Mineralogía de los materiales detríticos de la Fm. Escucha (Albiense inferior) en el distrito minero de Teruel (sector Suroriental de la Cordillera Ibérica)

The present study focuses on the determination of the source areas of the Escucha Fm. (Albian) sediments in the Teruel Mining District (NE Spain). To this en4 we have carried out a detailed study of the heavy mineral fraction of the sandstone beds from this sedimentary unit at three stratigraphic successions at the Ariño-Oliete and Utrillas subbasins. The minerals found in the stratigraphic successions studied are in low proportions and a few mineral phases are present. Quartz is the dominant phase in the light mineral association, whereas potassium feldspars and plagioclase are in trace amounts. The opaque heavy minerals are hematite and goethite with minor amounts of pyrite. Finally, the transparent heavy minerals may be divided into the three following major associations: a) turmaline, zircon and rutile (resistant minerals); b) kyanite, staurolite and almandine (metamorphic association); and c) metamorphic mineral association from the Ctrillas sub-basin, characterised by very low heavy mineral proportions, and by the absence of one or various mineral phases from the association b. The flow directions from paleochannels and the absence of metarnorphic minerals in the sandstone levels of the upper unit of the Escucha Fm at the northern areas point to the "Platuforma del Ebro" as a possihle source area The minerals with this origin, with variable morphoscopy, could proceed from sedimentary recycling The metamorphic assemblage found in the southern areas may proceed from the "Macizo Castellano", where gneiss and mica-schists are present. It is not possible to precisse exactly the age of the source areas of the detrital sediments of the Escucha Fm This is due to the fact that these may have been different through the basin evolution, and also to the evidence of recycling processes The middle and lower units of the Escucha Fm at Ariño and Oliete, where the workable coa1 seams are present, show a metamorphic assemblage which demonstrate the Paleozoic age of the source lands Consequently, the Triassic units could also supply detrital minerals to the delta system of the Escucha Fm. These results are consistent with the hypothesis of the Triassic origin of the sulphur enrichment of the coals from the Ariño-Oliete area The recycling of detrital sediments from the Escucha Fm or a different source lana could account for the proteciion of the Utrillas sub-basin against the Triassic sulphate supply, and consequently for the lower sulphur content of the coals from this area.

Mineralogía de los materiales detríticos de la Fm. Escucha (Albiense inferior) en el distrito minero de Teruel (sector Suroriental de la Cordillera Ibérica)

The present study focuses on the determination of the source areas of the Escucha Fm. (Albian) sediments in the Teruel Mining District (NE Spain). To this en4 we have carried out a detailed study of the heavy mineral fraction of the sandstone beds from this sedimentary unit at three stratigraphic successions at the Ariño-Oliete and Utrillas subbasins. The minerals found in the stratigraphic successions studied are in low proportions and a few mineral phases are present. Quartz is the dominant phase in the light mineral association, whereas potassium feldspars and plagioclase are in trace amounts. The opaque heavy minerals are hematite and goethite with minor amounts of pyrite. Finally, the transparent heavy minerals may be divided into the three following major associations: a) turmaline, zircon and rutile (resistant minerals); b) kyanite, staurolite and almandine (metamorphic association); and c) metamorphic mineral association from the Ctrillas sub-basin, characterised by very low heavy mineral proportions, and by the absence of one or various mineral phases from the association b. The flow directions from paleochannels and the absence of metarnorphic minerals in the sandstone levels of the upper unit of the Escucha Fm at the northern areas point to the "Platuforma del Ebro" as a possihle source area The minerals with this origin, with variable morphoscopy, could proceed from sedimentary recycling The metamorphic assemblage found in the southern areas may proceed from the "Macizo Castellano", where gneiss and mica-schists are present. It is not possible to precisse exactly the age of the source areas of the detrital sediments of the Escucha Fm This is due to the fact that these may have been different through the basin evolution, and also to the evidence of recycling processes The middle and lower units of the Escucha Fm at Ariño and Oliete, where the workable coa1 seams are present, show a metamorphic assemblage which demonstrate the Paleozoic age of the source lands Consequently, the Triassic units could also supply detrital minerals to the delta system of the Escucha Fm. These results are consistent with the hypothesis of the Triassic origin of the sulphur enrichment of the coals from the Ariño-Oliete area The recycling of detrital sediments from the Escucha Fm or a different source lana could account for the proteciion of the Utrillas sub-basin against the Triassic sulphate supply, and consequently for the lower sulphur content of the coals from this area.

