University of Guanajuato

Sporothrix brasiliensis is one of the leading etiological agents of sporotrichosis, a cutaneous and subcutaneous mycosis worldwide distributed. This organism has been recently associated with epidemic outbreaks in Brazil. Despite the medical relevance of this species, little is known about its virulence factors, and most of the information on this subject is extrapolated from Sporothrix schenckii. Here, we generated S. brasiliensis mutants, where GP70 was silenced. In S. schenckii, this gene encodes a glycoprotein with adhesive properties required for virulence. The S. brasiliensis GP70 silencing led to an abnormal cellular phenotype, with smaller, round yeast-like cells that aggregate. Cell aggregation was disrupted with glucanase, suggesting this phenotype is linked to changes in the cell wall. The cell wall characterization confirmed changes in the structural polysaccharide β-1,3-glucan, which increased in quantity and exposure at the cell surface. This was accompanied by a reduction in protein content and N-linked glycans. Mutant strains with high GP70-silencing levels showed minimal levels of 3-carboxy-cis,cis-muconate cyclase activity, this glycoprotein's predicted enzyme function, and decreased ability to bind laminin and fibronectin. These phenotypical changes coincided with abnormal interaction with human peripheral blood mononuclear cells, where production of IL-1β, IL-17, and IL-22 was reduced and the strong dependence on cytokine stimulation via mannose receptor was lost. Phagocytosis by monocyte-derived macrophages was increased and virulence attenuated in a Galleria mellonella larvae. In conclusion, Gp70 is an abundant cell wall glycoprotein in S. brasiliensis that contributes to virulence and proper interaction with innate immnune cells.

The hard-sphere potential has become a cornerstone in the study of both molecular and complex fluids. Despite its mathematical simplicity, its implementation in fixed time step molecular simulations remains a formidable challenge due to the discontinuity at contact. To avoid the issues associated with the ill-defined force at contact, a continuous potential has recently been proposed—here referred to as the pseudo-hard-sphere potential (pHS) [Báez et al., J. Chem, Phys. 149, 164907 (2018)]. This potential is constructed to match the second virial coefficient of the hard-sphere potential and is expected to mimic its thermodynamic properties. However, this hypothesis has only been partially validated within the fluid region of the phase diagram for hard-sphere dispersions in two and three dimensions. In this contribution, we examine the ability of the continuous pHS potential to reproduce the equation of state of a hard-sphere fluid, not only in the fluid phase but also across the fluid–solid coexistence region. Our focus is primarily on the phase diagram of hard-sphere systems in three and four dimensions; however, we also report on the feasibility of the pHS to reproduce the long time dynamics of a three-dimensional colloidal dispersion. We compare the thermodynamic properties obtained from Brownian dynamics simulations of the pHS potential with those derived from refined event-driven simulations of the corresponding hard-sphere potential. Furthermore, we provide a comparative analysis with theoretical equations of state based on both mean-field and integral equation approximations.

In this study, a predictive method is presented to estimate the variation of three thermophysical properties (thermal diffusivity, specific heat, and thermal conductivity) of 32 AISI‐SAE commercial classes of rolled and annealed steels, at a working temperature from 0°C to 800°C and with a composition (C, Mn, S, P, Ni, Si, Mo, Cr, V). The function adjustment method is used for the treatment and generalization of the available experimental data, obtaining an equation that provides satisfactory adjustments to extend its use to thermal engineering. The proposed models were verified by comparison with available experimental data. For thermal diffusivity, specific heat, and thermal conductivity, the models obtained correlate with a deviation of ± 17.6 % $\pm 17.6 \%$, ± 8.2 % $\pm 8.2 \%$, and ± 16.6 % $\pm 16.6 \%$, respectively. The weaker correlation fit corresponds to the thermal diffusivity of AISI‐SAE 316 steel, with a maximum error of 17.6% and a mean absolute error (MAE) of 8.2% in 80.6% of the available experimental data. The best fit is provided by the specific heat of the AISI‐SAE 1078 steel, with a maximum error of 1.9% and an MAE of 1.1% in 68.3% of the available experimental samples. In all cases, the agreement of the proposed model with the available experimental data is good enough to be considered satisfactory for practical design.

