Simultaneous formic acid production by hydrothermal CO2 reduction and biomass derivatives conversion in a continuous reactor

Producción CientíficaThe reduction of CO2 to obtain formic acid in hydrothermal media can contribute to the reduction and valorization of CO2 emissions, but in order to apply it industrially, scalable continuous-flow reactors must be developed. In this work, a continuous flow reactor is developed that can process up to 1.2 L/h of bicarbonate solution. Glucose as model compound of the products of the hydrothermal decomposition of lignocellulosic biomass is used as reducing agent. Feed stream is suddenly heated at the inlet of the reactor by mixing it with a preheated water stream and instantaneously cooled after the reactor by decompression Joule-Thompson effect, allowing a precise control of the residence time and enabling to apply short residence times down to 1 s that are not feasible in batch reactors. Several operational parameters, as residence time, temperature and additives, were studied. Yields to formic acid up to 63 % were achieved at 300 °C with residence times lower than 1 min. In order to better understand the process, NaH13CO3 was used in selected experiments to check if the origin of formic acid was the reduction of bicarbonate or the hydrolysis of glucose It was found that almost 50 % of formic acid was produced due to the reduction of NaHCO3 after 10 min of reaction, a proportion significantly higher than that observed in batch experiments at similar reaction times. Furthermore, experiments performed without NaHCO3 or with other alkaline buffers demonstrate that NaHCO3 also promotes the transformation of glucose into formic acid, increasing the overall selectivity of the process and facilitating downstream processing.Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (project RTI2018-097456-B-I00)Junta de Castilla y Leon - Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (project CLU-2019-04)Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (project PGC2018-099470-B-I00

Formic acid production by simultaneous hydrothermal CO2 reduction and conversion of glucose and its derivatives

Producción CientíficaBackground: The hydrothermal reduction of CO2 using organic molecules such as alcohols can produce renewable fuels and platform chemicals, such as formic acid (FA). If the process is performed using glucose as reductant, the yield is especially high, because FA is selectively produced both by reduction of CO2 and by degradation of glucose degradation in alkaline hydrothermal media. Methods: This article analyzes the origin of formic acid using NaH13CO3 as CO2 source, assisted by HPLC and 13C-NMR to study the origin of FA. Significant findings: Results show that two reactions pathways take place: the first one, at short reaction times, consists on the decomposition of glucose into formic acid and other by-products, achieving low yield to FA-13C, whereas longer reaction times lead to a higher yield to FA-13C. Similarly, temperature plays an important role, being 300°C the optimal. Further reactions were performed using the main by-products of previous reactions (acetic acid, lactic acid, glycolaldehyde and glyceraldehyde) as reductants to understand the reaction mechanisms. Results indicate that the reduction pathway of NaHCO3 take place by oxidation of the by-products rather than by the oxidation of glucose itself, needing long reaction times to achieve significant high ratios of FA-13C/ total FA.Junta de Andalucía - Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (project CLU-2019-04)Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (projects RTI2018-097456-B-I00 and PGC2018-099470-B-I00

Anexo 1. Dossier gráfico. Proyecto de Innovación Docente 99. Arquitectura, Paisaje y Arqueología.

El proyecto de innovación docente se construye en continuidad con las experiencias docentes y de investigación desarrolladas en los últimos años entre los equipos de la Universidade do Porto (Portugal), Università degli Studi RomaTre (Italia) y la Universidad de Valladolid, que plantean una nueva metodología de intervención arquitectónica en el Paisaje Cultural. En esta experiencia educativa de segundo ciclo se imparten simultáneamente materias similares e integradas en los planes de estudio de las tres universidades, mediante la realización de ejercicios prácticos con temas afines y una metodología experimental común: el workshop intensivo. La internacionalización del proyecto de innovación docente se convierte en uno de los puntos clave, con la participación de profesores de las tres universidades en cada uno de los programas, que se desarrollan durante jornadas de trabajo intensivas, aprovechando y optimizando los programas de movilidad Erasmus y de personal investigador. En la Universidad de Valladolid el esfuerzo se concentra en la celebración del Workshop Internacional El proyecto arquitectónico en Paisajes Culturales: Mota del Marqués, celebrado entre noviembre y diciembre de 2015, como trabajo conjunto de las materias “Paisaje, Arquitectura y Patrimonio” y “Proyectos de Restauración Arquitectónica”, ambas asignaturas optativas del Máster en Arquitectura. Para ello se ha contado con una amplia cobertura docente e interdisciplinar de la UVa y una presencia de profesores internacionales invitados, que han llevado a cabo una continua supervisión de los proyectos desarrollados por los estudiantes, cuyos resultados finales han alcanzado un alto nivel, con la consecución de diversos premios en concursos internacionales: -Concurso soluciones Schindler 2016, Tercer Premio al trabajo presentado por los estudiantes Antonio Olavarriaga Acebo, Katalín Rodríguez Martín y Paloma Vera Herrero. - Premio Internacional de Proyectos sobre Patrimonio Cultural para estudiantes de arquitectura AR&PA Joven 2016, en la categoría de Proyectos de protección e intervención en paisajes culturales: Segundo Premio al trabajo de Gonzalo Basulto Calvo, Lucía de Blas Noval y Estefanía Martín Carbajo y Mención al trabajo de los estudiantes Antonio Olavarrieta Acebo, Katalín Rodríguez Martín y Paloma Vera Herrero.Departamento de Teoría de la Arquitectura y Proyectos Arquitectónico

