Relationship between the gingival biotype and the results of root covering surgical procedures : a systematic review

Tissue biotypes are related to the results of periodontal therapy, conventional prosthodontics, implant therapy and root covering procedures. We conducted a systematic review (SR) of the literature about the relationship between the gingival biotype and

Heavy Metal Tolerance of Microorganisms Isolated from Coastal Marine Sediments and Their Lead Removal Potential

In this study, 338 microorganisms, comprising 271 bacteria and 67 fungi, were isolated from sediment samples collected from underexplored Pacific and Caribbean regions of Colombia. Screening trials were conducted on selected strains (n = 276) to assess their tolerance to cadmium (Cd2+), lead (Pb2+), and zinc (Zn2+), leading to the identification of six bacteria capable of withstanding 750 mg·L−1 of each heavy metal ion. Three promising microorganisms, identified as Enterobacter sp. INV PRT213, Pseudomonas sp. INV PRT215, and Stenotrophomonas sp. INV PRT216 were selected for lead removal experiments using LB broth medium supplemented with 400 mg·L−1 Pb2+. Among these, Pseudomonas sp. INV PRT215 exhibited significant potential, removing 49% of initial Pb2+ after 240 min of exposure (16.7 g wet biomass·L−1, pH 5, 30 °C). Infrared spectra of Pb-exposed biomass showed changes in functional groups, including carbonyl groups of amides, carboxylate, phosphate, hydroxyl, and amine groups, compared to the not-exposed control. These changes suggested interactions between the metal and functional groups in the biomass. The findings of this study highlight the potential of microorganisms derived from coastal marine environments as promising candidates for future applications in bioremediation of polluted environments contaminated with heavy metals

Small renal masses in Latin-American population : Characteristics and prognostic factors for survival, recurrence and metastasis - A multi-institutional study from LARCG database

To evaluate demographic, clinical and pathological characteristics of small renal masses (SRM) (≤ 4 cm) in a Latin-American population provided by LARCG (Latin-American Renal Cancer Group) and analyze predictors of survival, recurrence and metastasis. A multi-institutional retrospective cohort study of 1523 patients submitted to surgical treatment for non-metastatic SRM from 1979 to 2016. Comparisons between radical (RN) or partial nephrectomy (PN) and young or elderly patients were performed. Kaplan-Meier curves and log-rank tests estimated 10-year overall survival. Predictors of local recurrence or metastasis were analyzed by a multivariable logistic regression model. PN and RN were performed in 897 (66%) and 461 (34%) patients. A proportional increase of PN cases from 48.5% (1979-2009) to 75% (after 2009) was evidenced. Stratifying by age, elderly patients (≥ 65 years) had better 10-year OS rates when submitted to PN (83.5%), than RN (54.5%), p = 0.044. This disparity was not evidenced in younger patients. On multivariable model, bilaterality, extracapsular extension and ASA (American Society of Anesthesiologists) classification ≥3 were predictors of local recurrence. We did not identify significant predictors for distant metastasis in our series. PN is performed in Latin-America in a similar proportion to developed areas and it has been increasing in the last years. Even in elderly individuals, if good functional status, sufficiently fit to surgery, and favorable tumor characteristics, they should be encouraged to perform PN. Intending to an earlier diagnosis of recurrence or distant metastasis, SRM cases with unfavorable characteristics should have a more rigorous follow-up routine

Los yacimientos de vertebrados continentales del Aragoniense superior (Mioceno medio) de Toril, Cuenca de Calatayud-Daroca

The paleontological sites of Toril 3A and B (Upper Aragonian, Biozone C3, MN 7/8) posses an exceptional and abundant fauna of vertebrates. From 1997 until 2001 these two localities have been object of systematic paleontological excavations. Up to now 36 species of large and small mammals have been found in these localities; the association of vertebrates also includes amphibians, reptiles and birds, among the remains of fossils birds it is frequent to found egg shell fragments. There are not significant differences in the qualitative and quantitative faunistic composition of the two sites; in both the undetermined bone fragments and the remains of chelonians, most of them dermal bones, are the dominant fossils. An important characteristic is the abundance of small size hornless ruminants, which are quite scarce in the stratified sites of the Spanish Aragonian. Neither there are differences in the composition of the micromammals, the association is overwhelmingly dominated (more than 95%) for different cricetid species; in Toril 3A beavers reappears for the first time during the Aragonian, and they will be frequent in younger faunas of the same basin. The fossils were deposited in different sedimentary environments, related with alluvial and shallow lacustrine environments

Rationale and design of a randomised controlled trial evaluating the effectiveness of an exercise program to improve the quality of life of patients with heart failure in primary care : the EFICAR study protocol

Background: Quality of life (QoL) decreases as heart failure worsens, which is one of the greatest worries of these patients. Physical exercise has been shown to be safe for people with heart failure. Previous studies have tested heterogeneous exercise programs using different QoL instruments and reported inconsistent effects on QoL. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a new exercise program for people with heart failure (EFICAR), additional to the recommended optimal treatment in primary care, to improve QoL, functional capacity and control of cardiovascular risk factors. Methods/Design: Multicenter clinical trial in which 600 patients with heart failure in NYHA class II-IV will be randomized to two parallel groups: EFICAR and control. After being recruited, through the reference cardiology services, in six health centres from the Spanish Primary Care Prevention and Health Promotion Research Network (redIAPP), patients are followed for 1 year after the beginning of the intervention. Both groups receive the optimized treatment according to the European Society of Cardiology guidelines. In addition, the EFICAR group performs a 3 month supervised progressive exercise program with an aerobic (high-intensity intervals) and a strength component; and the programme continues linked with community resources for 9 months. The main outcome measure is the change in health-related QoL measured by the SF-36 and the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaires at baseline, 3, 6 and 12 months. Secondary outcomes considered are changes in functional capacity measured by the 6-Minute Walking Test, cardiac structure (B-type natriuretic peptides), muscle strength and body composition. Both groups will be compared on an intention to treat basis, using multi-level longitudinal mixed models. Sex, age, social class, co-morbidity and cardiovascular risk factors will be considered as potential confounding and predictor variables. Discussion: A key challenges of this study is to guarantee the safety of the patients; however, the current scientific evidence supports the notion of there being no increase in the risk of decompensation, cardiac events, hospitalizations and deaths associated with exercise, but rather the opposite. Safety assurance will be based on an optimized standardised pharmacological therapy and health education for all the participants

Metabolic and mitochondria alterations induced by SARS-CoV-2 accessory proteins ORF3a, ORF9b, ORF9c and ORF10

Antiviral signaling, immune response and cell metabolism in human body are dysregulated by SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of the COVID-19. Here, we show that SARS-CoV-2 accessory proteins ORF3a, ORF9b, ORF9c and ORF10 induce a significant mitochondrial and metabolic reprogramming in A549 lung epithelial cells. While all four ORFs caused mitochondrial fragmentation and altered mitochondrial function, only ORF3a and ORF9c induced a marked structural alteration in mitochondrial cristae. ORF9b, ORF9c and ORF10 induced largely overlapping transcriptomes. In contrast, ORF3a induced a distinct transcriptome, including the downregulation of numerous genes for proteins with critical mitochondrial functions and morphology. Genome-Scale Metabolic Models predicted common and private metabolic flux reprogramming, notably a depressed amino acid metabolism, and an enhanced metabolism of specific lipids distinctly induced by ORF3a. These findings reveal metabolic dependencies and vulnerabilities prompted by SARS-CoV-2 accessory proteins that may be exploited to identify new targets for intervention.This research work was funded by the European Commission – NextGenerationEU (Regulation EU 2020/2094), through CSIC's Global Health Platform (PTI+ Salud Global) (COVID-19-117 and SGL2103015), Junta de Andalucía (CV20-20089), Spanish Ministry of Science project (PID2021-123399OB-I00), the Agency for Management of University and Research Grants from Generalitat de Catalunya-AGAUR (2020PANDE00048 and 2021SGR00350) and ICREA foundation (ICREA-Academia-2021 to MC) of Generalitat de Catalunya, and an AESi grant of the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (PI20CIII-00014). TGG is recipient of a Ramón y Cajal contract funded by MCIN/AEU/10.13039/501100011033 and NextGeneration EU/PRTR.N

CIBERER : Spanish national network for research on rare diseases: A highly productive collaborative initiative

