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Introduction: There is great variability in the cognitive performance profile, clinical presentation, course of symptoms, and subsequent functioning in individuals with a first episode of psychosis (FEP). Premorbid IQ (pIQ) and age of onset are two important prognostic factors relevant to clinical practice and broadly explored in psychosis research (1,2) that could help to explain heterogeneity in cognitive performance after FEP. Methods: The present prospective longitudinal (two-year) observational study examines the neurocognitive performance profiles of 255 individuals with FEP and 326 controls. Using ANOVA, we compared four FEP subgroups according to the following criteria: age of onset before or after 18 years old, and pIQ below or above 85. We examined cognitive changes in the subgroups with pair-wise comparisons, two-way mixed ANOVA, and repeated measures ANOVA. General objective: to characterize the neuropsychological profiles of the four subsets of individuals with a FEP defined by age of onset of psychosis (

Protein-based biomaterials are excellent candidates for biomedical applications since they have similar properties to the extracellular matrix. Recently, the use of sericin (SS), a protein present in the silk cocoon, can be used as biomaterial. To improve their properties, SS biomaterials must be subject to treatments after their manufacturing. Ethanol post-treatments by immersion and solvent vapor, are used for increasing their crystallinity, mechanical and water stability. In this work, the effect of ethanol post-treatment on the properties of SS scaffolds elaborated by the lyophilization technique was evaluated. Four post-treatments were carried out on the samples: immersed in absolute ethanol for 5 min (SS/EtOH 5 min) and for 1 h (SS/EtOH 1 h); and exposition in a saturated ethanol vapor environment for 1 h (SS/VapEtOH 1 h) and for 24 h (SS/VapEtOH 24 h). The scaffolds were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier‑transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), water absorption, degradation in a phosphate-buffered saline solution, sericin release from the scaffolds, and the cytotoxicity test. The ATR-FTIR results showed an increment in the relative content of β-sheet structures and an increment in the crystallinity. SEM images revealed that the post-treatment process induces changes in treated materials to present morphological changes. The treatment materials were more water-stable. The excipients of the SS scaffolds evaluated in human epithelial fibroblasts do not generate an acute cytotoxic effect. The results suggest that ethanol post-treatments induce conformational transitions and morphological changes, which should be considered for selecting the post-treatment conditions according to developing materials for wound regeneration.

Risk factors associated with equine reproductive efficiency have been identified along with those associated specifically with early pregnancy loss (EPL). In contrast, no studies have reported risk factors associated with abortion (loss between days 70 and 300 post-cover). Given the causes of abortion differ from those of EPL, likely too will the risk factors. A retrospective cohort study was carried out to identify risk factors associated with abortion in UK- and Irish-based Thoroughbreds, collecting data on 20 exposure variables over a 5-year period. A generalized linear mixed model was utilized to evaluate the associations between exposure variables and abortion, with clustering of observations accounted for at the mare and farm level. Variables with a likelihood ratio test (LRT) P value < 0.2 were entered into the model in a forward stepwise approach. Pregnancy outcome was available on 4439 pregnancies from 2510 mares. Having had two or more prior abortions (odds ratio (OR): 7.91, 95% CI: 2.86, 21.88), conceiving on the second or subsequent covered estrous cycle (OR: 1.84, 95% CI: 1.22, 2.78) and conceiving multiple conceptuses (OR: 1.68, 95% CI: 1.02, 2.76) were associated with an increased risk of abortion compared to null parous, first estrous cycle covers and singleton conceptions, respectively. Increasing paternal age (OR: 0.95, 95% CI: 0.90, 0.99) was associated with a decreasing risk of abortion. Mare and farm variance were not significant in the final model, LRT P = 0.43. These findings provide evidence-based data to inform Thoroughbred breeding management practices to help mitigate abortion risk. Lay summary This is the first study to identify the risk factors (characteristics which change the chance of an event) for abortion (miscarriage between days 70 and 300 of pregnancy) in the horse. Statistical models were used to account for the interactions between 20 different factors. The factor which increased the mare’s risk of having an abortion the most was when she had had two or more abortions prior to the pregnancy. Additionally, when the mare was initially pregnant with twins but one of those pregnancies was reduced, the remaining pregnancy was at an increased risk of aborting. Older mares were not at an increased risk of abortion like in humans; however, pregnancies fathered by older stallions were less likely to abort than those from younger stallions. The findings of this study can inform horse breeding practices to help reduce the chance of an abortion.

