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Efficient adsorption of phosphate on magnetic Fe3O4@MOF@LDH superstructures: Kinetics, thermodynamics, and mechanisms
No full textPhosphorus contamination in water systems poses a significant environmental threat, necessitating the need for effective phosphate removal methods. A novel magnetic composite, magnetic Fe3O4@MIL-100(Fe)@Mg-Al layered double hydroxide (LDH), synthesized through a solid-state transformation of MIL-100(Fe) from Fe3O4 followed by in-situ growth of Mg-Al LDH. This innovative hierarchical core/shell/shell structure leverages the magnetic properties of Fe3O4 for easy separation, utilizes MIL-100(Fe) to grow and orient the LDH, and exploits the large ion exchange capacity of Mg-Al LDH nanosheets for efficient phosphate capture. Our experiments demonstrated rapid phosphate removal exceeding 95 % within 10 min, achieving a final concentration of 25.5 μg/L from an initial concentration of 1 mg/L. The adsorption kinetics conformed to a pseudo-second order model, and isothermal data fit the Langmuir model. Thermodynamic analysis indicated spontaneous and exothermic adsorption, with an activation energy of 15.76 kJ mol−1. Enthalpy and entropy findings suggest a decrease in randomness during the adsorption process. Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations revealed that phosphate ions interact strongly with Al sites in the LDH and Fe-O nodes in MIL-100(Fe). Phosphate recovery and sorbent regeneration are accomplished through a simple alkaline wash, which concentrates the recovered phosphate by 4.8 times. This study highlights the potential of Fe3O4@MIL-100(Fe)@Mg-Al LDH as a sustainable and efficient adsorbent for phosphate pollution mitigation, offering significant contributions to environmental protection and resource conservatio
Campeones de la alimentación. Agenda didáctica nivel 2: consejos para tener una alimentación de campeones
No full textEsta agenda didáctica contiene diferentes infografías con información visual sobre las pautas nutricionales y dietéticas para una alimentación saludable, los riesgos alimentarios y medidas higiénicas de prevención y control a nivel doméstico, y sobre la información proporcionada en el etiquetado de los alimentos. Las infografías han sido desarrolladas para usuarios con un nivel de comprensión y lectoescritura bajo (Nivel 2)
Biomarcadores metabólicos e inmunológicos en enfermedades infecciosas respiratorias: Integración de ciencia de datos e inteligencia artificial
Get PDFLas enfermedades infecciosas respiratorias representan uno de los principales retos a los que se enfrentan los sistemas de salud a nivel mundial. La dificultad del manejo de graves enfermedades como la Aspergilosis Invasiva (AI) o el COVID-19 ponen de manifiesto la urgente necesidad del desarrollo de nuevas herramientas de diagnóstico y pronóstico. En este contexto, las nuevas técnicas de inteligencia artificial podrían aportar grandes beneficios.La AI es una enfermedad grave, que afecta principalmente a pacientes inmunocomprometidos y supone una de las causas de muerte más comunes en este tipo de pacientes. Es producida por especies del género Aspergillus, mayoritariamente las pertenecientes a la sección Fumigati. Estas especies son capaces de generar multitud de metabolitos secundarios, entre las que destaca la gliotoxina (GT). La GT posee un amplio espectro de actividades biológicas. Se decidió estudiar su efecto como antimicrobiano contra cepas de Staphylococcus aureus de interés clínico por su resistencia a múltiples fármacos. Nuestros resultados proporcionan observaciones novedosas y amplían los análisis anteriores al demostrar que la GT presenta actividad contra S. aureus resistente a meticilina y con sensibilidad reducida a vancomicina tanto in vitro como en un modelo in vivo desarrollado con Caenorhabditis elegans. Además, la GT muestra un efecto sinérgico con la vancomicina, lo que presenta una perspectiva prometedora.Existe una gran controversia en relación a qué especies fúngicas son capaces de sintetizar GT. Mediante un estudio in silico analizamos la homología de secuencias entre varias proteínas de especies fúngicas similares a la proteína GliP de A. fumigatus (esencial en la biosíntesis de GT). El estudio in vitro corroboró la producción de GT y su derivado inactivo, la bismetilgliotoxina (bmGT) por especies de la sección Fumigati y por Trichoderma virens. En cuanto a la bmGT, ha demostrado ser un biomarcador estable de AI, por lo que se estudió su