Characterization of the ECF sigma factor PP_0865 of Pseudomonas putida KT2442

Motivation: Pseudomonas putida is a well characterized environmental bacterium capable of removing toxic components, including heavy metals and xenobiotics from different provenance including contaminated soils or water. Also, P. putida has been successfully shown to efficiently work as cell factories, for the synthesis of different products of biotechnological interest (1). We are interested in the characterization of an alternative extracituplasmic sigma factor (PP_0865) that may contribute to this detoxification ability of KT2442 (2). Methods: We used the following methods to characterize ECF sigma factor PP_0865:- RT-qPCR: Expression determination of PP_0865 in different mediums with different carbon availability; i.e. LB, succinate and oxaloacetate. - β- galactosidase activity: Expression determination using a transcriptional fusion of the promoter region of PP0865 to lacZ. We assayed its activity in LB medium and a minimal medium containing succinate in the wild type background and in a cbrB mutant, which is a global control regulator which may regulate the ECF expression.- Growth curve of the wild type KT2442 strains and a deletion mutant of the ECF sigma factor (MPO526) or the anti-sigma element (MPO527) in a minimal medium containing succinate as a carbon source in the presence of an excess of iron (34mM FeCl3) and in the total absence of iron (3). - Metal ions screening: We analysed the tolerance of strains KT2442, MPO526 and MPO527 to copper, zinc and cobalt in LB medium with a supplement of 2 mM CuCl2, 3 mM ZnCl2 and LB 0,6 mM CoCl2.Results:- PP_0865 seems to be overexpressed in LB compared to succinate and oxaloacetate, both by RT-qPCR and β-Galactosidase analysis. - There are no significant differences in the growth of KT2442, MPO526 or MPO527 strains in the presence or absence of iron.- Mutant strain MPO527 seems to be more tolerant to copper than KT2442 and MPO526.Conclusions: Preliminary data indicate that the ECF sigma factor system PP_0865-PP_0867 may be involved in the tolerance to metal ions such as copper

Historia clínica y niveles indetectables de troponina de alta sensibilidad en la evaluación del riesgo de pacientes con dolor torácico agudo y primera determinación de troponina normal