Hydrogels are broadly used in applications where polymer materials must interface with biology. The hydrogel network is amorphous, with substantial heterogeneity on length scales up to hundreds of nanometers, in some cases raising challenges for applications that would benefit from highly structured interactions with biomolecules. Here, we show that it is possible to generate ordered patterns of functional groups on polyacrylamide hydrogel surfaces. We demonstrate that, when linear patterns of amines are transferred to polyacrylamide, they pattern interactions with DNA at the interface, a capability of potential importance for preconcentration in chromatographic applications, as well as for the development of nanostructured hybrid materials and supports for cell culture.

Objetivo: Describir las características clínicas, microbiológicas y los desenlaces de las bacteriemias primarias por S. pneumoniae ocurridas en población pediátrica hospitalizada en instituciones de alta complejidad, pertenecientes a la Red Neumocolombia (2017-2019). Metodología: Estudio observacional, descriptivo, longitudinal, exploratorio con alcance analítico, en donde se tomó información de las historias clínicas con hemocultivos positivos para S. pneumoniae sin otro foco infeccioso, realizados en los hospitales pediátricos, reportados a la Red Neumocolombia (2017-2019). Resultados: Durante el periodo de estudio se analizó información de 51 registros, 62,7% fueron hombres, la mediana de edad fue 25 meses (RIC 9-49). El síntoma predominante fue fiebre (78,4%), se reportó vacunación con Vacuna Neumocócica Conjugada decavalente (PCV-10) en 47%. El serotipo más frecuente fue 19A (39,4%). El porcentaje de resistencia antibiótica fue: eritromicina 43%, penicilina 25.4%, cefotaxima 11,7%. Los factores relacionados al ingreso a Unidades de Cuidado Intensivo Pediátrico (UCIP) fueron: dolor pleurítico (OR27,9; IC95%3,13 – 248,16 p=0,03), tos (OR6,04; IC95%1,46 – 24,88; p=0,013), dolor abdominal (OR 6,5; IC95%1,85 – 22,80; p=0,003), dificultad respiratoria (OR12; IC95%2,95 – 48,77 p=0,001), tirajes (OR22,71; IC95%4,65 – 141,90 p=0,001), cianosis (OR8,69; IC95%1,95 – 38,65 p=0,004), hipotermia (OR42,62; IC95%4,77 – 380,74 p=0,001), serotipo 19A (OR3,9;IC95%1,10 – 13,81 p=0,035). La letalidad fue del 11,7%. Conclusión: Después de la introducción de la vacuna PCV10 en Colombia en el año 2012 se reportaron cambios en la epidemiologia, con disminución de los serotipos vacunales, y aumento en el serotipo 19A, siendo uno de los factores que intervienen en el ingreso a UCIP por bacteriemia primaria. Se reporta aumento en la resistencia por eritromicina, penicilina y cefotaxima.

Objetivos: Conocer el estado actual de la práctica de la neuropsicología en Ecuador a través de la administración de una encuesta online. Metodos: Un total de 48 profesionales que trabajan en el campo de la neuropsicología completaron una encuesta online entre agosto del 2018 hasta diciembre del 2019. Resultados: La mayoría de los participantes fueron mujeres (62.5%) y con una media de edad de 37.23. El 87.5% reporta haber recibido entrenamiento en neuropsicología en postgrado. La mayoría está empleada en práctica privada, universidades y/o clínicas, y reportan estar satisfechos con su trabajo. Los diagnósticos tratados con mayor frecuencia son el Trastorno por Déficit de Atención e Hiperactividad (TDAH), problemas de aprendizaje y trastornos de lenguaje. Las tres principales barreras identificadas para el desarrollo de la neuropsicología son la falta de programas de formación académica, la falta de programas de formación clínica y la falta de disposición para colaborar entre los profesionales. Conclusiones: La práctica de la neuropsicología en Ecuador está a la par con la de Latinoamérica. Sin embargo, ciertos cambios son necesarios como, incrementar los programas académicos y clínicos de entrenamiento en el área, formalizar regulaciones que garanticen calidad y estándares en la práctica, y continuar baremando y validando pruebas neuropsicológicas en el país.

