Search

The development of arid climate conditions in eastern Iberia during the mid-Cretaceous (mid-Albian to earliest Cenomanian) has been postulated by several authors over the last two decades based on sedimentological and palaeobotanical datasets. In this paper, we present a combined sedimentological and paleosol study of the mid-Albian to earliest Cenomanian Utrillas Group in the Cuenca Basin of east-central Spain, to improve knowledge of palaeoclimate. Four facies associations are identified as follows: Proximal alluvial braidplain (FA I), Distal alluvial braidplain (FA II), Aeolian dunes (FA III), and Inner estuarine settings (FA IV). The succession records the development of a braidplain system under dominantly arid conditions followed by a marine transgressive phase. In contrast to the overall arid palaeoclimate interpretation, multi-proxy palaeoedaphological analyses conducted for three paleosol profiles (Spodosols) indicate the occurrence of periods of increased humidity in the basin. These findings allow us to infer the occurrence of shorter-term climatic oscillations characterised by a tropical savanna climate when the palaeosols developed, suggesting significantly more humid conditions than those inferred based on the sedimentological and previous palaeobotanical datasets. We propose a palaeoclimatic model that explains the alternation between the dominantly arid and these more humid periods based on the cyclical latitudinal shifting of the mid-Cretaceous climatic belts, shedding new light on the mid-Albian to earliest Cenomanian climate of Iberia., Agencia Estatal de Investigación, Unión Europea, Depto. de Geodinámica, Estratigrafía y Paleontología, Depto. de Mineralogía y Petrología, Fac. de Ciencias Geológicas, TRUE, pub

Deserts are stressful environments where the living beings must acquire different strategies to survive due to the water stress conditions. From the late Albian to the early Cenomanian, the northern and eastern parts of Iberia were the location of the desert system represented by deposits assigned to the Utrillas Group, which bear abundant amber with numerous bioinclusions, including diverse arthropods and vertebrate remains. In the Maestrazgo Basin (E Spain), the late Albian to early Cenomanian sedimentary succession represents the most distal part of the desert system (fore-erg) that was characterised by an alternation of aeolian and shallow marine sedimentary environments in the proximity of the Western Tethys palaeo-coast, with rare to frequent dinoflagellate cysts. The terrestrial ecosystems from this area were biodiverse, and comprised plant communities whose fossils are associated with sedimentological indicators of aridity. The palynoflora dominated by wind-transported conifer pollen is interpreted to reflect various types of xerophytic woodlands from the hinterlands and the coastal settings. Therefore, fern and angiosperm communities abundantly grew in wet interdunes and coastal wetlands (temporary to semi-permanent freshwater/salt marshes and water bodies). In addition, the occurrence of low-diversity megafloral assemblages reflects the existence of coastal salt-influenced settings. The palaeobotanical study carried out in this paper which is an integrative work on palynology and palaeobotany, does not only allow the reconstruction of the vegetation that developed in the mid-Cretaceous fore-erg from the eastern Iberia, in addition, provides new biostratigraphic and palaeogeographic data considering the context of angiosperm radiation as well as the biota inferred in the amber-bearing outcrops of San Just, Arroyo de la Pascueta and La Hoya (within Cortes de Arenoso succesion). Importantly, the studied assemblages include Afropollis, Dichastopollenites, Cret, Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacio ́n y Universidades, IGME-CSIC, Secretaria d’Universitats i Recerca de la Generalitat de Catalonia, European Social Fund, Depto. de Geodinámica, Estratigrafía y Paleontología, Fac. de Ciencias Geológicas, TRUE, pub

