Mycobacterium marinum phthiocerol dimycocerosates enhance macrophage phagosomal permeabilization and membrane damage

Phthiocerol dimycocerosates (PDIMs) are a class of mycobacterial lipids that promote virulence in Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium marinum. It has recently been shown that PDIMs work in concert with the M. tuberculosis Type VII secretion system ESX-1 to permeabilize the phagosomal membranes of infected macrophages. As the zebrafish-M. marinum model of infection has revealed the critical role of PDIM at the host-pathogen interface, we set to determine if PDIMs contributed to phagosomal permeabilization in M. marinum. Using an ΔmmpL7 mutant defective in PDIM transport, we find the PDIM-ESX-1 interaction to be conserved in an M. marinum macrophage infection model. However, we find PDIM and ESX-1 mutants differ in their degree of defect, with the PDIM mutant retaining more membrane damaging activity. Using an in vitro hemolysis assay—a common surrogate for cytolytic activity, we find that PDIM and ESX-1 differ in their contributions: the ESX-1 mutant loses hemolytic activity while PDIM retains it. Our observations confirm the involvement of PDIMs in phagosomal permeabilization in M. marinum infection and suggest that PDIM enhances the membrane disrupting activity of pathogenic mycobacteria and indicates that the role they play in damaging phagosomal and red blood cell membranes may differ

Chapter Relationship between shoreline evolution and sediment wear

The main objective to this work is to establish a relationship between shoreline evolution and sediment wear. The shoreline evolution trend is similar to of the results obtained by the accelerated particle wear test (APW). However, the relationship between the number of APW test cycles and the years of shoreline evolution is not clear. In Guardamar beach the ratio (years/cycles) is 9.7, in Marineta Casiana beach (it is 5.6, and in Arenal beach it is 3. Differences may be due to the different mineralogical composition and morphology of the sand particles

Myeloid Growth Factors Promote Resistance to Mycobacterial Infection by Curtailing Granuloma Necrosis through Macrophage Replenishment.

The mycobacterial ESX-1 virulence locus accelerates macrophage recruitment to the forming tuberculous granuloma. Newly recruited macrophages phagocytose previously infected apoptotic macrophages to become new bacterial growth niches. Granuloma macrophages can then necrose, releasing mycobacteria into the extracellular milieu, which potentiates their growth even further. Using zebrafish with genetic or pharmacologically induced macrophage deficiencies, we find that global macrophage deficits increase susceptibility to mycobacterial infection by accelerating granuloma necrosis. This is because reduction in the macrophage supply below a critical threshold decreases granuloma macrophage replenishment to the point where apoptotic infected macrophages, failing to get engulfed, necrose. Reducing macrophage demand by removing bacterial ESX-1 offsets the susceptibility of macrophage deficits. Conversely, increasing macrophage supply in wild-type fish by overexpressing myeloid growth factors induces resistance by curtailing necrosis. These findings may explain the susceptibility of humans with mononuclear cytopenias to mycobacterial infections and highlight the therapeutic potential of myeloid growth factors in tuberculosis.This work was funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health (T32-AI055396, A.J.P.; A154503 and A136396, L.R.) and the National Health and Medical Research Council (637394, 1044754, and 1069284, G.J.L.), a post-doctoral fellowship from the Taiwan National Science Council (NSC97-2917-I-564-109, C-T.Y.), and an Australian Postgraduate Award and Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research Edith Moffatt Scholarship (F.E.). The Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute is supported by funds from the State Government of Victoria and the Australian Federal Government. L.R. is a recipient of the NIH Director’s Pioneer Award and a Wellcome Trust Principal Research Fellowship.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Elsevier via http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chom.2015.06.00

