Application of a novel rGO-CuFeS2 composite catalyst conjugated to microwave irradiation for ultra-fast real textile wastewater treatment Vieira, Yasmin; Ceretta, Maria Belen; Foletto, Edson Luiz; Wolski, Erika Alejandra; Silvestri, Siara The disposal of wastewater containing large amounts of dyes is a public health and environmental problem, due to its toxicity into the aquatic biota, the reduction in sunlight penetration, which consequently interference in photosynthetic activity. In the present study a new composite, based on the heterojunction of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and chalcopyrite (CuFeS2), was developed to treat a real textile wastewater (RW). The efficiency of the composite assisted by microwave irradiation was evaluated to catalyze the decolorization and degradation of RW containing a high concentration of the azo Direct Black 22 (DB22). A small amount (0.5 w/w%) of rGO on CuFeS2 was enough to uplift the efficiency of decolorization to 74 % of DB22 and 97 % TOC in the RW, only in the first min of treatment, and 97 % and 99 %, respectively, at 6 min. The improvement in catalytic activity can be attributed to the dipolar polarization effect, hot spots and the generation of hydroxyl radicals. Additionally, a synergistic effect between the composite and microwave irradiation, assisted by hydrogen peroxide, reduced the RW phytotoxicity, improving the radicle length of Lactuca sativa three times (from 0.87 cm to 2.65 cm with the application of a single minute of treatment). The reduction in phytotoxicity led to an increase in the germination percentage from 36 % to 53 %. Finally, the use of MW irradiation coupled to a novel rGO-CuFeS2 composite, in presence of H2O2 under acid medium, provides a feasible and highly rapid method to treat RW, reducing its phytotoxicity. Capsule: A novel rGO-CuFeS2 catalyst was developed and applied together with microwave irradiation for an ultra-fast degradation treatment (6 min) in real textile wastewater.

Los poblados históricos del área de frontera en la naciente del río Mendoza: Un testimonio de la modernidad finisecular (1890-1950); The historical villages of Mendoza river border head area: A testimony of finisecular modernity (1890-1950) Bianchi Palomares, Pablo Federico Ricardo; Villalobos, Ana María Los pueblos de montaña que jalonan el alto valle del río Mendoza, en la provincia homónima del centro oeste de Argentina, son testimonio de la modernidad finisecular desde su aparición en el contexto de implantación del Ferrocarril Trasandino, a fines del siglo XIX. Su presencia en el itinerario cordillerano fue fundamental dado que facilitaron el comercio y el transporte, en el tramo más occidental de la ruta que vincula Buenos Aires con las ciudades de Santiago y Valparaíso del vecino país de Chile. Al estar emplazados en estrecha relación con el río Mendoza, y en un soporte geográfico de características singulares; actuaron como estructurantes del territorio, con una disposición sistémica que definió al territorio fronterizo hasta mediados del siglo XX. El problema que motiva este trabajo se basa en la detección de una vacancia referida a la lectura integral de bienes culturales, ligados al tramo superior del río Mendoza. Los aportes efectuados hasta el momento son fragmentarios, sobre todo en relación con los bienes que consolidaron el territorio de la cordillera mendocina; a nivel turístico, vial y de servicios. Mediante el análisis descriptivo-explicativo de cuatro poblados históricos se pretende llenar el vacío detectado y comprender el rol fundamental que desempeñaron en el proceso de ocupación paulatina del territorio de alta montaña, iniciado en el tiempo de la modernidad.; The mountain towns that mark the high valley of the Mendoza River, in the homonymous province of central west Argentina, are testimony of the Turn of the century modernity, since its appearance in the context of the implantation of the Trasandino Railway, at the end of the 19th century. Their presence in the mountain itinerary was fundamental since they facilitated trade and transport, in the westernmost section of the route that linked Buenos Aires with the cities of Santiago and Valparaíso in the neighboring country of Chile. Being located in close relationship with the Mendoza River, and in a geographical support of unique characteristics; they acted as structuring of the territory, with a systemic disposition that defined the border territory until the middle of the 20th century. The problem that motivates this work is based on the detection of a vacancy referring to the comprehensive reading of cultural assets, linked to the upper section of the Mendoza River. The contributions which were made recently are fragmentary, especially in relation to the assets that consolidated the territory of the Mendoza high mountain area; at Tourism-, Road- and ServiceLevels. With the help of the descriptive-explanatory analysis of four historical towns, the study seeks to fill an inclusive approximation and to help understanding the fundamental role they played in the process of gradual occupation of the high mountain territory, which began in the modernity

