Terapias de reemplazo mitocondrial en la línea germinal y sus aplicaciones clínicas

Las mitocondrias son unos orgánulos semiautónomos que contienen su propio genoma. Su papel principal es proveer a las células de energía metabólica en forma de ATP generado a través de la oxidación fosforilativa. Las manifestaciones clínicas de las enfermedades mitocondriales varían, pero frecuentemente afectan a órganos y tejidos con gran demanda energética. La expresión y severidad de los síntomas, de dichas enfermedades, dependen de la mutación en sí y de los niveles de heteroplasmia. Actualmente no existe ningún tratamiento para las enfermedades mitocondriales, los únicos disponibles solo alivian los síntomas e intentan retrasar la progresión de la misma, por lo tanto, todos los esfuerzos se centran en la prevención de la transmisión de dichas enfermedades de madres a hijos, aunque el éxito de estos métodos de prevención, sin renunciar a los genes nucleares maternos, es limitado hasta el momento. El objetivo de esta tesis es el reemplazo completo del citoplasma en ovocitos de mujeres portadoras de ADN mitocondrial mutado, usando ovocitos donados por mujeres sanas (MRT). Durante el proceso de reemplazo mitocondrial, el ADN nuclear, junto con una pequeña cantidad de citoplasma que contiene mitocondrias, se transfiere al ovocito donante de citoplasma que se ha enucleado previamente. Así pues estudiamos a partir de los embriones producidos y de las células madre embrionarias derivadas de ellos, la eficacia y seguridad del reemplazo mitocondrial, así como las posibles incompatibilidades entre el ADN nuclear y el mitocondrial y los distintos haplotipos mitocondriales. Los resultados obtenidos demuestran que el reemplazo mitocondrial no afecta al desarrollo pre-implantacional, y no se observan incompatibilidades entre el ADN nuclear y el mitocondrial, como tampoco, entre los distintos haplotipos debido a la cercanía genética que hay entre ellos. Sin embargo, en las células madre embrionarias, algunas combinaciones de haplotipos tienen una amplificación preferencial provocando la recuperación del genotipo mitocondrial original

Estudi de les variables sexe, edat i nota mitjana sobre la competència social,en estudiants de secundària

S'analitza la influència que variables independents com el sexe, l'edat i la nota mitjana exerceixen sobre la Competència Social dels adolescents, a més d'una breu aproximació teòrica a aquest constructe. La mostra es compon de 193 estudiants d'Ensenyament Secundari Obligatori, compresos entre els 12 i els 16 anys. S'ha emprat l'instrument d'avaluació de la Competència Social de Matson i al. (MESSY, 1983). Ha estat en l'escala d'Habilitats Socials Apropiades, on els adolescents han obtingut majors puntuacions i es confirma la influència de les tres variables anteriors sobre la Competència Social

Deciphering the iron side of stroke : Neurodegeneration at the crossroads between iron dyshomeostasis, excitotoxicity, and ferroptosis

Altres ajuts: We acknowledge the funding received from "la Caixa" Foundation CI15-00009 and from the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) PoC-2016-SPAIN-04. EIT receives support from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program.In general, iron represents a double-edged sword in metabolism in most tissues, especially in the brain. Although the high metabolic demands of brain cells require iron as a redox-active metal for ATP-producing enzymes, the brain is highly vulnerable to the devastating consequences of excessive iron-induced oxidative stress and, as recently found, to ferroptosis as well. The blood-brain barrier (BBB) protects the brain from fluctuations in systemic iron. Under pathological conditions, especially in acute brain pathologies such as stroke, the BBB is disrupted, and iron pools from the blood gain sudden access to the brain parenchyma, which is crucial in mediating stroke-induced neurodegeneration. Each brain cell type reacts with changes in their expression of proteins involved in iron uptake, efflux, storage, and mobilization to preserve its internal iron homeostasis, with specific organelles such as mitochondria showing specialized responses. However, during ischemia, neurons are challenged with excess extracellular glutamate in the presence of high levels of extracellular iron; this causes glutamate receptor overactivation that boosts neuronal iron uptake and a subsequent overproduction of membrane peroxides. This glutamate-driven neuronal death can be attenuated by iron-chelating compounds or free radical scavenger molecules. Moreover, vascular wall rupture in hemorrhagic stroke results in the accumulation and lysis of iron-rich red blood cells at the brain parenchyma and the subsequent presence of hemoglobin and heme iron at the extracellular milieu, thereby contributing to iron-induced lipid peroxidation and cell death. This review summarizes recent progresses made in understanding the ferroptosis component underlying both ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke subtypes

Actuación arqueológica subacuática en los bajos al noroeste de la Ciudad de Cádiz

