Ministry Of Economy And Competitiveness Research Articles

Ni Foam-Supported NiMo Catalysts for the HER

In the last years, “green hydrogen” fuel had gained a strong relevance due to its potential as friendly-environment energy source to replace fossil fuels. “Green hydrogen” fuel is obtained from water splitting by electrolysis, which can be powered by renewable energy sources, avoiding the emission of CO2 gas as by-product [1]. Particularly, alkaline water splitting has been, extensively, reported as the most sustainable and low-cost route for “green hydrogen” production. However, either oxygen (OER) or hydrogen evolution (HER) half-reaction can be limited by low-relative abundance of noble metals used as commercial electrocatalysts, such as, the benchmarking IrO2||Pt two-electrode couple of 1.57 V at 10 mA cm-2 [2].Hence the design of non-noble electrocatalysts has gained relevance due to their remarkable electroactivity and high abundance. Mainly, Ni, Fe, Co and/or Mo - based electrocatalysts showed outstanding performance toward the HER. Indeed, theoretical studies indicated that their metallic surfaces promote the hydrogen electro-adsorption as like-metal hydride [M-H], hydroxide [M-OH] and or oxyhydroxide [MOOH] species [3–5]. Consequently, a controlled charge transfer in a two-step mechanism allows a fast electroreduction of water to the desired “green hydrogen” gas.Herein, we report the synthesis of bimetallic nanostructures, which are produced by thermal-controlled chemical reduction of their precursor salts (NiCl2, Na2MoO4) on the activated nickel foam (NiFA) surface at different highest temperatures (60, 70 and 80 ºC) [4,6]. Therefore, electrocatalysts were labeled as NiMo60/NiFA (60ºC), NiMo70/NiFA (70 ºC) and NiMo80/NiFA (80 ºC). Materials were physicochemical characterized by XRD, SEM, ICP-MS, infrared and Raman spectroscopy, and the HER on the synthesized catalysts in alkaline media was monitored by Differential Electrochemical Mass Spectrometry (DEMS) and in-situ Raman spectroscopy (Fig. a-d).Main results reveal outstanding electrochemical performance toward the HER on the novel nanomaterials, which is mainly influenced by the highest temperature reached at the synthesis procedure. Furthermore, DEMS indicate similar reaction mechanism for the HER at all catalysts and an increment of the catalytic activity rising the temperature at the synthesis stage. References Germscheidt RL, Moreira DEB, Yoshimura RG, Gasbarro NP, Datti E, dos Santos PL, et al. Hydrogen Environmental Benefits Depend on the Way of Production: An Overview of the Main Processes Production and Challenges by 2050. Adv Energy Sustain Res. 2021;2(10):2100093(1-20).Li X, Zhao L, Yu J, Liu X, Zhang X, Liu H, et al. Water Splitting: From Electrode to Green Energy System. Nano-Micro Lett. 2020;12(1):1-29Abbas MA, Bang JH. Rising Again: Opportunities and Challenges for Platinum-Free Electrocatalysts. Chem Mater. 2015;27(21):7218–7235.Nairan A, Zou P, Liang C, Liu J, Wu D, Liu P, et al. NiMo Solid Solution Nanowire Array Electrodes for Highly Efficient Hydrogen Evolution Reaction. Adv Funct Mater. 2019;29(44):1903747(1–8).Chen G, Wang T, Zhang J, Liu P, Sun H, Zhuang X, et al. Accelerated Hydrogen Evolution Kinetics on NiFe-Layered Double Hydroxide Electrocatalysts by Tailoring Water Dissociation Active Sites. Adv Mater. 2018;30(10):1706279(1-7).Cao J, Li H, Pu J, Zeng S, Liu L, Zhang L, et al. Hierarchical NiMo alloy microtubes on nickel foam as an efficient electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction. Int J Hydrogen Energy. 2019;44(45):24712–247128. Acknowledgments The Peruvian Fund for Science and Technology (PROCIENCIA) and the Peruvian Minister of Education (MINEDU) by supporting the present work under project 298-2019 FONDECYT and the Doctoral Program with contract 237-2015. The Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) under project ENE2017-83976 -C2-2-R (FEDER) (co-funded by FEDER). G.G. acknowledges the “Viera y Clavijo” program (ACIISI & ULL), NANOtec, INTech, and Cabildo de Tenerife for laboratory facilities. Authors would like to acknowledge the use of SEGAI—ULL facilities. Figure 1

