Transfer Learning Improving Predictive Mortality Models for Patients in End-Stage Renal Disease

Deep learning is becoming a fundamental piece in the paradigm shift from evidence-based to data-based medicine. However, its learning capacity is rarely exploited when working with small data sets. Through transfer learning (TL), information from a source domain is transferred to a target one to enhance a learning task in such domain. The proposed TL mechanisms are based on sample and feature space augmentation. Thus, deep autoencoders extract complex representations for the data in the TL approach. Their latent representations, the so-called codes, are handled to transfer information among domains. The transfer of samples is carried out by computing a latent space mapping matrix that links codes from both domains for later reconstruction. The feature space augmentation is based on the computation of the average of the most similar codes from one domain. Such an average augments the features in a target domain. The proposed framework is evaluated in the prediction of mortality in patients in end-stage renal disease, transferring information related to the mortality of patients with acute kidney injury from the massive database MIMIC-III. Compared to other TL mechanisms, the proposed approach improves 6-11% in previous mortality predictive models. The integration of TL approaches into learning tasks in pathologies with data volume issues could encourage the use of data-based medicine in a clinical setting

Identificación y erradicación de levaduras del género Brettanomyces en vinos

En los vinos de crianza biológica, es frecuente que algunas botas presenten vino alterado organolépticamente por levaduras del género Brettanomyces, contaminantes que crecen junto al 'velo de flor' de Saccharomyces, responsable de la maduración biológica de estos vinos. Esta levadura constituye una amenaza para la calidad de los vinos, ya que es responsable de la producción de compuestos aromáticos desagradables [3]. Son capaces de desarrollarse en un medio difícil (grado alcohólico elevado, carencias nutricionales, SO2 elevado, etc.) en cualquier momento de la vida de un vino y especialmente durante la fase de crianza. Aunque su presencia en vinos tintos de envejecimiento en madera ha sido detectada desde hace años, no existen sistemas sencillos para su detección y erradicación. En el caso de los vinos finos de crianza biológica, la presencia de Saccharomyces en las botas dificulta más ambos procesos.El quitosano, extraido de hongo Aspergillus niger, representa una herramienta innovadora y eficaz de lucha contra Brettanomyces [4]. Lallemand ha desarrollado el producto ‘No Brett Inside’, elaborado a partir de quitosano, como herramienta destinada a prevenir de manera efectiva la contaminación por Brettanomyces. A razón de 4 g/hL, es capaz de reducir la población de Brettanomyces de 3 x 105 cel/mL a 0 en 10 días en vinos tintos como se ha demostrado en estudios científicos realizados.El presente estudio tiene como objetivo, la identificación de estas levaduras así como su control y erradicación en vinos de crianza biológica. Para ello se analiza la variabilidad entre muestras de 9 cepas, tomadas de 5 bodegas, procedentes de Montilla y Jerez, aplicando técnicas moleculares que analizan los fragmentos de restricción de su ADNmit con las enzimas de restricción AluI y HinfI [1][2]. Con estos métodos se han identificado dos patrones diferentes, uno perteneciente a las muestras de Montilla y otro a las de Jerez. Estos resultados indican que la población de levaduras se distribuye en base a las condiciones ambientales propias de la zona.Por otra parte se han realizado diferentes ensayos utilizando vino joven y medio rico (YPD), contaminados artificialmente por Brettanomyces, a los que se le aplicó un tratamiento con dosis diferentes del producto ‘No Bret Inside’. Los resultados permitieron validar la eficacia del tratamiento sobre Brettanomyces en medio YPD, aunque no en vino y la ausencia de efecto sobre Saccharomyces, tanto en medio YPD como en vino joven

Optimizing production of a single-chain antibody (scFv) against the 33-mer peptide in bacteria

Motivation: Celiac disease is a permanent intolerance to gluten from wheat, barley, rye and, in some patients, oats. Partiallydigested gluten peptides produced in the digestive tract cause inflammation of the small intestine. Monoclonal antibodies weredeveloped against a highly immunotoxic 33-mer peptide to facilitate their detection in food. One service that gives Biomedal, isthe diagnosis of gluten in food, and for this, they have developed single chain antibodies from monoclonal antibodies. Singlechain antibodies (scFv) are merging the variable regions of the heavy and light chain joined by a linker. Single chain ispowerful tools in research and clinical settings for the relative ease of produce them in large quantities, at low cost in bacteria.The main objective of the project it has been improved the production of ScFv in different strains of bacteria and optimize thepurification and production of functional antibody.Methods: Various induction test it has conducted at different concentrations of inducer and temperature in different strains ofEscherichia coli which have been transformed with different vectors with the ScFv coding region using different expressionsystems to identify which is the right to produce the most functional antibody. It also has optimized antibody purification byaffinity chromatography IMAC, It has been found that the antibody is active by ELISA, Western blotting and It has beenquantified by Bradford.Results and Conclusions: It has been able to purify in an ideal way the single chain antibody and has been seen thatremains functional because it recognizes gliadin peptides and 33-mer in grand part because there is a fraction which is notactive. Furthermore, it has not been able to improve the conditions of expression of the ScFv in any of the strains tested, wethink that the basal production of ScFv is able to kill the bacteria

