Transcription-mediated replication hindrance: a major driver of genome instability

Genome replication involves dealing with obstacles that can result from DNA damage but also from chromatin alterations, topological stress, tightly bound proteins or non-B DNA structures such as R loops. Experimental evidence reveals that an engaged transcription machinery at the DNA can either enhance such obstacles or be an obstacle itself. Thus, transcription can become a potentially hazardous process promoting localized replication fork hindrance and stress, which would ultimately cause genome instability, a hallmark of cancer cells. Understanding the causes behind transcription–replication conflicts as well as how the cell resolves them to sustain genome integrity is the aim of this review

The consumption/wealth and book/market ratios in a dynamic asset pricing contex.

This paper addresses new insights into the predictability of financial returns. In particular, we analyze two aspects of the controversial forecasting literature. On the one hand, we demonstrate a positive and contemporaneous link between aggregate book/market and consumption/wealth ratios. On the other hand, we show that real estate and human capital, as the present value of all future salaries, are key components of the consumption/wealth ratio in Spain. Specifically, we find that the cointegrating residuals of consumption, asset holdings, real estate holdings, and our measure of human capital provide a better forecast of future returns than does the standard proxy of the consumption/wealth ratio. This result is important because it clarifies the importance of country-specific components of wealth for cases in which the consumption/wealth ratio is employed as an instrument in conditional asset pricing models.Stock markets; Predictability; Consumption; Aggregate wealth; Book/market;

Long-term KS_S-band photometric monitoring of L dwarfs

(abridged) We perform photometric time-series analysis of a sample of ten early to mid-L dwarfs in the field over three years of $K_s$-band observations with the OMEGA 2000 infrared camera of the 3.5m telescope on Calar Alto Observatory between January 2010 and December 2012. We perform $K_s$-band differential photometry of our targets (with typical errors of $\pm$15-30~mmag at the 1$\sigma$ level) by subtracting a reference flux from each photometric measurement. This reference flux is computed using three nearby, probably constant stars in the target's field-of-view. We then construct and visually inspect the light curves to search for variability, and use four different periodogram algorithms to look for possible periods in our photometric data. Our targets do not display long-term variability over 1$\sigma$ compared to other nearby stars of similar brightness, nor do the periodograms unveil any possible periodicity for these objects, with two exceptions: 2MASS~J02411151-0326587 and G196-3B. In the case of 2MASS~J02411151-0326587 (L0), our data suggest a tentative period of 307$\pm$21~days, at 40% confidence level, which seems to be associated with peak-to-peak variability of 44$\pm$10~mmag. This object may also display variability in timescales of years, as suggested by the comparison of our Ks-band photometry with 2MASS. For G196-3B (L3), we find peak-to-peak variations of 42$\pm$10~mmag, with a possible photometric period of 442$\pm$7~days, at 95% confidence level. This is roughly the double of the astrometric period reported by Zapatero Osorio (2014). Given the significance of these results, further photometric data are required to confirm the long-term variability.These results suggest that early- to mid-L dwarfs are fairly stable in the $K_s$-band within $\pm$90 mmag at the 3 $\sigma$ level over months to years, which covers hundreds to tens of thousands of rotation cycles.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic

Ressenyes

Obra ressenyada: J.M. BRAVO GOZALO (ed.), A New Spectrum of Translation Studies. Valladolid: Universidad de Valladolid, 2004

Evolución e impacto en la comunicación de valores responsables. Caso de estudio en España

This paper is an analysis of the evolution of strategy Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Sustainability of corporations and their impact on society. This corporate strategy is characterized by economic, social and environmental impacts generated by the corporations, as well as the benefits to the various stakeholders. The companies, in turn, use different communication tools to inform to the stakeholders about their responsible strategy. This article analyze a leader company, Iberdrola, and its overall CSR strategy, through the analysis of strategic communication tools that this company uses to generate a dialogue with the stakeholders. And this strategy is explored through the content that this company offer on the corporate website, which contains relevant information, such as: the sustainability report, the company profiles on social media like Facebook, Linkedn, YouTube, corporate blogs, etc., that include corporate information, and other relevant corporate information accessible on the corporate website to the stakeholders. The objective of this analysis is to understand the relationship between social demands and the initiatives of socially responsible companies, and then show how the company contributes to the sustainable development. As a result of this strategy and the communication to the stakeholders, this company increase reputation in domestic and international markets. This corporation, like other companies in the IBEX -35, uses different channels to communicate business impacts, although it may increase the participation of stakeholders considering the diferent opportunities of social media. Finally, this case study contributes to enrich the debate on corporate social responsibility and its impact on sustainable development. The principal challenge for the companies is to promote the participation of stakeholders in the growth and benefit of society.Se propone en este artículo un análisis de la evolución de la estrategia de Responsabilidad Social Corporativa (RSC) y Sostenibilidad de las corporaciones y su impacto en la sociedad. Esta estrategia corporativa se caracteriza por los impactos económicos, sociales y medioambientales que genera la actividad empresarial, así como los beneficios que reporta a los diferentes stakeholders. Las compañías, a su vez, utilizan diferentes herramientas de comunicación para informar a los grupos de interés sobre su gestión responsable. Se estudia en este artículo una empresa líder en España, Iberdrola, y su estrategia global de RSC. Para ello, se analizan las herramientas de comunicación estratégica que utiliza esta empresa para generar un diálogo con los grupos de interés. Todo ello se explora a través de los contenidos que ofrece la empresa en la web corporativa, que contiene información relevante, como: la memoria de sostenibilidad; los perfiles de la compañía en medios sociales como Facebook, Linkedn, Youtube; blogs corporativos, etc., que incluyen información corporativa, así como otra información corporativa relevante y accesible en la web a los stakeholders. El objetivo de este análisis es conocer la relación entre las demandas sociales y las acciones socialmente responsables de la empresa, cuya finalidad es mostrar cómo contribuye la empresa al desarrollo sostenible. Como resultado de esta estrategia y la comunicación de los resultados de la compañía a los stakeholders, esta compañía incrementa la reputación en el mercado nacional e internacional. Esta empresa, al igual que otras empresas del IBEX-35, utiliza diferentes formatos para comunicar los impactos empresariales, si bien puede incrementar la participación de los grupos de interés considerando las múltiples oportunidades que ofrecen los medios sociales. Por último, este caso de estudio contribuye a enriquecer el debate sobre la responsabilidad social y su impacto en el desarrollo sostenible. El reto fundamental de las empresas es fomentar la participación de los stakeholders en la evolución y beneficio de la sociedad

