Metallic nanowire networks have huge potential in devices requiring transparent electrodes. This article describes how the electrical resistance of metal nanowire networks evolve under thermal ...annealing. Understanding the behavior of such films is crucial for the optimization of transparent electrodes which find many applications. An in-depth investigation of silver nanowire networks under different annealing conditions provides a case study demonstrating that several mechanisms, namely local sintering and desorption of organic residues, are responsible for the reduction of the systems electrical resistance. Optimization of the annealing led to specimens with transmittance of 90% (at 550 nm) and sheet resistance of 9.5 Omega sq(-1). Quantized steps in resistance were observed and a model is proposed which provides good agreement with the experimental results. In terms of thermal behavior, we demonstrate that there is a maximum thermal budget that these electrodes can tolerate due to spheroidization of the nanowires. This budget is determined by two main factors: the thermal loading and the wire diameter. This result enables the fabrication and optimization of transparent metal nanowire electrodes for solar cells, organic electronics and flexible displays.
IntAct is an open-source, open data molecular interaction database populated by data either curated from the literature or from direct data depositions. Two levels of curation are now available ...within the database, with both IMEx-level annotation and less detailed MIMIx-compatible entries currently supported. As from September 2011, IntAct contains approximately 275 000 curated binary interaction evidences from over 5000 publications. The IntAct website has been improved to enhance the search process and in particular the graphical display of the results. New data download formats are also available, which will facilitate the inclusion of IntAct's data in the Semantic Web. IntAct is an active contributor to the IMEx consortium (http://www.imexconsortium.org). IntAct source code and data are freely available at http://www.ebi.ac.uk/intact.
A new compound with the formula L‐B2‐L wherein the stabilizing ligand (L) is 1,3‐bisdiisopropylphenyl‐4,5‐dihydroimidazol‐2‐ylidene (SIDip) has been synthesized, isolated, and characterized. The ...π‐acidity of the SIDip ligand, intermediate between the relatively non‐acidic IDip (1,3‐bisdiisopropylphenylimidazol‐2‐ylidene) ligand and the much more highly acidic CAAC (1‐2,6‐diisopropylphenyl‐3,3,5,5‐tetramethylpyrrolidin‐2‐ylidene) ligand, gives rise to a compound with spectroscopic, electrochemical, and structural properties between those of L‐B2‐L compounds stabilized by CAAC and IDip. Reactions of all three L‐B2‐L compounds with CO demonstrate the differences caused by their respective ligands, as the π‐acidities of the CAAC and SIDip carbenes enabled the isolation of bis(boraketene) compounds (L(OC)B‐B(CO)L), which could not be isolated from reactions with B2(IDip)2. However, only B2(IDip)2 and B2(SIDip)2 could be converted into bicyclic bis(boralactone) compounds.
A happy middle ground: The synthesis and characterization of B2(SIDip)2 shows the capacity of carbene ligands to control the chemistry in which they are involved. The SIDip carbene, having a π‐acidity lying between those of the commonly used CAAC and IDip carbenes, allows the syntheses of compounds with structures and reactivities intermediate between those found in compounds constructed of CAAC or IDip.
Fucoxanthin is a pigment present in diverse marine organisms such as micro and macro-algae. The most relevant source of fucoxanthin has been described to be the group of the brown macroalgae, also ...known as Phaeophyceae. The presence of the fucoxanthin, a xanthophyll, found as an accessory pigment in the chloroplasts of the brown algae is responsible for providing them their characteristic color. The market size of this carotenoid, expected to reach US$ 120 million by 2022, reflects its industrial importance, especially remarkable as a food or cosmetic ingredient.
Therefore, it is critical to recognize the main sources of fucoxanthin as well as the most efficient extraction and purification methods that allow obtaining the best production ratio for such a valuable molecule. Throughout this review very different preventive properties of the fucoxanthin have been included, such as antioxidant, anticancer, antiangiogenic, anti-inflammatory, cytoprotective, antiobesity, neuroprotective and its skin protective effects. The stability, bioavailability and toxicity of the fucoxanthin have also been reviewed through diverse biological, in vitro and in vivo assays.
Thus, the main aim of this work is to provide a wide and global vision of the fucoxanthin in terms of productive species, efficient recovery techniques and multiple industrial applications.