Differential miRNAs in acute spontaneous coronary artery dissection: Pathophysiological insights from a potential biomarker

BackgroundSpontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection (SCAD) is an important cause of acute coronary syndromes, particularly in young to middle-aged women. Differentiating acute SCAD from coronary atherothrombosis remains a major clinical challenge. MethodsA case-control study was used to explore the usefulness of circulating miRNAs to discriminate both clinical entities. The profile of miRNAs was evaluated using an unbiased human RT-PCR platform and confirmed using individual primers. miRNAs were evaluated in plasma samples from acute SCAD and atherothrombotic acute myocardial infarction (AT-AMI) from two independent cohorts; discovery cohort (SCAD n = 15, AT-AMI n = 15), and validation cohort (SCAD n = 11, AT-AMI n = 41) with 9 healthy control subjects. Plasma levels of IL-8, TGFB1, TGBR1, Endothelin-1 and MMP2 were analysed by ELISA assays. FindingsFrom 15 differentially expressed miRNAs detected in cohort 1, we confirmed in cohort 2 the differential expression of 4 miRNAs: miR-let-7f-5p, miR-146a-5p, miR-151a-3p and miR-223-5p, whose expression was higher in SCAD compared to AT-AMI. The combined expression of these 4 miRNAs showed the best predictive value to distinguish between both entities (AUC: 0.879, 95% CI 0.72–1.0) compared to individual miRNAs. Functional profiling of target genes identified an association with blood vessel biology, TGF-beta pathway and cytoskeletal traction force. ELISA assays showed high plasma levels of IL-8, TGFB1, TGFBR1, Endothelin-1 and MMP2 in SCAD patients compared to AT-AMI. InterpretationWe present a novel signature of plasma miRNAs in patients with SCAD. miR-let-7f-5p, miR-146a-5p, miR-151a-3p and miR-223-5p discriminate SCAD from AT-AMI patients and also shed light on the pathological mechanisms underlying this condition. FundingSpanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO): Plan Nacional de Salud SAF2017-82886-R, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Cardiovasculares (CIBERCV). Fundación BBVA a equipos de Investigación Científica 2018 and from Caixa Banking Foundation under the project code HR17-00016 to F.S.M. Instituto de Salud Carlos III (AES 2019): PI19/00565 to F.R, PI19/00545 to P.M. CAM (S2017/BMD-3671-INFLAMUNE-CM) from Comunidad de Madrid to FSM and PM. The UK SCAD study was supported by BeatSCAD, the British Heart Foundation (BHF) PG/13/96/30608 the NIHR rare disease translational collaboration and the Leicester NIHR Biomedical Research Centre PI17/01865, Instituto de Salud Carlos III and FEDER (European Regional Development Fund).

Chromium Speciation in Zirconium-Based Metal-Organic Frameworks for Environmental Remediation.

Acute CrVI water pollution due to anthropogenic activities is an increasing worldwide concern. The high toxicity and mobility of CrVI makes it necessary to develop dual adsorbent/ion-reductive materials that are able to capture CrVI and transform it efficiently into the less hazardous CrIII . An accurate description of chromium speciation at the adsorbent/ion-reductive matrix is key to assessing whether CrVI is completely reduced to CrIII , or if its incomplete transformation has led to the stabilization of highly reactive, transient CrV species within the material. With this goal in mind, a dual ultraviolet-visible and electron paramagnetic spectroscopy approach has been applied to determine the chromium speciation within zirconium-based metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). Our findings point out that the generation of defects at Zr-MOFs boosts CrVI adsorption, whilst the presence of reductive groups on the organic linkers play a key role in stabilizing it as isolated and/or clustered CrIII ions.

