Engineering Pseudomonas putida for isoprenoid production by manipulating endogenous and shunt pathways supplying precursors

Background: The soil bacterium Pseudomonas putida is a promising platform for the production of industrially valuable natural compounds. In the case of isoprenoids, the availability of biosynthetic precursors is a major limiting factor. In P. putida and most other bacteria, these precursors are produced from pyruvate and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate by the methylerythritol 4-phosphate (MEP) pathway, whereas other bacteria synthesize the same precursors from acetyl-CoA using the unrelated mevalonate (MVA) pathway. Results: Here we explored different strategies to increase the supply of isoprenoid precursors in P. putida cells using lycopene as a read-out. Because we were not aiming at producing high isoprenoid titers but were primarily interested in finding ways to enhance the metabolic flux to isoprenoids, we engineered the well-characterized P. putida strain KT2440 to produce low but detectable levels of lycopene under conditions in which MEP pathway steps were not saturated. Then, we compared lycopene production in cells expressing the Myxococcus xanthus MVA pathway genes or endogenous MEP pathway genes (dxs, dxr, idi) under the control of IPTG-induced and stress-regulated promoters. We also tested a shunt pathway producing isoprenoid precursors from ribulose 5-phosphate using a mutant version of the Escherichia coli ribB gene. Conclusions: The most successful combination led to a 50-fold increase in lycopene levels, indicating that P. putida can be successfully engineered to substantially increase the supply of metabolic substrates for the production of industrially valuable isoprenoids

Diodos emisores de luz para irradiación de plantas

Los recientes desarrollos conseguidos en el área de la iluminación con diodos emisores de luz (LEDs, cuando son inorgánicos, y OLEDs, cuando son orgánicos) resultan de gran interés en horticultura, al permitir manipular el espectro radiante que va a incidir sobre las plantas, con el objetivo de aumentar su producción o de generar determinados efectos fisiológicos, sobre todo en invernaderos. Puesto que los vegetales crecen mejor cuando son iluminados (irradiados) en las regiones roja y azul del espectro, resulta aconsejable sustituir los sistemas de iluminación fotosintética actuales, fundamentalmente mediante lámparas de descarga en gases (vapor de sodio a alta presión y, en menor medida, halogenuros metálicos), por LEDs comerciales que emiten separadamente en esas regiones o por OLEDs susceptibles de emisión conjunta. Además, estos dispositivos son más eficientes que las lámparas incandescentes (consumen mucha menor energía eléctrica y poseen una vida media de uso mucho más larga), no generan exceso de calor (y por tanto no dañan a plantas térmicamente sensibles), e incluso, en el caso de los LEDs rojos, repelen insectos, por lo que contribuyen a la disminución en el uso de agrotóxicos. En el presente artículo, se revisan las últimas contribuciones en Fitofotónica relacionadas con los diodos emisores de luz, se aporta la experiencia existente sobre la aplicación de LEDs a invernaderos y se divulga el estado de las investigaciones que algunos grupos de investigación estamos realizando sobre OLEDs emisores bien en el rojo o bien en las regiones del rojo y el azul

Ornamental plants and the production of nature(s) in the Spanish real estate boom and bust: the case of Alicante

The Spanish real estate boom and bust of the 2000s caused immense economic, social, and environmental changes across the country. Massive urbanization, however, does not necessarily entail the end of nature and natural processes, instead marking a radical transformation of environments and societies. Through a political ecology approach, we analyze how ornamental species have become a fundamental part of new natures induced by urbanization in the Spanish province of Alicante. We connect the economic and ecological characteristics of ornamental plants like the palm tree to urbanization and real estate trends in Alicante. Our evidence indicates that, in Alicante, economic recession and environmental crises (manifested in the pests affecting palm trees) have mutually reinforced one other, creating a new geography of ecological desolation in many areas.Financial support for this research was provided by the Spanish CICYT under grants [grant number CSO2009-12772-03-01], [grant number CSO2009-12772-03-03]

Trends in primary total hip arthroplasty in Spain from 2001 to 2008: Evaluating changes in demographics, comorbidity, incidence rates, length of stay, costs and mortality

