Mine soil caracterization in the coal mine dumps of As Pontes (NW Spain) during its reclamation

[Resumen] Se evalúa el estado nutritivo, condiciones de acidez y elementos potencialmente tóxicos para las plantas en los suelos de mina generados en la escombrera de la Mina Puentes (La Coruña), en actual proceso de restauración ambiental. Para ello se estudia la capacidad de intercambio catiónico, la acidez actual y potencial y la fracción metálica teóricamente biodisponible (extraída con DPTA). Los resultados muestran un amplio rango de variación en los parámetros analizados. La calidad de material original, en concreto el contenido en S, determina los niveles de acidez actual y potencial. La CICe es, en general, baja pero no significativamente diferente de los suelos naturales de la zona. La secuencia de extracción de metales con DPTA es: Fe> >Mn> >Cu>Ni~fZn~Pb>Co>>Cd, siendo la acidez del medio el parámetro fundamental que condiciona su movilización.[Abstract] Acidity, nutrient availability and potential toxicity in the coal mine dump of As Pontes (NW Spain) are evaluated. Then, cationic exchange capacity, actual and potenctial acidity and available heavy metals (DPTA extracted) are analized. Results show a wide variability of the spoil materials. Sulfur level in the spoils explains the different actual and potential acidity conditions. Cationic exchange capacity is low ( >Mn> >Cu>Ni~~Zn~Pb>Co>>Cd and the system acidity explains its mobilization

Composition of soil solution in the Puentes coal mine dump (NW Spain) during its reclamation

[Resumen] Se estudia la disolución de suelos de mina (obtenida por desplazamiento en columna según ADAMS, 1974) en la escombrera exterior de la explotaci6n de lignito pardo de As Pontes (La Coruña). os resultados muestran un amplio rango de variación en todos los parámetros analizados. Así podemos encontrar ambientes desde fuertemente ácidos (pH = 1.5) hasta alcalinos (pH = 8.5), asociándose los valores más bajos a materiales originales con mayor contenido en sulfuros. Los medios más ácidos son los que presentan los valores más elevados de Al, Fe y metales pesados. La conductividad eléctrica de la disoluci6n es muy elevada (superior a 500 uS cm-1), presentando una correlación muy significativa con el sulfato (r = 0.84), unión mayoritario que frecuentemente supera los 1000 mg L-l..[Abstract] Soil solution of the coal mine dump of As Pontes (NW Spain) is studied. Results show a wide variation on every parameters analized. pH values range from strong acidic (pH = 1.5) to alcaline (pH = 8.5). The lowest pH are associated to the highest sulphide content in the original wastes. The most acidic environments have the higest aluminium, iron and heavy metals levels. Electric conductivity is elevated (> 500 uS cm-1) and shows a good correlation (r = 0.84) with sulphate content, the main anion in this soil solution

Metal mobility and bioaccessibility from cyanide leaching heaps in a historical mine site

