Membrane supply and remodeling during autophagosome biogenesis

The de novo generation of double-membrane autophagosomes is the hallmark of autophagy. The initial membranous precursor cisterna, the phagophore, is very likely generated by the fusion of vesicles and acts as a membrane seed for the subsequent expansion into an autophagosome. This latter step requires a massive convoy of lipids into the phagophore. In this review, we present recent advances in our understanding of the intracellular membrane sources and lipid delivery mechanisms, which principally rely on vesicular transport and membrane contact sites that contribute to autophagosome biogenesis. In this context, we discuss lipid biosynthesis and lipid remodeling events that play a crucial role in both phagophore nucleation and expansion

1,2-Dimeth­oxy-4-methyl-3-[(S)-p-tolyl­sulfin­yl]benzene

In the title compound, C16H18O3S, the dihedral angle between the benzene rings is 75.48 (8)°. The absolute configuration at the stereogenic S-atom center was determined as S. The crystal structure is stabilized by inter­molecular C—H⋯O contacts

Human papillomavirus type 16 variants in cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and invasive carcinoma in San Luis Potosí City, Mexico

"Background In San Luis Potosí City cervical infection by human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16) associated to dysplastic lesions is more prevalent in younger women. In this work HPV16 subtypes and variants associated to low-grade intraepithelial lesions (LSIL), high-grade intraepithelial lesions (HSIL) and invasive cervical cancer (ICC) of 38 women residing in San Luis Potosí City were identified by comparing their E6 open reading frame sequences. Results Three European (E) variants (E-P, n = 27; E-T350G, n = 7; E-C188G, n = 2) and one AA-a variant (n = 2) were identified among the 38 HPV16 sequences analyzed. E-P variant sequences contained 23 single nucleotide changes, two of which (A334G, A404T) had not been described before and allowed the phylogenetic separation from the other variants. E-P A334G sequences were the most prevalent (22 cases, 57.9%), followed by the E-P Ref prototype (8 cases, 21.1%) and E-P A404T (1 case, 2.6%) sequences. The HSIL + ICC fraction was 0.21 for the E-P A334G variants and 0.00 for the E-P Ref variants. Conclusion We conclude that in the women included in this study the HPV16 E subtype is 19 times more frequent than the AA subtype; that the circulating E variants are E-P (71.1%) > E-T350G (18.4%) > E-C188G (5.3%); that 71.0% of the E-P sequences carry the A334G single nucleotide change and appear to correspond to a HPV16 variant characteristic of San Luis Potosi City more oncogenic than the E-P Ref prototype.

Corrigendum: COVID-19 Confinement and Health Risk Behaviors in Spain

In the original article, the reference for Chen et al. (2009) was incorrectly written as “Chen, P., Mao, L., Nassis, G. P., Harmer, P., Ainsworth, B. E., and Li, F. (2009). Wuhan coronavirus (2019-nCoV): the need to maintain regular physical activity while taking precautions. J. Sport Health Sci. 9, 103–104. doi: 10.1016/j.jshs.2020.02.001”. It should be “Chen, P., Mao, L., Nassis, G. P., Harmer, P., Ainsworth, B. E., and Li, F. (2020). Coronavirus disease (COVID-19): The need to maintain regular physical activity while taking precautions. J. Sport Health Sci. 9, 103–104. doi: 10.1016/j.jshs.2020.02.001”. The authors apologize for this error and state that this does not change the scientific conclusions of the article in any way. The original article has been updated

Genomic analyses of microdissected Hodgkin and Reed-Sternberg cells: mutations in epigenetic regulators and p53 are frequent in refractory classic Hodgkin lymphoma

This work was supported by grants from the Plan Nacional de I + D + I cofinanced by the ISCIII-Subdirección General de Evaluación and the Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER), PI12/1832, the Spanish Association for Cancer Research (AECC), and Programas para Grupos de Investigación de la Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid (Biomedicina 2017)

Encapsulación de la piperine presente en la especie Piper tuberculatum utilizando vesículas multilamelares y determinación de su poder antioxidante