Sustainable development city-beach in Alicante

[EN] Tourism development in recent decades has involved a large urban development in coastal areas, with different anthropogenic structural interventions on the coast such as the construction of commercial buildings and marinas, which has led to intense erosion and large imbalances in the last century. This situation also affects the city of Alicante, with the area between the port of Alicante and the Huertas Cape, one of the most depressed areas of the city, due to various actions carried out since the 70s, for anthropic example fillers for building marinas, jetties and broken in poor condition because they are made of sandstone, and a bad connection between the two parts of the city. In this work the creation of a new promenade that communicates both zones is proposed, creating new beaches eliminating anthro- pogenic fillings and the remains of breakwaters along the coast, the union of diverse marine area in one marina, and the insertion of an artificial reef multipurpose. With all this it is to improve the attraction of the area, and increase the mobility of the city on the coast.Aragonés, L.; García-Barba, J.; Villacampa, Y.; López, I.; Gómez Martín, ME.; Pagán, J. (2017). Sustainable development city-beach in Alicante. International Journal of Sustainable Development and Planning. 12(4):704-712. doi:10.2495/SDP-V12-N4-704-712S70471212

Effect of a Virtual Reality Exercise on Patients Undergoing Haemodialysis: A Randomised Controlled Clinical Trial Research Protocol

High levels of inflammatory markers have been associated with a greater deterioration of renal function and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. For its part, physical exercise has been shown to be beneficial in improving the functional, psychological, and inflammatory states of patients with chronic kidney failure (CKF) undergoing haemodialysis (HD) treatment, improving their health-related quality of life. In recent years, virtual reality (VR) has been studied and described as an effective and safe tool that improves patients’ adherence to exercise programs. For these reasons, we propose to analyse the effect of VR exercise on the functional, psychological, and inflammatory states of patients on HD, as well as their levels of adherence to exercise, and compare them with static pedalling exercises. We will randomise 80 patients with CKF into two blind groups: an experimental group, which will carry out an intradialytic exercise program with non-immersive VR (n = 40), and a control group, which will exercise with a static pedal (n = 40). Functional capacity, inflammatory and phycological status, and exercise adherence will be analysed. Higher levels of adherence to exercise are expected in the VR group, which will have greater effects on the patients’ functional capacity and psychological and inflammatory status. Keywords: end-stage kidney disease; renal dialysis; inflammation; physical fitness; psychological wellness; physical activity; virtual realitySección Deptal. de Radiología, Rehabilitación y Fisioterapia (Enfermería)Fac. de Enfermería, Fisioterapia y PodologíaTRUEpu

Shear-wave velocity structure from MASW and SPAC methods. The case of Adra town, SE Spain

The damage distribution in the town of Adra (south-eastern Spain) during the 1993 and 1994 Adra earthquakes, magnitude Mw 5.0 and maximum intensity degree of VII (European Macroseismic Scale), was mainly concentrated in the southeast sector, where low-diagenetic (soft) sediments outcrop. As new urbanizations are planned in that sector, a soil classification based on the shallow shear-wave velocity (Vs) structure is needed. For the purpose of earthquake disaster mitigation, the Spatial Autocorrelation (SPAC) and the Multichannel Analysis of Surface Waves (MASW) methods were used to propose integrated 2D Vs models for the seismic response characterization of shallow geology. Joint inversion of H/V spectral ratios of ambient noise, interpreted under the Diffuse Field Approach, and dispersion curves derived from the SPAC method allowed to obtain more constrained models. Both, SPAC and MASW methods provided similar results for the surveyed geological formations. From these models, a classification of the geological formations has been carried out in terms of Vs30 values and Eurocode 8 (EC8, 1998) classes. Lower Vs30 values in the 180-360 m/s range were found in the southeastern sector of the town, where soft sediments outcrop and some building damage was reported from the 1993-1994 earthquakes. The highest Vs30 values above 800 m/s appear at the northern sector, where the hardest rocks outcrop and no building damage was reported. The combination of the well-suited Vs database prepared for different geological formations with the 1:5,000 scale geological mapping was a step to obtain a detailed soil microzonation map of Adra. It gives a new predictive insight into the building damage distribution, which will contribute to the appropriate urban planning of the future growth of the town

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Presentació

Pérez Chico, D., Perspectivas de la filosofía del lenguaje [Reseña]

Reseña de la obra de Pérez Chico, D. (coord.), Perspectivas de la filosofía del lenguaje, Prensas de la Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, 2013, 618 pp

Pérez Chico, D., Perspectivas de la filosofía del lenguaje [Reseña]

Reseña de la obra de Pérez Chico, D. (coord.), Perspectivas de la filosofía del lenguaje, Prensas de la Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, 2013, 618 pp