Tratamiento de bajo coste para aguas contaminadas por actividades de minería

(SPA) El suministro de agua que no provoque peligro en la salud de la población, constituye uno de los objetivos prioritarios al que deben aspirar todos los países y que se encuentra recogido en los Objetivos de Desarrollo del Milenio (ONU, 2000, ODM Nº7, Meta 10). Para conseguir estos objetivos no sólo es necesaria una adecuada gestión de los recursos sino también el diseño y la aplicación de diferentes alternativas tecnológicas apropiadas según cada caso. El objetivo del presente trabajo es proponer y justificar una serie de tecnologías de bajo coste y fácil aplicación para el tratamiento de aguas contaminadas por actividades de minería en zonas con bajo Índice de Desarrollo Humano (IDH). Se ha centrado el estudio en Perú, donde una de las principales fuentes de riqueza es la minería y como consecuencia de ésta actividad se produce la contaminación del agua que conlleva un considerable riesgo para la salud de la población. También estas alternativas tecnológicas podrían ser utilizadas en otras zonas con análogos problemas. (ENG) Water supply, that doesn`t cause health problems for the population, must be one of the prime objectives for all countries. This aim is reflected in Millennium Development Goals (UN, 2000 MDG 7, target 10). The objective is reached not only by a suitable resource management, but also by the design and implementation of appropiate technological alternatives according to each case. The goal is to propose and justify the use of low-cost technologies, which have an easy application. They will be applied to the treatment of water contaminated ty mining activities in areas with low Human Development Index (HDI). This study is focused on Peru, where mining is one of the greatest sources of wealth. As a result of this activity, there is water pollution which brings about a considerable risk in the population ́s health. These proposal technologies could be used in other areas with similar problems

Metal Transport in the Rhizobium-Legume Symbiosis

Metal Transport in the Rhizobium-legume Symbiosi

A Reassessment of the Precision of Carbonate Clumped Isotope Measurements: Implications for Calibrations and Paleoclimate Reconstructions

Carbonate clumped isotopes offer a potentially transformational tool to interpret Earth's history, but the proxy is still limited by poor interlaboratory reproducibility. Here, we focus on the uncertainties that result from the analysis of only a few replicate measurements to understand the extent to which unconstrained errors affect calibration relationships and paleoclimate reconstructions. We find that highly precise data can be routinely obtained with multiple replicate analyses, but this is not always done in many laboratories. For instance, using published estimates of external reproducibilities we find that typical clumped isotope measurements (three replicate analyses) have margins of error at the 95% confidence level (CL) that are too large for many applications. These errors, however, can be systematically reduced with more replicate measurements. Second, using a Monte Carlo‐type simulation we demonstrate that the degree of disagreement on published calibration slopes is about what we should expect considering the precision of Δ47 data, the number of samples and replicate analyses, and the temperature range covered in published calibrations. Finally, we show that the way errors are typically reported in clumped isotope data can be problematic and lead to the impression that data are more precise than warranted. We recommend that uncertainties in Δ47 data should no longer be reported as the standard error of a few replicate measurements. Instead, uncertainties should be reported as margins of error at a specified confidence level (e.g., 68% or 95% CL). These error bars are a more realistic indication of the reliability of a measurement.This study was funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation project 200020_160046, 200021_143485, 200021_169849, and IZK022–160377, ETH research project ETH-33 14-1, and by Australian Research Council Australian Laureate Fellowship FL12010005

Penultimate deglacial warming across the Mediterranean Sea revealed by clumped isotopes in foraminifera

The variability of seawater temperature through time is a critical measure of climate change, yet its reconstruction remains problematic in many regions. Mg/Ca and oxygen isotope (δ^18 Oc) measurements in foraminiferal carbonate shells can be combined to reconstruct seawater temperature and δ^18 O (δ^18 OSW). The latter is a measure of changes in local hydrology (e.g., precipitation/evaporation, freshwater inputs) and global ice volume. But diagenetic processes may affect foraminiferal Mg/Ca. This restricts its potential in many places, including the Mediterranean Sea, a strategic region for deciphering global climate and sea-level changes. High alkalinity/salinity conditions especially bias Mg/Ca temperatures in the eastern Mediterranean (eMed). Here we advance the understanding of both western Mediterranean (wMed) and eMed hydrographic variability through the penultimate glacial termination (TII) and last interglacial, by applying the clumped isotope (Δ47) paleothermometer to planktic foraminifera with a novel data-processing approach. Results suggest that North Atlantic cooling during Heinrich stadial 11 (HS11) affected surface-water temperatures much more in the wMed (during winter/spring) than in the eMed (during summer). The method’s paired Δ47 and δ^18 Oc data also portray δ^18 OSW. These records reveal a clear HS11 freshwater signal, which attenuated toward the eMed, and also that last interglacial surface warming in the eMed was strongly amplified by water-column stratification during the deposition of the organic-rich (sapropel) interval known as S5.Tis study was supported by Swiss National Science Foundation projects SNSF 200020_160046 and IZK0Z2_160377, ETH project No. ETH-33 14-1, ANZIC-IODP project ARIES30735 (K.M.G. & L.R.-S.), and Australian Research Council Australian Laureate Fellowship FL120100050 (E.J.R)

