Gaining further insight into photo-Fenton treatment of phenolic compounds commonly found in food processing industry

A mixture of eight phenolic compounds, namely 2,4-dinitrophenol, tannic, ellagic, gallic, protocatechuic, vanillic, syringic and sinapic acids, have been treated by means of a photo-Fenton process under simulated and real sunlight. An experimental design methodology, based in Doehlert matrixes, was employed to check the effect of the concentration of Fe(II) and H2O2, as well as pH. Response surfaces show that photo-Fenton can be extended to pH values clearly above 2.8, probably due to complexation of iron with the phenolic substances. Experiments performed under solar irradiation at pH = 3.9 showed that complete removal of the monitored pollutants was achieved in less than 3 min; mineralisation was also efficient, although some organics remained in the solution. Toxicity was monitored according to Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata and Daphnia magna bioassays; Recombinant Yeast Assay (RYA) was employed to assess estrogenic and dioxin-like activities. 2,4-Dinitrophenol was demonstrated to be the major concern and, in general, photo-Fenton resulted in a detoxification of the solution. Finally, excitation emission matrix (EEM) fluorimetry was employed to obtain complementary information on the behaviour of organic matter. Most peaks associated with the parent pollutants disappeared after short irradiation periods and, at 12 min of irradiation chromophores were destroyed, what can be associated with the removal of complex molecules. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.The authors want to thank the financial support of the Spanish Ministerio de Education y Ciencia (CTQ2012-38754-C03-02) and Generalitat Valenciana (GV/2015/074). Sara Garcia-Ballesteros would like to thank Spanish Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad for her fellowship (BES-2013-066201).García Ballesteros, S.; Mora Carbonell, M.; Vicente Candela, R.; Sabater Marco, C.; Castillo López, MÁ.; Arques Sanz, A.; Amat Payá, AM. (2016). Gaining further insight into photo-Fenton treatment of phenolic compounds commonly found in food processing industry. Chemical Engineering Journal. 288:126-136. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2015.11.031S12613628

A family of iterative methods that uses divided differences of first and second orders

The family of fourth-order Steffensen-type methods proposed by Zheng et al. (Appl. Math. Comput. 217, 9592-9597 (2011)) is extended to solve systems of nonlinear equations. This extension uses multidimensional divided differences of first and second orders. For a certain computational efficiency index, two optimal methods are identified in the family. Semilocal convergence is shown for one of these optimal methods under mild conditions. Moreover, a numerical example is given to illustrate the theoretical results.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Molecular profiling of long-term responders to immune checkpoint inhibitors in advanced non-small cell lung cancer

Altres ajuts: This work was supported by the Fundacion Cientifica Asociación Española Contra el Cancer-AECC [grant number GCB14142170 to LMM, MS-C, and EF].Immunotherapy has transformed advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treatment strategies and has led to unprecedented long-lasting responses in some patients. However, the molecular determinants driving these long-term responses remain elusive. To address this issue, we performed an integrative analysis of genomic and transcriptomic features of long-term immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs)-associated responders. We assembled a cohort of 47 patients with NSCLC receiving ICIs that was enriched in long-term responders [>18 months of progression-free survival (PFS)]. We performed whole-exome sequencing from tumor samples, estimated the tumor mutational burden (TMB), and inferred the somatic copy number alterations (SCNAs). We also obtained gene transcription data for a subset of patients using Nanostring, which we used to assess the tumor immune infiltration status and PD-L1 expression. Our results indicate that there is an association between TMB and benefit to ICIs, which is driven by those patients with long-term response. Additionally, high SCNAs burden is associated with poor response and negatively correlates with the presence of several immune cell types (B cells, natural killers, regulatory T cells or effector CD8 T cells). Also, CD274 (PD-L1) expression is increased in patients with benefit, mainly in those with long-term response. In our cohort, combined assessment of TMB and SCNAs burden enabled identification of long-term responders (considering PFS and overall survival). Notably, the association between TMB, SCNAs burden, and PD-L1 expression with the outcomes of ICIs treatment was validated in two public datasets of ICI-treated patients with NSCLC. Thus, our data indicate that TMB is associated with long-term benefit following ICIs treatment in NSCLC and that TMB, SCNAs burden, and PD-L1 are complementary determinants of response to ICIs

Recommendations for ophthalmologic practice during the easing of COVID-19 control measures

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, this paper provides recommendations for medical eye care during the easing of control measures after lockdown. The guidelines presented are based on a literature review and consensus among all Spanish Ophthalmology Societies regarding protection measures recommended for the ophthalmologic care of patients with or without confirmed COVID-19 in outpatient, inpatient, emergency and surgery settings. We recommend that all measures be adapted to the circumstances and availability of personal protective equipment at each centre and also highlight the need to periodically update recommendations as we may need to readopt more restrictive measures depending on the local epidemiology of the virus. These guidelines are designed to avoid the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 among both patients and healthcare staff as we gradually return to normal medical practice, to prevent postoperative complications and try to reduce possible deficiencies in the diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of the ophthalmic diseases. With this update (5th) the Spanish Society of Ophthalmology is placed as one of the major ophthalmology societies providing periodic and systematized recommendations for ophthalmic care during the COVID-19 pandemic

