Desarrollo de un bioplástico comestible y compostable a partir de residuos de la industria alimentaria

The project pursues the use of waste from the Cantabrian food sector (cereal waste from the spirits industry and whey), in order to manufacture an edible, biodegradable and compostable plastic substrate, as an alternative to current plastic production, providing a solution in favor of the recovery of industrial waste. For the development of the edible plastic substrate, arabinoxylan and kefiran compounds were used, from cereal residues and milk whey, respectively. Several formulations were developed to create a pre-industrial prototype of the biocomposite for the edible plastic substrate, likewise, a search was made on the use of whey to obtain biofilm.An exploitation plan was drawn up that evidenced the need to sell 1,900 kg of bioplastic pellets per month to ensure the economic viability of the process. This production would have a unit cost of €15/kg, lower than the estimated sale price of €20/kg. Although it is estimated that the business profit margin would not be very high, the positive environmental impacts are good enough to consider the implementation of the developed solution.El proyecto persigue el aprovechamiento de los residuos del sector alimentario cántabro (residuos cereales de la industria de bebidas espirituosas y el suero de leche), con el objeto de fabricar un sustrato plástico comestible, biodegradable y compostable, como alternativa a la producción de plásticos actual, aportando una solución a favor de la valorización de residuos industriales. Para el desarrollo del sustrato plástico comestible, se partió de los compuestos arabinoxilanos y kefirán, provenientes de residuos cereales y del suero lácteo respectivamente. Se desarrollaron varias formulaciones para crear un prototipo pre-industrial del biocompuesto para el sustrato plástico comestible, asimismo, se realizó una búsqueda sobre el uso del lactosuero para la obtención de biofilm. Se elaboró un plan de explotación que evidenció la necesidad de vender 1900 kg de pellets de bioplástico al mes para asegurar la viabilidad económica del proceso. Esta producción tendría un coste unitario de 15 €/kg, inferior al precio de venta estimado de 20€/kg. Aunque se estima que el margen de beneficio empresarial no sería muy alto, los impactos ambientales positivos son suficientemente buenos como para considerar la implantación de la solución desarrollada

La aplicación reciente de tipos de interés oficiales negativos en la UEM y en otras economías : motivación y evidencia preliminar sobre sus efectos

Artículo de revist

The 2019 European Semester and the specific recommendations for Spain

Artículo de revistaThe European Semester is the process during which the European Commission designs and coordinates the Member States’ economic policies. The 2019 cycle began on 21 November 2018 and concluded on 9 July 2019. Overall, the reform drive in the member countries is perceived to have lost significant momentum, particularly in those with macroeconomic imbalances. On the fiscal front, the Stability and Growth Pact rules are a valuable road map ahead of the necessary consolidation of public finances; that said, their effectiveness in the preventive arm is still uncertain. As to structural policies, it would be worth exploring the creation of a national productivity board in those countries without one

Dispositivo para la sujeción de geosintéticos en ensayos de corte directo y métodos de sujeción de geosintéticos asociados al mismo.

Dispositivo para la sujeción de geosintéticos en ensayos de corte directo y métodos de sujeción de geosintéticos asociados al mismo. El dispositivo está constituido por un soporte rígido y una placa unidos por medios de fijación, en el que el soporte rígido comprende una mordaza en uno de sus extremos para amarrar el geosintético y la placa comprende varios agujeros pasantes de drenaje en una serie de canales practicados sobre una de sus caras principales; dicha placa presenta, sobre la cara opuesta a la que tiene practicados los canales , una serie de salientes de forma piramidal cuya altura h está comprendida entre 1 mm y 1.5 mm y que se encuentran dispuestos al tresbolillo. La invención también comprende métodos de sujeción de geosintéticos que emplean este dispositivo.Solicitud: 200800483 (21.02.2008)Nº Pub. de Solicitud: ES2302662A1 (16.07.2008)Nº de Patente: ES2302662B2 (16.02.2009

Necrotoxigenic Escherichia coli from sheep and goats produce a new type of cytotoxic necrotizing factor (CNF3) associated with the eae and ehxA genes

