1. |
- Agosta, Lorenzo, et al.
(author)
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Adsorption of Glycine on TiO2 in Water from On-the-fly Free-Energy Calculations and In Situ Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy
- 2024
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In: Langmuir. - 0743-7463 .- 1520-5827. ; 40:23, s. 12009-12016
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We report here an experimental-computational study of hydrated TiO2 anatase nanoparticles interacting with glycine, where we obtain quantitative agreement of the measured adsorption free energies. Ab initio simulations are performed within the tight binding and density functional theory in combination with enhanced free-energy sampling techniques, which exploit the thermodynamic integration of the unbiased mean forces collected on-the-fly along the molecular dynamics trajectories. The experiments adopt a new and efficient setup for electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements based on portable screen-printed gold electrodes, which allows fast and in situ signal assessment. The measured adsorption free energy is −30 kJ/mol (both from experiment and calculation), with preferential interaction of the charged group which strongly adsorbs on the TiO2 bridging oxygens. This highlights the importance of the terminal amino groups in the adsorption mechanism of amino acids on hydrated metal oxides. The excellent agreement between computation and experiment for this amino acid opens the doors to the exploration of the interaction free energies for other moderately complex bionano systems.
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2. |
- Akiyama, Kazunori, et al.
(author)
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First Sagittarius A* Event Horizon Telescope Results. II. EHT and Multiwavelength Observations, Data Processing, and Calibration
- 2022
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In: Astrophysical Journal Letters. - : American Astronomical Society. - 2041-8213 .- 2041-8205. ; 930:2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We present Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) 1.3 mm measurements of the radio source located at the position of the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*), collected during the 2017 April 5-11 campaign. The observations were carried out with eight facilities at six locations across the globe. Novel calibration methods are employed to account for Sgr A*'s flux variability. The majority of the 1.3 mm emission arises from horizon scales, where intrinsic structural source variability is detected on timescales of minutes to hours. The effects of interstellar scattering on the image and its variability are found to be subdominant to intrinsic source structure. The calibrated visibility amplitudes, particularly the locations of the visibility minima, are broadly consistent with a blurred ring with a diameter of similar to 50 mu as, as determined in later works in this series. Contemporaneous multiwavelength monitoring of Sgr A* was performed at 22, 43, and 86 GHz and at near-infrared and X-ray wavelengths. Several X-ray flares from Sgr A* are detected by Chandra, one at low significance jointly with Swift on 2017 April 7 and the other at higher significance jointly with NuSTAR on 2017 April 11. The brighter April 11 flare is not observed simultaneously by the EHT but is followed by a significant increase in millimeter flux variability immediately after the X-ray outburst, indicating a likely connection in the emission physics near the event horizon. We compare Sgr A*'s broadband flux during the EHT campaign to its historical spectral energy distribution and find that both the quiescent emission and flare emission are consistent with its long-term behavior.
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3. |
- Alastuey, Andres, et al.
(author)
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Geochemistry of PM10 over Europe during the EMEP intensive measurement periods in summer 2012 and winter 2013
- 2016
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In: Atmospheric Chemistry And Physics. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1680-7316 .- 1680-7324. ; 16:10, s. 6107-6129
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The third intensive measurement period (IMP) organised by the European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme (EMEP) under the UNECE CLTRAP took place in summer 2012 and winter 2013, with PM10 filter samples concurrently collected at 20 (16 EMEP) regional background sites across Europe for subsequent analysis of their mineral dust content. All samples were analysed by the same or a comparable methodology. Higher PM10 mineral dust loadings were observed at most sites in summer (0.5-10aEuro-A mu gaEuro-m(-3)) compared to winter (0.2-2aEuro-A mu gaEuro-m(-3)), with the most elevated concentrations in the southern- and easternmost countries, accounting for 20-40aEuro-% of PM10. Saharan dust outbreaks were responsible for the high summer dust loadings at western and central European sites, whereas regional or local sources explained the elevated concentrations observed at eastern sites. The eastern Mediterranean sites experienced elevated levels due to African dust outbreaks during both summer and winter. The mineral dust composition varied more in winter than in summer, with a higher relative contribution of anthropogenic dust during the former period. A relatively high contribution of K from non-mineral and non-sea-salt sources, such as biomass burning, was evident in winter at some of the central and eastern European sites. The spatial distribution of some components and metals reveals the influence of specific anthropogenic sources on a regional scale: shipping emissions (V, Ni, and SO42-) in the Mediterranean region, metallurgy (Cr, Ni, and Mn) in central and eastern Europe, high temperature processes (As, Pb, and SO42-) in eastern countries, and traffic (Cu) at sites affected by emissions from nearby cities.
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4. |
- Colozza, Noemi, et al.
