The significance of «Peña Prieta» stock in the magmatism of the «Pisuerga-Carrion» unit (Cantabrian Zone, N of Spain)

[Resumen] Se describe en este trabajo el stock intrusivo de Peña Prieta, el mayor y más complejo, estructural y petrológicamente, del conjunto de rocas ígneas emplazadas en la UPC (Zona Cantábrica) durante una etapa de actividad ígnea tardihercínica de naturaleza calcoalcalina. Asimismo se sugiere una hip6tesis general para justificar el desarrollo de este magmatismo postectónico en la parte más externa de una cordillera de plegamiento y un emplazamiento en condiciones permitidas, con ciertas afinidades con modelos de emplazamiento por subsidencia de caldera, para el stock considerado.[Abstract] The Peña Prieta intrusive stock is described in this paper. It is the largest intrusive body belonging to the set of igneous rocks emplaced in the PCU (Cantabrian Zone) during a calc-alkaline late hercynian magmatic stage. It is also the most complex on the basis of its structural and petrological features. A general hypothesis is suggested to justify the occurence of this postectonic magmatism in the most external part (foreland basin) of the folded belt. We also propose a model of emplacement for this stock, under permisive conditions, which shows sorne resemblances with the cauldron subsidence model

Simultaneous Culture and Biomachining of Copper in MAC Medium: A Comparison between Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans and Sulfobacillus thermosulfidooxidans

Biomachining will not be considered as a full-scale manufacturing technology until a stable, controlled, and continuous metal removal rate (MRR) is achieved. In this research work, a novel strategy that could promote its industrial implementation, namely simultaneous bacterial growth and machining of copper contained in oxygen-free copper (OFC) workpieces, was investigated. This proposal has the major advantage of being a single-stage process, thereby reducing total operating times and becoming more economical in comparison with conventional biomachining (downtime due to bacterial growth would disappear). The study was carried out using mesophilic (Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans) and thermophilic (Sulfobacillus thermosulfidooxidans) extremophile bacteria in order to prevent the progressive decrease in the amount of metal removed per unit time. A constant MRR of 43 mg h-1 was achieved with A. ferrooxidans in the simultaneous process. Despite the accomplishment of a constant MRR, this value is lower than the maximum MRR obtained in conventional biomachining (109 mg h-1), probably due to the inability of ferric ions to come into contact with the metallic surface. With regard to the culture period in MAC medium, S. thermosulfidooxidans showed a slower growth rate (0.11 h-1) and lower ferrous ion oxidation level (0.12 g Fe2+ L-1 h-1) than A. ferrooxidans (0.17 h-1 and 0.22 g Fe2+ L-1 h-1, respectively) under optimal pH (1.5) and Fe2+ concentration (6 g L-1) conditions.Fil: Diaz Tena, E.. Universidad del País Vasco; España. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Fermentaciones Industriales. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Fermentaciones Industriales; ArgentinaFil: Gallastegui, G.. Universidad del País Vasco; EspañaFil: Hipperdinger, Marcela Liliana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Fermentaciones Industriales. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Fermentaciones Industriales; ArgentinaFil: Donati, Edgardo Ruben. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Fermentaciones Industriales. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Fermentaciones Industriales; ArgentinaFil: Rojo, N.. Universidad del País Vasco; EspañaFil: Santaolalla, A.. Universidad del País Vasco; EspañaFil: Ramirez, M.. Universidad del País Vasco; EspañaFil: Barona, A.. Universidad de Cádiz; EspañaFil: Elías, A.. Universidad del Pais Vasco - Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea, Campus Bizkaia

Metal Extraction and Recovery from Mobile Phone PCBs by a Combination of Bioleaching and Precipitation Processes

