Alberto Sols Biomedical Research Institute
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Transfer hydrogenation to bicarbonate salts and CO2 catalyzed by IrCp*-oxyquinolinate complexes
Get PDFCO2 functionalization to afford beneficial products is one of the current scientific greatest challenges. Amongst all the possible transformations, the synthesis of formic acid from CO2 is of high interest due to the enormous industrial production of this chemical. Particularly interesting is the obtention of formic acid via transfer hydrogenation (TH) of CO2, allowing milder reaction conditions and eliminating the need to employ a hazardous gas as H2. Iridium catalysts promoted TH reactions have been widely studied; however, examples of TH to CO2 are very scarce. In our search for the development of new and more efficient catalysts, we have studied the ability of [IrCp*(QO)X] complexes (QO = 8-oxyquinolinate) to promote TH to bicarbonate salts and CO2 to obtain formate salts. The study shows a crucial ligand effect, obtaining the best results when [IrCp*(5,7-Me,Me-QO)Cl] was employed. Under optimized conditions, TON values up to 135 and 60 were obtained for TH to bicarbonate salts, and CO2, respectively. Remarkably, [IrCp*(5,7-Me,Me-QO)Cl] is able to trap and transform atmospheric CO2 into formate saltsAlba Collado thanks the Comunidad de Madrid for a “Proyecto I+D de la CAM para Jóvenes Doctores de la UAM” (SI3/PJI/2021–00520) and the Agencia Estatal de Investigación for a “Consolidación Investigadora 2022” project (CN2022-135687). Kevin Gutiérrez thanks Universidad Autónoma de Madrid for his predoctoral FPI-UAM fellowship. Financial support was provided by the Spanish Government (PID2021-122299NB-100, TED2021-130470B-100, TED2021-129999B-C32), “Comunidad de Madrid”, European Structural Funds (S2018/NMT-4367), and “Proyectos sinérgicos I+D” (Y2020/NMT6469
Simulación en el laboratorio de la fotoquímica en estado sólido en el medio interestelar
Get PDFTesis Doctoral inédita leída en la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Facultad de Ciencias, Departamento de Física Aplicada. Fecha de Lectura: 10-04-2025El desarrollo de este trabajo ha sido posible gracias a la Consejería de Educación, Ciencia y Universidades de la Comunidad de Madrid por la financiación recibida a través de los proyectos PEJD-2018-PRE/IND-9029 y PEJ-2021-AI/IND-2114
A stress-reduction eHealth intervention for healthcare workers in primary care settings: an implementation study
No full textIntroduction: Healthcare systems across Europe are facing significant challenges in retaining and recruiting healthcare workers (HCWs). Mental health problems, including anxiety, depression, and burnout, are major drivers of turnover. Although some psychological interventions, particularly eHealth tools, are effective, they are rarely tested under real-world conditions, widening the research-implementation gap. This study evaluates the implementation outcomes of an eHealth intervention that was shown to reduce anxiety and depression among frontline HCWs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: The study was conducted at a primary care centre affiliated with Hospital Universitario La Paz in Madrid, between October 2023 and February 2024. The intervention “Doing What Matters in Times of Stress” (DWM), consisted of a web-based, self-help tool and was offered in hybrid and remote formats. Mixed methods were employed to assess key implementation outcomes from Proctor’s framework, combining quantitative data from pre- and postintervention assessments with qualitative insights from interviews. Results: Seventeen participants were included in the study, with 59% choosing the hybrid format and 41% selecting remote sessions. Participation rate was 44% and retention rates were 80 and 100% for the hybrid and remote formats, respectively. The intervention was perceived as acceptable, appropriate, and feasible. Flexible delivery formats and robust group dynamics, particularly in the hybrid format, were identified as key contributors to the intervention’s success, enhancing group cohesion and fostering empathy among participants. Barriers, such as stigma and time constraints were identified, while enabling factors included practical content and flexibility. Conclusion: This study evaluated the fidelity, feasibility, acceptability, and appropriateness of DWM intervention and remote/hybrid delivery formats among HCWs at a primary care centre in Madrid. Data suggests future studies should maintain hybrid and remote delivery formats and address specific access challenges. These findings provide crucial insights for expanding mental health interventions for HCWs across diverse settings, with implications for public health policyThe author(s) declare that financial support was received for the research and/or publication of this article. The RESPOND project was funded by the European Commission under Horizon 2020 – the
Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2014–2020) (grant number: 101016127
Human rhinovirus B14 with non-functional drug-binding pockets recovers infectivity through stereochemically constrained mutations that restore capsid flexibility