(author)
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Insights into Tripodal Tris(pyrazolyl) Compounds as Ionophores for Potentiometric Ammonium Ion Sensing
- 2022
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In: ChemElectroChem. - : Wiley. - 2196-0216. ; 9:18
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The decentralisation of accurate determination of the ammonium ion (NH4+) is relevant for environmental monitoring (i. e., nitrogen cycle) and certain clinical applications (e. g., kidney and liver diseases). Potentiometric ionophore-based sensors are one alternative for these purposes in terms of versatile implementation, though the potassium ion (K+) is known to be a major source of interference. We herein investigate the use of three different tripodal tris(pyrazolyl) compounds derived from 1,3,5-triethylbenzene as NH4+ ionophores. A complete set of potentiometric experiments together with theoretical simulations reveals suitable analytical performance while demonstrating a suppression of the K+ interference given the formation of an adequate cavity in the ionophore to host NH4+ over K+ in the membrane environment. The results support the use of these electrodes in the analytical detection of NH4+ in a wide range of samples with variable contents.
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5. |
- Cuartero, Maria, et al.
(author)
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Why ammonium detection is particularly challenging but insightful with ionophore-based potentiometric sensors - an overview of the progress in the last 20 years
- 2020
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In: The Analyst. - : Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). - 0003-2654 .- 1364-5528. ; 145:9, s. 3188-3210
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The monitoring of ammonium ion concentration has gained the attention of researchers from multiple fields since it is a crucial parameter with respect to environmental and biomedical applications. For example, ammonium is considered to be a quality indicator of natural waters as well as a potential biomarker of an enzymatic byproduct in key physiological reactions. Among the classical analytical methods used for the detection of ammonium ions, potentiometric ion-selective electrodes (ISEs) have attracted special attention in the scientific community because of their advantages such as cost-effectiveness, user-friendly features, and miniaturization ability, which facilitate easy portable measurements. Regarding the analytical performance, the key component of ISEs is the selective receptor, labelled as an ionophore in ISE jargon. Indeed, the preference of an ionophore for ammonium amongst other ions (i.e., selectivity) is a factor that primarily dictates the limit of detection of the electrode when performing measurements in real samples. A careful assessment of the literature for the last 20 years reveals that nonactin is by far the most employed ammonium ionophore to date. Despite the remarkable cross-interference of potassium over the ammonium response of nonactin-based ISEs, analytical applications comprising water quality assessment, clinical tests in biological fluids, and sweat monitoring during sports practice have been successfully researched. Nevertheless, there is evident difficulty in the determination of close-to-micromolar levels of ammonium in real samples with a significant potassium background level (i.e., millimolar concentration). This fact has fostered the search for a large variety of ammonium ionophores over the years, which are critically inspected herein. Overall, we provide an easily readable state of the art accompanied by a comprehensive description of other types of ammonium electrodes, including commercially available units. We conclude that newer breakthroughs are still required in the field to reach the desired analytical applications.
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6. |
- García-Martín, Noemi, et al.
(author)
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Sugar reduction in musts with nanofiltration membranes to obtain low alcohol-content wines
- 2010
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In: Separation and Purification Technology. - : Elsevier. - 1383-5866 .- 1873-3794. ; 76:2, s. 158-170
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Our aim here is to study the sugar reduction in musts to obtain wines with a slight alcohol reduction by nanofiltration. Specifically, sugar reduction is achieved by two successive nanofiltration steps. To test the method, we have worked with two types of musts: a white must from Verdejo grapes and a red one from Tinta de Toro grapes. The musts obtained from the nanofiltration treatment have been mixed with untreated must or with the retentate of the first nanofiltration stage in a proportion adequate to reduce the alcohol content of the resulting wines by 2 degrees.To verify the effectiveness of the process, each of these musts has been fermented along with an untreated control sample of the same must. The alcohol reduction in the wines has been satisfactory. However, a slight loss in the color and aroma of some compounds has been detected. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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7. |
- Garcia-Martin, Noemi, et al.
(author)
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Sugar reduction in white and red musts with nanofiltration membranes
- 2011
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In: Desalination and Water Treatment. - : Balaban Publishers. - 1944-3994 .- 1944-3986. ; 27:1-3, s. 167-174
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In recent years the alcohol content of wine increases mainly due to climate change. Moreover, at present, consumers are increasingly demanding more aromatic and less alcoholic wines, it is due to the greater social awareness in the alcohol consumption and the regulations of the alcoholic products. The aim of this work is the reduction of sugar in the grape must to obtain wines with a slight reduction of their alcoholic degree. A reduction of sugar has been by performing two successive stages of nanofiltration. To this end, we have worked with two types of musts: one from the Verdejo variety of white grapes and the other from red grapes of the Tinta de Toro variety. Each must has been fermented both after treatment and, to be used as control, without any filtration in order to check the effectiveness of the process. Once fermentation is completed, wide-ranging analysis have been used to study all possible changes in the characteristics of the wine from a chemical point of view. The alcohol reduction reached by the wines obtained after nanofiltration and mixing of both white and red musts has been satisfactory.
