Las Medicationis parabolae del Maestro Arnau de Vilanova: consideraciones en torno a la elaboración de su texto critico

De entre la abundante producción médica del catalán del Medioevo Arnau de Vilanova, ninguna obra original lograría una difusión tan amplia y sostenida como aquella colección de aforismos que suele conocerse por el título de Medicationis parabolae (1). Verdad es que -a juzgar por el número y la antigüedad de los manuscritos que se conservan- más profusa fue aún la difusión inmediata del Regimen sanitatis ad regem Aragonum; obra que se vio, además, prontamente acogida por la imprenta, a través de varias ediciones incunables, cosa que no ocurre con las «Parábolas». Pero -fuera de las colecciones de Opera Arnaldi- el «Régimen» mencionado pronto dejó de editarse, oscurecido por el «salernitano» (2). En cambio, el texto de Medicationis parabolae, que también había gozado de una considerable -aunque no tan alta- difusión manuscrita, ya que no fuera impreso antes del comienzo del siglo XVI, sí que conocería numerosas ediciones a lo largo de esta centuria: entre los años 1502 y 1586 (3). Será también el único libro genuino de Arnau de Vilanova que haya merecido los honores de comentarios renacentistas -el de las ediciones generales (1 504 y sucesivas), el de Chanca (1 514) y el de Pictorius (1565)- y de traducciones hechas en nuestros días (4), lo que denota el mantenido interés por este texto

Down-regulation of a pectin acetylesterase gene modifies strawberry fruit cell wall pectin stracture and increases fruit firmness

Antisense-mediated down-regulation of several fruit-specific genes has previously demonstrated how the cell wall disassembly in strawberry fruit is mediated by a series of enzymes that act sequentially (Posé et al. 2011). An interesting example, the silencing of the polygalacturonase gene FaPG1, was also related with a significant increase of the post-harvest strawberry fruit firmness (Posé et al. 2013). Our research group has isolated a pectin acetylesterase gene, FaPAE1, which expression is enhanced during strawberry ripening. The main goal of this work was to elucidate the role of the degree of acetylation in cell wall integrity and fruit firmness through the antisense-mediated down-regulation of FaPAE1 in strawberry plants. Several transgenics lines were generated and 5 of them produced fruits 5-15% firmer than controls. Cell wall from ripe fruits was isolated from two independent transgenic lines and a control line, and sequentially extracted with different solvents (PAW, H2O, CDTA, Na2CO3). Modifications in fraction yield, its sugar composition and the degree of acetylation in each fraction were determined. Higher amounts of CDTA and Na2CO3 fractions were obtained in transgenic fruits, suggesting a decreased pectin solubilization as results of FaPAE1 silencing. Accordingly, the degree of acetylation of the Na2CO3-soluble pectins was greater in the transgenic lines than the control, but the opposite result was found in pectins from the CDTA fraction. These results suggest that PAE is preferentially active in pectis that are tightly bound to the cellulose-hemicellulose network and its activity could reduce the complexity of the cell wall structure, allowing that other hydrolytic enzymes could access the pectin chains. Thus, the increased fruit firmness observed in the transgenic FaPAE1 lines could be attributed to the direct effect of the silencing of the PAE enzyme and also to the indirect effect that the increase of the degree of acetylation of pectins has on the activity of other enzymes involved in the cell wall degradation. * Posé et al. (2011). Genes, Genomes and Genomics, 5 (Special Issue 1):40-48 * Posé et al. (2013). Plant Physiology, 150: 1022-1032 We acknowledge support from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and competitivity and Feder EU Funds (grant reference AGL2011-24814), FPI fellowships support for SP (BES-2006-13626) and CP (BES-2009027985), and grant "Ramón y Cajal" support for AJMA (RYC-2011-08839).Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Adsorption energy and spin state of first-row transition metals adsorbed on MgO(100)

Slab and cluster model spin-polarized calculations have been carried out to study various properties of isolated first-row transition metal atoms adsorbed on the anionic sites of the regular MgO(100) surface. The calculated adsorption energies follow the trend of the metal cohesive energies, indicating that the changes in the metal-support and metal-metal interactions along the series are dominated by atomic properties. In all cases, except for Ni at the generalized gradient approximation level, the number of unpaired electron is maintained as in the isolated metal atom. The energy required to change the atomic state from high to low spin has been computed using the PW91 and B3LYP density-functional-theory-based methods. PW91 fails to predict the proper ground state of V and Ni, but the results for the isolated and adsorbed atom are consistent within the method. B3LYP properly predicts the ground state of all first-row transition atom the high- to low-spin transition considered is comparable to experiment. In all cases, the interaction with the surface results in a reduced high- to low-spin transition energy

Efficient one-pot production of γ-valerolactone from xylose over Zr-Al-Beta zeolite: rational optimization of catalyst synthesis and reaction conditions

The one-pot conversion of xylose into γ-gammavalerolactone in 2-propanol over bifunctional Zr-Al-Beta zeolites, prepared via a post-synthetic route, was optimized in terms of both catalyst synthesis and reaction conditions. In the catalyst preparation, the use of Zr(NO3)4 as zirconium source as well as the tuning of the amount of water used during the impregnation had a strong impact on the activity of the Zr species due to an improved dispersion of Zr species. As for the aluminium to zirconium exchange, an optimal Al/Zr ratio of 0.20 was identified to provide a catalyst with better activity. The modelization of the catalytic system through experimental design methodology allowed to identify the optimal values of the most influential reaction conditions: temperature 190 °C, catalyst loading 15 g L−1, and starting xylose concentration 30.5 g L−1. Under these optimized reaction conditions, Zr-Al-Beta catalyst provides a GVL yield from xylose (ca. 34%) after only 10 h. The catalysts are stable and reusable after thermal regeneration at 550 °C