Unlike acidic sulfide mine wastes, where metal/loid mobility and bioaccessibility has been widely studied, less attention has been paid to alkaline cyanide heap leaching wastes. Thus, the main goal of this study is to evaluate the mobility and bioaccessibility of metal/loids in Fe-rich (up to 55%) mine wastes resulting from historical cyanide leaching activities. Wastes are mainly composed of oxides/oxyhydroxides (i.e. goethite and hematite), oxyhydroxisulfates (i.e. jarosite), sulfates (i.e., gypsum, evaporitic sulfate salts), carbonates (i.e., calcite, siderite) and quartz, with noticeable concentrations of metal/loids (e.g., 1453–6943 mg/kg of As, 5216–15,672 mg/kg; of Pb, 308–1094 mg/kg of Sb, 181–1174 mg/kg of Cu, or 97–1517 mg/kg of Zn). The wastes displayed a high reactivity upon rainfall contact associated to the dissolution of secondary minerals such as carbonates, gypsum, and other sulfates, exceeding the threshold values for hazardous wastes in some heap levels for Se, Cu, Zn, As, and sulfate leading to potential significant risks for aquatic life. High concentrations of Fe, Pb, and Al were released during the simulation of digestive ingestion of waste particles, with average values of 4825 mg/kg of Fe, 1672 mg/kg of Pb, and 807 mg/kg of Al. Mineralogy may control the mobility and bioaccessibility of metal/loids under rainfall events. However, in the case of the bioaccessible fractions different associations may be observed: i) the dissolution of gypsum, jarosite and hematite would mainly release Fe, As, Pb, Cu, Se, Sb and Tl; ii) the dissolution of an un-identified mineral (e.g., aluminosilicate or Mn oxide) would lead to the release of Ni, Co, Al and Mn and iii) the acid attack of silicate materials and goethite would enhance the bioaccessibility of V and Cr. This study highlights the hazardousness of wastes from cyanide heap leaching, and the need to adopt restoration measures in historical mine sites.This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economic and Competitiveness through the projects TRAMPA (PID2020–119196RBC21) and by H2020 European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT RawMaterials) through the project Modular recovery process services for hydrometallurgy and water treatment (MORECOVERY). This work was partially supported by FCT (Portugal) through contract UID/ Multi/04349/2019. C.R C´anovas thanks the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation for the Postdoctoral Fellowship granted under application reference RYC2019–027949-I. M.D. Basallote thanks the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation for the Postdoctoral Fellowship granted under application reference IJC 2018–035056-I. The authors would also like to thank to Prof. Edward D. Burton, Ph.D (Editor) and three anonymous reviewers for the support and comments that notably improved the quality of the original paper

Deficits in inhibitory control and conflict resolution on cognitive and motor tasks in Parkinson's disease

Recent imaging studies in healthy controls with a conditional stop signal reaction time (RT) task have implicated the subthalamic nucleus (STN) in response inhibition and the pre-supplementary motor area (pre-SMA) in conflict resolution. Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by striatal dopamine deficiency and overactivity of the STN and underactivation of the pre-SMA during movement. We used the conditional stop signal RT task to investigate whether PD produced similar or dissociable effects on response initiation, response inhibition and response initiation under conflict. In addition, we also examined inhibition of prepotent responses on three cognitive tasks: the Stroop, random number generation and Hayling sentence completion. PD patients were impaired on the conditional stop signal reaction time task, with response initiation both in situations with or without conflict and response inhibition all being significantly delayed, and had significantly greater difficulty in suppressing prepotent or habitual responses on the Stroop, Hayling and random number generation tasks relative to controls. These results demonstrate the existence of a generalized inhibitory deficit in PD, which suggest that PD is a disorder of inhibition as well as activation and that in situations of conflict, executive control over responses is compromised.This work was supported by a PhD studentship from Fundación Caja Madrid (IO), a Career Development Fellowship from the Parkinson’s disease Society (LW) and a Royal Society Travelling Fellowship.Peer reviewe

La estructura sísmica de la corteza de la Zona de Ossa Morena y su interpretación geológica

El experimento de sísmica de reflexión profunda IBERSEIS ha proporcionado una imagen de la corteza del Orógeno Varisco en el sudoeste de Iberia. Este artículo se centra en la descripción de la corteza de la Zona de Ossa Morena (OMZ), que está claramente dividida en una corteza superior, con reflectividad de buzamiento al NE, y una corteza inferior de pobre reflectividad. Las estructuras geológicas cartografiadas en superficie se correlacionan bien con la reflectividad de la corteza superior, y en la imagen sísmica se ven enraizar en la corteza media. Ésta está constituida por un cuerpo muy reflectivo, interpretado como una gran intrusión de rocas básicas. La imagen de las suturas que limitan la OMZ muestra el carácter fuertemente transpresivo de la colisión orogénica varisca registrada en el sudoeste de Iberia. La Moho actual es plana y, en consecuencia, no se observa la raíz del orógeno