Introducción: Actualmente sigue siendo un reto la estratificación de los pacientes con dolor torácico agudo de origen incierto y troponina (Tn) normal. En los últimos años se han desarrollado varios algoritmos basados en las Tn cardiaca de alta sensibilidad (TnC-as), sin importar los datos clínicos en la toma de decisiones. Hipótesis: En los pacientes con dolor torácico agudo de origen incierto y niveles normales de TnC-as en la primera determinación, se podrá elaborar un modelo predictivo basado en la combinación de los niveles de ésta junto con escalas clínicas de riesgo, que permita una mejor estratificación del riesgo de estos pacientes. Objetivo: Estudiar el valor pronóstico de combinar los niveles de TnC-as en la primera determinación junto con las escalas clínicas de riesgo en estos pacientes, mediante el análisis del objetivo combinado derivado de: muerte, IAM o necesidad de revascularización a 1 año. Material y métodos: Se analizaron de forma retrospectiva una muestra de pacientes consecutivos que acudieron a nuestro hospital por presentar un episodio de dolor torácico agudo de origen incierto con primera determinación de TnC-as normal. Se recogieron todos los datos sociodemográficos y los antecedentes de la población a estudio, así como las características clínicas de la presentación y el ingreso. Además, se realizó un seguimiento de la evolución clínica, recogiéndose los ECMA (muerte, IAM y revascularización) hasta 1 año tras el alta. Posteriormente se llevó a cabo el análisis estadístico de los datos recogidos, prestando especial atención al análisis de los predictores de ECMA, así como al valor pronóstico de la TnC-as en la primera determinación y de las escalas clínicas de riesgo de forma aislada, y posteriormente de forma combinada. Resultados: La población a estudio estuvo finalmente formada por 2254 pacientes. Un total de 91 (4%) pacientes presentaron el objetivo principal (muerte, IAM o revascularización), mientras que 56 (2,5%) presentaron el objetivo secundario (muerte o IAM). Al llevar a cabo el análisis de los modelos predictivos, se observó que el valor pronóstico de la combinación de la TnC-as junto con las escalas clínicas de riesgo HEART (ABC 0,870) y Sanchis (0,876), fue el modelo predictivo que mejores resultados ofrecía, por encima de la TnC-as en la primera determinación de forma aislada, tanto de forma dicotómica (0,686) como continua (0,783), y de las escalas clínicas de riesgo de forma aislada (GRACE 0,692; TIMI 0,794; HEART 0,843; Sanchis: 0,806). Conclusiones: En la evaluación de los pacientes que acuden al servicio de urgencias con dolor torácico agudo de origen incierto y primera determinación de TnC-as normal, la combinación de los niveles indetectables y la cuantificación de las concentraciones detectables de TnC-as en la primera determinación, junto con las escalas clínicas de riesgo, ha demostrado presentar la mejor capacidad discriminativa en la estratificación de riesgo a 1año.Introduction: Actually, risk stratification of patients with acute chest pain of uncertain origin and normal cardiac troponin (cTn) remains a challenge. In recent years, several management algorithms have been developed based on high-sensitivity cTn (hs-cTn), regardless of clinical data in decision-making. Hypothesis: In patients with acute chest pain of uncertain origin and normal levels of hs-cTn in the first determination at the emergency department, a predictive model can be developed based on the combination of the hs-cTn levels together with clinical risk scores, which allows a better risk stratification of these patients. Objective: To study the prognostic value of combining hs-cTn levels in the first determination together with clinical risk scores in these patients, by analyzing the combined objective derived from: death, AMI or need for revascularization at 1 year follow-up. Material and methods: A sample of consecutive patients who consulted to our hospital due to an episode of acute chest pain of uncertain origin with a normal initial hs-cTn determination was retrospectively analysed. All sociodemographic and clinical history data of the study population were collected, as well as the clinical characteristics at presentation and hospital admission. In addition, major adverse cardiac events (MACE) - death, AMI and need for revascularization - up to 1 year after discharge were collected. Subsequently, the statistical analysis of the data was carried out, paying special attention to the analysis of the independent predictors of MACE, as well as the prognostic value of hs-cTn in the first determination and of the clinical risk scores individually, and subsequently when combined. Results: The study population was finally made up of 2254 patients. A total of 91 (4%) patients presented the primary endpoint (death, AMI, or revascularization), while 56 (2.5%) presented the secondary endpoint (death or AMI). When carrying out the analysis of the predictive models, we observed that the prognostic value of the combination of hs-TnC together with the HEART (AUC 0.870) and Sanchis (0.876) clinical risk scores, was the best predictive model. Significantly better than the models of hs-cTn in the first determination (dichotomous (0.686) and continuous (0.783)), and clinical risk scores (GRACE 0.692; TIMI 0.794; HEART 0.843; Sanchis: 0.806) individually. Conclusions: In the evaluation of patients presenting to the emergency department with acute chest pain of uncertain origin and first determination of normal hs-cTn, the combination of determining undetectable levels and the quantification of detectable concentrations of hs-cTn in the first determination, together with clinical risk scores, has been shown to have the best discriminative capacity in the risk stratification of these patients at 1 year

Evaluation of statistical downscaling methods for climate change projections over Spain: future conditions with pseudo reality (transferability experiment)

The Spanish Meteorological Agency (AEMET) is responsible for the elaboration of downscaled climate projections over Spain to feed the Second National Plan of Adaptation to Climate Change (PNACC-2) and this is the last of three papers aimed to evaluate and intercompare five empirical/statistical downscaling (ESD) methods developed at AEMET: (a) Analog, (b) Regression, (c) Artificial Neural Networks, (d) Support Vector Machines and (e) Kernel Ridge Regression, in order to decide which methods and under what configurations are more suitable for that purpose. Following the framework established by the EU COST Action VALUE, in this experiment we test the transferability of these methods to future climate conditions with the use of regional climate models (RCMs) as pseudo observations. We evaluate the marginal aspects of the distributions of daily maximum/minimum temperatures and daily accumulated precipitation, over mainland Spain and the Balearic Islands, analysed by season. For maximum/minimum temperatures all methods display certain transferability issues, being remarkable for Support Vector Machines and Kernel Ridge Regression. For precipitation all methods appear to suffer from transferability difficulties as well, although conclusions are not as clear as for temperature, probably due to the fact that precipitation does not present such a marked signal of change. This study has revealed how an analysis over a historical period is not enough to fully evaluate ESD methods, so we propose that some type of analysis of transferability should be added in a standard procedure of a complete evaluation.Marta Domínguez has received funding from the MEDSCOPE project co-funded by the European Commission as part of ERA4CS, an ERA-NET initiated by JPI Climate, grant agreement 690462. MEDSCOPE, Grant/Award Number: 69046