Bearing in mind the metal rich composition of printed circuit boards (PCBs), this material represents a secondary source of valuable metals and offers an entrepreneurial opportunity in the metal sales market. Based on the ability of microorganisms to regenerate and produce the chemical oxidants that are responsible for metal leaching, bioleaching has become an efficient and affordable alternative to conventional metal recycling technologies, although further research is still necessary before industrial implementation. This study focuses on the recovery of metals contained in mobile phone PCBs through a combined process. Two different PCB pre-treatments were evaluated: grinding the whole piece and removing the epoxy cover from the piece without grinding. The benefit of A. ferrooxidans activity on the metal solubilization rate was analyzed. Additional chemical leaching assays were also conducted for comparison purposes and the reagents ferric iron (Fe3+) and sulfuric acid (H2SO4) were selected for these experiments. The copper extraction results obtained in Fe3+ experiments with and without bacteria (A. ferrooxidans) were similar after 260 h of operation, indicating the need for alternative strategies to ensure a controlled and continuous metal biodissolution rate. The contribution of H2SO4 to the leaching processes for copper and nickel was almost negligible during the first 50 h, and more significant thereafter. The recovered metals were precipitated from a synthetic solution simulating a real ferric leaching by adding sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and sodium sulfide (Na2S). The combination of both precipitants allowed an effective removal of metals from the leachate.The authors wish to acknowledge the financial support received from the State Agency for Research (AEI) of the Spanish Government and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF, EU) [Project CTM2016-77212-P]. The University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU (Spain) [GIU18/118] is also acknowledged

Osteogenic differentiation of human dental pulp stem cells in decellularised adipose tissue solid foams

3D cell culture systems based on biological scaffold materials obtainable from both animal and human tissues constitute very interesting tools for cell therapy and personalised medicine applications. The white adipose tissue (AT) extracellular matrix (ECM) is a very promising biomaterial for tissue engineering due to its easy accessibility, malleability and proven biological activity. In the present study, human dental pulp stem cells (hDPSCs) were combined in vitro with ECM scaffolds from porcine and human decellularised adipose tissues (pDAT, hDAT) processed as 3D solid foams, to investigate their effects on the osteogenic differentiation capacity and bone matrix production of hDPSCs, compared to single-protein-based 3D solid foams of collagen type I and conventional 2D tissue-culture-treated polystyrene plates. pDAT solid foams supported the osteogenic differentiation of hDPSCs to similar levels to collagen type I, as assessed by alkaline phosphatase and alizarin red stainings, reverse transcription quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and osteocalcin/bone gamma-carboxyglutamate protein (BGLAP) immunostaining. Interestingly, hDAT solid foams showed a markedly lower capacity to sustain hDPSC osteogenic differentiation and matrix calcification and a higher capacity to support adipogenesis, as assessed by RT-qPCR and oil red O staining. White ATs from both human and porcine origins are relatively abundant and available sources of raw material to obtain high quality ECM-derived biomedical products. These biomaterials could have promising applications in tissue engineering and personalised clinical therapy for the healing and regeneration of lesions involving not only a loss of calcified bone but also its associated soft non-calcified tissues.This research was supported by the Basque Government (ELKARTEK program PLAKA KK2019-00093; to NB), MICINN retos I+D+i (PID2019- 104766RB-C21, to JRP) and UPV/EHU (PPGA20/22; to FU, GI). The authors would like to thank the staff members of the SGIKER services of the UPV/EHU: Lipidomic service (Beatriz Abad) and Analytical Microscopy (Ricardo Andrade, Alejandro Díez-Torre and Irene Fernández) for their technical assistance

The degradation of p53 and its major E3 ligase Mdm2 is differentially dependent on the proteasomal ubiquitin receptor S5a.

p53 and its major E3 ligase Mdm2 are both ubiquitinated and targeted to the proteasome for degradation. Despite the importance of this in regulating the p53 pathway, little is known about the mechanisms of proteasomal recognition of ubiquitinated p53 and Mdm2. In this study, we show that knockdown of the proteasomal ubiquitin receptor S5a/PSMD4/Rpn10 inhibits p53 protein degradation and results in the accumulation of ubiquitinated p53. Overexpression of a dominant-negative deletion of S5a lacking its ubiquitin-interacting motifs (UIM)s, but which can be incorporated into the proteasome, also causes the stabilization of p53. Furthermore, small-interferring RNA (siRNA) rescue experiments confirm that the UIMs of S5a are required for the maintenance of low p53 levels. These observations indicate that S5a participates in the recognition of ubiquitinated p53 by the proteasome. In contrast, targeting S5a has no effect on the rate of degradation of Mdm2, indicating that proteasomal recognition of Mdm2 can be mediated by an S5a-independent pathway. S5a knockdown results in an increase in the transcriptional activity of p53. The selective stabilization of p53 and not Mdm2 provides a mechanism for p53 activation. Depletion of S5a causes a p53-dependent decrease in cell proliferation, demonstrating that p53 can have a dominant role in the response to targeting S5a. This study provides evidence for alternative pathways of proteasomal recognition of p53 and Mdm2. Differences in recognition by the proteasome could provide a means to modulate the relative stability of p53 and Mdm2 in response to cellular signals. In addition, they could be exploited for p53-activating therapies. This work shows that the degradation of proteins by the proteasome can be selectively dependent on S5a in human cells, and that this selectivity can extend to an E3 ubiquitin ligase and its substrate

