La geografía histórica, la imaginación y los imaginarios geográficos Zusman, Perla Brigida Las nociones de imaginación e imaginación geográfica son ampliamente usadas en la geografía en la actualidad. El objetivo de este texto es identificar las formas a través de las cuales algunos geógrafos anglosajones han construido su noción de imaginación e imaginación geográfica, qué papel le han otorgado en su proyecto disciplinar y cómo han articulado estas ideas en sus análisis de geografías pasadas. En primer lugar, se han trabajado las propuestas de geógrafos de la décadas de 1960 y 1970 que recurrieron a estas nociones para superar el escaso interés por lo social y cultural de la geografía. En segundo lugar se presentan las perspectivas desarrolladas en la década de 1990 de la mano de las geografías poscoloniales y de la cultura visual. Finalmente se presentan las repercusiones de estas perspectivas en algunas líneas de trabajo en América del Sur.; Notions of geographical imagination and imagination are widely used in Geography today. The purpose of this paper is to identify the assumptions of these notions within some Anglo-Saxon geographers; specifically we are interested in studying the role of these ideas in their own discipline project and how these ideas were articulated in their analysis of past geographies. Firstly this paper discusses the concepts of imagination and geographical imagination used during the 1960s and 1970s with the aim of overcoming little Geography awareness with social and cultural aspects. Secondly we present perspectives around these ideas developed in the 1990s by postcolonial geographies and visual culture studies. Finally, we recognize their impact on some lines of research that are being developed in South America in the last decades.

Summer food habits of the Patagonian opossum, Lestodelphys halli (Thomas, 1921), in southern arid Patagonian shrub-steppes; Hábitos alimenticios estivales de la comadrejita patagónica, Lestodelphys halli (Thomas, 1921), en el sureste de la estepa patagónica Zapata, Sonia Cristina; Procopio, Diego Esteban; Travaini, Alejandro; Rodríguez, Alejandro The summer diet of the Patagonian opossum Lestodelphys halli was studied in southern Argentinean Patagonia. Faeces of opossums captured alive and stomach contents from dead animals were collected and analyzed. A wide variety of invertebrates (87.2% frequency of occurrence) followed by birds and reptiles (10.64%) occurred both in faeces and stomachs, and fruits were occasionally consumed. Although the Patagonian opossum was reported as a carnivorous species in captivity, feeding mainly on rodents, reptiles, birds and invertebrates, we did not find remains of rodents in the diet of the opossums. We suggest that Patagonian opossums are not an efficient rodent predator in the wild. The high consumption of invertebrates, reptiles, birds and fruits during the warm season when these items are abundant reflects the opportunistic behavior of this species.; Estudiamos la dieta estival de la comadrejita patagónica Lestodelphys halli en el sureste de la Patagonia Argentina, por medio del análisis de contenidos estomacales provenientes de animales muertos y de fecas. Encontramos una gran variedad de invertebrados (87,2% de frecuencia de ocurrencia) seguido de aves y reptiles (10,64%) tanto en estómagos como en fecas. Los frutos fueron escasos en la dieta. En cautividad, la comadrejita patagónica se alimenta fundamentalmente de roedores, reptiles, aves e invertebrados. Sin embargo, no encontramos restos de roedores en la dieta de la comadrejita. Sugerimos que la comadrejita patagónica no es un predador eficiente de roedores en estado silvestre. El alto consumo de invertebrados, reptiles, aves y frutos durante el verano, cuando estos ítems son abundantes, refleja el comportamiento oportunista de esta especie.

Control of a supercapacitor energy storage system for microgrid applications Inthamoussou, Fernando Ariel; Pegueroles Queralt, Jordi; Bianchi, Fernando Daniel The proper operation of a microgrid requires storage devices that increase the inertia and avoid instability of the system. This paper presents the control of an energy storage system (ESS) based on supercapacitors in the context of grid-connected microgrids. The ESS is composed of ac/dc and dc/dc converters tied by a dc link. A single sliding mode strategy is proposed to control a bidirectional dc/dc converter, capable of working properly under all operating conditions. The switching devices are commanded by a single sliding function, dynamically shaped by references sent from the microgrid central controller. This feature facilitates the implementation and design of the control law and simplifies the stability analysis over the entire operating range. The effectiveness of the proposed control strategy is illustrated by experimental results.

