Net carbon balance study for selected roads in Tenerife, Canary Islands.

Carbon dioxide emissions linked to the transport sector are particularly relevant to islands. The Canary Islands have high level of tourism, with tourists who generally travel in rented vehicles on arrival in the archipelago. In addition, mobility of the local population in the islands is also always growing. Thus, transport is one of the sectors that emits the greatest amount of greenhouse gases. In this sense, the net carbon balance becomes a pioneering study in the framework of management of high-capacity road transport routes and will help plan new strategies, which pursue the neutrality and climate resilience of the road network. It will therefore be possible to design different future scenarios, according to traffic intensities detected, to mitigate their local effects by increasing green areas, which will contribute to greater absorption. This study calculated the carbon footprint linked to vehicles on the three high-capacity roads on the island of Tenerife, as well as the carbon footprint of the public lighting attached to these roads. The absorption of carbon by vegetation planted by the Road Service and the soil located on the margins of the road have also been calculated to explore the possibility of modifying the vegetation, using other types of local shrubs and trees that have a higher absorption factor. The results demonstrate that conifers have the highest absorption factor, the Canary Island pine being the best option in this case. However, it is not always possible to place trees on the roadside, and it is necessary to resort to smaller species. This study concludes that better mobility planning, an increase in electric vehicles, improved energy production from renewable sources, and the promotion and enhancement of absorption capacity of carbon sinks are key in the face of climate change. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2023;19:1023-1030. © 2022 The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC).

Understanding the Chloride Affinity of Barbiturates for Anion Receptor Design.

Due to their potential binding sites, barbituric acid (BA) and its derivatives have been used in metal coordination chemistry. Yet their abilities to recognize anions remain unexplored. In this work, we were able to identify four structural features of barbiturates that are responsible for a certain anion affinity. The set of coordination interactions can be finely tuned with covalent decorations at the methylene group. DFT-D computations at the BLYP-D3(BJ)/aug-cc-pVDZ level of theory show that the C-H bond is as effective as the N-H bond to coordinate chloride. An analysis of the electron charge density at the C-H⋅⋅⋅Cl- and N-H⋅⋅⋅Cl- bond critical points elucidates their similarities in covalent character. Our results reveal that the special acidity of the C-H bond shows up when the methylene group moves out of the ring plane and it is mainly governed by the orbital interaction energy. The amide and carboxyl groups are the best choices to coordinate the ion when they act together with the C-H bond. We finally show how can we use this information to rationally improve the recognition capability of a small cage-like complex that is able to coordinate NaCl.

Prospective neonatal screening for severe T- and B-lymphocyte deficiencies in Seville.

BACKGROUND: Early diagnosis of primary immunodeficiency such as severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) and X-linked agammaglobulinemia (XLA) improves outcome of affected children. T-cell-receptor-excision circles (TRECs) and kappa-deleting-recombination-excision circles (KRECs) determination from dried blood spots (DBS) identify neonates with severe T- and/or B-lymphopenia. No prospective data exist of the impact of gestational age (GA) and birth weight (BW) on TRECs and KRECs values. METHODS: TRECs and KRECs determination using triplex RT-PCR (TRECS-KRECS-ß-actin-Assay) from prospectively collected DBS between 02/2014 and 02/2015 in three hospitals in Seville, Spain. Cut-off levels were TRECs < 6/punch, KRECs < 4/punch and -ß-actin>700/punch. Internal (SCID, XLA, ataxia telangiectasia) and external controls (NBS quality assurance program, CDC) were included. RESULTS: A total of 5160 DBS were tested. Re-punch was needed in 77 samples (1.5%) due to insufficient ß-actin (<700 copies/punch). Pre-term neonates (GA<37 weeks) and neonates with a BW<2500 g showed significantly lower TRECs and KRECs levels (p < 0.001). Due to repeat positive results five neonates were re-called (<0.1%): Fatal chromosomopathy (n = 1; TRECs 1/KRECs 4); extreme pre-maturity (n = 2; TRECs 0/KRECs 0 and TRECs 1/KRECs 20 copies/punch); neonates born to mothers receiving azathioprine during pregnancy (n = 2; TRECs 92/KRECs 1 and TRECs 154/KRECs 3 copies/punch). All internal and external controls were correctly identified. CONCLUSIONS: TRECS-KRECS-ß-actin-Assay correctly identifies T- and B-cell lymphopenias. Pre-maturity and low BW is associated with lower TREC and KREC levels. Extreme pre-maturity and maternal immune suppressive therapy may be a cause for false positive results of TRECs and KRECs values, respectively. To reduce the rate of insufficient samples, DBS extraction and storage need to be improved.

Aspectos genéticos y clínicos del síndrome de Usher / Genetical and clinical aspects of Usher syndrome

Con el objetivo de describir algunos aspectos genéticos y clínicos del Síndrome de Usher, se realizó un estudio descriptivo transversal en el Centro de Referencia Nacional de Retinosis Pigmentaria desde marzo de 1996 hasta junio de 1998, con 33 pacientes con diagnóstico de síndrome de Usher a través de la revisión de historias clínicas, entrevistas para interrogatorio y examen físico, así como para la confección e interpretación del árbol genealógico. La mayoría de los pacientes (60,60 porciento) presentaron el síndrome de Usher tipo II. Se encontró consanguinidad en el 29,62 porciento de los casos y los antecedentes patológicos familiares se observaron en 12 familias. Las manifestaciones clínicas oftalmológicas tuvieron un inicio fundamentalmente juvenil, y las audiológicas tuvieron un inicio muy precoz (congénito) en el tipo I y en la infancia, en el tipo II. En conclusión en el presente estudio, se pone de manifiesto la heterogeneidad clínica y genética del síndrome de Usher así como su carácter hereditario con patrón de herencia autosómico recesivo. Se hace necesario su diagnóstico precoz para ofrecer asesoramiento genético a los padres y poner tratamiento adecuado a las discapacidades(AU)

Aspectos genéticos y clínicos del síndrome de Usher / Genetical and clinical aspects of Usher syndrome

Con el objetivo de describir algunos aspectos genéticos y clínicos del Síndrome de Usher, se realizó un estudio descriptivo transversal en el Centro de Referencia Nacional de Retinosis Pigmentaria desde marzo de 1996 hasta junio de 1998, con 33 pacientes con diagnóstico de síndrome de Usher a través de la revisión de historias clínicas, entrevistas para interrogatorio y examen físico, así como para la confección e interpretación del árbol genealógico. La mayoría de los pacientes (60,60 porciento) presentaron el síndrome de Usher tipo II. Se encontró consanguinidad en el 29,62 porciento de los casos y los antecedentes patológicos familiares se observaron en 12 familias. Las manifestaciones clínicas oftalmológicas tuvieron un inicio fundamentalmente juvenil, y las audiológicas tuvieron un inicio muy precoz (congénito) en el tipo I y en la infancia, en el tipo II. En conclusión en el presente estudio, se pone de manifiesto la heterogeneidad clínica y genética del síndrome de Usher así como su carácter hereditario con patrón de herencia autosómico recesivo. Se hace necesario su diagnóstico precoz para ofrecer asesoramiento genético a los padres y poner tratamiento adecuado a las discapacidades