374472 research outputs found
Sort by
The European Research Infrastructure for Heritage Science (E-RIHS) and its Spanish national node
No full textTechnoHeritage 2024
Red de Ciencia y Tecnología para la Conservación del Patrimonio Cultural
REAL SOCIEDAD ESPAÑOLA DE QUÍMICA (RSEQ)The European Research Infrastructure for Heritage Science (E-RIHS) is an initiative aimed at supporting research
in the field of Heritage Science, that is, the interdisciplinary research domain of the scientific study of cultural
heritage, focused on understanding, conservation, sustainable use and management of heritage.
E-RIHS will provide services to the interdisciplinary community of heritage scientists, by providing access to a
wide range of state-of-the-art scientific equipment and expert knowledge of scientists and technicians operating
it; creating a digital infrastructure for access to digital tools and databases for heritage science research, including
imaging, data analytics, and documentation technologies; fostering a collaborative environment by bringing
together experts from various disciplines such as conservation science, archaeology, art history, and chemistry,
among others, to work on heritage science projects; and training the next generation of heritage scientists by
offering workshops, courses, and seminars.
E-RIHS is the culmination of more than 20 years of European projects (Labstech, EuArtech, CHARISMA,
IPERION CH and IPERION HS). In 2016, it entered the European Strategic Forum for Research Infrastructures
(ESFRI) roadmap, and it is in the process of becoming a European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC)
in the coming months, with the support of 9 countries and the intergovernmental organization ICCROM.
It is structured as a distributed infrastructure, with a Central Hub in Florence (Italy), serving as a unique access
point to the infrastructure; and National Nodes, through which the different facilities will provide the services.
The Spanish National Node of E-RIHS (E-RIHS.es) is coordinated by CSIC, and composed of laboratories and
archives from eight institutions: CSIC (CENIM, IQF, IGEO and URICI), CENIEH, CNA, UPV-EHU, UAB, UAM,
CCRBC JCyL and IPCE-MCD. In 2022, it launched a pilot call for access to facilities of these institutions, aimed
at Spanish researchers in the field of heritage science.
E-RIHS was presented in TechnoHeritage 2017 in Cádiz. In this communication, we will present the advancements
of the European infrastructure and the Spanish Node since then, with special attention to the most recent
evolution and the expected developments for the near future
Hysteresis, Rectification, and Relaxation Times of Nanofluidic Pores for Neuromorphic Circuit Applications
No full textBased on the emergence of iontronic fluidic components for brain-inspired computation, the general dynamical behavior of nanopore channels is discussed. The main memory effects of fluidic nanopores are obtained by the combination of rectification and hysteresis. Rectification is imparted by an intrinsic charge asymmetry that affects the ionic current across the nanopores. It is accurately described by a background conductivity and a higher conduction branch that is activated by a state variable. Hysteresis produces self-crossing diagrams, in which the high current side shows inductive hysteresis, and the low current side presents capacitive hysteresis. These properties are well captured by measurements of impedance spectroscopy that show the correspondent spectra in each voltage wing. The detailed properties of hysteresis and transient response are determined by the relaxation time of the gating variable, that is inspired in the Hodgkin-Huxley neuron model. The classification of effects based on simple models provides a general guidance of the prospective application of artificial nanopore channels in neuromorphic computation according to the measurement of complementary techniques.This work was funded by the European Research Council (ERC) via Horizon Europe Advanced Grant, grant agreement n° 101097688 (“PeroSpiker”)
The impact of interfacial quality and nanoscale performance disorder on the stability of alloyed perovskite solar cells
