Fungal and Bacterial Biodeterioration of Outdoor Canvas Paintings: The Case of the Cloisters of Quito, Ecuador

The historic center of Quito, Ecuador, was one of the first World Cultural Heritage Sites declared by UNE-ISCO in 1978. here are numerous religious buildings built during the Spanish colonial period reflecting the cultural her- itage in this area. Between them, the cloisters of San Francisco, Santo Domingo, and Santa Clara should be highlighted. The specific problems of conservation of the outdoor canvas paintings are not well known at the moment. The objective of this paper is to achieve a conservation study of the canvas paintings exhibited in these three cloisters of the historic center of Quito in order to identify the microbial agents and the main bioclimatic parameters of deterioration. For this, a study of the state of conservation of five canvas paintings has been carried out, as well as a sampling and identification of the main microorganisms present on the obverse and reverse of the works, employing diverse techniques, traditional and biomolecular ones. An analysis of climatic conditions has also been achieved in the cloister of San Francisco. The results of the study indicate that the exhibition conditions in the cloisters are really problematic for the conservation of paintings. Important biodeteriorating agents have been isolated, including fungi and bacteria species belonging, among others, to the genera Bacillus, Penicillium, Alternaria, Mucor, and Aspergillus. We have also researched its relationship with the deterioration state of the artworks and the exhibi ion conditions in each case, proposing guidelines for the proper conservation of this important World Cultural Heritage

An in vitro evaluation of two dentine adhesive systems to seal the pulp chamber using a glucose penetration model

Objectives: To evaluate the sealing capability of Cavit TM G with or without Clearfil TM S3 Bond and Prime & Bond NT placed in the pulp chamber. Study Design: Forty single rooted premolars, extracted for orthodontic and periodontal reasons, with intact coronal surface and mature apices, were standardized to a length of 15 mm. The teeth were instrumented, filled with a gutta-percha master cone and divided into three groups to obturate the pulp chambers: Cavit TM G; Clearfil TM S3 Bond plus Cavit TM G and Prime & Bond® NT plus Cavit TM G. A glucose leakage model was used for evaluating the coronal microleakage. The Mann-Whitney test was used to evaluate the differences in the means of the glucose leakage. Results: An increase in glucose penetration was observed during the first week in groups Cavit TM G and Cavit TM G+PBNT. The glucose penetration values of all groups were similar at 30 and 45 days, and there were no significant differences among them in both time periods (p=0.736 and p=0.581, respectively). Conclusions: The adhesive systems did not improve the capability of Cavit TM G to seal the pulp chamber over time © Medicina Oral S. L

Intraorifice sealing ability of different materials in endodontically treated teeth

Objectives: To evaluate Cavit? G, ProRoot? MTA and Tetric® EvoFlow as intraorifice barriers to prevent coronal microleakage in root canal treatment. Study Design: Forty-two human single rooted teeth were divided randomly in three experimental groups of 10 specimens each and two control groups. The experimental groups were prepared with hand instrumentation and cold lateral condensed technique of the gutta-percha. Four millimetres of coronal gutta-percha were removed and replaced by one of the following filling materials: Cavit? G, Tetric® EvoFlow or ProRoot? MTA. In the experimental groups, leakage was measured by the concentration of leaked glucose in the apical reservoir at 1, 7, 30, and 45 days, using the enzymatic glucose oxidase method. Data were analyzed by means of Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests at ?=0.05. Results: The glucose penetration results of three experimental groups increased gradually over time. No significant differences were found among groups at 24 hours and 1 week. At thirty and forty-five days, Cavit? and Tetric® EvoFlow values were significantly different (p=0.007 and p=0.023, respectively). Conclusions: The sealing ability of the Cavit? G, ProRoot? MTA and Tetric® EvoFlow used as intraorifice materials tends to be similar over time

Chagas Cardiomiopathy: The Potential of Diastolic Dysfunction and Brain Natriuretic Peptide in the Early Identification of Cardiac Damage

