Análisis del tamaño de partículas en areniscas de las Catedrales de Salamanca. Independencia entre granulometría y deterioro

11 sandstone samples from the cathedrals of Salamanca were analysed granulometrically. The study was to establish whether there is a direct connection between the particle size of such stone and the surface deterioration of some of the ashlars in the facades. This was carried out with the help of diffraction spectrometry by laser beams. The results show that there is no connection between the nature of the stone texture and their degree of surface deterioration.Se analizan granulométricamente 11 muestras de arenisca de las Catedrales de Salamanca. El objetivo del estudio es establecer si existe relación directa entre el tamaño de las partículas de tales piedras y el deterioro superficial de alguno de los sillares de las fachadas. Esto se lleva a cabo con la ayuda de la espectrometría de difracción por rayos láser. Los resultados muestran que no hay conexión entre la finura textural de las piedras estudiadas y el grado de deterioro superficial que éstas presentan

Influencia de la adición, en diferentes proporciones, de rocas silíceas opalinas al cemento portland

En este trabajo se estudia la influencia de la presencia de rocas silíceas opalinas, procedentes de las provincias de Salamanca, Zamora y Avila, en las propiedades de los cementos mixtos fabricados con cemento portland y proporciones variables de estas rocas utilizadas como adiciones activas. La caracterización de estos materiales y el estudio de las propiedades de los cementos preparados revelan la capacidad puzolánica de las rocas opalinas, y su singularidad respecto a otras puzolanas naturales, así como su posibilidad de empleo en la fabricación de cementos con adiciones.En este trabajo se estudia la influencia de la presencia de rocas silíceas opalinas, procedentes de las provincias de Salamanca, Zamora y Avila, en las propiedades de los cementos mixtos fabricados con cemento portland y proporciones variables de estas rocas utilizadas como adiciones activas. La caracterización de estos materiales y el estudio de las propiedades de los cementos preparados revelan la capacidad puzolánica de las rocas opalinas, y su singularidad respecto a otras puzolanas naturales, así como su posibilidad de empleo en la fabricación de cementos con adiciones

The small GTPase Rab29 is a common regulator of immune synapse assembly and ciliogenesis

Acknowledgements We wish to thank Jorge Galán, Gregory Pazour, Derek Toomre, Giuliano Callaini, Joel Rosenbaum, Alessandra Boletta and Francesco Blasi for generously providing reagents and for productive discussions, and Sonia Grassini for technical assistance. The work was carried out with the financial support of Telethon (GGP11021) and AIRC.Peer reviewedPostprin

Physical exercise, fitness and dietary pattern and their relationship with circadian blood pressure pattern, augmentation index and endothelial dysfunction biological markers: EVIDENT study protocol

Background: Healthy lifestyles may help to delay arterial aging. The purpose of this study is to analyze the relationship of physical activity and dietary pattern to the circadian pattern of blood pressure, central and peripheral blood pressure, pulse wave velocity, carotid intima-media thickness and biological markers of endothelial dysfunction in active and sedentary individuals without arteriosclerotic disease. Methods/Design Design: A cross-sectional multicenter study with six research groups. Subjects: From subjects of the PEPAF project cohort, in which 1,163 who were sedentary became active, 1,942 were sedentary and 2,346 were active. By stratified random sampling, 1,500 subjects will be included, 250 in each group. Primary measurements: We will evaluate height, weight, abdominal circumference, clinical and ambulatory blood pressure with the Radial Pulse Wave Acquisition Device (BPro), central blood pressure and augmentation index with Pulse Wave Application Software (A-Pulse) and SphymgoCor System Px (Pulse Wave Analysis), pulse wave velocity (PWV) with SphymgoCor System Px (Pulse Wave Velocity), nutritional pattern with a food intake frequency questionnaire, physical activity with the 7-day PAR questionnaire and accelerometer (Actigraph GT3X), physical fitness with the cycle ergometer (PWC-170), carotid intima-media thickness by ultrasound (Micromax), and endothelial dysfunction biological markers (endoglin and osteoprotegerin). Discussion: Determining that sustained physical activity and the change from sedentary to active as well as a healthy diet improve circadian pattern, arterial elasticity and carotid intima-media thickness may help to propose lifestyle intervention programs. These interventions could improve the cardiovascular risk profile in some parameters not routinely assessed with traditional risk scales. From the results of this study, interventional approaches could be obtained to delay vascular aging that combine physical exercise and diet

Transcellular communication at the immunological synapse: A vesicular traffic-mediated mutual exchange

The cell's ability to communicate with the extracellular environment, with other cells, and with itself is a crucial feature of eukaryotic organisms. In the immune system, T lymphocytes assemble a specialized structure upon contact with antigen-presenting cells bearing a peptide-major histocompatibility complex ligand, known as the immunological synapse (IS). The IS has been extensively characterized as a signaling platform essential for T-cell activation. Moreover, emerging evidence identifies the IS as a device for vesicular traffic-mediated cell-to-cell communication as well as an active release site of soluble molecules. Here, we will review recent advances in the role of vesicular trafficking in IS assembly and focused secretion of microvesicles at the synaptic area in naïve T cells and discuss the role of the IS in transcellular communication

The V471A polymorphism in autophagy-related gene ATG7 modifies age at onset specifically in Italian Huntington disease patients