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8. |
- Hernández-Laguna, Alfonso, et al.
(author)
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Compressibility of 2M1 muscovite-phlogopite series minerals
- 2019
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In: Journal of Molecular Modeling. - : Springer. - 1610-2940 .- 0948-5023. ; 25:11
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Muscovite (Ms) and phlogopite (Phl) belong to the 2:1 dioctahedral and trioctahedral layer silicates, respectively, and are the end members of Ms-Phl series minerals. This series was studied in the 2M1 polytype and modeled by the substitution of three Mg2+ cations in the Phl octahedral sites by two Al3+ and one vacancy, increasing the substitution up to reach the Ms. The series was computationally examined at DFT level as a function of pressure to 9 GPa. Cell parameters as a function of pressure and composition, and bulk moduli as a function of the composition agrees with the existing experimental results. The mixing Gibbs free energy was calculated as a function of composition. From these data, approximated solvi were calculated at increasing pressure. A gap of solubility is found, decreasing the gap of solubility at high pressure.
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9. |
- Idahl, Annika, 1965-, et al.
(author)
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Serologic markers of Chlamydia trachomatis and other sexually transmitted infections and subsequent ovarian cancer risk : Results from the EPIC cohort
- 2020
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In: International Journal of Cancer. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0020-7136 .- 1097-0215. ; 147:8, s. 2042-2052
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A substantial proportion of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) arises in the fallopian tube and other epithelia of the upper genital tract; these epithelia may incur damage and neoplastic transformation after sexually transmitted infections (STI) and pelvic inflammatory disease. We investigated the hypothesis that past STI infection, particularly Chlamydia trachomatis, is associated with higher EOC risk in a nested case‐control study within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort including 791 cases and 1669 matched controls. Serum antibodies against C. trachomatis, Mycoplasma genitalium, herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV‐2) and human papillomavirus (HPV) 16, 18 and 45 were assessed using multiplex fluorescent bead‐based serology. Conditional logistic regression was used to estimate relative risks (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) comparing women with positive vs. negative serology. A total of 40% of the study population was seropositive to at least one STI. Positive serology to C. trachomatis Pgp3 antibodies was not associated with EOC risk overall, but with higher risk of the mucinous histotype (RR = 2.30 [95% CI = 1.22‐4.32]). Positive serology for chlamydia heat shock protein 60 (cHSP60‐1) was associated with higher risk of EOC overall (1.36 [1.13‐1.64]) and with the serous subtype (1.44 [1.12‐1.85]). None of the other evaluated STIs were associated with EOC risk overall; however, HSV‐2 was associated with higher risk of endometrioid EOC (2.35 [1.24‐4.43]). The findings of our study suggest a potential role of C. trachomatis in the carcinogenesis of serous and mucinous EOC, while HSV‐2 might promote the development of endometrioid disease.
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10. |
- Laj, Paolo, et al.
(author)
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A global analysis of climate-relevant aerosol properties retrieved from the network of Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) near-surface observatories
- 2020
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In: Atmospheric Measurement Techniques. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1867-1381 .- 1867-8548. ; 13:8, s. 4353-4392
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Aerosol particles are essential constituents of the Earth's atmosphere, impacting the earth radiation balance directly by scattering and absorbing solar radiation, and indirectly by acting as cloud condensation nuclei. In contrast to most greenhouse gases, aerosol particles have short atmospheric residence times, resulting in a highly heterogeneous distribution in space and time. There is a clear need to document this variability at regional scale through observations involving, in particular, the in situ near-surface segment of the atmospheric observation system. This paper will provide the widest effort so far to document variability of climate-relevant in situ aerosol properties (namely wavelength dependent particle light scattering and absorption coefficients, particle number concentration and particle number size distribution) from all sites connected to the Global Atmosphere Watch network. High-quality data from almost 90 stations worldwide have been collected and controlled for quality and are reported for a reference year in 2017, providing a very extended and robust view of the variability of these variables worldwide. The range of variability observed worldwide for light scattering and absorption coefficients, single-scattering albedo, and particle number concentration are presented together with preliminary information on their long-term trends and comparison with model simulation for the different stations. The scope of the present paper is also to provide the necessary suite of information, including data provision procedures, quality control and analysis, data policy, and usage of the ground-based aerosol measurement network. It delivers to users of the World Data Centre on Aerosol, the required confidence in data products in the form of a fully characterized value chain, including uncertainty estimation and requirements for contributing to the global climate monitoring system.
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