Clinical characteristics of vulnerable populations hospitalized and diagnosed with COVID-19 in Buenos Aires, Argentina

There is not in Argentina publications regarding the presentation of patients with COVID-19 requiring hospitalized and emergency care in vulnerable populations (lower incomes and less education tend at greater risk for poor health status and healthcare access), and it has few reports in developing countries. The objective is to determine whether in the care of vulnerable patients, to succeed against COVID-19, multiple public health tools and interventions will be needed to minimize morbidity and mortality. The study is a prospective cohort investigation of patients with lab-confirmed COVID-19, who required to any of the Health Centers response from April 8, 2020, to August 18, 2020. In Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area (AMBA), April 8, 2020 the virus was identified in patients hospitalized in the "Southeast Network" (SN), AMBA. SN covering an area of 661 square kilometers, with 1.8 million inhabitants residing in urban, and rural areas. A total of 14 health centers with different levels of care complexity provide care to patients in the region. The information of each patient with COVID-19 evaluated by SN, was incorporated in an Epidemiological Dashboard. The investigation was designed and reported with consideration of observational studies in epidemiology. We describe the hospitals presentation and care of persons who required SN response and were ultimately diagnosed with COVID-19. From April 8, 2020, to August 18, 2020, were included 1495 patients with lab-confirmed COVID-19 in SN. A total of 58% patients were men, and the mean age (SD) was 48.9 (15.59) years. Eighty one percent patients with pre-existing diseases, most frequent hypertension and diabetes, but hypertension, chronic lung disease, and cardiovascular disease presented higher risk. A total of 13% were hospitalized in Intensive Therapy Unit. The mortality of the cohort was 9.77%. Mortality was higher for patients aged 65 or more (OR 5.09), and for those had some pre-existing disease (OR 2.61). Our observations are consistent with reports demonstrating older persons, and those with comorbidities have the highest risk of mortality related to COVID-19. However, unlike other reports from developed or some developing countries, the mortality in our study is lower. This finding may be related to age of our cohort is younger than other published. Also, the health system was able to respond to the demand.Fil: Yacobitti, A.. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Ministerio de Salud. Hospital Alta Complejidad en Red El Cruce Dr. Néstor Carlos Kirchner Samic; ArgentinaFil: Otero, L.. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Ministerio de Salud. Hospital Alta Complejidad en Red El Cruce Dr. Néstor Carlos Kirchner Samic; ArgentinaFil: Doldan Arrubarrena, V.. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Ministerio de Salud. Hospital Alta Complejidad en Red El Cruce Dr. Néstor Carlos Kirchner Samic; ArgentinaFil: Arano, J.. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Ministerio de Salud. Hospital Alta Complejidad en Red El Cruce Dr. Néstor Carlos Kirchner Samic; ArgentinaFil: Lage, S.. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Ministerio de Salud. Hospital Alta Complejidad en Red El Cruce Dr. Néstor Carlos Kirchner Samic; ArgentinaFil: Silberman, M.. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Ministerio de Salud. Hospital Alta Complejidad en Red El Cruce Dr. Néstor Carlos Kirchner Samic; ArgentinaFil: Zubieta, M.. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Ministerio de Salud. Hospital Alta Complejidad en Red El Cruce Dr. Néstor Carlos Kirchner Samic; ArgentinaFil: Erbetta, I.. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Ministerio de Salud. Hospital Alta Complejidad en Red El Cruce Dr. Néstor Carlos Kirchner Samic; ArgentinaFil: Danei, P.. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Ministerio de Salud. Hospital Alta Complejidad en Red El Cruce Dr. Néstor Carlos Kirchner Samic; ArgentinaFil: Baeck, G.. Hospital Mi Pueblo; ArgentinaFil: Vallejos, V.. No especifíca;Fil: Cavalli, F.. No especifíca;Fil: Calderón, N.. Gobierno de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Hospital Zonal General de Agudos Doctor Lucio Melendez.; ArgentinaFil: Di Gregorio, M.. Gobierno de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Hospital Zonal General de Agudos Doctor Lucio Melendez.; ArgentinaFil: Hernandez, V.. Hospital Dr. Arturo Oñativia - Salta Capital.; ArgentinaFil: Bruno, D.. Hospital Dr. Arturo Oñativia - Salta Capital.; ArgentinaFil: Rodera, B.. Municipalidad de Quilmes (buenos Aires). Hospital Zonal General de Agudos Doctor Isidoro Iriarte.; ArgentinaFil: Macherett, I.. Municipalidad de Quilmes (buenos Aires). Hospital Zonal General de Agudos Doctor Isidoro Iriarte.; ArgentinaFil: Parisi, M.. Municipalidad de Quilmes (buenos Aires). Hospital Zonal General de Agudos Doctor Isidoro Iriarte.; ArgentinaFil: Gallastegui, M.. Municipalidad de Quilmes (buenos Aires). Hospital Zonal General de Agudos Doctor Isidoro Iriarte.; ArgentinaFil: Paz, A.. Municipalidad de Quilmes (buenos Aires). Hospital Sub Zonal Materno Infantil Doctor Eduardo Oller.; ArgentinaFil: Bernardi, R.. No especifíca;Fil: Azcárate, S.. Gobierno de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Hospital Provincial Evita Pueblo.; ArgentinaFil: Hraste, A.. Gobierno de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Hospital Provincial Evita Pueblo.; ArgentinaFil: Caridi, Délida Inés. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Cálculo; ArgentinaFil: Boechi, Leonardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Cálculo; ArgentinaFil: Salgado, P.. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Rectorado. Instituto de Investigaciones en Salud Pública; ArgentinaFil: Kochen, Sara Silvia. Gobierno de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Hospital de Alta Complejidad Cuenca Alta Doctor Nestor Carlos Kirchner.; Argentina. Universidad Nacional Arturo Jauretche; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

