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Quatsome nanovesicles, formed through the self-assembly of cholesterol (CHOL) and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) in water, have shown long-term stability in terms of size and morphology, while at the same time exhibiting high CHOL-CTAB intermolecular binding energies. We hypothesize that CHOL/CTAB quatsomes are indeed thermodynamically stable nanovesicles, and investigate the mechanism underlying their formation.

Our understanding of primate adaptive evolution depends on appreciating the way in which dental functional morphology affects food processing. The Papionini tribe of Cercopithecoidea primates shows great dietary versatility and ecological adaptations to resource seasonality across the African and Asian ecosystems, however, there are few studies focusing on the occlusal topography of the bilophodont teeth and the effect of tooth wear in the crown shape. Here, we explore the relationship between wear-related dental functional morphology and dietary ecological constraints within the Papionini. Three-dimensional (3D) polygonal meshes of the upper permanent molar row (M1-3) were obtained in a large papionine sample (838 specimens) of known dietary preferences including species from six genera (Cercocebus, Lophocebus, Macaca, Mandrillus, Papio, and Theropithecus). All the sample was classified in four diet categories and four topographic metrics (orientation patch count rotated, OPCR; Dirichlet normal energy, DNE; occlusal relief, OR; and ambient occlusion, portion de ciel visible, PCV) were measured for each tooth-type according to wear stage (lightly and moderately worn) to determine diet-related interspecific morphological changes with long-term functionality. The results indicate that hard-object feeders (Cercocebus and Lophocebus) and grass eaters (Theropithecus gelada) exhibit a pattern of occlusal complexity (OPCR), surface curvature (DNE), relief (OR), and morphological wear resistance (PCV) that is significantly different from the omnivores and folivore-frugivore species (Mandrillus and Macaca) despite the overall homogeneity of the bilophodont dentition. A multifactorial ANOVA showed that the topographic metrics were sensitive to tooth wear as expected. The results also indicate that the interspecific variability of dental topography of the upper molars reflects dietary specializations rather than phylogenetic proximity. These findings support the hypothesis tha

Objectives: This study compares ISO (ISO/FDIS 25178) roughness parameters, calculated from three-dimensional (3D) molar buccal microtexture surfaces, among African Cercopithecoidea primates with different diets. Materials and Methods: We examined 98 lower second molars from seven African Cercopithecoidea species with diverse dietary regimes and habitat exploitation. Buccal dental surfaces were analyzed using a Sensofar Plu Neox laser scanning confocal microscope. Thirty-eight, areal surface texture parameters were extracted (Mountain 7® software). Uni- and multivariate statistics were used to obtain diet-related patterns of buccal-microwear textures and feeding ecology to differentiate between species. Results: Buccal-dental 3D texture parameters discriminate between Cercopithecoidea diets. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed significant variation in microwear texture between forest-adapted Mandrillus sphinx, which showed coarse flat features, and grassland forager Theropithecus gelada, whose buccal surfaces were characterized by a high density of thin features. Buccal-microwear textures of folivorous species (Colobus polykomos) were related to a lower density of thicker surface indentations in comparison to Papio anubis and Cercocebus atys which are adapted to the consumption of tough and hard foods. The limited interspecific variation in the buccal-microwear textures of savanna dwellers (Chlorocebus pygerythrus and Chlorocebus aethiops) probably reflects similarities in their foraging diets. Discussion: Significant variations between-species demonstrate that 3D microwear ISO roughness parameters applied to buccal enamel surfaces can distinguish between the diets of Cercopithecoidea.

Climate change and the crisis of non-renewable natural resources have fostered a change in people's mentality, pushing them towards a future of shared mobility. This study aims to offer a solution to one of the main drawbacks of this type of mobility, the discomfort generated by malodors and poor air quality in shared-use vehicles. To that end, the use of an odor monitoring module is proposed which, through gas sensors, allows to improve the air quality inside vehicles after its use. In this thesis we find a study of the technology for odor tracking, the design and manufacture of a prototype for the module and its subsequent implementation in vehicles. The study concludes with pilot tests on different vehicles which contribute to the parameterization of the system, laying the foundations for projects with real applications

Dental wear is a function of age-at-death in human skeletal populations. However, discrete scoring proxies of dentine exposure areas have shown to largely depend on dietary life-history and cultural practices. In addition, dental wear greatly limits research on dental morphological variability since unworn teeth are scarce in osteo-archaeological repositories. Age at death is seldom known, and actual trends in dental crown loss are generally assumed to be age-dependent. We applied three-dimensional (3D) dental crown continuous metrics (geometric morphometrics and topographic shape descriptors) to explore the association of first and second permanent maxillary (UM1 and UM2) and mandibular (LM1 and LM2) molar wear with age in the Coimbra International Exchange known age-at-death skull collection. Results are indicative of significant regressions between the morphometric variables and age-at-death, though showing coefficients of determination of 1.4–23.9%. The precision percentages for determining age-at-death from dental crown shape varied from 31.8 to 45.3%, while a significant portion of the overall shape variation of the molar teeth studied could be attributed to anatomical traits independently of dental wear, since modern human populations display a great variability in cusp patterns and molar teeth relative size.

