Determinació de compostos orgànics volàtils i semivolàtils en atmosferes urbanes i industrials del camp de Tarragona

En el marc de la present Tesi Doctoral s'ha realitzat, per una banda, el desenvolupament de mètodes analítics per a la determinació de diferents grups de compostos orgànics en l'atmosfera, els quals han estat els compostos orgànics volàtils, els compostos orgànics volàtils sofrats i els hidrocarburs aromàtics policíclics. Els mètodes desenvolupats han estat basats principalment la cromatografia de gasos i espectrometria de masses, i s'han aplicat diferents tècniques de mostreig i preconcentració dels analits, tal com l'adsorció mitjançant mostreig actiu en tubs amb sorbent i posterior desorció tèrmica, microextracció en fase sòlida, o mostreig actiu de grans volums d'aire de la fase particulada de l'aire, la qual que es recull en filtres de fibra de vidre, i de la fase gasosa, que es recull en cartutxos d'escuma de poliuretà. Per una altra banda, aquests mètodes analítics s'han aplicat a la monitorització dels compostos esmentats en diferents àrees urbanes i industrials del Camp de Tarragona, regió en la qual existeix una forta presència de la indústria química, i en la qual les dades disponibles sobre els nivells d'aquests compostos a l'atmosfera són limitades.In the framework of the present Doctoral Thesis different analytical methods to determine three groups of organic compounds present in the atmosphere have been developed. The groups of studied compounds have been volatile organic compounds, volatile organic sulfur compounds and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The developed methods were based on the analysis by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and active sampling of air into solid sorbents and subsequent thermal desorption, solid phase microextraction and high volume sampling of the particulate phase of air in quartz fibre filters and of the gas phase in polyurethane foam cartridges followed by solvent extraction by both, ultrasonic bath and pressurized liquid extraction. These methods have been applied to the monitoring of these compounds in different urban and industrial areas from Tarragona Region, area which is characterized by an extensive development of chemical and petrochemical industry. Moreover, no data about these compounds in the atmosphere of this region is available

ATPase-deficient mitochondrial inner membrane protein ATAD3A disturbs mitochondrial dynamics in dominant hereditary spastic paraplegia

De novo mutations in ATAD3A (ATPase family AAA-domain containing protein 3A) were recently found to cause a neurological syndrome with developmental delay, hypotonia, spasticity, optic atrophy, axonal neuropathy, and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Using whole-exome sequencing, we identified a dominantly inherited heterozygous variant c.1064G > A (p.G355D) in ATAD3A in a mother presenting with hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP) and axonal neuropathy and her son with dyskinetic cerebral palsy, both with disease onset in childhood. HSP is a clinically and genetically heterogeneous disorder of the upper motor neurons. Symptoms beginning in early childhood may resemble spastic cerebral palsy. The function of ATAD3A, a mitochondrial inner membrane AAA ATPase, is yet undefined. AAA ATPases form hexameric rings, which are catalytically dependent on the co-operation of the subunits. The dominant-negative patient mutation affects the Walker A motif, which is responsible for ATP binding in the AAA module of ATAD3A, and we show that the recombinant mutant ATAD3A protein has a markedly reduced ATPase activity. We further show that overexpression of the mutant ATAD3A fragments the mitochondrial network and induces lysosome mass. Similarly, we observed altered dynamics of the mitochondrial network and increased lysosomes in patient fibroblasts and neurons derived through differentiation of patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cells. These alterations were verified in patient fibroblasts to associate with upregulated basal autophagy through mTOR inactivation, resembling starvation. Mutations in ATAD3A can thus be dominantly inherited and underlie variable neurological phenotypes, including HSP, with intrafamiliar variability. This finding extends the group of mitochondrial inner membrane AAA proteins associated with spasticity.Peer reviewe

Contenido en mercurio de algunos organismos marinos comerciales del Mediterráneo catalán