This Ph.D. thesis presents a high‐resolution palaeogeographical study of the onset and evolution of the largest ever recorded marine transgression, the “mid” Cretaceous transgression, in an exceptional setting located in the Western Tethys, at the eastern margin of Iberia: the Cuenca Basin (Spain). The study of the Cuenca Basin allows the accurate reconstruction of the time‐space evolution of the transgressive event due to:(1) The Albian to early Cenomanian sedimentary succession represents the sedimentary record of that major transgressive event. This succession is composed of the siliciclastic deposits of the Utrillas Gr, interpreted as an arid braidplain system, and the mixed shallow marine deposits of the La Bicuerca Mb (Aras de Alpuente Fm).(2) The basin is located at the interface between those areas entirely dominated by marine sedimentation during the “mid” and Late Cretaceous, and the areas that were dominated mainly by continental sedimentation until the transgression reached its climax during the Cenomanian‐Turonian boundary. Additionally, the Albian to early Cenomanian time in Iberia was characterised by: (a) representing the transition from the Late Jurassic‐Early Cretaceous syn‐rift stage to the Late Cretaceous post‐rift stage, and (b) being an extremely prolific time span regarding the deposit of amber‐bearing successions..., Esta tesis doctoral presenta un estudio de alta resolución sobre el comienzo y evolución de la mayor transgresión marina del Mesozoico, la transgresión del Cretácico “medio”, en un contexto privilegiado, localizado al oeste del Océano del Tethys, en el margen este de Iberia: La Serranía de Cuenca (España). El estudio de esta cuenca sedimentaria ha permitido realizar una reconstrucción espacio‐temporal precisa y pormenorizada del registro geológico de la transgresión debido a dos factores:(1) La sucesión sedimentaria Albiense ‐ Cenomaniense inferior representa el registro de la transgresión del Cretácico “medio”. Esta sucesión comprende un cambio lateral de facies entre los depósitos siliciclásticos del Gr. Utrillas, interpretados como una llanura alluvial de tipo braided, y los mixtos del Mb. La Bicuerca (Fm. Aras de Alpuente), interpretados como depositados en un ambiente marino somero.(2) La cuenca sedimentaria está localizada en una zona de transición entre las areas dominadas por sedimentación marina durante el Cretácico “medio” y Superior (hacia el SE de la zona de estudio), y la sáreas que estuvieron dominadas por sedimentación continental (localizadas al NO de la zona estudiada)hasta que tuvo lugar el máximo de la transgresión durante el límite Cenomaniense‐Turoniense. Además, cabe destacar que el intervalo Albiense ‐ Cenomaniense inferior en Iberia estuvo caracterizado por: (a) registrar la transición de la etapa sin‐rift del Jurásico Superior ‐ Cretácico Inferior a la etapa postrift del Cretácico Superior, y (b) ser un periodo en cuyos depósitos se han descubierto numerosos yacimientos ambarígenos...

© 2015 American Physical Society. We acknowledge financial support from the Spanish MINECO through grants (MAT2012-33207, MAT2011- 27470-C02, MAT2012-37638 and Consolider Ingenio 2010 - CSD2009-00013 (Imagine)), from CAM through Grant No. S2009/MAT-1756 (Phama) and Basque Government (PI2011- 1). Financial support from EC through FEDER program and Marie Curie Actions (256470-ITAMOSCINOM) is also acknowledged. C.M.B. thanks the Spanish MINECO for the financial support through the RyC program. The authors would like to thank the technical staff of the ICMAB for their assistance, We report on magnetotransport properties on La_(0.7)Sr_(0.3)MnO_(3)/MgO/Fe tunnel junctions grown epitaxially on top of (001)-oriented SrTiO_(3) substrates by sputtering. It is shown that the magnetoresistive response depends critically on the MgO/Fe interfacial properties. The appearance of an FeOX layer by the interface destroys the 1 symmetry filtering effect of the MgO/Fe system and only a small negative tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) (∼ −3 %) is measured. However, in annealed samples a switchover from positive TMR (∼ +25% at 70 K) to negative TMR (∼ −1 %) is observed around 120 K. This change is associated with the transition from semiconducting at high T to insulating at low T taking place at the Verwey transition (TV ∼ 120 K) in Fe3O4, thus suggesting the formation of a very thin slab of magnetite at the MgO/Fe interface during annealing treatments. These results highlight the relevance of interfacial properties on the tunneling conduction process and how it can be substantially modified through appropriate interface engineering., Comunidad de Madrid, Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO), Basque Government, FEDER program, Marie Curie Actions, Depto. de Estructura de la Materia, Física Térmica y Electrónica, Fac. de Ciencias Físicas, TRUE, pub

