Inventari espeleològic dels termes d'Andratx i Estellencs

[cat] En aquest treball es presenta la primera part d'una actualització de les cavitats en els termes municipals del sud-oest de l’illa de Mallorca. Hem catalogat 76 cavitats en el terme d'Andratx, 8 a Sa Dragonera i 25 en el terme d'Estellencs.[eng] This note is the first part of the cavities up-dating task in the Southwestern area of the Mallorca island. Seventy-six cavities in Andratx municipality, eight in Sa Dragonera island and twenty-five in Estellencs municipality have been catalogued

Dimethylsulfoniopropionate in corals and its interrelations with bacterial assemblages in coral surface mucus

Corals produce copious amounts of dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP), a sulfur compound thought toplay a role in structuring coral-associated bacterial communities. We tested the hypothesis that a linkage exists betweenDMSP availability in coral tissues and the community dynamics of bacteria in coral surface mucus. We determinedDMSP concentrations in three coral species (Meandrina meandrites, Porites astreoides and Siderastrea siderea) at twosampling depths (5 and 25 m) and times of day (dawn and noon) at Curac¸ao, Southern Caribbean. DMSP concentration(4–409 nmol cm?2 coral surface) varied with host species-specific traits such as Symbiodinium cell abundance, but notwith depth or time of sampling. Exposure of corals to air caused a doubling of their DMSPconcentration. The phylogeneticaffiliation of mucus-associated bacteria was examined by clone libraries targeting three main subclades of the bacterialDMSP demethylase gene (dmdA). dmdA gene abundance was determined by quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction(qPCR) against a reference housekeeping gene (recA). Overall, a higher availability of DMSP corresponded to a lowerrelative abundance of the dmdA gene, but this pattern was not uniform across all host species or bacterial dmdA subclades,suggesting the existence of distinct DMSP microbial niches or varying dmdA DMSP affinities. This is the first studyquantifying dmdA gene abundance in corals and linking related changes in the community dynamics of DMSP-degradingbacteria to DMSP availability. Our study suggests that DMSP mediates the regulation of microbe

Neuronal Dysfunction Is Linked to the Famine-Associated Risk of Proliferative Retinopathy in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes

Diabetic retinopathy; Famine; Neuronal functionRetinopatía diabética; Hambruna; Función neuronalRetinopatia diabètica; Fam; Funció neuronalPersons with type 2 diabetes born in the regions of famine exposures have disproportionally elevated risk of vision-threatening proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) in adulthood. However, the underlying mechanisms are not known. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the plausible molecular factors underlying progression to PDR. To study the association of genetic variants with PDR under the intrauterine famine exposure, we analyzed single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that were previously reported to be associated with type 2 diabetes, glucose, and pharmacogenetics. Analyses were performed in the population from northern Ukraine with a history of exposure to the Great Ukrainian Holodomor famine [the Diagnostic Optimization and Treatment of Diabetes and its Complications in the Chernihiv Region (DOLCE study), n = 3,583]. A validation of the top genetic findings was performed in the Hong Kong diabetes registry (HKDR, n = 730) with a history of famine as a consequence of the Japanese invasion during WWII. In DOLCE, the genetic risk for PDR was elevated for the variants in ADRA2A, PCSK9, and CYP2C19*2 loci, but reduced at PROX1 locus. The association of ADRA2A loci with the risk of advanced diabetic retinopathy in famine-exposed group was further replicated in HKDR. The exposure of embryonic retinal cells to starvation for glucose, mimicking the perinatal exposure to famine, resulted in sustained increased expression of Adra2a and Pcsk9, but decreased Prox1. The exposure to starvation exhibited a lasting inhibitory effects on neurite outgrowth, as determined by neurite length. In conclusion, a consistent genetic findings on the famine-linked risk of ADRA2A with PDR indicate that the nerves may likely to be responsible for communicating the effects of perinatal exposure to famine on the elevated risk of advanced stages of diabetic retinopathy in adults. These results suggest the possibility of utilizing neuroprotective drugs for the prevention and treatment of PDR.This work was supported by the Swedish Research Council (Dnr2015-03574 and Dnr349-2006-237), Strategic Research Area Exodiab (Dnr2009-1039), the Novonordisk Foundation (NNF12OC1016467), Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research (DnrIRC15-0067), the Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen, Bergen Research Foundation and Trond Mohn Foundation (BFS811294), and the University of Bergen

Genome-Wide DNA Methylation Analysis Identifies Novel Hypomethylated Non-Pericentromeric Genes with Potential Clinical Implications in ICF Syndrome