Anti-α-synuclein ASO delivered to monoamine neurons prevents α-synuclein accumulation in a Parkinson's disease-like mouse model and in monkeys.

BackgroundProgressive neuronal death in monoaminergic nuclei and widespread accumulation of α-synuclein are neuropathological hallmarks of Parkinson's disease (PD). Given that α-synuclein may be an early mediator of the pathological cascade that ultimately leads to neurodegeneration, decreased α-synuclein synthesis will abate neurotoxicity if delivered to the key affected neurons.MethodsWe used a non-viral gene therapy based on a new indatraline-conjugated antisense oligonucleotide (IND-ASO) to disrupt the α-synuclein mRNA transcription selectively in monoamine neurons of a PD-like mouse model and elderly nonhuman primates. Molecular, cell biology, histological, neurochemical and behavioral assays were performed.FindingsIntracerebroventricular and intranasal IND-ASO administration for four weeks in a mouse model with AAV-mediated wild-type human α-synuclein overexpression in dopamine neurons prevented the synthesis and accumulation of α-synuclein in the connected brain regions, improving dopamine neurotransmission. Likewise, the four-week IND-ASO treatment led to decreased levels of endogenous α-synuclein protein in the midbrain monoamine nuclei of nonhuman primates, which are affected early in PD.Conclusions: The inhibition of α-synuclein production in dopamine neurons and its accumulation in cortical/striatal projection areas may alleviate the early deficits of dopamine function, showing the high translational value of antisense oligonucleotides as a disease modifying therapy for PD and related synucleinopathies.FundingGrants SAF2016-75797-R, RTC-2014-2812-1 and RTC-2015-3309-1, Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) and European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), UE; Grant ID 9238, Michael J. Fox Foundation; and Centres for Networked Biomedical Research on Mental Health (CIBERSAM), and on Neurodegenerative Diseases (CIBERNED).

Effective charge from lattice QCD * * Our calculations benefited from the following resources: CINES, GENCI, IDRIS (Project ID 52271); and the IN2P3 Computing Facility. Work supported by National Natural ScienceFoundation of China (11805097), Jiangsu Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (BK20180323). Jiangsu Province Hundred Talents Plan for Professionals; Generalitat Valenciana, under grant Prometeo/2019/087; Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness

Using lattice configurations for quantum ​​​​​chromodynamics (QCD) generated with three domain-wall fermions at a physical pion mass, we obtain a parameter-free prediction of QCD’s renormalisation-group-invariant process-independent effective charge, . Owing to the dynamical breaking of scale invariance, evident in the emergence of a gluon mass-scale, GeV, this coupling saturates at infrared momenta: . Amongst other things: is almost identical to the process-dependent (PD) effective charge defined via the Bjorken sum rule; and also that PD charge which, employed in the one-loop evolution equations, delivers agreement between pion parton distribution functions computed at the hadronic scale and experiment. The diversity of unifying roles played by suggests that it is a strong candidate for that object which represents the interaction strength in QCD at any given momentum scale; and its properties support a conclusion that QCD is a mathematically well-defined quantum field theory in four dimensions.

Effect of Ionic Liquid Content on the Crystallization Kinetics and Morphology of Semicrystalline Poly(vinylidene Fluoride)/Ionic Liquid Blends

Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) in the framework of the Strategic Funding UID/FIS/04650/2020. The authors thank FEDER funds through the COMPETE 2020 Programme and National Funds through FCT under the projects PTDC/BTM-MAT/28237/2017, PTDC/EMD-EMD/28159/2017 and PTDC/FIS-MAC/28157/2017. D.M.C. and C.M.C. also thank to the FCT for grants SFRH/BPD/121526/2016 and SFRH/BPD/112547/2015, respectively. Financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) through the project MAT2016-76039-C4-1-R (AEI/FEDER, UE) (including the FEDER financial support), from the Spanish State Research Agency (AEI) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERFD) through the project PID2019-106099RB-C43 / AEI / 10.13039/501100011033. and from the Basque Government Industry and Education Departments under the ELKARTEK, HAZITEK and PIBA (PIBA-2018-06) programs, respectively, are acknowledged. CIBER-BBN is an initiative funded by the VI National R&D&I Plan 2008–2011, Iniciativa Ingenio 2010, Consolider Program. CIBER Actions are financed by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III with assistance from the European Regional Development Fund

Should I kill or should I go: T6SS regulation networks in Vibrio.

This work was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) Grant BIO2017-83763-P

Digital 3D Rocks: A Collaborative Benchmark for Learning Rocks Recognition

This work was partially funded by the University of Alicante (vigrob-157 Project, GRE14-4, GRE15-19 and GRE17-011 Projects), the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) and EU FEDER under Projects TIN2014-55413-C2-2-P and TEC2017-85244-C2-1-P. Authors thank Ignacio Perez-Rey/ Leandro Alejano for the description some used samples.

Polymer-based magnetoelectric materials: To be or not to be

The authors thank the FCT - Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia - for financial support under framework of the Strategic Funding UID/FIS/04650/2013 and project PTDC/EEI-SII/5582/2014. Funds provided by FCT in the framework of EuroNanoMed 2016 call, Project LungChek ENMed/0049/2016 are also gratefully acknowledged as well as the FCT grant SFRH/BPD/96227/2013 (PM). The authors also acknowledge funding by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) through theproject MAT2016-76039-C4-3-R (AEI/FEDER, UE) and from the Basque Government Industry Department under the ELKARTEK and HAZITEK program.

Vulnerability and Resistance in Carmen Aguirre’s <em>Mexican Hooker #1</em>

The author wishes to acknowledge the funding provided by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) for the writing of this essay (Research Project FFI2013-47789-C2-1-P).

The Modified D1M Interactions: New Gogny Forces Adapted for Neutron Star Calculations

The work of L.M.R. was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) grants No. FPA2015-65929-P and FIS2015-63770-P. C.G., M.C., X.V. and C.M. were partially supported by grant FIS2017-87534-P from MINECO and FEDER, and project MDM-2014-0369 of ICCUB (Unidad de Excelencia Maria de Maeztu) from MINECO. C.G. also acknowledges grant BES-2015-074210 from MINECO

Olfactory proteotyping: towards the enlightenment of the neurodegeneration.

Olfactory proteotyping: towards the enlightenment of the neurodegeneration.

Effect of Dry Heat Puffing on Nutritional Composition, Fatty Acid, Amino Acid and Phenolic Profiles of Pseudocereals Grains

This work was supported by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO, Spain) and FEDER programme from the European Commission (grant number AGL2013–43247-R). E. P. acknowledges the MINECO and European Social Fund for her “Ramon y Cajal” grant. L. P-M. acknowledges the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia (CONCYTEC, Peru) for fi nancial support.

Modeling Nonconfined Density Currents Using 3D Hydrodynamic Models

This study was partially funded by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) under research project TRA2011-28900 (PLVMA3D). B. Perez-Diaz would like to thank MINECO for providing funding under the FPI Program (research fellowship, reference number BES-2012-053693) and the Coasts and Ocean Group of HRWallingford for their assistance with numerical tasks.

Arrillor cave (Basque Country, northern Iberian Penisula). Chronological, palaeo-environmental and cultural notes on a long Mousterian sequence

This research has been co-funded by different projects and institutions. In the first place, by the Prehistory Research Group at the UPVEHU (IT-622-13) and the PALEOGATE project (HAR2014-53536-P) of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO).

