Brain insulin signaling in Alzheimer's disease

Treball Final de Grau en Medicina. Codi: MD1158. Curs acadèmic: 2016-2017Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a devastating neurodegenerative disorder and the most common cause of dementia affecting elderly people. Its pathological hallmarks are the presence of extracellular aggregates of amyloid-β peptide (Aβ), also known as senile plaques, and intracellular clusters of hyperphosphorylated tau protein, commonly called neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs). Classically, the brain was considered to be insulin-insensitive, but evidence has proved the contrary and now it is widely accepted that insulin and IGF-1 have neuromodulatory actions. Insulin signaling is involved in various neuronal functions such as synapse transmission, cognition, learning and memory. Insulin resistance, together with AβOs neurotoxicity, neuronal metabolic stress and neuroinflammation, has been shown to play a role in AD pathogenesis. In this review we will describe the connection between neuronal insulin signaling and the pathogenesis and progression of AD, as well as the new promising therapeutic approaches focused on the insulin signaling pathway that are being researched, such as intranasal insulin or insulin sensitizing agents

Development of poly (ether ether ketone) nanofiltration membranes for organic solvent nanofiltration in continuous flow systems

Organic solvent nanofiltration (OSN) is an energy saving technology that can replace more energy demanding separation technologies, such as evaporation and distillation. Nevertheless, OSN membranes that can withstand high temperature conditions as well as acidic or basic conditions are lacking on the market. In this thesis a poly(ether ether ketone) (PEEK) membrane is investigated for its suitability for OSN applications using polar aprotic solvents, such as DMF and THF, high temperatures, and basic/acidic conditions. By studying four grades of PEEK polymer powder from two different brands (VESTAKEEP® and VICTREX®), the VESTAKEEP® 4000P was selected for the subsequent studies. The post-phase inversion drying process of membrane fabrication was also studied and the drying step was shown to be crucial in obtaining separation performance in the nanofiltration (NF) range. The degree of sulphonation (DS) was also important and had to be maintained at low levels in order to retain the chemical and thermal stability of PEEK membranes. Subsequently, the scaling-up of PEEK membranes to spiral-wound modules was successfully achieved. In order to further manipulate the performance of PEEK NF membranes, two ways of controlling the molecular weight cut-off (MWCO) of PEEK membranes prepared via phase inversion and subsequent drying were studied. The two methods explored were the change of polymer concentration in the dope solution – 8 wt. %, 10 wt. % and 12 wt. % - and the variation of solvent filling the pores prior to drying – e.g. water, methanol, acetone, tetrahydrofuran and n-heptane. For each solvent, the drying temperature was proved to have an effect on the membrane performance - the higher the drying temperature, the higher the rejection and the lower the permeance. Following the drying treatment results, the negligible aging of PEEK membranes was demonstrated; a comparison with crosslinked polybenzimidazole (PBI) and polyimide (PI) membranes was also performed. The results showed a structural change for PBI and PI membranes due to a non-equilibrium glassy state, in contrast with PEEK membranes which were in quasi-equilibrium glassy state. High temperature filtrations were also performed in DMF up to 140 °C for the three polymeric membranes. PEEK was the most robust membrane with a stable performance after 4 filtration cycles whereas PBI and PI were stable for 2 and 1 cycles respectively. Due to their stability at high temperatures, and also their compatibility with catalysts, PEEK membranes were used in two different continuous Heck coupling reactions combined with OSN separation of the catalyst in situ. Two reactor configurations were investigated: a continuous single stirred tank reactor/membrane separator (m-CSTR); and a plug flow reactor (PFR) followed by m-CSTR (PFR-m-CSTR). It was possible to decrease the catalyst leaching to the product stream and to increase the overall turnover number (TON) of the Heck reactions.Open Acces

The castle of San Romualdo (San Fernando, Cádiz). Stratigraphic approach and building evolution

Presentamos en este artículo los resultados de nuestra investigación arqueológica en el castillo de San Romualdo, el edificio más emblemático de la ciudad de San Fernando y fortaleza defensiva ligada al control del acceso a Cádiz. El análisis estratigráfico de alzados ha permitido conocer la evolución constructiva del edificio, desde sus orígenes hasta la actualidad. Hasta ahora los estudios confirman las conclusiones en cuanto a su datación presentadas en el año 20031, es decir, el castillo, tal y como hoy lo conocemos, es una construcción medieval cristiana, realizada durante la segunda mitad del siglo XIII, con mano de obra mudéjar y con materiales reutilizados de una edificación anterior.This article shows the results of the archaeological research carried out in the castle of San Romualdo, the most emblematic building of the city of San Fernando and a defensive fortress tied to the control access of Cádiz. The standing building recording has enabled to know the building evolution from its origins until the present. Studies have hitherto confirmed the chronological conclusions already proposed in 2003. That is, the current castle is a medieval Christian building erected in the second half of the 13th century thanks to Mudejar workers and materials reused from a previous building

Circular economy: from industrial side streams to nutrient-rich zeolites for agricultural use

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Fractionating of synthetic biology waste stream into nutrient rich extract for cosmetic industry

Amyris is a world-leading manufacturer of sustainable ingredients producing environmentally friendly products. Biofene® (or trans-β-farnesene) is a synthetic biology derived product using yeast fermentation of sugarcane. This production originates spent broth, an aqueous waste stream typically applied to land by fertirrigation. On one hand, spent broth contains recoverable added-value compounds; on the other hand, an improper disposal of this waste stream could result in negative effects and give rise to environmental concerns. Hence the importance of implementing the bio-waste refinery and circular bio-economy concepts for recovering high-value bio-products. Cosmetic industries are committed to find natural, sustainable, and functional ingredients meeting consumer’s and entities rigorous demands. Spent broth may be a source of such ingredients. Thus, the objective of this work was to assess the fractionation of the spent broth stream from Biofene® production to obtain a concentrated nutrient rich extract with potential application on cosmetics. The spent broth’s was pretreated for mineral recovery, using a chemical free process developed within the Alchemy Project. The pre-treated spent broth was then fractionated in a cascade membrane filtration process, in an attempt to recover a rich peptide and minerals fractions. This process comprised three steps: Microfiltration (MF), ultrafiltration (UF), and nanofiltration (NF). The composition of the obtained fractions was monitored in terms of total proteins and minerals contents, amino acids profile, and antioxidant capacity. All experiments were done in a crossflow filtration unit (Sepa CF, Sterlitech), coupled to a pump (G13-X, Hidra-Cell®) applying a feed recirculation of ca. 250 L/h. Microfiltration aimed to the clarification of the pre-treated spent broth, removing suspended mineral and organic particles; a Toray’s sanitary TMF membrane presented a total solids rejection factor of 51.1%, and rejection factors towards total proteins and minerals of 60.5% and 26.4%, respectively. The antioxidant capacity was higher in the obtained permeate than in the pre-treated spent broth (560 ±59 and 317 ±56 μmol TE/g by ORAC, respectively). The subsequent ultrafiltration of the MF permeate with a 5 kDa MWCO membrane (Toray Sanitary TUF) had rejection factors towards total proteins of 5.9% and of 20.0% towards minerals. The retained fraction had an interesting antioxidant capacity (685 ±64 μmol TE/g by ORAC), amino acids content (61.9 ±0.9 mg/g-dw), comprising mainly glutamic acid and aspartic acid (27 and 26 wt%, respectively), and minerals (103.6 ±5.6 mg/g-dw), mainly calcium (ca. 65 wt%). The UF permeate was further filtrated using a Toray’s sanitary NF membrane, which retained 61% of total solids, thus being a concentration step. The retained fraction was similar to that retained on the UF membrane, presenting higher antioxidant capacity (738 ±64 μmol TE/g by ORAC) and minerals content (232.4 ±17.7 mg/g-dw, mainly calcium ca. 65 wt%). The fractions resultant from the cascade filtration process, namely the UF and the NF retentates, presented interesting characteristics for cosmetics applications, particularly significant amino acids and minerals contents, and high antioxidant capacity. Indeed, amino acids are highly desired in cosmetics for their capacity to improve skin and hair quality [1]; mineral based salts, including calcium and magnesium act as absorbents, abrasives, and astringent agents, promoting skin softening and moisture [2]. Powerful antioxidant and free radical scavenging properties are also extremely valuable in anti-aging and skin protection products [3]. This work demonstrates a potential practical valorization for developing increased value bio-derived products from the Biofene® fermentation spent broth stream. The product preliminary characterization reveals interesting nutrients and bioactivities, suggesting a potential application in cosmetic industry.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Análisis de los debates de las campañas electorales de 2008 y 2011 en España