Social dysfunction is commonly present in neuropsychiatric disorders of schizophrenia (SZ) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Theory of Mind (ToM) deficits have been linked to social dysfunction in disease-specific studies. Nevertheless, it remains unclear how ToM is related to social functioning across these disorders, and which factors contribute to this relationship. We investigated transdiagnostic associations between ToM and social functioning among SZ/AD patients and healthy controls, and explored to what extent these associations relate to information processing speed or facial emotion recognition capacity. A total of 163 participants were included (SZ: n=56, AD: n=50 and age-matched controls: n=57). Social functioning was assessed with the Social Functioning Scale (SFS) and the De Jong-Gierveld Loneliness Scale (LON). ToM was measured with the Hinting Task. Information processing speed was measured by the Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST) and facial emotion recognition capacity by the facial emotion recognition task (FERT). Case-control deficits in Hinting Task performance were larger in AD (rrb = -0.57) compared to SZ (rrb = -0.35). Poorer Hinting Task performance was transdiagnostically associated with the SFS (βHinting-Task = 1.20, pHinting-Task = -0.27, pHinting-Task = 0.95, p

the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation. Instituto de Salud Carlos III (SAM16PE07CP1, PI16/02012, PI19/024), co-financed by ERDF Funds from the European Commission, ‘A way of making Europe’, CIBERSAM. Madrid Regional Government (B2017/BMD-3740 AGES-CM-2), European Union Structural Funds. European Union Seventh Framework Program under grant agreements FP7-4-HEALTH-2009-2.2.1-2-241909 (Project EU-GEI) and FP7-HEALTH-2013-2.2.1-2-603196 (Project PSYSCAN); and European Union H2020 Program under the Innovative Medicines Initiative 2 Joint Undertaking (grant agreement No 115916, Project PRISM, and grant agreement No 777394, Project AIMS-2-TRIALS) (...), Pignon B, Peyre H, Ayrolles A, Kirkbride JB, Jamain S, Ferchiou A, Richard JR, Baudin G, Tosato S, Jongsma H, de Haan L, Tarricone I, Bernardo M, Velthorst E, Braca M, Arango C, Arrojo M, Bobes J, Del-Ben CM, Di Forti M, Gayer-Anderson C, Jones PB, La Cascia C, Lasalvia A, Menezes PR, Quattrone D, Sanjuán J, Selten JP, Tortelli A, Llorca PM, van Os J, Rutten BPF, Murray RM, Morgan C, Leboyer M, Szöke A, Schürhoff F

