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This review delves into the forefront of upconversion luminescence (UCL) research, focusing on KY3F10-based compounds, particularly their cubic α-phase. These materials are renowned for their exceptional luminescent properties and structural stability, making them prime candidates for advanced photonic applications. The synthesis methods and structural characteristics of the existing works in the literature are meticulously analyzed alongside the transformative effects of various doping strategies on UCL efficiency. Incorporating rare earth (RE) sensitizer ions such as Yb3+, along with activator ions like Er3+, Ho3+, Nd3+, or Tm3+, researchers have achieved remarkable enhancements in emission intensity and spectral control. Recent and past breakthroughs in understanding the local structure and phase transitions of single-, double-, and triple-RE3+-doped KY3F10 nanocrystals are highlighted, revealing their pivotal role in fine-tuning luminescent properties. Furthermore, the review underscores the untapped potential of lesser-known crystal structures, such as the metastable δ-phase of KY3F10, which offers promising avenues for future exploration. By presenting a comprehensive analysis and proposing innovative research directions, this review aims to inspire continued advancements in the field of upconversion materials, unlocking new potentials in photonic technologies.

Wave energy, a form of renewable energy, is derived from the movement of sea waves. Wave energy generation devices are technologies designed to harness this resource and convert it into electricity. These devices are classified based on their location, size, wave direction, and operating principle. This work presents the design of an oscillating device for harnessing wave energy. For this purpose, computational fluid dynamics and response surface methodology were employed to evaluate the influence of the percentage of the blade height submerged below the water surface (X1) and the distance from the device to the breakwater in terms of the percentage of the wave length (X2). The response variable studied was the hydrodynamic efficiency (η) of the device. Transient fluid dynamic simulations were carried out using Ansys Fluent software 2023 R1, with input conditions based on a wave spectrum characteristic of the Colombian Pacific Ocean. Analysis of variance determined that both factors and their interaction have significant effects on the response variable. Using the obtained regression model, the optimal point of the system was determined. Numerical results showed that the maximum η of the system was achieved when the device was submerged at 75% of its height and was positioned 10% of the wave length away from the vertical breakwater. Under this configuration, η was 64.8%. Experimental validations of the optimal configuration were conducted in a wave channel, resulting in a η of 45%. The difference in efficiencies can be attributed to mechanical losses in the power take-off system, which were not considered during the numerical simulations.

Pyramidal neurons (PNs) are covered by thousands of dendritic spines receiving excitatory synaptic inputs. The ultrastructure of dendritic spines shapes signal compartmentalization, but ultrastructural diversity is rarely taken into account in computational models of synaptic integration. Here, we developed a 3D correlative light–electron microscopy (3D-CLEM) approach allowing the analysis of specific populations of synapses in genetically defined neuronal types in intact brain circuits. We used it to reconstruct segments of basal dendrites of layer 2/3 PNs of adult mouse somatosensory cortex and quantify spine ultrastructural diversity. We found that 10% of spines were dually innervated and 38% of inhibitory synapses localized to spines. Using our morphometric data to constrain a model of synaptic signal compartmentalization, we assessed the impact of spinous versus dendritic shaft inhibition. Our results indicate that spinous inhibition is locally more efficient than shaft inhibition and that it can decouple voltage and calcium signaling, potentially impacting synaptic plasticity.

This paper presents the methodology developed in the repair of three oak beam ends in a protected heritage building: the Zabala Palace in Ordizia (Basque Country, Spain). It describes the structural assessment, design, calculation and execution process, as well as the experimental tests carried out in the laboratory to verify and validate the structural capacity of the repair method. The intervention consisted of cutting and removing the beam ends degraded by fungi and replacing them with wooden prostheses. These elements were connected to the beams by means of threaded steel rods and epoxy resin. Calculations based on standards and the literature were verified by laboratory tests where aspects such as the fluidity, filling and pull-out resistance of four commercial epoxy resins were tested. Once the epoxy resin was selected, three samples of the reinforcement design were also flexure tested. The results of the different tests show capacities much higher than those resulting from the application of the calculation procedures in the current bibliography and standards. The implemented solution allowed the conservation of most of the original patrimonial timber, following the criteria of minimum intervention.

Aedes albopictus has established populations in several European countries with a sustained spreading pattern through the continent. This invasive mosquito is a public health threat due to its vector competence for multiple arboviruses. Notably, the peri-domestic habits of this hematophagous insect greatly diminish the efficacy of regular control activities, as individuals may harbor in private areas. The oviposition behavior can be exploited for targeting adults and immature stages through different types of traps. An experimental integrated control program, which included a community-based mass trapping intervention in private areas, control of public street-catch basins, and an educational campaign, was developed in an infested residential area in Valencia (Eastern Spain). Focusing on mass trapping, participating residents deployed traps belonging to three modes of action in their gardens during the mosquito season. A total of 1028 families participated in the project, and 2884 traps were deployed. The study sector where adult lethal ovitraps were used showed the lowest adult collections, and residents living in this sector reported the highest satisfaction rates in a perception survey. The mass deployment through a community-based approach of the adulticidal oviposition trap type appears to be a promising tool for controlling Ae. albopictus in residential areas.

We developed a three-component model to evaluate the present and future hydrological behavior of Ayapel Cienaga under different scenarios of climate variability and human intervention associated with fishing and mining activities and the maintenance of levees. We calibrated the water balance with historical information on hydrological variables, water levels, stream discharges, fishing activities and gold mining records in the period 1985-2015. We use autoregressive statistical models to project climate scenarios that consider extreme variations in mean monthly rainfall, ENSO activity, temperature increases of 2°C, and levee breaks along the Cauca River. In addition, we incorporated two dynamic of systems models of bocachico fish population and mercury accumulation in the Cienaga. The simulations indicate that the Cienaga levels can be affected by extreme changes in rainfall associated with ENSO. The model estimates the fraction of water that could enter from the Cauca River due to levee breaks. Furthermore, using a fish dynamic population we could project the population and catch of bocachico. Finally, the mercury balance model due to mining in the region help to estimate mercury concentrations in water, fish and aquatic macrophytes matrices. This model offers a tool for management and decision-making in ecohydrological aspects of the Cienaga under different climate change scenarios.

