University of Extremadura

About: University of Extremadura is a education organization based out in Badajoz, Spain. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Hyperspectral imaging. The organization has 7856 authors who have published 18299 publications receiving 396126 citations. The organization is also known as: Universidad de Extremadura.

Overview: Damage in brittle layer structures from concentrated loads

Abstract: In this article, we review recent advances in the understanding and analysis of damage initiation and evolution in laminate structures with brittle outerlayers and compliant sublayers in concentrated loading. The relevance of such damage to lifetime-limiting failures of engineering and biomechanical layer systems is emphasized. We describe the results of contact studies on monolayer, bilayer, trilayer, and multilayer test specimens that enable simple elucidation of fundamental damage mechanics and yet simulate essential function in a wide range of practical structures. Damage processes are observed using post mortem (“bonded-interface”) sectioning and direct in situ viewing during loading. The observations reveal a competition between damage modes in the brittle outerlayers—cone cracks or quasiplasticity at the top (near-contact) surfaces and laterally extending radial cracks at the lower surfaces. In metal or polymeric support layers, yield or viscoelasticity can become limiting factors. Analytical relations for the critical loads to initiate each damage mode are presented in terms of key system variables: geometrical (layer thickness and indenter radius); material (elastic modulus, strength and toughness of brittle components, hardness of deformable components). Such relations provide a sound physical basis for the design of brittle layer systems with optimal damage thresholds. Other elements of the damage process—damage evolution to failure, crack kinetics (and fatigue), flaw statistics, and complex (tangential) loading—are also considered.

Detection of amyloid fibrils in Parkinson’s disease using plasmonic chirality

Abstract: Amyloid fibrils, which are closely associated with various neurodegenerative diseases, are the final products in many protein aggregation pathways. The identification of fibrils at low concentration is, therefore, pivotal in disease diagnosis and development of therapeutic strategies. We report a methodology for the specific identification of amyloid fibrils using chiroptical effects in plasmonic nanoparticles. The formation of amyloid fibrils based on α-synuclein was probed using gold nanorods, which showed no apparent interaction with monomeric proteins but effective adsorption onto fibril structures via noncovalent interactions. The amyloid structure drives a helical nanorod arrangement, resulting in intense optical activity at the surface plasmon resonance wavelengths. This sensing technique was successfully applied to human brain homogenates of patients affected by Parkinson’s disease, wherein protein fibrils related to the disease were identified through chiral signals from Au nanorods in the visible and near IR, whereas healthy brain samples did not exhibit any meaningful optical activity. The technique was additionally extended to the specific detection of infectious amyloids formed by prion proteins, thereby confirming the wide potential of the technique. The intense chiral response driven by strong dipolar coupling in helical Au nanorod arrangements allowed us to detect amyloid fibrils down to nanomolar concentrations.

The genetics of eating disorders

Abstract: Over the past decade, considerable advances have been made in understanding genetic influences on eating pathology. Eating disorders aggregate in families, and twin studies reveal that additive genetic factors account for approximately 40% to 60% of liability to anorexia nervosa (AN), bulimia nervosa (BN), and binge eating disorder (BED). Molecular genetics studies have been undertaken to identify alterations in deoxyribonucleic acid sequence and/or gene expression that may be involved in the pathogenesis of disordered eating behaviors, symptoms, and related disorders and to uncover potential genetic variants that may contribute to variability of treatment response. This article provides an in-depth review of the scientific literature on the genetics of AN, BN, and BED including extant studies, emerging hypotheses, future directions, and clinical implications.