Halorubrum chaoviator sp. nov., a haloarchaeon isolated from sea salt in Baja California, Mexico, Western Australia and Naxos, Greece

hree halophilic isolates, strains Halo-G*T, AUS-1 and Naxos II, were compared. Halo-G* was isolated from an evaporitic salt crystal from Baja California, Mexico, whereas AUS-1 and Naxos II were isolated from salt pools in Western Australia and the Greek island of Naxos, respectively. Halo-G*T had been exposed previously to conditions of outer space and survived 2 weeks on the Biopan facility. Chemotaxonomic and molecular comparisons suggested high similarity between the three strains. Phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that the strains clustered with Halorubrum species, showing sequence similarities of 99.2–97.1 %. The DNA–DNA hybridization values of strain Halo-G*T and strains AUS-1 and Naxos II are 73 and 75 %, respectively, indicating that they constitute a single species. The DNA relatedness between strain Halo-G*T and the type strains of 13 closely related species of the genus Halorubrum ranged from 39 to 2 %, suggesting that the three isolates constitute a different genospecies. The G+C content of the DNA of the three strains was 65.5–66.5 mol%. All three strains contained C20C20 derivatives of diethers of phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglyceromethylphosphate and phosphatidylglycerolsulfate, together with a sulfated glycolipid. On the basis of these results, a novel species that includes the three strains is proposed, with the name Halorubrum chaoviator sp. nov. The type strain is strain Halo-G*T (=DSM 19316T =NCIMB 14426T =ATCC BAA-1602T)

Exploratory Data Analysis and Data Envelopment Analysis of Construction and Demolition Waste Management in the European Economic Area

This paper deals with the efficiency and sustainability of Construction and Demolition Waste (CDW) management in 30 Member States of the European Economic Area (EEA) (the 28 European Union countries plus Norway and Iceland) for the period 2010–2016 using Exploratory Data Analytics (EDA) and Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). The first stage of the proposed methodology is EDA with already available (the CDW recovery rate) and suggested indicators (e.g., building stock characterization, dwelling occupancy ratio, macroeconomic ratios and CDW breakdown) to characterize the efficiency and sustainability of CDW management. The second stage is to assess the efficiency of countries using DEA through two original CDW production models, one for sustainability, measuring the efficiency of the construction sector for reducing its CDW, and the second a model to score the efficiency of maximizing the CDW recovery rate. The main outcome of the paper is the proposed methodology, which is a candidate for replacing current indicators in order to evaluate the performance of CDW policy, due to is adaptive nature, promoting the continuous improvement and overcoming the limitations of the poor quality of metrics, data and parametric indicators. The methodology has been experimentally validated using Eurostat data for 30 Member States of EEA, ranking them according to the two DEA model scores, to point out the countries considered efficient among those of their scale, as a reference for sustainable and efficient practicesThis research was funded by the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness of Spain, Project TIN2016-75845-P (AEI/FEDER/EU) and SNEO-20161147 (CDTI) and by Xunta de Galicia and FEDER funds of the EU (Centro de Investigación de Galicia accreditation 2019–2022, ref. ED431G2019/01, and Consolidation Programme of Competitive Reference Groups, ref. ED431C 2017/04)S

Endoplasmic reticulum stress and inflammation in the central nervous system

Persistent endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress is thought to drive the pathology of many chronic disorders due to its potential to elicit aberrant inflammatory signaling and facilitate cell death. In neurodegenerative diseases, the accumulation of misfolded proteins and concomitant induction of ER stress in neurons contributes to neuronal dysfunction. In addition, ER stress responses induced in the surrounding neuroglia may promote disease progression by coordinating damaging inflammatory responses, which help fuel a neurotoxic milieu. Nevertheless, there still remains a gap in knowledge regarding the cell-specific mechanisms by which ER stress mediates neuroinflammation. In this review, we will discuss recently uncovered inflammatory pathways linked to the ER stress response. Moreover, we will summarize the present literature delineating how ER stress is generated in Alzheimer?s disease, Parkinson?s disease, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, and Multiple Sclerosis, and highlight how ER stress and neuroinflammation intersect mechanistically within the central nervous system. The mechanisms by which stress-induced inflammation contributes to the pathogenesis and progression of neurodegenerative diseases remain poorly understood. Further examination of this interplay could present unappreciated insights into the development of neurodegenerative diseases, and reveal new therapeutic targets

Delving into the Determinants of Default Risk in Savings Groups: Empirical Evidence from Ecuador.

