Ciencia y Tecnología

Electrochemical Oxidation of the Antiretroviral Drug Nelfinavir on Modified Screen-printed Electrodes

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Electrochemical Oxidation of the Antiretroviral Drug Nelfinavir on Modified Screen-printed Electrodes Asturias Arribas, Laura; Delfino, Mario Raul; Alonso Lomillo, María Asunción; Domínguez Renedo, Olga; Arcos Martínez, Maria Julia This paper describes the voltammetric study of the electrochemical oxidation of the antiretroviral drug Nelfinavir using a screen-printed sensor modified with carbon nanotubes. The performance of the sensor in the determination of the drug was characterized in terms of precision (RSD 5.05 %, n=5) and capability of detection (10.99±0.87 μM for α=β=0.05, n=5) under optimized voltammetric conditions of pH, accumulation time and potential, in the calibration range from 10 to 150 μM of NFV. In order to check the viability of the device, the determination of the analyte in pharmaceutical and biological samples was carried out and its performance was also validated comparing it with HPLC.

The sharp maximal function approach to L p estimates for operators structured on Hörmander’s vector fields

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The sharp maximal function approach to L p estimates for operators structured on Hörmander’s vector fields Bramanti, Marco; Toschi, Marisa We consider a nonvariational degenerate elliptic operator of the kind Lu ≡ Xq i,j=1 aij (x)XiXju where X1, ..., Xq are a system of left invariant, 1-homogeneous, Hörmander’s vector fields on a Carnot group in R n , the matrix {aij} is symmetric, uniformly positive on a bounded domain Ω ⊂ R n and the coefficients satisfy aij ∈ V MOloc (Ω) ∩ L ∞ (Ω). We give a new proof of the interior W2,p X estimates kXiXjukLp(Ω0) + kXiukLp(Ω0) ≤ c n kLukLp(Ω) + kukLp(Ω)o for i, j = 1, 2, ..., q, u ∈ W2,p X (Ω), Ω 0 b Ω and p ∈ (1, ∞), first proved by Bramanti-Brandolini in [3], extending to this context Krylov’ technique, introduced in [15], consisting in estimating the sharp maximal function of XiXju.

Crecimiento, desorción térmica y daño por bombardeo iónico en films de C60depositados sobre Cu(111)

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Crecimiento, desorción térmica y daño por bombardeo iónico en films de C60depositados sobre Cu(111); Growth, thermal desorption and ion bombardment damage inC60films deposited on Cu(111) Vidal, Ricardo Alberto; Bonetto, Fernando Jose; Quintero Riascos, Vanessa Alexandra; Bonin, Claudio Julio; Ferron, Julio En el presente trabajo caracterizamos el crecimiento y desorción térmica de C60 sobre Cu(111) por medio de espectroscopia de electrones Auger (AES) y difracción de electrones de baja energía (LEED). Las películas de C60 fueron crecidas sobre el sustrato por sublimación de C60 desde una celda de Knudsen a 350°C, dentro de una cámara de ultra alto vacío (~10-9Torr). También,determinamos las condiciones de medición de espectros de dispersión de iones lentos (LEIS), estimando el daño por irradiación producido por las dosis típicas utilizadas en estos experimentos (~1014 iones/cm2). Para analizar el daño por bombardeo iónico (H+, He+ y Ar+, con energías de incidencia de 2, 4 y 8 keV) de las películas de C60 se siguió la evolución temporal del plasmón característico de los enlaces p de los átomos de Carbono que conforman la molécula de C60, mediante espectroscopia de pérdidade energía de electrones (EELS). Además, se tomaron espectros Auger antes y después del bombardeo para caracterizar y cuantificar el daño producido.El presente estudio muestra que: el crecimiento de C60 sobre Cu(111) es capa tras capa; la desorción de la primera monocapa es diferente a las demás, quedando solo una monocapa cuando es calentado a 500°C; y solo se detectódaño por irradiación, para las dosis relevantes, cuando la muestra fue bombardeada con Ar+; Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES) and Low Energy Electron Diffraction (LEED) were used to characterize the growth and thermal desorption of C60 on Cu(111). C60 films were grown by sublimation from a Knudsen cell at 350°C, placed in an ultra-high vacuum chamber (UHV) (~10-9Torr). We estimated the best conditions to obtain low energy ion scattered spectra (LEIS) by measuring the irradiation damage produced by typical doses used in theseexperiments (~1014iones/cm2 ). In order to analyze the potential damage of the sample by ion bombardment (2 , 4 and 8 keV H+ , He+ and Ar+ ), we monitored the evolution of the characteristicplasmon due to π-bonds of the C60 molecule C atoms by Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy (EELS). In addition, Auger spectra (AES) were taken before and after irradiation to characterize and quantify the damage. Our study shows that: C60 growths on Cu(111) layer by layer; the desorption of the first monolayer is different to the desorption of the other layers, remaining the first monolayer even when the substrate is heated up to 500°C and; damage by ion bombardment, at the used dose, was only detected when the sample was under Ar+ irradiation

P35 and P22 Toxoplasma gondii antigens abbreviate regions to diagnose acquired toxoplasmosis during pregnancy: toward single-sample assays

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P35 and P22 Toxoplasma gondii antigens abbreviate regions to diagnose acquired toxoplasmosis during pregnancy: toward single-sample assays Costa, Juan Gabriel; Peretti, Leandro Ezequiel; Garcia, Valeria Soledad; Peverengo, Luz; Gonzalez, Veronica Doris Guadalupe; Gugliotta, Luis Marcelino; Dalla Fontana, María; Lagier, Claudia Marina; Marcipar, Ivan Sergio Background: P35 and P22 Toxoplasma gondii proteins are recognized by specific IgG at the early infection stage, making them ideal for acute toxoplasmosis pregnancy control. Both proteins have been studied to discriminate between acute and chronic toxoplasmosis. However, results were hardly comparable because different protein obtainment procedures led to different antigens, the referencepanels used were not optimally typified, and avidity tests were either not performed or narrowly examined. Methods: We bioinformatically predicted P35 andP22 regions with the highest density of epitopes, and expressed them in pET32/BL21DE3 alternative expression system, obtaining the soluble proteins rP35a and rP22a. We assessed their diagnostic performance using pregnant woman serum samples typified as: not infected, NI (IgG−, IgM−), typical-chronic, TC (IgM−, IgG+), presumably acute, A (IgG+, IgM+, low-avidity IgG), and recentlychronic, RC (IgG+, IgM+, high-avidity IgG).

Changes in Species Richness and Composition of Tiger Moths (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae) among Three Neotropical Ecoregions

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Changes in Species Richness and Composition of Tiger Moths (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae) among Three Neotropical Ecoregions Beccacece, Hernán Mario; Zeballos, Sebastián Rodolfo; Zapata, Adriana Inés Paraná, Yungas and Chaco Serrano ecoregions are among the most species-richterrestrial habitats at higher latitude. However, the information for tiger moths, one of the most speciose group of moths, is unknown in these ecoregion. In this study, we assess the species richness and composition on these three ecoregion. Also we investigated whether tiger moths species composition is influenced by climatic factors and altitude. Tiger moths species were obtained with samples from 71 sites using standardized protocols (21 sites were in Yungas, 19 in Paraná and 31 in Chaco Serrano). Rarefaction-extrapolation curves, non-parametric estimators for incidence and sample coverage indices were performed to assess species richness in the ecoregions studied. Non metric multidimensional scaling and adonis test were performed to compare the species composition of tiger moths among ecoregions. Permutest analysis and Pearson correlation were used to evaluate the relationship among species composition and annual mean temperature, annual temperature range, annual precipitation, precipitation seasonality and altitude. Among ecoregions Paraná was the richest with 125 species, followed by Yungas with 63 species and Chaco Serrano with 24 species. Species composition differed among these ecoregions, although Yungas and Chaco Serrano were more similar than Paraná. Species composition was significantly influenced by climatic factors and altitude. This study showed that species richness and species composition of tiger moths differed among the three ecoregions assessed. Furthermore, not only climatic factors and altitude influence the species composition of tiger moths among ecoregions, but also climatic seasonality at higher latitude in Neotropical South America region becomes an important factor.

Bee, hummingbird or mixed pollinated Salvia species mirror pathways to pollination optimization: a morphometric analysis based on the Pareto front concept

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Bee, hummingbird or mixed pollinated Salvia species mirror pathways to pollination optimization: a morphometric analysis based on the Pareto front concept Strelin, Marina Micaela; Sazatornil, Federico David; Benitez-Vieyra, Santiago Miguel; Ordano, Mariano Andrés Optimization of flower phenotypes to ensure pollination by agents differing in their match with fertile flower structures can involve fitness trade-offs if the aspects of the phenotype that enhance the fitness contribution of one pollinator are detrimental for pollination by the other agents. If these trade-offs are substantial, flower optimization for specialized pollination is expected. However, optimization for generalized pollination may also take place in trade-off scenarios, as long as the joint contribution of two or more types of pollinators to global pollination fitness is greater than each individual contribution. We use an observational approach to evaluate the role of pollination fitness trade-offs in flower trait optimization, a matter seldom addressed because of the difficulties in conducting experiments. A pattern searching tool based on the Pareto front concept, borrowed from the fields of economics and engineering, was used to test for fitness trade-off patterns in the flower shape of four Salvia (Lamiaceae) species. Two are pollinated exclusively either by bees or by hummingbirds; the remaining present mixed pollination systems, with varying contributions of bee and hummingbird pollination. The patterning of flower shape in this study suggests a bee-hummingbird pollination trade-off in Salvia and the optimization of generalized flower shapes.

Terpenes: Natural Products for Controlling Insects of Importance to Human Health?A Structure-Activity Relationship Study

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Terpenes: Natural Products for Controlling Insects of Importance to Human Health?A Structure-Activity Relationship Study Dambolena, José Sebastián; Zunino, María Paula; Herrera, Jimena María; Pizzolitto, Romina Paola; Areco, Vanessa Andrea; Zygadlo, Julio Alberto Many insects affect food production and human health, and in an attempt to control these insects the use of synthetic insecticideshas become widespread. However, this has resulted in the development of resistance in these organisms, human diseases,contamination of food, and pollution of the environment. Plants natural products and essential oil components such as terpenesand phenylpropenes have been shown to have a significant potential for insect control. However, the molecular properties relatedto their insecticidal activity are not well understood. The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of the toxicity ofterpene compounds against three insects of importance to human health: lice, cockroaches, and Triatominae bugs and to evaluatewhich molecular descriptors are important in the bioactivity of terpenes. For the insects studied, quantitative structure-activityrelationship (QSAR) studies were performed in order to predict the insecticidal activity of terpene compounds. The obtainedQSAR models indicated that the activity of these compounds depends on their ability to reach the targets and to interact withthem.The QSAR analysis can be used to predict the bioactivities of other structurally related molecules. Our findings may providean important contribution in the search for new compounds with insecticidal activity.

First record and revised description of Herpetocypris helenae G. W. Müller, 1908 (Crustacea, Ostracoda) from the Neotropics (central-west Argentina)

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First record and revised description of Herpetocypris helenae G. W. Müller, 1908 (Crustacea, Ostracoda) from the Neotropics (central-west Argentina) D'ambrosio, Débora Sabina; Diaz, Analia Roxana; García, Adriana Laura; Claps, Maria Cristina The genus Herpetocypris Brady & Norman, 1889 has a wide distribution in most of the zoogeographical regions except in the Neotropical Region, where only three species have so far been found these being H. reptans (Baird, 1835), H. chevreuxi (Sars, 1895) and H. pectinata Brehm, 1934. We here report the first record of Herpetocypris helenae G. W. Müller, 1908 from the Neotropical Region, and provide a complete revised description and illustration of the valves and soft parts of this species, as well as information on ecological factors affecting its distribution and aspects of morphological variability of its valves.

Challenges in the conservation of the work of León Ferrari

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Challenges in the conservation of the work of León Ferrari Baldomá, Gabriela; Maier, Marta Silvia When dealing with contemporary art, conservators have to address not only the material aspects of the artwork but also other highly complex issues. The Argentinian artist Leon Ferrari is a representative example. He created avant-garde art installations but also worked with traditional techniques. His works raise dilemmas over concepts such as authorship, authenticity, legitimacy of art. Some of his artworks only interested him as a means to express his opinions and he was not concerned about alterations in their appearance. Therefore, what should be kept in them is not in an area of certainty for conservators. An essential key for achieving a responsible and respectful conservation result, is to understand the ideology involved in each ‘art piece’ created by Ferrari.

Pollination biology of Echinopsis leucantha (Cactaceae): Passerine birds and exotic bees as effective pollinators

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Pollination biology of Echinopsis leucantha (Cactaceae): Passerine birds and exotic bees as effective pollinators Gorostiague, Pablo; Ortega Baes, Francisco Pablo Cactus flowers have traditionally been considered to be specialized to certain pollination guilds, but pollination studies reveal that most species are actually generalists. This suggests that floral traits are not always predictive of the animal visitors that pollinate cactus flowers. Here, we studied the pollination of Echinopsis leucantha (Gillies ex Salm-Dyck) Walp., an endemic cactus of Argentina, whose floral traits would suggest that it is pollinated by moths. The floral lifespan and flower availability throughout the reproductive period were evaluated. Field experiments were carried out to study the reproductive system and the identity and effectiveness of floral visitors. Echinopsis leucantha flowers had a nocturnal anthesis time that extended into the following morning. The species was self-incompatible. Floral visitors included moths, bees, and passerine birds. However, diurnal visitors were more effective as pollinators than nocturnal ones. The flowers of E. leucantha were phenotypically specialized (sphingophily); however, the pollination system was functionally and ecologically generalized. The results confirm that generalized pollination systems are widespread among species of the Echinopsis genus with nocturnal flowers, for which diurnal pollinators seem to have a key role in fruit and seed production. Our study constitutes the first record of passerine bird pollination in the Cactaceae for mainland South America.

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