An application of a solar-type dynamo model for ϵ Eridani Buccino, Andrea Paola; Sraibman, Laura; Olivar, Pablo Martín; Minotti, Fernando Oscar During the last decade, the relation between activity cycle periods and stellar parameters has received special attention. The construction of reliable registries of activity reveals that solar-type stars exhibit activity cycles with periods from few years to decades and, in some cases, long and short activity cycles coexist suggesting that two dynamos could operate in these stars. In particular, ϵ Eridani is an active young K2V star (0.8 Gyr), which exhibits short and long-term chromospheric cycles of ∼3 and ∼13-yr periods. Additionally, between 1985 and 1992, the star went through a broad activity minimum, similar to the solar Maunder Minimum state. Motivated by these results, we found in ϵ Eridani a great opportunity to test the dynamo theory. Based on the model developed in Sraibman & Minotti, in this work we built a non-linear axisymmetric dynamo for ϵ Eridani. The time series of the simulated magnetic field components near the surface integrated in all the stellar disc exhibits both the long and short activity cycles with periods similar to the ones detected from observations and also time intervals of low activity that could be associated with the broad Minimum. The short activity cycle associated with the magnetic reversal could be explained by the differential rotation, while the long cycle is associated with the meridional mass flows induced by the Lorentz force. In this way, we show that a single non-linear dynamo model derived from first principles with accurate stellar parameters could reproduce coexisting activity cycles.

Decidualization Process Induces Maternal Monocytes to Tolerogenic IL-10-Producing Dendritic Cells (DC-10) Gori, María Soledad; Soczewski, Elizabeth Victoria; Fernández, Laura del Carmen; Grasso, Esteban Nicolas; Gallino, Lucila; Merech, Fátima Isabel; Colado, Ana; Borge, Mercedes; Perez Leiros, Claudia; Salamone, Gabriela Veronica; Ramhorst, Rosanna Elizabeth Decidualization is a process that involves phenotypic and functional changes of endometrial stromal cells to sustain endometrial receptivity and the participation of immunoregulatory factors to maintain immune homeostasis. In this context, tolerogenic dendritic cells (DCs) can induce regulatory T cells, which are essential to manage the pro- to anti-inflammatory transition during embryo implantation. Recently, Myeloid Regulatory Cells (MRCs) were proposed as immunosuppressants and tolerance-inducer cells, including the DC-10 subset. This novel and distinctive subset has the ability to produce IL-10 and to induce type 1 regulatory T cells (Tr1) through an HLA-G pathway. Here we focus on the impact of the decidualization process in conditioning peripheral monocytes to MRCs and the DC-10 subset, and their ability to induce regulatory T cells. An in vitro model of decidualization with the human endometrial stromal cell line (HESC), decidualized by medroxyprogesterone and dibutyryl-cAMP was used. Monocytes isolated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells from healthy women were cultured with rhGM-CSF + rhIL-4 and then, the effect of conditioned media from decidualized (Dec-CM) and non-decidualized cells (Non-dec-CM) was tested on monocyte cultures. We found that Dec-CM inhibited the differentiation to the CD1a+CD14– immature DC profile in a concentration-dependent manner. Dec-CM also significantly increased the frequency of CD83+CD86low and HLA-DR+ cells in the monocyte-derived culture. These markers, associated with the increased production of IL-10, are consistent with a MRCs tolerogenic profile. Interestingly, Dec-CM treatment displayed a higher expression of the characteristic markers of the tolerogenic DC-10 subset, HLA-G and ILT2/CD85j; while this modulation was not observed in cultures treated with Non-dec-CM. Moreover, when monocyte cultures with Dec-CM were challenged with LPS, they sustained a higher IL-10 production and prevented the increase of CD83, CD86, IL-12p70, and TNF-α expression. Finally, the DC-10 subset was able to induce a CD4+HLA-G+ regulatory T cells subset. These results suggest that the decidualization process might induce different subsets of MRCs, like DC-10, able to induce regulatory T cells as a novel CD4+HLA-G+ subset which might play an immunoregulatory role in embryo implantation.