A critical view on the suitability of machine learning techniques to downscale climate change projections : illustration for temperature with a toy experiment

Machine learning is a growing field of research with many applications. It provides a series of techniques able to solve complex nonlinear problems, and that has promoted their application for statistical downscaling. Intercomparison exercises with other classical methods have so far shown promising results. Nevertheless, many evaluation studies of statistical downscaling methods neglect the analysis of their extrapolation capability. In this study, we aim to make a wakeup call to the community about the potential risks of using machine learning for statistical downscaling of climate change projections. We present a set of three toy experiments, applying three commonly used machine learning algorithms, two different implementations of artificial neural networks and a support vector machine, to downscale daily maximum temperature, and comparing them with the classical multiple linear regression. We have tested the four methods in and out of their calibration range, and have found how the three machine learning techniques can perform poorly under extrapolation. Additionally, we have analysed the impact of this extrapolation issue depending on the degree of overlapping between the training and testing datasets, and we have found very different sensitivities for each method and specific implementation

Estudio petrológico y termobarométrico de los esquistos de Riás(NO Macizo Ibérico)

[ES]Los Esquistos de Riás afloran en el parautóctono del orógeno Varisco de Iberia, en el entorno del Complejode Malpica-Tui (NO del Macizo Ibérico), en el sector interno más occidental de la Cadena Varisca Europea. Sehan identificado tres eventos metamórficos en los Esquistos de Riás (M1, M2y post-M2). M1incluye microin-clusiones sin orientación preferente que sólo se han identificado en los núcleos de los porfiroblastos de gra-nate y en los cristales de estaurolita. M2comprende la foliación principal de la matriz (S2) y está constituidopor la paragénesis granateBORDE+ estaurolita + moscovita + biotita + clorita + rutilo/ilmenita + magnetita + cuar-zo y el desarrollo de porfiroblastos sintectónicos de andalucita. El evento post-M2(post-S2) incluye andaluci-ta y plagioclasa, además de moscovita, biotita y clorita secundarias y cantidades accesorias de turmalina, óxi-dos de Fe-Ti y carbonato. Los resultados de las técnicas de termobarometría multiequilibrio(pseudosecciones presión-temperatura), caracterizan M2como un evento metamórfico Barroviense de mediapresión (0.5-0.6 GPa; 580-570 oC; ca. 20 de profundidad) seguido de una exhumación con enfriamiento mode-rado, coetánea con el colapso extensional de la pila orogénica Varisca (post-M2;0.3 GPa; 540 oC; ca. 10 km deprofundidad). Las estimaciones realizadas en los Esquistos de Riás, y su relación espacial con los esquistospelíticos de alta presión del alóctono (i.e. Esquistos de Ceán), sugieren que ambas litologías formaron parte del mismo margen continental durante el comienzo de la orogenia Varisca, pero experimentaron evolucionestectonotermales muy distintas por su posición original en la cuña orogénica.[EN]The Riás Schists crop out in the so-called Iberian Variscan parautochthon, surrounding the Malpica-TuiComplex (NW Iberian Massif), as part of the westernmost internal areas of the European Variscan belt. ThreeVariscan metamorphic events have been identified in the Riás Schists (M1, M2and post-M2). M1compriseunoriented microinclusions that have only been identified in garnet porphyroblast cores and inside staurolitecrystals. M2, comprises the matrix foliation (S2) and the assemblage garnetRIM+ staurolite + muscovite + biotite+ chlorite + rutile/ilmenite + magnetite + quartz and the development of syntectonic andalusite. Finally, post-M2(post-S2) includes andalusite and plagioclase together with secondary muscovite, biotite and chlorite andaccessory tourmaline, Fe/Ti oxides, apatite and carbonate. Results of multi-equilibrium thermobarometry(pressure-temperature pseudosections), for M2indicates a medium-pressure Barrovian metamorphic event(0.5-0.6 GPa; 580-570 oC; ca. 20 km deep), followed by moderate cooling during decompression, together withthe extensional collapse of the Variscan orogenic pile (post-M2;0.3 GPa; 540 oC; ca. 10 km deep). Inferred P