Get PDFMicroscopy provides a proxy for assessing the operation of perovskite solar cells, yet most works in the literature have focused on bare perovskite thin films, missing charge transport and recombination losses present in full devices. Here we demonstrate a multimodal operando microscopy toolkit to measure and spatially correlate nanoscale charge transport losses, recombination losses and chemical composition. By applying this toolkit to the same scan areas of state-of-the-art, alloyed perovskite cells before and after extended operation, we show that devices with the highest macroscopic performance have the lowest initial performance spatial heterogeneity-a crucial link that is missed in conventional microscopy. We show that engineering stable interfaces is critical to achieving robust devices. Once the interfaces are stabilized, we show that compositional engineering to homogenize charge extraction and to minimize variations in local power conversion efficiency is critical to improve performance and stability. We find that in our device space, perovskites can tolerate spatial disorder in chemistry, but not charge extraction.K.F. acknowledges an Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Doctoral Prize Postdoctoral Fellowship, George and Lilian Schiff Studentship, Winton Sustainability Fund Studentship and an EPSRC studentship. C.C. acknowledges the support of a Marshall Scholarship and Winton Sustainability Fund Studentship. We acknowledge the Diamond Light Source (Didcot, Oxfordshire, UK) for providing beamtime at the I14 Hard X-ray Nanoprobe facility through proposal MG30427 and MG31964. M.A. acknowledges support from the Royal Academy of Engineering under the Research Fellowship programme and from MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and the European Union NextGeneration EU/PRTR through a Ramón y Cajal Fellowship (RYC2021-034941-I). S.D.S. acknowledges the Royal Society and Tata Group (UF150033). Funding for A.A.-A., F.S., L.Z. and S.A. was provided by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) through the project PEROWIN (grant number 03SF0631) and by the Helmholtz Association within the projects HySPRINT Innovation lab, the EU Partnering project TAPAS and the project ‘Zeitenwende – Tandem Solarzellen’. T.A.S. acknowledges funding from EPSRC Cambridge NanoDTC, EP/S022953/1. M.D. acknowledges UKRI guarantee funding for Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions Postdoctoral Fellowships 2022 (EP/Y024648/1). The work has received funding from the European Research Council under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (HYPERION–grant agreement number 756962). We acknowledge the EPSRC (EP/R023980/1 and EP/T02030X/1) for funding. We acknowledge R.A. Belisle, S. Macpherson, T. Schloemer and M. Merchant for helpful discussion and comments on the manuscript. We acknowledge E. Choi for assistance with synchrotron measurements. For the purpose of open access, we have applied a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence to any author accepted manuscript version arising from this submission.Peer reviewe
Report on how trends in trust among specific social and political groups, including ethnic and territorial identities, territorial attachment and regime types at subnational level impact on varying levels of trust across European subnational units
No full textPeer reviewe
Highly effective CNT-based magnetic pn-junction nanocomposite photocatalyst/solar-energy material for hazmat conversion to hydrogen fuel
No full textHazmat conversion to hydrogen using low-cost effective eco-friendly solar energy active materials is a sustainable strategy for environmental remediation and provision of future green fuel. In this paper, a novel magnetic pn-junction nanocomposite was rationally designed and synthesized through a facile hydrothermal route using affordable chemicals in the absence and presence of CNT (carbon nanotube). The easy recyclable/re-collectable CNT-based magnetic materials with the scaling up capability synthesized here were applied as effective nanoenergy materials for photocatalytic conversion of H2S feed to hydrogen fuel. The maximum hydrogen production was attained for the pn-junction nanocomposite photocatalyst at the molar ratio 1:2 of p to n (rate: 5652 umolH2/g/h) and boosted 60% by adding CNT. Transient photocurrent, impedance, fluorescence and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) investigations revealed that the charge recombination is reduced in the presence of CNT and hence the photogenerated e-/h+ pairs can more effectively be utilized in the hazmat-to-fuel conversion process. The junction formation was approved at an atomistic scale through HRTEM observation. Furthermore, the magnetic property of the synthesized nanocomposite photocatalyst was improved in the presence of CNT and discussed in detail from physicochemical standpoint using VSM (vibrating sample magnetometric) and XPS (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic) evidence.The authors wish to express their gratitude to the editor and reviewers of the manuscript, and to the research council of IASBS for the financial support of this project. F. Boscá and M. Luisa Marin would like to acknowledge the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities (PID2019-110441RB-C33 financed by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and TED2021-131952B-I00 financed by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by European Union NextGenerationEU/PRTR). A. Diego-Lopez is grateful to the Universitat Politècnica de València for the Predoctoral FPI fellowship (FPI-UPV/Subprograma 1).Peer reviewe