The reliability of product-specific eco-labels as an agrobiodiversity management instrument

This paper seeks to understand why multinationals prefer to launch a label specific to their own product and examines how reliable these product-specific eco-labels are. A new methodology is applied to assess the extent to which eco-labels live up to claims about their contribution to conservation and the sustainable use of agricultural biodiversity. Product-specific eco-labels are considered as industry self-regulation and all three regulatory stages are studied: the planning, implementation and outcome stage. There are major differences between the product specific eco-labels in the degree in which agrobiodiversity management is part of the normative labeling schemes. Although there are some problems of reliability, such as transparency in the implementation stage and the monitoring in the outcome stage, the degree of reliability of product-specific labels is comparable with eco-labels of international labeling families. The conclusion is that only one of the product-specific eco-labels examined here is reliable when examined in the light of all three stages. The main reason why multinationals establish a product-specific eco-label instead of adopting one from an existing labeling family is that they want to profile themselves as distinct from other companies. The unique character of a product-specific label creates a market opportunity for them

Self-Organization and Regulation of Intrinsically Disordered Proteins with Folded N-Termini

How do mostly disordered proteins coordinate the specific assembly of very large signal transduction protein complexes? A newly emerging hypothesis may provide some clues towards a molecular mechanism

Exploring the Evolution of Novel Enzyme Functions within Structurally Defined Protein Superfamilies

In order to understand the evolution of enzyme reactions and to gain an overview of biological catalysis we have combined sequence and structural data to generate phylogenetic trees in an analysis of 276 structurally defined enzyme superfamilies, and used these to study how enzyme functions have evolved. We describe in detail the analysis of two superfamilies to illustrate different paradigms of enzyme evolution. Gathering together data from all the superfamilies supports and develops the observation that they have all evolved to act on a diverse set of substrates, whilst the evolution of new chemistry is much less common. Despite that, by bringing together so much data, we can provide a comprehensive overview of the most common and rare types of changes in function. Our analysis demonstrates on a larger scale than previously studied, that modifications in overall chemistry still occur, with all possible changes at the primary level of the Enzyme Commission (E.C.) classification observed to a greater or lesser extent. The phylogenetic trees map out the evolutionary route taken within a superfamily, as well as all the possible changes within a superfamily. This has been used to generate a matrix of observed exchanges from one enzyme function to another, revealing the scale and nature of enzyme evolution and that some types of exchanges between and within E.C. classes are more prevalent than others. Surprisingly a large proportion (71%) of all known enzyme functions are performed by this relatively small set of 276 superfamilies. This reinforces the hypothesis that relatively few ancient enzymatic domain superfamilies were progenitors for most of the chemistry required for life