Rpd3L and Hda1 histone deacetylases facilitate repair of broken forks by promoting sister chromatid cohesion

Genome stability involves accurate replication and DNA repair. Broken replication forks, such as those encountering a nick, lead to double strand breaks (DSBs), which are preferentially repaired by sister-chromatid recombination (SCR). To decipher the role of chromatin in eukaryotic DSB repair, here we analyze a collection of yeast chromatin-modifying mutants using a previously developed system for the molecular analysis of repair of replication-born DSBs by SCR based on a mini-HO site. We confirm the candidates through FLP-based systems based on a mutated version of the FLP flipase that causes nicks on either the leading or lagging DNA strands. We demonstrate that Rpd3L and Hda1 histone deacetylase (HDAC) complexes contribute to the repair of replication-born DSBs by facilitating cohesin loading, with no effect on other types of homology-dependent repair, thus preventing genome instability. We conclude that histone deacetylation favors general sister chromatid cohesion as a necessary step in SCR

Bacterial Characterization of Sourdough from a Local Factory

Motivation: Sourdough is the fermentation product of flour and water dough by yeasts and lactic acid bacteria (LAB). Depending on the origin of the microorganisms it can be classified in Type I (spontaneous and with backslopping), Type II (uses a starter culture without backslopping) and Type III (uses a starter culture and backslopping)1. Sourdough-based products have improved properties, which have been attributed to the LAB and their metabolism 2. This study is focused on the characterization of LAB in an industrial sourdough at two different moments. Methods: To isolate LAB from sourdough, independent samples were taken from a homogenized portion. Appropriate dilutions were plated on mMRS agar and grown on aerobiosis at 30ºC. Cell concentration was calculated as CFU/g of sourdough.  Morphologies of Catalase negative isolates were determined by optic microscopy. For molecular identification, DNA was extracted by a method described by Cold Spring Harbour Laboratory3. Fragments from rRNA 16S gene were amplified by PCR and sent for sequencing. Sequences were compared with databases using the BLASTn tool4. Non-pathogen S. aureus and L. innocua were used as indicator strains to detect antimicrobial capacity on BHI medium. Clear zones around colonies were rated as positive results. Results: LAB were present in the two sourdough samples at 2.75*10^7 CFU/g and 4.3*10^7 CFU/g. The dominant morphologies were long, medium and short bacilli. They presented percentages of 41.5%, 18.9% and 39.6% in the first sample and 13.5%, 30.8% and 55.8% in the second, respectively. The dominant species were Lactobacillus crustorum (corresponding to long bacilli), Lb. rossiae (short bacilli) and Lb. plantarum (medium bacilli). Antagonistic activity was detected only against S. aureus just in 5% of candidates from the second sample. Conclusions: LABs present in two sourdough sample´s from the same factory have been characterized. Cell concentrations were similar to that described in the bibliography. Dominant species identified were Lb. crustorum, Lb. rossiae and Lb. plantarum. However, their proportion was different in the two sourdough samples. Antagonistic activity against S. aureus was detected in the second sampl

Design and evaluation of sphingomyelin nanosystems for the development of anticancer targeted therapies

In the era of personalized medicine, the rational design of nanosystems has become a key element to provide more effective and powerful treatments in cancer therapy. This thesis disclosed a new nanoplatform, based on sphingomyelin in combination with an oil, which is simple in composition, easy to produce, stable, biocompatible, highly versatile and suitable for the association of different drugs and molecules. An in silico-in vitro approach has allowed us to gather extensive knowledge regarding the fundamental interactions governing the assembly of the nanosystem, as well as the interactions with several selected drugs. Subsequent experiments were carried out to assess the potential application of this nanoplatform for cancer therapy exploring two main approaches, a gene delivery strategy and the development of a targeted combination therapy. Altogether, the results show a nanoplatform with adequate physicochemical, biopharmaceutical, and functional properties, with potential for the development of improved anticancer therapeutics