Exploring the influence of intensive management practices on recreational hunter satisfaction: a case study of red deer trophy hunting in Spain
No full textRecreational hunting, especially big game trophy hunting, has a significant impact on large areas and requires specific wildlife management strategies. However, because the pursuit of maximum hunter satisfaction can jeopardize species conservation, it is crucial to identify the factors that determine recreational trophy hunter satisfaction. We investigated these factors in southern Spain by attending 21 dog-driven Iberian red deer hunts over seven hunting seasons. We collected geographic and biometric data from 556 hunted specimens and conducted 159 face-to-face surveys with hunters. Based on partial least squares path models, our findings indicate that overall satisfaction is positively related to the dimensions of achievement, appreciation, and service. Contextual variables, including hunter experience, hunting scenarios, and individual and group hunting bags, showed varying effects on these satisfaction dimensions. Management decisions significantly influenced multiple dimensions of hunter satisfaction, with potential implications for conservation in our study system and broader considerations for natural game management versus canned hunting practices.Peer reviewe
Effect of exogenous lactoferrin and phosphoglycerate mutase 2 on the cryopreservation of wild ruminant epididymal/ejaculated sperm and testicular tissue
No full text8 Pág.Spermatozoa collected from the cauda epididymis of wild ruminants are more cryoresistant than are ejaculated spermatozoa. This work examines the effects of lactoferrin (LF) and phosphoglycerate mutase 2 (PGAM2), which are abundant in the epididymal sperm of wild ruminants, as additives in Iberian ibex and mouflon sperm extenders. In addition, LF was added to a vitrification medium to determine whether it also provided protection during the cryopreservation of testicular tissue. Epididymal sperm samples and testes were recovered post-mortem from ibexes (n=13) and mouflons (n=8) during the breeding season. Ejaculates were collected from both species (n=10 each) using the transrectal ultrasound-guided massage technique. Four aliquots were taken from each sample, diluted in the appropriate freezing extender for each species, and subjected to the following treatments: control, LF (100 μg/ml), PGAM2 (25 μg/ml), and LF+PGAM2. Testicular tissue was cut into small pieces and cryopreserved by needle-immersed vitrification in a medium with or without LF. In vivo fertilization capacity was assessed using frozen-thawed ejaculated sperm from the ibexes. Supplementation of extenders with LF or PGAM2, and their combination, had no beneficial or harmful effect on any sperm variable after freezing-thawing. Artificial insemination of ibexes showed that the fertility rate in controls was 62.5%, but this fell to 20% in females inseminated with sperm treated with LF (p = 0.06), suggesting a putative negative effect of LF on fertility. The viability of elongated spermatids and spermatozoa from mouflon testes was greater (p < 0.05) in samples that were vitrified-warmed with LF. Thus, the hypothesis that supplementing ejaculated sperm with LF and/or PGAM2 improves sperm quality after freeze-thawing was not upheld. However, LF would seem an appropriate additive when vitrifying mouflon testicular tissue.This study was funded via project PID2020-113288RBI00/AEI/10.13039/501100011033.Peer reviewe
Recent depositional history of noble and critical elements in sediments from a wastewater-impacted bay (Vidy Bay, Lake Geneva, Switzerland)
No full text11 pages, 7 figuresOpposing trends in environmental pollution have been observed in recent years, with a growing awareness of the need to reduce emissions to the environment being accompanied by a concomitant increase in the use of polluting substances, which can potentially end up in the environment and harm humans and ecosystems. In order to assess the temporal evolution of loadings of seldom monitored trace elements, including noble metals and some technology critical elements, we analyzed a sediment core taken from the Bay of Vidy (Lake Geneva), impacted by the effluent of an urban wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). The temporal profiles of the chemical elements show essentially two patterns linked to the implementation of the WWTP, with some elements increasing sharply (e.g. Au, In, Ba, Sb, Sn, platinum group elements), while others (e.g. Ga, Ge, rare earth elements) show decreasing concentrations due to dilution by additional effluent particle loads. The origin of the elements showing a marked increase is attributed to local sources (photographic industry and municipal incinerator). There is (still?) no evidence in the sedimentary record of concentration increases linked to the growing use of technologically critical elements by industryThis work was partly funded by COST Action TD1407: Network on technology-critical elements—from environmental processes to human health threatsPeer reviewe