The piperine is an alkaloid present in the vegetal species pipilongo (Piper tuberculatum). Antioxidant properties are associated to this plant. It was encapsulated in multilamellar vesicles (MLV). For that, the validation of the extraction methodology through calibration curves of standard piperine by high resolution liquid chromatography (HPLC) was performed, using a column of C18, mobile phase MetOH: H2O (70:30) and detected by UV to 340nm with a fluency rate of 0.7 mL/ min. The lineal and non-lineal ranges were found between 1 and 300 ppm, with R2 of 0.995. During the extraction of the pipilongo fruit, the effect of two factors, solvents and ultrasound power, was studied, for the optimization of conditions and higher extraction of piperine in pipilongo. The maximum concentration of piperine (246.50 ppm) was found, using ethanol as extraction solvent. The piperine was isolated from its extract, using a solution of KOH with 10 % ethanol. It was purified and characterized by melting point, IR, GC-MS y RMN 1H. Once the extract was obtained, it was proceeded to the formation of liposomes. The phosphatidylcholine and cholesterol vesicles were prepared with extract and with piperine at different concentrations and hydrated with buffer pH 7.40. The average size of the particles formed, measured by dynamic light scattering (DLS), was in a range of 299.7–531.9 nm. For the study of antioxidant activity, a solution of DPPH 0.2 mM was prepared and a reaction was carried out with the extract and piperine liposomes and their corresponding free forms. The IC50 calculated for the extract and piperine were 2.8±0.2 and 21333±1499 ppm, respectively. These values of IC50 were compared against a standard of reference Quercetin, prepared under the same conditions. The test with DPPH showed that the released form possesses greater antioxidant activity while in encapsulation form, it attenuates and stabilizes this capacity.La piperina, alcaloide presente en la especie vegetal pipilongo (Piper tuberculatum) a la cual se le asocian propiedades antioxidantes, fue encapsulada en vesículas multilamelares (MLV). Para ello se realizó la validación de la metodología de extracción a través de curvas de calibración de piperina estándar por cromatografía líquida de alta resolución (HPLC) utilizando una columna C18, fase móvil MetOH:H2O (70:30) y detectada por UV a 340 nm con una tasa de flujo de 0.7 mL/min. El rango lineal y linealidad fueron halladas entre 1 a 300 ppm, con R2 de 0.995. En la extracción del fruto de pipilongo se estudió el efecto de dos factores, disolventes y potencia de ultrasonido, para la optimización de condiciones y mayor extracción de piperina en pipilongo. La máxima concentración de piperina (246.50 ppm) fue encontrada en las condiciones de ultrasonido (US 20 KHz a 175W, 40 min) utilizando etanol como disolvente de extracción. Del extracto, se aisló la piperina utilizando una solución de KOH 10% etanólico. Fue purificada y caracterizada mediante punto de fusión, IR, GC-MS y RMN 1H. Una vez obtenido el extracto, se procedió a la formación de liposomas. Las vesículas de fosfatidilcolina y colesterol fueron preparadas con extracto y con piperina a diferentes concentraciones e hidratadas con buffer PBS a pH 7.40. El tamaño promedio de las partículas formadas, medido por dispersión de luz dinámica (DLS), estuvo en un rango de 299.7–531.9 nm. Para el estudio de la actividad antioxidante, se preparó una solución de DPPH 0.2 mM y se llevó a reacción con los liposomas de extracto y de piperina y sus correspondientes formas libres durante 60 min, medidos a 520 nm. El IC50 calculado para el extracto y la piperina fueron 2.8±0.2 y 21333±1499 ppm, respectivamente. Estos valores de IC50 fueron comparados frente a un estándar de referencia preparado bajo las mismas condiciones, quercetina (IC50 2.5±0.1 ppm). El ensayo con DPPH mostró que la forma liberada posee mayor actividad antioxidante mientras que en la encapsulación atenúa y estabiliza esta capacidad

Association Between Physical Activity and Odds of Chronic Conditions Among Workers in Spain

Introduction: Prevention of chronic conditions is a major public health challenge, and achieving minimum recommended levels of physical activity aids in reaching this objective. The aim of our study was to investigate whether levels of physical activity were associated with the prevalence of common chronic conditions among the Spanish workforce. Methods: We retrieved data from the Spanish National Health Survey 2017 (N = 9,695) in which the mean age of participants was 44.4 (standard deviation, 10.4 y), and 47.4% were women. Workers self-reported a set of 6 chronic conditions (ie, chronic low-back pain, chronic neck pain, diabetes, hypertension, depression, and anxiety), and we used the International Physical Activity Questionnaire short form to estimate physical activity. We performed multivariable logistic regression adjusted for possible confounders to assess associations between physical activity and chronic conditions. Results: The final adjusted model showed that performing less than 600 metabolic equivalent-minutes per week of physical activity was associated with significantly increased odds for chronic conditions (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.18; 95% CI, 1.07–1.30). Of the sex and age subgroups analyzed, this association was significant in men aged 17 to 44 (aOR = 1.21; 95% CI, 1.00–1.46). Among chronic conditions, low-back pain and anxiety were associated with low levels of physical activity, whereas covariates such as body mass index, smoking habits, education level, and occupational class had an important influence on the association between physical activity and chronic conditions. Conclusion: Results suggest that achieving sufficient physical activity could reduce chronic conditions among Spanish workers

