La conservació preventiva en el projecte del Museu Episcopal de Vic

En el projecte arquitectònic i museogràfic per a la nova seu del Museu Episcopal de Vic s’han integrat unes actuacions de conservació preventiva que han permès d’aconseguir un contenidor segur i funcional per a les col·leccions. El control documental dels objectes, la tria dels materials de construcció i del mobiliari museogràfic, l’adequació de les instal·lacions, els sistemes de subjecció, suports i solucions expositives i la concepció dels espais de magatzem, són alguns dels aspectes que s’han tingut en compte en un programa cultural on s’ha prioritzat l’objectiu de garantir l’existència material i la perennitat del fons. The new Museu Episcopal building of Vic, which is the outcome of an architectonic and museographical project, employs an enhanced method for protecting its collection which is both secure and functional. Some of the features that have been taken into account during the realisation of the museum’s program are: the control of documents related to the artefacts; the selection of construction materials and museum fittings; the adequacy of facilities, securing systems and supports, and presentation solutions, and how to make best use of available storage space. In this cultural program preservation of the pieces and continuation of the collection has been made a priority

Spatial and temporal patterns of marine prokaryotic diversity along the particulate matter continuum

Memoria de tesis doctoral presentada por Mireia Mestre Martín para optar al grado de Doctora en Oceanografía por la Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC), realizada bajo la dirección del Dr. Josep M. Gasol i Piqué y la Dra. M. Montserrat Sala del Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM-CSIC).-- 243 pages[EN] Microorganisms in the ocean conform an extensive microbiome where individuals interact constantly with the particulate matter. However, most of the studies have focused on the free-living microorganisms, and to a lesser extent on the attached microorganisms but have not taken into account the organisms associated to particles of different sizes. The main objective of this thesis is to characterize the diversity of prokaryotes along the particulate matter continuum present in the ocean, as well as to describe its temporal and spatial variability at distinct scales. First of all, we propose a multiple size-fractionation as a sampling method that provides a better comprehension of the prokaryotic diversity than the commonly used sampling methods. Our work shows that each size-fraction contains distinct prokaryotic communities that vary at different spatial and temporal scales. In general, there is an increase of bacterial richness from the smaller to the larger particles, suggesting that larger particles may contribute with new niches. The main exception is the bathypelagic, where richness decreases form the small to the largest size-fractions. In contrast, Archaea presented higher richness in the smaller size-fractions and, although had lower diversity and relative abundance than bacteria, these increased with depth. We moreover classified taxonomic groups depending on whether they have preference for small size-fractions, for larger size-fractions, or do not have a clear preference for any size fraction. This classification is presented as an alternative to the traditional simple separation between free-living bacteria and attached bacteria. Most of the taxonomic groups maintain their preference for certain size fractions in space and time, although some taxonomic groups change their preferences in vertical profiles from the surface to the bathypelagic and along time. We also observed that the bathypelagic is dominated by prokaryotes which are also present in surface waters and that there is a vertical connectivity between prokaryotic communities along the water column through sinking particles. This connectivity causes bathypelagic biogeography to be closely linked to particle colonization in the ocean surface. Overall, this thesis reports on the complexity of prokaryotic communities present in the continuum of sizes and shows the need for disseminating this perspective to define more comprehensively the diversity of ocean prokaryotes[CAT] Els microoganismes oceànics conformen un extens microbioma on els individus interactuen constantment amb la matèria particulada. No obstant això, la gran majoria dels estudis d’ecologia dels microorganismes no tenen en compte aquells associats a la matèria particulada o, si els tenen en compte, no consideren les diferents grandàries que presenten les partícules. L’objectiu principal de la present tesi és la caracterització de la diversitat de procariotes al llarg del continu de mides de les partícules marines presents a l’oceà, així com també descriure la seva variabilitat temporal i espacial a diferents escales. Primer de tot, proposem un fraccionament múltiple de mides de partícules com a mètode de mostreig que proporciona una millor comprensió de la diversitat procariòtica que els mètodes de mostreig més habituals. El nostre treball indica que