Abstract Objective This randomized clinical trial investigated the effects of adding cervico-mandibular manual therapies into an exercise and educational program on clinical outcomes in individuals with tinnitus associated with temporomandibular disorders (TMDs). Methods Sixty-one patients with tinnitus attributed to TMD were randomized into the physiotherapy and manual therapy group or physiotherapy alone group. All patients received six sessions of physiotherapy treatment including cranio-cervical and temporomandibular joint (TMJ) exercises, self-massage, and patient education for a period of one month. Patients allocated to the manual therapy group also received cervico-mandibular manual therapies targeting the TMJ and cervical and masticatory muscles. Primary outcomes included TMD pain intensity and tinnitus severity. Secondary outcomes included tinnitus-related handicap (Tinnitus Handicap Inventory [THI]), TMD-related disability (Craniofacial Pain and Disability Inventory [CF-PDI]), self-rated quality of life (12-item Short Form Health Survey [SF-12]), depressive symptoms (Beck Depression Inventory [BDI-II]), pressure pain thresholds (PPTs), and mandibular range of motion. Patients were assessed at baseline, one week, three months, and six months after intervention by a blinded assessor. Results The adjusted analyses showed better outcomes (all, P < 0.001) in the exercise/education plus manual therapy group (large effect sizes) for TMD pain (η 2 P = 0.153), tinnitus severity (η 2 P = 0.233), THI (η 2 P = 0.501), CF-PDI (η 2 P = 0.395), BDI-II (η 2 P = 0.194), PPTs (0.363 < η 2 P < 0.415), and range of motion (η 2 P = 0.350), but similar changes for the SF-12 (P = 0.622, η 2 P = 0.01) as the exercise/education alone group. Conclusions This clinical trial found that application of cervico-mandibular manual therapies in combination with exercise and education resulted in better outcomes than application of exercise/education alone in individuals with tinnitus attributed to TMD.

The simplest topologically ordered phase in2+1Dis the deconfined phase ofZ2gauge theory (realized in the toric code, for example). This phase permits a duality that exchanges electric and magnetic excitations (“e” and “m” particles). The phase transition where one of these particles condenses, while the other remains gapped, has 3D Ising exponents. But the transition out of the deconfined phase when self-duality symmetry is preserved is more mysterious. It has so far been unclear whether this transition is continuous, but if continuous, it may be the simplest critical point for which a useful continuum Lagrangian is still lacking. These questions are relevant to soft matter, too, since the gauge theory also describes classical membranes in 3D. Here, we study the self-dual transition with Monte Carlo simulations of theZ2gauge-Higgs model on cubic lattices of linear sizeL≤96. Our results indicate a continuous transition, for example via a striking parameter-free scaling collapse. We use duality symmetry to distinguish the leading duality-odd and duality-even scaling operatorsAandS. We explain why standard techniques for locating the critical point are ineffective, and we develop an alternative using “renormalization group trajectories” of cumulants. We check that two- and three-point functions are scale invariant, with scaling dimensionsxAandxS(autocorrelations in the Monte Carlo dynamics also yield a dynamical exponentz). Separately, we propose a general picture for emergent 1-form symmetries, in terms of “patching” of membranes or world surfaces. We relate this to the percolation of anyon worldlines in spacetime. The latter yields a fourth exponent for the self-dual transition. We propose variations of the model for further investigation.

El objetivo de este trabajo es analizar la dinámica de los procesos de segregación residencial y las desigualdades económicas en la ciudad de Montevideo desde los años 90 hasta la primera década y media de los 2000. En Montevideo en las últimas dos décadas se han registrado avances significativos en la reducción de las desigualdades económicas, a pesar de lo cual, las desigualdades en el espacio urbano no han disminuido en igual medida. Se elabora una metodología de construcción de índices e indicadores cuantitativos de desigualdad y pobreza a través de fuentes estadísticas oficiales (encuestas nacionales a hogares). La evolución de estos indicadores entre los años 1996 y 2015 se observa y compara para diferentes regiones de la ciudad. Éstas surgen de un índice de segregación residencial a partir de información socioeconómica de los hogares a nivel de segmento censal, para esto se utiliza como fuente los censos de población, vivienda y hogares del año 1996. Los principales, indicadores de desigualdad económica considerados son el índice de Gini, la incidencia de la pobreza y los índices de entropía generalizada; también se ensaya un análisis comparativo del valor de la vivienda a nivel de barrios en Montevideo para los años 1996 y 2015 con el fin de identificar áreas que han depreciado o apreciado su valor. This article analyzes the dynamics of the processes of residential segregation and economic inequalities in the city of Montevideo from the 1990s to 2015. In Montevideo during the past two decades there have been significant reductions in economic inequalities; despite these, inequalities in the urban space have not diminished in equal measure. To address the problem, we use a methodology using quantitative indicators of inequality and poverty based on official statistical sources (national household surveys). We describe the evolution of these indicators between 1996 and 2015 and compare them for different regions of the city. Regions are defined by the application of a residential segregation index based on household socioeconomic information at the level of the census segment using population censuses bases of 1996. The main indicators of economic inequality we consider are the Gini index, the incidence of poverty and generalized entropy indices, and comparative analysis of the value of housing at neighborhood level in Montevideo for 1996 and 2015.