Recent advances in the design and photocatalytic enhanced performance of gold plasmonic nanostructures decorated with non-titania based semiconductor hetero-nanoarchitectures

Plasmonic photocatalysts combining metallic nanoparticles and semiconductors have been aimed as versatile alternatives to drive light-assisted catalytic chemical reactions beyond the ultraviolet (UV) regions, and overcome one of the major drawbacks of the most exploited photocatalysts (TiO2 or ZnO). The strong size and morphology dependence of metallic nanostructures to tune their visible to near-infrared (vis-NIR) light harvesting capabilities has been combined with the design of a wide variety of architectures for the semiconductor supports to promote the selective activity of specific crystallographic facets. The search for efficient heterojunctions has been subjected to numerous studies, especially those involving gold nanostructures and titania semiconductors. In the present review, we paid special attention to the most recent advances in the design of gold-semiconductor hetero-nanostructures including emerging metal oxides such as cerium oxide or copper oxide (CeO2 or Cu2O) or metal chalcogenides such as copper sulfide or cadmium sulfides (CuS or CdS). These alternative hybrid materials were thoroughly built in past years to target research fields of strong impact, such as solar energy conversion, water splitting, environmental chemistry, or nanomedicine. Herein, we evaluate the influence of tuning the morphologies of the plasmonic gold nanostructures or the semiconductor interacting structures, and how these variations in geometry, either individual or combined, have a significant influence on the final photocatalytic performance

High-radiance LED-driven fluidized bed photoreactor for the complete oxidation of n-hexane in air

This work presents a highly efficient photo-reactor configuration for VOC abatement. It consists of a fluidized bed made of commercial, easy to fluidize, transparent borosilicate glass beads coated with commercial TiO2 nanoparticles (0.15–2.3 wt% loadings). Herein, we demonstrate that the use of high-radiance/low consumption UV-LEDs as irradiation sources with a deeper light penetration under fluidizing conditions facilitates the photocatalytic response to achieve the complete oxidation of VOCs. The role of different parameters such as catalyst loading and irradiation power have been thoroughly studied and evaluated to maximize the full combustion of n-hexane. Under the high radiance (up to 2200 mW/cm2) conditions used the bed heats significantly (up to 190 °C), although this did not have an effect on the conversions reached, which depended solely on the wavelength and power used. The productivity of the photoreactor tested and the space velocity used were around 5.25 × 10-2 mol/g·h and 12000 h-1 respectively

Short-term effects of traffic noise on suicides and emergency hospital admissions due to anxiety and depression in Madrid (Spain)

Studies show a relationship between some mental illnesses and suicides and different environmental variables such as air pollution, characterized by stress at the neuropsychological level. Despite the fact that traffic noise is also a powerful neurological stressor, studies that relate traffic noise to these mental disorders are practically non-existent. The objective is to analyze the short-term impact that chemical air pollution, traffic noise and thermal extremes have on emergency hospital admissions due to anxiety, dementia and suicides in the city of Madrid. This ecological, longitudinal study uses generalized linear models with Poisson link to analyze the short-term impact of the average daily concentrations of chemical pollutants (NO2, PM10, PM2.5, O3), noise pollution indicators (Leqday, Leqnight and Leq24h) and temperatures during heat waves (Theat) and cold waves (Tcold) on daily admissions to emergency services in the city of Madrid from 2010 to 2013 due to anxiety (ICD-10: F32), depression (ICD-10: F40-F42) and suicide (ICD-10: X60-X84). The results show no association between any of the chemical pollutants considered and the dependent variables studied. On the contrary, the values of Leqday are associated with the three variables analyzed in lag 0 for the cases of anxiety and depression and in lag 1 for suicides, with RR: 1.20 (IC95% 1.14 1.26), RR: 1.11 (IC95% 1.06 1.16) and RR: 1.17 (IC95% 1.05 1.30), respectively, for increases of 1 dB(A) in the values of Leqday. An association was also found between Tcold and admissions for anxiety in lag 9 with RR: 1.62 (IC95% 1.18 2.22) for increases of 1 °C in the values of Tcold. Traffic noise can be considered an important risk factor related to the illnesses and anxiety and depression and for suicides in the city of Madrid, although new studies are needed to support the findings shown here.The authors gratefully acknowledge Project ENPY 376/18 and Project ENPY 107/18 grants from the Institute of Health Carlos III.S

Laser-driven direct synthesis of carbon nanodots and application as sensitizers for visible-light photocatalysis