Satellite-based evidence of upwelling separation off NW Iberia
No full text10 pages, 8 figuresA high-resolution image sequence of sea surface temperature (SST) and Chlorophyll-a (Chl-a), together with numerical model solutions, is used to study the spatio-temporal variability of the two variables under intermittent upwelling-favourable winds. It is shown that the evolution of the cross-shore SST and Chl-a profiles over the shelf is linked to the intensity, duration and temporal separation between the wind events. The model's realistic representation of the cross-shore SST supports the interpretation that the observed variability is governed, in the inner-shelf, by the offshore separation of upwelling divergence and, over the mid-shelf, by offshore Ekman transport and mesoscale circulation. The observation of an alongshore low SST/low Chl-a band, bounded by the 30 m and 50 m isobaths, for the days of maximum wind stress, matching the model's solution for the outcrop of colder subsurface waters, constitute a satellite-based evidence of upwelling separation from the coast. The results are in close agreement with previous works on upwelling in shallow waters, straight coastline and gentle slope, but were not yet reported in the study area off NW Portugal. This evidence prompts for the need to use high-resolution (<1 km) numerical models/imagery to properly assess the inner-shelf circulation in the region, and the effects on the marine ecosystem, namely the offshore transport of marine organisms or pollutantsThis work is a contribution to the project HabWAVE (PTDC/CTA-AMB/31265/2017): “From benthic resting stages to HAB events: understanding the role of physical-biological coupling off NW Portugal” funded by FEDER, through COMPETE2020 – Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização (POCI), and by national funds (OE), through FCT/MCTES. This study had the support of FCT through the strategic project UIDB/04292/2020 awarded to MARE and through project LA/P/0069/2020 granted to the Associate Laboratory ARNET. This work was also supported by funding from INTERREG Atlantic Area Cross-border Cooperation Programme project “Innovation in the Framework of the Atlantic Deep Ocean” (iFADO, under contract EAPA 165/2016) and the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under grant agreement N 810139: Project Portugal Twinning for Innovation and Excellence in Marine Science and Earth Observation – PORTWIMS.
J. D. and R. N. gratefully acknowledges the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia support to CESAM by FCT/MCTES (UIDP/50017/2020+UIDB/50017/2020+LA/P/0094/2020), through national funds, and the co-funding by the FEDER, within the PT2020 Partnership Agreement and Compete 2020Peer reviewe
Production of equol, dehydroequol, 5-hydroxy-equol and 5-hydroxy-dehydroequol in soy beverages by the action of dihydrodaidzein reductase in Limosilactobacillus fermentum strains
No full textEquol and 5-hydroxy-equol, and their analogous compounds dehydroequol and 5-hydroxy-dehydroequol, are bioactive isoflavones formed by microbial metabolism. The aims of this work were to elucidate the formation of dehydroequol and 5-hydroxy-dehydroequol, to identify the role of dihydrodaidzein reductase (DHDR) in the production of equol, dehydroequol, 5-hydroxy-equol and 5-hydroxy-dehydroequol and to develop soy beverages enriched in these compounds through engineered lactic acid bacteria. DHDR was responsible for the production of equol and dehydroequol from dihydrodaidzein (DHD), and of 5-hydroxy-equol and 5-hydroxy-dehydroequol from dihydrogenistein (DHG), even in the absence of tetrahydrodaidzein reductase (THDR). The combination of DHDR with dihydrodaidzein racemase (DDRC), and/or THDR, allowed the production of soy beverages enriched in equol (241.34 ± 34.56 μM), dehydroequol (31.23 ± 5.78 μM), 5-hydroxy-equol (125.54 ± 7.90 μM) and 5-hydroxy-dehydroequol (292.34 ± 14.67 μM). Beverages fortified with high concentrations of equol, 5-hydroxy-dehydroequol and 5-hydroxy-equol could provide significant health benefits for consumers.Project PID2020-11960RB-I00 from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation provided funding for this work. Pre-doctoral contract (PRE2018-086293) awarded to A.R.d.l.B. We are appreciative of the mass spectrometry and chromatography facilities provided by the Analysis Services Unit of the ICTAN (CSIC, Madrid, Spain).Peer reviewe