A one-year follow-up study of the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT) and the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT) in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis : an appraisal of comparative longitudinal sensitivity

Altres ajuts: We also thank Ignasi Gich from Department of Epidemiology, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau for his advice on statistical analysis.Neuropsychological batteries are infrequently used to assess cognitive impairment in multiple sclerosis because they are time-consuming and require trained personnel. The Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT) is suggested to be a useful screening tool to measure cognitive impairment in multiple sclerosis patients and is more valid and reliable over time than the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT). The purpose of this study was to evaluate which of these tests was more sensitive to cognitive impairment at one-year follow-up. A total of 237 patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis and 57 healthy controls underwent a complete neuropsychological assessment. One year later, we assessed 196 patients using the Brief Repeatable Battery of Neuropsychological Tests. We also administered other executive function and prospective memory tests, together with fatigue and depression questionnaires. A total of 33.8% of patients were classified as cognitively impaired. The SDMT and the PASAT 3 seconds test (PASAT3) had a sensitivity of 0.809 and 0.783, respectively, thereby classifying patients as cognitively impaired. Analysis of 196 patients one year later showed 31.6% had cognitive impairment compared with 27.6% at the first assessment. The sensitivity to detect cognitive impairment after one year was 0.824 for SDMT and 0.796 for PASAT3. When the predictors were removed from the comparative standard battery, SDMT still showed a slightly higher sensitivity. Both SDMT and PASAT3 correlated significantly with all tests, but SDMT showed higher correlation values. Furthermore, SDMT was completed by all subjects while PASAT3 was completed by 86.9% of patients and 94.7% of controls. SDMT is simpler to administer than PASAT3 and may be slightly more sensitive to MS cognitive impairment. It could thus be a suitable test to assess cognitive impairment routinely in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis

Historical earthquake parameters by geological and seismic site analysis: the 1908 Cerbon earthquake (Spain)

Seismic catalogues summarize information mainly on recent earthquakes and seismic events, recorded by means of relatively new instruments. Hence, this information, although being of high quality and quantitative value, sometimes is rather incomplete, since historical earthquakes are neglected in many cases. An example is the 1908 Cerbón earthquake (in Spain). This shake caused a good number of effects in the epicentre and surrounding area, triggering a huge landslide among some other effects. A complete geological and seismic site analysis, accompanied by a historical review of testimonies and journals of the time describing this particular earthquake, has been carried out, along with a deep field investigation to identify the mechanism of this landslide and the characteristics of the involved materials. A retrospective pseudo-static numerical simulation has been carried out to calculate the most probable range of peak horizontal accelerations during the earthquake. The results demonstrate the moderate relevance of this shake, also allowing us to quantify its objective importance. The presented methodology can be easily extended to some other similar cases, if seismic catalogues are to be completed for future designs accounting for seismic considerations

Determination of HLA-A, -B, -C, -DRB1 and -DQB1 allele and haplotype frequencies in heart failure patients

Altres ajuts: Fundació La MARATÓ de TV3 (201502, 201516).Altres ajuts: PERIS/SLT002-16-00234Altres ajuts: PERIS/SLT002-16-00209Aims: Cell therapy can be used to repair functionally impaired organs and tissues in humans. Although autologous cells have an immunological advantage, it is difficult to obtain high cell numbers for therapy. Well-characterized banks of cells with human leukocyte antigens (HLA) that are representative of a given population are thus needed. The present study investigates the HLA allele and haplotype frequencies in a cohort of heart failure (HF) patients. Methods and results: We carried out the HLA typing and the allele and haplotype frequency analysis in 247 ambulatory HF patients. We determined HLA class I (A, B, and C) and class II (DRB1 and DQB1) using next-generation sequencing technology. The allele frequencies were obtained using Python for Population Genomics (PyPop) software, and HLA haplotypes were estimated using HaploStats. A total of 30 HLA-A, 56 HLA-B, 23 HLA-C, 36 HLA-DRB1, and 15 HLA-DQB1 distinct alleles were identified within the studied cohort. The genotype frequencies of all five HLA loci were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. We detected differences in HLA allele frequencies among patients when the etiological cause of HF was considered. There were a total of 494 five-loci haplotypes, five of which were present six or more times. Moreover, the most common estimated HLA haplotype was HLA-A*01:01, HLA-B*08:01, HLA-C*07:01, HLA-DRB1*03:01, and HLA-DQB1*02:01 (6.07% haplotype frequency per patient). Remarkably, the 11 most frequent haplotypes would cover 31.17% of the patients of the cohort in need of allogeneic cell therapy. Conclusions: Our findings could be useful for improving allogeneic cell administration outcomes without concomitant immunosuppression