¿Cómo se estructuran los debates electorales? ¿Para qué sirven? ¿Qué mensajes se dirigen a los electores? ¿Qué exposición se realiza de los programas electorales en los debates? ¿Qué estrategias se siguen y qué recursos se utilizan en los debates? Con este trabajo pretendemos buscar una solución a estos interrogantes, además de tratar de analizar la importancia que tuvieron los encuentros entre candidatos en televisión en 2008 y 2011, así como realizar un diagnóstico de la situación del país y de los problemas y las soluciones expuestas en ellos.Universidad de Sevilla. Máster en Comunicación Institucional y Polític

A review on the valorization of lignin from sugarcane by-products: from extraction to application

The sugarcane industry generates several by-products including the harvest residue (straw) and the fibrous fraction following juice extraction (bagasse). The conversion of sugarcane industry by-products into value-added products is of paramount importance from a sustainable circular economy perspective. Also, the increase of second-generation bioethanol production has triggered the development of approaches to convert residues into functional bioproducts thus increasing the overall sustainability of the process. Lignin is the major biopolymer in nature, and one of the three main components of sugarcane bagasse (SCB) and straw (SCS) biomasses. Due to the potential of lignin as natural antioxidant, antimicrobial, and ultraviolet protector, lignin-based research and new product development have significantly increased. Therefore, this review aims at updating the progress on the valorization of SCS and SCB, and emphasizing their main potential bioactivities and applications, thus serving as a valuable reference material for the academy and industry. A brief introduction of the sugarcane and sugar industry in terms of by-products generation and current end-uses is presented. Recent research studies on SCB and SCS delignification techniques, lignin purification/separation and the main physical-chemical differences between SCS and SCB are covered. The most reported biological activities for sugarcane lignin and their potential applications in the cosmetic and materials fields are also detailed in this review.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Sugarcane bagasse as source of bioactive lignin: influence of pretreatment on the antioxidant and antibacterial activities

Sugarcane industry generates several by-products of particular interest in the context of a circular economy, due to their potential as a source of value-added ingredients. Bagasse is one of the main by-products, consisting of a fibrous fraction obtained after juice extraction. Sugarcane bagasse is composed of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, with lower amounts of extractives and ash (del Río et al., 2015). Lignin is one of the most abundant renewable resources on earth and recognized as a profitable source of high value compounds. The main functions attributed to lignin in the plant are elasticity and mechanical strength. It is a complex aromatic macromolecule formed by the dehydrogenative polymerization of three phenylpropanoid monomers coniferyl, synapyl, and p-coumaryl alcohols. The antimicrobial activity of lignin is related to plant sources and attributed to the phenolic components, particularly the side-chain structure and its functional groups (Chauhan, 2020). The antioxidant activity of lignin is mainly attributed to the scavenging action of their phenolic structures on oxygen-containing reactive free radicals. For the antioxidant activity of the lignin, free phenolic hydroxyl groups and ortho-methoxy substitution in aromatic rings are essential. The structural characteristics of lignin depend on several factors including the botanical origin, and environmental growth and extraction conditions. The main objective of this work was to study the potential of lignin from sugarcane bagasse as antimicrobial and antioxidant agent and assess the influence of two different pretreatments - deep eutectic solvents and organosolv – on the biological potential.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

GC-155 - Runbook Automation

Runbook is common terminology used in every IT organization which is maintained in Excel for taking the components to production in a particular time frame after making an agreement with the business for the downtime of systems (Freeze Period). Runbook Automation is a web application for delivering and tracking deliverables to production. It acts as an interface between Infrastructure teams responsible for deployments and runbook coordinator, development teams, and Business Analysts. The application consists of a home page consisting of a Dashboard where the user can edit the profile, and other employee tracking details and timesheets. In Employee tracking, the details of the employees and their backgrounds are displayed. In Timesheets, the hours of the project and the runbook actions are displayed. In Access Management, different users are allowed to request access to perform daily activities. In Employee Performance, the feedback and achievements of the employer are shown. The Objective of the application is to develop a web application using various technologies to bring all the stakeholders to a common page about the project execution and make them aware of top management activities ongoing in the organization. The Application will have an interface to tools for updating the status of Jobs in the application. The idea of the application will be provided to the project owner for approval before design and development. The scope of the project will include planning, design, development, testing, and documentation.stratosphere to provide wide coverage and strong computational capabilities. It is suitable to coordinate terrestrial resources and store the fundamental data associated with ITS-based applications. Performing task offloading and data caching at Roadside Units (RSUs) in a cooperative manner can reduce the heavy backhaul load and the retransmission of content downloading