Forced Solid-State Interactions for the Selective “Turn-On” Fluorescence Sensing of Aluminum Ions in Water Using a Sensory Polymer Substrate

Selective and sensitive solid sensory substrates for detecting Al(III) in pure water are reported. The material is a flexible polymer film that can be handled and exhibits gel behavior and membrane performance. The film features a chemically anchored salicylaldehyde benzoylhydrazone derivative as an aluminum ion fluorescence sensor. A novel procedure for measuring Al(III) at the ppb level using a single solution drop in 20 min was developed. In this procedure, a drop was allowed to enter the hydrophilic material for 15 min before a 5 min drying period. The process forced the Al(III) to interact with the sensory motifs within the membrane before measuring the fluorescence of the system. The limit of detection of Al(III) was 22 ppm. Furthermore, a water-soluble sensory polymer containing the same sensory motifs was developed with a limit of detection of Al(III) of 1.5 ppb, which was significantly lower than the Environmental Protection Agency recommendations for drinking water.Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad-Feder (MAT2011-22544) and by the Consejería de Educación - Junta de Castilla y León (BU232U13)

Geology and rural landscapes in central Spain (Guadalajara, Castilla—La Mancha)

Methods commonly used in regional geological analysis were employed to study the visual landscapes of the Sigüenza–Molina de Aragón area (Spain). Landscape data were compiled to produce a landscape map and a photograph catalogue. Lithological composition, tectonic structure and recent erosive processes are the main factors controlling the visual landscapes. Territorial properties, such as colours and agricultural capacities, are controlled by these geological characteristics. The landscape map and the photographic catalogue is the main contribution of this paper. The first level of landscape classification distinguishes zones with dominance of either flat, concave or convex areas. Other parts of the territory are, however, composed of concave and convex combinations that originate hybrid orographic structures. In a second level of classification, several subdivisions for each of these types are established

Existencia de una estructura ?ptima de capital

La estructura de capital de una empresa es la combinaci?n de deuda y patrimonio con la que se planea financiar las inversiones que generar?n los ingresos futuros (flujos de caja). Tanto la deuda como el patrimonio tienen rendimientos exigidos (RB y RS respectivamente), con los cuales, cuando se ponderan por su respectiva participaci?n, se obtiene el costo promedio ponderado de capital (RWACC); es decir, el costo global en que la empresa incurre por los fondos recibidos. De ah? que lo m?s conveniente para una compa??a sea disminuir este costo lo m?ximo posible, pues esto a su vez aumenta su valor. Modigliani y Miller propusieron que, en un mundo con impuestos, mientras mayor sea el apalancamiento, menor ser? el RWACC y, por ende, mayor ser? el valor de la empresa, lo que implica que esta puede apalancarse sin l?mite y seguir incrementando su valor indefinidamente, lo cual no se condice con la realidad. Otras teor?as afirman que la empresa no puede endeudarse indefinidamente, sino que existe un punto de inflexi?n a partir del cual aparecen costos asociados a la excesiva deuda (quiebra, agencia, etc.) que causan que el valor de la empresa deje de aumentar y, por el contrario, comience a disminuir. Calcular este punto de inflexi?n ser?a hallar la estructura ?ptima de capital. Esta investigaci?n se enfoc? en encontrar y brindar un modelo matem?tico que permita sustentar anal?ticamente el concepto del punto de inflexi?n y su c?lculo bas?ndose en la premisa de que los costos de quiebra, agencia y otros asociados al aumento de la deuda se reflejan en la tasa RB. As?, se logr? determinar las expresiones matem?ticas de RS, y sobre todo de RB, que permiten que exista un costo promedio ponderado de capital (RWAAC) m?nimo y, de esta forma, que tambi?n exista una estructura ?ptima de capital. Adicionalmente, se presenta un ejercicio comparativo utilizando un estudio previo de estructura ?ptima de capital con el fin de comparar resultados y determinar si el modelo anal?tico desarrollado en el presente trabajo brinda resultados congruentes con los desarrollos de aquel

Vote buying or (political) business (cycles) as usual?

We study the short-run effect of elections on monetary aggregates in a sample of 85 low and middle income democracies (1975-2009). We find an increase in the growth rate of M1 during election months of about one tenth of a standard deviation. A similar effect can neither be detected in established OECD democracies nor in other months. The effect is larger in democracies with many poor and uneducated voters, and in Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and in East-Asia and the Pacific. We argue that the election month monetary expansion is related to systemic vote buying which requires significant amounts of cash to be disbursed right before elections. The finely timed increase in M1 is consistent with this; is inconsistent with a monetary cycle aimed at creating an election time boom; and it cannot be, fully, accounted for by alternative explanations

Overlapping political budget cycles in the legislative and the executive

We advance the literature on political budget cycles by testing separately for cycles in expenditures for elections in the legislative and the executive. Using municipal data, we can separately identify these cycles and account for general year effects. For the executive branch, we show that it is important whether the incumbent re-runs. To account for the potential endogeneity associated with this decision, we apply a unique instrumental variables approach based on age and pension eligibility rules. We find sizable and significant effects in expenditures before council elections and before joint elections when the incumbent re-runs

Plan de negocio para la implementaci?n de un camposanto en la provincia de Sullana del departamento de Piura

Este trabajo constituye un plan de negocio para evaluar la idea de crear un nuevo camposanto en la ciudad de Sullana perteneciente a la provincia de Sullana, una de las ocho provincias del departamento de Piura, cuyos servicios est?n orientados a todos los niveles socioecon?micos del sector. La decisi?n de desarrollar un Plan de Negocios ubicado en la ciudad de Sullana se tom? considerando varios factores, entre ellos su poblaci?n que asciende a m?s de 300,000 habitantes, el crecimiento productivo en el sector agroindustrial y principalmente por la falta de oferta que se ajuste a un buen indicador de calidad - precio. Sullana es una de las ocho provincias del departamento de Piura que cuenta con un creciente ?ndice demogr?fico, siendo en la actualidad la segunda provincia m?s importante en la regi?n Piura, tanto en poblaci?n como en producci?n. Sin embargo, a pesar de estas condiciones que posibilitan el desarrollo e implementaci?n de diversos proyectos que mejorar?an los servicios de la poblaci?n, Sullana no cuenta con muchas alternativas en el mercado de cementerios, considerando adem?s que el emblem?tico Cementerio de la Beneficencia ?San Jos?? no cuenta con capacidad suficiente para realizar m?s sepulturas; es por ello que las personas optan por acceder a ofertas que no brindan buen servicio y tienen precios bastante altos

Identification of a Profile of Neutrophil-Derived Granule Proteins in the Surface of Gold Nanoparticles after Their Interaction with Human Breast Cancer Sera

It is well known that the interaction of a nanomaterial with a biological fluid leads to the formation of a protein corona (PC) surrounding the nanomaterial. Using standard blood analyses, alterations in protein patterns are difficult to detect. PC acts as a "nano-concentrator" of serum proteins with affinity for nanoparticles' surface. Consequently, characterization of PC could allow detection of otherwise undetectable changes in protein concentration at an early stage of a disease, such as breast cancer (BC). Here, we employed gold nanoparticles (AuNPsdiameter: 10.02 +/- 0.91 nm) as an enrichment platform to analyze the human serum proteome of BC patients (n = 42) and healthy controls (n = 42). Importantly, the analysis of the PC formed around AuNPs after their interaction with serum samples of BC patients showed a profile of proteins that could differentiate breast cancer patients from healthy controls. These proteins developed a significant role in the immune and/or innate immune system, some of them being neutrophil-derived granule proteins. The analysis of the PC also revealed serum proteome alterations at the subtype level

Stable expression of Escherichia coli {beta}-glucuronidase A (GusA) in Giardia lamblia: application to high-throughput drug susceptibility testing

Objectives In order to create a suitable model for high-throughput drug screening, a Giardia lamblia WB C6 strain expressing Escherichia coli glucuronidase A (GusA) was created and tested with respect to susceptibility to the anti-giardial drugs nitazoxanide and metronidazole. Methods GusA, a well-established reporter gene in other systems, was cloned into the vector pPacVInteg allowing stable expression in G. lamblia under control of the promoter from the glutamate dehydrogenase (gdh) gene. The resulting transgenic strain was compared with the wild-type strain in a vitality assay, characterized with respect to susceptibility to nitazoxanide, metronidazole and-as assessed in a 96-well plate format-to a panel of 15 other compounds to be tested for anti-giardial activity. Results GusA was stably expressed in G. lamblia. Using a simple glucuronidase assay protocol, drug efficacy tests yielded results similar to those from cell counting. Conclusions G. lamblia WB C6 GusA is a suitable tool for high-throughput anti-giardial drug screening