No full textHuman rhinovirus (RV) is one of the most frequent human pathogens. As causative agents of most common colds, RVs originate serious socioeconomic problems, and they are also associated to or exacerbate severe respiratory diseases. No anti-rhinoviral drugs or vaccines are available yet. In this study, amino acid residues that delimit a druggable pocket in the RV capsid were individually replaced by larger residues, which in most cases resulted in impaired virus infectivity. After serial infections of human host cells, the hampered mutant viruses invariably recovered full infectivity. Sequencing of the viral progeny revealed that, contrary to what has been observed when deleterious mutations were introduced in other virus capsid regions, those mutant RVs did not regain infectivity through the fixation of second-site mutations. Instead, infectivity was always recovered through reversion or pseudo-reversion events that replaced the deleterious bulky residue with a smaller residue, even though this strategy required, in some cases, the improbable fixation of two nucleotides in the corresponding codon. All-atom molecular dynamics simulations and determination of mechanical elasticity by atomic force microscopy revealed that the small-to-large, deleterious mutations reduced the capsid conformational flexibility; and the large-to-small, infectivity-restoring (pseudo)reversions led to recovery of the capsid flexibility. The stereochemistry of this druggable hydrophobic pocket in RV appears to be biologically constrained: The deleterious effect of reducing pocket volume and capsid flexibility is reverted during virus propagation only through same-site mutations that restore pocket volume and capsid flexibility. These constraints may help the further development of anti-RV drugsThis work was funded by MICINN/FEDER EU grants to M.G.M. (PID2021-126973OB-I00), and benefited also from institutional grants from the Severo Ochoa Program for Centers of Excellence in R&D (CEX2021-00154-S) and from the Fundación Ramón Areces. L.V. and V.R.-B. are the respective recipients of Spanish Government FPU and FPI predoctoral research contracts. M.G.M. is an associate member of the Institute for Biocomputation and Physics of Complex Systems, Zaragoza, Spai
Quinoline-based organic frameworks with divergent photocatalytic properties for hydrogen production and furfuryl alcohol oxidation
No full textThe Sonogashira coupling reaction between 1,3,5-triethynylbenzene and two quinoline-based building units6-iodo-2-(4-iodophenyl)-4-phenylquinoline or 6-bromo-2-(5-bromopyridin-2-yl)-4-phenylquinoline resulted in the synthesis of conjugated materials designated as quinoline-based organic frameworks(QOFs), specifically QOF1 and QOF1-N. These materials exhibited comparable structural and photophysical properties and demonstrated their utility in photocatalysis, including hydrogen evolution reactions(HER) and the selective oxidation of furfuryl alcohol to 5-hydroxy-2(5H)-furanone. Interestingly, QOF1-N outperformed QOF1 in the photocatalytic oxidation of furfuryl alcohol via singlet oxygen (1O2),whereas QOF1 exhibited superior efficiency in HER. The divergent photocatalytic activity of these frameworks was attributed to the differences in their electronic structures, which were analyzed using a combination of experimental techniques and theoretical modeling. These findings highlight the potential of tailored QOFs for diverse photocatalytic applications, emphasizing the role of structural and electronic tuning in enhancing catalytic activityRM-Acknowledges that this research received funding through the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation MCIN/AEI/FEDER (10.13039/501100011033) through the project PID2022-141016OB-I00 via Proyectos de Generación de Conocimiento 2022. A.M. acknowledges the Spanish Government and the Funds Next Generation of the European Union through the grant Maria Zambrano-UAM (CA3/RSUE/2021-00648). M.S.-F. thanks Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación for an FPI contract (PRE2020-092295). X.S.-M. acknowledges the financial support from the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia, Inovación y Universidades, through the PID2023-151738NB-I00 gran
Push-pull OPEs in blue-light anticancer photodynamic therapy
No full textPhotodynamic therapy (PDT) is a minimally invasive technique—used for the local eradication of neoplastic cells—that exploits the interaction of light, oxygen, and a photo-responsive drug called photosensitizer (PS) for the local generation of lethal ROS. Push-pull chromophores, that bear electron donor (D) and acceptor (A) groups linked through a π-electron bridge, are characterized by a non-homogeneous charge distribution in their excited state, with charge transfer from one extremity of the chain to the other one (Internal Charge Transfer—ICT). This phenomenon has a direct impact on the photophysical features of the push-pull compounds, as the bathochromic shift of the emission maxima and intersystem crossing (ISC) of the excited state are directly connected with the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). In continuing our research regarding the synthesis and use of oligophenylene ethynylenes (OPEs) in PDT, two new push-pull glycosyl OPE-NOF and OPE-ONF—featuring electron-donor N,N-dimethylamino (N) and dimetoxyaryl (O) and acceptor tetrafluoroaryl (F) moieties on the OPE chain—have been efficiently prepared. The interchanged position of the D groups onto the conjugated skeleton was aimed to tune and optimize the push-pull effect, while the introduction of glucoside terminations was directed to give biocompatibility and bioaffinity to the chromophores. OPE-NOF, OPE-ONF, and the synthetic intermediates were fully characterized, and their photophysical properties were investigated by using UV-Vis absorption and emission spectroscopy. OPE-NOF showed a strong charge-transfer character and high PDT effect on HeLa cancer cells when irradiated with non-harmful blue light, causing massive cancer cell deat
