A novel Kluyveromyces marxianus strain with an inducible flocculation phenotype

Flocculation is a very useful phenotype for industrial yeast strains, since it facilitates cell harvest and represents an easy way of cell immobilization in continuous fermentation processes. The present work represents the first time that an inducible flocculation phenotype has been generated in a non flocculent strain of Kluyveromyces marxianus. This was accomplished by expressing Saccharomyces cerevisiae FLO5 gene in K. marxianus CECT 11769 strain. The FLO 5 gene was placed under the control of an EPG promoter, not repressed by glucose and induced by anoxia. Our experimental approach successfully generated two novel K. marxianus flocculent phenotypes: one inducible and one constitutive. The constitutive phenotype originated from deletions in the FLO5 promoter region, indicating the existence of putative upstream repressor site involved in oxygen regulation of the EPG1 promoter. The novel strains here generated had a unique set of characteristics that provided an advantage, over the wild-type strain, for the industrial co-production of ethanol and polygalacturonase.This work was supported by the AECID (Grant no. A/024951/09 and A/ 030029/10)S

Genetic assessment of population restorations of the critically endangered Silene hifacensis in the Iberian Peninsula

In order to preserve endangered plant populations and recover their evolutionary potential and ecological behavior, some restoration measures generally involve the reinforcement of the population size in existing natural populations or the reintroduction of new populations. Genetic monitoring of both natural and restored populations can provide an assessment of restoration protocol success in establishing populations that maintain levels of genetic diversity similar to those in natural populations. The highly threatened Spanish species Silene hifacensis (Caryophyllaceae) has only three natural reduced mainland populations in the Iberian Peninsula, following decline and extinction that occurred during the late 20th century. Preterit restoration strategies were essentially based on the implantation of new populations and reinforcement of certain existing populations using transplants mostly cultivated in greenhouses. In the present contribution, levels and patterns of genetic variability within natural and restored populations of Silene hifacensis were assessed using the molecular technique AFLP. Our results pointed out significant genetic diversity differences across the three existing natural populations though their population fragmentation and progressive loss of individuals have not had an impact on the global genetic diversity of this species. For restored populations, their levels of genetic diversity were similar and even higher than in natural populations. As a result, the past restoration protocols were successful in capturing similar and even higher levels of genetic diversity than those observed within natural pools. However, inbreeding processes have been detected for two restored populations. Finally, the main source of plant material for the long-time restored transplants appears to be the natural population of Cova de les Cendres. This study demonstrates, once again, how genetic markers are useful tools to be taken in consideration for endangered plant species conservation plans.Work was supported by the project CONSELLERIATERRITORIO4-06i (Conselleria de Territori i Habitage, Generalitat Valenciana)

Preliminary NeQuick assessment for future single frequency users of GALILEO

The NeQuick model is the ionospheric mo del that will be used by the GALILEO single frequency user to compute ionospheric corrections. In this framework, the aim of this study is to show a preliminary assessment of the performance of the NeQuick model using as metrics an independent source of TEC (Total Electron Content) such as altimetric satellites (in this case, TOPEX/Poseidon) that provide direct measurements of TEC.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Real time application of Tomion model

Since the first development of the TOMION(TOmographic Model of the IONosphere),in1995,gAGE/UPC has been improving the performance and reliability of this technique. The TOMION kernel relies on the computation of the ionospheric electrondensity by means of using a 4D model of the ionosphere. At the beginning the technique was mainly focused on ionospheric determination from a single or few stations using a 2-layer tomographic approach. Further developments lead to the use of TOMION as a global ionospheric scanner,allowing the use of TOMION to produce Global Ionospheric Maps(GIMs)for the International GNSS Service(IGS) jointly with CODE(University of Bern),EMR (Energymines and Resources,NRCAN),ESA (European Space Agency) and JPL(Jet Propulsion Laboratory) since 1st June 1998. Inparallel to this activity, the TOMION capabilities were increased, and the use of more than 2-layers was a natural extension of the model. However, other approaches were introduced, and as a result of that effort the Improved Abel technique, for electrondensity profile retrieving, was developed. This technique was based on the separability hypothesis, which overtook the limitations of the spherical hypothesis for electrondensity retrieval.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Construction of a novel Pichia pastoris strain for production of xanthophylls

