The role of hybrid systems in the decarbonization of residential heritage buildings in Mediterranean climate. A case study in Seville, Spain

Residential heritage buildings in the Mediterranean region face unexpected challenges in the field of energy efficiency and indoor environmental quality to ensure the sustainable conservation of historic town centres. This paper evaluates whether the conservation of their values can coexist with the current energy efficiency requirements and be included in urban decarbonization plans to prevent neglect and degradation. For this, a comprehensive decarbonization plan was drawn up based on the results of a previous energy audit on the case study selected, an 18th-century listed residential building in Seville, Spain. Envelope improvement was combined with mechanical ventilation and an integrated heat pump combining RESs and electricity from the public grid to cover all thermal needs in order to reach NZEB performance in the building. Despite the complexity of integrating demanding energy efficiency standards into heritage buildings, which requires case-by-case analysis and dynamic simulation, findings show a notable degree of approximation to NZEB performance. The main obstacles stem from the large amount of energy consumed by auxiliary systems and the relatively low presence of RESs in the national electricity mix

Total and Metabolically Active Microbial Community of Aerobic Granular Sludge Systems Operated in Sequential Batch Reactors: Effect of Pharmaceutical Compounds

Two aerobic granular sludge (AGS) sequential batch reactors were operated at a mild (15 ◦C) temperature for 180 days. One of those bioreactors was exposed to a mixture of diclofenac, naproxen, trimethoprim, and carbamazepine. The AGS system, operating under pressure from emerging contaminants, showed a decrease in COD, BOD5 , and TN removal capacity, mainly observed during the first 100 days, in comparison with the removal ratios detected in the control bioreactor. After an acclimatisation period, the removal reached high-quality effluent for COD and TN, close to 95% and 90%, respectively. In the steady-state period, trimethoprim and diclofenac were successfully removed with values around 50%, while carbamazepine and naproxen were more recalcitrant. The dominant bacterial OTUs were affected by the presence of a mixture of pharmaceutical compounds, under which the dominant phylotypes changed to OTUs classified among the Pseudomonas, Gemmobacter, and Comamonadaceae. The RT-qPCR and qPCR results showed the deep effects of pharmaceutical compounds on the number of copies of target genes. Statistical analyses allowed for linking the total and active microbial communities with the physico-chemical performance, describing the effects of pharmaceutical compounds in pollution degradation, as well as the successful adaptation of the system to treat wastewater in the presence of toxic compounds

Promoter trapping in microalgae using the antibiotic paromomycin as selective agent

The lack of highly active endogenous promoters to drive the expression of transgenes is one of the main drawbacks to achieving efficient transformation of many microalgal species. Using the model chlorophyte Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and the paromomycin resistance APHVIII gene from Streptomyces rimosus as a marker, we have demonstrated that random insertion of the promoterless marker gene and subsequent isolation of the most robust transformants allows for the identification of novel strong promoter sequences in microalgae. Digestion of the genomic DNA with an enzyme that has a unique restriction site inside the marker gene and a high number of target sites in the genome of the microalga, followed by inverse PCR, allows for easy determination of the genomic region, which precedes the APHVIII marker gene. In most of the transformants analyzed, the marker gene is inserted in intragenic regions and its expression relies on its adequate insertion in frame with native genes. As an example, one of the new promoters identified was used to direct the expression of the APHVIII marker gene in C. reinhardtii, showing high transformation efficiencies.Junta de Andalucía (P09-CVI-5053)Junta de Andalucía (BIO-214

Simultaneous removal of nitrate and pesticides from contaminated groundwater using aerobic granular biomass technology

