Genome scale metabolic modeling reveals the metabolic potential of three Type II methanotrophs of the genus Methylocystis

Producción CientíficaGenome Scale Metabolic Models (GSMMs) of the recently sequenced Methylocystis hirsuta and two other methanotrophs from the genus Methylocystis have been reconstructed. These organisms are Type II methanotrophs with the ability of accumulating Polyhydroxyalkanoates under nutrient limiting conditions. For the first time, GSMMs have been reconstructed for Type II methanotrophs. These models, combined with experimental biomass and PHB yields of Methylocystis hirsuta, allowed elucidating the methane oxidation mechanism by the enzyme pMMO (particulate methane monooxygenase) in these organisms. In contrast to Type I methanotrophs, which use the “direct coupling mechanism”, Type II methanotrophs appear to use the so called “redox arm mechanism”. The utilization of the “redox arm mechanism”, which involves the coupling between methane oxidation and complex I of the respiratory chain, was confirmed by inhibition of complex I with catechol. Utilization of the “redox arm” mechanism leads to lower biomass yields on methane compared to Type I methanotrophs. However, the ability of Type II methanotrophs to redirect high metabolic carbon fluxes towards acetoacetyl-CoA under nitrogen limiting conditions makes these organisms promising platforms for metabolic engineering.Marie Curie grant H2020-MSCA-IF-2016 CH4BioVal (GA nº 750126).Junta de Castilla y León (Ref. Project VA281P18)Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (Proyect CLU 2017-09, CTM2015-70442-R

Effect of cell dedifferentiation and genetic p53 profile in the expression of Bcl-2 family members in tyrosine kinase inhibitor-treated liver cancer cells

Motivation: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most common type of liver cancer and the second most frequent cause of cancer‐related death worldwide [1]. The recommended first‐line treatment for patients with locally advanced disease and well-preserved liver function is Sorafenib with a mean overall survival of 11 months [2]. Other drugs have been developed to increase the therapeutic arsenal of treatments such as Lenvatinib [3], Regorafenib [4]  and Cabozantinib [5]. The Bcl-2 protein family plays a central part in the control of apoptosis [6]. Bcl-2, Bcl-XL and Mcl-1 are antiapoptotic members Bax, Bak, Bid, and Bim are proapoptotic members. The cytoprotective function of Bcl-2 proteins stems from their ability to antagonize Bax and Bak, and thus prevent apoptosis. [7]. The aim of the present study was the comparative analysis of the tyrosine kinase inhibitors in cell death and proliferation, and the expression of Bcl-2 family members according to the differentiation degrees and p53 genetic profile in liver cancer cells. Methods: Sorafenib, Regorafenib, Cabozantinib, and Lenvatinib were obtained commercially from Carbosynth Limited. Parameters were assessed in differentiated cells: HepG2 (ATCC/LGC Standards, SLU, Barcelona, Spain) and Huh7 (Apath LLC, Brooklyn, USA), and dedifferentiated cells: JHH2 and JHH4 cell lines obtained from the Japanese Collection of Research Bioresources Cell Bank (Tokyo, Japan). Cells were negative for mycoplasma contamination. HCC cell lines were maintained in supplemented Minimum Essential Medium with Earle's Balanced Salts at 37°C in a humidified incubator with 5 % CO2. Cells were seeded at a density of 10^5 cells/cm2 in 2D culture. Different parameters related to cell death and proliferation were associated with the expression of Bcl-2 family members assessed by Western-blot analysis. Results: The administration of tyrosine kinase inhibitors induced cell death and reduced cell proliferation. This effect was associated with an upregulation of tBid and Bim expression in differentiated liver cancer cells (HepG2 and Huh7) compared to dedifferentiated cells (JHH2 and JHH4, respectively). In addition, the lack of p53 in liver cancer cells (Huh7 and JHH4) had a lower degree in the expression compared to their p53 wild type counterpart (HepG2 and JHH). Conclusions: The dedifferentiation of cancer cells and mutated p53 reduce the upregulaupregulation of Bim and Bid induced by Sorafenib and Regorafenib in liver cancer cells

Proyecto de repoblación forestal en el monte Nº 11 del catálogo del MUP de Cantabria, monte Colladas y Collugas, perteneciente al término municipal de Los Tojos (Cantabria)