The main sources of fucoxanthin are brown algae (Phaeophytes) and some microalgae. Several techniques have been employed to extract this compound, such as maceration extraction (ME), enzyme assisted extraction (EAE), microwave assisted extraction (MAE), pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) or supercritical fluid extraction (SFE). Following the extraction, the identification step has been carried out using different chromatographic and spectroscopic techniques. Fucoxanthin has gained attention in the last decades, due to the wide variety of attributed beneficial activities, such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer or neuroprotective effects. These bioactivities are interesting for its diverse applications in the industry, including the development of innovative pharmaceutical, cosmetic and food products. Display omitted
•Review of fucoxanthin main matrixes and bioactive properties.•Approximation to fucoxanthin extraction and quantification methods.•Review of fucoxanthin stability, bioavailability and toxicity in diverse biological assays.•Content of fucoxanthin in micro and macroalgae (notably in chloroplasts of brown algae).•Fucoxanthin industrial importance (US$ 120 million by 2022) as ingredient (food or cosmetic).
Abstract Breast cancer is traditionally considered as a heterogeneous disease. Molecular profiling of breast cancer by gene expression studies has provided us an important tool to discriminate a ...number of subtypes. These breast cancer subtypes have been shown to be associated with clinical outcome and treatment response. In order to elucidate the functional consequences of altered gene expressions related to each breast cancer subtype, proteomic technologies can provide further insight by identifying quantitative differences at the protein level. In recent years, proteomic technologies have matured to an extent that they can provide proteome-wide expressions in different clinical materials. This technology can be applied for the identification of proteins or protein profiles to further refine breast cancer subtypes or for discovery of novel protein biomarkers pointing towards metastatic potential or therapy resistance in a specific subtype. In this review, we summarize the current state of knowledge of proteomic research on molecular breast cancer classification and discuss important aspects of the potential usefulness of proteomics for discovery of breast cancer-associated protein biomarkers in the clinic.
Drought is a major cause of limited agricultural productivity and of crop yield uncertainty throughout the world. For that reason, agricultural drought research and monitoring are of increasing ...interest. Although soil moisture is the main variable to define and identify agricultural drought, the actual soil water content is rarely taken into account because this type of drought is commonly studied using methodologies based on either climatological data or hydrological modeling. Currently, it is possible to use remote sensing to obtain global and frequent soil moisture data that could be directly used for agricultural drought monitoring everywhere. For example, the SMOS (Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity) satellite was launched in 2009 and provides global soil moisture maps every 1–2days. In this work, the Soil Water Deficit Index (SWDI) was calculated using the SMOS L2 soil moisture series in the REMEDHUS (Soil Moisture Measurement Stations Network) area (Spain) during the period 2010–2014. The satellite index was thus calculated using several approaches to obtain the soil water parameters and was compared with the SWDI obtained from in situ data. One approach was based directly on SMOS soil moisture time series (using the 5th percentile as an estimator for wilting point and the 95th percentile and the minimum of the maximum value during the growing season as estimators for field capacity). In this case, the results of the comparison were good, but the temporal distribution and the range of the index data were unrealistic. Other approaches were based on in situ data parameters and pedotransfer functions estimation. In this case, the results were better, and the satellite index was able to adequately identify the drought dynamics. Therefore, the final choice to apply the index in one particular site will depend on the availability of data. Finally, a comparison analysis was made with the SMOS SWDI and two indices (Crop Moisture Index, CMI, and Atmospheric Water Deficit, AWD) commonly used for agricultural drought monitoring and assessment. In both cases, the agreement was very good, and it was proven that SMOS SWDI reproduces well the soil water balance dynamics and is able to appropriately track agricultural drought.
•Satellite soil moisture has a great potential for agricultural drought monitoring.•The SMOS SWDI calculated with in situ soil water parameters or PTF shows good results.•The SWDI calculated with SMOS soil moisture agrees well with the CMI and the AWD.•SMOS soil moisture can be properly used for agricultural drought monitoring.