Plan de negocio para la creación de una empresa de ropa cuya fibra textil sea a base de plástico reciclable

EmprendimientoEste es un plan de negocios, que busca generar un efecto positivo en el medio ambiente, reduciendo la huella de plástico en la ciudad de Bogotá D.C, esto por medio de la fabricación de camisetas de colores negro, blanco, y vino tinto; las cuales, estarán fabricadas con una fibra textil a base de plástico PET, las cuales son enfocadas a los jóvenes entre 15 y 24 años de edad.INTRODUCCIÓN 1. ANTECEDENTES. 2. JUSTIFICACIÓN. 3. IDENTIFICACIÓN DEL PROBLEMA 4. IDEACIÓN 6. ETAPA DE PROTOTIPADO CONCLUSIONES BIBLIOGRAFÍAPregradoEconomist

Timed Automata Semantics for Visual e-Contracts

C-O Diagrams have been introduced as a means to have a more visual representation of electronic contracts, where it is possible to represent the obligations, permissions and prohibitions of the different signatories, as well as what are the penalties in case of not fulfillment of their obligations and prohibitions. In such diagrams we are also able to represent absolute and relative timing constraints. In this paper we present a formal semantics for C-O Diagrams based on timed automata extended with an ordering of states and edges in order to represent different deontic modalities.Comment: In Proceedings FLACOS 2011, arXiv:1109.239

Fibrosis, the Bad Actor in Cardiorenal Syndromes: Mechanisms Involved

Cardiorenal syndrome is a term that defines the complex bidirectional nature of the interaction between cardiac and renal disease. It is well established that patients with kidney disease have higher incidence of cardiovascular comorbidities and that renal dysfunction is a significant threat to the prognosis of patients with cardiac disease. Fibrosis is a common characteristic of organ injury progression that has been proposed not only as a marker but also as an important driver of the pathophysiology of cardiorenal syndromes. Due to the relevance of fibrosis, its study might give insight into the mechanisms and targets that could potentially be modulated to prevent fibrosis development. The aim of this review was to summarize some of the pathophysiological pathways involved in the fibrotic damage seen in cardiorenal syndromes, such as inflammation, oxidative stress and endoplasmic reticulum stress, which are known to be triggers and mediators of fibrosis

Personal and Social Responsibility Model through Sport as methodological proposal for adolescents education in values

Resumen basado en el de la publicaciónTítulo, resumen y palabras clave también en inglésSe presenta el Modelo de Responsabilidad Personal y Social, desarrollado por Donald Hellison, como herramienta para la educación en valores y la mejora de la convivencia escolar a través de las clases de educación física y el deporte escolar. Se describe la metodología y las características del mismo, distinguiendo los cinco niveles de los que se compone (respeto por los demás, participación y esfuerzo, autonomía personal, ayuda a los demás y liderazgo y transferencia fuera del contexto deportivo), la estructura de las sesiones de intervención (toma de conciencia, la responsabilidad en acción, encuentro de grupo así como evaluación y autoevaluación) y pautas que debe seguir el educador en sus intervenciones. Del mismo modo, se ofrece una revisión actualizada de los principales trabajos de aplicación de este modelo, analizando sus características y los principales resultados obtenidos por los investigadores que han aplicado este modelo tanto en España como en el extranjero.ES

Distributed System Contract Monitoring

The use of behavioural contracts, to specify, regulate and verify systems, is particularly relevant to runtime monitoring of distributed systems. System distribution poses major challenges to contract monitoring, from monitoring-induced information leaks to computation load balancing, communication overheads and fault-tolerance. We present mDPi, a location-aware process calculus, for reasoning about monitoring of distributed systems. We define a family of Labelled Transition Systems for this calculus, which allow formal reasoning about different monitoring strategies at different levels of abstractions. We also illustrate the expressivity of the calculus by showing how contracts in a simple contract language can be synthesised into different mDPi monitors.Comment: In Proceedings FLACOS 2011, arXiv:1109.239