Introduction and Results Immunodeficiency, centromeric instability and facial anomalies syndrome (ICF) is a rare autosomal recessive disease, characterized by severe hypomethylation in pericentromeric regions of chromosomes (1, 16 and 9), marked immunodeficiency and facial anomalies. The majority of ICF patients present mutations in the DNMT3B gene, affecting the DNA methyltransferase activity of the protein. In the present study, we have used the Infinium 450K DNA methylation array to evaluate the methylation level of 450,000 CpGs in lymphoblastoid cell lines and untrasformed fibroblasts derived from ICF patients and healthy donors. Our results demonstrate that ICF-specific DNMT3B variants A603T/STP807ins and V699G/R54X cause global DNA hypomethylation compared to wild-type protein. We identified 181 novel differentially methylated positions (DMPs) including subtelomeric and intrachromosomic regions, outside the classical ICF-related pericentromeric hypomethylated positions. Interestingly, these sites were mainly located in intergenic regions and inside the CpG islands. Among the identified hypomethylated CpG-island associated genes, we confirmed the overexpression of three selected genes, BOLL, SYCP2 and NCRNA00221, in ICF compared to healthy controls, which are supposed to be expressed in germ line and silenced in somatic tissues. Conclusions In conclusion, this study contributes in clarifying the direct relationship between DNA methylation defect and gene expression impairment in ICF syndrome, identifying novel direct target genes of DNMT3B. A high percentage of the DMPs are located in the subtelomeric regions, indicating a specific role of DNMT3B in methylating these chromosomal sites. Therefore, we provide further evidence that hypomethylation in specific non-pericentromeric regions of chromosomes might be involved in the molecular pathogenesis of ICF syndrome. The detection of DNA hypomethylation at BOLL, SYCP2 and NCRNA00221 may pave the way for the development of specific clinical biomarkers with the aim to facilitate the identification of ICF patients

Physical chemical properties and kinetics of redox processes in water/soybean oil microemulsions

Water/oil microemulsions (w/o ME) constituted by water, soybean oil, SDS (sodium dodecyl sulfate) and several short-chain alcohols were characterized from the viewpoint of its physical-chemical and electroanalytical properties. Different co-surfactants and surfactant:co-surfactant ratios were used, and the ME with the most favourable composition was used to study the kinetics of redox processes. For this purpose, cyclic voltammetry measurements using a Pt disk working ultramicroelectrode, an Ag/AgCl reference electrode and a Pt auxiliary electrode, and ferrocene as a probe, were performed. It was verified that the thermodynamic stability of the MEs increases with the co-surfactant content. The molecular structure and water solubility of the co-surfactant affect the electrical conductivity and the hydrodynamic radio of the MEs. Owing to the low diffusion coefficients verified in the MEs, measurements in transient state using conventional sweeping rates could be performed. Ferrocene oxidation in the ME has been demonstrated to proceed in quasi-reversibility conditions. Thus, the possibility of carrying out studies of cyclic voltammetry in vegetable oils under the w/o ME form was demonstrated

An Exactly Conservative Integrator for the n-Body Problem

The two-dimensional n-body problem of classical mechanics is a non-integrable Hamiltonian system for n > 2. Traditional numerical integration algorithms, which are polynomials in the time step, typically lead to systematic drifts in the computed value of the total energy and angular momentum. Even symplectic integration schemes exactly conserve only an approximate Hamiltonian. We present an algorithm that conserves the true Hamiltonian and the total angular momentum to machine precision. It is derived by applying conventional discretizations in a new space obtained by transformation of the dependent variables. We develop the method first for the restricted circular three-body problem, then for the general two-dimensional three-body problem, and finally for the planar n-body problem. Jacobi coordinates are used to reduce the two-dimensional n-body problem to an (n-1)-body problem that incorporates the constant linear momentum and center of mass constraints. For a four-body choreography, we find that a larger time step can be used with our conservative algorithm than with symplectic and conventional integrators.Comment: 17 pages, 3 figures; to appear in J. Phys. A.: Math. Ge

Combining microfluidic paper-based platform and metal–organic frameworks in a single device for phenolic content assessment in fruits

A microfluidic paper-based device (µPAD) has been combined with metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) for total phenolic compounds (TPC) quantification in fruit samples for the first time. The performance of the µPAD, based upon the vertical flow approach, was enhanced in order to determine the TPC content with high accuracy in fruit samples. The method was based on the traditional Folin-Ciocalteu Index using gallic acid or oenotannin as reference phenolic compounds. This novel design and construction of the device are in agreement with the principles of Green Chemistry avoiding wax technology (lower toxicity). The analytical parameters that affect the colorimetric method (using digital imaging of the colored zone) performance were optimized including design, sample volume, and MOF amount. Then, the analytical features of the developed method were investigated such as dynamic range (1.6–30 mg L−1), limit of detection (0.5 mg L−1), and precision (RSD < 9%). Besides, the in-field analysis is achievable with a color stability up to 6 h after the loading process of the sample and storage stability for at least 15 days without performance losses (under vacuum at − 20 °C). Furthermore, the MOF ZIF-8@paper was characterized to study its composition and the successful combination. The feasibility of the proposed method was demonstrated by determining the TPC in 5 fruit samples using oenotannin as reference solute. The accuracy was validated by comparison of the data with the results obtained with the recommended protocol proposed by the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio