Organic geochemistry of the Villaviciosa estuary record since 1400 AD (North of Spain)

We have reconstructed the palaeoenvironmental conditions in the Villaviciosa estuary during the last 600 yrs, from the biomarker content (alkanes and alkanoic acids) of the sediment. The amino acid racemization method in ostracodes allowed determining that the sedimentation in the Selorio bay started in 1400 AD. Organic matter was well preserved, although certain microbial activity was interpreted. Three periods were established from the alkane content: 1.- Between 1400 and 1580 AD terrestrial input was dominant; 2.- Between 1580 and 1720 AD there was a major influence of aquatic macrophytes, coinciding with the Little Ice Age, 3.- Between 1720 and 2015 AD there were alternating periods during which land plants or aquatic macrophytes predominated, probably linked to anthropogenic activitiesSe han reconstruido las condiciones paleoambientales de la zona de la ría de Villaviciosa de los últimos 600 años, a partir de los biomarcadores (alcanos y ácidos alcanoicos) presentes en el sedimento. El método de racemización de aminoácidos en ostrácodos ha permitido determinar el inicio de la sedimentación en la ensenada de Selorio, en la ría de Villaviciosa, que comenzó en 1400. La preservación de la materia orgánica es buena, aunque se observa una actividad microbiana importante. A partir de los alcanos se han establecido tres episodios: 1.- Entre 1400 y 1580 predominó el aporte de vegetación terrestre, 2.- Entre 1580 y 1720 hubo una mayor abundancia de macrofitas acuáticas, coincidiendo con la Pequeña Edad del Hielo, 3.- Entre 1720 y 2015, hubo una alternancia de aportes terrestres y de macrofitas acuáticas, posiblemente ligados a la acción antrópic

Geoquímica orgánica del registro de la Ría de Villaviciosa desde 1400 ad (norte de España)

We have reconstructed the palaeoenvironmental conditions in the Villaviciosa estuary during the last 600 yrs, from the biomarker content (alkanes and alkanoic acids) of the sediment. The amino acid racemization method in ostracodes allowed determining that the sedimentation in the Selorio bay started in 1400 AD. Organic matter was well preserved, although certain microbial activity was interpreted. Three periods were established from the alkane content: 1.- Between 1400 and 1580 AD terrestrial input was dominant; 2.- Between 1580 and 1720 AD there was a major influence of aquatic macrophytes, coinciding with the Little Ice Age, 3.- Between 1720 and 2015 AD there were alternating periods during which land plants or aquatic macrophytes predominated, probably linked to anthropogenic activities. RESUMEN Se han reconstruido las condiciones paleoambientales de la zona de la ría de Villaviciosa de los últimos 600 años, a partir de los biomarcadores (alcanos y ácidos alcanoicos) presentes en el sedimento. El método de racemización de aminoácidos en ostrácodos ha permitido determinar el inicio de la sedimentación en la ensenada de Selorio, en la ría de Villaviciosa, que comenzó en 1400. La preservación de la materia orgánica es buena, aunque se observa una actividad microbiana importante. A partir de los alcanos se han establecido tres episodios: 1.- Entre 1400 y 1580 predominó el aporte de vegetación terrestre, 2.- Entre 1580 y 1720 hubo una mayor abundancia de macrofitas acuáticas, coincidiendo con la Pequeña Edad del Hielo, 3.- Entre 1720 y 2015, hubo una alternancia de aportes terrestres y de macrofitas acuáticas, posiblemente ligados a la acción antrópica

Preliminary bulk characterization of Picacho tar sands, Pesca municipality (Boyacá, Colombia)

