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EU nature restoration law fails to recognize missing large herbivore functions
No full textThis research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.Peer reviewe
Nuevos enfoques, nuevas hipótesis. La cerámica rural altomedieval de la Meseta Central Ibérica
No full text[IT] Lo studio della ceramica nel centro peninsulare rivela cambiamenti significativi nella produzione, forme, decorazioni e tipi di ceramica da tavola, trasporto e cucina nel corso dell’VIII
secolo. Questi cambiamenti possono essere il risultato di inluenze esterne e processi socioeconomici nell’area. Si sottolinea l’importanza del metodo proposto in questo studio, che
utilizza la stratigrafia archeologica per determinare il cambiamento nelle forme e nel consumo durante l’VIII secolo.[EN] The study of ceramics in the Iberian Peninsula reveals significant changes in production, forms, decorations, and types
of tableware, transport, and cooking ceramics during the 8 th century. These changes may be the result of external influences and socioeconomic processes in the area. The importance
of the proposed method in this study, which utilizes archaeological stratigraphy to determine changes in forms and consumption during the 8 th century, is emphasized
Thermal ecology of summer-blooming Mediterranean thistles
No full textA study was undertaken between 2020-2024 on the thermal ecology of flower heads (capitula) of 15 species of summer-blooming species of Asteraceae, tribe Cardueae, from hot-dry habitats in the southern Iberian Peninsula. Temperature inside (Tin) and outside (Tout) capitula were assessed under natural field conditions by two complementary sampling and measurement procedures, which provided information on the relationships between the two temperatures at the levels of individual capitula ("continuous recording") and local plant populations ("instantaneous measurements"). Baselines for the Tin–Tout relationship in absence of physiological activity were obtained by exposing fast-dehydrated capitula to a broad range of ambient temperatures. To assess whether capitula of summer-flowering Asteraceae defined a distinct thermal layer in the summer environment, the distribution of capitula in relation to the ground was quantified. Bees visiting capitula were watched and temperature of the air beside the visited capitulum (Tout) was measured.Peer reviewe
Tuning the dimensionality of protein-peptide coassemblies to build 2D conductive nanomaterials
No full textThe natural self-assembly tendency of proteins to build complex structural architectures has kindled inspiration in developing supramolecular structures through the rational design of biomacromolecules. While there has been significant progress in achieving precise control over the morphology of self-assembled structures, combining different molecules within assemblies enables the design of materials with increased complexity, sophisticated structures, and a broad spectrum of functionalities. Here, the development of 1D and 2D peptide-protein coassembled systems based on the design of amphiphilic peptides and engineered proteins is described. The peptide was optimized to form stable self-assembled fibers by evaluating, computationally and experimentally, the assembling tendencies and the supramolecular features of peptides with different lengths and negative charges. A superhelical repeat protein was engineered by fusing one or two amphiphilic peptides into one or both termini. This modification drove the coassembly between the self-assembled fibers and the protein with one or two peptides, resulting in 1D or 2D coassembled systems. The protein films and the 2D coassembled system exhibited high ionic conductivity for a biomolecular system, attributed to their high content of charged residues, positioning these materials as promising candidates for developing bioelectronic devices. Thus, this work provides a versatile framework for developing coassembled materials with tunable dimensionality by using biocompatible building blocks without any additional chemical moieties, highlighting the potential for their use in biocompatible electronics.L.P.-C. and A.L.C. acknowledge financial support from the Spanish State Training Subprogram (PRE2019-090076), and the Maria de Maeztu Units of Excellence Program from the Spanish State Research Agency (MDM-2017-0720). A.L.C. acknowledges support by the Spanish State Research Agency (grants PID2022-137977OB-I00 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033) and the European Research Council-Grant (ERC-CoG-ProNANO-648071). A.L.C., M.R.C., L.A., and J.D.C.-O. acknowledge the Union’s Horizon 2020 FET Open under grant agreement No. 964593 (eProt). A.L.C. and M.R.C. acknowledge the Spanish MCIN (TED2021-131641B-C41, TED2021–131641B-C43 grants) funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and the European Union NextGenerationEU/PRTR. M.R.C. acknowledges the Spanish MCIN (CNS2023-14515) funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and the European Union NextGenerationEU/PRTR. I.R.S. acknowledges Ramon y Cajal Program (RYC2021-033294-I), Spanish State Research Agency (PID2022-136392NA-I00), and Gipuzkoa Foru Aldundia (Gipuzkoa Fellows Program, Diputación Foral de Gipuzkoa: 2019-FELL-000017-01). This work was performed under the Maria de Maeztu Units of Excellence Program Grant No. MDM-2017-0720 ministry of Science (CIC biomaGUNE).Peer reviewe
Biological databases in the age of generative artificial intelligence