Polarisation: the new 'superword'. Meanings and current uses in English and Spanish
No full textA growing concern in most European countries, ‘polarisation’ has spread far beyond the political arena and is now present in public opinion in a wide variety of social and cultural subjects, from economics to education, health, environment or religion. Rather than an enriching plurality of views, polarisation is mostly perceived as a negative trend that hinders consensus and favours conflict instead, threatening welfare, peace and even democracy. As a result, the word polarisation has become a frequent term in the press. This paper examines the way in which the word polarización/polarisation is used in a corpus of news items collected from four widely read mainstream newspapers, two Spanish and two British, all of them containing the word polarización/polarisation and published in 2022. A combination of Corpus Linguistics methods and a Critical Socio-Cognitive approach to Discourse Analysis has been followed in order to analyse the most common contexts and patterns of usage of the term in the press in these two countries, its negative semantic prosody and collocational behaviour, as well as the underlying schematic conceptualization of the phenomenon as realized in metaphors and image schemas. Even though minor differences have been found, results show significant similarities in Spanish and English, which manifest the negative evaluation associated to the term construed by its collocates, by metaphorical source domains such as DISEASE, WAR or DANGEROUS NATURAL FORCES, as well as by image schemas that impinge on physical and ideological distance. Conclusions suggest that polarisation has become a sociopolitical keyword; a ‘superword’ with enhanced meanings and strong framing effects in the texts in which it occursThis paper is part of the research project PID2020-119102RB-I00, funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033
Direct membrane filtration of municipal wastewater assisted by natural tannin-based coagulant: Insights into membrane fouling and methane production
No full textThis study evaluates the use of tannin-based coagulants in direct membrane filtration (DMF) systems for the up-concentration of organic matter in municipal wastewater and its effects on membrane fouling and methane production by anaerobic digestion. Tannin, a natural and biodegradable coagulant, was applied at concentrations of 10, 20, 30, and 50 mg L−1. The fouling behavior was hydraulic assessed by a series of filtration tests under constant flux, while external and internal foulants were widely characterized, including liquid chromatography coupled with a dissolved organic carbon analyzer. The results revealed a significant reduction in total fouling resistance, particularly external fouling associated with the formation of a cake layer. At concentration of 30 mg L−1, tannin effectively reduced external fouling by promoting particle aggregation and reducing biopolymer deposition, particularly proteins, which were reduced by up to 80 %. That coagulant concentration significantly reduces internal foulants, as evidenced by the sharp decline in biopolymer concentration (from 5.6 to 1.3 mg m−2) and the substantial reduction in humic substances (from 11.2 to 3.2 mg m−2). Moreover, the anaerobic digestion by biochemical methane potential (BMP) tests demonstrated that tannin addition enhanced early-stage methane production due to the presence of easily biodegradable organic matter, leading a methane yield of 391 mL CH4 g−1 VS. In conclusion, tannin-based coagulant presents a promising solution for improving DMF performance by reducing fouling and enhancing energy recovery through biogas productionThe authors wish to thank the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) (Grant number: 23/18242-2) and CNPq (Grant number: 311403/2022-0)
Propuesta de estrategias de internacionalización de las pymes industriales de Guayaquil – Ecuador
No full textTesis Doctoral inédita leída en la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Empresariales, Departamento de Organización de Empresas. Fecha de Lectura: 29-05-2025Las Pymes industriales de Ecuador aportan significativamente a la productividad del país. Este tipo de empresas se consideran generadoras de empleo, siendo el sector que más insumos y materias primas consume. Tanto a nivel académico como empresarial, la internacionalización de las pequeñas y medianas empresas (Pymes) se ha convertido en un tema de creciente interés en el contexto actual de la economía global. Por este motivo, esta investigación analiza las estrategias de internacionalización en Ecuador con el fin de ayudar a proponer una guía para que las Pymes puedan expandirse de forma exitosa. Los resultados mostraron que el acceso a la tecnología y al financiamiento son los factores más importantes al momento que se decide la expansión a mercados internacionales. Por otro lado, el apoyo gubernamental y las redes de negocios generan beneficios para los empresarios. Finalmente, el conocimiento científico y las alianzas públicas-privadas sirven para fortalecer y consolidar el proceso de internacionalización de las Pymes. Los resultados hallados son de ayuda para plantear políticas y estrategias que generar beneficios para las Pymes industriales que desean internacionalizars