Novel Hydrophobic Functionalized UiO-66 Series: Synthesis, Characterization, and Evaluation of Their Structural and Physical-Chemical Properties.

A novel set of four functionalized hydrophobic UiO-66-NHR series were synthesized through postsynthetic procedures, utilizing various benzoyl chlorides and UiO-66-NH as starting materials. This synthesis method was carried out by employing p- (1) and o-toluoyl (2), as well as 2- (3) and 4-fluorobenzoyl (4) substituents. The analysis of the resulting compounds was performed using conventional spectroscopic methods such as FT-IR and H NMR to quantify the conversion rate into amide.

Childhood Family Environment and Osteoporosis in a Population-Based Cohort Study of Middle-to Older-Age Americans.

Demographic and early-life socioeconomic and parental investment factors may influence later-life health and development of chronic and progressive diseases, including osteoporosis, a costly condition common among women. The "long arm of childhood" literature links negative early-life exposures to lower socioeconomic attainment and worse adult health. We build on a small literature linking childhood socioeconomic status (SES) and bone health, providing evidence of whether associations exist between lower childhood SES and maternal investment and higher risk of osteoporosis diagnosis.

Magnetically Treated Water in L.: An Alternative to Develop Organic Farming in Cuba.

L. (common bean) significantly contributes to the human diet due to its protein, vitamin and mineral contents, making it one of the major edible plant species worldwide. Currently, the genetic resources conserved in germplasm banks in Cuba have experienced a loss of viability, which makes their propagation difficult.

Is Structural Precision of Platonic Micelles Controlled Solely by Close-Packed Head Groups or Also by Hydrophobic Tail Packing? A DFT Exploration.

Platonic micelles have been defined as structurally precise amphiphilic aggregates with discrete aggregation numbers corresponding to the close packing of spherical caps (representing head groups) on a sphere (representing hydrophobic core), analogous to the Tammes problem in geometry. Here, we use DFT to explore how an actual molecule behaves compared to the idealized picture based on the Tammes problem by also considering the packing of the tails. We modeled micelles of aggregation numbers 4 to 8 generated from the calix[4]arene amphiphile, PACaL3, with the tails forming a close-packed configuration while the headgroups are arranged as in Platonic solids.

A State-of-the-Art of Metal-Organic Frameworks for Chromium Photoreduction vs. Photocatalytic Water Remediation.

Hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) is a highly mobile cancerogenic and teratogenic heavy metal ion. Among the varied technologies applied today to address chromium water pollution, photocatalysis offers a rapid reduction of Cr(VI) to the less toxic Cr(III). In contrast to classic photocatalysts, Metal-Organic frameworks (MOFs) are porous semiconductors that can couple the Cr(VI) to Cr(III) photoreduction to the chromium species immobilization.

Cross-national measurement invariance of the Purpose in Life Test in seven Latin American countries.

The Purpose in Life Test (PIL) is a measure of purpose in life widely used in many cultures and countries; however, cross-cultural assessments are scarce. The present study aimed to evaluate the cross-cultural measurement invariance of the PIL in the general population of seven Latin American countries (Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico, Paraguay, Argentina, and Uruguay). A total of 4306 people participated, selected by non-probabilistic convenience sampling, where Uruguay has the highest mean age ( = 41.

Analysis of the socioeconomic impact due to COVID-19 using a deep clustering approach.

One of the main problems that countries are currently having is being able to measure the impact of the pandemic in other areas of society (for example, economic or social). In that sense, being able to combine variables about the behavior of COVID-19 with other variables in the environment, to build models about its impact, which help the decision-making of national authorities, is a current challenge. In this sense, this work proposes an approach that allows monitoring the socioeconomic behavior of the regions/departments of a country (in this case, Colombia) due to the effect of COVID-19.

Association between hypomineralization of deciduous and molar incisor hypomineralization and dental caries.