24 pages, figures, 11 tablesEl objetivo del presente estudio es contribuir al conocimiento de los niveles de mercurio en el Mediterráneo. Para ello han sido analizadas durante el periodo comprendido entre junio de 1975 y junio de 1976 distintas especies comerciales de nuestro litoral, teniendo en cuenta las recomendaciones dadas en el Proyecto Común Coordinado sobre la contaminación en el Mediterráneo. [...] Mullus barbatus, Mullus surmulletus, Thunnus thynnus, Merluccius merluccius, Merlangus poutassou, Sardina pilchardus, Lophius piscatorius, Aristeus antennatus, Scomber scomber, Octopus vulgaris, Mytilus edulis, Patella vulgaris, Conger conger, Scylliorhinus canicula [...]Peer reviewe

Protective effects of fish oil on pre-diabetes: a lipidomic analysis of liver ceramides in rats

8 pages, 4 figures, 3 tablesA high intake of fat and sucrose can dramatically increase bioactive lipids such as ceramides in tissues. Ceramides regulate several steps in the insulin signal pathway. The effects of n-3 PUFA on insulin resistance are inconsistent, especially in liver. We investigated the effect of n-3 PUFA (EPA/DHA 1 : 1) from fish oil on hepatic ceramides in a pre-diabetic animal model. Three groups of rats were fed standard feed, high fat high sucrose feed (HFHS) or HFHS enriched with n-3 PUFA. We investigated by lipidomic analysis how supplementation of a HFHS diet with n-3 PUFA modifies the hepatic ceramide profile triggered by a HFHS diet. Our results show that n-3 PUFA modified the ceramide profile of the liver and reduced their total content in pre-diabetic rats. Significant linear correlations were observed between ceramides and biochemical insulin parameters. Long chain ceramide 18:1/18:0 showed a positive correlation with the HOMA index. Very long chain ceramide 18:1/24:0 showed a negative correlation with insulin and the HOMA index. Finally, very long chain ceramide 18:1/20:0 correlated negatively with glucose levels, plasmatic insulin levels and the HOMA index. In conclusion, the modulation of the ceramide profile in pre-diabetic rats may explain the protective action of n-3 PUFA against liver insulin resistance (IR) caused by an HFHS diet. We confirm the protective role of very long chain ceramide 18:1/24:0 and the harmful role of long chain ceramide 18:1/18:0 in the pre-diabetic state and propose ceramide 18:1/20:0 as a biomarker of early liver IR in rats.Peer reviewe

D-2 Physiognomy, Art, and Artifice in The Rape of Lucrece and The Devil’s Law-Case

Critics have noted two predominant, competing attitudes toward art in the Renaissance. For some, art was problematic because its artifice obfuscated reality. For others, art elevated humankind by allowing artists to create, like God. Early modern artistic treatises, however, reveal that artists also valued art because of its physiognomic ability. In other words, they believed that art could communicate the painted individual’s true nature, attitude, and perhaps even secrets, especially through the face, a theory about art literary critics largely overlook. But even as artists acknowledged art’s epistemological power, they also faced the potential idealization undertaken in any artistic endeavor, especially portraits, works of art most likely to signify physiognomically. These varied approaches to and ideas about art also appear in Renaissance literature. While many texts consider the status of art, in William Shakespeare’s poem The Rape of Lucrece, the titular protagonist directly articulates and confronts the tension between art as physiognomic communicator and artificial epistemological obstructer, with a particular focus on the overlooked role of physiognomy and art. A similar interrogation of art’s illuminative vs. deceptive status occurs in John Webster’s drama The Devil’s Law-Case. Yet Webster’s text takes into account something Lucrece does not, the important role gender plays in both the creation and reception of art. Thus, by carefully considering the characterization of art in both The Rape of Lucrece and The Devil’s Law-Case, we can examine the importance of physiognomy and gender, respectively, to Renaissance art’s complicated status

La Lanterne : journal politique quotidien

06 mai 19051905/05/06 (N3085,A26)