cada fracció de mida presenta comunitats procariòtiques diferents que a més varien en l’espai, en el temps, i a diferents escales. En general, hi ha un increment de la riquesa de les comunitats bacterianes des de les partícules petites a les més grans, la qual cosa suggereix que les partícules més grans contribueixen nous nínxols ecològics. L’excepció a aquesta tendència s’observa en el batipelàgic, on la riquesa disminueix des de la fracció petita cap a les grans. Per contra, els arqueus presenten en general més riquesa en les fraccions més petites. Comparant bacteris i arqueus, aquests últims presenten menor diversitat i abundàncies relatives, però la seva rellevància augmenta des de la superfície de l’oceà cap al batipelàgic. Hem classificat els grups taxonòmics bacterians segons si tenen preferència per fraccions petites, preferència per fraccions grans, o si no presenten una preferència clara per fraccions petites o grans. Aquesta classificació es presenta com una alternativa a la tradicional separació simple entre bacteris de vida lliure o associats a partícules. La major part de grups taxonòmics mantenen en l’espai i en el temps la preferència per determinats mides de partícula. No obstant això, alguns grups taxonòmics canvien les seves preferències en perfils verticals des de la superfície cap al batipelàgic i també al llarg del temps. Hem vist, a més, que el batipelàgic està dominat per procariotes també existents en aigües superficials, i que hi ha una connectivitat vertical entre les comunitats procariòtiques al llarg de tota la columna d’aigua facilitada per les partícules que sedimenten. Aquesta connectivitat fa que la biogeografia del batipelàgic estigui estretament relacionada amb la colonització de partícules en superfície. En definitiva, aquesta tesi reflecteix la complexitat de les comunitats procariotes presents en el continu de mides de partícules presents a l’oceà i mostra la necessitat de mantenir aquesta perspectiva per descriure així de forma més precisa i completa la diversitat dels procariotes marins[ES] Los microoganismos oceánicos conforman un extenso microbioma donde los individuos interactúan constantemente con la materia particulada. Sin embargo, la gran mayoría de los estudios de microorganismos no tienen en cuenta aquellos asociados a la materia particulada o, si los tienen en cuenta, no consideran los distintos tamaños que presentan las partículas. El objetivo principal de la presente tesis es la caracterización de la diversidad de procariotas a lo largo del continuo de tamaños de las partículas marinas presentes en el océano, así como también describir su variabilidad temporal y espacial a distintas escalas. Primero de todo, proponemos un fraccionamiento múltiple de tamaños de partículas como método de muestreo que proporciona una mejor comprensión de la diversidad procariótica que los métodos de muestreo comunes. Nuestro trabajo indica que cada fracción de tamaño presenta comunidades procarióticas distintas que además varían en el espacio, en el tiempo, y a distintas escalas. En general, existe un incremento de la riqueza de las comunidades bacterianas desde las partículas pequeñas a las más grandes, sugiriendo que las partículas más grandes contribuyen nuevos nichos ecológicos. La excepción a esta tendencia se observa en el batipelágico, donde la riqueza disminuye desde la fracción pequeña hacia las grandes. Por el contrario, las arqueas presentan en general más riqueza en las fracciones más pequeñas. Comparando bacterias y arqueas, estas últimas presentan menor diversidad y abundancias relativas, pero su relevancia incrementa desde la superficie del océano hacia el batipelágico. Hemos clasificado los grupos taxonómicos bacterianos según si tienen preferencia por fracciones pequeñas, preferencia por fracciones grandes, o si no presentan una preferencia clara por fracciones pequeñas o grandes. Esta clasificación se presenta como una alternativa a la tradicional separación simple entre bacterias de vida libre o asociadas a partículas. La mayoría de grupos taxonómicos mantienen en el espacio y en el tiempo la preferencia por determinados tamaños de partícula. Sin embargo, algunos grupos taxonómicos cambian sus preferencias en perfiles verticales desde la superficie hacia el batipelágico y también a lo largo del tiempo. Hemos visto, además, que el batipelágico está dominado por procariotas también existentes en aguas superficiales, y que existe una conectividad vertical entre las comunidades procarióticas a lo largo de toda la columna de agua mediada por las partículas que sedimentan. Dicha conectividad ocasiona que la biogeografía del batipelágico esté estrechamente relacionada con la colonización de partículas en superficie. En definitiva, esta tesis refleja la complejidad de las comunidades procariotas presentes en el continuo de tamaños de partículas presentes en el océano y muestra la necesidad de mantener esta perspectiva para describir así de forma más precisa y completa la diversidad de los procariotas marinosPeer Reviewe

Lipid remodelling is a widespread strategy in marine heterotrophic bacteria upon phosphorus deficiency