Altres ajuts: Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII); Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación.CIBER (Center for Biomedical Network Research; Centro de Investigación Biomédica En Red) is a public national consortium created in 2006 under the umbrella of the Spanish National Institute of Health Carlos III (ISCIII). This innovative research structure comprises 11 different specific areas dedicated to the main public health priorities in the National Health System. CIBERER, the thematic area of CIBER focused on rare diseases (RDs) currently consists of 75 research groups belonging to universities, research centers, and hospitals of the entire country. CIBERER's mission is to be a center prioritizing and favoring collaboration and cooperation between biomedical and clinical research groups, with special emphasis on the aspects of genetic, molecular, biochemical, and cellular research of RDs. This research is the basis for providing new tools for the diagnosis and therapy of low-prevalence diseases, in line with the International Rare Diseases Research Consortium (IRDiRC) objectives, thus favoring translational research between the scientific environment of the laboratory and the clinical setting of health centers. In this article, we intend to review CIBERER's 15-year journey and summarize the main results obtained in terms of internationalization, scientific production, contributions toward the discovery of new therapies and novel genes associated to diseases, cooperation with patients' associations and many other topics related to RD research

Simulating rewetting events in intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams: a global analysis of leached nutrients and organic matter

Climate change and human pressures are changing the global distribution and extent of intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams (IRES), which comprise half of the global river network area. IRES are characterized by periods of flow cessation, during which channel substrates accumulate and undergo physico‐chemical changes (preconditioning), and periods of flow resumption, when these substrates are rewetted and release pulses of dissolved nutrients and organic matter (OM). However, there are no estimates of the amounts and quality of leached substances, nor is there information on the underlying environmental constraints operating at the global scale. We experimentally simulated, under standard laboratory conditions, rewetting of leaves, riverbed sediments, and epilithic biofilms collected during the dry phase across 205 IRES from five major climate zones. We determined the amounts and qualitative characteristics of the leached nutrients and OM, and estimated their areal fluxes from riverbeds. In addition, we evaluated the variance in leachate characteristics in relation to selected environmental variables and substrate characteristics. We found that sediments, due to their large quantities within riverbeds, contribute most to the overall flux of dissolved substances during rewetting events (56‐98%), and that flux rates distinctly differ among climate zones. Dissolved organic carbon, phenolics, and nitrate contributed most to the areal fluxes. The largest amounts of leached substances were found in the continental climate zone, coinciding with the lowest potential bioavailability of the leached organic matter. The opposite pattern was found in the arid zone. Environmental variables expected to be modified under climate change (i.e. potential evapotranspiration, aridity, dry period duration, land use) were correlated with the amount of leached substances, with the strongest relationship found for sediments. These results show that the role of IRES should be accounted for in global biogeochemical cycles, especially because prevalence of IRES will increase due to increasing severity of drying events

Simulating rewetting events in intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams: A global analysis of leached nutrients and organic matter

Climate change and human pressures are changing the global distribution and the ex‐ tent of intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams (IRES), which comprise half of the global river network area. IRES are characterized by periods of flow cessation, during which channel substrates accumulate and undergo physico‐chemical changes (precon‐ ditioning), and periods of flow resumption, when these substrates are rewetted and release pulses of dissolved nutrients and organic matter (OM). However, there are no estimates of the amounts and quality of leached substances, nor is there information on the underlying environmental constraints operating at the global scale. We experi‐ mentally simulated, under standard laboratory conditions, rewetting of leaves, river‐ bed sediments, and epilithic biofilms collected during the dry phase across 205 IRES from five major climate zones. We determined the amounts and qualitative character‐ istics of the leached nutrients and OM, and estimated their areal fluxes from riverbeds. In addition, we evaluated the variance in leachate characteristics in relation to selected environmental variables and substrate characteristics. We found that sediments, due to their large quantities within riverbeds, contribute most to the overall flux of dis‐ solved substances during rewetting events (56%–98%), and that flux rates distinctly differ among climate zones. Dissolved organic carbon, phenolics, and nitrate contrib‐ uted most to the areal fluxes. The largest amounts of leached substances were found in the continental climate zone, coinciding with the lowest potential bioavailability of the leached OM. The opposite pattern was found in the arid zone. Environmental vari‐ ables expected to be modified under climate change (i.e. potential evapotranspiration, aridity, dry period duration, land use) were correlated with the amount of leached sub‐ stances, with the strongest relationship found for sediments. These results show that the role of IRES should be accounted for in global biogeochemical cycles, especially because prevalence of IRES will increase due to increasing severity of drying event

Fifth European Dirofilaria and Angiostrongylus Days (FiEDAD) 2016

Peer reviewe