Introducción: los filtros de vena cava son dispositivos endovasculares utilizados en la práctica clínica para reducir el riesgo de progresión de una enfermedad tromboembólica venosa aguda a una tromboembolia pulmonar en casos de contraindicaciones absolutas de anticoagulación. Actualmente, no se cuenta con reportes sobre la experiencia del uso de dichos dispositivos en Colombia. Objetivo: evaluar las indicaciones, prácticas, tasas de retiro, y complicaciones de filtros de vena cava en un hospital universitario en Colombia. Métodos: se realizó un estudio retrospectivo en un hospital de tercer nivel universitario en Colombia. Se incluyeron pacientes en los que se implantó un filtro de vena cava. Se excluyeron pacientes de los que no se tenían datos fundamentales para el análisis. Se realizó estadística descriptiva y prueba T de Student para comparación entre grupos. Resultados: se incluyeron 196 pacientes a los que se les implantó un filtro de vena cava. Todos los pacientes tenían enfermedad tromboembólica venosa aguda y a ninguno se le implantó el dispositivo como medida profiláctica primaria. Se presentaron complicaciones relacionadas con el filtro de vena cava en 13 pacientes, y el retiro se consideró en 118 pacientes, de los cuales fue exitoso en 108. Se incluyeron 76 pacientes oncológicos a los que se les implantó un filtro de vena cava. De ellos, sólo en 36 se intentó el retiro del dispositivo, y se logró en 32 (88,8 %). Conclusiones: en el presente estudio se encontró que las indicaciones más comunes de implantación de filtro de vena cava fueron la necesidad de cirugía, la hemorragia o riesgo de hemorragia aguda y la trombólisis local guiada por catéter. La complicación más común fue la trombosis aguda de la vena cava inferior y la inclinación del filtro de vena cava. El retiro del filtro de vena cava fue exitoso en la mayoría de pacientes en que se intentó.

One of the major obstacles to realizing spintronic devices such as MESO logic devices is the small signal magnitude used for magnetization readout, making it important to find materials with high spin-to-charge conversion efficiency. Although intermixing at the junction of two materials is a widely occurring phenomenon, its influence on material characterization and the estimation of spin-to-charge conversion efficiencies is easily neglected or underestimated. Here, we demonstrate all electrical spin-to-charge conversion in Bi$_x$Se$_{1-x}$ nanodevices and show how the conversion efficiency can be overestimated by tens of times depending on the adjacent metal used as a contact. We attribute this to the intermixing-induced compositional change and the properties of a polycrystal that lead to drastic changes in resistivity and spin Hall angle. Strategies to improve the spin-to-charge conversion signal in similar structures for functional devices are discussed., Main text (18 pages, 3 figures, 2 tables) and supporting information (18 pages)

One of the major obstacles to realizing spintronic devices such as MESO logic devices is the small signal magnitude used for magnetization readout, making it important to find materials with high spin-to-charge conversion efficiency. Although intermixing at the junction of two materials is a widely occurring phenomenon, its influence on material characterization and the estimation of spin-to-charge conversion efficiencies are easily neglected or underestimated. Here, we demonstrate all-electrical spin-to-charge conversion in Bi

Promoting, structuring, or limiting adsorption of polyelectrolytes at interfaces is of importance in applications ranging from biomedical devices to nanoscale electronics. Routes for surface functionalization, particularly those capable of controlling the molecular conformation of adsorbates, are typically highly customized for the substrate and must therefore be redeveloped for each application. Here, we show that polymerized diacetylene striped phases with embedded 1 nm resolution functional patterns control polyelectrolyte adsorption on a crystalline inorganic surface (graphite) and can be easily transferred to elastomeric materials (here, poly(dimethylsiloxane), PDMS) to control adsorption on amorphous surfaces as well. We demonstrate that transferred functional poly(diacetylene) layers on PDMS can be designed to promote adsorption of polyelectrolytes or to limit protein adsorption, two common goals in controlling PDMS surface chemistry for biomedical applications.