Sebastián, Marta ... et al.-- 11 pages, 5 figures, supplementary Information http://www.nature.com/ismej/journal/v10/n4/suppinfo/ismej2015172s1.htmlUpon phosphorus (P) deficiency, marine phytoplankton reduce their requirements for P by replacing membrane phospholipids with alternative non-phosphorus lipids. It was very recently demonstrated that a SAR11 isolate also shares this capability when phosphate starved in culture. Yet, the extent to which this process occurs in other marine heterotrophic bacteria and in the natural environment is unknown. Here, we demonstrate that the substitution of membrane phospholipids for a variety of non-phosphorus lipids is a conserved response to P deficiency among phylogenetically diverse marine heterotrophic bacteria, including members of the Alphaproteobacteria and Flavobacteria. By deletion mutagenesis and complementation in the model marine bacterium Phaeobacter sp. MED193 and heterologous expression in recombinant Escherichia coli, we confirm the roles of a phospholipase C (PlcP) and a glycosyltransferase in lipid remodelling. Analyses of the Global Ocean Sampling and Tara Oceans metagenome data sets demonstrate that PlcP is particularly abundant in areas characterized by low phosphate concentrations. Furthermore, we show that lipid remodelling occurs seasonally and responds to changing nutrient conditions in natural microbial communities from the Mediterranean Sea. Together, our results point to the key role of lipid substitution as an adaptive strategy enabling heterotrophic bacteria to thrive in the vast P-depleted areas of the oceanThis work was partially supported by grants STORM (CTM2009-09352/MAR), MALASPINA (CSD2008-00077), HOTMIX (CTM2011-30010/MAR), DOREMI (CTM2012-34294) and EcoBGM (CTM2013-48292-C3-3-R) funded by the Spanish Government, GAČR project GA13-11281S and MESOAQUA (228224) funded by the European Union Seventh Framework Program (FP7/2007-2013) and by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), UK (NE/M002233/1)Peer Reviewe

Seasonal variation of bacterial diversity along the marine particulate matter continuum

© Copyright © 2020 Mestre, Höfer, Sala and Gasol. Seasonal dynamics of ocean prokaryotic communities in the free-living fraction have been widely described, but less is known about the seasonality of prokaryotes inhabiting marine particles. We describe the seasonality of bacterial communities in the particulate matter continuum by sampling monthly over two years in a temperate oligotrophic coastal ecosystem and using a serial filtration (including six size-fractions spanning from 0.2 to 200 μm). We observed that bacterial communities in the particulate matter continuum had annual changes following harmonic seasonal oscillations, where alpha, beta, and gamma diversity increased during the warm period and decreased during the cold period. Communities in each size-fraction changed gradually over time, being the communities in larger size-fractions the ones with stronger annual changes. Annual community changes were driven mainly by day length and sea surface temperature, and each size-fraction was additionally affected by other variables (e.g., smaller size-fractions by dissolved PO4 and larger size-fractions by turbidity). While some taxonomic groups mantained their preference for a given size fraction during most of the year, others varied their distribution into different size fractions over time, as e.g., SAR11, which increased its presence in particles during the cold period. Our results indicate that the size-fractionation scheme provides novel seasonal patterns that are not possible to unveil by analyzing only free-living bacteria, and that help to better understand the temporal dynamics of prokaryotes

Innovació tecnològica sanitària per la crisi de la COVID-19

Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19; 2019-nCoV; Innovació tecnològica; AvaluacióCoronavirus SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19; 2019-nCoV; Innovación tecnológica; EvaluaciónCoronavirus SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19; 2019-nCoV; Technological innovation; EvaluationLa crisi de salut pública per la COVID-19 durant la primera onada va posar el sistema sanitari sota el risc de desproveïment d'equips per tractar malalts crítics així com d'altres dispositius i materials necessaris per a la protecció del personal assistencial. Davant d’aquesta situació van sorgir múltiples iniciatives innovadores per donar resposta a les necessitats sobrevingudes. Per tal de donar resposta d’una forma ràpida i coordinada a les necessitats d’incorporació de tecnologies amb garanties, s’ha promogut a Catalunya, juntament amb la Fundació TIC Salut Social la creació d'un Grup de treball transversal inter-institucional que ha treballat de forma col·laborativa amb membres de l'àmbit de la innovació, l’avaluació, la regulació, la planificació operativa i la provisió assistencial. La finalitat d'aquest Grup de treball ha estat establir un procés d'actuació coordinat i sinèrgic per a l’anàlisi de les necessitats, la detecció de la innovació, la valoració i priorització de les iniciatives, el seu acompanyament en el desenvolupament i regulació i, finalment, si escau, l’avaluació de la seva aplicació per a la presa de decisions. S’ha obtingut informació de les iniciatives fonamentalment a través de formularis de recollida de dades, que han facilitat la seva caracterització. En aquest informe es recullen les iniciatives tractades fins a 31 de juliol de 2020 classificades segons la seva tipologia