Towards a new classification of galaxies: principal component analysis of CALIFA circular velocity curves

We present a galaxy classification system for 238 (E1-Sdm) CALIFA (Calar Alto Legacy Integral Field Area) galaxies based on the shapes and amplitudes of their circular velocity curves (CVCs). We infer the CVCs from the de-projected surface brightness of the galaxies, after scaling by a constant mass-to-light ratio based on stellar dynamics - solving axisymmetric Jeans equations via fitting the second velocity moment $V_{\mathrm{rms}}=\sqrt{V^2+\sigma^2}$ of the stellar kinematics. We use principal component analysis (PCA) applied to the CVC shapes to find characteristic features and use a $k$-means classifier to separate circular curves into classes. This objective classification method identifies four different classes, which we name slow-rising (SR), flat (FL), round-peaked (RP) and sharp-peaked (SP) circular curves. SR are typical for low-mass, late-type (Sb-Sdm), young, faint, metal-poor and disc-dominated galaxies. SP are typical for high-mass, early-type (E1-E7), old, bright, metal-rich and bulge-dominated galaxies. FL and RP appear presented by galaxies with intermediate mass, age, luminosity, metallicity, bulge-to-disk ratio and morphologies (E4-S0a, Sa-Sbc). The discrepancy mass factor, $f_d=1-M_{*}/M_{dyn}$, have the largest value for SR and SP classes ($\sim$ 74 per cent and $\sim$ 71 per cent, respectively) in contrast to the FL and RP classes (with $\sim$ 59 per cent and $\sim$ 61 per cent, respectively). Circular curve classification presents an alternative to typical morphological classification and appears more tightly linked to galaxy evolution.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS (Minor changes), 123 pages, 19 figures, 87 Tables (containing the basic properties of the 238 E1-Sdm galaxies; the five main Principal Component Eigenvectors; the five main Principal Components - PC_i; the Multi-Gaussian Expansion models - MGEs; the circular velocity curve models and their uncertainties

The Pristine Dwarf-Galaxy survey -- V. The edges of the dwarf galaxy Hercules

We present a new spectroscopic study of the dwarf galaxy Hercules (d ~ 132 kpc) with data from the Anglo-Australian Telescope and its AAOmega spectrograph together with the Two Degree Field multi-object system to solve the conundrum that whether Hercules is tidally disrupting. We combine broadband photometry, proper motions from Gaia, and our Pristine narrow-band and metallicity-sensitive photometry to efficiently weed out the Milky Way contamination. Such cleaning is particularly critical in this kinematic regime, as both the transverse and heliocentric velocities of Milky Way populations overlap with Hercules. Thanks to this method, three new member stars are identified, including one at almost 10rh of the satellite. All three have velocities and metallicities consistent with that of the main body. Combining this new dataset with the entire literature cleaned out from contamination shows that Hercules does not exhibit a velocity gradient (d/dX = 0.1+0.4/-0.2 km s-1 arcmin-1) and, as such, does not show evidence to undergo tidal disruption

Providing Collaborative Support to Virtual and Remote Laboratories

Virtual and remote laboratories (VRLs) are e-learning resources that enhance the accessibility of experimental setups providing a distance teaching framework which meets the student's hands-on learning needs. In addition, online collaborative communication represents a practical and a constructivist method to transmit the knowledge and experience from the teacher to students, overcoming physical distance and isolation. This paper describes the extension of two open source tools: (1) the learning management system Moodle, and (2) the tool to create VRLs Easy Java Simulations (EJS). Our extension provides: (1) synchronous collaborative support to any VRL developed with EJS (i.e., any existing VRL written in EJS can be automatically converted into a collaborative lab with no cost), and (2) support to deploy synchronous collaborative VRLs into Moodle. Using our approach students and/or teachers can invite other users enrolled in a Moodle course to a real-time collaborative experimental session, sharing and/or supervising experiences at the same time they practice and explore experiments using VRLs.This work was supported by the Spanish Government under the CICYT Project DPI2007-61068 and the GITE grant of the Technology and Educational Innovation Vice-President Office of the University of Alicante