Sustainable Production of Hydrogen by Steam Reforming of Ethanol Using Cobalt Supported on Nanoporous Zeolitic Material

[EN] Cobalt catalysts supported on Y zeolite and mesoporized Y zeolite (Y-mod) have been studied in steam reforming of ethanol (SRE). Specifically, the effect of the mesoporosity and the acidity of the y zeolite as a support has been explored. Mesoporous were generated on Y zeolite by treatment with NH4F and the acidity was neutralized by Na incorporation. Four cobalt catalysts supported on Y zeolite have been prepared, two using Y zeolite without mesoporous (Co/Y, Co/Y-Na), and two using Y zeolite with mesoporous (Co/Y-mod and Co/Y-mod-Na). All catalysts showed a high activity, with ethanol conversion values close to 100%. The main differences were found in the distribution of the reaction products. Co/Y and Co/Y-mod catalysts showed high selectivity to ethylene and low hydrogen production, which was explained by their high acidity. On the contrary, neutralization of the acid sites could explain the higher hydrogen selectivity and the lower ethylene yields exhibited by the Co/Y-Na and Co/Y-mod-Na. In addition, the physicochemical characterization of these catalysts by XRD, BET surface area, temperature-programmed reduction (TPR), and TEM allowed to connect the presence of mesoporous with the formation of metallic cobalt particles with small size, high dispersion, and with high interaction with the zeolitic support, explaining the high reforming activity exhibited by the co/y-mod-Na sample as well as its higher hydrogen selectivity. It has been also observed that the formation of coke is affected by the presence of mesoporous and acidity. Both properties seem to have an opposite effect on the reforming catalyst, decreasing and increasing the coke deposition, respectively.This research was funded by Generalitat Valenciana, grant number PROMETEO/2018/006", Spanish Government (Project RTI2018-102161-I00) and RED DE EXCELENCIA EN BIORREFINERIAS SOSTENIBLES (RED2018-102623-T).Da Costa Serra, JF.; Navarro, MT.; Rey Garcia, F.; Chica, A. (2020). Sustainable Production of Hydrogen by Steam Reforming of Ethanol Using Cobalt Supported on Nanoporous Zeolitic Material. Nanomaterials. 10(10):1-13. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano10101934S113101

Vitamin D3-Induced Tolerogenic Dendritic Cells Modulate the Transcriptomic Profile of T CD4 + Cells Towards a Functional Hyporesponsiveness

The use of autologous tolerogenic dendritic cells (tolDC) has become a promising alternative for the treatment of autoimmune diseases. Among the different strategies available, the use of vitamin D3 for the generation of tolDC (vitD3-tolDC) constitutes one of the most robust approaches due to their immune regulatory properties, which are currently being tested in clinical trials. However, the mechanisms that vitD3-tolDC trigger for the induction of tolerance remain elusive. For this reason, we performed a full phenotypical, functional, and transcriptomic characterization of T cells upon their interaction with autologous, antigen-specific vitD3-tolDC. We observed a strong antigen-specific reduction of T cell proliferation, combined with a decrease in the relative prevalence of T1 subpopulations and IFN- γ production. The analysis of the transcriptomic profile of T CD4 + cells evidenced a significant down-modulation of genes involved in cell cycle and cell response to mainly pro-inflammatory immune-related stimuli, highlighting the role of JUNB gene as a potential biomarker of these processes. Consequently, our results show the induction of a strong antigen-specific hyporesponsiveness combined with a reduction on the T1 immune profile of T cells upon their interaction with vitD3-tolDC, which manifests the regulatory properties of these cells and, therefore, their therapeutic potential in the clinic. https://doi.org/10.13039/5011000033295https://doi.org/10.13039/5011000033293https://doi.org/10.13039/5011000033296https://doi.org/10.13039/501100003329 https://doi.org/10.13039/501100003329_https://doi.org/10.13039/501100003329_https://doi.org/10.13039/501100003329 https://doi.org/10.13039/50110000332

The influence of oxygen concentration during embryo culture on obstetric and neonatal outcomes: a secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial.

STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION: A secondary analysis of a previous randomized controlled trial assessing clinical pregnancy outcomes was carried out. This analysis included 1125 consecutive oocyte donation cycles utilizing ICSI or IVF and Day 3 embryo transfers between November 2009 and April 2012. The whole cohort of donated oocytes from patients who agreed to participate in the study were randomly allocated (1:1 ratio) to a reduced O2 tension group (6% O2) or an air-exposed group (20% O2) based on a computergenerated randomization list. Fresh and vitrified oocytes were used for oocyte donation. Only those pregnancies with a live birth at or beyond 24 weeks of gestation were included. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS: Day 3 embryos were cultured in an atmosphere of 5.5% CO2, 6% O2, 88.5% N2 versus a dual gas system in air. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE: From the eligible 1125 cycles, 564 were allocated to the 6% O2 group and 561 cycles to the 20% O2 group. However, 50 and 62 cycles did not reach embryo transfer in the 6% and 20% O2 groups, respectively. No differences were found between 6% O2 and atmospheric O2 tension in the number of livebirths per embryo transfer (mean § SD, 0.5 § 0.7 versus 0.5 § 0.7), pregnancy complications or neonatal outcomes. Both groups (6% and atmospheric O2) had similar single and twin delivery rates (40.8% versus 38.1% and 10.7% versus 12.3%, respectively). Preterm delivery rates and very preterm delivery rates (10.80% versus 13.24% and 1.25% versus 2.94%, respectively), birthweight (3229 § 561 g versus 3154 § 731 g), low birthweight (2.92% versus 2.45%), birth height (50.18 § 2.41 cm versus 49.7 § 3.59 cm), head circumference (34.16 § 1.87 cm versus 33.09 § 1.85 cm) and 1 min Apgar scores (8.96 § 0.87 versus 8.89 § 0.96) were also similar between 6% and atmospheric O2 groups, respectively. LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION: The number of liveborns finally analyzed is still small and not all obstetric and neonatal variables could be evaluated. Furthermore, a small proportion of the obstetric and neonatal data was obtained through a questionnaire VC The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: [email protected] Human Reproduction, Vol.0, No.0, pp. 1-14, 2020 doi:10.1093/humrep/deaa152 One reason for the lack of effect of oxygen concentration on pregnancy outcome could be the absence of trophectoderm cells at cleavage stage, which may make Day 3 embryos less susceptible to hypoxic conditions. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS: Nowadays many IVF laboratories use a more physiological oxygen concentration for embryo culture. However, the benefits of using low oxygen concentration on both laboratory and clinical outcomes during embryo culture are still under debate. Furthermore, long-term studies investigating the effect of using atmospheric O2 are also needed. Gathering these type of clinical data is indeed, quite relevant from the safety perspective. The present data show that, at least in egg donation cycles undergoing Day 3 embryo transfers, culturing embryos under atmospheric oxygen concentration seems not to affect perinatal outcome

Lesões bucais de maior frequência clínica em crianças – revisão de literatura

Objective: The objective of this article is to present to the dental professionals, through a literature review, the main oral lesions that are part of the odontopediatric stomatology, in order to improve the knowledge and attention to the health of the pediatric patients. Methods: The searches were carried out in the following bibliographic databases: PubMed, Web of Science, LILACS and Bireme. Data synthesis: this article deals with the description of the most frequent oral lesions in Pediatric Dentistry, such as epstein’s pearls and gingival cyst of the newborn, which are the most common changes in newborns; congenital abnormalities such as ankyloglossia; lesions with fluid retention such as eruption cyst/hematoma; fungal and viral diseases such as candidosis, acute herpetic gingivostomatitis and secondary herpes simplex, respectively. There are also those related to the main infectious diseases of childhood, with clinical manifestations in the oral cavity such as measles, impetigo, varicella, mumps and hands, feet and mouth disease. Conclusion: It is very important, for General Practitioner and Pediatric Dentistry to recognize oral lesions in children, to make a correct and early diagnosis of them, in order to improve the knowledge, attention to the health and quality of life of the pediatric patients.Objetivo: Apresentar aos profissionais da Odontologia, por meio de uma revisão de literatura, as principais lesões bucais que fazem parte da Odontopediatria, a fim de melhorar o conhecimento e a atenção à saúde dos pacientes pediátricos. Métodos: As buscas foram realizadas nas seguintes bases de dados bibliográficas: PubMed, Web of Science, LILACS e Bireme. Síntese dos dados: Este artigo trata da descrição das lesões bucais mais frequentes na Odontopediatria, como pérolas de Epstein e cisto gengival do recém-nascido, que são as alterações mais comuns em recém natos; alterações congênitas como anquiloglossia; lesões com retenção de líquido como cisto/hematoma de erupção; doenças fúngicas e virais como candidose, gengivoestomatite herpética aguda e herpes simples secundário, respectivamente. Há, também, aquelas relacionadas às principais doenças infecciosas da infância, com manifestações clínicas na cavidade bucal como sarampo, impetigo, varicela, caxumba e doença das mãos, pé e boca. Conclusão: É muito importante, para o clínico geral e para o odontopediatra, reconhecer as diversas lesões que podem acometer a cavidade bucal das crianças, propiciando um diagnóstico correto e precoce das mesmas, a fim de melhorar o conhecimento, atenção à saúde e qualidade de vida dos pacientes pediátricos

MAP7 and MUCL1 are biomarkers of Vitamin D3-induced tolerogenic dendritic cells in multiple sclerosis patients