This study aimed to evaluate the association between the severity of hypomineralized second primary molars (HSPM), molar-incisor hypomineralization (MIH) and dental caries in children. 450 children between the ages of 6 and 7 years were included in this cross-sectional study. A calibrated examiner classified the enamel hypomineralizations and dental caries lesions using the MIH and HSPM and the Nyvad criteria, respectively.

Cross-cultural measurement invariance of the purpose in life test - Short form (PIL-SF) in seven Latin American countries.

The aim was to test the cross-cultural measurement invariance of the PIL-SF in a sample of people from seven Latin American countries. Additionally, the characteristics of the PIL-SF items were evaluated and to assess the relationship between purpose in life, as measured by the PIL-SF, and fear of COVID-19. A total of 4306 people from seven Latin American countries participated in the study.

An incremental learning approach to prediction models of SEIRD variables in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Several works have proposed predictive models of the SEIRD (Susceptible, Exposed, Infected, Recovered, and Dead) variables to characterize the pandemic of COVID-19. One of the challenges of these models is to be able to follow the dynamics of the disease to make more precise predictions. In this paper, we propose an approach based on incremental learning to build predictive models of the SEIRD variables for the COVID-19 pandemic.

Assessing the roles of demographic, social, economic, environmental, health-related, and political factors on risk of osteoporosis diagnosis among older adults.

Unlabelled: Chronic stress from social/environmental pressures has been proposed to affect bone health through increased inflammation. We demonstrate that inflammation from prolonged stress does not cause changes to bone health through inflammation but instead impacts access to health care, social inequalities, and overall health, which in turn impact bone health.

Purpose: The study provides a comprehensive assessment of how determinants of health across demographic, psychological, mobility-related, health, environmental, and economic domains are associated with the diagnosis of osteoporosis and tests three hypotheses: (1) a diverse set of variables across domains will predict osteoporosis, (2) chronic inflammation as a result of stress (represented by high-sensitivity C-reactive protein) will not be associated with osteoporosis, and (3) the model developed will have high accuracy in predicting osteoporosis.

Socio-Demographic Variables, Fear of COVID-19, Anxiety, and Depression: Prevalence, Relationships and Explanatory Model in the General Population of Seven Latin American Countries.

The COVID-19 pandemic has gravely impacted Latin America. A model was tested that evaluated the contribution of socio-demographic factors and fear of COVID-19 on anxiety and depression in samples of residents in seven Latin American countries (Argentina, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, Uruguay, Colombia, and El Salvador). A total of 4,881 individuals, selected by convenience sampling, participated in the study.

Molecular Epidemiology of Clinical Isolates from Central Panama.

represents one of the most common causes of community-onset and nosocomial infections. Strains carrying extended spectrum β-lactamases (ESBL) are a serious public health problem. In Central America we have not found studies reporting the molecular epidemiology of strains implicated in local infections, so we conducted this study to fill that gap.

Newborn Screening for SCID. Experience in Spain (Catalonia).

Newborn screening (NBS) for severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) started in Catalonia in January-2017, being the first Spanish and European region to universally include this testing. In Spain, a pilot study with 5000 samples was carried out in Seville in 2014; also, a research project with about 35,000 newborns will be carried out in 2021-2022 in the NBS laboratory of Eastern Andalusia. At present, the inclusion of SCID is being evaluated in Spain.

Machine learning models for the prediction of the SEIRD variables for the COVID-19 pandemic based on a deep dependence analysis of variables.

The SEIRD (Susceptible, Exposed, Infected, Recovered, and Dead) model is a mathematical model based on dynamic equations; widely used for characterization of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this paper, a different approach has been discussed, which is the development of predictive models for the SEIRD variables that have been based on the historical data collected, and the context variables to where this model has been applied to. Particularly, the context variables examined in this paper include total population, number of people over 65 years old, poverty index, morbidity rates, average age, and population density.

Cross-cultural measurement invariance of the in seven Latin American countries.

The objective was to evaluate the cross-cultural measurement invariance of the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) in 7 Latin American countries (Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico, Paraguay, Argentina, and Uruguay). The participants were 2944 people, selected through non-probability sampling for convenience, where the majority were women. Data collection occurred between 12 June and 14 September 2020.