Increase in Proinflammatory CD14++CD16+ Monocytes in Samples from Aspiration Cytology Compared with Peripheral Blood in Kidney Transplant Patients with Borderline Rejection

Introduction Monocytes comprise a heterogeneous population divided according to the membrane expression level of their molecules. One of these populations is the CD14++CD16+, which presents proinflammatory characteristics. Our aim was to evaluate the role of this monocyte population in renal transplant recipients with borderline rejection. Material and Methods This controlled clinical trial (NCT02284464) recruited patients with a low immunological risk to randomly receive conventional triple therapy (steroids, TAC and MMF) versus steroid withdrawal three months after the protocol biopsy. We analysed 66 patients with either a normal histology or borderline rejection. In all the patients we studied pre-randomisation levels of CD14++CD16+ at the third month in peripheral blood (PB) and blood extracted from the graft by fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAP). The monocytes were analysed by flow cytometry using CD14 and CD16 monoclonal antibodies. Results Of the 66 patients, 38 (51.1±12.8 years; 68.4% men) had a normal biopsy and 28 (57.8±9.5 years; 67.9% men) had borderline rejection. The percentage of proinflammatory monocytes was similar in the PB and FNAP samples from the patients with a normal biopsy (PB: 13.2±12.9 vs FNAP:16.3±14.3%; p=0.070). However, in the group with borderline rejection the difference in the percentage of these monocytes was significantly greater in the FNAP sample compared to the PB sample (PB: 7.9±5.4 vs FNAP: 16.9±16.5%; p=0.006). No differences were seen at the time of biopsy in renal function or proteinuria (Normal: Cr=1.6±0.6 vs Borderline: 1.7±0.5 mg/dL; p=0.536 and Normal: 268.2±197.9 vs Borderline: 269.3±239.8 mg/24h; p=0.986). Conclusion These preliminary results show that patients with a diagnosis of borderline rejection in the protocol biopsy present a significant difference in CD14++CD16+ monocytes between peripheral blood and graft blood, despite having a stable renal function. This suggests recruitment of these proinflammatory monocytes. Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) (grant ICI14/00016) from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III co-funded by the Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional-FEDER, RETICS (REDINREN RD16/0009/0006).

Analysis of CCR4high CD4+ in Kidney Graft Blood After Steroid Withdrawal

Introduction Steroids represent a mainstay of immunosuppression after kidney transplant. The infiltration into the graft of active T cells following KT depends on the expression of chemokines and their interaction with their T-cell receptors. However, the natural history of the expression of these molecules in patients who undergo steroid withdrawal after transplant is unknown. Materials and Methods In a controlled clinical trial (NCT02284464), a total of 176 KT patients with low immunological risk were recruited to randomly receive either conventional triple immunosuppression: steroids, TAC and MMF (Group A) versus steroid withdrawal at the 3 post-KT month (Group B). We compared the evolution of CCR4highCD4+ and CXCR3highCD4+ lymphocyte subpopulations in graft blood (GB) extracted by fine needle aspiration puncture determined by flow cytometry in patients after steroid withdrawal at the 3 month post-KT versus patients who continue to receive conventional triple immunosuppression. Measurements were made at 3 (baseline) and 6 months post-KT in GB and in peripheral blood (PB). Results So far, 68 patients have been randomized (34 in each group). There were no significant differences in the clinical and demographic characteristics between the groups at baseline. The first analysis (at 3 months) in those patients who had completed 6 months of follow-up (Group A: n=13; Group B: n=15) showed a significant increase in the CCR4highCD4 subpopulations in GB versus PB in both groups. However, at six months a significant increase in GB versus PB was only seen in Group A. There were no significant differences in the CXCR3highCD4+ lymphocyte subpopulation at the third or sixth month between GB and PB in either group (Table).Conclusion These preliminary results could suggest a possible effect of prednisone that would favor the recruitment of CCR4highCD4+ cells into the renal graft. Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) (grant ICI14/00016) from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III co-funded by the Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional–FEDER, RETICS (REDINREN RD12/0021/0015, RD16/0009/0006).