In this study, we used the yeast carotenogenic producer Pichia pastoris Pp-EBIL strain, which has been metabolically engineered, by heterologously expressing β-carotene-pathway enzymes to produce β-carotene, as a vessel for recombinant astaxanthin expression. For this purpose, we designed new P. pastoris recombinant-strains harboring astaxanthin-encoding genes from carotenogenic microorganism, and thus capable of producing xanthophyllic compounds. We designed and constructed a plasmid (pGAPZA-WZ) containing both the β-carotene ketolase (crtW) and β-carotene hydroxylase (crtZ) genes from Agrobacterium aurantiacum, under the control of the GAP promoter and containing an AOX-1 terminator. The plasmid was then integrated into the P. pastoris Pp-EBIL strain genomic DNA, producing clone Pp-EBILWZ. The recombinant P. pastoris (Pp-EBILWZ) cells exhibited a strong reddish carotenoid coloration and were confirmed, by HPLC, to produce not only the previous described carotenoids lycopene and β-carotene, but also de novo synthesized astaxanthin.J. M. A-G. is the recipient of an AECID scholarship from the Spanish Foreign Affairs MinistryS

Novel non-resorbable polymeric-nanostructured scaffolds for guided bone regeneration

Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate the bone-regeneration efficiency of novel polymeric nanostructured membranes and the effect of zinc, calcium, titanium and bone morpho-protein loading on membranes, through an in vivo rabbit model. Material and Methods Nanostructured membranes of methylmethacrylate were loaded with zinc, calcium, TiO2 nanoparticles and bone-morphogenetic protein (BMP). These membranes covered the bone defects prepared on the skulls of six rabbits. Animals were sacrificed six weeks after surgery. Micro computed tomography was used to evaluate bone architecture through BoneJ pluging and ImageJ script. Three histological processing of samples, including von Kossa silver nitrate, toluidine blue and fluorescence by the deposition of calcein were utilized. Results Zn-Membranes (Zn-Ms) promoted the highest amount of new bone and higher bone perimeter than both unloaded and Ti-Membranes (Ti-Ms). Ca-Membranes (Ca-Ms) attained higher osteoid perimeter and bone perimeter than Zn-Ms. The skeleton analysis showed that Zn-Ms produced more branches and junctions at the trabecular bone than BMP-loaded membranes (BMP-Ms). Samples treated with Ti-Ms showed less bone formation and bony bridging processes. Both Zn-Ms and Ca-Ms achieved higher number of osteoblasts than the control group. BMP-Ms and Ca-Ms originated higher number of blood vessels than Ti-Ms and control group. Conclusions Zn incorporation in novel nanostructured membranes provided the highest regenerative efficiency for bone healing at the rabbit calvarial defects. Clinical relevance Zn-Ms promoted osteogenesis and enhanced biological activity, as mineralized and osteoid new bone with multiple interconnected ossified trabeculae appeared in close contact with the membrane.Project MAT2017-85999-P MINECO/AEI/FEDER/UE supported by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and European Regional Development Fund

MAP17 and SGLT1 Protein Expression Levels as Prognostic Markers for Cervical Tumor Patient Survival

MAP17 is a membrane-associated protein that is overexpressed in human tumors. Because the expression of MAP17 increases reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation through SGLT1 in cancer cells, in the present work, we investigated whether MAP17 and/or SGLT1 might be markers for the activity of treatments involving oxidative stress, such as cisplatin or radiotherapy. First, we confirmed transcriptional alterations in genes involved in the oxidative stress induced by MAP17 expression in HeLa cervical tumor cells and found that Hela cells expressing MAP17 were more sensitive to therapies that induce ROS than were parental cells. Furthermore, MAP17 increased glucose uptake through SGLT receptors. We then analyzed MAP17 and SGLT1 expression levels in cervical tumors treated with cisplatin plus radiotherapy and correlated the expression levels with patient survival. MAP17 and SGLT1 were expressed in approximately 70% and 50% of cervical tumors of different types, respectively, but they were not expressed in adenoma tumors. Furthermore, there was a significant correlation between MAP17 and SGLT1 expression levels. High levels of either MAP17 or SGLT1 correlated with improved patient survival after treatment. However, the patients with high levels of both MAP17 and SGLT1 survived through the end of this study. Therefore, the combination of high MAP17 and SGLT1 levels is a marker for good prognosis in patients with cervical tumors after cisplatin plus radiotherapy treatment. These results also suggest that the use of MAP17 and SGLT1 markers may identify patients who are likely to exhibit a better response to treatments that boost oxidative stress in other cancer types. © 2013 Perez et al.This work was supported by grants from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and FEDER funds (SAF2009-08605), Consejeria de Ciencia e Innovacion and Consejeria de Salud of the Junta de Andalucia (CTS-6844 and PI-0142) and FIS (PI12/00137). AC’s laboratory is also funded by a fellowship from the Fundacion Oncologica FERO, supported by Fundació Josep Botet.Peer Reviewe