Systematic literature review of burden of illness in chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP)

Altres ajuts: CSL Behring GmbHBackground: Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) is a rare neurological disorder characterised by muscle weakness and impaired sensory function. The present study provides a comprehensive literature review of the burden of illness of CIDP. Methods: Systematic literature search of PubMed, Embase, and key conferences in May 2019. Search terms identified studies on the epidemiology, humanistic burden, current treatment, and economic burden of CIDP published since 2009 in English. Results: Forty-five full texts and nineteen conference proceedings were identified on the epidemiology (n = 9), humanistic burden (n = 7), current treatment (n = 40), and economic burden (n = 8) of CIDP. Epidemiological studies showed incidence and prevalence of 0.2-1.6 and 0.8-8.9 per 100,000, respectively, depending on geography and diagnostic criteria. Humanistic burden studies revealed that patients experienced physical and psychosocial burden, including impaired physical function, pain and depression. Publications on current treatments reported on six main types of therapy: intravenous immunoglobulins, subcutaneous immunoglobulins, corticosteroids, plasma exchange, immunosuppressants, and immunomodulators. Treatments may be burdensome, due to adverse events and reduced independence caused by treatment administration setting. In Germany, UK, France, and the US, CIDP economic burden was driven by direct costs of treatment and hospitalisation. CIDP was associated with indirect costs driven by impaired productivity. Conclusions: This first systematic review of CIDP burden of illness demonstrates the high physical and psychosocial burden of this rare disease. Future research is required to fully characterise the burden of CIDP, and to understand how appropriate treatment can mitigate burden for patients and healthcare systems

Quantitative assessment of the variability in chemical profiles from source apportionment analysis of PM10 and PM2.5 at different sites within a large metropolitan area

The study aims to assess the differences between the chemical profiles of the major anthropogenic and natural PM sources in two areas with different levels of urbanization and traffic density within the same urban agglomeration. A traffic site and an urban background site in the Athens Metropolitan Area have been selected for this comparison. For both sites, eight sources were identified, with seven of them being common for the two sites (Mineral Dust, non-Exhaust Emissions, Exhaust Emissions, Heavy Oil Combustion, Sulfates & Organics, Sea Salt and Biomass Burning) and one, site-specific (Nitrates for the traffic site and Aged Sea Salt for the urban background site). The similarity between the source profiles was quantified using two statistical analysis tools, Pearson correlation (PC) and Standardized Identity Distance (SID). According to Pearson coefficients five out of the eight source profiles present high (PC > 0.8) correlation (Mineral Dust, Biomass Burning, Sea Salt, Sulfates and Heavy Oil Combustion), one presented moderate (0.8 > PC > 0.6) correlation (Exhaust) and two low/no (PC < 0.6) correlation (non-Exhaust, Nitrates/Aged Sea Salt). The source profiles that appear to be more correlated are those of sources that are not expected to have high spatial variability because there are either natural/secondary and thus have a regional character or are emitted outside the urban agglomeration and are transported to both sites. According to SID four out of the eight sources have high statistical correlation (SID < 1) in the two sites (Mineral Dust, Sea salt, Sulfates, Heavy Oil Combustion). Biomass Burning was found to be the source that yielded different results from the two methodologies. The careful examination of the source profile of that source revealed the reason for this discrepancy. SID takes all the species of the profile equally into account, while PC might be disproportionally affected by a few numbers of species with very high concentrations. It is suggested, based on the findings of this work, that the combined use of both tools can lead the users to a thorough evaluation of the similarity of source profiles. This work is, to the best of our knowledge, the first time a study is focused on the quantitative comparison of the source profiles for sites inside the same urban agglomeration using statistical indicators.The study was supported by “CALIBRA/EYIE” (MIS 5002799) and “PANhellenic infrastructure for Atmospheric Composition and climatE change” (MIS 5021516) implemented under the Action “Reinforcement of the Research and Innovation Infrastructure”, funded by the Operational Programme “Competitiveness, Entrepreneurship and Innovation” (NSRF 2014–2020) and co-financed by Greece and the European Union (European Regional Development Fund). Collection and chemical analysis of samples were supported by LIFE + AIRUSE EU project (ENV/ES/584). Partial support was also received by H2020 ERAPLANET/SMURBS ERANET GA No 689443.Peer reviewe