Resumen: La imagen hiperespectral se utiliza cada vez más en la medicina para diversas aplicaciones. En la detección de tumores, la imagen hiperespectral puede ayudar a diferenciar los tumores malignos de los benignos mediante la detección de patrones específicos en los espectros de los tejidos afectados. También se ha demostrado que la imagen hiperespectral puede ayudar a detectar y localizar tumores más pequeños que no se pueden detectar con otros métodos de imagen. El propósito general del proyecto NEMESIS-3D-CM, actualmente desarrollándose en el Centro de Investigación en Tecnologías del Software y Sistemas Multimedia para la Sostenibilidad (CITSEM) es la investigación del procesamiento de imagen hiperespectral para la detección de tumores. Para ello utiliza procesadores RISC-V debido a su arquitectura modular y su capacidad para incorporar extensiones personalizadas. El procesamiento de imágenes hiperespectrales requiere un alto rendimiento de procesamiento de datos debido a la gran cantidad de datos que se deben procesar. Los procesadores RISC-V pueden ser personalizados para incorporar extensiones específicas que permitan el procesamiento eficiente de imágenes hiperespectrales. La evolución del proyecto persigue optimizar el rendimiento de la aplicación para trasladar la tecnología a ordenadores más manejables y usar el procesamiento de imágenes hiperespectrales en tiempo real. En cooperación con la línea de investigación de Grupo de Diseño Electrónico y Microelectrónico (GDEM) el presente proyecto trata de buscar nuevas formas de optimizar la eficiencia de la aplicación. Para ello utiliza una herramienta capaz de emular un procesador RISC-V que tiene la capacidad de incorporar nuevas instrucciones personalizadas. Los objetivos del proyecto buscan la posibilidad de hacer más eficiente el código con el fin de que la línea de investigación de GDEM pueda utilizar estos métodos para continuar con su evolución. Para ello se propone un estudio sobre la creación e i

Sabries dir quins són els sentits físics i quins els químics? Vista, oïda i tacte són clarament els físics i no és casualitat que estiguin al teu mòbil, a la càmera, al micròfon i a la pantalla. Però els sentits químics no són tan fàcils de replicar electrònicament… de moment. Com es pot transformar la presència d’una o més molècules en electricitat? Per això la indústria alimentària o la dels perfums valora l’olfacte entrenat. Aquest article tracta de l’olor, de com funciona i quina és la relació amb l’estructura molecular i la isomeria., Can you tell which are the physical senses and which are the chemical ones? Sight, hearing and touch are clearly physical and it is no coincidence that they are in your mobile, in the camera, the microphone and the screen. But chemical senses aren’t so easy to replicate electronically…for now. How to transform the presence of one or more molecules into electricity? For this reason, the food industry or the perfume industry values a trained sense of smell. This article deals with odor, how it works, and what is its relationship to molecular structure and isomerism., ¿Sabrías decir cuáles son los sentidos físicos y cuáles los químicos? Vista, oído y tacto son claramente los físicos y no es casualidad que estén en tu móvil, en la cámara, el micrófono y la pantalla. Pero los sentidos químicos no son tan fáciles de replicar electrónicamente… por ahora. ¿Cómo transformar la presencia de una o más moléculas en electricidad? Por esta razón la industria alimentaria o la de los perfumes valora el olfato entrenado. Este artículo trata del olor, de cómo funciona y cuál es su relación con la estructura molecular y la isomería.