No full textPop et al.Databases and ontologies.Modern biological research critically depends on public databases. The introduction and propagation of errors within and across databases can lead to wasted resources as scientists are led astray by bad data or have to conduct expensive validation experiments. The emergence of generative artificial intelligence systems threatens to compound this problem owing to the ease with which massive volumes of synthetic data can be generated. We provide an overview of several key issues that occur within the biological data ecosystem and make several recommendations aimed at reducing data errors and their propagation. We specifically highlight the critical importance of improved educational programs aimed at biologists and life scientists that emphasize best practices in data engineering. We also argue for increased theoretical and empirical research on data provenance, error propagation, and on understanding the impact of errors on analytic pipelines. Furthermore, we recommend enhanced funding for the stewardship and maintenance of public biological databases.N.P. was supported by the European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator [770827], the Spanish State Research Agency and the Ministry of Science and Innovation MCIN [PID2022-141920NB-I00/AEI/10.13039/501100011033/FEDER], UE, and the Department of Research and Universities of the Generalitat de Catalunya code 2021 [SGR 01536]. R.S. was supported by the National Human Genome Research Institute of the National Institutes of Health under award number [R01HG010589].Peer reviewe
Which Technologies are Valuable and for Whom? Value Plurality and Contingency in Technological Design
No full textRecently, Benjamin Steyn has proposed a novel political spectrum of value where
‘nature’ and ‘technology’ are understood as opposed. The author attempts to provide
a metaphysical basis for this spectrum by advocating for the inherent value
of technology. However, we regard their argumentation as inadequate, as it fails
to substantiate the intrinsic value of technology, instead serves as an interpretive
tool for certain images and narratives associated with technologies. From the brief
review of the concepts of nature and technology used in the text we offer reasons
in favour of the plurality and contingency of technology.This work was supported by the post-doctoral fellowship ‘Juan de la Cierva’
(JDC2023-052924-I), funded by MCIU/AEI/https://doi.org/10.13039/501100011033 and ESF+ and
the Research Proyect “Post-normal cultures of science and technology. Representations and practices
(PID2021-123454NB-C41), funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation. MGD: This work
was supported by the pre-doctoral fellowship ‘JAE Intro 2024’ (JAEINT_24_00873), funded by CSIC.
This article has benefited from Project N. 101086202 (“Speak4Nature: Interdisciplinary Approaches on
Ecological Justice”), HORIZON-MSCA-2021-SE-01, funded by the European Union. Views and opinions
expressed are however those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European
Union. Neither the EU nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.Peer reviewe
Radio emission from little red dots may reveal their true nature
No full textContext. The unprecedented sensitivity of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has revolutionized our understanding of the early Universe. Among the most intriguing JWST discoveries are red, very compact objects that show broad line emission features, nicknamed little red dots (LRDs). The discovery of LRDs has triggered great interest in their origin as either extremely starbursting galaxies or highly obscured active galactic nuclei (AGNs). Their exact nature remains unknown. Aims. The goal of this work is to estimate the radio emission from LRDs and predict which radio surveys would detect them. To achieve these objectives, we employed the fundamental plane of black hole (BH) accretion to estimate radio emission from AGNs and the stellar radio fluxes from their host galaxies. We assumed a range of BH masses, X-ray luminosities (LX), and star formation rates (SFRs) to bracket the likely properties of LRDs. Methods. Our findings suggest that BH radio fluxes from LRDs are 10-100 times higher than the stellar fluxes from their host galaxies, depending on the BH mass, LX, and SFR. The detection of a 500 nJy signal above 2 GHz at z 5 or a 2000 nJy flux at z = 3-4 would be a smoking gun for the presence of AGNs provided that SFRs in the host galaxies are <30M yr1. Results. We find that LRDs are most likely radio-quiet AGNs; otherwise, they would have already been detected in the current radio surveys. Our findings suggest that LRDs can be detected with upcoming radio observatories such as ngVLA and SKA with integration times of 10-100 h, respectively.MAL thanks the UAEU for funding via SURE Plus grant No. 12S182. MM acknowledges support from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through the project PID2021-124243NB-C22. This work was partially supported by the program Unidad de Excelencia María de Maeztu CEX2020-001058-M. We thank the referee for constructive feedback.With funding from the Spanish government through the "María de Maeztu Unit of Excellence" accreditation (CEX2020-001058-M)Peer reviewe
Chemistry and interfacial structure promoting quasi-van der Waals epitaxial growth of WS2 nanosheets on sapphire for prospective application in field-effect transistors
No full textHow do chemical and structural modifications to the supporting crystal surface affect the subsequent van der Waals (vdW) or quasi(Q)-vdW epitaxial growth of 2D nanocrystals? Developing an atomic-scale picture of such an interfacial system is crucial for understanding its impact on the physical and chemical properties of the supported 2D materials. The elucidation of the interfacial structure and chemistry needed to promote the Q-vdW epitaxial growth of 2D tungsten disulfide (WS2) nanocrystals contributes to the growth mechanism understanding, thus pushing forward the integration of such atomically thin semiconductors toward real field-effect transistor applications. In addition to an atomic-force microscopy top view, we showcase a combination of X-ray techniques for a top-to-bottom investigation of the complexities of the buried interface structures. This approach uses X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray standing wave