Chagas disease remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality in several countries of Latin America and has become a potential public health problem in countries where the disease is not endemic as a result of migration flows. Cardiac involvement represents the main cause of mortality, but its diagnosis is still based on nonspecific criteria with poor sensitivity. Early identification of patients with cardiac damage is desirable, since early treatment may improve prognosis. Diastolic dysfunction and elevated brain natriuretic peptide levels are present in different cardiomyopathies and in advanced phases of Chagas disease. However, there are scarce data about the role of these parameters in earlier forms of the disease. We conducted a study to assess the diastolic function, regional systolic abnormalities and brain natriuretic peptide levels in the different forms of Chagas disease. The main finding of our investigation is that diastolic dysfunction occurs before any cardiac dilatation or motion abnormality. In addition, BNP levels identify patients with diastolic dysfunction and Chagas disease with high specificity. The results reported in this study could help to early diagnose myocardial involvement and better stratify patients with Chagas disease

Incidence, Clinical Characteristics and Management of Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Spain : Large-Scale Epidemiological Study

(1) Aims: To assess the incidence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in Spain, to describe the main epidemiological and clinical characteristics at diagnosis and the evolution of the disease, and to explore the use of drug treatments. (2) Methods: Prospective, population-based nationwide registry. Adult patients diagnosed with IBD-Crohn's disease (CD), ulcerative colitis (UC) or IBD unclassified (IBD-U)-during 2017 in Spain were included and were followed-up for 1 year. (3) Results: We identified 3611 incident cases of IBD diagnosed during 2017 in 108 hospitals covering over 22 million inhabitants. The overall incidence (cases/100,000 person-years) was 16 for IBD, 7.5 for CD, 8 for UC, and 0.5 for IBD-U; 53% of patients were male and median age was 43 years (interquartile range = 31-56 years). During a median 12-month follow-up, 34% of patients were treated with systemic steroids, 25% with immunomodulators, 15% with biologics and 5.6% underwent surgery. The percentage of patients under these treatments was significantly higher in CD than UC and IBD-U. Use of systemic steroids and biologics was significantly higher in hospitals with high resources. In total, 28% of patients were hospitalized (35% CD and 22% UC patients, p < 0.01). (4) Conclusion: The incidence of IBD in Spain is rather high and similar to that reported in Northern Europe. IBD patients require substantial therapeutic resources, which are greater in CD and in hospitals with high resources, and much higher than previously reported. One third of patients are hospitalized in the first year after diagnosis and a relevant proportion undergo surgery

Correction : Chaparro et al. Incidence, Clinical Characteristics and Management of Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Spain: Large-Scale Epidemiological Study. J. Clin. Med. 2021, 10, 2885

The authors wish to make the following corrections to this paper [...]

EstuPlan: Methodology for the development of creativity in the resolution of scientific and social problems

[EN] Creative thinking is necessary to generate novel ideas and solve problems. "EstuPlan" is a methodology in which knowledge and creativity converge for the resolution of scientific problems with social projection. It is a training programme that integrates teachers, laboratory technicians and PhD students, master and undergraduate students which form working groups for the development of projects. Projects have a broad and essential scope and projection in terms of environmental problems, sustainable use of natural resources, food, health, biotechnology or biomedicine. The results show the success of this significant learning methodology using tools to develop creativity in responding to scientific and social demand for problem-solving to transfer academic knowledge to different professional environments. Bioplastics, Second Life of Coffee, LimBio, Algae oils, Ecomers, Caring for the life of your crop and Hate to Deforestate are currently being developed.Astudillo Calderón, S.; De Díez De La Torre, L.; García Companys, M.; Ortega Pérez, N.; Rodríguez Martínez, V.; Alzahrani, S.; Alonso Valenzuela, R.... (2019). EstuPlan: Methodology for the development of creativity in the resolution of scientific and social problems. En HEAD'19. 5th International Conference on Higher Education Advances. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 711-717. https://doi.org/10.4995/HEAD19.2019.9205OCS71171

Cell surface detection of vimentin, ACE2 and SARS-CoV-2 Spike proteins reveals selective colocalization at primary cilia