Amber is fossilized resin that preserves biological remains in exceptional detail, study of which has revolutionized understanding of past terrestrial organisms and habitats from the Early Cretaceous to the present day. Cretaceous amber outcrops are more abundant in the Northern Hemisphere and during an interval of about 54 million years, from the Barremian to the Campanian. The extensive resin production that generated this remarkable amber record may be attributed to the biology of coniferous resin producers, the growth of resiniferous forests in proximity to transitional sedimentary environments, and the dynamics of climate during the Cretaceous. Here we discuss the set of interrelated abiotic and biotic factors potentially involved in resin production during that time. We name this period of mass resin production by conifers during the late Mesozoic, fundamental as an archive of terrestrial life, the `Cretaceous Resinous Interval (CREI).

Inherited mutations in the CHEK2 gene have been associated with an increased lifetime risk of developing breast cancer (BC). We aim to identify in the study population the prevalence of mutations in the CHEK2 gene in diagnosed BC patients, evaluate the phenotypic characteristics of the tumor and family history, and predict the deleteriousness of the variants of uncertain significance (VUS). A genetic study was performed, from May 2016 to April 2020, in 396 patients diagnosed with BC at the University Hospital Lozano Blesa of Zaragoza, Spain. Patients with a genetic variant in the CHEK2 gene were selected for the study. We performed a descriptive analysis of the clinical variables, a bibliographic review of the variants, and a cosegregation study when possible. Moreover, an in-depth bioinformatics analysis of CHEK2 VUS was carried out. We identified nine genetic variants in the CHEK2 gene in 10 patients (two pathogenic variants and seven VUS). This supposes a prevalence of 0.75% and 1.77%, respectively. In all cases, there was a family history of BC in first- and/or second-degree relatives. We carried out a cosegregation study in two families, being positive in one of them. The bioinformatics analyses predicted the pathogenicity of six of the VUS. In conclusion, CHEK2 mutations have been associated with an increased risk for BC. This risk is well-established for foundation variants. However, the risk assessment for other variants is unclear. The incorporation of bioinformatics analysis provided supporting evidence of the pathogenicity of VUS.

[EN] The development of arid climate conditions in eastern Iberia during the mid-Cretaceous (mid-Albian to earliest Cenomanian) has been postulated by several authors over the last two decades based on sedimentological and palaeobotanical datasets. In this paper, we present a combined sedimentological and paleosol study of the mid-Albian to earliest Cenomanian Utrillas Group in the Cuenca Basin of east-central Spain, to improve knowledge of palaeoclimate. Four facies associations are identified as follows: Proximal alluvial braidplain (FA I), Distal alluvial braidplain (FA II), Aeolian dunes (FA III), and Inner estuarine settings (FA IV). The succession records the development of a braidplain system under dominantly arid conditions followed by a marine transgressive phase. In contrast to the overall arid palaeoclimate interpretation, multi-proxy palaeoedaphological analyses conducted for three paleosol profiles (Spodosols) indicate the occurrence of periods of increased humidity in the basin. These findings allow us to infer the occurrence of shorter-term climatic oscillations characterised by a tropical savanna climate when the palaeosols developed, suggesting significantly more humid conditions than those inferred based on the sedimentological and previous palaeobotanical datasets. We propose a palaeoclimatic model that explains the alternation between the dominantly arid and these more humid periods based on the cyclical latitudinal shifting of the mid-Cretaceous climatic belts, shedding new light on the mid-Albian to earliest Cenomanian climate of Iberia.

A comparative study of the optical properties of random and ordered arrays of metallic and hyperbolic slit antennas is presented. The metallic slits are fabricated on Au layers, whereas the hyperbolic ones are fabricated on Au/MgO multilayers. The random arrays show, for both types of antennas, similar slit plasmon resonances whose positions depend on the internal structure of the supporting layer. On the other hand, the spectra of the ordered arrays of the hyperbolic slits present additional resonances related to the excitation of Bloch plasmon polaritons in the hyperbolic layer. By varying the slit length and periodicity, an analysis of the interaction between slit localized resonance and Bloch plasmon polaritons is also presented.