Con objeto de favorecer la tutela del patrimonio arqueológico sumergido a través de acciones encaminadas a la investigación, protección, conservación, restauración y difusión, se puso marcha, desde el Departamento de Intervención del Centro de Arqueología Subacuática, una actuación arqueológica en una de las zonas más ricas de nuestro litoral. La elección de este área se estableció tomando como base el importante volumen de documentación, tanto bibliográfica como oral, que presuponía la existencia de posibles yacimientos. Si bien es cierto que el área de La Caleta ha sido objeto de numerosos estudios parciales y de destacables hallazgos descontextualizados, era necesario abordar la zona con una visión de conjunto que permitiera obtener una constatación y valoración de cada uno de los yacimientos , así como una normalización de los datos aportados por cada uno de ellos

Sludge management modeling to enhance P-recovery as struvite in wastewater treatment plants

[EN] Interest in phosphorus (P) recovery and reuse has increased in recent years as supplies of P are declining. After use, most of the P remains in wastewater, making Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs) a vital part of P recycling. In this work, a new sludge management operation was studied by modeling in order to recover Pin the form of struvite and minimize operating problems due to uncontrolled P precipitation in WWTPs. During the study, intensive analytical campaigns were carried out on the water and sludge lines. The results identified the anaerobic digester as a "hot spot" of uncontrolled P precipitation (9.5 gP/kg sludge) and highlighted possible operating problems due to the accumulation of precipitates. A new sludge line management strategy was simulated therefore using DESASS (c) software, consisting of the elutriation of the mixed sludge in the mixing chamber, to reduce uncontrolled P precipitation and to obtain a P-rich stream (primary thickener supernatant) to be used in a crystallization process. The key operating parameters were found to be: the elutriation flow from the mixing chamber to the primary thickener, the digestion flow and the sludge blanket height of the primary thickener, with optimized values between 70 and 80 m(3)/d, 90-100 m(3)/d and 1.4-1.5 m, respectively. Under these operating conditions, the preliminary results showed that P concentration in the primary thickener overflow significantly increased (from 38 to 100 mg PO4-P/L), which shows that this stream is suitable for use in a subsequent crystallization reactor to recover P in the form of struvite. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.This work was co-financed by the European Financial Instrument for the Environment (LIFE +) as part of the PHORWater Project (LIFE12 ENV/ES/000441).Martí Ortega, N.; Barat, R.; Seco Torrecillas, A.; Pastor Alcañiz, L.; Bouzas Blanco, A. (2017). Sludge management modeling to enhance P-recovery as struvite in wastewater treatment plants. Journal of Environmental Management. 196:340-346. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2016.12.074S34034619

Build your own optical amplifier: design, implementation and physical model of an Erbium Doped-Fiber Amplifier

2017/201

Implementation of a global P-recovery system in urban wastewater treatment plants

[EN] Current wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) paradigm is moving towards the so-called water resource recovery facilities in which sewage is considered a source of valuable resources. In particular, urban WWTPs are crucial systems to enhance phosphorus (P) recycling. This paper evaluates the implementation of a P-recovery system in Calahorra WWTP combining the operation of a new sludge line configuration coupled to a struvite crystallisation reactor at demonstration-scale. This new configuration consisted in the elutriation in the gravity thickener of the mixed sludge contained in the mixing chamber in order to reduce the phosphate load to the anaerobic digestion. The results indicated that the P available in the primary sludge overflow was nearly five times more than the obtained for the conventional configuration (1.88 vs. 0.39 gP/kg sludge treated), and the uncontrolled P precipitation inside the anaerobic digester was reduced by 43%. Regarding the total P entering the WWTP, 19% of the total P could be recovered with the new configuration proposed in comparison with 9% in the previous conventional configuration. The average recovery efficiency in the crystallisation plant was 86.9 0.4%, yielding a struvite recovery of 8.0 +/- 0.6 kg/d (0.67 +/- 0.04 kg/m(3) fed to the crystalliser). The potential struvite production with the new configuration would be around 41 kg/d (15 t/y) crystallising the thickener supernatant which could be increased up to around 103 kg/d (38 t/y) treating all the P enriched streams (thickener supernatant and centrate streams). The paper demonstrates that WWTPs can contribute to reduce P scarcity, resulting in environmental and economic benefits. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.This work was co-financed by the European Financial Instrument for the Environment (LIFE +) as part of the PHORWater Project (LIFE12 ENV/ES/000441). The authors also like to acknowledge the support received from Consorcio de Aguas y Residuos de La Rioja and from EDAR del Cidacos (Calahorra).Bouzas Blanco, A.; Martí Ortega, N.; Grau, S.; Barat, R.; Mangin, D.; Pastor Alcañiz, L. (2019). Implementation of a global P-recovery system in urban wastewater treatment plants. Journal of Cleaner Production. 227:130-140. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.04.126S13014022