Horizontal and Vertical Distributions of Transparent Exopolymer Particles (TEP) in the NW Mediterranean Sea Are Linked to Chlorophyll a and O2 Variability

12 pages, 6 figures, 3 tables, supplementary material http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmicb.2016.02159/full#supplementary-materialTransparent Exopolymer Particles (TEP) are relevant in particle and carbon fluxes in the ocean, and have economic impact in the desalination industry affecting reverse osmosis membrane fouling. However, general models of their occurrence and dynamics are not yet possible because of the poorly known co-variations with other physical and biological variables. Here, we describe TEP distributions in the NW Mediterranean Sea during late spring 2012, along perpendicular and parallel transects to the Catalan coast. The stations in the parallel transect were sampled at the surface, while the stations in the perpendicular transect were sampled from the surface to the bathypelagic, including the bottom nepheloid layers. We also followed the short-term TEP dynamics along a 2-day cycle in offshore waters. TEP concentrations in the area ranged from 4.9 to 122.8 and averaged 31.4 ± 12.0 μg XG eq L−1. The distribution of TEP measured in transects parallel to the Catalan Coast correlated those of chlorophyll a (Chla) in May but not in June, when higher TEP-values with respect to Chla were observed. TEP horizontal variability in epipelagic waters from the coast to the open sea also correlated to that of Chla, O2 (that we interpret as a proxy of primary production) and bacterial production (BP). In contrast, the TEP vertical distributions in epipelagic waters were uncoupled from those of Chla, as TEP maxima were located above the deep chlorophyll maxima. The vertical distribution of TEP in the epipelagic zone was correlated with O2 and BP, suggesting combined phytoplankton (through primary production) and bacterial (through carbon reprocessing) TEP sources. However, no clear temporal patterns arose during the 2-day cycle. In meso- and bathypelagic waters, where phytoplanktonic sources are minor, TEP concentrations (10.1 ± 4.3 μg XG eq l−1) were half those in the epipelagic, but we observed relative TEP increments coinciding with the presence of nepheloid layers. These TEP increases were not paralleled by increases in particulate organic carbon, indicating that TEP are likely to act as aggregating agents of the mostly inorganic particles present in these bottom nepheloid layersThis work was funded by projects funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science STORM (CTM2009-09352/MAR), SUMMER (CTM2008-03309/MAR), DOREMI (CTM2012-34294), REMEI (CTM2015-70340-R), ANIMA (CTM2015-65720-R), PEGASO (CTM2012-37615), and Grup consolidat de Recerca de la Generalitat de Catalunya (2014SGR/1179)Peer Reviewe

Efficacy of Vafidemstat in Experimental Autoimmune Encepha-Lomyelitis Highlights the KDM1A/RCOR1/HDAC Epigenetic Axis in Multiple Sclerosis

Lysine specific demethylase 1 (LSD1; also known as KDM1A), is an epigenetic modulator that modifies the histone methylation status. KDM1A forms a part of protein complexes that regulate the expression of genes involved in the onset and progression of diseases such as cancer, central nervous system (CNS) disorders, viral infections, and others. Vafidemstat (ORY-2001) is a clinical stage inhibitor of KDM1A in development for the treatment of neurodegenerative and psychiatric diseases. However, the role of ORY-2001 targeting KDM1A in neuroinflammation remains to be explored. Here, we investigated the effect of ORY-2001 on immune-mediated and virus-induced encephalomyelitis, two experimental models of multiple sclerosis and neuronal damage. Oral ad-ministration of ORY-2001 ameliorated clinical signs, reduced lymphocyte egress and infiltration of immune cells into the spinal cord, and prevented demyelination. Interestingly, ORY-2001 was more effective and/or faster acting than a sphingosine 1-phosphate receptor antagonist in the effector phase of the disease and reduced the inflammatory gene expression signature characteristic ofEAE in the CNS of mice more potently. In addition, ORY-2001 induced gene expression changes con-cordant with a potential neuroprotective function in the brain and spinal cord and reduced neuronal glutamate excitotoxicity-derived damage in explants. These results pointed to ORY-2001 as a promising CNS epigenetic drug able to target neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases and provided preclinical support for the subsequent design of early-stage clinical trials.This research funded by Oryzon Genomics, S.A. and partially supported by RETOS: (RTC2016-4955-1); EUROSTAR II: EMTherapy (CIIP-20152001/E!9683) and CDTI: EDOTEM (IDI-20180117)