Copper-Modified Polymeric Membranes for Water Treatment: A Comprehensive Review.

In the last decades, the incorporation of copper in polymeric membranes for water treatment has received greater attention, as an innovative potential solution against biofouling formation on membranes, as well as, by its ability to improve other relevant membrane properties. Copper has attractive characteristics: excellent antimicrobial activity, high natural abundance, low cost and the existence of multiple cost-effective synthesis routes for obtaining copper-based materials with tunable characteristics, which favor their incorporation into polymeric membranes. This study presents a comprehensive analysis of the progress made in the area regarding modified membranes for water treatment when incorporating copper.

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

Acute Cr water pollution due to anthropogenic activities is an increasing worldwide concern. The high toxicity and mobility of Cr makes it necessary to develop dual adsorbent/ion-reductive materials that are able to capture Cr and transform it efficiently into the less hazardous Cr . An accurate description of chromium speciation at the adsorbent/ion-reductive matrix is key to assessing whether Cr is completely reduced to Cr , or if its incomplete transformation has led to the stabilization of highly reactive, transient Cr species within the material.

Understanding the Phenomenon of Copper Ions Release from Copper-Modified TFC Membranes: A Mathematical and Experimental Methodology Using Shrinking Core Model.

Type of metal and metal-oxide NPs added to modify Thin-Film Composites Reverse Osmosis Membranes (TFC-RO) can alter their anti-biofouling properties by changing the dissolution process. The development of a mathematical model can facilitate the selection of these NPs. This work consists of a mathematical and experimental methodology to understand copper-based NPs dissolution of three copper species incorporated into TFC-RO membranes: Cu-NPs, CuO-NPs and Cu-Oligomer complexes formed in situ during the polymerization process.

Geographic Distribution and Incidence of Melioidosis, Panama.

Melioidosis is an infection caused by Burkholderia pseudomallei. Most cases occur in Southeast Asia and northern Australia; <100 cases have been reported in the Americas. We conducted a retrospective study and identified 12 melioidosis cases in Panama during 2007-2017, suggesting possible endemicity and increased need for surveillance.

Acetic acid bacteria encode two levansucrase types of different ecological relationship.

Acetic acid bacteria (AAB) are associated with plants and insects. Determinants for the targeting and occupation of these widely different environments are unknown. However, most of these natural habitats share plant-derived sucrose, which can be metabolized by some AAB via polyfructose building levansucrases (LS) known to be involved in biofilm formation.

Anti-Biofouling and Desalination Properties of Thin Film Composite Reverse Osmosis Membranes Modified with Copper and Iron Nanoparticles.

The anti-biofouling and desalination properties of thin film composite reverse osmosis membranes (TFC-RO), modified by the incorporation of copper and iron nanoparticles, were compared. Nanoparticles of metallic copper (CuNPs) and an iron crystalline phase mix (Fe and FeO, FeNPs) were obtained by oxide-reduction-precipitation and reduction reactions, respectively, and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques. Modified membranes (PA+0.

Complete sucrose hydrolysis by heat-killed recombinant Pichia pastoris cells entrapped in calcium alginate.

Background: An ideal immobilized biocatalyst for the industrial-scale production of invert sugar should stably operate at elevated temperatures (60-70°C) and high sucrose concentrations (above 60%, w/v). Commercial invertase from the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is thermolabile and suffers from substrate inhibition. Thermotoga maritima β-fructosidase (BfrA) is the most thermoactive and thermostable sucrose-hydrolysing enzyme so far identified and allows complete inversion of the substrate in highly concentrated solutions.

Proyecto Interconexiones: a pilot test of a community-based depression care program for Latina violence survivors.

Background: Latina intimate partner violence (IPV) survivors often face great barriers to depression care. We sought to use a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach to create and evaluate a community-based depression care program for Latina IPV survivors.

Methods: We created a multifaceted, culturally tailored intervention, based on principles of chronic illness management.