Fecal samples from sheep and goats were screened by tissue-culture assays and PCR for the presence of necrotoxigenic Escherichia coli (NTEC) producing cytotoxic necrotizing factors (CNFs). Of the 18 NTEC strains assayed, four were positive for the cnf1 gene while 14 strains were negative for the cnf1 and cnf2 genes. All of the NTEC strains had the eae gene and most of them also carried the ehxA gene. Moreover, all the cnf1– cnf2– NTEC strains were negative for several virulence markers associated with CNF1+ or CNF2+ strains. The cnf gene present in one of these strains was sequenced and analysis of the gene product revealed a new type of CNF, which was named CNF3 (and the coding gene cnf3). Oligonucleotide primers were designed to PCR-amplify a fragment of cnf3. The results showed that all strains examined in this study, except one cnf1+strain, were cnf3+. The association of cnf3 with eae and ehxA suggests that cnf3+ NTEC strains might be pathogenic for humans. [Int Microbiol 2007; 10(1):47-55

Effect of the implementation of clinical guidelines on management of candidemia in elderly patients

Introduction: Mortality from candidemia is higher in elderly population than in younger patients, which may be related to suboptimal management. The aim of the present study is to evaluate adherence to the recommendations for the clinical management of candidemia in a population over 75 years before and after implementing specific training. Patients and Methods: We recorded retrospectively data from candidemia episodes in elderly patients during two periods of time: 2010–2015 years (before training) and 2017–2022 years (after training), as well as adherence to the recommendations of the clinical practice guidelines, mortality and consultation to infectious disease specialists. Results: Forty-five episodes of candidemia were recorded in the first period and 29 episodes in the second period. A better compliance to the recommendations of the clinical practice guidelines was observed in the second period: echocardiogram performance (75.9% vs. 48.9% p= .021), fundoscopy (65.5% vs. 44.4% p= .076), follow-up blood cultures (72.4% vs. 42.2% p= .011), removal of central venous catheter (80% vs. 52.9% p= .080) and adequate antifungal treatment (82.6% vs. 52.6% p= .018). A trend towards lower mortality was observed during the second period (27.6% vs. 44.4% p= .144). Conclusion: The improvement of knowledge of clinical guidelines on candidemia and the participation of infectious disease specialists may increase the quality of care in elderly patients with candidemia. It would be necessary to enlarge the sample size to evaluate the real impact of this intervention on mortality

Implementación de la intubación fibróptica en un hospital general y análisis de resultados

La intubación fibróptica es esencial para el manejo de la vía aérea difícil. Sin embargo, la implementación de este recurso presenta dificultades que no han sido suficientemente investigadas. ABSTRACT Optical fiber intubation is essential for difficult airway management. However, implementation of this resource present problems not enough investigated

Implementación de la intubación fibróptica en un hospital general y análisis de resultados

Optical fiber intubation is essential for difficult airway management. However, implementation of this resource present problems not enough investigated.La intubación fibróptica es esencial para el manejo de la vía aérea difícil. Sin embargo, la implementación de este recurso presenta dificultades que no han sido suficientemente investigadas.

Predictors of in-hospital mortality in HIV-infected patients with COVID-19

Background Underlying immunodeficiency is associated with severe COVID-19, but the prognosis of persons with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (PWH) with COVID-19 is under debate. Aim: assessment of the mortality rate and major determinants of death in HIV-infected patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in Spain before vaccine availability. Design: Retrospective nationwide public database analysis. Methods Nationwide, retrospective, observational analysis of all hospitalizations with COVID-19 during year 2020 in Spain. Stratification was made according to HIV status. The National Registry of Hospital Discharges was used with the ICD-10 coding list. Results A total of 117 694 adults were hospitalized with COVID-19 during 2020. Only 234 (0.2%) were HIV-positives. More than 95% were on antiretroviral therapy. Compared to HIV-negatives, PWH were younger (mean age 53.2 vs. 66.5 years old; P<0.001) and more frequently male (74.8% vs. 56.6%; P<0.001). Most co-morbidities predisposing to severe COVID-19 (diabetes, hypertension, dementia and cardiovascular disease) were more frequent in HIV-negatives. In contrast, the rate of baseline liver disease was over 6-fold higher in PWH (27.4% vs. 4.4%; P<0.001). In-hospital mortality was lower in PWH (9.4% vs. 16%; P=0.004). In multivariate analysis, older age, dementia and especially advanced liver disease (relative risk (RR): 7.6) were the major determinants of death in PWH hospitalized with COVID-19. Conclusion HIV-infected patients hospitalized in Spain with COVID-19 during 2020 had better survival than HIV-negatives, most likely explained by younger age and lower rate of co-morbidities. However, advanced liver disease was a major predictor of death in PWH hospitalized with COVID-19

Quantitative trait loci for resistance to trichostrongylid infection in Spanish Churra sheep

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