Isolation and Identification of possible entomopathogenic fungi and their evaluation of their effectiveness against Tribolium confusum, Sitophilus zea mais and Rhyzoperta dominica, vectors of aflatoxigenic fungi in stored maize Barra, Paula Sabina; Rosso, L.; Nesci, Andrea Verónica; Etcheverry, Miriam Graciela The objective of this study was to isolate and identify native entomopathogenic fungi from different components of maize agroecosystem, and evaluate their virulence against Tribolium confusum, Rhyzopertha dominica, and Sitophilus zeamais, three insect pest vectors of aflatoxigenic fungi. Paecilomyces and Metarhizium were the most abundant genera isolated from the soil. Identifi- cation of fungal cultures by DNA extraction, amplification, and sequencing showed that all isolates macro- and micromorphological identified as P. lilacinus were Purpureocillium lilacinum. The isolate JQ926223 showed the lowest LT50 for T. confusum (4, 66 days) and R. dominica (9, 38 days), and the isolate JQ926212 demonstrated similar LT50 for the three insects evaluated between the range of 11, 7 to 14, 95 days. Maximum mortality rate was observed for the isolate JQ926223. The isolates of Purpureocillium lilacinum JQ926223 and JQ926212 may be considered good candidates for biologic control in the ecosystem of stored maize.

Diversity and stress tolerance in rhizobia from Parque Chaqueño region of Argentina nodulating Prosopis alba Chávez Díaz, Lucía Valeria; Gonzalez, Pablo; Rubio, Esteban; Melchiorre, Mariana Noemi The aim of this work was to investigate the genetic diversity, symbiotic effectiveness, drought tolerance, and indole acetic acid production of indigenous rhizobial populations in the Parque Chaqueño of Argentina able to nodulate Prosopis alba, the dominant forest tree of this region. The populations were sampled at five locations from the Arid, Semi-arid, and Humid Chaco in the Parque Chaqueño region. A set of rhizobial strains able to nodulate P. alba was obtained and selected based on their molecular diversity. Data obtained by BOX-PCR indicated that the highest molecular variability was observed in rhizobial isolates from Semi-arid Chaco. High level of indolic compound production and tolerance to osmotic treatment were significantly (p≤0.05) correlated with water restrictions of the environments where the strains belonged. A small set of rhizobial strains that stimulate P. alba growth was selected from a large group of strains. The strains were identified by 16S rDNA sequencing as belonging to the genera Mesorhizobium, Bradyrhizobium, and Ensifer. To our knowledge, this is the first report of P. alba nodulation by strains other than Mesorhizobium chacoense, which was already described for the Parque Chaqueño.

La dispersión local de las alturas afecta la inducción tonal; Local pitch dispersion affects tonality induction Toledo, Pablo; Anta, Juan Fernando Estudios previos sugerían que la inducción tonal se basa en información acerca de las clases de alturas presentes en una secuencia. Sin embargo, en Anta (2013b) se observó que, aun cuando tal información se conserve constante, la dispersión en el registro de las notas de la secuencia (i.e., la distancia en semitonos que hay entre ellas) afecta la inducción; específicamente, se observó que a mayor distancia entre notas, menor eficiencia en la inducción, y viceversa. El objetivo del presente estudio fue evaluar si los resultados observados en Anta (2013b) se debieron a la variabilidad en la dispersión local de las notas, o en la dispersión global (i.e., a la distancia entre cada nota y la siguiente o entre todas las notas en general, respectivamente). Los análisis aquí realizados sugieren que lo que afectó la inducción tonal fue el incremento de la dispersión local de las notas.; Previous studies suggested that tonality induction is based on the pitch-class related information a sequence shows. However, Anta (2013b) found that, even if that information is kept constant, pitch dispersion (i.e., the distance in pitch/semitones between tones) affects tonality induction; specifically, it was found that the larger the distance between pitches, the weaker the induction, and vice versa. The aim of the present study was to assess whether the results found in Anta (2013b) were due to variability in the local dispersion of pitches, or in their global dispersion (i.e., due to the distance between successive pitches or between all pitches in general, respectively). The analyses conducted here suggest that tonality induction is affected by the local dispersion of pitches.