Uso de TICs en la enseñanza del diseño y análisis de procesos

Se plantea la utilización de TICs de variada complejidad, tales como planillas de cálculo y simuladores de proceso, para la enseñanza de distintas técnicas vinculadas al diseño preliminar de procesos químicos. Se establecen las necesidades que deben estar cubiertas en los sistemas informáticos utilizados, ya sea que éstos las dispongan a priori o deban ser incorporadas, previo a su utiliación docente. Sobre la base de un ejemplo se muestran distintos enfoques y desarrollos, potencialidades y limitaciones, del software utilizado para la enseñanza del tema, planilla de cálculo Excel o simulador de procesos Sim42.Red de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI

Significant variables of optimum design in process simulators

Se han desarrollado módulos para un simulador de procesos de código abierto, Sim42, accesible via Web. El objetivo es la consideración de las variables de diseño en la estructuración óptima de procesos industriales, en la enseñanza de la Ingeniería Química. El simulador debe ser capaz de a) estimar la inversión en equipos, costos de servicios e insumos e ingresos por venta y b) manejar un método de optimización para problemas no lineales restringidos. Como estas facilidades no existían en Sim42, se agregaron nuevos módulos al código disponible, así como otros que completan el análisis. Los desarrollos se aplican a la simulación, análisis y optimización de un ciclo Linde para licuar una corriente de metano. Se concluye sobre la conveniencia de contar con un simulador de código abierto que permita adecuar sus prestaciones a los requerimientos de los conceptos a transmitir.Some modules have been developed for an open code process simulator, Sim42, accessible through the Web. The objective is the consideration of the design variables in the optimum structuring of industrial processes, in the teaching of Chemical Engineering. The simulator must be able to: a) estimating the investment in equipments, the costs of services and inputs and the revenues for sale and b) managing an optimization method for non lineal restricted problems. Since both facilities do not exist in Sim42 new modules were added to the available code, as well as others ones that complete the analysis. The developments are applied to the simulation, analysis and optimization of a Linde cycle to liquefy a methane stream. It is conclude that having an open-source simulator that allows adapting its performance to the requirements of the concepts to be conveyed is highly convenient.Facultad de IngenieríaInstituto de Investigación en Informátic

Significant variables of optimum design in process simulators

Se han desarrollado módulos para un simulador de procesos de código abierto, Sim42, accesible via Web. El objetivo es la consideración de las variables de diseño en la estructuración óptima de procesos industriales, en la enseñanza de la Ingeniería Química. El simulador debe ser capaz de a) estimar la inversión en equipos, costos de servicios e insumos e ingresos por venta y b) manejar un método de optimización para problemas no lineales restringidos. Como estas facilidades no existían en Sim42, se agregaron nuevos módulos al código disponible, así como otros que completan el análisis. Los desarrollos se aplican a la simulación, análisis y optimización de un ciclo Linde para licuar una corriente de metano. Se concluye sobre la conveniencia de contar con un simulador de código abierto que permita adecuar sus prestaciones a los requerimientos de los conceptos a transmitir.Some modules have been developed for an open code process simulator, Sim42, accessible through the Web. The objective is the consideration of the design variables in the optimum structuring of industrial processes, in the teaching of Chemical Engineering. The simulator must be able to: a) estimating the investment in equipments, the costs of services and inputs and the revenues for sale and b) managing an optimization method for non lineal restricted problems. Since both facilities do not exist in Sim42 new modules were added to the available code, as well as others ones that complete the analysis. The developments are applied to the simulation, analysis and optimization of a Linde cycle to liquefy a methane stream. It is conclude that having an open-source simulator that allows adapting its performance to the requirements of the concepts to be conveyed is highly convenient.Facultad de IngenieríaInstituto de Investigación en Informátic

Casein phosphopeptides drastically increase the secretion of extracellular proteins in Aspergillus awamori. Proteomics studies reveal changes in the secretory pathway

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The secretion of heterologous animal proteins in filamentous fungi is usually limited by bottlenecks in the vesicle-mediated secretory pathway.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Using the secretion of bovine chymosin in <it>Aspergillus awamori </it>as a model, we found a drastic increase (40 to 80-fold) in cells grown with casein or casein phosphopeptides (CPPs). CPPs are rich in phosphoserine, but phosphoserine itself did not increase the secretion of chymosin. The stimulatory effect is reduced about 50% using partially dephosphorylated casein and is not exerted by casamino acids. The phosphopeptides effect was not exerted at transcriptional level, but instead, it was clearly observed on the secretion of chymosin by immunodetection analysis. Proteomics studies revealed very interesting metabolic changes in response to phosphopeptides supplementation. The oxidative metabolism was reduced, since enzymes involved in fermentative processes were overrepresented. An oxygen-binding hemoglobin-like protein was overrepresented in the proteome following phosphopeptides addition. Most interestingly, the intracellular pre-protein enzymes, including pre-prochymosin, were depleted (most of them are underrepresented in the intracellular proteome after the addition of CPPs), whereas the extracellular mature form of several of these secretable proteins and cell-wall biosynthetic enzymes was greatly overrepresented in the secretome of phosphopeptides-supplemented cells. Another important 'moonlighting' protein (glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase), which has been described to have vesicle fusogenic and cytoskeleton formation modulating activities, was clearly overrepresented in phosphopeptides-supplemented cells.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In summary, CPPs cause the reprogramming of cellular metabolism, which leads to massive secretion of extracellular proteins.</p