Se trata de una repoblación forestal en el monte nº 11 del catálogo del MUP de Cantabria denominado “Colladas y Collugas”. Esta repoblación tiene un carácter protector y de restauración medioambiental. Las actuaciones a realizar se basan en la restauración del área afectada por los incendios forestales y posteriores temporales en el término municipal de Los Tojos. Como consecuencia de los vientos del sur que afectaron al norte peninsular en los últimos días del año 2015 se experimentó un periodo de sequía dejando condiciones de humedad relativa muy bajas de forma prolongada, acompañado de altas temperaturas y vientos de fuerte intensidad.Por estas razones los objetivos principales se basan en la disminución del riesgo de plagas y enfermedades, tratamiento de la vegetación preexistente y restauración de hábitats mediante repoblación de especies vegetales.Grado en Ingeniería Forestal y del Medio Natura

Microbial community changes during different empty bed residence times and operational fluctuations in an air diffusion reactor for odor abatement

Producción CientíficaThe succession of bacterial and fungal populations was assessed in an activated sludge (AS) diffusion bioreactor treating a synthetic malodorous emission containing H2S, toluene, butanone and alpha-pinene. Microbial community characteristics (bacterial and fungal diversity, richness, evenness and composition) and bioreactor function relationships were evaluated at different empty bed residence times (EBRTs) and after process fluctuations and operational failures (robustness test). For H2S, butanone and toluene, the bioreactor showed a stable and efficient abatement performance regardless of the EBRT and fluctuations applied, while low alpha-pinene removals were observed. While no clear positive or negative relationship between community characteristics and bioreactor functions was observed, ecological parameters such as evenness and community dynamics seemed to be of importance for maintaining reactor stability. The optimal degree of evenness of the inoculum likely contributed to the high robustness of the system towards the fluctuations imposed. Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria and Fungi (Hypocreales, Chaeatothyriales) were the most abundant groups retrieved from the AS system with a putative key role in the degradation of butanone and toluene. Typical H2S and alpha-pinene degraders were not retrieved from the system. The inoculation of P. fluorescens, a known alpha-pinene degrader, to the system did not result in the enhancement of the degradation of this compound. This strain was likely outcompeted by the microorganisms already adapted to the AS environment.2019-03-08Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad (CTQ2007-64324, 18ISMW)Junta de Castilla y Leon (UIC 476 71

Monotonicity of a profile of rankings with ties

International Conference, IPMU (17th. 2018. Cádiz

Geochemical evolution of mg-bentonite affected by the contact of carbon steel and a hydrothermal gradient

Publisher source must be acknowledged with citationCarbon steel and bentonite are materials selected as engineered barriers for high-level radioactive waste confinement. Their long-term interaction must be evaluated to confirm the barrier’s stability. Three laboratory experiments of the carbon steel—Mg-bentonite interaction were conducted for 1, 6, and 22 months under a hydrothermal gradient. Changes in bentonite’s water content, specific surface area, and cation exchange capacity were measured. Mineralogy was studied by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The redistribution of aqueous species and the redox state of iron were determined across the bentonite columns. Results indicated water saturation after 22 months. The specific surface area of bentonite was reduced near contact with the steel, while the cation exchange capacity mostly decreased at 3–6 mm from the steel interface. The corrosion rate decreased with time and bentonite enriched in Fe in the first 1.5 mm from the steel contact. The formation of new Fe-bearing minerals, such as di-tri ferri-sudoite, magnetite, hematite, maghemite, lepidocrocite, siderite and ankerite was observed. Aqueous species redistributed in the porewater of bentonite with decreasing concentrations of Fe and Cl as a function of time and increasing concentrations of Na, Ca and SO4 after 22 months. This occurs under conditions where the bentonite is saturated with Mg, which conditioned the formation and nature of iron clay minerals with timeThis research has been developed by the UAM AcMe research group to support the WP.2 EURAD-ACED project results, which has received funding from the European Union\u2019s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No. 84759

Sampling Based On Natural Image Statistics Improves Local Surrogate Explainers

Many problems in computer vision have recently been tackled using models whose predictions cannot be easily interpreted, most commonly deep neural networks. Surrogate explainers are a popular post-hoc interpretability method to further understand how a model arrives at a particular prediction. By training a simple, more interpretable model to locally approximate the decision boundary of a non-interpretable system, we can estimate the relative importance of the input features on the prediction. Focusing on images, surrogate explainers, e.g., LIME, generate a local neighbourhood around a query image by sampling in an interpretable domain. However, these interpretable domains have traditionally been derived exclusively from the intrinsic features of the query image, not taking into consideration the manifold of the data the non-interpretable model has been exposed to in training (or more generally, the manifold of real images). This leads to suboptimal surrogates trained on potentially low probability images. We address this limitation by aligning the local neighbourhood on which the surrogate is trained with the original training data distribution, even when this distribution is not accessible. We propose two approaches to do so, namely (1) altering the method for sampling the local neighbourhood and (2) using perceptual metrics to convey some of the properties of the distribution of natural images.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figure