Revista de Vertebrados de la Estación Biológica de Doñana

Descripción de un nuevo género y de una nueva especie Iberocypris palaciosi N.GEN.N.SO (Pisces, cyprinidae).Resultados de los censos d e aves acuáticas en Andalucía Occidental durante el invierno1978-79Interacciones en la alimentación de las larvas de dos especies de tritones. (Triturus marmoratus y Triturus boscai).Utilización del espacio en una comunidad de lacertidos del matorral mediterráneo en la Reserva Biológica de DoñanaMorfología dentaria de las liebres europeas (Lagomorpha, leporidae).El conejo, Oryctolagus cuniculus en Andalucía Occidental: Parámetros corporales y curva de crecimientoObservaciones de foca monje (Monachus monachus Herm.) en las costas del sureste de la Península Ibérica.Presencia de pejerrey Atherina (Hepsetia) boyeri, Risso 1810; Pisces ( Atherinidae) en la laguna de Zoñar (Córdoba, SO de España).Nuevas citas de la "loina" Chondrostoma (Machaerochilus) toxostoma arrigonis Stein. (pisces, cyprinidae) en EspañaRelativa subalimentación de Falco naumanni durante el periodo no reproductor en el valle del GuadalquivirComadrejas alimentandose de carroña.Agrupamientos de Alytes cisternasii bajo el mismo refugioDescripción de un nuevo género de quiróptero neotropical de la familia MolossidaeAlgunas notas sobre Platalea leucorodia en GaliciaInicidencia del murciélago hematófago Desmodus rotundus sobre los indígenas Yanomani de VenezuelaRitmo de actividad de algunos ratones de los llanos de Apure (Venezuela)Presencia del topillo campesino ibérico, Microtus arvalis asturianus Miller, 1908 en la meseta del DueroFalco columbarius EsmerejónCiconia ciconia CigüeñaNycticorax nycticorax MartinetePeer reviewe

The role of parasites in the invasion success of the exotic brine shrimp Artemia Franciscana in the Meditarranean region

Trabajo presentado en el Symposium for European Freshwater Science, celebardo en Girona del 27 de junio al 1 de julio de 2011.Biological invasions are main threats to biodiversity at global scale and increasing numbers of studies suggest that parasites may have a role. However, the mechanism through which parasites may influence the outcome of the invasion is poorly understood. Here we provide evidence supporting the role of parasites as potential agents mediating the competitive exclusion of Mediterranean brine shrimps Artemia (A. parthenogenetica and A. salina) by the exotic American A. franciscana, using different native and invasive populations from South Spain and South France. Our results revealed high rates of infection by cestodes in native brine shrimps, sometimes with extreme prevalences of up to 100%. In contrast, A. franciscana populations showed very low diversity, prevalence and burden of cestodes. The effect of parasites in native populations was multiple, ranging from reproduction and survival, to life history traits, microhabitat selection and diet. Infection strongly reduced host fitness by both, reducing fecundity (parasite castration) and indirectly increasing predation by birds final hosts as revealed by prey choice experiments. We found evidence that high rate of parasitism (particularly the castrating parasite Flamingolepis liguloides, the most prevalent cestode in natives but nearly absent in the exotic Artemia), indirectly affected the life-history strategy of non infected individuals, inducing for example earlier maturation. Moreover cestodes influenced spatial (vertical and horizontal) distribution of the host, altering the diet as revealed by isotopic analysis. Contrasting with the strong impact of parasites in native populations, we have never observed any pathology (castration, behavioural alteration, etc) associated with infection in the exotic species. Overall, the results of this study suggest that the large impact of cestode on the native, but not the invading species, is likely to confer a decisive competitive advantage to the invader, contributing to explain the demographic success of A. franciscana in the Mediterranean region.Peer reviewe

Revisiting the epidemiology of bloodstream infections and healthcare-associated episodes: results from a multicentre prospective cohort in Spain (PRO-BAC Study)

PROBAC REIPI/GEIH-SEIMC/SAEI Group.The epidemiology of bloodstream infections (BSIs) is dynamic as it depends on microbiological, host and healthcare system factors. The aim of this study was to update the information regarding the epidemiology of BSIs in Spain considering the type of acquisition. An observational, prospective cohort study in 26 Spanish hospitals from October 2016 through March 2017 including all episodes of BSI in adults was performed. Bivariate analyses stratified by type of acquisition were performed. Multivariate analyses were performed by logistic regression. Overall, 6345 BSI episodes were included; 2510 (39.8%) were community-acquired (CA), 1661 (26.3%) were healthcare-associated (HCA) and 2056 (32.6%) hospital-acquired (HA). The 30-day mortality rates were 11.6%, 19.5% and 22.0%, respectively. The median age of patients was 71 years (interquartile range 60–81 years) and 3656 (58.3%; 95% confidence interval 57.1–59.6%) occurred in males. The proportions according to patient sex varied according to age strata. Escherichia coli (43.8%), Klebsiella spp. (8.9%), Staphylococcus aureus (8.9%) and coagulase-negative staphylococci (7.4%) were the most frequent pathogens. Multivariate analyses confirmed important differences between CA and HCA episodes, but also between HCA and HA episodes, in demographics, underlying conditions and aetiology. In conclusion, we have updated the epidemiological information regarding patients’ profiles, underlying conditions, frequency of acquisition types and aetiological agents of BSI in Spain. HCA is confirmed as a distinct type of acquisition.This work was financed by grants from Plan Nacional de I+D+i 2013–2016, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Subdirección General de Redes y Centros de Investigación Cooperativa, Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades [PI16/01432] and the Spanish Network for Research in Infectious Diseases (REIPI) [RD16/0016/0001; RD16/0016/0008], co‐financed by the European Development Regional Fund ‘A way to achieve Europe’, Operative program Intelligent Growth 2014–2020