Effects of an educational intervention on frailty status, physical function, physical activity, sleep patterns, and nutritional status of older adults with frailty or pre-frailty: the FRAGSALUD study

Introduction: The prevalence of frailty is increasing worldwide, emphasizing the importance of prioritizing healthy ageing. To address this, cost-effective and minimally supervised interventions are being sought. This study aimed to assess the impact of an educational program on frailty status, physical function, physical activity, sleep patterns, and nutritional status in community-dwelling older adults with at least 1 Fried's frailty criteria. Methods: A 6-month multicentre randomized controlled trial was conducted from March 2022 to February 2023 in 14 health centres located in Cadiz and Malaga, Spain. The educational intervention consisted of 4 group sessions and 6 follow-up phone calls spread over 6 months. The program focused on educating participants about frailty and its impact on health, providing guidelines for physical activity, healthy dietary habits, cognitive training, psychological well-being and social activities. A total of 163 participants, divided into control (n = 80) and educational groups (n = 83) were assessed before and after the intervention. Results: The results showed a significant group-time interaction in the physical function evaluated with a large effect on Short Physical Performance Battery score (η2p = 0.179, -0.1 [-1.2-1.0] points for control group vs. 1.0 [0.0-3.0] points for educational group, p < 0.001), and an effect on the 4-meter gait test ((η2p = 0.122, 0.5 [0.1-0.0] s for control group vs. -0.4 [-0.5- -0.3] s for educational group, p < 0.001), and the 5-repetition sit-to-stand test (η2p = 0.136, 1.0 [0.0-1.2] s for control group vs. -4.3 [-7.0- -2.3] for educational group, p < 0.001). Additionally, the use of accelerometers to assess physical activity, inactivity, and sleep patterns revealed a significant small effect in the number of awakenings at night ((η2p = 0.040, 1.1 [-0.5-3.4] awakenings for control group vs. 0.0 [-2.2-0.0] awakenings for educational group, p = 0.009). The findings also highlighted a significant medium effect regarding malnutrition risk, which was assessed using the Mini-Nutritional Assessment score (η2p = 0.088, -0.7 [-2.3-1.5] points for control group vs. 1.5 [-0.5-3.0] points for educational group, p < 0.001). Discussion: Thus, the 6-month educational program effectively improved physical function, sleep patterns, and nutritional status compared to usual healthcare attendance in community-dwelling older adults with frailty or pre-frailty. These findings underscore the potential of minimally supervised interventions in promoting a healthy lifestyle in this vulnerable population

LABORATORIO REMOTO PARA SISTEMAS DE CONTROL DISCRETOS MEDIANTE INTERNET DE LAS COSAS (REMOTE LABORATORY FOR DISCRETE CONTROL SYSTEMS THROUGH INTERNET OF THINGS)

