Effectiveness of stone treatments in enhancing the durability of bioclastic calcarenite in (Granada, Spain)

La calcarenita de Santa Pudia es uno de los materiales rocosos de construcción más empleados en las edificaciones monumentales de la ciudad de Granada (España). Se ha evaluado la compatibilidad de diversos productos de tratamiento (de consolidación y/o hidrofugación) con esta calcarenita y como son capaces de mejorar su durabilidad. Para ello, se han realizado dos fases de envejecimiento acelerado: la primera tenía el objetivo de acercar el material de cantera sin alterar (“sano”) a las condiciones reales del material puesto en obra y actualmente deteriorado; la segunda, efectuada después de aplicar los tratamientos sobre la calcarenita deteriorada, con el fin de determinar su grado de eficacia. Se ha podido comprobar que aunque, en general, todos los productos de tratamiento seleccionados (Tegosivin HL100, Silo 111, Estel 1100 y Tegovakon V) mejoran las propiedades del material frente al deterioro y apenas modifican sus parámetros cromáticos, el más eficaz es el Tegovakon V ya que es el que proporciona mejores resultados frente a los ensayos hídricos en este litotipo calcáreo.Santa Pudia limestone, a biocalcarenite highly sensitive to decay, is one of the most commonly used building materials in historical monuments in the city of Granada, Spain. The compatibility between a variety of stone treatments (consolidants and/or water repellents) and this calcarenite was analyzed and the resulting improvement in durability assessed. To this end, a two-stage accelerated ageing process was implemented. In the first, freshly quarried, undamaged specimens were altered to resemble the weathered stone in buildings. The second was conducted after applying the various treatments to the artificially aged stone to test their effectiveness. While all the treatments studied (Tegosivin HL100, Silo 111, Estel 1100 and Tegovakon V) enhanced stone resistance to decay while barely affecting chromatic parameters, the most effective was Tegowakon V, as it provided the best results in the hydric tests on the limestone.Este trabajo ha sido financiado por el Grupo RNM179 de la Junta de Andalucía y del Proyecto de Investigación MEC MAT2004-6804

Whole genome sequence analysis of Australian avian pathogenic Escherichia coli that carry the class 1 integrase gene

© 2019 The Authors. Avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) cause widespread economic losses in poultry production and are potential zoonotic pathogens. Genome sequences of 95 APEC from commercial poultry operations in four Australian states that carried the class 1 integrase gene intI1, a proxy for multiple drug resistance (MDR), were characterized. Sequence types ST117 (22/95), ST350 (10/95), ST429 and ST57 (each 9/95), ST95 (8/95) and ST973 (7/95) dominated, while 24 STs were represented by one or two strains. FII and FIB repA genes were the predominant (each 93/95, 98 %) plasmid incompatibility groups identified, but those of B/O/K/Z (25/95, 26 %) and I1 (24/95, 25 %) were also identified frequently. Virulence-associated genes (VAGs) carried by ColV and ColBM virulence plasmids, including those encoding protectins [iss (91/95, 96 %), ompT (91/95, 96 %) and traT (90/95, 95 %)], iron-acquisition systems [sitA (88/95, 93 %), etsA (87/95, 92 %), iroN (84/95, 89 %) and iucD/iutA (84/95, 89 %)] and the putative avian haemolysin hylF (91/95, 96 %), featured prominently. Notably, mobile resistance genes conferring resistance to fluoroquinolones, colistin, extended-spectrum b-lactams and carbapenems were not detected in the genomes of these 95 APEC but carriage of the sulphonamide resistance gene, sul1 (59/95, 63 %), the trimethoprim resistance gene cassettes dfrA5 (48/95, 50 %) and dfrA1 (25/95, 27 %), the tetracycline resistance determinant tet(A) (51/95, 55 %) and the ampicillin resistance genes bla TEM-1A/B/C (48/95, 52 %) was common. IS26 (77/95, 81 %), an insertion element known to capture and mobilize a wide spectrum of antimicrobial resistance genes, was also frequently identified. These studies provide a baseline snapshot of drug-resistant APEC in Australia and their role in the carriage of ColV-like virulence plasmids

Mechanism of cell polarisation and first lineage segregation in the human embryo

The formation of differential cell lineages in the mammalian blastocyst from the totipotent zygote is crucial for implantation and the success of the whole pregnancy. The first lineage segregation generates the polarised trophectoderm (TE) tissue, which forms the placenta, and the apolar inner cell mass (ICM), which mainly gives rise to all foetal tissues and also the yolk sac. The mechanism underlying this cell fate segregation has been extensively studied in the mouse embryo. However, when and how it takes place in the human embryo remains unclear. Here, using time-lapse imaging and 325 surplus human embryos, we provide a detailed characterisation of morphological events and transcription factor expression and localisation to understand how they lead to the first lineage segregation in human embryogenesis. We show that the first lineage segregation of the human embryo is triggered by cell polarisation that occurs at the 8-cell stage in two sequential steps. In the first step, F-actin becomes apically polarised concomitantly with embryo compaction. In the second step, the Par complex becomes polarised to form the apical cellular domain. Mechanistically, we show that activation of Phospholipase C (PLC) triggers actin polarisation and is therefore essential for apical domain formation, as is the case in mouse embryos. Finally, we show that, in contrast to the mouse embryo, the key extra-embryonic determinant GATA3 is expressed not only in extra-embryonic lineage precursors upon blastocyst formation. However, the cell polarity machinery enhances the expression and nuclear accumulation of GATA3. In summary, our results demonstrate for the first time that cell polarisation reinforces the first lineage segregation in the human embryo

Measuring Sperm DNA Fragmentation and Clinical Outcomes of Medically Assisted Reproduction: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Sperm DNA fragmentation has been associated with reduced fertilization rates, embryo quality, pregnancy rates and increased miscarriage rates. Various methods exist to test sperm DNA fragmentation such as the sperm chromatin structure assay (SCSA), the sperm chromatin dispersion (SCD) test, the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate nick end labelling (TUNEL) assay and the single cell gel electrophoresis (Comet) assay. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the value of measuring sperm DNA fragmentation in predicting chance of ongoing pregnancy with IVF or ICSI. Out of 658 unique studies, 30 had extractable data and were thus included in the meta-analysis. Overall, the sperm DNA fragmentation tests had a reasonable to good sensitivity. A wide variety of other factors may also affect the IVF/ICSI outcome, reflected by limited to very low specificity. The constructed hierarchical summary receiver operating characteristic (HSROC) curve indicated a fair discriminatory capacity of the TUNEL assay (area under the curve (AUC) of 0.71; 95% CI 0.66 to 0.74) and Comet assay (AUC of 0.73; 95% CI 0.19 to 0.97). The SCSA and the SCD test had poor predictive capacity. Importantly, for the TUNEL assay, SCD test and Comet assay, meta-regression showed no differences in predictive value between IVF and ICSI. For the SCSA meta-regression indicated the predictive values for IVF and ICSI were different. The present review suggests that current sperm DNA fragmentation tests have limited capacity to predict the chance of pregnancy in the context of MAR. Furthermore, sperm DNA fragmentation tests have little or no difference in predictive value between IVF and ICSI. At this moment, there is insufficient evidence to recommend the routine use of sperm DNA fragmentation tests in couples undergoing MAR both for the prediction of pregnancy and for the choice of treatment. Given the significant limitations of the evidence and the methodological weakness and design of the included studies, we do urge for further research on the predictive value of sperm DNA fragmentation for the chance of pregnancy after MAR, also in comparison with other predictors of pregnancy after MAR