Despite the scarcity of fossil specimens of Theropithecus oswaldi in Eurasia, its presence out of Africa attests to the great dispersal of this Papionini genus during the Early Pleistocene. In the present study, we analyze the buccal dental microwear of T. oswaldi (T. o. leakeyi) fossil specimens from Cueva Victoria (Southeastern Spain). This analysis is the first characterization of the feeding ecology of T. oswaldi in Europe. The buccal microwear pattern of the molar and premolar teeth of T. oswaldi from Cueva Victoria shows great similarities to that observed for the extant frugivorous forest-dwelling Mandrillus sphinx and mangabeys (Cercocebus sp.)—both species adapted to durophagous dietary habits—while significantly different from that observed for the gramnivorous Theropithecus gelada. These results suggest that T. oswaldi from Cueva Victoria could have exploited both hard-shelled fruits or seeds and succulent fruits from open and forested Mediterranean ecosystems.

Listado de publicaciones y selección de publicaciones sobre Bioantropología de Tierra del Fuego relacionadas con los proyectos de investigación realizados.

Este TFM recoge una propuesta de diseño e implementación de una radio por Internet y una plataforma de podcast como proyecto transversal para el curso de 3o de la ESO. Utilizando el factor pedagógico de la radio, se trabajarán las competencias básicas de las materias de Tecnología y Lengua Castellana y Literatura, haciendo al alumno protagonista de su aprendizaje, fomentando su sentido crítico y el trabajo autónomo. La realización de un proyecto tecnológico real, que el alumnado puede hacer suyo, es el ejemplo perfecto de cómo los conocimientos dados en clase pueden aplicarse de manera práctica. El proyecto servirá para introducir al alumnado en el software libre y promover el autoaprendizaje, así como para darle herramientas con las que pueda expresarse libremente y así impulsar la participación, sociabilidad e inclusión del alumnado y profesorado en el entorno y la vida del centro., This TFM includes a proposal for designing and implementing an Internet radio station and a podcast platform as a transversal project for the 3rd of ESO. Using the pedagogical radio component, the basic competences of the subjects of Technology and Spanish Language and Literature will be worked on, making the student the protagonist of their learning, promoting their critical sense and autonomous work. The creation of a real technological project, which the students can take ownership, is the perfect example of how the knowledge given in lessons can be applied in a practical way. The project will introduce students into free software and promote selflearning, also will give them tools to express themselves freely and promote the participation, sociability and inclusion of students and teachers in the environment and life of the centre

Objectives: Central African small‐scale foragers subsist primarily on hunting game activities and wild plant‐food gathering. Starch‐rich tubers are underground storage organs (USOs) and staple food resources in savanna and tropical rainforests. However, little is known about the effect of USO consumption on tooth wear development in living hunter‐gatherers. We report age‐ and sex‐dependent tooth wear rates in forest‐dwelling Baka Pygmies with well‐documented wild‐yam‐tuber‐based diet to explore the long‐term impact of USO mechanical hardness and abrasiveness on the wearing down of the teeth. Materials and Methods: Percentages of dentine exposure (PDEs) of permanent left mandibular first molars (M1) were recorded using in vivo high‐resolution replicas of Baka individuals (aged 8–33 years), inhabiting Le Bosquet district in Cameroon (Western Africa). Regression and covariance analyses were used to test the effect of individual aging by sex on PDE rates. Results: We found a strong increase of PDE by age among Baka individuals. No evidence of sexual dimorphism in wear patterns suggests similar sex‐related dietary and masticatory demands during growth. Overall, greatest dentine exposure values ≈4% denote unexpected slow wear down rates for foraging diets relying on USO consumption. Discussion: The low molar wear rates with age found in Baka Pygmies contrast with extensive wear rates in savanna‐dwelling foragers, reflecting differences in thermal processing techniques affecting fracture toughness and grittiness of mechanically challenging foods. Our findings reveal that culture‐specific dietary proclivities influence tooth wear among foraging behaviors with important implications in hominin dietary versatility and abrasive stress on chewing surfaces.