The pineapple (Ananas comosus) is an important tropical fruit in the world market. Its pulp has significant nutritional value while the peel and the core, in spite of being high in dietary fibre and nutrients, are generally considered to be agro-industrial waste. The aim of this research was to evaluate the effect that the integrated enzymatic and shear homogenization processes have on the physicochemical stability of pineapple base suspensions (pulp, core, and peel extract). Initially, an enzymatic hydrolysis process was evaluated with a completely randomized factorial design. Independent variables: incubation time (t(inc)) (1–4 h) and [enzyme] (0–200 ppm). Dependent variables: viscosity (μ) and particle sizes (D([3;2]) and D([4;3])). The results showed a reduction of (μ) (70.7%), D([3;2]) (54.2%), and D([4;3]) (61.8%) for the optimized treatment (t(inc) = 3.2 h and [enzyme] = 200 ppm) compared to the control (t = 0, without enzyme). The effect of the integrated enzymatic treatment with a serial homogenization process was subsequently evaluated. Independent variables: high-speed homogenization time (t(1)) (15–20 min), recirculation time in high pressure homogenizer (t(2)) (3–7 min), and arabic gum (AG) (0.6–1.0%). Dependent variables: total suspension solids (TS(S)), zeta potential (ζ), μ, spectral stability index (R), D([3;2]), and D([4;3]). The application of the integrated processes of enzymatic treatment and serial homogenization was more effective to be able to obtain a stable pineapple-based suspension. The experimental optimization of multiple responses defined t(1) = 16.4 min, t(2) = 7 min, AG = 0.98%, and TSs = 15.7 ± 0.5%, ζ = − 23.1 ± 0.4 mV, µ = 221 ± 11 cP, D([3;2]) = 56.8 ± 2 µm and D([4;3]) = 120.6 ± 4 µm and R = 0.58 ± 0.02 were obtained.

Introduction: One of the main bottlenecks in restoration projects based on sexual reproduction is post-settlement survival, mainly due to competition for substrate with fleshy algae and predation. Therefore, substrates of different shapes and materials have been created and tested, seeking to optimize these processes with attractive surfaces for the larvae and structures where the recruits are protected from predation, and competition is reduced. Objective: To improve settlement and post-settlement survival of two important Caribbean reef-building corals, using different coatings on substrates. Methods: To determine whether substrate coatings properties are favourable to larval settlement in Orbicella annularis, and O. faveolata, collected in Puerto Morelos, Mexican Caribbean, we evaluated their settlement for three weeks on six coatings with a combination of properties. Each coating was designed to provide a combination of two out of three properties: 1) water repellence (hydrophobicity), 2) phosphorescence-based colour, and 3) mineral-enriched surface chemistry. In a separate experiment larvae settlement was tested using coatings with a single property. Finally, we determined the post-settlement survival of O. annularis and O. faveolata on the different coatings for seven weeks. Results: The combination of high hydrophobicity and light blue phosphorescent microparticles and high hydrophobicity and red-orange phosphorescent microparticles resulted in a higher settlement of O. annularis and O. faveolata when compared with other coatings (30.8 - 66.7 % higher). No significant differences were found in the number of larval settled when the water-repellence and the phosphorescence-based were evaluated independently. Post-settlement survival time on substrates was low, with a maximum of 34 days after settlement for O. annularis and 42 days for O. faveolata. Conclusions: In terms of the larval settlement, the combination of the coatings properties appears to play an essential role in the choice of microhabitat for both O. annularis and O. faveolata. But individually these properties did not generate an advantage in the larval settlement. Moreover, some chemical components associated with the coatings may be counterproductive to the survival of the polyps over time.

Contains fulltext : 235396.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access) In the last decade there has been a revolution in terms of genetic findings in neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs), with many discoveries critical for understanding their aetiology and pathophysiology. Clinical trials in single-gene disorders such as fragile X syndrome highlight the challenges of investigating new drug targets in NDDs. Incorporating a developmental perspective into the process of drug development for NDDs could help to overcome some of the current difficulties in identifying and testing new treatments. This paper provides a summary of the proceedings of the 'New Frontiers Meeting' on neurodevelopmental disorders organised by the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology in conjunction with the Innovative Medicines Initiative-sponsored AIMS-2-TRIALS consortium. It brought together experts in developmental genetics, autism, NDDs, and clinical trials from academia and industry, regulators, patient and family associations, and other stakeholders. The meeting sought to provide a platform for focused communication on scientific insights, challenges, and methodologies that might be applicable to the development of CNS treatments from a neurodevelopmental perspective. Multidisciplinary translational consortia to develop basic and clinical research in parallel could be pivotal to advance knowledge in the field. Although implementation of clinical trials for NDDs in paediatric populations is widely acknowledged as essential, safety concerns should guide each aspect of their design. Industry and academia should join forces to improve knowledge of the biology of brain development, identify the optimal timing of interventions, and translate these findings into new drugs, allowing for the needs of users and families, with support from regulatory agencies.

