Kinetic modulation of bacterial hydrolases by microbial community structure in coastal waters

In this study, we hypothesized that shifts in the kinetic parameters of extracellular hydrolytic enzymes may occur as a consequence of seasonal environmental disturbances and would reflect the level of adaptation of the bacterial community to the organic matter of the ecosystem. We measured the activities of enzymes that play a key role in the bacterial growth (leucine aminopeptidase, β- and α-glucosidases) in surface coastal waters of the Eastern Cantabrian Sea and determined their kinetic parameters by computing kinetic models of distinct complexity. Our results revealed the existence of two clearly distinct enzymatic systems operating at different substrate concentrations: a high-affinity system prevailing at low substrate concentrations and a low-affinity system characteristic of high substrate concentrations. These findings could be the result of distinct functional bacterial assemblages growing concurrently under sharp gradients of high-molecular-weight compounds. We constructed an ecological network based on contemporaneous and time-delayed correlations to explore the associations between the kinetic parameters and the environmental variables. The analysis revealed that the recurring phytoplankton blooms registered throughout the seasonal cycle trigger the wax and wane of those members of the bacterial community able to synthesize and secrete specific enzymes.his work has been supported by projects EFICIENCIA (CTM2006-08023) and CAMBIO (CTM2010-19308), co-financed by Ministry of Science and Innovation of the Spanish Government and European FEDER founds, the Basque Government (Grant to Research Group IT1657-22) and by the UPV/EHU (Grant to Research Group GIU10/17). Naiara Abad was supported by a scholarship from the Basque Government and currently by the grant Margarita Salas from the European Union—NextGenerationEU through the UPV/EHU. Zuriñe Baña and Ainhoa Uranga were financed by scholarships from the UPV/EHU

Population-based colorectal cancer screening programmes using a faecal immunochemical test:Should faecal haemoglobin cut-offs differ by age and sex?

Abstract Background The Basque Colorectal Cancer Screening Programme has both high participation rate and high compliance rate of colonoscopy after a positive faecal occult blood test (FIT). Although, colorectal cancer (CRC) screening with biannual (FIT) has shown to reduce CRC mortality, the ultimate effectiveness of the screening programmes depends on the accuracy of FIT and post-FIT colonoscopy, and thus, harms related to false results might not be underestimated. Current CRC screening programmes use a single faecal haemoglobin concentration (f-Hb) cut-off for colonoscopy referral for both sexes and all ages. We aimed to determine optimum f-Hb cut-offs by sex and age without compromising neoplasia detection and interval cancer proportion. Methods Prospective cohort study using a single-sample faecal immunochemical test (FIT) on 444,582 invited average-risk subjects aged 50–69 years. A result was considered positive at ≥20 μg Hb/g faeces. Outcome measures were analysed by sex and age for a wide range of f-Hb cut-offs. Results We analysed 17,387 positive participants in the programme who underwent colonoscopy. Participation rate was 66.5%. Men had a positivity rate for f-Hb of 8.3% and women 4.8% (p < 0.0001). The detection rate for advanced neoplasia (cancer plus advanced adenoma) was 44.0‰ for men and 15.9‰ for women (p < 0.0001). The number of colonoscopies required decreased in both sexes and all age groups through increasing the f-Hb cut-off. However, the loss in CRC detection increased by up to 28.1% in men and 22.9% in women. CRC missed were generally at early stages (Stage I-II: from 70.2% in men to 66.3% in women). Conclusions This study provides detailed outcomes in men and women of different ages at a range of f-Hb cut-offs. We found differences in positivity rates, neoplasia detection rate, number needed to screen, and interval cancers in men and women and in younger and older groups. However, there are factors other than sex and age to consider when consideration is given to setting the f-Hb cut-off

Basque Economy: From Industrialization to Globalization

Economic globalization is continually imposing changes on local economies, forcing them to adapt to new conditions of production and consumption. What are the main challenges that the Basque economy will have to face in this new century? How does the unfinished administrative configuration of the Spanish state and the decentralization process carried out in the French state affect the Basque country's economic relations and the structure of its ecomomy? To understand our present and future trends it is necessary to know our past. Basque Economy gives a panoramic view of the economy of the Basque Country over the last two centuries, focusing on the main sociopolitical and economic factors that have configured it up to the present. It includes a physical and institutional geography of the Basque economy that locates the economy itself within the broader context of Basque society.This book was published with generous financial support from the Basque Government.1. Basque institutions in the Ancien Régime2. Industrialization in the Basque Country3. The Basque economy in the Franco era4. Expansion in the 1960s and 1970s, part I5. Expansion in the 1960s and 1970s, part II6. Deinstrialization 1973-857. Economic indicators: mid-1970s to mid-1980s8. Development of Basque institutions9. Basque economy and globalization10. Jurisdiction11. Service industry in the Southern Basque Country12. Infrastructures13. Geography and infrastructure14. Agriculture15. The Basque fishing sector16. Geography of industry17. Technology and innovation policy18. Industry, innovation, perspectives19. Relationships of innovation20. Cooperatives and the social economy21. The Mondragón cooperative system22. Social welfare coverage23. The financial sector24. Current economic indicators25. Metropolitan areas, part I26. Metropolitan areas, part II27. Northern Basque Country, part I28. Northern Basque Country, part IIList of abbreviationsNotesPicturesIndexColopho