Análisis de la satisfacción de las necesidades psicológicas básicas, motivación y disfrute en Educación Física en Primaria

[Resumen] Este trabajo tiene como objetivo estudiar el grado de satisfacción de las necesidades psicológicas básicas, motivación y disfrute en las clases de Educación Física que poseen los escolares de Educación Primaria de 5º y 6º, analizando las relaciones entre ellas y en función de las variables de sexo y edad. Con una muestra de 183 participantes (77 niños y 106 niñas), se aplicaron tres cuestionarios: la Escala de Medición de las Necesidades Psicológicas Básicas (BPNES), la Escala del Locus Percibido de Causalidad en Educación Física (PLOC Scale) y la Escala de medida del disfrute en la actividad física (PACES). Los resultados reflejan que los participantes tienen altos niveles en relación a la satisfacción de sus Necesidades Psicológicas básicas, altos valores a nivel motivacional y del grado de disfrute en las clases de Educación Física, no apreciándose diferencias significativas en relación a la edad y sexo de los participantes. El papel que desempeña el docente es esencial, donde la propia formación, su implicación en el proceso educativo y la transmisión de valores asociados a la Educación Física y el deporte, motivarán al alumnado a una mayor participación, disfrute y adherencia a la práctica deportiva, incluso más allá del ámbito escolar[Abstract] Este trabajo tiene como objetivo estudiar el grado de satisfacción de las necesidades psicológicas básicas, motivación y disfrute en las clases de Educación Física que poseen los escolares de Educación Primaria de 5º y 6º, analizando las relaciones entre ellas y en función de las variables de sexo y edad. Con una muestra de 183 participantes (77 niños y 106 niñas), se aplicaron tres cuestionarios: la Escala de Medición de las Necesidades Psicológicas Básicas (BPNES), la Escala del Locus Percibido de Causalidad en Educación Física (PLOC Scale) y la Escala de medida del disfrute en la actividad física (PACES). Los resultados reflejan que los participantes tienen altos niveles en relación a la satisfacción de sus Necesidades Psicológicas básicas, altos valores a nivel motivacional y del grado de disfrute en las clases de Educación Física, no apreciándose diferencias significativas en relación a la edad y sexo de los participantes. El papel que desempeña el docente es esencial, donde la propia formación, su implicación en el proceso educativo y la transmisión de valores asociados a la Educación Física y el deporte, motivarán al alumnado a una mayor participación, disfrute y adherencia a la práctica deportiva, incluso más allá del ámbito escolar

Continuous polyhydroxybutyrate production from biogas in an innovative two‐stage bioreactor configuration

Producción CientíficaBiogas biorefineries have opened up new horizons beyond heat and electricityproduction in the anaerobic digestion sector. Added‐value products such aspolyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), which are environmentally benign and potentialcandidates to replace conventional plastics, can be generated from biogas. Thiswork investigated the potential of an innovative two‐stage growth‐accumulationsystem for the continuous production of biogas‐based polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB)usingMethylocystis hirsutaCSC1 as cell factory. The system comprised twoturbulent bioreactors in series to enhance methane and oxygen mass transfer: acontinuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) and a bubble column bioreactor (BCB) withinternal gas recirculation. The CSTR was devoted to methanotrophic growth undernitrogen balanced growth conditions and the BCB targeted PHB productionunder nitrogen limiting conditions. Two different operational approaches underdifferent nitrogen loading rates and dilution rates were investigated. A balancednitrogen loading rate along with a dilution rate (D) of 0.3 day−1resulted in the moststable operating conditions and a PHB productivity of ~53 g PHB m−3day−1.However, higher PHB productivities (~127 g PHB m−3day−1)wereachievedusingnitrogen excess at a D = 0.2 day−1. Overall, the high PHB contents (up to 48% w/w)obtained in the CSTR under theoretically nutrient balanced conditions and the poorprocess stability challenged the hypothetical advantages conferred by multistagevs single‐stage process configurations for long‐term PHB production.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación under (BES-2016-077160) contract and (project CTM2015-70442-R)Junta de Castilla y León and EU-FEDER program (UIC 315, CLU 2017-09