with an extensive clinical information that were recruited from 34 hospitals across Spain (SCOURGE consortium). In sex-disaggregated genome-wide association studies for COVID-19 hospitalization, genome-wide significance (P < 5 × 10−8) was crossed for variants in 3p21.31 and 21q22.11 loci only among males (P = 1.3 × 10−22 and P = 8.1 × 10−12, respectively), and for variants in 9q21.32 near TLE1 only among females (P = 4.4 × 10−8). In a second phase, results were combined with an independent Spanish cohort (1598 COVID-19 cases and 1068 population controls), revealing in the overall analysis two novel risk loci in 9p13.3 and 19q13.12, with fine-mapping prioritized variants functionally associated with AQP3 (P = 2.7 × 10−8) and ARHGAP33 (P = 1.3 × 10−8), respectively. The meta-analysis of both phases with four European studies stratified by sex from the Host Genetics Initiative (HGI) confirmed the association of the 3p21.31 and 21q22.11 loci predominantly in males and replicated a recently reported variant in 11p13 (ELF5, P = 4.1 × 10−8). Six of the COVID-19 HGI discovered loci were replicated and an HGI-based genetic risk score predicted the severity strata in SCOURGE. We also found more SNP-heritability and larger heritability differences by age (<60 or ≥60 years) among males than among females. Parallel genome-wide screening of inbreeding depression in SCOURGE also showed an effect of homozygosity in COVID-19 hospitalization and severity and this effect was stronger among older males. In summary, new candidate genes for COVID-19 severity and evidence supporting genetic disparities among sexes are provided.S

Global assessment of marine plastic exposure risk for oceanic birds

Plastic pollution is distributed patchily around the world's oceans. Likewise, marine organisms that are vulnerable to plastic ingestion or entanglement have uneven distributions. Understanding where wildlife encounters plastic is crucial for targeting research and mitigation. Oceanic seabirds, particularly petrels, frequently ingest plastic, are highly threatened, and cover vast distances during foraging and migration. However, the spatial overlap between petrels and plastics is poorly understood. Here we combine marine plastic density estimates with individual movement data for 7137 birds of 77 petrel species to estimate relative exposure risk. We identify high exposure risk areas in the Mediterranean and Black seas, and the northeast Pacific, northwest Pacific, South Atlantic and southwest Indian oceans. Plastic exposure risk varies greatly among species and populations, and between breeding and non-breeding seasons. Exposure risk is disproportionately high for Threatened species. Outside the Mediterranean and Black seas, exposure risk is highest in the high seas and Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) of the USA, Japan, and the UK. Birds generally had higher plastic exposure risk outside the EEZ of the country where they breed. We identify conservation and research priorities, and highlight that international collaboration is key to addressing the impacts of marine plastic on wide-ranging species.B.L.C., C.H., and A.M. were funded by the Cambridge Conservation Initiative’s Collaborative Fund sponsored by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation. E.J.P. was supported by the Natural Environment Research Council C-CLEAR doctoral training programme (Grant no. NE/S007164/1). We are grateful to all those who assisted with the collection and curation of tracking data. Further details are provided in the Supplementary Acknowledgements. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.Peer reviewe

Global assessment of marine plastic exposure risk for oceanic birds

Plastic pollution is distributed patchily around the world’s oceans. Likewise, marine organisms that are vulnerable to plastic ingestion or entanglement have uneven distributions. Understanding where wildlife encounters plastic is crucial for targeting research and mitigation. Oceanic seabirds, particularly petrels, frequently ingest plastic, are highly threatened, and cover vast distances during foraging and migration. However, the spatial overlap between petrels and plastics is poorly understood. Here we combine marine plastic density estimates with individual movement data for 7137 birds of 77 petrel species to estimate relative exposure risk. We identify high exposure risk areas in the Mediterranean and Black seas, and the northeast Pacific, northwest Pacific, South Atlantic and southwest Indian oceans. Plastic exposure risk varies greatly among species and populations, and between breeding and non-breeding seasons. Exposure risk is disproportionately high for Threatened species. Outside the Mediterranean and Black seas, exposure risk is highest in the high seas and Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) of the USA, Japan, and the UK. Birds generally had higher plastic exposure risk outside the EEZ of the country where they breed. We identify conservation and research priorities, and highlight that international collaboration is key to addressing the impacts of marine plastic on wide-ranging species

Global assessment of marine plastic exposure risk for oceanic birds.

Plastic pollution is distributed patchily around the world's oceans. Likewise, marine organisms that are vulnerable to plastic ingestion or entanglement have uneven distributions. Understanding where wildlife encounters plastic is crucial for targeting research and mitigation. Oceanic seabirds, particularly petrels, frequently ingest plastic, are highly threatened, and cover vast distances during foraging and migration. However, the spatial overlap between petrels and plastics is poorly understood. Here we combine marine plastic density estimates with individual movement data for 7137 birds of 77 petrel species to estimate relative exposure risk. We identify high exposure risk areas in the Mediterranean and Black seas, and the northeast Pacific, northwest Pacific, South Atlantic and southwest Indian oceans. Plastic exposure risk varies greatly among species and populations, and between breeding and non-breeding seasons. Exposure risk is disproportionately high for Threatened species. Outside the Mediterranean and Black seas, exposure risk is highest in the high seas and Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) of the USA, Japan, and the UK. Birds generally had higher plastic exposure risk outside the EEZ of the country where they breed. We identify conservation and research priorities, and highlight that international collaboration is key to addressing the impacts of marine plastic on wide-ranging species.B.L.C., C.H. and A.M. were funded by the Cambridge Conservation Initiative’s Collaborative Fund sponsored by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation. E.J.P. was supported by the Natural Environment Research Council C-CLEAR doctoral training programme (Grant no. NE/S007164/1)

Global assessment of marine plastic exposure risk for oceanic birds

Acknowledgements: B.L.C., C.H., and A.M. were funded by the Cambridge Conservation Initiative’s Collaborative Fund sponsored by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation. E.J.P. was supported by the Natural Environment Research Council C-CLEAR doctoral training programme (Grant no. NE/S007164/1). We are grateful to all those who assisted with the collection and curation of tracking data. Further details are provided in the Supplementary Acknowledgements. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.Funder: Cambridge Conservation Initiative’s Collaborative Fund sponsored by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation. Cambridge, UK.Plastic pollution is distributed patchily around the world’s oceans. Likewise, marine organisms that are vulnerable to plastic ingestion or entanglement have uneven distributions. Understanding where wildlife encounters plastic is crucial for targeting research and mitigation. Oceanic seabirds, particularly petrels, frequently ingest plastic, are highly threatened, and cover vast distances during foraging and migration. However, the spatial overlap between petrels and plastics is poorly understood. Here we combine marine plastic density estimates with individual movement data for 7137 birds of 77 petrel species to estimate relative exposure risk. We identify high exposure risk areas in the Mediterranean and Black seas, and the northeast Pacific, northwest Pacific, South Atlantic and southwest Indian oceans. Plastic exposure risk varies greatly among species and populations, and between breeding and non-breeding seasons. Exposure risk is disproportionately high for Threatened species. Outside the Mediterranean and Black seas, exposure risk is highest in the high seas and Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) of the USA, Japan, and the UK. Birds generally had higher plastic exposure risk outside the EEZ of the country where they breed. We identify conservation and research priorities, and highlight that international collaboration is key to addressing the impacts of marine plastic on wide-ranging species