Occurrence and diffusive air-seawater exchanges of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in Fildes Bay, King George Island, Antarctica

We report the levels of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in seawater and air, and the air-sea dynamics through diffusive exchange analysis in Fildes Bay, King George Island, Antarctica, between November 2019 and January 30, 2020. Hexachlorobenzene (HCB) was the most abundant compound in both air and seawater with concentrations around 39 ± 2.1 pg m−3 and 3.2 ± 2.4 pg L−1 respectively. The most abundant PCB congener was PCB 11, with a mean of 3.16 ± 3.7 pg m−3 in air and 2.0 ± 1.1 pg L−1 in seawater. The fugacity gradient estimated for the OCP compounds indicate a predominance of net atmospheric deposition for HCB, α-HCH, γ-HCH, 4,4′-DDT, 4,4′-DDE and close to equilibrium for the PeCB compound. The observed deposition of some OCs may be driven by high biodegradation rates and/or settling fluxes decreasing the concentration of these compounds in surface waters, which is supported by the capacity of microbial consortium to degrade some of these compounds. The estimated fugacity gradients for PCBs showed differences between congeners, with net volatilization predominating for PCB-9, a trend close to equilibrium for PCB congeners 11, 28, 52, 101, 118, 138, and 153, and deposition for PCB 180. Snow amplification may play an important role for less hydrophobic PCBs, with volatilization predominating after snow/glacier melting. As hydrophobicity increases, the biological pump decreases the concentration of PCBs in seawater, reversing the fugacity gradient to atmospheric deposition. This study highlights the potential impacts of climate change, through glacier retreat, on the biogeochemistry of POPs, remobilizing those compounds previously trapped within the cryosphere which in turn will transform the Antarctic cryosphere into a secondary source of the more volatile POPs in coastal areas, influenced by snow and ice melting

Disentangling the mechanisms shaping the surface ocean microbiota

BACKGROUND: The ocean microbiota modulates global biogeochemical cycles and changes in its configuration may have large-scale consequences. Yet, the underlying ecological mechanisms structuring it are unclear. Here, we investigate how fundamental ecological mechanisms (selection, dispersal and ecological drift) shape the smallest members of the tropical and subtropical surface-ocean microbiota: prokaryotes and minute eukaryotes (picoeukaryotes). Furthermore, we investigate the agents exerting abiotic selection on this assemblage as well as the spatial patterns emerging from the action of ecological mechanisms. To explore this, we analysed the composition of surface-ocean prokaryotic and picoeukaryotic communities using DNA-sequence data (16S- and 18S-rRNA genes) collected during the circumglobal expeditions Malaspina-2010 and TARA-Oceans. RESULTS: We found that the two main components of the tropical and subtropical surface-ocean microbiota, prokaryotes and picoeukaryotes, appear to be structured by different ecological mechanisms. Picoeukaryotic communities were predominantly structured by dispersal-limitation, while prokaryotic counterparts appeared to be shaped by the combined action of dispersal-limitation, selection and drift. Temperature-driven selection appeared as a major factor, out of a few selected factors, influencing species co-occurrence networks in prokaryotes but not in picoeukaryotes, indicating that association patterns may contribute to understand ocean microbiota structure and response to selection. Other measured abiotic variables seemed to have limited selective effects on community structure in the tropical and subtropical ocean. Picoeukaryotes displayed a higher spatial differentiation between communities and a higher distance decay when compared to prokaryotes, consistent with a scenario of higher dispersal limitation in the former after considering environmental heterogeneity. Lastly, random dynamics or drift seemed to have a more important role in structuring prokaryotic communities than picoeukaryotic counterparts. CONCLUSIONS: The differential action of ecological mechanisms seems to cause contrasting biogeography, in the tropical and subtropical ocean, among the smallest surface plankton, prokaryotes and picoeukaryotes. This suggests that the idiosyncrasy of the main constituents of the ocean microbiota should be considered in order to understand its current and future configuration, which is especially relevant in a context of global change, where the reaction of surface ocean plankton to temperature increase is still unclear. Video Abstract

DeScripto. Plataforma digital para el aprendizaje de las ciencias y técnicas historiográficas

El proyecto: deScripto: Plataforma digital para el aprendizaje de las Ciencias y Técnicas Historiográficas, se presentó con el objetivo de configurar una herramienta con finalidad educativa en el aprendizaje de las Ciencias y Técnicas Historiográficas (Paleografía, Diplomática, Epigrafía y Numismática). Para ello se propone la creación de un espacio web con recursos para la docencia y el aprendizaje de las Ciencias y Técnicas Historiográficas