Entre tijeras, “apoyo crítico” y transparencia La compleja construcción discursiva de un liderazgo local en la Argentina posneoliberal; Among scissors, "critical support" and transparency: the complex discursive construction of local leadership in the post-neoliberal Argentina Pagani, María Laura; Schuttenberg, Mauricio El objetivo del artículo es presentar un análisis del discurso de un intendente del Conurbano Bonaerense, en tanto referente de una fuerza de construcción local y de prédica “progresista” en la política Argentina contemporánea. Se abordarán los tópicos del discurso polémico y cómo se construyen discursivamente los adversarios políticos que refuerzan una identidad basada en la transparencia, la eficiencia, la reconstrucción del Estado. Tópicos que construyen límites y articulaciones frente a otros discursos e identidades políticas.; The aim of this paper is to present an analysis of discourse a mayor of Gran Buenos Aires, while regarding a local building strength and preaching "progressive" politics in contemporary Argentina. It will address topics which are controversial speech and how they are constructed discursively political opponents that reinforce an identity based on transparency, efficiency, state reconstruction. Topics that build joint limits and against other speeches and political identities.

The relationship between endometrial cytology during estrous cycle and cutoff points for the diagnosis of subclinical endometritis in grazing dairy cows Madoz, Laura Vanina; Giuliodori, Mauricio Javier; Jaureguiberry, María; Plöntzke, J.; Drillich, M.; de la Sota, Rodolfo Luzbel The objectives of this study were to assess the effect of the stage of estrous cycle on the percentage of endometrial polymorphonuclear cells (PMN) obtained by cytobrush to determine cutoff values for the diagnosis of subclinical endometritis under pastoral conditions, to measure the prevalence of subclinical endometritis 21 to 62 d in milk (DIM), and to evaluate the effect of subclinical endometritis on reproductive performance in grazing dairy cows. The first experiment was conducted on a commercial dairy farm in Buenos Aires province (Argentina), where 17 postpartum cyclic dairy cows without clinical endometritis were selected and synchronized by Ovsynch protocol. Endometrial cytology (cytobrush technique) and blood (tail vessels) samples were obtained on d 0, 4, 11, and 18 of the estrous cycle (corresponding to estrus, metestrus, diestrus, and proestrus, respectively) and used for measuring percentage of PMN and P4 concentration, respectively. The percentage of PMN was determined 3 times by blinded count by 2 operators. Data were analyzed with PROC MIXED, PROC GENMOD, and PROC FREQ from SAS 9.1. The percentage of PMN did not vary with the stage of the estrous cycle. In addition, PMN counts were below any of the reported thresholds in this study (4%) for most of the cows. Therefore, the risk for false positive test results as a consequence of physiological changes in the counts of PMN during estrous cycle is low. The second experiment was conducted on 4 commercial dairy farms in Buenos Aires province (Argentina), where lactating Holstein dairy cows (n = 418) 21 to 62 DIM without clinical endometritis were studied. Samples of endometrial cytology were collected with the cytobrush technique. Data were analyzed with receiver operator characteristic curves with Sigmaplot 10.0, and with PROC GLIMMIX, PROC PHREG, and PROC LIFETEST from SAS 9.1. Cutoff values for the diagnosis of subclinical endometritis in grazing dairy cows are 8% PMN for 21 to 33 DIM, 6% PMN for 34 to 47 DIM, 4% PMN for 48 to 62 DIM, and overall 5% PMN for 21 to 62 DIM; the prevalence of subclinical endometritis 21 to 62 DIM was 17%. Finally, subclinical endometritis diagnosed at 21 to 62 DIM decreases the hazard for pregnancy (hazard ratio = 0.668; 95% confidence interval = 0.492–0.909) and increases the calving to conception interval by d 30 compared with normal cows (median 95% confidence interval = 133 vs. 93, respectively).