Sexuality plays an important role in society; however, it is overlooked in child education, especially in conditions such as autism. This study aims to develop a predictive model to assess the relationship between sexual communication and various factors, such as age, educational attainment, level of support, time since diagnosis, verbal communication, and self-efficacy in sexual communication, among parents of autistic children and adolescents. Snowball sampling was used in this predictive correlational study that included 152 fathers and mothers of autistic children. A section of the "Parenting and Child Sexuality Questionnaire" was used to measure the variable sexual communication self-efficacy. Having older parents was associated with higher education and greater sexual communication self-efficacy. Likewise, parents with more education showed more sexual communication. The results also showed that sexual communication self-efficacy was related to age, schooling, and years since diagnosis. In turn, sexual communication self-efficacy was negatively related to the support level and verbal communication. On the other hand, sexual communication was related to age, schooling, and sexual communication self-efficacy and negatively related to the support level and verbal communication. This study showed that communication self-efficacy influences the sexual communication of parents and children; in other words, parents who present self-efficacy effectively communicate about sexuality with their children.

Thermodynamic analysis and optimization of a polygeneration system that operates under a cascade use of low-grade geothermal energy are presented. The polygeneration system considers the integration of an organic Rankine cycle (ORC), thermally activated refrigeration (TAR), and a subsystem for dehydration. Since these components can have different internal configurations, working fluids, and coupling variants, it is necessary to jointly determine the interrelationship among components and also determine the most appropriate thermodynamic conditions to achieve an integrated system with high energy efficiency at a reasonable cost. Aiming to achieve the above, in this work a thermodynamic analysis was carried out first, taking into account the temperature range of medium and low enthalpy geothermal resources. ORC cycle and TAR cooling system morphological variants and working fluids were considered, as well as design characteristics that most influence the effective use of geothermal heat. Secondly, to estimate system economic performance, a cost estimation model was developed. For the energy and economic modeling of the systems, data and technical assumptions were used according to information provided by manufacturers, as well as other similar systems reported in the technical literature. Subsequently, a multi-objective optimization was implemented and solved using a genetic algorithm considering the exergetic efficiency, the net present value (NPV), and investment cost as the objective functions. The results show that the most favorable integrated systems reached values from 48.51 to 53.74% for exergy efficiency, with positive values of the NPV for all cases. On the other hand, the analysis carried out allows obtaining technical–economic information to determine the morphology and working fluids of components, as well as the most general viable polygeneration plant configuration.

Objective The aim of this study was to determine whether there is a relationship between the time since recovery from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and alterations in executive functions. We also evaluate the emotional state of post-COVID-19 patients. Patients and Methods We assessed patients between 18 and 50 years old, who had a history of COVID-19 with mild, moderate, or severe illness. We used the Batería Neuropsicológica de Funciones Ejecutivas y Lóbulos Frontales-3 (BANFE-3), Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), and Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI), in addition to a semi-structured interview. Spearman’s correlation coefficient was used, with a p value <0.05 indicating significance. Results We evaluated 67 patients with a mean age of 34.6±9.6 years, most of whom had ≥13 years of schooling (n=55, 82.1%). Among them, 52 (77.6%) reported persistent symptoms after resolution of the condition, with fatigue being the most frequent (n=20, 29.9%). Most participants had an adequate score on the MMSE (n=60, 89.6%). However, 19 (28.4%) showed alterations in the BANFE-3 total score, with mental flexibility as the most affected function (n=25, 37.3%). In participants from the first COVID-19 wave, a negative correlation was observed between the standardized orbitofrontal area scores and the time since recovery from the infection (r=−0.841, p=0.016), suggesting a pattern of deterioration over time, mainly in stimulus inhibition (r=0.880, p=0.021). Regarding emotional state, 45 subjects (67.2%) exhibited emotional alterations, with anxiety symptoms being the most frequent (n=33, 49.3%). Furthermore, individuals with depressive symptoms (n=32, 47.8%) were more likely to experience executive function impairment after COVID-19 (ExpB 0.302, 95% CI 0.098–0.933, p=0.038). Conclusion COVID-19 could lead to alterations in executive functions, probably resulting from progressive damage to orbitofrontal area functions, mainly in stimulus inhibition. However, the generalizability of these findings is limited, highlighting the need for further research with robust methodology. Furthermore, depression appears to be an indicator of cognitive impairment in individuals recovering from COVID-19. Therefore, cognitive rehabilitation and psychological support are essential for patients affected by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection.