Financial inclusion has been broadly recognized as critical in alleviating poverty and achieving inclusive economic growth. The capability of borrowers to repay their microcredit loans is a critical concern and is the first risk of Microfinance institutions sustainability. Exploring the determinants of credit risk is an issue of substantial importance in microfinance. The purpose of this research was to identify the savings group members’ characteristics that have impact on default risk. We have used a multivariate regression model to identify the factors that affect default behaviour among microcredit borrowers from savings groups. We have analysed a sample of more than different 400 Savings Groups and 7251 active users of the “Saving and Learning” program in Ecuador. Empirical results demonstrated that factors such as seniority, accumulated savings and the number of members in the savings groups are determinant variables of default risk. The significant positive sign on variable “Gender” is consistent with the previous authors that indicate that the probability of having problems in loan repayment is higher for males than for females. The generalizability of our findings should, of course, be interpreted with caution, as they may be idiosyncratic of the sample, period or region. To contrast and contextualize these results, we had in-depth discussions with the Savinco managers and their field agent in Ecuador. There are many contributions. For practitioners, relevant factors that can affect savings groups default rates have been identified. For academics, the rich information provided by the Savinco mobile App could be a starting point for further quantitative research.post-print881 K

Total fatty acid quantification as an estimator of total body fat content in broilers fed unsaturated diets

An experiment was designed to determine the effect of dietary fat unsaturation level on the fat content of the body of broilers, measured as hydrolysed crude fat (CF) and total fatty acid (TFA) content. Ninety-six female broiler chickens were fed with 4 experimental diets (with 15, 34, 45 and 61 g of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA)/kg of diet) for 6 weeks. As dietary PUFA increased from 15 to 61 g PUFA/kg the fat content of the animals decrease was 55% and 15% when measured as CF and TFA content respectively. As we did not find any differences between treatments in crude protein (CP) and ashes (A) content, the total chemical composition (CF, CP and A as a percentage of Dry Matter (DM)) was close to 100% in the animals fed the saturated diets, reaching only 80% when the dietary unsaturation level was maximum. When using TFA instead of CF, the total chemical composition was close to 95% of DM in all treatments.Une expérience a été effectuée pour déterminer l'effet du niveau de la graisse insaturée dans l'aliment sur le contenu de la graisse corporelle des poulets mesuré par la teneur en graisse brute hydrolysée (CF) et par la teneur en acides gras totaux (TFA). Quatrevingt seize femelles broilers ont été alimentés avec 4 régimes expérimentaux (contenant 15, 34, 45 ou 61 g d'acides gras polyinsaturés (PUFA)/kg d'aliment) pendant six semaines. Quand la teneur en PUFA du régime augmente de 15 à 61 g/kg l'engraissement des animaux diminue de 55% et 15% quand il est mesuré par la teneur en CF et TFA respectivement. Comme on n'a pas trouvé de différences entre les traitements pour la teneur en protéines brutes (CP) et en cendres (A), la composition totale chimique (CF, CP et A exprimés en pourcentages de la matière 265 4 'i iHfnTT'ii Tli*nm I sèche (DM)) était près de 100% chez les animaux alimentés avec le régime riche en AG saturés, et seulement de 80% quand le niveau d'insaturation du régime était maximal. En utilisant le TFA au lieu de CF, la composition totale chimique était près de 95 % de la DM pour les 4 traitements

Interaction between dietary unsaturation and α-tocopherol levels : vitamin E content in thigh meat