Web-GIS models: accomplishing modularity with aspects Urbieta, Mario Matías; Oliveira, Ana; Araújo, João; Rodrigues, Armanda; Moreira, Ana; Gordillo, Silvia Ethel; Rossi, Gustavo Héctor Spatial concerns of Web geographical information systems (Web-GIS) are inherently crosscutting and volatile: crosscutting because they affect multiple functionalities of Web-GIS systems, and volatile because their status may change often. If these concerns are not modularized properly, the quality of Web-GIS services, particularly with regard to adaptation and evolution, can be severely compromised. This paper uses aspect-orientation to model crosscutting and volatile spatial concerns. By modeling both types of concerns, crosscutting and volatile, as candidate aspects, one can use dynamic weaving to add or remove them from a system at runtime. The aspect-oriented approach proposed starts with the identification and specification of crosscutting concerns and follows by composing these using modeling aspects using a transformation approach, an aspect-oriented modeling technique. The conflicts that can emerge due to the composition order are also taken into consideration. Finally, this paper proposes a set of reusable GIS crosscutting concerns, documenting them in a concern catalogue.

The role of small woodland remnants on ground dwelling insect conservation in Chaco Serrano, central Argentina Moreno, Maria Laura; Fernandez, María Guadalupe; Molina, Silvia Itatí; Valladares, Graciela Rosa Most terrestrial ecosystems are changing due to extensive land use, with habitat fragmentation being a major threat to biodiversity. We studied the effects of patch size, isolation and edge/interior localization on the ground dwelling insect communities associated to Chaco Serrano woodland remnants, in central Argentina. Sampling was carried out in December 2003 and March 2004 in nine remnants (0.57-1000ha) using pitfall traps. In total, 7071 individuals representing 12 orders and 79 families were recorded. The taxonomic composition of these communities was linked to remnant size. Insect abundance increased (as did their richness, albeit marginally) as remnant area decreased, with no significant effects of isolation or edge/interior localization on abundance, richness or diversity. No differential area effects were observed when abundance and richness of predators, scavengers and herbivores were compared. Thus, ground insect communities in fragmented Chaco Serrano seem to respond mainly to patch level, rather than to within-patch (edge effects) or landscape (isolation) level variables. Our results suggest that small Chaco Serrano remnants, by supporting larger ground-dwelling insect assemblages, may play an important role from a conservation viewpoint.

Algebras with implication and fusion: a different point of view Castiglioni, José Luis; San Martín, Hernán Javier This work uses well-known results on tensor products of lattices and semilattices developed by Fraser and Grätzer et al., and the duality for bounded distributive lattices introduced by Cignoli et al., in order to develop dual categorical equivalences involving bounded distributive lattices with fusion and implication, respectively. We show that these equivalences are essentially those developed by Cabrer and Celani as part of the PhD thesis of the former.

A new Patagonian species of Cricosaurus (Crocodyliformes, Thalattosuchia): first evidence of Cricosaurus in Middle–Upper Tithonian lithographic limestone from Gondwana Herrera, Yanina; Brandoni, Zulma Nelida; Fernández, Marta Susana Upper Jurassic (Tithonian) deposits in north-western Patagonia, Argentina, have yielded rich and taxonomically diverse assemblages of marine reptiles. These assemblages are also remarkable by their quality of preservation and are represented by ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs, turtles and crocodyliforms. Despite the abundant crocodyliform record, only two metriorhynchid taxa have been identified: Cricosaurus araucanensis and Dakosaurus andiniensis. Here we described a new species of Cricosaurus, which represents the second species of Cricosaurus in the Tithonian of the Neuque´n Basin, and the first metriorhynchid found in lithographic limestone from Gondwana. Furthermore, this specimen has the most complete postcranial remains of any metriorhynchid from South America. The new species is characterized by a short distance between the premaxilla and the nasal, a relatively narrow interorbital width, 23–25 mandibular teeth, bicarinated teeth with fine apicobasally aligned ridges, interalveolar spaces between the first seven teeth approximately 1.5 times longer than the anteroposterior diameter of the respective alveoli. To test the assignment of the new species to Cricosaurus, we carried out two phylogenetic analyses. In both analyses, Cricosaurus lithographicus sp. nov. is nested with other species referred to this genus. This new species has peculiar enamel ornamentation, characterized by numerous, fine apicobasally aligned ridges, when compared to other species of the genus.