Aromatic polyamides and acrylic polymers as solid sensory materials and smart coated fibres for high acidity colorimetric sensing

We synthesized a solid sensory material for the extraction, detection and quantification of iron(III) in aqueous media. The material is a film-shaped colorless polymer membrane that exhibits gel behavior. The Fe(III) extraction and sensing characteristics are imparted by a new monomer derived from a natural product (i.e., Kojic acid), which exhibits chelating properties toward Fe(III). The sorption of Fe(III) on the membrane in water has been thoroughly characterized, including the sorption kinetics, sorption isotherms and profiles as a function of the pH. Fe(III) sorption followed pseudo first-order kinetics and required approximately 30 min to reach equilibrium. The maximum sorption capacity was approximately 0.04 mmol/g, and the sorption isotherms are well modeled by the Langmuir equation. The complexes that were found in the solid phase are in good agreement with those previously identified in the aqueous phase. Moreover, the sorption is highly specific (i.e., a recognition process) and results from the formation of a colored complex (iron(III)-Kojic acid derivative moieties). Therefore, the colorless sensory membrane turns red upon immersion in aqueous solutions containing Fe(III). The color output allows for both the qualitative visual determination of the Fe(III) concentration as well as also titration of Fe(III) using a) a UV/vis technique (limit of detection of 3.6 × 10−5 M; dynamic range of five decades, lower concentration = 1.65 × 10−6 M) and b) a computer vision-based analytical chemistry approach via color definition of the sensory membrane (RGB parameters) obtained from an image recorded with a handy device (e.g., a smartphone) (limit of detection of 2.0 × 10−5 M).Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad-Feder (MAT2011-22544 and MAT2014-54137-R) and by the Consejería de Educación – Junta de Castilla y León (BU232U13

An ancient testis-specific IQ motif-containing H gene regulates specific transcript isoform expression during spermatogenesis

Spermatogenic cells express more alternatively spliced RNAs than most whole tissues; however, the regulation of these events remains unclear. Here, we have characterized the function of a testis-specific IQ motif-containing H gene (Iqch) using a mutant mouse model. We found that Iqch is essential for the specific expression of RNA isoforms during spermatogenesis. Using immunohistochemistry of the testis, we noted that Iqch was expressed mainly in the nucleus of spermatocyte and spermatid, where IQCH appeared juxtaposed with SRRM2 and ERSP1 in the nuclear speckles, suggesting that interactions among these proteins regulate alternative splicing (AS). Using RNA-seq, we found that mutant Iqch produces alterations in gene expression, including the clear downregulation of testis-specific lncRNAs and protein-coding genes at the spermatid stage, and AS modifications – principally increased intron retention – resulting in complete male infertility. Interestingly, we identified previously unreported spliced transcripts in the wild-type testis, while mutant Iqch modified the expression and use of hundreds of RNA isoforms, favouring the expression of the canonical form. This suggests that Iqch is part of a splicing control mechanism, which is essential in germ cell biologyThis study was funded by the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación/Agencia Estatal de Investigación (PID2021-122507OB-I00 and PID2020-117491GB-I00) and the European Union NextGenerationEU/PRTR. P.N.-L. was supported by a pre-doctoral fellowship from the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (PRE2019-088813) and M.L. was supported by a Juan de la Cierva postdoctoral contract (FJC2019-040385-I) from the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación. Open access funding provided by Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientıficas. Deposited in PMC for immediate releas

Colorimetric detection and determination of Fe(III), Co(II), Cu(II) and Sn(II) in aqueous media by acrylic polymers with pendant terpyridine motifs

Colorimetric cation responsive water soluble polymers and manageable films or membranes have beendesigned. The sensory materials respond with a colour change to the presence in water of Fe(III), Co(II),Cu(II), and Sn(II). The colour change is specific of each metal cation, and enables its identification (purplefor iron, orange for cobalt, green for copper, and yellow for tin). The design of the materials relies onan addition monomer having a terpyridine moiety, which behaves as a dye in presence of transitionmetal cations due to its proven chelating capability towards these species and the colour developmentthat always accompany the metallic complex formation. Water solutions of the sensory linear polymersallow for the UV/vis titration of Fe(III), Co(II), Cu(II), and Sn(II) with a limit of detection of 1.3 × 10−7,6.4 × 10−8, 1.3 × 10−5and 1.4 × 10−5M, respectively. On the other hand, sensory kits, cut from sensorymembranes, permitted the visual quantification of the cations in a dynamic range of five decades (1 × 10−7to 5 × 10−3M) for Fe(III) and Co(II) and of two decades (9 × 10−5to 9 × 10−3M) for Cu(II) and Sn(II).Titration curves can also be drawn from a picture taken to the sensory kits with a smartphone, by usingthe digital colour definition of the materials as analytical signal. Also, after entering into contact withhands, shapes of metallic objects (iron and cobalt containing tools) can be colour revealed by pressingthe hands on paper or cotton fabrics wetted with water solutions of the linear sensory polymer.Spanish Ministerio deEconomía y Competitividad-Feder (MAT2014-54137-R