Mimicking physiological O2 tension in the female reproductive tract improves assisted reproduction outcomes in pig.

Is O2 tension in the pig oviduct and uterus affected by the estrous cycle stage and the animal's age, and can the outcome of in vitro embryo development be improved by mimicking these physiological values? O2 tension within the pig reproductive organs is affected by the animal's age, and values close to those measured in vivo have a positive impact on embryo development and quality when used during IVF and embryo culture (EC). To obtain a healthy embryo in vitro, it is necessary to adopt a culture microenvironment that approximates physiological conditions. Despite advances in surgical procedures and sensitive probes that allow accurate assessment of in vivo O2 tension, few such studies have been conducted recently in mammals. In addition, no reference values of physiological O2 tension in the reproductive tract exist for large animal models such as pig, and the effect of O2 tension on ART outcomes is unknown. This study was conducted in pigs. We measured oviductal and uterine O2 tension (n = 29 and 13, respectively) and then examined how the use of the physiological values in pig IVF and EC affected pig ART output (n = 1447 oocytes). The oviductal and uterine O2 tension at the different stages of the estrous cycle was monitored using a laparo-endoscopic single-site surgery (LESS) assisted approach along with a flexible and thin miniaturized luminescent probe. Two groups of pigs, Large-white × Landrace breed, were used: for the first group, 16 pre-pubertal gilts (5 months old and 95 kg) were induced to ovulate with equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG) and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG); in the second group 13 mature sows (24-48 months and 185 kg) were used. IVF and EC were performed at two different O2 tensions: Atmospheric O2 (20%) and the mean in vivo value measured (7%). At 18-20 h post-insemination (hpi), a small sample of presumptive zygotes were fixed, stained and examined under epifluorescence microscopy to assess the fertilization rates. At 48 hpi, cleavage was evaluated under the stereomicroscope. Finally, at 180 hpi, development to the blastocyst stage was quantified, blastocyst morphology was assessed, and embryos were fixed and stained to count the mean cell number per blastocyst. The mean O2 content within the pig oviduct and uterus was always lower than in ambient air. The average O2 percentage was higher in gilts (10.0%) than in sows (7.6%) (P < 0.0001). The cleavage rate of porcine in vitro fertilized embryos maintained under 7% O2 during IVF and EC was significantly higher (60.0 ± 2.3) compared with those cultured under 20% O2 (32.0 ± 2.2) (P < 0.05). An increase in the number of cells in embryos cultured under the low O2 concentration (88.9 ± 5.9) was observed compared to those cultured under 20% O2 (59.0 ± 5.0) (P < 0.05). None. Although minimally invasive surgery was used the effect of anesthesia and manipulations on O2 tension within the organs are unknown. Using physiological oxygen concentrations in IVF/EC could improve ART outcomes. This study was funded by Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) and European Regional Development Fund (FEDER). Grants AGL2012-40180-C03-01 and AGL2015-66341-R. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Manufacturing and compatibilization of PLA/PBAT binary blends by cottonseed oil-based derivatives

This work was supported by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) (grant number MAT2017-84909-C2-2-R). A. Carbonell-Verdu wants to thank Universitat Politecnica de Valencia for financial support through an FPI grant.

Synthesis, Spectroscopic Characterization, Electrochemical Properties and Biological Activity of 1-[(4Hydroxyanilino)-methylidene] naphthalen-2(1H)-one and its Mn (III) Complex

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support from the Algerian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research. The authors would like to thank also Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad and FEDER for financial support. Thanks the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) for the ―Juan de la Cierva contract (JCI-2012-12664).