High signal-to-noise ratio ultra-compact lab-on-a-chip microflow cytometer enabled by silicon optical antennas

[EN] We experimentally demonstrate an all-silicon nanoantenna-based micro-optofluidic cytometer showing a combination of high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) > 14 dB and ultra-compact size. Thanks to the ultra-high directivity of the antennas (>150), which enables a state-of-the-art sub-micron resolution, we are able to avoid the use of the bulky devices typically employed to collimate light on chip (such as lenses or fibers). The nm-scale antenna cross section allows a dramatic reduction of the optical system footprint, from the mm-scale of previous approaches to a few mu m(2), yielding a notable reduction in the fabrication costs. This scheme paves the way to ultra-compact lab-on-a-chip devices that may enable new applications with potential impact on all branches of biological and health science.Funding from grant TEC2015-63838-C3-1-R OPTONANOSENS (MINECO/FEDER, UE) is acknowledged. C. G.-M. acknowledges support from project TEC2015-73581-JIN PHUTURE (AEI/FEDER, UE). This work was also supported by the EU-funded projects FP7-ICT PHOXTROT (No. 318240), the EU-funded H2020-FET-HPC EXANEST (No. 671553) and the Generalitat Valenciana's PROMETEO grant NANOMET PLUS (PROMETEO II/2014/34).Lechago-Buendia, S.; García Meca, C.; Sánchez Losilla, N.; Griol Barres, A.; Martí Sendra, J. (2018). High signal-to-noise ratio ultra-compact lab-on-a-chip microflow cytometer enabled by silicon optical antennas. Optics Express. 26(20):25645-25656. https://doi.org/10.1364/OE.26.02564525645256562620Redding, B., Liew, S. F., Sarma, R., & Cao, H. (2013). Compact spectrometer based on a disordered photonic chip. Nature Photonics, 7(9), 746-751. doi:10.1038/nphoton.2013.190Malinauskas, M., Žukauskas, A., Hasegawa, S., Hayasaki, Y., Mizeikis, V., Buividas, R., & Juodkazis, S. (2016). Ultrafast laser processing of materials: from science to industry. Light: Science & Applications, 5(8), e16133-e16133. doi:10.1038/lsa.2016.133Fan, X., & White, I. M. (2011). 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Banker plants and landscape composition influence colonisation precocity of tomato greenhouses by mirid predators

Conservation biological control involves manipulation of the environment to enhance the effectiveness of natural enemies in controlling crop pests. In this study, we combined historical data, sticky trap sampling of tomato greenhouses and beat sampling of adjacent vegetation to identify which greenhouse characteristics, habitat management practices and landscape features favour an early colonisation of tomato greenhouses by the key mirid predator Macrolophus pygmaeus and its establishment in NE Spain. Results show that landscape composition and the use of Calendula officinalis banker plants inside the greenhouse are key factors. In general, greater amounts of herbaceous semi-natural cover at the landscape scale promoted M. pygmaeus colonisation, while the use of C. officinalis banker plants encouraged M. pygmaeus colonisation independently of the landscape context. We identified host plants adjacent to tomato greenhouses that sustain M. pygmaeus populations; however, they did not have a major effect on M. pygmaeus colonisation compared to larger landscape and banker plant effects. Early colonisation of greenhouses by this predator species also translated into lower accumulated incidence of pests at the end of the sampling period. This study demonstrates the importance of active habitat management practices in promoting the early arrival of M. pygmaeus in greenhouses with delayed spontaneous colonisation.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

La professió dels pares i l'autoconcepte, els valors i el raonament moral dels fills

En el present estudi s’analitza la relació entre la professió del pare i/o la mare i l’autoconcepte, els valors i el judici moral dels adolescents, a més d’una breu aproximació teòrica als tres constructes psicològics. La mostra es compon de 350 adolescents escolaritzats amb una mitjana de 14.8 anys d’edat. S’han obtingut MANOVAs, les quals estudiaven la relació entre la professió del pare i la mare, a més de les puntuacions objecte d’investigació. Respecte a la variable «professió dels pares i la seua relació amb l’autoconcepte » apareixen diferències marginalment significatives en els nivells d’autocomportament físic en funció de la professió de les mares que tenen estudis superiors. No s’ha trobat cap relació entre la professió dels pares i mares, i els valors i el raonament moral, la qual cosa convida a seguir amb l’estudi sobre altre tipus de mostra, per veure si allò que no s’ha trobat en aquest treball continua sense aparéixer en altres investigacions basats en estudis longitudinals