We present the first successful synthesis of monodisperse carbon nanodots (CNDs) with tunable photoluminescence (PL) carried out by laser pyrolysis of two common volatile organic precursors such as toluene and pyridine. Remarkably, the initial chemical composition of the precursor determines the formation of undoped or N-doped CNDs and their corresponding absorption response in the visible range (expanded for the latter). We demonstrate the control and versatility of this synthesis method to tune the final outcome and its potential to explore a great number of potential solvent candidates. Furthermore, we have successfully exploited these CNDs (both undoped and N-doped) as effective sensitizers of TiO2 nanoparticles in the visible-light driven photo-degradation of a cationic dye selected as model organic pollutant

Distributed measurements of vibration frequency using phase-OTDR with a DFB laser self-stabilized through PM fiber ring cavity

We have evaluated the performance of a phase-sensitive optical time domain reflectometry (φ-OTDR) system for vibration measurements utilizing a conventional telecom DFB laser self-stabilized through an external PM optical fiber ring resonator. This low-cost solution is directly compared with the use of a commercial, ultra-narrow linewidth (∼100 Hz) fiber laser implemented into the same setup. Both systems are tested for measurement of the frequency of vibration applied to a fiber at a distance of 3500 m. The obtained SNR value higher than 6 dB demonstrates the ability of the DFB laser to perform distributed measurements of vibrations with frequencies up to 5600 Hz with a spatial resolution of 10 m

Characterization and Enhancement of Non-Invasive Recordings of Intestinal Myoelectrical Activity

Non

Estudio de casos y controles entre anastomosis intra y extracorpórea en pacientes intervenidos de hemicolectomía derecha laparoscópica

Introduction: There is still insufficient scientific evidence on which is the best technique to perform the anastomosis -intracorporeal (IC) or extracorporeal (EC)- in right laparoscopic hemicolectomy. The objective of the present study is to determine whether there are differences to compare in both techniques. Material and methods: A study was performed on a prospective patient series subjected to right laparoscopic hemicolectomy in our Hospital. The preoperative and the postoperative variables associated with complications recorded depending on the type of anastomosis. Results: A total of 60 patients were intervened form June 2004 to June 2010 (35 IC; 25 EC). There were no significant differences between both groups as regards baseline preoperative characteristics or associated comorbidities. The median operation time was 212 minutes (142-305 min), with no significant difference between both techniques. The number of lymph nodes removed was higher in the IC group (21 versus 14; p = 0.03). The beginning of oral tolerance and the first bowel movement were significantly earlier in the IC group. The complications rate was similar for both groups (14% IC; 16% EC; p = 0.89). Three patients in the IC group had anastomosis dehiscence. The mortality rate was 2.8% (one patient in each group). Conclusion: Intracorporeal versus extracorporeal anastomosis in right laparoscopic hemicolectomy can obtain a higher number of resected lymph nodes and an earlier oral tolerance and intestinal transit

Higher Grading Conformal Affine Toda Teory and (Generalized) Sine-Gordon/Massive Thirring Duality

Some properties of the higher grading integrable generalizations of the conformal affine Toda systems are studied. The fields associated to the non-zero grade generators are Dirac spinors. The effective action is written in terms of the Wess-Zumino-Novikov-Witten (WZNW) action associated to an affine Lie algebra, and an off-critical theory is obtained as the result of the spontaneous breakdown of the conformal symmetry. Moreover, the off-critical theory presents a remarkable equivalence between the Noether and topological currents of the model. Related to the off-critical model we define a real and local Lagrangian provided some reality conditions are imposed on the fields of the model. This real action model is expected to describe the soliton sector of the original model, and turns out to be the master action from which we uncover the weak-strong phases described by (generalized) massive Thirring and sine-Gordon type models, respectively. The case of any (untwisted) affine Lie algebra furnished with the principal gradation is studied in some detail. The example of $\hat{sl}(n) (n=2,3)$ is presented explicitly.Comment: 28 pages, JHEP styl

Peutz-Jeghers syndrome and duodeno-jejunal adenocarcinoma-therapeutic implications

The Peutz-Jeghers syndrome (PJS) is an autosomal dominant hamartomatous poliposis describred in 1921. Hemminki in 1997 described the presence of LKB-1 mutation tumor-suppressor gen.The patients with PJS develop a higher cumulative incidence of gastrointestinal, pancreas and extraintestinal tumors, being occasion of a renew interest on hamartomatous polyposis syndromes regarding the clinical care, cancer surveillance treatment and long term follow-up.We report the case of a 38 years old male, diagnosed of PJS who developed a multiple adenocarcinoma in duodenum and yeyunum. Surgically treated and with a long-term free disease survival of 11 years represents the sixth case reported in the spanish literature of PJS associated with a gastrointestinal tumor.A critical review, molecular alterations and the established criteria of tumor screening and surveillance are reviewed