Analysis of irradiated Argentinean fetal bovine serum for adventitious agents Pecora, Andrea; Pérez López, Jorgelina; Jordán, Maximiliano Jesús; Franco, Lautaro Nahuel; Politzki, Romina; Ruiz, Vanesa; Alvarez, Irene Fetal bovine serum (FBS) used in cell culture may be contaminated with adventitious agents, which can affect the production of biologicals and the results of clinical laboratory tests. We carried out a retrospective study to determine the incidence of adventitious agent contamination of Argentinean irradiated FBS dating from 2015 to 2019. We analyzed FBS batches for mycoplasma and adventitious viruses (bovine pestiviruses, bovine adenovirus, bluetongue virus, bovine parainfluenza virus 3, rabies virus, bovine parvovirus, bovine herpesvirus 1, bovine respiratory syncytial virus, and reovirus). Cell passages followed by direct immunofluorescence were carried out to check viability of the mentioned adventitious agents. Also, molecular detection of mycoplasma and pestiviruses was performed on the FBS samples. The presence of neutralizing antibodies against pestiviruses was determined. Molecular analyses indicated that frequencies of mycoplasma and pestiviruses in FBS were 14% and 84%, respectively. All of the batches were seronegative for pestiviral antibodies. After cell passages, all FBS samples were negative for hemadsorbent agents and by immunofluorescence for all of the viral species analyzed; PCR assays were negative for mycoplasma and pestiviruses. Our results demonstrate that, of all adventitious agents tested, local FBS batches only had traces of mycoplasma and pestiviruses; gamma irradiation was effective in inactivating them.

Territorialidad ganadera: la movilidad estacional en Cusi Cusi (Jujuy-Argentina); Livestock territoriality: seasonal mobility in Cusi Cusi, Jujuy. Argentina González, Natividad María Considerar la territorialidad en relación a una actividad concreta, supone mirarlos trazos espaciales que deja en su manifestación temporal. La territorialidad,entendida como acciones que re-crean territorios, permite verlos como el productode prácticas sostenidas (cotidianas o esporádicas) en el tiempo; posibilitando ver elespacio en la dimensión temporal.Aquí se expone la territorialidad de la ganadería de altura en relación a lamovilidad estacional, dada por la necesidad de aprovechar distintos espacios yambientes para el pastaje. Con este objetivo, en un primer momento, se repasanbrevemente los conceptos de territorio y territorialidad y, luego, se describen estasprácticas de movilidad, con el objetivo de analizar una de las instancias en que esteterritorio se construye. Este texto se realizó en base a la información obtenida entrabajo de campo, durante distintos viajes, entre 2012 y 2015 en Cusi Cusi (noroestede la Puna jujeña), con entrevistas y observaciones.Pensar la territorialidad ganadera en relación a las prácticas que la constituyen,permite visibilizar sus características y entender los posibles factores de desarrolloo conflicto que suceden en estos territorios.; To consider territoriality related to a concrete activity, supposes to look spatial outlines left by its temporal demonstration. Territoriality, being actions that re-create territories, allows to take them as the product of practices sustained on time (daily or sporadic); it allows to see space at temporal dimension. Here, spatiality of high lands cattle-rising is exposed, related to season mobility, given for the necessity of take over different spaces and environment for herding. For this, at a former moment territory and territoriality concepts are briefly revise, and then, this mobility practices are described, in order to analyze one of the instances at this territory is built. This text has been realized with information obtained at field work, in different instances, between 2012 and 2015 in Cusi Cusi (northwest Puna in Jujuy) with interviews and observations. To think cattle-rise territoriality related to practices that constitute it, allows to show it’s characters and to understand possible factors of development or conflict that happen at this territory.

Effectiveness of pre-surgical neuromuscular electrical stimulation on the recovery time of diaphyseal femoral fractures Bustos, María Carla; Lo Presti, Maria Silvina Quadriceps pathology is common in patients who have suffered diaphyseal femoral fractures (DFF) due to the long waiting times before surgery, during which they remain immobilized. Aims: to evaluate the effectiveness of neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) applied in the pre-surgical period upon the recovery time (RT) of the patients. Methods: Prior to surgical treatment, patients with closed DFF were systematically distributed alternatively into: group with pre-surgical NMES (n=22) and control group with conventional physiokinetic treatment (n=25). Findings: Age, gender proportions and time between admission and surgery were similar in both groups. Average treatment time was 14.14±9.7 days. RT (from surgery to medical discharge) was 111±15.65 days in treated patients and 139.36±23.05 in controls (P <0.0001). No differences were found between men and women nor between the fractured femur (right vs. left). Conclusion: Present results highlight the value of NMES in the pre-surgical period for patients with DFF, optimizing their rehabilitation and facilitating their social/work reinsertion.

Volatile organic compounds from rhizobacteria increase the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites and improve the antioxidant status in mentha Piperita L. Grown under salt stress Cappellari, Lorena del Rosario; Chiappero, Julieta; Palermo, Tamara Belen; Giordano, Walter Fabian; Banchio, Erika Salinity is a major abiotic stress factor that affects crops and has an adverse effect on plant growth. In recent years, there has been increasing evidence that microbial volatile organic compounds (mVOC) play a significant role in microorganism plant interactions. In the present study, we evaluated the impact of microbial volatile organic compounds (mVOC) emitted by Bacillus amyloliquefaciens GB03 on the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites and the antioxidant status in Mentha piperita L. grown under 0, 75 and 100 mM NaCl. Seedlings were exposed to mVOCs, avoiding physical contact with the bacteria, and an increase in NaCl levels produced a reduction in essential oil (EO) yield. Nevertheless, these undesirable effects were mitigated in seedlings treated with mVOCs, resulting in an approximately a six-fold increase with respect to plants not exposed to mVOCs, regardless of the severity of the salt stress. The main components of the EOs, menthone, menthol, and pulegone, showed the same tendency. Total phenolic compound (TPC) levels increased in salt-stressed plants but were higher in those exposed to mVOCs than in stressed plants without mVOC exposure. To evaluate the effect of mVOCs on the antioxidant status from salt-stressed plants, the membrane lipid peroxidation was analyzed. Peppermint seedlings cultivated under salt stress and treated with mVOC showed a reduction in malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, which is considered to be an indicator of lipid peroxidation and membrane damage, and had an increased antioxidant capacity in terms of DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging activity in relation to plants cultivated under salt stress but not treated with mVOCs. These results are important as they demonstrate the potential of mVOCs to diminish the adverse effects of salt stress.

The Genetic Landscape and Epidemiology of Phenylketonuria Hillert, Alicia; Anikster, Yair; Belanger Quintana, Amaya; Burlina, Alberto; Burton, Barbara K.; Carducci, Carla; Chiesa, Ana Elena; Christodoulou, John; Dordevic, Maja; Desviat, Lourdes R.; Eliyahu, Aviva; Evers, Roeland A.F.; Fajkusova, Lena; Feillet, Francois; Bonfim Freitas, Pedro E.; Gizewska, María; Gundorova, Polina; Karall, Daniela; Kneller, Katya; Kutsev, Sergey I.; Leuzzi, Vincenzo; Levy, Harvey L.; Lichter Koneck, Uta; Muntau, Ania C.; Namour, Fares; Oltarzewsk, Mariusz; Paras, Andrea; Perez, Belén; Polak, Emil; Polyakov, Alexander V.; Porta, Francesco; Rohrbach, Marianne; Scholl Bürgi, Sabine; Spécola, Norma; Stojiljkovic, Maja; Shen, Nan; Santana da Silva, Luiz C.; Skouma, Anastasia; van Spronsen, Francjan; Stoppioni, Vera; Thöny, Beat; Trefz, Friedrich K.; Vockley, Jerry; Yu, Youngguo; Zschocke, Johannes; Hoffmann, Georg F.; Garbade, Sven F.; Blau, Nenad Phenylketonuria (PKU), caused by variants in the phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) gene, is the most common autosomal-recessive Mendelian phenotype of amino acid metabolism. We estimated that globally 0.45 million individuals have PKU, with global prevalence 1:23,930 live births (range 1:4,500 [Italy]–1:125,000 [Japan]). Comparing genotypes and metabolic phenotypes from 16,092 affected subjects revealed differences in disease severity in 51 countries from 17 world regions, with the global phenotype distribution of 62% classic PKU, 22% mild PKU, and 16% mild hyperphenylalaninemia. A gradient in genotype and phenotype distribution exists across Europe, from classic PKU in the east to mild PKU in the southwest and mild hyperphenylalaninemia in the south. The c.1241A>G (p.Tyr414Cys)-associated genotype can be traced from Northern to Western Europe, from Sweden via Norway, to Denmark, to the Netherlands. The frequency of classic PKU increases from Europe (56%) via Middle East (71%) to Australia (80%). Of 758 PAH variants, c.1222C>T (p.Arg408Trp) (22.2%), c.1066−11G>A (IVS10−11G>A) (6.4%), and c.782G>A (p.Arg261Gln) (5.5%) were most common and responsible for two prevalent genotypes: p.[Arg408Trp];[Arg408Trp] (11.4%) and c.[1066−11G>A];[1066−11G>A] (2.6%). Most genotypes (73%) were compound heterozygous, 27% were homozygous, and 55% of 3,659 different genotypes occurred in only a single individual. PAH variants were scored using an allelic phenotype value and correlated with pre-treatment blood phenylalanine concentrations (n = 6,115) and tetrahydrobiopterin loading test results (n = 4,381), enabling prediction of both a genotype-based phenotype (88%) and tetrahydrobiopterin responsiveness (83%). This study shows that large genotype databases enable accurate phenotype prediction, allowing appropriate targeting of therapies to optimize clinical outcome.

Longevidad máxima y tiempo generacional del piche llorón (Chaetophractus vellerosus): Datos de una subpoblación En Peligro Abba, Agustin Manuel En esta nota se da a conocer la longevidad máxima registrada para el piche llorón (Chaetophractus vellerosus) en condiciones naturales. Los datos provienen de más de nueve años de muestreos y de 288 individuos capturados y liberados en un campo en Magdalena (provincia de Buenos Aires, República Argentina). A partir de 450 eventos de captura se pudo establecer que los individuos de esta subpoblación viven entre siete y nueve años. Asimismo, se pudo calcular el tiempo generacional en 3,2 años. Estos datos son relevantes para establecer el estatus de conservación de la especie y para diversos análisis ecológicos.; The maximum lifespan for the screaming hairy armadillo (Chaetophractus vellerosus) in the wild is documented in this note. The data comes from more than nine years of field work, and 288 individuals captured and released in an area in Magdalena (Buenos Aires province, Argentina). Information gathered from 450 capture events showed that individuals of this sub-population live between seven and nine years. Likewise, the generation length was calculated to be 3.2 years. These data are relevant to establish the conservation status of the species, and for several ecological analyses.

Targeting NUPR1 with the small compound ZZW-115 is an efficient strategy to treat hepatocellular carcinoma Lan, Wenjun; Santofimia Castaño, Patricia; Xia, Yi; Zhou, Zhengwei; Huang, Can; Fraunhoffer Navarro, Nicolas Alejandro; Barea, Dolores; Cervello, Melchiore; Giannitrapani, Lydia; Montalto, Giuseppe; Peng, Ling; Iovanna, Juan Lucio HCC is a highly lethal malignancy with Sorafenib as the only molecularly targeted drug. The multifunctional stress-associated protein, NUPR1, plays an essential role in controlling cell growth, migration, invasion and Sorafenib resistance in HCC. We report here that NUPR1 expression is absent in healthy liver and it is progressively upregulated in HCC premalignant lesions such as hepatitis and cirrhosis with a maximum expression in HCC samples, highlighting that NUPR1 is a potential drug target for HCC. We therefore assessed in this work, ZZW-115, a strong inhibitor of NUPR1, as a promising candidate for the treatment of HCC. We validated its extraordinary antitumor effect on HCC by using two HCC cell lines, HepG2-and Hep3B, both in cell based experiments and xenografted mice. We further revealed that ZZW-115 treatment induced cell death by apoptosis and necroptosis mechanisms, with a concomitant mitochondrial metabolism failure that triggers lower ATP production. Furthermore, the ATP depletion cannot be rescued by the apoptosis inhibitor Z-VAD-FMK and/or the necrosis inhibitor Necrostatin-1, indicating that ZZW-115 induces cell death through the mitochondrial failure.

Variaciones del estado cognitivo en el puerperio y sus determinantes: Una revisión narrativa; Variations of the cognitive status in the puerperium and their determinants: A narrative review Carrizo, Eugenia; Domini, Julia; Quezada, Ruth Yohana Julieta; Serra, Silvana Valeria; Soria, Elio Andres; Miranda, Agustín Ramiro Las modificaciones neurobiológicas que experimenta la mujer durante el puerperio, junto con los consecuentes cambios psicosociales, determinan variaciones en el funcionamiento cognitivo. Con el objetivo de describir las variaciones cognitivas que ocurren durante el postparto y sus factores determinantes, se desarrolló una revisión narrativa a partir de la búsqueda bibliográfica en PubMed y Google Scholar. Se evidenció un constante crecimiento del número de publicaciones a lo largo de los años (PubMed= 186; Google Scholar= 26730). El análisis de los artículos permitió: a) Caracterizar las funciones cognitivas durante el puerperio; b) Analizar los efectos neuropsicológicos producidos por los cambios endocrinológicos y anatomofisiológicos; c) Analizar el efecto de la calidad del sueño sobre la cognición; d) Analizar las funciones cognitivas en función de las experiencias obstétricas. En conclusión, la mujer puérpera se caracteriza por presentar variaciones en sus funciones cognitivas, las cuales están determinadas por cambios estructurales, funcionales, psicológicos y sociales. Es necesario fomentar investigaciones neuropsicológicas en esta población, ya que la atención del posparto todavía se centra en el cuidado del recién nacido, sin abordar a la mujer puérpera de manera integral.; The neurobiological modifications that women experience during the puerperium, together with the consequent psychosocial changes, lead to variations in cognitive functions. In order to describe the cognitive variations that occur during postpartum and the determining factors, a narrative review was conducted by means of a bibliographic search in PubMed and Google Scholar. A steady increase in the number of published works was located (PubMed = 186; Google Scholar = 26,730). The analysis of the articles made it possible to: a) characterize the cognitive functions during the puerperium; b) analyze the neuropsychological effects produced by the endocrinological and anatomophysiological changes; c) analyze the effect of the quality of sleep on cognition; d) analyze cognitive functions according to obstetric experiences. In conclusion, puerperal women are characterized by variations in their cognitive functions, which are determined by structural, functional, psychological and social changes. It is necessary to conduct neuropsychological research in this population, since postpartum care still focuses on the care of the newborn, without addressing the puerperal woman in a comprehensive manner.

YBCO-based non-volatile ReRAM tested in Low Earth Orbit Acha, Carlos Enrique; Barella, Mariano; Sanca, Gabriel Andrés; Gomez Marlasca, Fernando; Huhtinen, H.; Paturi, P.; Levy, Pablo Eduardo; Golmar, Federico An YBCO-based test structure corresponding to the family of ReRAM devices associated with the valence change mechanism is presented. We have characterized its electrical response previous to its lift-off to a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) using standard electronics and also with the dedicated LabOSat-01 controller. Similar results were obtained in both cases. After about 200 days at LEO on board a small satellite, electrical test started on the memory device using the LabOSat-01 controller. We discuss the results of the first 150 tests, performed along a 433-day time interval in space. The memory device remained operational despite the hostile conditions that involved launching, lift-off vibrations, permanent thermal cycling, and exposure to ionizing radiation, with doses 3 orders of magnitude greater than the usual ones on Earth. The device showed resistive switching and IV characteristics similar to those measured on Earth, although with changes that follow a smooth drift in time. A detailed study of the electrical transport mechanisms, based on previous models that indicate the existence of various conducting mechanisms through the metal–YBCO interface showed that the observed drift can be associated with a local temperature drift at the LabOSat controller, with no clear evidence that allows determining changes in the underlying microscopic factors. These results show the reliability of complex-oxide non-volatile ReRAM-based devices in order to operate under all the hostile conditions encountered in space-borne applications.

How vocational education made women better off but left men behind Acevedo, Paloma; Cruces, Guillermo Antonio; Gertler, Paul; Martinez, Sebastian This paper examines the interaction between vocational and soft skills training on labor market outcomes and expectations of youth in the Dominican Republic. Applicants to a training program were randomly assigned to one of three modalities: a full treatment consisting of vocational and soft skills training plus an internship, a partial treatment consisting of soft skills training plus an internship, or a control group with no training or internship. We find strong and lasting effects of the program on personal skills acquisition and expectations, but results are markedly different for men and women. Shortly after completing the program, all participants reported increased expectations for improved employment and livelihoods. This result is reversed for male participants after three and a half years, potentially explained by the program's negative short-run labor market effects for that group. On the other hand, female participants experience improved labor market outcomes in the short run and exhibit substantially higher levels of personal skills after three and a half years; the women in the study became more optimistic and reported higher self-esteem. Men experienced no such benefits. Our results suggest that job-training programs of this type can be transformative – for women, life skills mattered and made a difference. But they can also have a downside if, as was the case for men in this study, training creates expectations that are not met. Although, overall, impacts are similar for the full treatment and the partial treatment, the positive impacts on soft skills for women, and the adverse impacts on labor outcomes and expectations for men are stronger for the full treatment.

Multiscale design of artificial bones with biomimetic elastic microstructures Colabella, Lucas; Cisilino, Adrian Pablo; Fachinotti, Victor Daniel; Capiel, Carlos Alfredo; Kowalczyk, Piotr Cancellous bone is a highly porous, heterogeneous, and anisotropic material which can be found at the epiphyses of long bones and in the vertebral bodies. The hierarchical architecture makes cancellous bone a prime example of a lightweight natural material that combines strength with toughness. Better understanding the mechanics of cancellous bone is of interest for the diagnosis of bone diseases, the evaluation of the risk of fracture, and for the design of artificial bones and bone scaffolds for tissue engineering. A multiscale optimization method to maximize the stiffness of artificial bones using biomimetic cellular microstructures described by a finite set of geometrical micro-parameters is presented here. The most outstanding characteristics of its implementation are the use of: an interior point optimization algorithm, a precalculated response surface methodology for the evaluation of the elastic tensor of the microstructure as an analytical function of the micro-parameters, and the adjoint method for the computation of the sensitivity of the macroscopic mechanical response to the variation of the micro-parameters. The performance and effectiveness of the tool are evaluated by solving a problem that consists in finding the optimal distribution of the microstructures for a proximal end of a femur subjected to physiological loads. Two strategies for the specification of the solid volume fraction constraints are assessed. The results are compared with data of a computed tomography study of an actual human bone. The model successfully predicts the main features of the spatial arrangement of the trabecular and cortical microstructures of the natural bone.

Localizing and quantifying the intra-monomer contributions to the glass transition temperature using artificial neural networks Miccio, Luis Alejandro; Schwartz, Gustavo A. We used fully connected artificial neural networks (ANN) to localize and quantify, based on the monomer structure of several polymers, the specific features responsible for their observed glass transition temperatures (Tg). The use of ANNs allows us not only to successfully predict the Tg of the polymers but, even more important, to understand what parts of the monomer are mainly contributing to it. For this task, we used the weights of a trained ANN as obtained after fitting the input data (monomer structure) to the corresponding Tg value. The study was performed for a set of more than 200 atactic acrylates for which typical Tg defining features were identified. Thus, the ANN is able to recognize the relevance of the backbone stiffness, the length of pending groups or the presence of methyl groups on the value of the glass transition temperature. This approach can be easily extended to many other interesting properties of polymers and it is worth noting that only the monomer chemical structure is needed as input. This method is potentially useful for identifying orthogonal ways of tuning polymer properties during the design and development of new materials and it is expected that it will contribute to a better understanding of the polymer's behavior.

Improvement of water barrier properties of soybean protein isolate films by poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) thin coating Salgado, Pablo Rodrigo; D'amico, David Alberto; Seoane, Irene Teresita; Iglesias Montes, Magdalena Luz; Mauri, Adriana Noemi; Cyras, Viviana Paola The aim of this work was to study the preparation of bilayer films formed by soy protein isolate (SPI) and polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB). This was done using the lowest possible concentration of PHB to improve the functionality of SPI films as food packaging or for agricultural uses, specially reducing their water vapor permeability (WVP). SPI films are environmentally friendly since they are biodegradable and come from renewable sources but they are brittle and have high water permeability. Even for the lowest concentration analyzed, PHB managed to form a homogeneous layer that successfully covered up the SPI film surface. All bilayers films showed a significant reduction of WVP of SPI films, and those with the highest PHB content showed the highest elastic Young's modulus and mechanical strength while maintaining a good elongation and low Tg value, similar to that of SPI. Despite of their hydrophobicity differences, a good adherence of both layers was achieved, which allowed to improve the mechanical and barrier properties of the SPI coated films with respect to films formed by both biopolymers separately. The combination of both SPI and PHB seems to be a good alternative to prepare a biodegradable material taking advantages of the best properties of each component.