Supplementary data associated with this article can be found in the online version at doi:10.1016/j.jece.2023.109527Aerobic Granular Biomass (AGB) technology is widely used for urban and industrial wastewater treatment, however, its application in groundwater remediation, is practically unknown. A mixture of carbendazim, simazine, and diuron were amended to the nitrate-polluted synthetic groundwater at increasing concentrations to validate the ability of technology to remove both kind of pollutants, pesticides and nitrate which are commonly found in the water resources. The nitrate removal was a success with values below 0.010 g⋅L-1. The increased concentration of pesticides in the influent did not distort the pattern observed for pesticide removal. Carbendazim was almost completely eliminated, followed by simazine elimination, while diuron showed adsorption-desorption patterns during experimentation. The addition of pesticides had a drastic effect on the basal community conducted by proliferation of Hyphomicrobium and Dokdonella. The pesticide compounds had a negative effect on number of copies for fungal population, while archaeal population was unharmed, according to qPCR results. Denitrifying bacteria need 70 days as acclimatization period for achieving activity values as initial inoculum. The results obtained have shown for the first time the capacity of AGB system to treat groundwater polluted with nitrate and pesticide using low carbon load. Therefore, the results suggested the potential application of AGB technology for the purification of groundwater polluted with both nitrates and pesticidesProject LIFE16 ENV/ES/000196European LIFE Program and B-RNM-137-UGR18Programa operativo FEDER de Andalucía 2014-2020Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences of University of Tusciagroup RNM270 of Institute of Water Research (University of Granada)Barbara summaUnion-NextGenerationEUUniversidad de Granada / CBU

Dabigatran : a new oral anticoagulant. Guidelines to follow in oral surgery procedures. A systematic review of the literature

Dabigatran is a newly commercialized drug that is replacing other anticoagulants in the prevention of venous thromboembolism, stroke and systemic arterial valve embolism. It acts directly on thrombin presenting in a dynamic and predictable way, which does not require monitoring these patients. Therefore, we consider the need to assess whether their use increases the risk of bleeding involved before any dental treatment. We performed a systematic review with a bibliographic search in PubMed/Medline along with the Cochrane Library. We excluded articles dealing with all anticoagulants other than dabigatran, and works about surgical treatments in anatomical locations other than the oral cavity. We included a total of 13 papers of which 1 was a randomized clinical trial, 9 narrative literature reviews, 1 case series, 2 clinical cases and 1 expert opinion. Because we did not obtain any properly designed clinical trials, we were unable to conduct a meta-analysis. Currently, there is no consensus on the procedure to be followed in patients taking dabigatran. However, all authors agree to treat each case individually in accordance to the risk of embolism, postoperative bleeding and renal function. Also, it is necessary to perform minimally invasive interventions, and take the appropriate local anti-hemolytic measures

New Advances in Aerobic Granular Sludge Technology Using Continuous Flow Reactors: Engineering and Microbiological Aspects

The authors would like to acknowledge the support given by the Institute of Water Research of the University of Granada, Spain and Universita degli Studi della Tuscia, Italy.Aerobic granular sludge (AGS) comprises an aggregation of microbial cells in a tridimensional matrix, which is able to remove carbon, nitrogen and phosphorous as well as other pollutants in a single bioreactor under the same operational conditions. During the past decades, the feasibility of implementing AGS in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) for treating sewage using fundamentally sequential batch reactors (SBRs) has been studied. However, granular sludge technology using SBRs has several disadvantages. For instance, it can present certain drawbacks for the treatment of high flow rates; furthermore, the quantity of retained biomass is limited by volume exchange. Therefore, the development of continuous flow reactors (CFRs) has come to be regarded as a more competitive option. This is why numerous investigations have been undertaken in recent years in search of different designs of CFR systems that would enable the effective treatment of urban and industrial wastewater, keeping the stability of granular biomass. However, despite these efforts, satisfactory results have yet to be achieved. Consequently, it remains necessary to carry out new technical approaches that would provide more effective and efficient AGS-CFR systems. In particular, it is imperative to develop continuous flow granular systems that can both retain granular biomass and efficiently treat wastewater, obviously with low construction, maintenance and exploitation cost. In this review, we collect the most recent information on different technological approaches aimed at establishing AGS-CFR systems, making possible their upscaling to real plant conditions. We discuss the advantages and disadvantages of these proposals and suggest future trends in the application of aerobic granular systems. Accordingly, we analyze the most significant technical and biological implications of this innovative technology.Institute of Water Research of the University of Granada, SpainUniversita degli Studi della Tuscia, Ital

