Search results for "Arid"

Polysaccharide hydrogels for regenerative medicine applications

2022

On the Complexation of Cu(II) and Cd(II) With Polycarboxyl Ligands. Potentiometric Studies With ISE-H+, ISE-Cu2+, and ISE-Cd2+

2009

The interaction of Cu2+ and Cd2+ ions with polyacrylates (PAA, 2 kDa and 100 kDa), polymetacrylate(PMA, 5.4 kDa), and alginate (AA, 70 kDa to 100 kDa) was studied by potentiometry, using ISE-Cu2+, ISE-Cd2+, and ISE-H+ electrodes. The investigations were performed in NaNO3 aqueous solutions, in the ionic strength range 0.10 e I (mol ·L-1) e 0.75, at T ) 298.15 K. The “diprotic-like model” was used to explain the acid-base behavior of the polycarboxylates under investigation (for this model, the monomeric unit of the polyelectrolyte is considered as a dicarboxylate). The results give evidence for the formation of the ML species in all the systems investigated. In addition, the MLH species was…

Algunas consideraciones bioéticas y jurídicas acerca de la Declaración de Ginebra sobre edición del genoma humano hereditario a la vista de las Decla…

2021

[ES] La reciente Declaración de Ginebra sobre edición del genoma humano denuncia la posición central que han ocupado tanto la Ciencia como la Bioética hasta la fecha, afirmando que ambas mantienen una posición decididamente favorable respecto a esta bioingeniería, y todo lo cual pone de manifiesto la acuciante necesidad de reorientar el debate hacia el campo del Derecho. El presente artículo tiene por objeto analizar pormenorizadamente las consideraciones vertidas en este documento, formulando interrogantes sobre algunas de ellas, y poniendo en valor la conveniencia de articular un consenso multidisciplinar encabezado por los derechos humanos, en particular, de aquellos grupos más vulnerabl…

Bio-based chitosan and cellulose ionic liquid gels: polymeric soft materials for the desulfurization of fuel

2022

Desulfurization of fuel that avoids the introduction in the atmosphere of toxic sulfur volatile compounds, usually formed during combustion, is a viable strategy to reduce pollution. To find new efficient and eco-sustainable adsorbent materials, bio-based polymers such as chitosan (CS), cellulose (CE) and cellulose acetate (CEOAc) were dissolved in ionic liquids (ILs) to form ionic liquid gels (ILGs). Gelling and swelling ability, porosity, morphology, rheology and mechanical response were studied as a function of the polymer and ionic liquid (IL) used. The best performing gels were tested for fuel desulfurization using a fuel mimicking solution of thiophene (T), benzothiophene (BT) and dib…

Camouflage in arid environments: the case of Sahara-Sahel desert rodents

2020

Deserts and semi-deserts, such as the Sahara-Sahel region in North Africa, are exposed environments with restricted vegetation coverage. Due to limited physical surface structures, these open areas provide a promising ecosystem to understand selection for crypsis. Here, we review knowledge on camouflage adaptation in the Sahara-Sahel rodent community, which represents one of the best documented cases of phenotype-environment convergence comprising a marked taxonomic diversity. Through their evolutionary history, several rodent species from the Sahara-Sahel have repeatedly evolved an accurate background matching against visually-guided predators. Top-down selection by predators is therefore …

Different Modes of Regulation of the Expression of Dextransucrase in

2019

Leuconostoc lactis AV1 strain isolated from a Tunisian avocado was characterized as a dextran producer. The promoter PdsrLL and the dsrLL gene encoding the DsrLL dextransucrase responsible for the dextran synthesis were transcriptionally fused to the mCherry coding gene generating the pRCR20 plasmid. Upon plasmid transfer, both AV1n and the dextran non-producing Leuconostoc mesenteroides CM70 became red due to expression of the mCherry from the PdsrLL-dsr-mrfp transcriptional fusion. Characterization of the polymers present in cultures supernatants revealed that the DsrLL encoded from pRCR20 in the recombinant bacteria was able to synthesize dextran. The production of dextran by the DsrLL i…

The magnesium isotope record of cave carbonate archives

2012

Here we explore the potential of magnesium (δ<sup>26</sup>Mg) isotope time-series data as continental climate proxies in speleothem calcite archives. For this purpose, a total of six Pleistocene and Holocene stalagmites from caves in Germany, Morocco and Peru and two flowstones from a cave in Austria were investigated. These caves represent the semi-arid to arid (Morocco), the warm-temperate (Germany), the equatorial-humid (Peru) and the cold-humid (Austria) climate zones. Changes in the calcite magnesium isotope signature with time are compared against carbon and oxygen isotope records from these speleothems. Similar to other proxies, the non-trivial interaction of a …

Modelling the shrub encroachment in a grassland with a Cellular Automata Model

2018

Abstract. Arid and semi-arid grasslands of southwestern North America have changed dramatically over the last 150 years as a result of shrub encroachment, i.e. the increase in density, cover and biomass of indigenous shrubby plants in grasslands. Numerous studies have documented the expansion of shrublands in the southwestern American grasslands; in particular shrub encroachment has occurred strongly in part of the northern Chihuahuan desert since 1860. This encroachment has been simulated using an ecohydrological Cellular Automata model, CATGraSS. It is a spatially distributed model driven by spatially explicit irradiance and runs on a fine-resolution gridded domain. Plant competition is m…

The Use of Non-Conventional Water Resources as a Means of Adaptation to Drought and Climate Change in Semi-Arid Regions: South-Eastern Spain

2019

Drought is a climatic risk with notable repercussions on water supply systems. The aim of this study is to analyze the principal measures for management and planning implemented during recent decades in south-eastern Spain (Segura River Basin) to respond to drought situations, focusing on the role played by non-conventional water resources (desalination and treated water). The results demonstrate that the study area (despite being one of the driest places of Spain) is less vulnerable to drought than regions with an Atlantic climate and greater availability of water. This has been possible thanks to the integration of non-conventional water resources as a means of adaptation to confront this…

Interleukin 10 restores lipopolysaccharide-induced alterations in synaptic plasticity probed by repetitive magnetic stimulation

2020

Systemic inflammation is associated with alterations in complex brain functions such as learning and memory. However, diagnostic approaches to functionally assess and quantify inflammation-associated alterations in synaptic plasticity are not well-established. In previous work, we demonstrated that bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced systemic inflammation alters the ability of hippocampal neurons to express synaptic plasticity, i.e., the long-term potentiation (LTP) of excitatory neurotransmission. Here, we tested whether synaptic plasticity induced by repetitive magnetic stimulation (rMS), a non-invasive brain stimulation technique used in clinical practice, is affected by LPS-induc…