Monitoring crustal movements and sea level in Lanzarote

The Institute of Astronomy and Geodesy is measuring sea level variations in Lanzarote Island by two automated tide gauges of precision since 1993. In order to obtain "real" sea level variations a permanent GPS station has been installed near the tide gauges. The goal of this GPS station is to measurement vertical crustal movements in order to obtain absolute sea level variations removing these movements from tide gauge data. A vertical tie with high accuracy between the reference point of the pillar where the GPS antenna is installed and the tide gauges bench marks is absolutely necessary. We have carried out this altimetric link yearly since year 2000. Methods of repeated geometric and trigonometric levelling of very short tracts have been used due to the great level difference existent. The control of the local stability of the pillar where the GPS antenna has been established, is carried out by a micro-geodetic control network building around it. This network of 13 benchmarks has been regularly observed by classic and GPS geodetic techniques in years 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004. The data of these campaigns have been processed by different types of adjustments in the same reference system. The precision of the measurements and the reliability of the networks have been calculated. In this work the results obtained, the evaluation of the altimetric links and levelling campaigns, and the comparison of the levels of different measurements are presented

Urinary Microbiome: Yin and Yang of the Urinary Tract

This study was supported by "Programa Estatal de Investigacio ' n, Desarrollo e Innovacion Orientada a los Retos de la Sociedad" (grant SAF-SAF2015-71714-RMINECO/FEDER) and by " Instituto de Salud Carlos III" under the frame of EuroNanoMed III (AC18/00008). VP-C was supported by "Programa de Promocion de Empleo Joven e Implantacion de la Garantia Juvenil en I+D+i", MIMECO, Spain, and AS-L was supported by a fellowship from the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport (FPU 17/05413).We would like to thank all members of the lab for helpful comments and discussion.The application of next generation sequencing techniques has allowed the characterization of the urinary tract microbiome and has led to the rejection of the pre-established concept of sterility in the urinary bladder. Not only have microbial communities in the urinary tract been implicated in the maintenance of health but alterations in their composition have also been associated with different urinary pathologies, such as urinary tract infections (UTI). Therefore, the study of the urinary microbiome in healthy individuals, as well as its involvement in disease through the proliferation of opportunistic pathogens, could open a potential field of study, leading to new insights into prevention, diagnosis and treatment strategies for urinary pathologies. In this review we present an overview of the current state of knowledge about the urinary microbiome in health and disease, as well as its involvement in the development of new therapeutic strategies.Programa Estatal de Investigacio' n, Desarrollo e Innovacion Orientada a los Retos de la Sociedad SAF-SAF2015-71714-RMINECO/FEDERInstituto de Salud Carlos III European Commission AC18/00008"Programa de Promocion de Empleo Joven e Implantacion de la Garantia Juvenil en I+D+i", MIMECO, SpainMinistry of Education, Culture and Sport FPU 17/0541

La investigación biomédica en España (II). Evaluación del Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria (FIS) a través de los proyectos de investigación financiados en el período 1988-1995 a centros de investigación, facultades y escuelas

En un trabajo previo, publicado en esta misma revista, los autores han estudiado los resultados generados por los proyectos de investigación financiados por el Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria (FIS) a las Instituciones Sanitarias Asistenciales (hospitales) y los procedentes de los cuestionarios de encuestas remitidos a los investigadores responsables de tales proyectos y a los directores gerentes de los hospitales en los que se realizaron los mismos. En el presente trabajo, se continúa el proceso de evaluación del FIS, centrándose la atención en la distribución de los proyectos de investigación concedidos a los centros de investigación, facultades y escuelas, y en los resultados obtenidos a través de los cuestionarios de encuesta cumplimentados por los investigadores principales pertenecientes a estas instituciones o entidades.La realización de este trabajo ha sido posible gracias a la financiación otorgada por el FIS al proyecto de investigación 96/1803.Peer reviewe

Targeting ribosomal G-quadruplexes with naphthalene-diimides as RNA polymerase I inhibitors for colorectal cancer treatment

17 pags., 6 figs., 2 tabs.Sanchez-Martin et al. report a mode of action for naphthalene-diimides, a well-known class of G-quadruplexes ligands. Their work provides evidence of naphthalene-diimides targeting G-quadruplexes in ribosomal DNA, inducing a blockade of RNA polymerase I-mediated transcription and cell death. These compounds could be exploited in colorectal cancer treatment.This work was supported by the European Commission (TAR- BRAINFECT to J.A.G.-S.) and the National Institutes of Health (GM084946 to D.A.S.). The Government of Spain granted with PhD fellowships FPU16/ 05822 to V.S.-M. and FPU17/05413 to A.S.-L. The University of Almeria granted with PhD fellowship to M.O.-G. Funding for open access charge: Eu- ropean Commissio

Prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia: the multimodal approach of the spanish ICU pneumonia zero program.