Nacobbus aberrans is responsible for producing significant production losses in numerous crops. For this reason, it is considered a major economic pest in several countries. In recent years, its incidence increased mainly in greenhouse crops. This work focused on the responses of various physiological and biochemical parameters of pepper plants growing in a soil infected by nematodes. The experiment was conducted under controlled conditions. A significant reduction in growth was observed in the inoculated plants, showing less accumulation of dry matter both in the aerial part and in the roots. The leaves of the inoculated plants presented lower chlorophyll and soluble proteins contents than the non-inoculated plants. Malonyldialdehyde content was higher in roots and leaves of inoculated plants than in plants without nematodes. An increase in the catalase and peroxidase activity was observed in plants infected by N. aberrans. The loss of functionality of the inoculated roots induced water stress.This was also confirmed by a greater accumulation of proline and sugars, metabolites used as osmoregulators in situations of water deficit.

This study aimed to describe the trends in mortality from eight vaccine-preventable diseases in Colombia in the last 40 years and their relationship with vaccination coverage.It is a population-based descriptive study.The frequencies of deaths by decade, disease, sex, and the specific mortality rates by age group were calculated. Using a negative binomial regression model, the 10-year changes in mortality and their relationship with vaccination coverage were determined.The number of deaths and the adjusted rates decreased since 1989 in all diseases (incidence rate ratio1 when compared with the 1979-1988 decade). Vaccination coverage below 90% is associated with an increase in mortality from diphtheria, measles, mumps, neonatal tetanus, and pertussis.Historical changes in mortality support the benefits of vaccination, but new efforts are required to sustain the elimination of diseases.

Most high-resolution interfacial patterning approaches are restricted to crystalline inorganic interfaces. Recently, we have shown that it is possible to generate 1 nm resolution functional patterns on soft materials, such as polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), by creating highly structured striped patterns of functional alkyldiacetylenes on a hard crystalline surface, photopolymerizing to set the molecular pattern as a striped-phase polydiacetylene (sPDA), and then covalently transferring the sPDAs to PDMS. Transfer depends on the diacetylene polymerization, making it important to understand design principles for efficient sPDA polymerization and cross-linking to PDMS. Here, we combine single-molecule and fluorescence-based metrics for sPDA polymerization and transfer, first to characterize sPDA polymerization of amine striped phases, and then to develop a probabilistic model that describes the transfer process in terms of sPDA-PDMS cross-linking reaction efficiency and number of reactions required for transfer. We illustrate that transferred patterns of alkylamines can be used to direct both adsorption of CdSe nanocrystals with alkyl ligand shells and covalent reactions with fluorescent dyes, highlighting the utility of functional patterning of the PDMS surface.

Due to the fact that any type of aerospace vessel needs energy, and in the future, this energy must be nuclear and obtained by fusion, not by fission, this paper presents shortly a method by which nuclear fusion can be more easily achieved on an industrial scale. On the other hand, normal aircraft will have to be electrically operated with modern electric motors in the future, which will be able to be energized from modern accumulators which in turn will be charged with energy obtained by burning hydrogen. Hydrogen has the advantage of being obtainable by various methods on an industrial scale, sustainable, and of ensuring economic combustion and without pollution. The paper presents ways to extract hydrogen directly from water, including ones made by the authors of the paper over time, but also the possibility of using nuclear energy extracted by fusion also from hydrogen (its ionic isotopes, deuteron or Triton).

Silk sericin is a natural polymer produced by silkworm Bombyx mori; which has the function of covering the fibroin filaments so that they remain linked together as well as maintaining the structura...

The use of a unified power flow controller (UPFC) to improve the power transfer in an EAF is investigated. The implemented equipment used techniques of hardware-in-the-loop to determine the required specific characteristics of the UPFC to improve the stability of the arc. The arc is mainly responsible for the conversion of electromagnetic power into thermal power and heat transfer. The stability studies of power networks help in improving the stability of the arc. These are the topics covered in this paper. This research also shows how it is possible to achieve an increment of the stability of the arc with the enhancement of the power quality between the main transformer and the distribution system through the decrease of the THD I , unbalance, and flicker.