utilidad como predictor de diagnóstico en una cohorte de pacientes hematológicos. La bmGT y la interleuquina-8 (IL-8) demuestran ser potenciales biomarcadores de AI probable cuando se combinan con los utilizados actualmente en clínica.Por otro lado, la pandemia de COVID-19 ha acentuado la importancia de las infecciones respiratorias como una amenaza global. Combinamos la información de la composición de compuestos orgánicos volátiles expirados e inmunomoduladores séricos para estudiar el diagnóstico y pronóstico de pacientes con COVID-19 y otras infecciones respiratorias. Se muestran perfiles significativamente distintos de estos parámetros. Además, se han desarrollado modelos de predicción basados en machine learning que muestran la importancia de IL-6, IL-8, tolueno y trombomodulina en la predicción de gravedad de los pacientes COVID-19; y CXCL10 y metil isobutil cetona en otras infecciones respiratorias.Nuestros resultados muestran que la integración del análisis de factores producidos por el patógeno y el hospedador durante una infección respiratoria puede mejorar el diagnóstico y el pronóstico de este tipo de enfermedades.<br /
Protein corona as the key factor governing the in vivo fate of magnetic nanoparticles
No full textAdvancements in the field of nanotechnology have opened a myriad of avenues for diverse applications. One such avenue is the role of nanoparticles (NPs) in the healthcare sector, whether it is drug targeting, drug delivery, or imaging, offering unprecedented prospects for improving targeted interventions along with minimal toxicity. Meanwhile, the intricate interplay between the characteristics of NPs and the ensuing biological cross-talk has engendered profound interest among scientists. Amidst the determinants shaping the behavior of NPs within the biological milieu, the biodistribution and pharmacokinetics of the NPs stand as pivotal factors intricately intertwined with their core size, hydrodynamic diameter (HD), coating ligands, as well as the proteins they interact with, forming the protein corona. This article compiles and analyzes the data to decipher the factors determining the fate of NPs in vivo. For this purpose, two IONPs with differing core sizes (≈4 nm and ≈8 nm) but coated with the same gallol-PEG ligand (GA-PEG3000-OH) and possessing very similar HDs (≈35 nm) as well as relaxivity (≈100 mM−1 s−1) were selected. Following physicochemical characterization, both protein coronas were thoroughly analyzed, revealing differences in both the composition and the relative abundance. Later, after determining the negligible cytotoxicity of both NPs, they were intravenously injected into Balb/c mice to evaluate their in vivo biodistribution and pharmacokinetics using MRI. Additionally, biodistribution was further investigated ex vivo by quantitative magnetic analysis of blood and tissues, alongside histological evaluation. Our results evidenced that the protein corona, rather than core size or hydrodynamic diameter, is the determining factor governing the in vivo fate of magnetic NPs
Terrorism and municipality size in Colombia
No full textThis paper examines the persistence of the demographic effects of terrorism on Colombian municipalities between 1985 and 2020. To this end, we propose implementing difference-in-differences estimation techniques that account for heterogeneous effects across units and over time. Our results first highlight the importance of conditioning on covariates to ensure the reliability of the parallel trends assumption in this context. Contrary to previous related studies, we find that terrorist incidents have had lasting adverse effects. Specifically, municipalities that experienced an attack exhibit a 9.3% lower growth over a 10–year period compared to those that were not attacked. Additionally, we show that terrorism exerts its influence through the extensive rather than the intensive margin
Rheological study on xylitol crystallization for its use as phase change material: analytical and statistical analysis