Rapid and reliable identification of Staphylococcus aureus capsular serotypes by means of artificial neural network-assisted Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy Grunert, Tom; Wenning, Mareike; Barbagelata, María Sol; Fricker, Martina; Sordelli, Daniel Oscar; Buzzola, Fernanda Roxana; Ehling Schulz, Monika Staphylococcus aureus capsular polysaccharides (CP) are important virulence factors and represent putative targets for vaccine development. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to develop a high-throughput method to identify and discriminate the clinically important S. aureus capsular serotypes 5, 8, and NT (nontypeable). A comprehensive set of clinical isolates derived from different origins and control strains, representative for each serotype, were used to establish a CP typing system based on Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and chemometric techniques. By combining FTIR spectroscopy with artificial neuronal network (ANN) analysis, a system was successfully established, allowing a rapid identification and discrimination of all three serotypes. The overall accuracy of the ANN-assisted FTIR spectroscopy CP typing system was 96.7% for the internal validation and 98.2% for the external validation. One isolate in the internal validation and one isolate in the external validation failed in the classification procedure, but none of the isolates was incorrectly classified. The present study demonstrates that ANN-assisted FTIR spectroscopy allows a rapid and reliable discrimination of S. aureus capsular serotypes. It is suitable for diagnostic as well as large-scale epidemiologic surveillance of S. aureus capsule expression and provides useful information with respect to chronicity of infection.

In vivo measurements to estimate culture status and neutral lipid accumulation in Nannochloropsis oculata CCALA 978: implications for biodiesel oil studies Bongiovani, Natalia Soledad; Popovich, Cecilia Angelines; Martinez, Ana Maria; Freije, Hugo; Constenla, Diana Teresita; Leonardi, Patricia Ines The development of efficient, rapid and species-specific techniques is indispensable for assessing growth and neutral lipid yield in microalga cultures for biodiesel oil production. Nannochloropsis oculata is a small microalgae with a thick cell wall. In vivo techniques to estimate cell density, chlorophyll a and neutral lipids are reported. A calibration curve of cell density versus optical density was obtained and validated at 540 nm, under different growth phases. Intracellular neutral lipid storage was evaluated with fluorometry and epifluorescent microscopy employing fluorochrome Nile Red. The addition of 5% dimethyl sulfoxide enhanced 12.5 times the fluorescence signal efficiency. In situ fluorescence measurements allowed estimating the neutral lipid content (NR-FI). Besides, no significant differences were found in the lipid neutral content between gravimetric and triolein methods. The relationship between NR-FI and chlorophyll fluorescence signals was used as a neutral lipid accumulation index, which is useful in order to establish the optimum harvesting time. Thus, these procedures may be applied for a better monitoring mode of growth and neutral lipid accumulation in N. oculata's cultures at commercial scale.