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Hip arthroplasties is one of the most frequent surgical procedures in Spain and are conducted mainly in elderly subjects. We aim to analyze changes in incidence, co-morbidity profile, length of hospital stay (LOHS), costs and in-hospital mortality (IHM) of patients undergoing primary total hip arthroplasty (THA) over an 8-year study period in Spain.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We selected all surgical admissions in individuals aged ≥40 years who had received a primary THA (ICD-9-CM procedure code 81.51) between 2001 and 2008 from the National Hospital Discharge Database. Age- and sex-specific incidence rates, LOHS, costs and IHM were estimated for each year. Co-morbidity was assessed using the Charlson comorbidity index.</p> <p>Multivariate analysis of time trends was conducted using Poisson regression. Logistic regression models were conducted to analyze IHM.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We identified a total of 161,791 discharges of patients having undergone THA from 2001 to 2008. Overall crude incidence had increased from 99 to 105 THA per 100.000 inhabitants from 2001 to 2008 (p < 0.001). In 2001, 81% of patients had a Charlson Index of 0, 18.4% of 1-2, and 0.6% > 2 and in 2008, the prevalence of 1-2 or >2 had increased to 20.4% and 1.1% respectively (p < 0.001). The mean LOHS was 13 days in 2001 and decreased to 10.45 days in 2008 (p < 0.001). During the period studied, the mean cost per patient increased from 6,634 to 9,474 Euros. Multivariate analysis shows that from 2001 to 2008 the incidence of THA hospitalizations has significantly increased for both sexes and only men showed a significant reduction in IHM after THA.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The current study provides clear and valid data indicating increased incidence of primary THA in Spain from 2001 to 2008 with concomitant reductions in LOHS, slight reduction IHM, but a significant increase in cost per patient. The health profile of the patient undergoing a THA seems to be worsening in Spain.</p

VISIR: experiences and challenges

It is of crucial importance the integration of practical sessions in engineering curricula owing to their significant role in understanding engineering concepts and scientific phenomena. However, the lack of practical sessions due to the high costs of the equipment and the unavailability of instructors has caused a significant declination in experimentation in engineering education. Remote laboratories have tackled this issues providing online reusable and shared workbenches unconstrained by neither geographical nor time considerations. Thereby, they have extremely proliferated among universities and integrated into engineering curricula over the last decade. This contribution compiles diverse experiences based on the deployment of the remote laboratory, Virtual Instrument Systems in Reality (VISIR), on the practices of undergraduate engineering grades at various universities within the VISIR community. It aims to show the impact of its usage on engineering education concerning the assessments of students and teachers as well. In addition, the paper address the next challenges and future works carried out at several universities within the VISIR community

The timing of the deglaciation in the Atlantic Iberian mountains:Insights from the stratigraphic analysis of a lake sequence in Serra da Estrela (Portugal)

Understanding the environmental response to the last glacial termination in regions located in transitional climate zones such as the Atlantic Iberian mountains is crucial to estimate potential changes in regions affected by current glacial melting. We present an 8.5 m-long, solid last deglaciation and Holocene chronostratigraphic record including detailed sediment analysis from Lake Peixão, a pro-glacial lake in the Serra da Estrela (Central Portugal). The age–depth model relies on a Bayesian approach that includes 16 AMS 14C dates and 210Pb–137CS measurements, robustly dating the lake formation at 14.7 ± 0.32 cal. ka BP. This chronological reconstruction shows an average sedimentation rate of ca. 0.07 cm yr−1 (15 yr cm−1), enabling proxy analyses at decadal timescales. The sediment sequence is composed of five lithological units: (U1) coarse and unsorted fluvioglacial lacustrine deposits; (U2) massive fluvioglacial lacustrine deposits (863–790 cm below surface [bsf]; 14.7 ± 0.32–13.8 ± 0.12 cal. ka BP); (U3) water current fluvioglacial lacustrine deposits (790–766 cm bsf; 13.8 ± 0.12–12.9 ± 0.29 cal. ka BP); (U4) laminated/banded lacustrine deposits characterized by terrigenous deposits from ice-covered lake periods and episodic events of ice and snow melting (766–752 cm bsf; 12.9 ± 0.29–11.7 ± 0.15 cal. ka BP); and (U5) massive muddy lacustrine deposits (752–0 cm bsf; 11.7 ± 0.15 cal. ka BP–present). The occurrence of U2 to U4 deposits defines the transition from glacial cold (U1) to net warm postglacial conditions (U5). These climate transitions are marked by changes in sediments and the presence of very low sedimentation rate periods, possibly related to the Intra-Allerød Cold Period and the coldest phase of the Younger Dryas. Our results support the previously proposed timing of the retreat of the Serra da Estrela glaciers ca. 13.8 ± 0.12 cal. ka BP. The robust chronology of Lake Peixão highlights the potential of Iberian pro-glacial lakes for dating deglaciation processes and will lead to unprecedented decadal-to-centennial timescale palaeoclimate reconstructions in this region since the last glacial–interglacial transition