Get PDFIn a global context in which decarbonization of society is wanted through the use of renewable sources, energy storage plays a fundamental role. Among the different forms of energy storage that exists, this work focuses on latent heat energy storage (LHTES) for medium-low temperatures, between 70 °C and 120 °C. Xylitol, a sugar-alcohol, is a promising phase change material (PCM) due to its low cost, low corrosivity, high latent heat (240 J/g) and a melting temperature of 92 °C. However, its use as PCM is hindered by a high degree of supercooling and a low crystallization rate. To address these challenges, this work used a seeding and shearing technique to trigger crystallization. Rheological experiments were performed to monitor viscosity changes during crystallization, in order to study the crystallization induction time. The systematic analysis included the effects of temperature (70–90 °C), shear rate(1-100s−1), and seed crystal size (300–400 μm and 600–700 μm). Key results show that temperature is the most dominant factor. The shortest induction time at 70 °C was found at 10s, increasing to 1500s at 90 °C. Increasing seed size and reducing the rheometer gap also shortened induction times, while shear rate had minimal influence, likely due to non-uniform shear during the test. For practical applications, operating at 80 °C is recommended to balance induction time and energy loss due to supercooling. Optimizing shear-triggered mechanism, such as stirred tanks designs, can improve crystallization controllability
Mediterranean diet and obesity polygenic risk interaction on adiposity in European children: The <scp>IDEFICS</scp>/I.Family Study
No full textTo examine whether changes in the Mediterranean Diet (MD) or any of its MD food groups modulate the genetic susceptibility to obesity in European youth, both in cross‐sectional and longitudinal analyses.MethodsFor cross‐sectional analysis, 1982 participants at baseline, 1649 in follow‐up 1 (FU1) and 1907 in follow‐up 2 (FU2), aged 2–16 years of the IDEFICS/I.Family studies were considered. For the longitudinal design, 1254 participants were included. Adherence to MD was assessed using the Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS), and genetic susceptibility to high BMI was assessed with a polygenic risk score (BMI‐PRS). Multiple linear regression models were fitted to estimate gene × MD effects on markers of obesity.ResultsIn cross‐sectional analyses, at baseline, higher MDS was associated with higher BMI in children with high genetic susceptibility (β = 0.12; 95% CI = [0.01, 0.24]). However, 6 years later, at FU2, higher MDS was associated with lower BMI (β = −0.19; 95% CI = [−0.38, −0.01]) in children with high genetic susceptibility, showing an attenuating MDS effect. Also in FU2, vegetables and legumes (V&L) showed inverse associations with BMI (β = −0.01; CI = [−0.02, −0.00]) and WC (β = −0.02; CI = [−0.03, −0.00]) regardless of the obesity genetic risk, although the effect sizes were small. In the longitudinal analyses, no MDS‐obesity associations or gene × diet interaction effects were observed.ConclusionsIn cross‐sectional analysis (baseline and FU2), the MD modulated the association between obesity susceptibility and adiposity indicators in European youth, having an exacerbating effect in children measured during infancy years and an attenuating effect in early adolescent years
Phenotypic expression of rare progressive cardiac conduction disease variants in the general population
Get PDFAims
Familial progressive cardiac conduction disease (PCCD) is a heritable condition leading to conduction defects that may require pacemaker implantation. The penetrance of rare PCCD variants in general populations and relationship with electrocardiogram (ECG) trait polygenic risk scores (PRS) is unknown. We investigated the prevalence and phenotypic expression of rare variants linked with PCCD in a population cohort and to establish whether ECG-trait PRSs improve risk prediction.
Methods and results
Carriers of known rare pathogenic/likely pathogenic (P/LP) PCCD variants, and variants of uncertain significance (VUS) were identified in 469 511 UK Biobank participants. Primary (any conduction disease) and secondary (high-grade AV block and pacemaker implantation) outcomes were evaluated in lifetime-risk Cox proportional hazard models including rare variant status, sex, and age. Additional models including PR and QRS PRSs were tested. There were 25 P/LP carriers (5 genes) and 3174 VUS carriers (4 genes). Conduction disease was more prevalent in P/LP individuals compared with non-carriers (28% vs. 5.3%, P &lt; 0.001) with a hazard ratio (HR) of 6.60 (95% CI = 3.14–13.8) over 6.5 million person-years of follow-up and C-index 0.602 (0.599–0.605). This was driven by AV block (HR 23.2 [8.7–61.8]) and pacemaker implantation (HR 13.4 [6.01–29.8]). All individuals were aged &gt;50 at diagnosis. Combined with P/LP status, PR-PRS and QRS-PRS improved model performance (C-index 0.618 [0.615–0.622]).