Terms of reference for the mediterranean tuna habitat observatory initiative

[EN] We present the Terms of Reference for a case study on a Mediterranean eco-region focusing on the environmental component of the Ecosystem Report Card. The objective of this case study is to describe and monitor the variability of environmental processes in the Mediterranean Sea that affect the ecology of large pelagic fishes, with a particular attention on tunas, and the possible role of climate change on this variability. Here we define the objectives and activities of the initiative, the participant roles, primary indicators and the methodological approach[FR] Ce document présente les termes de référence d’une étude de cas sur une écorégion méditerranéenne consacrée à la composante environnementale de la fiche informative sur les écosystèmes. L'objectif de cette étude de cas est de décrire et de suivre la variabilité des processus environnementaux en mer Méditerranée qui affectent l'écologie des grands poissons pélagiques, en accordant une attention particulière aux thonidés, et de déterminer le rôle possible du changement climatique sur cette variabilité. Nous définissons ici les objectifs et les activités de l'initiative, les rôles des participants, les indicateurs primaires et l'approche méthodologique.[ES] En el documento se presentan los términos de referencia para un estudio de caso sobre una ecorregión mediterránea centrado en el componente medioambiental de la ficha informativa sobre ecosistemas. El objetivo de este estudio de caso es describir y hacer un seguimiento de la variabilidad de los procesos medioambientales en el mar Mediterráneo que afectan a la ecología de los grandes peces pelágicos, con especial atención a los túnidos, y el posible papel del cambio climático en esta variabilidad. A continuación, se definen los objetivos y actividades de la iniciativa, las funciones de los participantes, los indicadores principales y el enfoque metodológico.Peer reviewe

Nomogram-based prediction of survival in patients with advanced oesophagogastric adenocarcinoma receiving first-line chemotherapy: a multicenter prospective study in the era of trastuzumab

Background: To develop and validate a nomogram and web-based calculator to predict overall survival (OS) in Caucasian-advanced oesophagogastric adenocarcinoma (AOA) patients undergoing first-line combination chemotherapy. Methods: Nine hundred twenty-four AOA patients treated at 28 Spanish teaching hospitals from January 2008 to September 2014 were used as derivation cohort. The result of an adjusted-Cox proportional hazards regression was represented as a nomogram and web-based calculator. The model was validated in 502 prospectively recruited patients treated between October 2014 and December 2016. Harrell's c-index was used to evaluate discrimination. Results: The nomogram includes seven predictors associated with OS: HER2-positive tumours treated with trastuzumab, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status, number of metastatic sites, bone metastases, ascites, histological grade, and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio. Median OS was 5.8 (95% confidence interval (CI), 4.5–6.6), 9.4 (95% CI, 8.5–10.6), and 14 months (95% CI, 11.8–16) for high-, intermediate-, and low-risk groups, respectively (P<0.001), in the derivation set and 4.6 (95% CI, 3.3–8.1), 12.7 (95% CI, 11.3–14.3), and 18.3 months (95% CI, 14.6–24.2) for high-, intermediate-, and low-risk groups, respectively (P<0.001), in the validation set. The nomogram is well-calibrated and reveals acceptable discriminatory capacity, with optimism-corrected c-indices of 0.618 (95% CI, 0.591–0.631) and 0.673 (95% CI, 0.636–0.709) in derivation and validation groups, respectively. The AGAMENON nomogram outperformed the Royal Marsden Hospital (c-index=0.583; P=0.00046) and Japan Clinical Oncology Group prognostic indices (c-index=0.611; P=0.03351). Conclusions: We developed and validated a straightforward model to predict survival in Caucasian AOA patients initiating first-line polychemotherapy. This model can contribute to inform clinical decision-making and optimise clinical trial design

Genomic Characterization of Host Factors Related to SARS-CoV-2 Infection in People with Dementia and Control Populations: The GR@ACE/DEGESCO Study