excited X-ray fluorescence, and crystal truncation rod scattering to produce a highly resolved chemical-state-specific 3D atomic map for the extended interface structure of WS2/α-Al2O3(001). Employing these detailed analysis methods, along with density functional theory to further refine the picoscale structure, we demonstrate how two different types of interface engineering during the pregrowth stage lead to significant differences in the chemical and structural modifications to the terminal surface of c-face sapphire, which in turn leads to substantial differences in the submonolayer growth of supported WS2 2D nanocrystals in terms of lateral domain sizes, epitaxial registry, vdW gaps, and stability.This work was supported by DOE/BES Award No. DE-SC0023450 to the Hydrogen in Energy and Information Sciences EFRC at Northwestern University (NU). D.G. was supported by DOE contract no. DEAC02-07CH11359 to the Superconducting Quantum Materials and Systems Center. The 5ID-C DNDCAT beamline at the Advanced Photon Source (APS) was used for XSW measurements. The APS, an Office of Science User Facility operated for DOE by Argonne National Laboratory, is supported by DOE under Contract DE-AC0206CH11357. The P08 beamline at PETRA III Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), a member of the Helmholtz Association HGF, was used for CTR measurements. This work also made use of the XRD, and Keck-II XPS facilities at NU supported by the MRSEC program (NSF DMR-2308691), Keck Foundation, State of Illinois, and the Soft and Hybrid Nanotechnology Experimental (SHyNE) Resource (NSF ECCS-2025633). Sample T was grown at Tel Aviv University, N.S., and A.I. acknowledge the generous support from the Israel Science Foundation, grant # 2596/21. Sample P was grown in the 2D Crystal Consortium Materials Innovation Platform (2DCC-MIP) facility at Penn State, which is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under NSF cooperative agreement NSF DMR-2039351. S.M. and M.B. thank Paul Fenter (Argonne National Lab), Joanne Stubbs (University of Chicago), and Peter Eng (University of Chicago) for helpful discussions on CTR data analysis. R.A. acknowledges funding from the Spanish MICIU (PID2023-151080NB-I00/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and CEX2023-001286-S MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033) and by the MICIU with funding from European Union Next Generation EU (PRTR-C17.I1) promoted by the Government of Aragon (DGA) as well from the DGA project E13-23R. The STEM studies have been conducted at the Laboratorio de Microscopias Avanzadas (LMA), Universidad de Zaragoza.With funding from the Spanish government through the "Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence" accreditation (CEX2023-001286-S).Peer reviewe
Volatile organic compound photoionization utilizing tunable quasi-monochromatic vacuum ultraviolet down to 120 nm obtained by third harmonic generation from a suspended dielectric nanomembrane
No full text14 pages, 6 figuresWe present a table-top light source of continuously tunable quasi-monochromatic vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) coupled to a custom-built photoionization detector and demonstrate its capacity to induce photoionization in trace levels of volatile organic compounds at ambient saturated vapor pressure. A high-power pulsed monochromatic laser powers an optical parametric amplifier that subsequently feeds into two materials inducing consecutively second harmonic generation (SHG) and third harmonic generation (THG). While the SHG is obtained in a bulk BBO crystal, the THG originates from suspended SiO2 nanomembranes. We demonstrate the photoionization of ethanolamine and eucalyptol at THG pump wavelengths of 390 nm and 360 nm respectively, providing evidence of VUV light generation at 130 nm and down to 120 nm, going beyond the state-of-the-art of demonstrated VUV generation in dielectric nanomembranes. This proof-of-concept system highlights the transformative potential of dielectric nanomembranes in facilitating compact, efficient and tunable VUV light sources for spectroscopy and sensor technology without the necessity of vacuum technology.HORIZONEUROPE Framework Programme (101057510); European Social Fund (ESF): Investing in Your Future (RYC2022-035710-I, MCIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033); Xunta de Galicia (ED431F2024/15); Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (MCIU) (BIPHOTO (CNS2023-145364)).Peer reviewe
Microbe-mediated organic fertilization increases insect predator attraction upon fruit damage in olive trees [Dataset]
No full textTable S1. Identified bacterial enzymes and fungal lifestyles; Table S2. Relative areas of components detected in the LC/HRMS analysis of Prays oleae larva (L) and the product of its digestion (D) extracts; A: non-attacked seeds control; Table S3. PERMANOVA results of soil and simulated fruit damage treatments and their interaction on taxonomic and functional beta-diversity of bacteria and fungi; Table S4. Results of linear mixed models for the effects of best subsets of volatiles explaining the mean preference of C. carnea in each C1- vs. C1+, C2- vs. C2+, C1+ vs. C2+ and C2+ vs. VC+ comparison; Figure S1. Mean relative emission area of each volatile compound in experimental treatment plants and extract plants, grouped by volatile class; Figure S2. Pairwise Spearman rank correlation coefficients between soil nutrients and microbial functional and taxonomic diversity. The color of the circle indicates the sign of the correlation (red = negative, blue = positive), while the size of the circle indicates the magnitude of the correlation; Figure S3. Pairwise Spearman rank correlation coefficients between the 28 volatile organic compounds in experimental plants. The color of the circle indicates the sign of the correlation (red = negative, blue = positive), while the size of the circle indicates the magnitude of the correlation.Peer reviewe