En cuerpo y alma. Ser mujer en tiempos de Franco

Reseña del libro "En cuerpo y alma". Última obra publicada por la profesora Aurora Morcillo Gómez, catedrática de la Universidad Internacional de Florida

Life Cycle Assessment of Industrial Building Construction and Recovery Potential: Case Studies in Seville

In Spain, most businesses are medium to small size enterprises, representing 90% of the total, but there is a lack of studies of the types of building this sector uses. The main objective of this paper is to present a method for the evaluation of small industrial construction projects to facilitate the introduction of eco-efficient solutions. For this, it is necessary to identify the most representative buildings and the aspects of these which have the most environmental impact. A methodology in place for the evaluation of dwelling construction is adapted, for the first time, to evaluate industrial buildings. The construction solutions characterized are those traditionally used in the sector, as identified through 87 surveys. A standardized classification of work units is proposed to enable the use of environmental product information, such as eco-labels and/or EPD, and LCA databases. The carbon footprint (CF) and water footprint (WF) are the indicators selected because of their straightforward message. Finally, a comparative analysis is performed showing the high recycling potential of concrete and cement which, along with metals and aggregates, control the impact in terms of CF. With respect to the WF indicator, plastic substitute aggregates are among the materials with the greatest impac

Protein kinase D activity is a risk biomarker in prostate cancer that drives cell invasion by a Snail/ERK dependent mechanism

Protein kinase D (PKD) family members play controversial roles in prostate cancer (PC). Thus, PKD1 is nearly absent in advanced tumours, where PKD2 and PKD3 are upregulated. Additionally, consequences of activation of these kinases on PC progression remain largely unclear. Here, we first investigated PKD function on PC cell motility, analysing the underlying molecular mechanisms. We find a striking decrease of Snail levels after PKD inhibition followed by cell migration and invasion impairment, demonstrating an unprecedented role of PKD activity on the regulation of this key transcription factor in PC progression. Specifically, we show that PKD2 activity mediates the effects of MEK/ERK pathway on Snail expression, establishing a joint function of ERK/ PKD2/Snail cascade in PC cell invasion regulation. These results led us to address the clinical relevance of the correlation between PKD2 and ERK activities with Snail abundance in samples from PC patients at different stages, analysing its impact on tumour prognosis and patients´survival. Importantly, this is the first study defining a direct correlation between active PKD2 and Snail levels, further linked to ERK activity. We also evidence that PKD2 activity is associated with important poor prognostic factors. Thus, PC patients with the expression pattern: active PKD2high/active ERKhigh/Snailhigh exhibit increased invasiveness and metastasis, and decreased survival. Our findings provide new insights for understanding the molecular mechanisms involved in PC progression, pinpointing the combination of active PKD2 and Snail levels, with the additional measurement of active ERK, as a confident biomarker to predict clinical outcome of patients with advanced PCD.C.-R., D.M.-M., and P.B. were recipients of grants from Comunidad de Madrid, Spain (grant numbers PEJ-2019-AI/BMD-14294, PEJD2018-PRE/BMD-8987, and 2017-T1/BMD-5704, respectively). T.I. received funding from Centro de Investigacion ´ Biom´edica en Red de Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Spai

Biotechnological Approach for the Production of Prebiotics and Search for New Probiotics and their Application in the Food Industry

Background and objective: Prebiotics and probiotics intake have been widely recognized in past recent years due to possessing multiple health benefits. Prebiotics are non-digestible carbohydrates that promote the growth and/or activity of beneficial bacteria in the colon which improves the health. Moreover, the incorporation of probiotics in food has also been a growing practice due to its immunomodulatory effect, the production of organic acids and other compounds that promotes the absorption of nutrients and the general health of the digestive system.Results and conclusion: Biotechnological strategies have been proposed for prebiotic production and purification in order to meet the demand to be included as ingredients in functional food formulation. Different aspects related to the substrates and different fermentation systems for their production as well as the purification and characterization processes are addressed. Also, we will present the benefits promoted by probiotics, the methods of isolation and characterization, as well as the evaluation of these attributes, so that they can be used in the food industry. With the technological developments in prebiotics and probiotics, it will be possible to deliver foods that respond to consumer demand with low cost and with pleasant sensory characteristics as well as providing beneficial health effects.Conflict of interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest

Recycled Precast Concrete Kerbs and Paving Blocks, a Technically Viable Option for Footways

[EN] The linear economy paradigm in place to date has to be seriously challenged to give way to a new school of thought known as the circular economy. In this research work, precast kerbs and paving blocks made with recycled concrete (RACC-mixture) bearing 50 wt% mixed recycled aggregate (masonry content of 33%) and an eco-efficient cementitious material as 25 wt% conventional binder replacement were evaluated to assess their intrinsic potential to replace traditional raw materials, in keeping with circular economy criteria. Therefore, precast products were subjected to mechanical strength, durability and microstructure tests and were compared to conventional concrete units (CC-mixture and commercially available precast elements). Although a class demotion was observed for water absorption and some decreases in flexural strength (26%), splitting tensile strength (12.8%) and electrical resistivity (45%) and a lower class water absorption were registered, and the recycled mixture also exhibited a greater performance in terms of compressive strength (6%), a better abrasion resistance classification and a comparable porosity and microstructure, which ensures a good concrete durability. In any case, the results showed that precast pieces were European standard-compliant, thus supporting the viability of the mixed recycled aggregates and eco-efficient cementitious replacement in footways

Automatic Discrimination of Species within the Enterobacter cloacae Complex Using Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization-Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry and Supervised Algorithms

The Enterobacter cloacae complex (ECC) encompasses heterogeneous clusters of species that have been associated with nosocomial outbreaks. These species may have different acquired antimicrobial resistance and virulence mechanisms, and their identification is challenging. This study aims to develop predictive models based on matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) profiles and machine learning for species-level identification. A total of 219 ECC and 118 Klebsiella aerogenes clinical isolates from three hospitals were included. The capability of the proposed method to differentiate the most common ECC species (Enterobacter asburiae, Enterobacter kobei, Enterobacter hormaechei, Enterobacter roggenkampii, Enterobacter ludwigii, and Enterobacter bugandensis) and K. aerogenes was demonstrated by applying unsupervised hierarchical clustering with principal-component analysis (PCA) preprocessing. We observed a distinctive clustering of E. hormaechei and K. aerogenes and a clear trend for the rest of the ECC species to be differentiated over the development data set. Thus, we developed supervised, nonlinear predictive models (support vector machine with radial basis function and random forest). The external validation of these models with protein spectra from two participating hospitals yielded 100% correct species-level assignment for E. asburiae, E. kobei, and E. roggenkampii and between 91.2% and 98.0% for the remaining ECC species; with data analyzed in the three participating centers, the accuracy was close to 100%. Similar results were obtained with the Mass Spectrometric Identification (MSI) database developed recently (https://msi.happy-dev.fr) except in the case of E. hormaechei, which was more accurately identified with the random forest algorithm. In short, MALDI-TOF MS combined with machine learning was demonstrated to be a rapid and accurate method for the differentiation of ECC species

Obstetric–neonatal care during birth and postpartum in symptomatic and asymptomatic women infected with SARS-CoV-2: a retrospective multicenter study

This study analyses the obstetric–neonatal outcomes of women in labour with symptomatic and asymptomatic COVID-19. A retrospective, multicenter, observational study was carried out between 1 March 2020 and 28 February 2021 in eight public hospitals in the Valencian community (Spain). The chi-squared test compared the obstetric–neonatal outcomes and general care for symptomatic and asymptomatic women. In total, 11,883 births were assisted in participating centers, with 10.9 per 1000 maternities (n = 130) infected with SARS-CoV-2. The 20.8% were symptomatic and had more complications both upon admission (p = 0.042) and during puerperium (p = 0.042), as well as transfer to the intensive care unit (ICU). The percentage of admission to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) was greater among offspring of symptomatic women compared to infants born of asymptomatic women (p < 0.001). Compared with asymptomatic women, those with symptoms underwent less labour companionship (p = 0.028), less early skin-to-skin contact (p = 0.029) and greater mother–infant separation (p = 0.005). The overall maternal mortality rate was 0.8%. No vertical transmission was recorded. In conclusion, symptomatic infected women are at increased risk of lack of labour companionship, mother–infant separation, and admission to the ICU, as well as to have preterm births and for NICU admissions