The cause of Huntington disease (HD) is a polyglutamine repeat expansion of more than 36 units in the huntingtin protein, which is inversely correlated with the age at onset of the disease. However, additional genetic factors are believed to modify the course and the age at onset of HD. Recently, we identified the V471A polymorphism in the autophagy-related gene ATG7, a key component of the autophagy pathway that plays an important role in HD pathogenesis, to be associated with the age at onset in a large group of European Huntington disease patients. To confirm this association in a second independent patient cohort, we analysed the ATG7 V471A polymorphism in additional 1,464 European HD patients of the “REGISTRY” cohort from the European Huntington Disease Network (EHDN). In the entire REGISTRY cohort we could not confirm a modifying effect of the ATG7 V471A polymorphism. However, analysing a modifying effect of ATG7 in these REGISTRY patients and in patients of our previous HD cohort according to their ethnic origin, we identified a significant effect of the ATG7 V471A polymorphism on the HD age at onset only in the Italian population (327 patients). In these Italian patients, the polymorphism is associated with a 6-years earlier disease onset and thus seems to have an aggravating effect. We could specify the role of ATG7 as a genetic modifier for HD particularly in the Italian population. This result affirms the modifying influence of the autophagic pathway on the course of HD, but also suggests population-specific modifying mechanisms in HD pathogenesis

Identification of genetic variants associated with Huntington's disease progression: a genome-wide association study

Background Huntington's disease is caused by a CAG repeat expansion in the huntingtin gene, HTT. Age at onset has been used as a quantitative phenotype in genetic analysis looking for Huntington's disease modifiers, but is hard to define and not always available. Therefore, we aimed to generate a novel measure of disease progression and to identify genetic markers associated with this progression measure. Methods We generated a progression score on the basis of principal component analysis of prospectively acquired longitudinal changes in motor, cognitive, and imaging measures in the 218 indivduals in the TRACK-HD cohort of Huntington's disease gene mutation carriers (data collected 2008–11). We generated a parallel progression score using data from 1773 previously genotyped participants from the European Huntington's Disease Network REGISTRY study of Huntington's disease mutation carriers (data collected 2003–13). We did a genome-wide association analyses in terms of progression for 216 TRACK-HD participants and 1773 REGISTRY participants, then a meta-analysis of these results was undertaken. Findings Longitudinal motor, cognitive, and imaging scores were correlated with each other in TRACK-HD participants, justifying use of a single, cross-domain measure of disease progression in both studies. The TRACK-HD and REGISTRY progression measures were correlated with each other (r=0·674), and with age at onset (TRACK-HD, r=0·315; REGISTRY, r=0·234). The meta-analysis of progression in TRACK-HD and REGISTRY gave a genome-wide significant signal (p=1·12 × 10−10) on chromosome 5 spanning three genes: MSH3, DHFR, and MTRNR2L2. The genes in this locus were associated with progression in TRACK-HD (MSH3 p=2·94 × 10−8 DHFR p=8·37 × 10−7 MTRNR2L2 p=2·15 × 10−9) and to a lesser extent in REGISTRY (MSH3 p=9·36 × 10−4 DHFR p=8·45 × 10−4 MTRNR2L2 p=1·20 × 10−3). The lead single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in TRACK-HD (rs557874766) was genome-wide significant in the meta-analysis (p=1·58 × 10−8), and encodes an aminoacid change (Pro67Ala) in MSH3. In TRACK-HD, each copy of the minor allele at this SNP was associated with a 0·4 units per year (95% CI 0·16–0·66) reduction in the rate of change of the Unified Huntington's Disease Rating Scale (UHDRS) Total Motor Score, and a reduction of 0·12 units per year (95% CI 0·06–0·18) in the rate of change of UHDRS Total Functional Capacity score. These associations remained significant after adjusting for age of onset. Interpretation The multidomain progression measure in TRACK-HD was associated with a functional variant that was genome-wide significant in our meta-analysis. The association in only 216 participants implies that the progression measure is a sensitive reflection of disease burden, that the effect size at this locus is large, or both. Knockout of Msh3 reduces somatic expansion in Huntington's disease mouse models, suggesting this mechanism as an area for future therapeutic investigation

Microestructura de la arenisca de las canteras de Salamanca. Alteración diferenciada.

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Mineralogical study of silica from opaline levels Salamanca (Spain), by scanning electro microprobe with energy dispersive X-Ray attachment .

Universidad de la Coruña. Area de Xeoloxía e Minerí

Consideraciones sobre factores que afectan a la formación de oxihidróxidos e hidróxidos de Al en perfiles de alteración del Centro-Oeste de España.

[ESP]En base a argumentos geológicoc y a constataciones sobre mecanismos de alteración, se concluye que los saprolitos graníticos con gibsita en niveles profundos se han generado en un largo proceso, principalmente durante el Mesozoico. La gibsita se forma en medio alcalino en las primeras fases de meteorización. La aparición de oxihidróxidos tipo boehmita se debe a una dinámica reciente, que implica la participación de ácidos fúlvicos.[ENG]The granitic szprolites with gibbsite in the drep levels from Central Spain were mainly generated a Mesozoic process (time range, tens of m. y.), according to the mineral paragenesis and geological data. The gibbsite is generated in the first phases of the weathering, in alkaline environment. The genesis of aluminium oxydydroxides (hoehmite type) is an actual mechanism involving the fulvic acids activity