This work presents an analysis of the evolution of perturbed Bell diagonal states using the equation of motion of steepest-entropy-ascent quantum thermodynamics (SEAQT), the Lindblad equation, and various measures of entanglement loss. The Bell diagonal states considered are those generated by the quantum optics study conducted by Liu et al (2016 Phys. Rev. A 94 062107). First, a brief derivation is provided, showing that Bell diagonal states are stationary but not stable equilibrium states within the SEAQT formalism. This highlights the need for perturbation methods to study the evolution of nearby states with, for example, similar values of the energy and entropy. In contrast, under the Lindblad equation of motion, only some Bell diagonal states remain stationary. Although SEAQT is a non-standard, nonlinear framework, it exhibits several unique features that other approaches do not. In particular, not only does it satisfy the postulates of quantum mechanics, but it, as well, is fully compatible with the second law of thermodynamics, providing a physically consistent description of non-equilibrium quantum systems. The perturbation methods used include a weighted-average method for perturbing bipartite system states and a general bipartite method based on a set of unitary operations constrained to maintain constant system energy and entropy. Sets of density operators are randomly generated using each method, and the resulting time-dependent characteristics of the entanglement are analyzed within the SEAQT and Lindblad frameworks. The findings reveal that the evolutions associated with constrained perturbations accurately predict the loss of non-locality and align well with measured concurrence. Additionally, within the SEAQT framework, the deep connection between the thermodynamic states of the evolution of the system and the loss of non-locality is quantitatively demonstrated.

Mathematical models to determine diverse parameters in biological systems have been a challenging and interesting topic for the scientific community. This work aimed to determine the angles of the lower and upper incisor teeth as a function of the angle of the lower facial height and the golden proportion. The cephalometric parameters reported by Ricketts like the lower facial height angle, the axis of the mandibular body (Xi-Pm), the line that forms the mandibular geometric center with the anterior nasal spine (Xi-ENA), the occlusal plane, the dental line, and the upper and lower incisors lines and some cephalometric constraints were used to determine the proposed models. The analysis of several values for the lower facial height in the Ricketts range showed that both the model for the upper incisor (A) and lower incisor (B) provide functional values for these angles, which are within the statistical range reported by Ricketts with a maximum mean deviation of 1.58° and a maximum percentage difference of up to 10.40%. Outside of the Ricketts range, a maximum mean deviation of 5.15° and a maximum difference of up to 49.72% was found regarding the mean values. As a first approximation, the proposed models let us determine and personalize the target angle for orthodontic treatment of the upper and lower incisors based on the lower facial height of each patient and the golden proportion. These models can be a starting point for further research in this area, considering other parameters to be added to the proposed models.