Consensus document for ultrasound training in the specialty of Nephrology

Grupo de Trabajo en Nefrología Diagnóstica e Intervencionista (GNDI) de la Sociedad Española de Nefrología (SEN).[ES] La ecografía es una herramienta esencial en el manejo del paciente nefrológico que permite el diagnóstico, el seguimiento y la realización de intervencionismo sobre el riñón. La utilidad de los ultrasonidos en Nefrología no se circunscribe exclusivamente al estudio ecográfico del riñón. Mediante ecografía el nefrólogo puede, además, optimizar el manejo de la fístula arteriovenosa para hemodiálisis, medir el riesgo cardiovascular (grosor íntima-media), implantar catéteres centrales para hemodiálisis ecoguiados y ayudar en la colocación de los peritoneales, así como calcular la volemia del paciente mediante ecografía cardiaca básica, ecografía de la vena cava inferior y pulmonar. Desde el Grupo de Trabajo en Nefrología Diagnóstica e Intervencionista (GNDI) de la Sociedad Española de Nefrología (SEN) hemos elaborado este documento de consenso en el que se resumen las principales aplicaciones de la ecografía en Nefrología, incluyendo los requisitos técnicos básicos necesarios, el marco normativo y el nivel de capacitación de los nefrólogos en esta materia. El objetivo de este trabajo es promover la inclusión de la ecografía, tanto diagnóstica como intervencionista, en la práctica clínica habitual del nefrólogo y en la cartera de servicios de Nefrología con la finalidad de ofrecer un manejo diligente, eficiente e integral al paciente nefrológico.[EN] Ultrasound is an essential tool in the management of the nephrological patient allowing the diagnosis, monitoring and performance of kidney intervention. However, the usefulness of ultrasound in the hands of the nephrologist is not limited exclusively to the ultrasound study of the kidney. By ultrasound, the nephrologist can also optimize the management of arteriovenous fistula for hemodialysis, measure cardiovascular risk (mean intimate thickness), implant central catheters for ultrasound-guided HD, as well as the patient's volemia using basic cardiac ultrasound, ultrasound of the cava inferior vein and lungs. From the Working Group on Interventional Nephrology (GNDI) of the Spanish Society of Nephrology (SEN) we have prepared this consensus document that summarizes the main applications of ultrasound to Nephrology, including the necessary basic technical requirements, the framework normative and the level of training of nephrologists in this area. The objective of this work is to promote the inclusion of ultrasound, both diagnostic and interventional, in the usual clinical practice of the nephrologist and in the Nephrology Services portfolio with the final objective of offering diligent, efficient and comprehensive management to the nephrological patient

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Selección, identificación y caracterización de levaduras implicadas en la maduración en vinos de Jerez

En el proceso de elaboración de vino tipo fino, tras la finalización de la primera fermentación del mosto, aparece de forma espontánea una capa de levadura denominada "velo de flor" sobre la superficie del vino. Estas levaduras son las encargadas de la maduración biológica del vino, manteniéndolo en estado reducido y envejeciéndolo mediante su metabolismo. Dichas levaduras presentan una gran variabilidad que redunda en las características del vino producido. La aplicación de técnicas moleculares basadas en el análisis de patrones cromosómicos y de los fragmentos de restricción de su ADNmit permite distinguir e identificar las levaduras de velo, sustituyendo a los métodos tradicionales de identificación, los cuales se basaban en criterios morfológicos y fisiológicos. En este trabajo se han analizado las poblaciones de levaduras de flor en dos bodegas de la Denominación de Origen Jerez. Para ello, se han tomado muestras de 9 botas en cada bodega y posteriormente se seleccionaron 10 colonias de cada muestra. Tras la aplicación de las técnicas RFLP de ADNmit y de microsatélites se obtuvieron 7 patrones distintos de levaduras, de los cuales cuatro de ellos aparecen en una bodega y tres patrones en la otra. Estos resultados demuestran que no existe gran variedad en cuanto a la diversidad de levaduras dentro de una bodega, incluso dentro de una bota, donde el mismo patrón aparece en el 100% de colonias analizadas