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Starch films are gaining attention as substitutes of synthetic polymers due to their biodegradability and low cost. Some ionic liquids have been postulated as alternatives to glycerol, one of the best starch plasticizers, due to their great capacity to form hydrogen bonds with starch and hence great ability of preventing starch retrogradation and increasing film stability. In this work, [emim+][Ac−]-plasticized starch films were prepared from potato, corn and wheat starch. The effect of starch molecular structure in terms of granular composition (amylose and phosphate monoester contents) and molecular weight (Mw) on film properties was evaluated. Potato starch films were the most amorphous because of the higher Mw and phosphate monoester content of potato starch, both contributing to a lower rearrangement of the starch chains making the crystallization process difficult. In contrast, corn and wheat starches lead to more crystalline films because of their lower Mw, which may imply higher mobility and crystal growth rate, and lower phosphate monoester content. This more crystalline structure could be the responsible of their better mechanical properties. [emim+][Ac−] can be considered suitable for manufacturing starch films showing corn and wheat starch films similar properties to synthetic low-density polyethylene, but involving a simple and environmentally-friendly process. This work was partially supported from the European Commission, European-Union and Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO), Spain (Ref. CTQ2016-78246-R) and Generalitat Valenciana (Project PROMETEOII/2014/007). M.G. Montalbán acknowledges support from Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO) (Juan de la Cierva-Formación contract, Ref. FJCI-2016-28081).

Vanadium dioxide (VO2) is widely recognized as a thermochromic material with great potential for application in smart glazing for energy-efficient buildings. The monoclinic (M1) VO2 phase undergoes a first-order reversible phase transition from the semiconductor to the rutile metallic state. In this study, an M1 VO2 porous film was synthesized via a polymer-assisted sol-gel route. Processing parameters, such as drying and reduction temperatures, were varied to evaluate their influence on the thermochromic behavior of VO2 and to determine the necessary trade-off between a significant thermochromic effect and high luminous transmittance. Film-silica glass-film systems with luminous transmittance close to 80% and IR solar modulation ability as large as 20% were prepared. By tracking the optical constants of the films during the thermochromic process, the changes produced at the microscopic level in the material could be correlated with its macroscopic behavior when used as an energy-saving material., Y J. Outon acknowledges the support by the Spanish Ministerio de Educacion y Cultura through grant FPU19-02638. M. Dominguez ac-knowledges the support by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacion y Universidades under project EQC2018-004704-P. The authors thank the University of Cadiz and IMEYMAT for financing the mutual facilities available at the UCA R&D Central Services (SC-ICYT) and the IMEYMAT Institute project reference PLP2020335-1 respec-tively. The authors also acknowledge J. Gonzalez and F. Delgado for their assistance in the preparation of the STEM specimens.

Starch/multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) films were prepared by casting using an ionic liquid (1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate, [emim+][Ac−]) as plasticizer for the first time. The effect of the MWCNT content (0.25–5 wt.%, with respect to the sum of starch and plasticizer mass) on thermal, mechanical and electroconductive behavior of the films was studied. Films containing 0.5 wt.% MWCNT showed increases of 327 % in maximum tensile strength, 2484 % in Young’s modulus and 82 % in elongation at break. The significant improvements are explained by the good MWCNT dispersion in the matrix and by the effect of [emim+][Ac−] as an efficient plasticizer, which leads to higher extensibility. The MWCNT/[emim+][Ac−] combination have a synergistic effect on film electrical conductivity, increasing a 130% (3 wt.% MWCNT). These films, easily prepared by a “green” process, have potential applications in the packaging industry but also in the field of lithium batteries, fuel cells and dye-sensitized solar cells. This work was partially supported from the European Commission (FEDER/ERDF) and the Spanish MINECO (Ref. CTQ2016-78246-R). M.G. Montalbán acknowledges support from MINECO (Juan de la Cierva-Formación contract, Ref. FJCI-2016-28081).

Resumen El angiofibroma celular de vulva es una tumoracion bien circunscrita que aparece tanto en hombres como en mujeres. Posee unas caracteristicas histologicas e inmunohistoquimicas que permiten diferenciarlo del resto de tumoraciones vulvares. Su pronostico es bueno aunque existe cierto riesgo de recidiva. Presentamos el caso clinico de una mujer con dicho diagnostico.

En la actualidad esta justificado el cribado neonatal universal de la hipoacusia. Un programa de deteccion por grupos de riesgo solo localiza aproximadamente a la mitad de los recien nacidos afectados de sordera. Las nuevas tecnologias permiten la medicion de la audicion de manera objetiva en cualquier etapa de la vida, incluso en el recien nacido. El perfeccionamiento de estas tecnicas reduce significativamente el numero de falsos positivos. Las nuevas pruebas de los anos noventa demuestran que la sordera durante los 6 primeros meses de vida interfiere con el desarrollo normal del habla y el lenguaje oral. La intervencion precoz (antes de los 6 meses de vida) mejora los resultados en cuanto a la adquisicion del lenguaje. Los analisis publicados demuestran que la intervencion precoz es coste-efectiva.

La audicion es la via habitual para adquirir el lenguaje, uno de los mas importantes atributos humanos. El sistema sanitario en general, y la Atencion Primaria en particular, tiene una gran responsabilidad a la hora de detectar la perdida auditiva durante la infancia, porque el diagnostico precoz y la rehabilitacion adecuada previenen la consecuencia mas importante de la hipoacusia infantil: crecer sin un lenguaje. PrevInfad recomienda la deteccion precoz de la hipoacusia mediante la realizacion del cribado neonatal universal. Este texto pretende aclarar las razones para esta recomendacion y la justificacion de un programa de cribado neonatal universal de hipoacusia, revisando la situacion del debate en este terreno, asi como servir de guia de actuacion del profesional de Atencion Primaria en esta patologia.

This paper presents a fuzzy controller for power conditioners (FCPC); this controller changes the phase angle of a bank of thyristors, which modifies the magnetic flux of an static voltage compensator, in order to obtain the desired output voltage regulation. >

Gold nanoparticles coated with fluorinated ligands (F-MPCs) present features suitable for (19)F MRI as observed from phantom experiments. Cellular uptake, by HeLa cells, and toxicity of fluorescent dye-decorated F-MPCs are presented together with their ability to bind hydrophobic molecules allowing for a potential combination of targeting, delivery and imaging features.