The tar sands are mined in Colombia for paving the local roads. An example of this use is the tar sands of the Picacho Formation, located in the municipality of Pesca, Boyacá. The objective of this study is providing a preliminary bulk characterization to evaluate this resource as a possible source of unconventional hydrocarbons in this area. The study is limited to two fronts of exploitation named the La Emilia and Santa Teresa mines. The methods used comprise elemental analysis, physico-mechanical test, SARA and pyrolysis. The results determine that the unit is composed of siliceous sandstones. The percentages of sulfur are low in most of the samples, except one that reaches 5%, the API gravity between 22.4 and 9.2 indicates that they range between medium and extra heavy crude, the oil fractional composition reflects a higher proportion of resins and asphaltenes, the pyrolysis indicates a high volatile content that completely distill at temperatures below 500ºC.En Colombia las arenas asfálticas las explotan para la pavimentación de vías terciarias, un ejemplo de esto son las areniscas asfálticas de la Formación Picacho, ubicadas en el municipio de Pesca, Boyacá. Este estudio tiene como objetivo una caracterización de las arenas asfálticas con el fin de tener una información preliminar sobre su variación en composición global entre dos frentes de explotación (minas La Emilia y Santa Teresa) con vistas a su posible potencial como fuente de hidrocarburos no convencionales. Los métodos comprenden análisis elementales, físico mecánico, SARA y pirólisis. Los resultados determinan que la unidad está compuesta por areniscas silíceas. Los porcentajes de azufre son bajos en casi todas las muestras, excepto una que alcanza 5%, la gravedad API determina que los crudos presentan un valor de 22,4 y 9,2 indicando que son crudos medios y extra pesados, las fracciones de crudo reflejan una mayor proporción de resinas y asfáltenos, la pirólisis indica un elevado contenido en volátiles que destila a temperaturas por debajo de 500ºC

Eligibility criteria for Menopausal Hormone Therapy (MHT): a position statement from a consortium of scientific societies for the use of MHT in women with medical conditions. MHT Eligibility Criteria Group

This project aims to develop eligibility criteria for menopausal hormone therapy (MHT). The tool should be similar to those already established for contraception A consortium of scientific societies coordinated by the Spanish Menopause Society met to formulate recommendations for the use of MHT by women with medical conditions based on the best available evidence. The project was developed in two phases. As a first step, we conducted 14 systematic reviews and 32 metanalyses on the safety of MHT (in nine areas: age, time of menopause onset, treatment duration, women with thrombotic risk, women with a personal history of cardiovascular disease, women with metabolic syndrome, women with gastrointestinal diseases, survivors of breast cancer or of other cancers, and women who smoke) and on the most relevant pharmacological interactions with MHT. These systematic reviews and metanalyses helped inform a structured process in which a panel of experts defined the eligibility criteria according to a specific framework, which facilitated the discussion and development process. To unify the proposal, the following eligibility criteria have been defined in accordance with the WHO international nomenclature for the different alternatives for MHT (category 1, no restriction on the use of MHT; category 2, the benefits outweigh the risks; category 3, the risks generally outweigh the benefits; category 4, MHT should not be used). Quality was classified as high, moderate, low or very low, based on several factors (including risk of bias, inaccuracy, inconsistency, lack of directionality and publication bias). When no direct evidence was identified, but plausibility, clinical experience or indirect evidence were available, "Expert opinion" was categorized. For the first time, a set of eligibility criteria, based on clinical evidence and developed according to the most rigorous methodological tools, has been defined. This will provide health professionals with a powerful decision-making tool that can be used to manage menopausal symptoms

Combustion behaviour of coals with different inertinite contents.

There is the common belief that coal macerals of inertinite group are essentially inert in any conversion process. Particularly, the low plastic properties achieved by inertinite during the pyrolysis stage of coal combustion are thought to affect the porosity of coal chars and therefore give rise to poor combustion efficiencies.This study reports on the excelent combustion performance of some high inertinite coals, compared with others with the same rank and low inertinite conten

Organic debris and allochthonous coal in Quaternary landforms within a periglacial setting (Longyearbyen Mining District, Norway) - A multi-disciplinary study (coal geology-geomorphology-sedimentology)

High volatile bituminous coal C and B is currently exploited at Spitsbergen-Svalbard, Norway. Several coal seams formed during the Palaeocene, of which some were reworked by mass wasting (MW), (glacial)-fluvial (GF) and coastal-marine wave-dominated (WM) processes under periglacial conditions during the Quaternary. This supergene alteration resulted in different landforms and deposit bearing four different types of depositional environments in Svalbard: (1) Invisible floral and faunal remains, (2) visible floral remains, (3) drift wood, (4) coal placers s. The subaerial slow- and fast-moving MW was accompanied by chemical weathering giving rise to jarosite coatings indicative of acidic meteoric solutions, whereas the remaining subaquatic processes operated under neutral to slightly alkaline conditions. Fast-moving MW and WM are productive processes, whereas GF ones are destructive with regard to coal accumulation. The most efficient tools to study the origin of the OM-bearing coarse-grained deposits are the morphology and orientation of bioclasts while the LER/HER (= low exothermic / high exothermic reaction) ratio is used for finer-grained OM-bearing sediments. The maceral analysis revealed that the landforms accounted for by GF and WM were emplaced as a result of geogenic and anthropogenic processes and aged younger than 1900 CE, while MW is Quaternary and true geogenic. Driftwood is cast in the role of a marker for coal-bearing (fluvial-) marine environments different in age and rank of coalification. With this in mind it is an excellent tool to drawn the boundary in paralic settings between the marine and fluvial impact. In conclusion, coal fragments are markers for short-term, periodical and fast landform-building processes, whereas siliciclasts from the host and bedrock are markers for long-term and episodical geomorphological and sedimentological supergene alteration.Peer reviewe