Genomic and immune landscape Of metastatic pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma

The mechanisms triggering metastasis in pheochromocytoma/paraganglioma are unknown, hindering therapeutic options for patients with metastatic tumors (mPPGL). Herein we show by genomic profiling of a large cohort of mPPGLs that high mutational load, microsatellite instability and somatic copy-number alteration burden are associated with ATRX/TERT alterations and are suitable prognostic markers. Transcriptomic analysis defines the signaling networks involved in the acquisition of metastatic competence and establishes a gene signature related to mPPGLs, highlighting CDK1 as an additional mPPGL marker. Immunogenomics accompanied by immunohistochemistry identifies a heterogeneous ecosystem at the tumor microenvironment level, linked to the genomic subtype and tumor behavior. Specifically, we define a general immunosuppressive microenvironment in mPPGLs, the exception being PD-L1 expressing MAML3-related tumors. Our study reveals canonical markers for risk of metastasis, and suggests the usefulness of including immune parameters in clinical management for PPGL prognostication and identification of patients who might benefit from immunotherapy

Club sobre corrupción e integridad (II): el uso de material audiovisual como estrategia de innovación y mejora docente en estudios sobre corrupción, integridad y gobernanza global

Memoria ID2022-103. Ayudas de la Universidad de Salamanca para la innovación docente, curso 2022-2023

Evaluación formativa mediante feed-back en el M.U. Estrategias Anticorrupción y Políticas de Integridad

Memoria ID2022-021. Ayudas de la Universidad de Salamanca para la innovación docente, curso 2022-2023

The Database of European Forest Insect and Disease Disturbances: DEFID2

[EN] Insect and disease outbreaks in forests are biotic disturbances that can profoundly alter ecosystem dynamics. In many parts of the world, these disturbance regimes are intensifying as the climate changes and shifts the distribution of species and biomes. As a result, key forest ecosystem services, such as carbon sequestration, regulation of water flows, wood production, protection of soils, and the conservation of bio-diversity, could be increasingly compromised. Despite the relevance of these detri-mental effects, there are currently no spatially detailed databases that record insect and disease disturbances on forests at the pan-European scale. Here, we present the new Database of European Forest Insect and Disease Disturbances (DEFID2). It comprises over 650,000 harmonized georeferenced records, mapped as polygons or points, of insects and disease disturbances that occurred between 1963 and 2021 in European forests. The records currently span eight different countries and were acquired through diverse methods (e.g., ground surveys, remote sensing techniques). The records in DEFID2 are described by a set of qualitative attributes, including se-verity and patterns of damage symptoms, agents, host tree species, climate-driven trigger factors, silvicultural practices, and eventual sanitary interventions. They are further complemented with a satellite- based quantitative characterization of the affected forest areas based on Landsat Normalized Burn Ratio time series, and dam-age metrics derived from them using the LandTrendr spectral–temporal segmentation algorithm (including onset, duration, magnitude, and rate of the disturbance), and pos-sible interactions with windthrow and wildfire events. The DEFID2 database is a novel resource for many large-scale applications dealing with biotic disturbances. It offers a unique contribution to design networks of experiments, improve our understanding of ecological processes underlying biotic forest disturbances, monitor their dynamics, and enhance their representation in land-climate models. Further data sharing is en-couraged to extend and improve the DEFID2 database continuously. The database is freely available at https://jeodpp.jrc.ec.europa.eu/ftp/jrc- opend ata/FOREST/DISTURBANCES/DEFID2/SIEC Joint Research Centre; European Commission, Grant/Award Number: 101059498; European Research Council, Grant/Award Number: 101039567; Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digitalization of Romania; LifeWatch— POC project, Grant/Award Number: 327/390003/06-11-202