Granular biomass technology for providing drinking water: microbial versatility and nitrate performance in response to carbon source

AL and RVV are supported by the funds of European Commission through the "European funds for regional development" (EFRE) as well as by the regional Ministry of Economy, Science and Digitalization of Saxony-Anhalt as part of the "Autonomy in old Age" (AiA) research group for "LiLife" Project (Project ID: ZS/2018/11/95324). Authors thank to Mrs. Ilka Kramer for her technical support in sequencing. BMP is supported by the funds of Ministerio de Universidades (Spain Government) and the European Union -NextGenerationEU. The authors would like to acknowledge the support given by the funding proving by LIFE16 ENV/ES/000196 and the RMN270 research group, which was essential for the realization of this research.The aerobic granular biomass technology was optimized for treating nitrate-polluted groundwater based on the biological denitrification processes in order to provide drinking water. Reactors inoculated with granular biomass were operated at progressively lower C/N rate using acetate and methanol to encourage heterotrophic denitrification, in order to meet the recommended requirements described by European Drinking Water Framework Directive. The granulation and long-term stability of granular biomass under low C/N were successful for all stages, demonstrated compactness of granules and absence of filamentous microorganisms. The nitrate removal was similar in methanol- and acetate-fed reactors, occurring in both cases nitrate removal ratios > 80%, and fact allows the selection of one of both depending groundwater polluted case. Also, feeding reactors with 2 C/N ratio showed nitrate removal values of & GE; 95%, treating highly polluted groundwater (100 mg & BULL;L-1). The microbial diversity was higher in the methanol-fed reactor with representative phylotypes as Flavobacterium, Cytophagaceae, NS9 marine group, while species richness was higher in the acetate-fed reactor, which was mainly represented by Flavobacterium genus. Statistical analyses revealed the higher resilience of bacterial population on granules fed with acetate, showing more resistance under drop C/N ratio. Oscillating pollution in groundwater during seasonal periods should be treated using acetate as carbon source for denitrification carried out by granular biomass, while stable pollution concentrations over time allow the use of methanol as a carbon source since the greater microbial diversity allows the elimination of other contaminants present in groundwater.European Union (EU)Regional Ministry of Economy, Science and Digitalization of Saxony-Anhalt ZS/2018/11/95324Ministerio de Universidades (Spain Government)LIFE16 ENV/ES/000196RMN270European Union -NextGenerationE

Recursos interactivos para prácticas con Software Estadístico en Informática

Depto. de Estadística e Investigación OperativaFac. de Ciencias MatemáticasFALSEsubmitte

Malaria Vaccine Adjuvants: Latest Update and Challenges in Preclinical and Clinical Research

There is no malaria vaccine currently available, and the most advanced candidate has recently reported a modest 30% efficacy against clinical malaria. Although many efforts have been dedicated to achieve this goal, the research was mainly directed to identify antigenic targets. Nevertheless, the latest progresses on understanding how immune system works and the data recovered from vaccination studies have conferred to the vaccine formulation its deserved relevance. Additionally to the antigen nature, the manner in which it is presented (delivery adjuvants) as well as the immunostimulatory effect of the formulation components (immunostimulants) modulates the immune response elicited. Protective immunity against malaria requires the induction of humoral, antibody-dependent cellular inhibition (ADCI) and effector and memory cell responses. This review summarizes the status of adjuvants that have been or are being employed in the malaria vaccine development, focusing on the pharmaceutical and immunological aspects, as well as on their immunization outcomings at clinical and preclinical stages.This project was partially supported by the "Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion" (SAF2007-66115), the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) (UFI 11/32), and FEDER funds. E. Mata thanks the Basque Government for a fellowship grant