Memoria del segundo simposium sobre historia, sociedad y cultura de México y América Latina

La presente obra reúne 20 ponencias de las 27 que se presentaron en el “Segundo simposium sobre historia, sociedad y cultura de México y América Latina”, realizado el 8 y 9 de noviembre de 2006, en el Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades (CICSyH) de la Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México (UAEM), en Toluca, Estado de México

Inter-Rater Variability in the Evaluation of Lung Ultrasound in Videos Acquired from COVID-19 Patients

12 páginas, 7 figuras, 1 tablaLung ultrasound (LUS) allows for the detection of a series of manifestations of COVID-19, such as B-lines and consolidations. The objective of this work was to study the inter-rater reliability (IRR) when detecting signs associated with COVID-19 in the LUS, as well as the performance of the test in a longitudinal or transverse orientation. Thirty-three physicians with advanced experience in LUS independently evaluated ultrasound videos previously acquired using the ULTRACOV system on 20 patients with confirmed COVID-19. For each patient, 24 videos of 3 s were acquired (using 12 positions with the probe in longitudinal and transverse orientations). The physicians had no information about the patients or other previous evaluations. The score assigned to each acquisition followed the convention applied in previous studies. A substantial IRR was found in the cases of normal LUS (κ = 0.74), with only a fair IRR for the presence of individual B-lines (κ = 0.36) and for confluent B-lines occupying 50% (κ = 0.50). No statistically significant differences between the longitudinal and transverse scans were found. The IRR for LUS of COVID-19 patients may benefit from more standardized clinical protocols.This research was partially funded by CDTI (Spanish acronym: Centre for Industrial Tech- nological Development), funding number COI-20201153. Partially supported by the Google Cloud Research Credits program with the funding number GCP19980904, by the project RTI2018-099118- A-I00 founded by MCIU/AEI/FEDER UE and by the European Commission–NextGenerationEU, through CSIC’s Global Health Platform (PTI Salud Global)

Polymorphisms in DNA-repair genes in a cohort of prostate cancer patients from different areas in Spain: heterogeneity between populations as a confounding factor in association studies

Background: Differences in the distribution of genotypes between individuals of the same ethnicity are an important confounder factor commonly undervalued in typical association studies conducted in radiogenomics. Objective: To evaluate the genotypic distribution of SNPs in a wide set of Spanish prostate cancer patients for determine the homogeneity of the population and to disclose potential bias. Design, Setting, and Participants: A total of 601 prostate cancer patients from Andalusia, Basque Country, Canary and Catalonia were genotyped for 10 SNPs located in 6 different genes associated to DNA repair: XRCC1 (rs25487, rs25489, rs1799782), ERCC2 (rs13181), ERCC1 (rs11615), LIG4 (rs1805388, rs1805386), ATM (rs17503908, rs1800057) and P53 (rs1042522). The SNP genotyping was made in a Biotrove OpenArrayH NT Cycler. Outcome Measurements and Statistical Analysis: Comparisons of genotypic and allelic frequencies among populations, as well as haplotype analyses were determined using the web-based environment SNPator. Principal component analysis was made using the SnpMatrix and XSnpMatrix classes and methods implemented as an R package. Non-supervised hierarchical cluster of SNP was made using MultiExperiment Viewer. Results and Limitations: We observed that genotype distribution of 4 out 10 SNPs was statistically different among the studied populations, showing the greatest differences between Andalusia and Catalonia. These observations were confirmed in cluster analysis, principal component analysis and in the differential distribution of haplotypes among the populations. Because tumor characteristics have not been taken into account, it is possible that some polymorphisms may influence tumor characteristics in the same way that it may pose a risk factor for other disease characteristics. Conclusion: Differences in distribution of genotypes within different populations of the same ethnicity could be an important confounding factor responsible for the lack of validation of SNPs associated with radiation-induced toxicity, especially when extensive meta-analysis with subjects from different countries are carried out