Microstrain measurements and damage analysis during tensile loading of intercritical austempered ductile iron Fernandino, Diego Omar; Di Cocco, Vittorio; Boeri, Roberto Enrique; Iacoviello, Francesco The study focuses on the measurement of microstrain and the assessment of damage during tensile loading of intercritical austempered ductile iron by using digital image correlation technique and in situ observations. The results show that the first stages of damage involve the initiation and propagation of cracks along the matrix-nodule interface. By comparing the strain maps retrieved from digital image correlation analysis with the microstructure, plastic deformations were observed to be located preferentially in the ferritic internodular areas. However, for a more advanced stage of damage, cracks are seen to initiate in the metallic matrix at the boundary between ausferrite sheaves and propagate preferentially following the direction of the ausferrite plates. The final fracture shows a mix of quasi-cleavage and ductile morphology. The quasi-cleavage is produced by the nucleation and growth of multiple quasi-cleavage cracks formed on the ausferrite sheaves, while the overloaded ferritic zones are fractured by ductile tearing.

Validación de productos satelitales a partir de mediciones in situ para el monitoreo de coberturas del suelo en el sur de la Región Pampeana (Argentina); Satellite products validation through in situ measurements for monitoring land covers in the south of Pampas (Argentina) Ferrelli, Federico; Brendel, Andrea; Perillo, Gerardo Miguel E.; Piccolo, Maria Cintia La delimitación de las coberturas del suelo es una actividad costosa que requiere de instrumental específico. En este contexto, el objetivo de este estudio fue analizar la precisión y exactitud de productos satelitales de cobertura del suelo con respecto a un mapa confeccionado con mediciones in situ en la cuenca del río Sauce Grande (Argentina). Para ello, se realizaron cinco viajes de campo durante el año 2018 y se tomaron muestras georeferenciadas y firmas espectrales de las coberturas del suelo. Complementariamente, se calcularon índices de vegetación, suelo y agua a partir del procesamiento de imágenes satelitales Landsat 8. Con la reflectancia adquirida a campo y el comportamiento espectral de cada cobertura, se identificaron muestras espaciales necesarias para realizar una clasificación supervisada. Posteriormente, se descargaron los productos MODIS-Landcover y ESA-Landcover y se diseñaron mapas de coberturas del suelo estimadas. Se estableció un tamaño de píxel de 300 m para los tres productos satelitales y se aplicó con una matriz de confusión del tipo pixel por pixel para compararlos. Los resultados permitieron establecer que el MODIS-Landcover es un producto útil para el monitoreo de cultivos y pastizales, mientras que el ESA-Landcover para la expansión urbana y las variaciones del agua superficial.; The study of regional-scale land covers is an expensive activity that requires specific equipment. This work aimed to analyze the precision and the accuracy between satellite products and a land cover map obtained using in situ measurements in the Sauce Grande river basin (Argentina). In order to do so, we carried out five field trips during 2018 to identify land covers. It was studied the reflectance of each class from georeferenced samples acquired with a spectrometer and a GPS. Besides, spectral indices of vegetation, water, and soil were calculated to analyze the spectral behavior of each class. With this information, we delimited regions of interest to perform the supervised method. Subsequently, we downloaded the MODIS and ESA Landcover products. Then, we established a pixel of 300 meters for the three maps with matrix metrics. The Kappa coefficient, the overall accuracy, as well as the user and producer ones, were calculated to evaluate the estimated land cover against the measured ones. Results showed that MODIS-Landcover presents excellent agreements for determining crops and grasslands, while ESA-Landcover for urban expansion and water bodies.

Energy management on battery/ultracapacitor hybrid energy storage system based on adjustable bandwidth filter and sliding-mode control Asensio, Eduardo Maximiliano; Magallán, Guillermo Andrés; de Angelo, Cristian Hernan; Serra, Federico Martin A real-time power-split control strategy for a hybrid energy storage system (HESS) used in electric vehicles is proposed in this work. The HESS topology corresponds to a semi-active ultracapacitor (UC) configuration. The HESS goals are to prevent battery degradation and to preserve its lifetime while improving the system efficiency by supplying the fast dynamics power demands through the UC pack. In order to generate the UC power reference, a digital low-pass filter whose bandwidth is adjusted according to the UC SOC is proposed. This allows a better usage of the UC available energy, while reducing frequent activation of controller protections and avoiding the calculation of the filter cut-off frequency for a certain driving cycle. The low-level control strategy is based on a sliding mode controller combined with a closed-loop current observer, which allows to improve the implementation performance while maintaining the current ripple bounded. Simulation and experimental results were presented showing that the proposed strategy preserves battery health in a more effective way than filter-based strategies with fixed bandwidth, for cases where no future information about the required power is available.