The present study was carried out to evaluate the influence of dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), at different levels of dietary supplementation with α-tocopheryl acetate (a-TA), on α-tocopherol (α-Toc) content in raw thigh meat. One hundred and ninety-two female broiler chickens were randomly distributed into 16 experimental treatments resulting from the combination of 4 levels of dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids (27, 38, 48 and 59 g/kg) and 4 levels of supplementation with α-TA (0, 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg). As is to be expected, dietary supplementation with α-TA increased α-Toc content of thigh meat. But the vitamin E enrichment magnitude in meat depends on the dietary PUFA content (P sï 0.001). Furthermore, α-Toc content of thigh meat was reduced as the inclusion of dietary PUFA increased. Thus, in treatments supplemented with 100 mg α-TA/kg, an increase of 32 g dietary PUFA significantly reduced α-Toc content of meat by 52%.Cette expérience a été conduite pour évaluer l'influence des acides gras polyinsaturés alimentaires (PUFA), avec différents niveaux d'acétate de α-tocophérol (α-TA), sur le contenu de α-tocophérol (α-Toc) de la viande crue de la cuisse. Cent quatre-vingt douze femelles de poulet de chair ont été réparties au hasard dans 16 traitements expérimentaux correspondant à 4 niveaux d'acides grasses polyinsaturés alimentaires (27, 38, 48 et 59 g/kg) et 4 niveaux de supplémentation en α-TA (0, 100, 200 et 400 mg/kg). La supplémentation du régime en α-TA augmente le contenu de α-Toc de la viande de la cuisse. Mais l'importance de l'enrichissement en vitamine E dans la viande dépend du contenu des PUFA dans la diète (P< 0.001). De plus, le contenu en α-Toc dans la viande de la cuisse est diminué quand l'apport des PUFA dans la diète 192 augmente. Ainsi, dans les traitements supplémentés avec 100 mg a-TA/kg, une augmentation de 32 g des PUFA dans le régime réduit le contenu de α-Toc de la viande de 52%

Increased neurotransmitter release at the neuromuscular junction in a mouse model of polyglutamine disease

In Huntington's disease (HD), the expansion of polyglutamine (polyQ) repeats at the N terminus of the ubiquitous protein huntingtin (htt) leads to neurodegeneration in specific brain areas. Neurons degenerating in HD develop synaptic dysfunctions. However, it is unknown whether mutant htt impacts synaptic function in general. To investigate that, we have focused on the nerve terminals of motor neurons that typically do not degenerate in HD. Here, we have studied synaptic transmission at the neuromuscular junction of transgenic mice expressing a mutant form of htt (R6/1 mice).Wehave found that the size and frequency of miniature endplate potentials are similar in R6/1 and control mice. In contrast, the amplitude of evoked endplate potentials in R6/1 mice is increased compared to controls. Consistent with a presynaptic increase of release probability, synaptic depression under high-frequency stimulation is higher in R6/1 mice. In addition, no changes were detected in the size and dynamics of the recycling synaptic vesicle pool. Moreover, we have found increased amounts of the synaptic vesicle proteins synaptobrevin 1,2/VAMP 1,2 and cysteine string protein-α, and the SNARE protein SNAP-25, concomitant with normal levels of other synaptic vesicle markers. Our results reveal that the transgenic expression of a mutant form of htt leads to an unexpected gain of synaptic function. That phenotype is likely not secondary to neurodegeneration and might be due to a primary deregulation in synaptic protein levels. Our findings could be relevant to understand synaptic toxic effects of proteins with abnormal polyQ repeats. Copyright©2011 the authors.Instituto de Salud Carlos III (Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas), the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (BFU2007-66008 to R.F-C., SAF2009-08233 to J.J.L., and Juan de la Cierva contracts to J.L.R. and C.T.-Z.), Junta de Andalucía (P07-CVI- 02854, P06-CVI-02392), Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid, Fundación Ramón Areces, and Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo RegionalPeer Reviewe

Increased neurotransmitter release at the neuromuscular junction in a mouse model of polyglutamine disease

In Huntington’s disease (HD), the expansion of polyglutamine (polyQ) repeats at the N terminus of the ubiquitous protein huntingtin (htt) leads to neurodegeneration in specific brain areas. Neurons degenerating in HD develop synaptic dysfunctions. However, it is unknown whether mutant htt impacts synaptic function in general. To investigate that, we have focused on the nerve terminals of motor neurons that typically do not degenerate in HD. Here, we have studied synaptic transmission at the neuromuscular junction of transgenic mice expressing a mutant form of htt (R6/1 mice).Wehave found that the size and frequency of miniature endplate potentials are similar in R6/1 and control mice. In contrast, the amplitude of evoked endplate potentials in R6/1 mice is increased compared to controls. Consistent with a presynaptic increase of release probability, synaptic depression under high-frequency stimulation is higher in R6/1 mice. In addition, no changes were detected in the size and dynamics of the recycling synaptic vesicle pool. Moreover, we have found increased amounts of the synaptic vesicle proteins synaptobrevin 1,2/VAMP 1,2 and cysteine string protein-_, and the SNARE protein SNAP-25, concomitant with normal levels of other synaptic vesicle markers. Our results reveal that the transgenic expression of a mutant form of htt leads to an unexpected gain of synaptic function. That phenotype is likely not secondary to neurodegeneration and might be due to a primary deregulation in synaptic protein levels. Our findings could be relevant to understand synaptic toxic effects of proteins with abnormal polyQ repeats