Segregación socio-espacial en la periferia del área metropolitana de Mendoza, Argentina. Las estrategias de los excluidos urbanos; Segregação sócio-espacial na periferia da Grande Mendoza, Argentina. As estratégias dos excluídos urbanos Dalla Torre, Julieta; Ghilardi, Matias Roman La lógica que impera en los territorios de las ciudades en las últimas décadas tiene sus causas en la denominada tercera mundialización, que empezó en la década de 1970 gracias a las nuevas tecnologías y a la revolución económica que intentó fusionar todas las economías en una "sola economía mundo". En este nuevo escenario el papel del Estado no se correspondía con aquel de la sociedad industrial, sino que se potenció su debilitamiento, incrementándose las políticas liberales. Estos cambios tienen consecuencias en distintos planos y se observan en la morfología urbana y en la forma en que las ciudades se extienden sobre el espacio, repercutiendo en la forma en que nos relacionamos socialmente. En este artículo se analizan los actuales procesos de segregación socio-espacial que tienen como escenario las periferias metropolitanas. Particularmente, se centra en el Área Metropolitana de Mendoza, Argentina. Se busca dar cuenta de los elementos materiales y simbólicos que muestran estos procesos, así como de las estrategias comunitarias de agentes sociales que reclaman su inclusión en la ciudad formal.; A lógica que prevalece nos territórios das cidades nas últimas décadas tem suas causas na terceira chamada globalização, que começou na década de 1970, graças às novas tecnologias e da revolução econômica que tentaram fundir todas as economias em uma economia de "single mundo". Neste novo cenário, o papel do Estado não corresponde com o da sociedade industrial, mas melhorado seu enfraquecimento, aumentando políticas liberais. Estas mudanças têm consequências em diferentes níveis e são observados na morfologia urbana e como as cidades se expandem no espaço, impactando a nossa forma de interagir socialmente. Neste trabalho, analisar os atuais processos de segregação sócio-espacial, cujo metropolitana periferias cenário. Em particular, centra-se na Área Metropolitana de Mendoza, Argentina. Ele procura explicar os elementos materiais e simbólicos que mostram esses processos, bem como as estratégias da comunidade de atores sociais que exigem a inclusão na cidade formal.

Geographical implications of seasonal reproduction in the bat star Asterina stellifera Meretta, Pablo Ezequiel; Rubilar Panasiuk, Cynthia Tamara; Cledón, Maximiliano; Ventura, C. Renato C. The reproductive cycle and environmental cues that regulate gonad production in Asterina stellifera were studied from April 2009 to April 2011 in a rocky subtidal habitat at the southernmost limit of its distribution (Mar del Plata, Argentina). The geographic variation in reproductive traits between latitudinal range limits was analyzed. The gonadal and pyloric caeca weight varied with sea star size and time in both sexes. Despite a previous study suggested absence of recruitment in a 4 years period, our data of the same period demonstrated that spawning happens from early spring to early summer. The gonad and pyloric caeca weight did not show an inverse relationship, this suggested that there is no dependence on energy transfer between the organs and that the bat star presented a good nutritional state. Seawater temperature appears to be the variable explaining gonad proliferation at the range limits of A. stellifera distribution. Furthermore, differences in sex ratio, oocyte production, oogenesis duration and capability of energy transformation into ova were found between range limits.

Thorn lesions in a modern osteological collection of guanaco (Lama guanicoe): a new paleoenviromental proxy and its implications for archaeofaunal assemblages Rafuse, Daniel Joseph; Kaufmann, Cristian Ariel; Flensborg, Gustavo Ariel This paper provides detailed analysis of thorn lesions found in lower limb elements of a modern osteological collection of guanaco (Lama guanicoe). Four types of lesions were recorded: (1) thorns visible on the bone surface, (2) bony reaction with relief, (3) small negative scars, and (4) medium negative scars. The methods used to recognize, record, and quantify these lesions are presented. As a result, 35 of the 36 individuals analyzed contained one or more types of lesions. The highest concentrations of lesions were recorded on the anterior view of the metacarpal shafts. All the age ranges were affected by lesions; however, individuals between the ages of 1-3 years were the most affected, while ages 0-1 contained the least amount of lesions. To provide examples of how thorn lesions can be identified and used as a paleoenvironmental proxy in the fossil record, two archaeological sites from different phytogeographic provinces were analyzed: Bajo de la Quinta (Monte phytogeographic province) and Calera (Pampa phytogeographic province). Results found that 25% of the elements from the Bajo de la Quinta site contained lesions, while none of the elements from the Calera site showed evidence of lesions. When detectable in the fossil record, thorn lesions can provide an indirect approximation of the paleoenviroment.