SPGCam: A specifically tailored camera for solar observations

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.Designing a new astronomical instrument typically challenges the available cameras on the market. In many cases, no camera can fulfill the requirements of the instrument in terms of photon budget, speed, and even interfaces with the rest of the instrument. In this situation, the only options are to either downgrade the performance of the instrument or design new cameras from scratch, provided it is possible to identify a compliant detector. The latter is the case of the SPGCams, the cameras developed to be used with the Tunable Magnetograph (TuMag) and the Sunrise Chromospheric Infrared spectroPolarimeter (SCIP) for the Sunrise iii mission. SPGCams have been designed, developed, and built entirely in-house by the Solar Physics Group (SPG) at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (IAA-CSIC). We report here on the scientific rationale and system engineering requirements set by the two instruments that drove the development, as well as on the technical details and trade-offs used to fulfill the specifications. The cameras were fully verified before the flight, and results from the assembly and verification campaign are presented as well. SPGCams share the design, although some parametric features differentiate the visible cameras (for TuMag) and the IR ones (for SCIP). Even though they were specifically developed for the Sunrise iii mission, the robust and careful design makes them suitable for different applications in other astronomical instruments. © 2023 Orozco Suárez, Álvarez García, López Jiménez, Balaguer Jiménez, Hernández Expósito, Labrousse, Bailén, Bustamante Díaz, Bailón Martínez, Aparicio del Moral, Morales Fernández, Sánchez Gómez, Tobaruela Abarca, Moreno Mantas, Ramos Más, Pérez Grande, Piqueras Carreño, Katsukawa, Kubo, Kawabata, Oba, Rodríguez Valido, Magdaleno Castelló and Del Toro Iniesta.This work was funded by the Spanish MCIN/AEI, under projects RTI 2018-096886-B-C5, PID 2021-125325OB-C5, and PCI 2022-135009-2, and co-funded by European FEDER funds, “A way of making Europe,” under grants CEX 2021-001131-S and 10.13039/501100011033.Peer reviewe

COVID-19 vaccine failure

COVID-19 affects the population unequally with a higher impact on aged and immunosuppressed people. Hence, we assessed the effect of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in immune compromised patients (older adults and oncohematologic patients), compared with healthy counterparts. While the acquired humoral and cellular memory did not predict subsequent infection 18 months after full immunization, spectral and computational cytometry revealed several subsets within the CD8+ T-cells, B-cells, NK cells, monocytes and CD45RA+ CCR7- Tγδ cells differentially expressed in further infected and non-infected individuals not just following immunization, but also prior to that. Of note, up to 7 subsets were found within the CD45RA+ CCR7- Tγδ population with some of them being expanded and other decreased in subsequently infected individuals. Moreover, some of these subsets also predicted COVID-induced hospitalization in oncohematologic patients. Therefore, we hereby have identified several cellular subsets that, even before vaccination, strongly related to COVID-19 vulnerability as opposed to the acquisition of cellular and/or humoral memory following vaccination with SARS-CoV2 mRNA vaccines.This study has been funded through Programa Estratégico Instituto de Biología y Genética Molecular (IBGM Junta de Castilla y León. Ref. CCVC8485), Junta de Castilla y León (Proyectos COVID 07.04.467B04.74011.0) and the European Commission – NextGenerationEU (Regulation EU 2020/2094), through CSIC's Global Health Platform (PTI Salud Global; SGL21-03-026 and SGL2021-03-038)N

SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Multiple Sclerosis

To understand COVID-19 characteristics in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and identify high-risk individuals due to their immunocompromised state resulting from the use of disease-modifying treatments. Retrospective and multicenter registry in patients with MS with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis and available disease course (mild = ambulatory; severe = hospitalization; and critical = intensive care unit/death). Cases were analyzed for associations between MS characteristics and COVID-19 course and for identifying risk factors for a fatal outcome. Of the 326 patients analyzed, 120 were cases confirmed by real-time PCR, 34 by a serologic test, and 205 were suspected. Sixty-nine patients (21.3%) developed severe infection, 10 (3%) critical, and 7 (2.1%) died. Ambulatory patients were higher in relapsing MS forms, treated with injectables and oral first-line agents, whereas more severe cases were observed in patients on pulsed immunosuppressors and critical cases among patients with no therapy. Severe and critical infections were more likely to affect older males with comorbidities, with progressive MS forms, a longer disease course, and higher disability. Fifteen of 33 patients treated with rituximab were hospitalized. Four deceased patients have progressive MS, 5 were not receiving MS therapy, and 2 were treated (natalizumab and rituximab). Multivariate analysis showed age (OR 1.09, 95% CI, 1.04-1.17) as the only independent risk factor for a fatal outcome. This study has not demonstrated the presumed critical role of MS therapy in the course of COVID-19 but evidenced that people with MS with advanced age and disease, in progressive course, and those who are more disabled have a higher probability of severe and even fatal diseas