The administration of autologous tolerogenic dendritic cells (tolDC) has become a promising alternative for the treatment of autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis (MS). Specifically, the use of vitamin D3 for the generation of tolDC (vitD3-tolDC) constitutes one of the most widely studied approaches, as it has evidenced significant immune regulatory properties, both in vitro and in vivo. In this article, we generated human vitD3-tolDC from monocytes from healthy donors and MS patients, characterized in both cases by a semi-mature phenotype, secretion of IL-10 and inhibition of allogeneic lymphocyte proliferation. Additionally, we studied their transcriptomic profile and selected a number of differentially expressed genes compared to control mature and immature dendritic cells for their analysis. Among them, qPCR results validated CYP24A1, MAP7 and MUCL1 genes as biomarkers of vitD3-tolDC in both healthy donors and MS patients. Furthermore, we constructed a network of protein interactions based on the literature, which manifested that MAP7 and MUCL1 genes are both closely connected between them and involved in immune-related functions. In conclusion, this study evidences that MAP7 and MUCL1 constitute robust and potentially functional biomarkers of the generation of vitD3-tolDC, opening the window for their use as quality controls in clinical trials for MS

A Novel Single-Cell FISH-Flow Assay Identifies Effector Memory CD4 + T cells as a Major Niche for HIV-1 Transcription in HIV-Infected Patients

Cells that actively transcribe HIV-1 have been defined as the "active viral reservoir" in HIV-infected individuals. However, important technical limitations have precluded the characterization of this specific viral reservoir during both treated and untreated HIV-1 infections. Here, we used a novel single-cell RNA fluorescence in situ hybridization-flow cytometry (FISH-flow) assay that requires only 15 million unfractionated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) to characterize the specific cell subpopulations that transcribe HIV RNA in different subsets of CD4 + T cells. In samples from treated and untreated HIV-infected patients, effector memory CD4 + T cells were the main cell population supporting HIV RNA transcription. The number of cells expressing HIV correlated with the plasma viral load, intracellular HIV RNA, and proviral DNA quantified by conventional methods and inversely correlated with the CD4 + T cell count and the CD4/CD8 ratio. We also found that after ex vivo infection of unstimulated PBMCs, HIV-infected T cells upregulated the expression of CD32. In addition, this new methodology detected increased numbers of primary cells expressing viral transcripts and proteins after ex vivo viral reactivation with latency reversal agents. This RNA FISH-flow technique allows the identification of the specific cell subpopulations that support viral transcription in HIV-1-infected individuals and has the potential to provide important information on the mechanisms of viral pathogenesis, HIV persistence, and viral reactivation. Persons infected with HIV-1 contain several cellular viral reservoirs that preclude the complete eradication of the viral infection. Using a novel methodology, we identified effector memory CD4 + T cells, immune cells preferentially located in inflamed tissues with potent activity against pathogens, as the main cells encompassing the transcriptionally active HIV-1 reservoir in patients on antiretroviral therapy. Importantly, the identification of such cells provides us with an important target for new therapies designed to target the hidden virus and thus to eliminate the virus from the human body. In addition, because of its ability to identify cells forming part of the viral reservoir, the assay used in this study represents an important new tool in the field of HIV pathogenesis and viral persistence

Corrigendum : Influence of clinical and neurocognitive factors in psychosocial functioning after a first episode non-affective psychosis: differences between males and females

Deficits in psychosocial functioning are present in the early stages of psychosis. Several factors, such as premorbid adjustment, neurocognitive performance, and cognitive reserve (CR), potentially influence functionality. Sex differences are observed in individuals with psychosis in multiple domains. Nonetheless, few studies have explored the predictive factors of poor functioning according to sex in first-episode psychosis (FEP). This study aimed to explore sex differences, examine changes, and identify predictors of functioning according to sex after onset. The initial sample comprised 588 individuals. However, only adults with non-affective FEP (n = 247, 161 males and 86 females) and healthy controls (n = 224, 142 males and 82 females) were included. A comprehensive assessment including functional, neuropsychological, and clinical scales was performed at baseline and at 2-year follow-up. A linear regression model was used to determine the predictors of functioning at 2-year follow-up. FEP improved their functionality at follow-up (67.4% of both males and females). In males, longer duration of untreated psychosis (β = 0.328, p = 0.003) and worse premorbid adjustment (β = 0.256, p = 0.023) were associated with impaired functioning at 2-year follow-up, while in females processing speed (β = 0.403, p = 0.003), executive function (β = 0.299, p = 0.020) and CR (β = −0.307, p = 0.012) were significantly associated with functioning. Our data indicate that predictors of functioning at 2-year follow-up in the FEP group differ according to sex. Therefore, treatment and preventative efforts may be adjusted taking sex into account. Males may benefit from functional remediation at early stages. Conversely, in females, early interventions centered on CR enhancement and cognitive rehabilitation may be recommended