Resumen En este trabajo se presenta el desarrollado de un laboratorio remoto de sistemas de control discreto empleando la técnica de Hardware in the Loop (HIL). El laboratorio consta de dos partes principales, la primera es una plataforma HIL integrada por tres elementos, los cuales son un emulador en tiempo real, un controlador PID discreto y una tarjeta de adquisición de datos. El emulador se embebió sobre una tarjeta de desarrollo NI myRIO-1900 empleando el lenguaje de programación grafico de la compañía National Instruments LabVIEW. La principal función del emulador es reproducir el comportamiento de sistemas de primer y segundo orden que representan el proceso en un sistema de control. La plataforma cuenta con una biblioteca de los siguientes procesos preestablecidos: primer orden general, segundo orden general, mecánico de traslación y rotación de masa-resorte-amortiguador, circuito eléctrico RC y RLC, tanque de agitación continua y de motor CD; esta plataforma permite a los usuarios seleccionar y configurar los parámetros de cada uno de los procesos. El controlador PID también es configurable, en este elemento el usuario puede seleccionar el periodo de ejecución y las ganancias proporcional, integral y derivativa de una estructura PID en paralelo. La tarjeta de adquisición de datos empleada fue una NI myDAQ, la cual trabaja sobre la misma plataforma de programación de LabVIEW, esta tarjeta permite monitorear las variables del proceso, recolectando y almacenando los datos que describen la respuesta del sistema de control con una resolución y durante un tiempo definidos por el usuario. La segunda parte del laboratorio remoto es una aplicación web implementada en Android Studio, la cual esta vinculada al igual que LabVIEW a una base de datos en tiempo real desarrollada mediante el software Firebase, esta permite enviar y recibir información entre ambos sistemas. El usuario de esta aplicación tiene acceso mediante su dispositivo móvil con conexión a internet. La aplicación contiene una interfaz que guía al usuario en la configuración de la planta, el controlador y la tarjeta de adquisición de datos. Palabras clave: Emulador, Hardware in the Loop, Laboratorio Remoto, Controlador PID, Sistemas de Control. Abstract This paper presents the development of a remote laboratory for discrete control systems using the Hardware in the Loop (HIL) technique. The laboratory consists of two main parts, the first is a HIL platform made up of three elements, which are a real-time emulator, a discrete PID controller and a data acquisition board. The emulator was embedded on a NI myRIO-1900 development board using the National Instruments LabVIEW graphical programming language. The main function of the emulator is to reproduce the behavior of first and second order systems that represent the process in a control system. The platform has a library of the following pre-established processes: first general order, second general order, mechanical translation and rotation of mass-spring-damper, RC and RLC electrical circuit, continuous stirring tank and DC motor; This platform allows users to select and configure the parameters of each of the processes. The PID controller is also configurable, in this element the user can select the execution period and the proportional, integral and derivative gains of a PID structure in parallel. The data acquisition board used was a NI myDAQ, which works on the same LabVIEW programming platform, this card allows monitoring the process variables, collecting and storing the data that describes the response of the control system with a resolution and for a user-defined time. The second part of the remote laboratory is a web application implemented in Android Studio, which, like LabVIEW, is linked to a real-time database developed using the Firebase software, which allows information to be sent and received between both systems. The user of this application has access through their mobile device with an internet connection. The application contains an interface that guides the user in the configuration of the plant, the controller and the data acquisition board. Keywords: Emulator, Hardware in the Loop, Remote Laboratory, PID Controller, Control Systems

Clinicopathological and prognostic characterization of oral lichenoid disease and its main subtypes : a series of 384 cases

To clinicopathologically characterize the diagnosis of oral lichenoid disease (OLD) and its main subtypes: oral lichen planus (OLP) and oral lichenoid lesion (OLL), in order to correctly asses their prognosis. Ambispective cohort study of 384 patients with diagnosis of OLD, based on pre-established clinical and histopathological criteria. We have analysed 272 (70.8%) women and 112 (29.2%), whose mean age was 57.1+/-11.8 years (range 21-90); minimum follow-up time was 36 months. A specific protocol was designed for this study, where we gathered the data of each patient, including malignant transformation. OLP was diagnosed in 229 cases (77.9%) and OLL in 85 (22.1%). Tobacco consumption was found in 20.3% of the patients and alcohol intake in 41.1%. Liver pathology was present in 10.7% of the cases, thyroid pathology in 11.5%, arterial hypertension in 15.6%, diabetes mellitus in 7.6%, psycho-emotional disorders in 33.3%, skin involvement in 12% and genital involvement in 4.9%. Ten patients (2.6%) developed an oral squamous cell carcinoma, 5 (1.7%) with OLP and 5 (5.9%) with OLL. OLD is a potentially malignant disorder of the oral mucosa which has to be correctly diagnosed as either OLP or OLL, since the risk of malignancy of these subtypes is significantly different