Automatic detection of early-stage electrical faults in motors is challenging because physical signals, such as temperature or vibrations, are often linked to regular machine operation. Inter-turn short-circuit (ITSC) faults in the stator winding are a leading cause of irreversible damage. Given industrial demands, there is an ongoing need for innovative approaches that reduce dimensionality and expedite feature extraction from three-phase current signals. This work presents an ITSC multi-fault classification algorithm by modeling the behavior of three-phase stator currents in a complex space. To achieve this, two geometric-based and two optimization-based approaches are employed to parameterize the shape of the complex signal. Rather than directly extracting features from the raw signals, these parameters capture the similarities among incipient failures. The algorithm is evaluated using machine learning classifiers trained on a dataset generated from an experimental test bench and a publicly available dataset. The proposed method achieved an accuracy of 95.30% across 13 categories, demonstrating its robustness and reliability and positioning it as a highly competitive alternative to state-of-the-art techniques.

Here we explain a straightforward method to measure the polarity of charged objects for introductory experiments of electricity. The device consists of two LEDs connected in parallel but opposite directions. The legs at one side are joined by twisting them and act as an antenna, and the two legs at the other side are twisted to one side of a 470 kΩ resistor. To detect polarity, the free leg of the resistor is hold by one hand and the antenna is approached to the charged object. The object will discharge only through the LED with the correct polarity, producing a dim light flash that is generally difficult to see in normal lighting conditions. To improve the detection process, the LEDs are hidden from direct light sources inside a 3D printed case that is also used to insert the components.

The aviation sector faces big challenges in order to promote its sustainable growth, and in recent years, this sector has been pioneering leading strategies to achieve its decarbonization. Among them, the production and use of sustainable aviation fuel highlights. This biofuel can be used in existing aircraft, guaranteeing technical, safety, and environmental criteria. Nevertheless, the main challenge is the achievement of economic feasibility, with regard to its fossil counterpart. In this context, the biorefinery is a processing scheme that allows the complete use of biomasses for the production of biofuels, value-added products as well as bioenergy. In this processing scheme, the profitability relies on several products, which can help to reach the economic feasibility of this aviation biofuel. Therefore, this chapter presents a revision on the use of biorefineries for the production of sustainable aviation fuel. Moreover, future trends related to the production of this biofuel through biorefineries are discussed.

Ultrafast pulsed laser technology presents unique challenges and opportunities in material processing and characterization for precision photonics. Herein, an experiment is conducted involving the use of an ultrafast pulsed laser to irradiate a molybdenum film, inducing oxide formation. A total of 54 experiments are performed, varying the laser irradiation time and per‐pulse laser fluence, resulting in a database with diverse oxide formations on the material. This dataset is further expanded numerically through interpolation to 187 samples. Subsequently, eight different deep neural network models, each with varying hidden layers and numbers of neurons, are employed to characterize the laser behavior with different parameters. These models are then validated numerically using three different learning rates, and the results are statistically evaluated using three metrics: mean squared error, mean absolute error, and R² score.

Diabesity is a modern epidemic that indicates a strong association between obesity and diabetes. Key enzymes have been identified in the development and progression of both diseases, DPP-IV in glucose uptake and FAS in fatty acid synthesis. In both cases, the molecular mechanisms of how each one acts separately have been described, and which are the key inhibitory drugs and molecules for each one. However, although it is known that there is an association between both clinically and molecularly, the mechanism has not been elucidated; therefore, this review focuses on proposing a mechanism of convergence of DPP-IV and FAS in diabesity, and the possible mode of action in which bioactive peptides obtained from plant and animal sources can inhibit these two enzymes in a similar way as drugs do.

The bulk permittivity (εbulk) and particle permittivity (εpart) of in-shell and shelled sunflower seeds (Helianthus annuus L) and pine nuts (Pinus pinea L.) were determined in a temperature range of 20–60°C and a frequency range of 27–5000 MHz using the transmission line method. Additionally, the samples were analyzed for moisture content, water activity (aw,), fat content, color, and densities (bulk, tapped, and particle). The dielectric constant (ε’) decreased with increasing temperature for sunflower seeds (from 3.04 to 2.63 for in-shell samples) and increased with temperature for pine nuts (from 4.41 to 5.48, also for in-shell seeds), due to the differences in the aw values. For all samples, the ε’ and loss factor (ε’”) decreased with increasing frequency. ε” and ε’” values increased with higher bulk density; for instance, at frequency of 915 MHz, in-shell sunflower seeds (ρbulk = 0.341 g/cm³) had ε” = 1.49 and ε’” = 0.02 at 20°C, while in-shell pine nuts (ρbulk = 0.601 g/cm³) had ε” = 2.53 and ε’’ = 0.03 at 20°C. Higher penetration depth (dp) values were found at lower frequencies, for example, shelled sunflower seeds at 60°C exhibited dp = 7.52 at 27 MHz, but dp = 1.20 m at 5000 MHz. Results are valuable for designing further radiofrequency and microwave treatments for these seeds and nuts.