Remanence acquisition efficiency in biogenic and detrital magnetite and recording of geomagnetic paleointensity

Relative paleointensity (RPI) variations of Earth's magnetic field are widely used to understand geomagnetic field behavior and to develop age models for sedimentary sequences. RPI estimation is based on a series of assumptions. One key assumption that is rarely considered is that all magnetic particles in the sediment acquired a magnetization in an identical manner. In this paper, we test this assumption for sediments from the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean that record well-documented global RPI variations over the last ∼780 kyr. The magnetization is carried by two stable single domain magnetic components, which we identify as magnetite magnetofossils and titanomagnetite nanoparticle inclusions within larger silicate particles. By analyzing signals carried by the two components separately, we determine for the first time that magnetic nanoparticle inclusions can cause their host particles to record reliable but inefficient sedimentary paleomagnetic signals. The magnetization carried by biogenic magnetite is acquired more efficiently than that carried by the nanoparticle inclusions. Variations in the concentration of both components are modulated climatically so that they record nearly identical RPI signals. In many sediment types, there is no correlation between the concentrations of different magnetic components so that variable remanence acquisition efficiency will complicate RPI recording. Our work demonstrates that detailed assessment of paleomagnetic recording by each constituent magnetic component needs to become a routine part of sedimentary RPI analysis.The authors acknowledge funding support from: L.C.: China Scholarship Council; A.P.R. and D.H.: Australian Research Council (ARC) through grants DP120103952, DP140104544, and LE120100218; H.V.M.: ARC Future Fellowship FT140100286; E.J.R.: ARC Australian Laureate Fellowship FL120100050; and H.P.: European Research Council grant 617462. We thank Joe Stoner, Marine Geology Repository (MGR), Oregon State University (OSU), for facilitating sampling of the studied sediment core (MGR is supported by NSF grant OCE1558679), Maziet Cheseby (MGR, OSU) for technical support, and Suzanne MacLachlan and Guy Rothwell, BOSCORF, National Oceanography Centre Southampton, for performing the XRF analyses. Data presented in this paper will be uploaded into the MagIC database (https://www2. earthref.org/MagIC)

Generation and integrated analysis of advanced patient-derived orthoxenograft models (PDOX) for the rational assessment of targeted therapies in endometrial cancer

Clinical management of endometrial cancer (EC) is handicapped by the limited availability of second line treatments and bona fide molecular biomarkers to predict recurrence. These limitations have hampered the treatment of these patients, whose survival rates have not improved over the last four decades. The advent of coordinated studies such as The Cancer Genome Atlas Uterine Corpus Endometrial Carcinoma (TCGA_UCEC) has partially solved this issue, but the lack of proper experimental systems still represents a bottleneck that precludes translational studies from successful clinical testing in EC patients. Within this context, the first study reporting the generation of a collection of endometrioid-EC-patient-derived orthoxenograft (PDOX) mouse models is presented that is believed to overcome these experimental constraints and pave the way toward state-of-the-art precision medicine in EC. The collection of primary tumors and derived PDOXs is characterized through an integrative approach based on transcriptomics, mutational profiles, and morphological analysis; and it is demonstrated that EC tumors engrafted in the mouse uterus retain the main molecular and morphological features from analogous tumor donors. Finally, the molecular properties of these tumors are harnessed to assess the therapeutic potential of trastuzumab, a human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) inhibitor with growing interest in EC, using patient-derived organotypic multicellular tumor spheroids and in vivo experiments

Generation of NKX2.5(GFP) Reporter Human iPSCs and Differentiation Into Functional Cardiac Fibroblasts

Direct cardiac reprogramming has emerged as an interesting approach for the treatment and regeneration of damaged hearts through the direct conversion of fibroblasts into cardiomyocytes or cardiovascular progenitors. However, in studies with human cells, the lack of reporter fibroblasts has hindered the screening of factors and consequently, the development of robust direct cardiac reprogramming protocols.In this study, we have generated functional human NKX2.5(GFP) reporter cardiac fibroblasts. We first established a new NKX2.5(GFP) reporter human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) line using a CRISPR-Cas9-based knock-in approach in order to preserve function which could alter the biology of the cells. The reporter was found to faithfully track NKX2.5 expressing cells in differentiated NKX2.5(GFP) hiPSC and the potential of NKX2.5-GFP + cells to give rise to the expected cardiac lineages, including functional ventricular- and atrial-like cardiomyocytes, was demonstrated. Then NKX2.5(GFP) cardiac fibroblasts were obtained through directed differentiation, and these showed typical fibroblast-like morphology, a specific marker expression profile and, more importantly, functionality similar to patient-derived cardiac fibroblasts. The advantage of using this approach is that it offers an unlimited supply of cellular models for research in cardiac reprogramming, and since NKX2.5 is expressed not only in cardiomyocytes but also in cardiovascular precursors, the detection of both induced cell types would be possible. These reporter lines will be useful tools for human direct cardiac reprogramming research and progress in this field.This work was supported by PID 2019-107150RB-I00/AEI/ 10.13039/501100011033 to XC-V; by the “Ramón y Cajal” State Program, Ministry of Economy and Competitivenes