19 p.-9 fig.The SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein mediates docking of the virus onto cells prior to viral invasion. Several cellular receptors facilitate SARS-CoV-2 Spike docking at the cell surface, of which ACE2 plays a key role in many cell types. The intermediate filament protein vimentin has been reported to be present at the surface of certain cells and act as a co-receptor for several viruses; furthermore, its potential involvement in interactions with Spike proteins has been proposed. Nevertheless, the potential colocalization of vimentin with Spike and its receptors on the cell surface has not been explored. Here we have assessed the binding of Spike protein constructs to several cell types. Incubation of cells with tagged Spike S or Spike S1 subunit led to discrete dotted patterns at the cell surface, which consistently colocalized with endogenous ACE2, but sparsely with a lipid raft marker. Vimentin immunoreactivity mostly appeared as spots or patches unevenly distributed at the surface of diverse cell types. Of note, vimentin could also be detected in extracellular particles and in the cytoplasm underlying areas of compromised plasma membrane. Interestingly, although overall colocalization of vimentin-positive spots with ACE2 or Spike was moderate, a selective enrichment of the three proteins was detected at elongated structures, positive for acetylated tubulin and ARL13B. These structures, consistent with primary cilia, concentrated Spike binding at the top of the cells. Our results suggest that a vimentin-Spike interaction could occur at selective locations of the cell surface, including ciliated structures, which can act as platforms for SARS-CoV-2 docking.This work was supported by grants from Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, CSIC PTI Global Health (PIE 202020E223/CSIC-COV19-100), RTI2018-097624-B-I00 from Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Micinn (Agencia Estatal de Investigación), Spain, and European Regional Development Fund, EDRF (. Á.V.P. and P.G.J. are the recipients of predoctoral contracts BES-2016-076965 and PRE2019-088194, respectively, from Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Spain.Peer reviewe

The cellular vimentin network undergoes distinct reorganizations in response to diverse electrophiles or mutations of its single cysteine residue

1 p. (Abtracts of SFRR-International 2021 Virtual Meeting)H2020 grant-675132, “Masstrplan”; RTI2018-097624-B-100 (MCINN, ERDF); RETIC-Aradyal RD16/0006/0021 (ISCIII-ERDF); MICINN BES-2016-076965 (AVP), PRE2019-088194 (PG).Peer reviewe

Immunolocalization studies of vimentin and ACE2 on the surface of cells exposed to SARS-CoV-2 Spike proteins

The Spike protein from SARS-CoV-2 mediates docking of the virus onto cells and contributes to viral invasion. Several cellular receptors are involved in SARS-CoV-2 Spike docking at the cell surface, including ACE2 and neuropilin. The intermediate filament protein vimentin has been reported to be present at the surface of certain cells and act as a co-receptor for several viruses; furthermore, its potential involvement in interactions with Spike proteins has been proposed. Here we have explored the binding of Spike protein constructs to several cell types using low-temperature immunofluorescence approaches in live cells, to minimize internalization. Incubation of cells with tagged Spike S or Spike S1 subunit led to discrete dotted patterns at the cell surface, which showed scarce colocalization with a lipid raft marker, but consistent coincidence with ACE2. Under our conditions, vimentin immunoreactivity appeared as spots or patches unevenly distributed at the surface of diverse cell types. Remarkably, several observations including potential antibody internalization and adherence to cells of vimentin-positive structures present in the extracellular medium exposed the complexity of vimentin cell surface immunoreactivity, which requires careful assessment. Notably, overall colocalization of Spike and vimentin signals markedly varied with the cell type and the immunodetection sequence. In turn, vimentin-positive spots moderately colocalized with ACE2; however, a particular enrichment was detected at elongated structures positive for acetylated tubulin, consistent with primary cilia, which also showed Spike binding. Thus, these results suggest that vimentin-ACE2 interaction could occur at selective locations near the cell surface, including ciliated structures, which can act as platforms for SARS-CoV-2 docking.This work was supported by grants CSIC PTI Global Health (PIE 202020E223/CSIC-COV19-100), RTI2018-097624-B-I00 from Micinn (Agencia Estatal de Investigación), Spain and ERDF. Á.V.P. and P.G.J. are the recipients of predoctoral contracts BES-2016-076965 and PRE2019-088194, respectively, from Micinn, Spain.N