CD32 is expressed on cells with transcriptionally active HIV but does not enrich for HIV DNA in resting T cells

The persistence of HIV reservoirs, including latently infected, resting CD4+ T cells, is the major obstacle to cure HIV infection. CD32a expression was recently reported to mark CD4+ T cells harboring a replication-competent HIV reservoir during antiretroviral therapy (ART) suppression. We aimed to determine whether CD32 expression marks HIV latently or transcriptionally active infected CD4+ T cells. Using peripheral blood and lymphoid tissue of ART-treated HIV+ or SIV+ subjects, we found that most of the circulating memory CD32+ CD4+ T cells expressed markers of activation, including CD69, HLA-DR, CD25, CD38, and Ki67, and bore a TH2 phenotype as defined by CXCR3, CCR4, and CCR6. CD32 expression did not selectively enrich for HIV- or SIV-infected CD4+ T cells in peripheral blood or lymphoid tissue; isolated CD32+ resting CD4+ T cells accounted for less than 3% of the total HIV DNA in CD4+ T cells. Cell-associated HIV DNA and RNA loads in CD4+ T cells positively correlated with the frequency of CD32+ CD69+ CD4+ T cells but not with CD32 expression on resting CD4+ T cells. Using RNA fluorescence in situ hybridization, CD32 coexpression with HIV RNA or p24 was detected after in vitro HIV infection (peripheral blood mononuclear cell and tissue) and in vivo within lymph node tissue from HIV-infected individuals. Together, these results indicate that CD32 is not a marker of resting CD4+ T cells or of enriched HIV DNA–positive cells after ART; rather, CD32 is predominately expressed on a subset of activated CD4+ T cells enriched for transcriptionally active HIV after long-term ART

Influence of clinical and neurocognitive factors in psychosocial functioning after a first episode non-affective psychosis: Differences between males and females

Background: Deficits in psychosocial functioning are present in the early stages of psychosis. Several factors, such as premorbid adjustment, neurocognitive performance, and cognitive reserve (CR), potentially influence functionality. Sex differences are observed in individuals with psychosis in multiple domains. Nonetheless, few studies have explored the predictive factors of poor functioning according to sex in first-episode psychosis (FEP). This study aimed to explore sex differences, examine changes, and identify predictors of functioning according to sex after onset. Materials and methods: The initial sample comprised 588 individuals. However, only adults with non-affective FEP (n = 247, 161 males and 86 females) and healthy controls (n = 224, 142 males and 82 females) were included. A comprehensive assessment including functional, neuropsychological, and clinical scales was performed at baseline and at 2-year follow-up. A linear regression model was used to determine the predictors of functioning at 2-year follow-up. Results: FEP improved their functionality at follow-up (67.4% of both males and females). In males, longer duration of untreated psychosis (β = 0.328, p = 0.003) and worse premorbid adjustment (β = 0.256, p = 0.023) were associated with impaired functioning at 2-year follow-up, while in females processing speed (β = 0.403, p = 0.003), executive function (β = 0.299, p = 0.020) and CR (β = -0.307, p = 0.012) were significantly associated with functioning. Conclusion: Our data indicate that predictors of functioning at 2-year follow-up in the FEP group differ according to sex. Therefore, treatment and preventative efforts may be adjusted taking sex into account. Males may benefit from functional remediation at early stages. Conversely, in females, early interventions centered on CR enhancement and cognitive rehabilitation may be recommended

A comprehensive custom panel design for routine hereditary cancer testing: preserving control, improving diagnostics and revealing a complex variation landscape

We wanted to implement an NGS strategy to globally analyze hereditary cancer with diagnostic quality while retaining the same degree of understanding and control we had in pre-NGS strategies. To do this, we developed the I2HCP panel, a custom bait library covering 122 hereditary cancer genes. We improved bait design, tested different NGS platforms and created a clinically driven custom data analysis pipeline. The I2HCP panel was developed using a training set of hereditary colorectal cancer, hereditary breast and ovarian cancer and neurofibromatosis patients and reached an accuracy, analytical sensitivity and specificity greater than 99%, which was maintained in a validation set. I2HCP changed our diagnostic approach, involving clinicians and a genetic diagnostics team from panel design to reporting. The new strategy improved diagnostic sensitivity, solved uncertain clinical diagnoses and identified mutations in new genes. We assessed the genetic variation in the complete set of hereditary cancer genes, revealing a complex variation landscape that coexists with the disease-causing mutation. We developed, validated and implemented a custom NGS-based strategy for hereditary cancer diagnostics that improved our previous workflows. Additionally, the existence of a rich genetic variation in hereditary cancer genes favors the use of this panel to investigate their role in cancer risk