A method has been developed to extend the Global Inundation Estimate from Multiple Satellites (GIEMS). The method presented here is based on retrieval principals similar to GIEMS but with an updated ...estimation of microwave emissivity in order to be less dependent on ancillary data and with some changes to the final surface water estimation to correct a known overestimation over low vegetation areas. The new methodology, GIEMS‐2, provides monthly estimates of surface water extent, including open water, wetlands, or rice paddies, and it has been applied to the Special Sensor Microwave/Imager and the Special Sensor Microwave Imager Sounder intercalibrated observations to produce a global data record of surface water extent from 1992 to 2015, on an equal area grid of 0.25° × 0.25° at the equator (∼25 km). The time series have been thoroughly evaluated: they are seamless and do not show any obvious artifact related to changes in satellite instrumentation over the ∼25 years. Comparisons with precipitation estimates show good agreement, displaying expected patterns related to surface conditions and precipitation regimes. The temporal variability of basin‐averaged estimates has also been compared with altimeter river height, showing a reasonable agreement. Production will be continued up to current time as soon as the observations become available, with efforts to improve the spatial and temporal resolutions of the estimates currently underway.
Plain Language Summary
A method has been developed to provide global estimates of the continental surface waters and their dynamics. It comprises all surface waters, including open water, wetlands, or rice paddies. With multiple satellite data, a global data record of surface water extent is produced, on a monthly basis from 1992 to 2015, with a spatial resolution of 25 km. The time series have been thoroughly evaluated: They are seamless and do not show any obvious artifact related to changes in satellite instrumentation over the 25 years. Comparisons with precipitation estimates show good agreement, displaying expected patterns related to surface conditions and precipitation regimes. Temporal variability of basin‐averaged estimates has also been compared with altimeter river height, showing a reasonable agreement. Production will be continued up to current time as soon as carefully intercalibrated satellite observations become available, with efforts to improve the spatial and temporal resolution of the estimates currently underway.
Key Points
A method is developed to derive a Global Inundation Estimate from Multiple Satellites (GIEMS‐2 product)
It provides monthly estimates of surface water extent since 1992, with a spatial resolution of 0.25° × 0.25°
The time series have been thoroughly evaluated and are suitable for climatological studies
A new catalytic synthetic route to functionalized 1,2‐azaborinines has been developed by the 2+2/2+4 cycloaddition reactions of di‐tert‐butyliminoboranes and alkynes in presence of a rhodium ...catalyst. The first examples of ferrocene‐functionalized azaborinines have been synthesized using this strategy. Moreover, the regioselectivity of this reaction can be controlled by the formation of an intermediate rhodium 1,2‐azaborete complex, which results in the isolation of the first azaborinine boronic ester. The isolation of an NH‐containing BN isostere by elimination of isobutene from an N(tBu) group under thermolytic conditions has also been achieved. Theoretical studies give further insight into the formation of 1,2‐azaborinines and the elimination of isobutene from the N(tBu) group.
2+2+2: A straightforward method to access the first examples of ferrocene‐ and pinacolatoborane‐functionalized 1,2‐azaborinine derivatives has been developed by the tandem 2+2/2+4 cycloaddition reactions of di‐tert‐butyliminoboranes and alkynes.
In neuroscience, empathy is often conceived as relatively automatic. The voluntary control that people can exert on brain mechanisms that map the emotions of others onto our own emotions has received ...comparatively less attention. Here, we therefore measured brain activity while participants watched emotional Hollywood movies under two different instructions: to rate the main characters’ emotions by empathizing with them, or to do so while keeping a detached perspective. We found that participants yielded highly consistent and similar ratings of emotions under both conditions. Using intersubject correlation-based analyses we found that, when encouraged to empathize, participants’ brain activity in limbic (including cingulate and putamen) and somatomotor regions (including premotor, SI and SII) synchronized more during the movie than when encouraged to detach. Using intersubject functional connectivity we found that comparing the empathic and detached perspectives revealed widespread increases in functional connectivity between large scale networks. Our findings contribute to the increasing awareness that we have voluntary control over the neural mechanisms through which we process the emotions of others.
•People are highly consistent in their rating of characters’ emotions in movies.•Voluntarily empathizing increases recruitment of empathy related brain regions.•Voluntarily empathizing increases functional connectivity across networks.•Voluntarily empathizing increases perceived intensity of other people’s emotions.
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