The dynamical properties of the local area available per particle and its relationship with the self-diffusion coefficient of colloids in quasi-2D colloidal dispersions are studied using video microscopy, supported by...

According to the International Energy Agency, transport is the sector with faster growth in carbon dioxide emissions, almost in the same level of industry sector. However, transport sector has a strongly dependence on fossil fuels, due to the use of internal combustion engines for aircrafts, shipping, trucks and automobiles. Therefore, in order to promote the sustainability of transport sector it is mandatory to seek for alternative fuels. Several options have been proposed for this challenge, being biofuels the most promising alternative since it can be used in the existing infrastructure. In this context, several raw materials have been studied for the production of transport fuels, mainly triglyceride feedstock. Nevertheless, lignocellulosic biomass is one of the most abundant, and it can be converted to triglyceride feedstock through pyrolysis or hydrothermal liquefaction. In particular, this last one allows the production of biocrude oil, which can be used for the production of transport fuels. Therefore, in this chapter the catalytic upgrading of biocrude oil for the production of transport fuels is presented. Moreover, future trends related to this conversion pathway are discussed.

Vortices have diverse applications in optics, such as ultrafast singular optics, quantum optics, microscopy as well as optical trapping. These applications require compact, easily integrated, and high-performance devices, so the development of highly efficient broadband single-layer structures for vortex generation and control is an extremely relevant research topic. Here, we propose an aperiodic transmissive all-dielectric metasurface, which controls the phase delay of the electromagnetic waves via Pancharatnam–Berry (PB) phase manipulation. The metasurface is constructed on the basis of TiO2 nanopillars in the form of an aperiodic golden angle (GA) Vogel spiral. Through numerical simulations, we demonstrate that the metasurface enables the generation of vortex waves with a desired topological charge l and high mode purity over a wide wavelength range from 470 to 580 nm, which indicates a relative bandwidth of 21%. The proposed metasurface platform, due to its simple structure and wide bandwidth, is a good candidate for manipulating ultrashort vortex pulses and for the developing optical devices with improved functionality and performance.

Maleimide core is a broadly used chemical‐based scaffold for natural and new compounds synthesis. Several of them show anticancer and multidrug resistance (MDR) reversal activity. A new family of twelve 3,4‐substituted N‐benzyl and N‐methyl maleimides were synthesized in a two‐step sequence consisting of bromination and Suzuki cross‐coupling or bromination–thiolation. We were able to obtain two groups of maleimide derivatives which were tested and determining their cytotoxicity. Following our previous work, the biological activity of these compounds as MDR reversal agents was tested with a cancerous cell line MCF‐7 that has been exposed chronically to etoposide to achieve MDR. MCF‐7 cell line resistant to etoposide (MCF‐7R), was treated with a combination of etoposide and the synthetized compounds. The results presented strong effects in compounds 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, and 25 in no resistant and resistant cells, the IC50 values for the proliferation inhibition ranged from 1.8–30.8 µM. The combination between etoposide and maleimide shows proliferation increase in most of the compounds except for compound 15 where it was shown a MDR low reversion degree. These findings suggest that maleimides tested in this work can be used in tumorigenic cancer cells before and after acquiring resistance. The combination with etoposide should be evaluated considering that an undesirable effect can be caused due to proliferation increase.