Lifeguard assistance at Spanish Mediterranean beaches: Jellyfish prevail and proposals for improving risk management

Although beaches can be hazardous environments, few studies have identified injuries in broad coastal areas. We performed a retrospective descriptive study of injuries and other services provided by lifeguards during 2012 along the Spanish Mediterranean beaches. The trend in jellyfish stings was also examined for the period 2008–2012 using a standardised Sting Index. Obtaining data relied on voluntary cooperation of local authorities, resulting in data provided from 183 cities out of 234 present in the study area and 760 beach lifeguard stations (LGS) out of about 1200. Lifeguard stations provided an average of 89 days of service per year, from late June to the beginning of September. A total of 176,021 injuries were reported, of which jellyfish stings were the main need for assistance with 59.7% (n = 116,887) of the injuries and 257.0/LGS, followed by wounds (14.4%, 50.9/LGS), and sunburn (3.3%, 15.8/LGS). Apart from attending injuries, beach lifeguard services provided 21,174 other services such as help to disabled people (57.9/LGS), blood pressure measurements (12.7/LGS), rescues at sea (6.5/LGS), lost children (5.7/LGS), and transfers to the hospital (4.6/LGS). Official reported fatalities for all the beaches in 2012 were 24. We proposed a Sting Index (SI) to allow comparisons of the incidence of stings between years and/or localities by standardising jellyfish stings by the total of all injuries. Historical data were consistent enough to calculate SI between 2010 and 2012 and showed an oscillating pattern without a clear trend (2008: 2.4, 2009: 1.3, 2010: 2.4, 2011: 2.0, 2012: 2.6). Estimation of total number of jellyfish stings for all the beaches present in the area would reach 184,558 for 2012. There were very few fatalities in comparison with other coastal regions, probably due to the combination of a calm sea, a low number of high dangerous situations, and a high percentage of lifeguarded beaches during the bathing season. Nevertheless, although Spanish Mediterranean beaches could be described as low risk, we propose measures to facilitate a precautionary management to prevent injuries based on a real-time beach assistance database of injuries to identify high-incidence assistance categories.This research was carried out under contract LIFE 08 NAT ES 0064 (to CB and VF) co-financed by the European Commission (www.cubomed.eu), the Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente (Dirección General de Sostenibilidad de la Costa y el Mar) contract 2013/28-5158, the Dirección General del Agua of the Regional Government of Valencia (grant T7588000/512.10) and the Fundación Biodiversidad (grant LIFE Cubomed 2013/2014)

Baseline to Evaluate Off-Site Suspended Sediment-Related Mining Effects in the Alto Tajo Natural Park, Spain

Mining is a human activity with considerable environmental impact. To evaluate such impacts, international laws require undertaking local studies based on direct sampling to establish baseline conditions of parameters modified by human activities. Mining takes place near the Alto Tajo Natural Park, where a suspended sediment concentration (SSC) baseline is required to determine whether mining affects water quality. To this end, we have monitored the Tajo River and its tributary the Tajuelo following Before–After Control-Impact (BACI) techniques, recommended by Australian and New Zealand laws, requiring a specific method based on continuous monitoring and sampling to enable evaluation of SSCs. An SSC baseline has been defined at stations situated upstream of the mining area and compared with those downstream. The highest detected SSC upstream of the Tajuelo mines was 24 g l−1 whereas the highest simultaneous downstream value was 391 g l−1, more than one order of magnitude higher than the supposed baseline (24 g l−1). Additionally, this value is 1000 times more than the average concentration of 25 mg l−1, used by the European Union until 2015, to guarantee the quality of salmonid waters. Following a BACI approach, a statistically significant SSC impact has been identified. The mined areas are the only source that can explain this increase. This is the first instance that such an increase and baseline have been found using this method. BACI is a simple and reliable method recommended for studying degraded areas rather than an irrelevant, fixed standard as included in most international laws. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.This study was funded by: (i) Research Project CGL2010-21754-C02-01 (Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology, and Ministry of Economy); (ii) the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Castile—La Mancha through its socalled “Fondos Verdes” (Green Funding); (iii) the research contract 249/2015 between CAOBAR and UCM; (iv) the Ecological Restoration Network REMEDINAL-3 of the Madrid Community (S2013/MAE-2719); (v) the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) for Ph.D. Grant JAEPredoc to IZAPeer reviewe