Including Functional Annotations and Extending the Collection of Structural Classifications of Protein Loops (ArchDB)

Loops represent an important part of protein structures. The study of loop is critical for two main reasons: First, loops are often involved in protein function, stability and folding. Second, despite improvements in experimental and computational structure prediction methods, modeling the conformation of loops remains problematic. Here, we present a structural classification of loops, ArchDB, a mine of information with application in both mentioned fields: loop structure prediction and function prediction. ArchDB (http://sbi.imim.es/archdb) is a database of classified protein loop motifs. The current database provides four different classification sets tailored for different purposes. ArchDB-40, a loop classification derived from SCOP40, well suited for modeling common loop motifs. Since features relevant to loop structure or function can be more easily determined on well-populated clusters, we have developed ArchDB-95, a loop classification derived from SCOP95. This new classification set shows a ~40% increase in the number of subclasses, and a large 7-fold increase in the number of putative structure/function-related subclasses. We also present ArchDB-EC, a classification of loop motifs from enzymes, and ArchDB-KI, a manually annotated classification of loop motifs from kinases. Information about ligand contacts and PDB sites has been included in all classification sets. Improvements in our classification scheme are described, as well as several new database features, such as the ability to query by conserved annotations, sequence similarity, or uploading 3D coordinates of a protein. The lengths of classified loops range between 0 and 36 residues long. ArchDB offers an exhaustive sampling of loop structures. Functional information about loops and links with related biological databases are also provided. All this information and the possibility to browse/query the database through a web-server outline an useful tool with application in the comparative study of loops, the analysis of loops involved in protein function and to obtain templates for loop modeling

Mechanisms of institutional continuity in neoliberal "success stories" : developmental regimes in Chile and Estonia

© 2015 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc. Several mycoplasmas, such as the emergent human pathogen Mycoplasma genitalium, developed a complex polar structure, known as the terminal organelle (TO), responsible for a new type of cellular motility, which is involved in a variety of cell functions: cell division, adherence to host cells, and virulence. The TO cytoskeleton is organized as a multisubunit dynamic motor, including three main ultrastructures: the terminal button, the electrodense core, and the wheel complex. Here, we describe the interaction between MG200 and MG491, two of the main components of the TO wheel complex that connects the TO with the cell body and the cell membrane. The interaction between MG200 and MG491 has a KD in the 80 nM range, as determined by surface plasmon resonance. The interface between the two partners was confined to the >enriched in aromatic and glycine residues> (EAGR) box of MG200, previously described as a protein-protein interaction domain, and to a 25-residue-long peptide from the C-terminal region of MG491 by surface plasmon resonance and NMR spectroscopy studies. An atomic description of the MG200 EAGR box binding surface was also provided by solution NMR. An M. genitalium mutant lacking the MG491 segment corresponding to the peptide reveals specific alterations in cell motility and cell morphology indicating that the MG200-MG491 interaction plays a key role in the stability and functioning of the TO.This work was supported by Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion Grants BFU2012-36827 (to I. F.) and BFU2010-22209-C02-01 (to E. Q.), a grant from the Centre de Referencia de R+D de Biotecnologia (Generalitat de Catalunya, Spain) (to E. Q.), and by FEDER funds through the Operational Competitiveness Programme-COMPETE and by Portuguese national funds through FCT-Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia under Project FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-027581 (EXPL/BBB-BQB/0546/2012) (to B. C.). The NMR characterization was conducted through the FP7 Access to Research Infrastructures (Bio-NMR Contract 261863) and by Instruct, which is part of the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) and supported by national member subscriptionsPeer Reviewe