Objectives: The “Pneumonia Zero” project is a nationwide multimodal intervention based on the simultaneous implementation of a comprehensive evidence-based bundle measures to prevent ventilator-associated pneumonia in critically ill patients admitted to the ICU. Design: Prospective, interventional, and multicenter study. Setting: A total of 181 ICUs throughout Spain. Patients: All patients admitted for more than 24 hours to the participating ICUs between April 1, 2011, and December 31, 2012. Intervention: Ten ventilator-associated pneumonia prevention measures were implemented (seven were mandatory and three highly recommended). The database of the National ICU-Acquired Infections Surveillance Study (Estudio Nacional de Vigilancia de Infecciones Nosocomiales [ENVIN]) was used for data collection. Ventilator-associated pneumonia rate was expressed as incidence density per 1,000 ventilator days. Ventilator-associated pneumonia rates from the incorporation of the ICUs to the project, every 3 months, were compared with data of the ENVIN registry (April–June 2010) as the baseline period. Ventilator-associated pneumonia rates were adjusted by characteristics of the hospital, including size, type (public or private), and teaching (postgraduate) or university-affiliated (undergraduate) status. Measurements and Main Results: The 181 participating ICUs accounted for 75% of all ICUs in Spain. In a total of 171,237 ICU admissions, an artificial airway was present on 505,802 days (50.0% of days of stay in the ICU). A total of 3,474 ventilator-associated pneumonia episodes were diagnosed in 3,186 patients. The adjusted ventilator-associated pneumonia incidence density rate decreased from 9.83 (95% CI, 8.42–11.48) per 1,000 ventilator days in the baseline period to 4.34 (95% CI, 3.22–5.84) after 19–21 months of participation. Conclusions: Implementation of the bundle measures included in the “Pneumonia Zero” project resulted in a significant reduction of more than 50% of the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia in Spanish ICUs. This reduction was sustained 21 months after implementation

Gallic Acid: A Natural Phenolic Compound Exerting Antitumoral Activities in Colorectal Cancer via Interaction with G-Quadruplexes

Natural phenolic compounds have gained momentum for the prevention and treatment of cancer, but their antitumoral mechanism of action is not yet well understood. In the present study, we screened the antitumoral potential of several phenolic compounds in a cellular model of colorectal cancer (CRC).We selected gallic acid (GA) as a candidate in terms of potency and selectivity and extensively evaluated its biological activity. We report on the role of GA as a ligand of DNA G-quadruplexes (G4s), explaining several of its antitumoral effects, including the transcriptional inhibition of ribosomal and CMYC genes. In addition, GA shared with other established G4 ligands some effects such as cell cycle arrest, nucleolar stress, and induction of DNA damage. We further confirmed the antitumoral and G4-stabilizing properties of GA using a xenograft model of CRC. Finally, we succinctly demonstrate that GA could be explored as a therapeutic agent in a patient cohort with CRC. Our work reveals that GA, a natural bioactive compound present in the diet, affects gene expression by interaction with G4s both in vitro and in vivo and paves the way towards G4s targeting with phenolic compounds.Instituto de Salud Carlos IIIEuropean Commission PI21/00497 AC18/00008Next generation EU, Plan de Recuperacion Transformacion y Resiliencia, Agencia Estatal de Investigacion PLEC2021-008094Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion from Government of Spain PID2019-104416RB-I00 PID2020-120481RB-I00Ministerio de Universidades from Government of Spain FPU16/05822 FPU17/05413 FPU20/03952University of Almeria FPI-20110

Evaluation of Over-The-Row Harvester Damage in a Super-High-Density Olive Orchard Using On-Board Sensing Techniques

New super-high-density (SHD) olive orchards designed for mechanical harvesting using over-the-row harvesters are becoming increasingly common around the world. Some studies regarding olive SHD harvesting have focused on the effective removal of the olive fruits; however, the energy applied to the canopy by the harvesting machine that can result in fruit damage, structural damage or extra stress on the trees has been little studied. Using conventional analyses, this study investigates the effects of different nominal speeds and beating frequencies on the removal efficiency and the potential for fruit damage, and it uses remote sensing to determine changes in the plant structures of two varieties of olive trees (‘Manzanilla Cacereña’ and ‘Manzanilla de Sevilla’) planted in SHD orchards harvested by an over-the-row harvester. ‘Manzanilla de Sevilla’ fruit was the least tolerant to damage, and for this variety, harvesting at the highest nominal speed led to the greatest percentage of fruits with cuts. Different vibration patterns were applied to the olive trees and were evaluated using triaxial accelerometers. The use of two light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sensing devices allowed us to evaluate structural changes in the studied olive trees. Before- and after-harvest measurements revealed significant differences in the LiDAR data analysis, particularly at the highest nominal speed. The results of this work show that the operating conditions of the harvester are key to minimising fruit damage and that a rapid estimate of the damage produced by an over-the-row harvester with contactless sensing could provide useful information for automatically adjusting the machine parameters in individual olive groves in the future.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad AGL2013-46343-RJunta de Andalucía P12-AGR-122