The fluvio-lacustrine system of Añavieja: facies and sedimentary evolution during the Holocene. Iberian Range. NE of Spain

The study of the Holocene sediments from AÑ1, AÑ2 and DV1 cores, drilled between Añavieja and Dévanos (Soria), has allowed to define nine sedimentary facies: black and grey lutites, brown lutites with carbonate nodules, phytoherms, yellow sands, 'yellow sands with tufa debris, yellow silts, black lutites with macrophyte remains and tufa debris, and gravels. These facies permit to interpret the Holocene as a fluvio-lacustrine area integrated by a shallow lake that passed downwards into a fluvial system with a high tufa development. The fluvial system corresponds to the barrage fluviatile model. Eleven new radiometric datings (14C and U/Th) allow to establish a precise correlation between cores and evidence noticeable changes in thickness for the Holocene series, from 6 m-thick in the lake to more that 20 m-thick in the pools between tufa barrier

Functional Characterization of a Familial ALS-Associated Missense <i>TBK1</i> (p-Arg573Gly) Mutation in Patient-Derived Lymphoblasts

The goal of this work was to elucidate the pathogenic mechanism of an ALS-associated missense mutation, p.Arg573Gly (R573G), in the TBK1 gene. In particular, we seek to analyze the influence of this variant on the cellular levels and the function of TBK1 in immortalized cells from an ALS patient. The patient (Code# E7) belonged to a Spanish family with autosomal dominant disease manifesting in the sixth decade as either dementia or ALS. Four control individuals without signs of neurological disease were also included in this study. Our results indicate that the R375G TBK1 mutation did not affect the levels of mRNA nor the total TBK1 content; however, we observed a significant decrease in the levels of TBK1 phosphorylation, which is essential for TBK1 activity, as well as a significant reduction in the phosphorylation of p62 and RIPK1, known substrates for TBK1. Lymphoblasts from the R573G TBK1 mutation carrier patient display pathological TDP-43 homeostasis, showing elevated levels of phosphorylated TDP-43 and accumulation of the protein in the cytosolic compartment. In addition, the functional decrease in TBK1 activity observed in the E7 patient did not alter the autophagy flux, but it seems to be enough to increase ROS levels as well as the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-6

Functional Characterization of a Familial ALS-Associated Missense TBK1 (p-Arg573Gly) Mutation in Patient-Derived Lymphoblasts

The goal of this work was to elucidate the pathogenic mechanism of an ALS-associated missense mutation, p.Arg573Gly (R573G), in the TBK1 gene. In particular, we seek to analyze the influence of this variant on the cellular levels and the function of TBK1 in immortalized cells from an ALS patient. The patient (Code# E7) belonged to a Spanish family with autosomal dominant disease manifesting in the sixth decade as either dementia or ALS. Four control individuals without signs of neurological disease were also included in this study. Our results indicate that the R375G TBK1 mutation did not affect the levels of mRNA nor the total TBK1 content; however, we observed a significant decrease in the levels of TBK1 phosphorylation, which is essential for TBK1 activity, as well as a significant reduction in the phosphorylation of p62 and RIPK1, known substrates for TBK1. Lymphoblasts from the R573G TBK1 mutation carrier patient display pathological TDP-43 homeostasis, showing elevated levels of phosphorylated TDP-43 and accumulation of the protein in the cytosolic compartment. In addition, the functional decrease in TBK1 activity observed in the E7 patient did not alter the autophagy flux, but it seems to be enough to increase ROS levels as well as the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-6