DNA nanoparticle-mediated thymulin gene therapy prevents airway remodeling in experimental allergic asthma Da Silva, Adriana L.; Martini, Sabrina V.; Abreu, Soraia C.; Samary, Cynthia dos S.; Diaz, Bruno L.; Fernezlian, Sandra; de Sa, Vanessa Karen; Capelozzi, Vera Luiza; Boylan, Nicholas J.; Goya, Rodolfo Gustavo; Suk, Jung Soo; Rocco, Patricia R.M.; Hanes, Justin; Morales, Marcelo M. Thymulin has been shown to present anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic properties in experimental lung diseases. We hypothesized that a biologically active thymulin analog gene, methionine serum thymus factor, delivered by highly compacted DNA nanoparticles may prevent lung inflammation and remodeling in a mouse model of allergic asthma. The DNA nanoparticles are composed of a single molecule of plasmid DNA compacted with block copolymers of poly-L-lysine and polyethylene glycol (CK30PEG), which have been found safe in a human phase I/II clinical trial. Thymulin plasmids were detected in the lungs of ovalbumin-challenged asthmatic mice up to 27 days after administration of DNA nanoparticles carrying thymulin plasmids. A single dose of DNA nanoparticles carrying thymulin plasmids prevented lung inflammation, collagen deposition and smooth muscle hypertrophy in the lungs of a murine model of ovalbumin-challenged allergic asthma, leading to improved lung mechanics. In the present model of chronic allergic asthma, highly compacted DNA nanoparticles using thymulin analog gene modulated the inflammatory and remodeling processes improving lung mechanics.

Electronic Spectra of the Protonated Indole Chromophore in the Gas Phase Aiata, Ivan; Bert, Johan; Broquier, Michel; Dedonder, Claude; Feraud, Géraldine; Grégoire, Gilles; Soorkia, Satchin; Marceca, Ernesto José; Jouvet, Christophe The electronic spectroscopy of protonated indole was investigated experimentally and theoretically. Two isomers have been observed in this experiment. The first isomer corresponds to the lowest energy isomer in the calculations, absorbing at ~350 nm and protonated on the C3 atom of the pyrrole ring. According to our calculations, the absorption of the other isomers protonated on carbon atoms is in the visible region. Indeed the second isomer observed absorbs in the blue (starting at 488 nm) and has been assigned to protonation on the C2 carbon of the pyrrole ring. Since good agreement was obtained between calculated and experimental transitions for the isomers observed, reasonable ab-initio transition energies may also be expected for the higher energy isomers protonated on carbon atoms, which should also absorb in the visible. Protonation on the nitrogen atom leads to a blue shifted transition.

Glycerol steam reforming over Ni/Al2O3 catalysts, modified with Mg(II). Effect of Mg (II) content Dieuzeide, María Laura; Jobbagy, Matias; Amadeo, Norma Elvira Ni based catalysts supported over γ-Al2O3, previously modified with increasing contents of Mg(II), were employed for the steam reforming of glycerol. The aim of the present study is to analyze the effect of the content of Mg(II), as a promoter of Ni/γ-Al2O3 catalysts, on the textural and structural characteristics of the solid; as well as on the catalytic activity and selectivity to H2 in the steam reforming of glycerol. Fresh samples were characterized by PXRD, BET surface area, H2 chemisorption, TPR, and CO2-TPD. Used catalysts were analyzed by TPO, in order to study the effect of Mg(II) on carbon gasification. Both fresh and used samples were examined by SEM. The content of Mg(II) has both an effect on the catalytic performance and on the structural and textural characteristics of the catalysts. The incorporation of Mg(II) results in the formation of Mg1−xAl2O4−x spinel phase. The differences in catalytic properties due to the increasing content of Mg(II) have effect simultaneously on the Ni° crystallite size, on the acidic?basic character and on the interactions between NiO and support. For the catalysts promoted with Mg(II), the best activity for the steam reforming of glycerol was achieved with Ni(10)Mg(3)Al catalyst while the Ni(10)Mg(15)Al catalyst formed the lowest amount of carbon during reaction time on stream. The catalyst prepared without Mg(II) presented good activity results despite the lowest Ni dispersion. This behaviour was assigned to the presence of Ni sites more active for the steam reforming of glycerol than the ones on the catalyst promoted with Mg(II). However, this catalyst had the highest carbon deposition during reaction time on stream. High contents of Mg(II) inhibited carbon formation, this was evidenced by TPO analyses performed to used samples. Low carbon formation at high Mg(II) could be related to the higher basic character of the support as the content of Mg(II) increases.