Conclusion
In a population-based cohort, PCCD P/LP variant carriers were at greater risk of conduction disease. Including PRSs for the PR and QRS improved risk prediction, supporting the combination of rare and common variants in risk assessment
Investigación pediátrica en España: desafíos y oportunidades
No full textIntroducción. La investigación pediátrica es clave para mejorar el diagnóstico, tratamiento y prevención de las enfermedades pediátricas. A pesar de su importancia, sigue infradotada y subrepresentada frente a la investigación en adultos en España y frente a la investigación pediátrica en otros países. Objetivo. Identificar las principales barreras de la investigación pediátrica en España y proponer estrategias para fortalecer su desarrollo y su integración en el sistema sanitario. Métodos. El grupo de trabajo INVEST-AEP realizó un análisis del estado actual de la investigación pediátrica en España. Se identificaron barreras en financiación, formación, carga asistencial y burocracia, y se proponen estrategias de mejora. Resultados. Las principales barreras incluyen la baja financiación (5% de las ayudas nacionales ISCIII), la escasa formación en investigación (tanto en pregrado como durante la residencia MIR), la elevada carga asistencial sin tiempo protegido para investigar y la escasez de redes colaborativas. La situación es aún más crítica en atención primaria. Actualmente la investigación carece del reconocimiento suficiente en las oposiciones y en la carrera profesional. Se identificaron modelos de éxito, como mejoras en la formación de estudiantes de medicina y residentes, consolidación de redes estructuradas, financiación específica, tiempo protegido para la investigación, centralización de los comités de ética y reconocimiento de la investigación en concursos y oposiciones. Conclusiones. Es urgente implementar estrategias para fortalecer la investigación pediátrica en España que incluyan mayor inversión, programas formativos y redes colaborativas. El pediatra debe integrar asistencia, docencia e investigación. Pediatras, instituciones, universidades y gobiernos deben impulsar la investigación pediátrica para mejorar la salud infantil y posicionar a España como referente
Multi-scenario land use simulation for fast human growth regions: A case study of Zambia's Solwezi mining district
No full textMining operations in developing countries drive rapid land-use changes, with significant socio-economic and environmental impacts. This study analyses future land-use dynamics in Zambia's Solwezi District from 2022 to 2050, applying the Patch-generating Land Use Simulation (PLUS) model across four scenarios: sustainable development (S1), business-as-usual (S2), fast development (S3), and unrestricted development (S4). Results highlight contrasting outcomes. S4, characterised by minimal regulatory oversight, leads to forest loss exceeding 1000 km2, urban area expansion by 200 km2, and mining growth of 85 km2, illustrating the ecological risks of unchecked development. In comparison, S3 projects forest loss of 914 km2, urban growth of 170 km2, and mining expansion of 45 km2, while S2 predicts forest loss of 753 km2, urban growth of 150 km2, and mining expansion of 38 km2. S1 reflects a balanced growth model with forest loss limited to 631 km2, urban growth of 120 km2, and mining expansion constrained to 30 km2, demonstrating the feasibility of harmonising economic development with ecological preservation through robust land management. Findings emphasize the critical role of land use planning in mitigating the negative impacts of mining and urban expansion. S1 provides a viable pathway for sustainable development, aligning with global sustainability targets by limiting the conversion of ecologically sensitive areas. S2 and S3 indicate a gradual erosion of ecosystem services, while S4 highlights the severe consequences of unregulated growth, including environmental degradation, pollution, and social challenges. These results highlight the need for strong governance frameworks to manage land use and promote sustainable development in mining regions