Emerging studies have suggested several chromosomal regions as potential host genetic factors involved in the susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection and disease outcome. We nested a COVID-19 genome-wide association study using the GR@ACE/DEGESCO study, searching for susceptibility factors associated with COVID-19 disease. To this end, we compared 221 COVID-19 confirmed cases with 17,035 individuals in whom the COVID-19 disease status was unknown. Then, we performed a meta-analysis with the publicly available data from the COVID-19 Host Genetics Initiative. Because the APOE locus has been suggested as a potential modifier of COVID-19 disease, we added sensitivity analyses stratifying by dementia status or by disease severity. We confirmed the existence of the 3p21.31 region (LZTFL1, SLC6A20) implicated in the susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection and TYK2 gene might be involved in COVID-19 severity. Nevertheless, no statistically significant association was observed in the COVID-19 fatal outcome or in the stratified analyses (dementia-only and non-dementia strata) for the APOE locus not supporting its involvement in SARS-CoV-2 pathobiology or COVID-19 prognosis

Genome-wide association analysis of dementia and its clinical endophenotypes reveal novel loci associated with Alzheimer's disease and three causality networks : The GR@ACE project

Introduction: Large variability among Alzheimer's disease (AD) cases might impact genetic discoveries and complicate dissection of underlying biological pathways. Methods: Genome Research at Fundacio ACE (GR@ACE) is a genome-wide study of dementia and its clinical endophenotypes, defined based on AD's clinical certainty and vascular burden. We assessed the impact of known AD loci across endophenotypes to generate loci categories. We incorporated gene coexpression data and conducted pathway analysis per category. Finally, to evaluate the effect of heterogeneity in genetic studies, GR@ACE series were meta-analyzed with additional genome-wide association study data sets. Results: We classified known AD loci into three categories, which might reflect the disease clinical heterogeneity. Vascular processes were only detected as a causal mechanism in probable AD. The meta-analysis strategy revealed the ANKRD31-rs4704171 and NDUFAF6-rs10098778 and confirmed SCIMP-rs7225151 and CD33-rs3865444. Discussion: The regulation of vasculature is a prominent causal component of probable AD. GR@ACE meta-analysis revealed novel AD genetic signals, strongly driven by the presence of clinical heterogeneity in the AD series

Natural History of MYH7-Related Dilated Cardiomyopathy

BACKGROUND: Variants in myosin heavy chain 7 (MYH7) are responsible for disease in 1% to 5% of patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM); however, the clinical characteristics and natural history of MYH7-related DCM are poorly described. OBJECTIVE: We sought to determine the phenotype and prognosis of MYH7-related DCM. We also evaluated the influence of variant location on phenotypic expression. METHODS: We studied clinical data from 147 individuals with DCM-causing MYH7 variants (47.6% female; 35.6 ± 19.2 years) recruited from 29 international centers. RESULTS: At initial evaluation, 106 (72.1%) patients had DCM (left ventricular ejection fraction: 34.5% ± 11.7%). Median follow-up was 4.5 years (IQR: 1.7-8.0 years), and 23.7% of carriers who were initially phenotype-negative developed DCM. Phenotypic expression by 40 and 60 years was 46% and 88%, respectively, with 18 patients (16%) first diagnosed at <18 years of age. Thirty-six percent of patients with DCM met imaging criteria for LV noncompaction. During follow-up, 28% showed left ventricular reverse remodeling. Incidence of adverse cardiac events among patients with DCM at 5 years was 11.6%, with 5 (4.6%) deaths caused by end-stage heart failure (ESHF) and 5 patients (4.6%) requiring heart transplantation. The major ventricular arrhythmia rate was low (1.0% and 2.1% at 5 years in patients with DCM and in those with LVEF of ≤35%, respectively). ESHF and major ventricular arrhythmia were significantly lower compared with LMNA-related DCM and similar to DCM caused by TTN truncating variants. CONCLUSIONS: MYH7-related DCM is characterized by early age of onset, high phenotypic expression, low left ventricular reverse remodeling, and frequent progression to ESHF. Heart failure complications predominate over ventricular arrhythmias, which are rare