Resumen: Se presenta un estudio orientado a promover la sacarificación de la cascarilla de cebada a través de la aplicación de complejos enzimáticos comerciales. La cascarilla de cebada cervecera corresponde a un residuo lignocelulósico potencial para su introducción en procesos de biorrefinería dada su composición química y alto volumen de material residual. En este contexto, Viscozyme L, Celluclast 1.5L, Hemicellulase y Xylanase fueron evaluados en función de la dosificación con el objetivo de maximizar la respuesta en azúcares reductores. La hidrólisis enzimática presentó un efecto significativo obteniéndose los mejores resultados para el complejo Viscozyme L con una máxima liberación de glucosa de 16.9 g/L. Los resultados dan viabilidad a la implementación del uso del complejo Viscozyme L., permitiendo procesos más limpios y energéticamente eficientes.

This paper studies the phenomenon of mixed ionic and electronic conductivity in magnetron sputtered gadolinia doped ceria thin films under the effect of an applied DC bias. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy was used to measure the change in impedance under an alternating voltage of 300 mV, at temperatures between 25 °C and 150 °C and applied biases of ∼4–20 kV/mm, which are much higher than any prior study. The application of a DC bias produces a reversible decrease in both the grain and grain boundary resistances for GDC, and the films exhibit bias-induced mixed ionic and electronic conductivity. Additional features become visible in the Nyquist plots, indicating possible novel mechanisms in response to bias. Particularly interesting is the appearance of inductive loops in the low frequency regime, at very high bias values, rarely seen for such materials. Here this novel behavior was analyzed by fitting the data using equivalent circuits to understand the underlying mechanisms at play. Through this work, it is established that the change in behavior is attributed to electronic conduction through grain boundaries along the direction of the applied field.

We studied the voltage-induced resistive switching (RS) in ferroelectric/metal (BiFeO3/Nb:SrTiO3) vertical devices. We found switching with RON and ROFF ratios of ΔR = 1-RON/ROFF = 0.82 at voltages starting at VSET, RESET = ±2 V. Upon increasing voltage, ΔR also increases until dielectric breakdown is reached. Interestingly, the VSET, RESET values at which the RS becomes significant, coincides with the coercive voltage of the ferroelectric polarization, as measured by piezoelectric force microscopy in similar BiFeO3 films. This suggests that the driving mechanism of the RS effect in our films is connected to the BiFeO3 ferroelectricity. However, the increase of the RS effect after complete ferroelectric saturation points to an additional mechanism that may be related to vacancy displacements. This is further supported by forming process necessary to induce resistance bi-stability, typical of an RS effect.

HfO2 thin films were grown on Pt/TiO2/SiO2/Si substrates via RF magnetron sputtering technique at pure oxygen atmosphere with a substrate temperature of 550 °C. We studied the structural and electrical properties on HfO2 thin films, varying the thickness (tHfO2) from 23 to 155 nm. Grazing-incident x-ray diffraction shows a polycrystalline composition, some peaks are shifted when the tHfO2 increase, that is, a relaxation occur on the film. We fabricated In/HfO2/Ptlike a capacitor structurefor perform the electrical property measurements. The current-voltage curves display a resistive switching behavior for all thicknesses, and the resistance dependence with time, displays retention states with Low and High resistance in all samples. The percentage of change on resistance ([(RON-ROFF)/ROFF]×100) scale with HfO2 thickness and reach a saturation value ∼ 30% at tHfO2>120 nm.