Accuracy and Repeatability of Spatiotemporal Gait Parameters Measured with an Inertial Measurement Unit

In recent years, interest in finding alternatives for the evaluation of mobility has increased. Inertial measurement units (IMUs) stand out for their portability, size, and low price. The objective of this study was to examine the accuracy and repeatability of a commercially available IMU under controlled conditions in healthy subjects. A total of 36 subjects, including 17 males and 19 females were analyzed with a Wiva Science IMU in a corridor test while walking for 10 m and in a threadmill at 1.6 km/h, 2.4 km/h, 3.2 km/h, 4 km/h, and 4.8 km/h for one minute. We found no difference when we compared the variables at 4 km/h and 4.8 km/h. However, we found greater differences and errors at 1.6 km/h, 2.4 km/h and 3.2 km/h, and the latter one (1.6 km/h) generated more error. The main conclusion is that the Wiva Science IMU is reliable at high speeds but loses reliability at low speeds

Impact of the COVID pandemic on vascular access creation for haemodialysis in 16 spanish haemodialysis centres

The coronavirus disease (COVID) pandemic has resulted in a major disruption in healthcare that has affected several medical and surgical specialties. European and American Vascular Societies have proposed deferring the creation of an elective vascular access (VA) [autologous or prosthetic arteriovenous fistula (AVF) or arteriovenous graft (AVG)] in incident patients on haemodialysis (HD) in the era of the COVID pandemic. The aim of this study is to examine the impact of the COVID pandemic on VA creation and the central venous catheter (CVC)-related hospitalizations and complications in HD patients dialyzed in 16 Spanish HD units of three different regions. We compared retrospectively two periods of time: the pre-COVID (1 January 2019-11 March 2020) and the COVID era (12 March 2020-30 June 2021) in all HD patients (prevalent and incident) dialyzed in our 16 HD centres. The variables analysed were type of VA (CVC, AVF and AVG) created, percentage of CVC in incident and prevalent HD patients, CVC-related hospitalizations and complications (infection, extrusion, disfunction, catheter removal) and percentage of CVC HD sessions that did not reach the goal of Kt (>45) as a marker of HD adequacy. A total of 1791 VAs for HD were created and 905 patients started HD during the study period. Patients who underwent vascular access surgery during the COVID period compared with pre-COVID period were significantly younger, with a significant decrease in surgical activity to create AVFs and AVGs in older HD patients (>75 and >85 years of age). There was a significant increase in CVC placement (from 59.7% to 69.5%; P 45) was observed. COVID has presented a public health system crisis that has influenced VA for HD, with an increase in CVCs relative to AVFs. A decrease in HD sessions that did not reach the HD dose objective was observed in the COVID period compared with a pre-COVID period

Noninvasive early detection of colorectal cancer by hypermethylation of the LINC00473 promoter in plasma cell-free DNA

Background Current noninvasive assays have limitations in the early detection of colorectal cancer. We evaluated the clinical utility of promoter methylation of the long noncoding RNA LINC00473 as a noninvasive biomarker to detect colorectal cancer and associated precancerous lesions. Methods We evaluated the epigenetic regulation of LINC00473 through promoter hypermethylation in colorectal cancer cell lines using bisulfite genomic sequencing and expression analyses. DNA methylation of LINC00473 was analyzed in primary colorectal tumors using 450K arrays and RNA-seq from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Tissue-based findings were validated in several independent cohorts of colorectal cancer and advanced colorectal polyp patients by pyrosequencing. We explored the clinical utility of LINC00473 methylation for the early detection of colorectal cancer in plasma cell-free DNA by quantitative methylation-specific PCR and droplet digital PCR. Results LINC00473 showed transcriptionally silencing due to promoter hypermethylation in colorectal cancer cell lines and primary tumors. Methylation of the LINC00473 promoter accurately detected primary colorectal tumors in two independent clinical cohorts, with areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUCs) of 0.94 and 0.89. This biomarker also identified advanced colorectal polyps from two other tissue-based clinical cohorts with high diagnostic accuracy (AUCs of 0.99 and 0.78). Finally, methylation analysis of the LINC00473 promoter in plasma cell-free DNA accurately identified patients with colorectal cancer and advanced colorectal polyps (AUCs of 0.88 and 0.84, respectively), which was confirmed in an independent cohort of patients. Conclusions Hypermethylation of the LINC00473 promoter is a new promising biomarker for noninvasive early detection of colorectal cancer and related precancerous lesions