At present, the world is at the peak of production of traditional fossil fuels. Much of the resources that humanity has been consuming (oil, coal and natural gas) are coming to an end. The human being faces a future that must necessarily go through a paradigm shift, which includes a progressive movement towards increasingly less polluting and energetically viable resources. In this sense, nanotechnology has a transcendental role in this change. For decades, new materials capable of being used in energy processes have been synthesized that undoubtedly will be the cornerstone of the future development of the planet. In this review, we report on the current progress in the synthesis and use of one-dimensional (1D) nanostructured materials (specifically nanowires, nanofibers, nanotubes and nanorods), with compositions based on oxides, nitrides, or metals, for applications related to energy. Due to its extraordinary surface-volume relationship, tunable thermal and transport properties, and its high surface area, these 1D nanostructures have become fundamental elements for the development of energy processes. The most relevant 1D nanomaterials, their different synthesis procedures, and useful methods for assembling 1D nanostructures in functional devices will be presented. Applications in relevant topics such as optoelectronic and photochemical devices, hydrogen production or energy storage, among others, will be discussed. The present review concludes with a forecast on the directions towards which future research could be directed on this class of nanostructured materials.

Schizophrenia (SZ), Bipolar Disorder (BD) and Depression (D) run in families. This susceptibility is partly due to hundreds or thousands of common genetic variants, each conferring a fractional risk. The cumulative effects of the associated variants can be summarised as a polygenic risk score (PRS). Using data from the EUGEI case-control study, we aimed to test whether PRSs for three major psychiatric disorders (SZ, BD, D) and for intelligent quotient (IQ) as a neurodevelopmental proxy, can discriminate affective psychosis (AP) from schizophrenia-spectrum disorder (SSD). Participants (573 cases, 1005 controls) of european ancestry from 17 sites as part of the EUGEI study were successfully genotyped following standard quality control procedures. Using standardised PRS for SZ, BD, D, and IQ built from the latest available summary statistics, we performed simple or multinomial logistic regression models adjusted for 10 principal components for the different clinical comparisons. In case-control comparisons PRS-SZ, PRS-BD and PRS-D distributed differentially across psychotic subcategories. In case-case comparison, both PRS-SZ (OR=0.7, 95 %CI 0.53-0.92) and PRS-D (OR=1.29, 95%CI 1.05-1.6) differentiated global AP from SSD; and within AP categories, only PRS-SZ differentiated BD from psychotic depression (OR=2.38, 95%CI 1.32-4.29). Combining PRS for severe psychiatric disorders in prediction models for psychosis phenotypes can increase discriminative ability and improve our understanding of these phenotypes. Our results point towards potential usefulness of PRSs for diagnostic prediction in specific populations such as high-risk or early psychosis phases.

Scaling between subcomponents of cortical folding and total brain volume (TBV) in healthy individuals (HI) is allometric, i.e. non-linear. It is unclear whether this is also true in individuals with schizophrenia (SZ) or first-episode psychosis (FEP). The current study first confirmed normative allometric scaling norms in HI using discovery and replication samples. Cross-sectional and longitudinal diagnostic differences in folding subcomponents were then assessed using an allometric analytic framework.Structural imaging from a longitudinal (sample 1: HI and SZ, nHI Baseline= 298, nSZ Baseline= 169, nHI Follow-up= 293, nSZ Follow-up= 168, a total of 1087 images, all individuals ≥ 2 images, age 16-69 years) and a cross-sectional sample (sample 2: nHI= 61 and nFEP= 89, age 10-30 years) is leveraged to calculate global folding and its nested subcomponents: sulcation index (SI, total sulcal/cortical hull area) and determinants of sulcal area; sulcal length and sulcal depth.Scaling of the SI, sulcal area, and sulcal length with TBV in SZ and FEP was allometric and did not differ from HI. Longitudinal age trajectories demonstrated steeper loss of SI and sulcal area through adulthood in SZ. Longitudinal allometric analysis revealed that both annual change in SI and sulcal area was significantly stronger related to change in TBV in SZ compared to HI.Our results detail the first evidence of the disproportionate contribution of changes in SI and sulcal area to TBV changes in SZ. Longitudinal allometric analysis of sulcal morphology provides deeper insight into lifespan trajectories of cortical folding in SZ.