Environmental assessment of the valorization of glycerol for the production of hyperthermophilic β-glucosidase under a biorefinery approach

Bioethanol production technologies from lignocellulosic biomass are not yet optimized and do not compete economically with first-generation bioethanol production. Strategies have been investigated to produce more active, stable and temperature-tolerant enzymes to be used for biomass hydrolysis such as the hyperthermophilic β-glucosidase produced by Yarrowia lipolytica. The use of this strain offers an additional competitive advantage, as it can use glycerol stream from the biodiesel process as a carbon source. In this way, not only is a by-product of biofuel production used, but the enzyme could be applied in the production of lignocellulosic ethanol, increasing the value chain by closing the bioeconomy cycle. To this end, large-scale process modelling of β-glucosidase production has been developed to collect the inventory data needed for life cycle assessment methodology. The fermentation stage is the largest contributor to environmental impacts, with electricity being the main hotspot identified, contributing more than 50% in most impact categories. Residual glycerol has also been identified as a critical input, with a significant contribution in some categories. To improve the environmental profile, a sensitivity analysis has been carried out considering reductions in electricity and heat consumption, and other alternative oil-based resources for the production of biodiesel. This analysis identified that large environmental reductions could be achieved, which makes the valorization of the glycerol obtained as a side stream of biodiesel production more realistic.This research has been supported by the project Enhancing diversity in Mediterranean cereal farming systems (CerealMed) project funded by PRIMA Programme and FEDER/Ministry of Science and Innovation-Spanish National Research Agency (PCI 2020-111978) and by a project granted by Xunta de Galicia (project ref. ED431 F2016/001). The authors belong to the Galician Competitive Research Group (GRC ED431C 2017/29) and to the Cross-disciplinary Research in Environmental Technologies (CRETUS Research Center, ED431E 2018/01)S

Los trapos sucios… ¿se lavan en casa? II Jornadas sobre Abuso Sexual Infantil y Feminicidio en la Universidad de Málaga.

Comunicación Presentada al IV Congreso Internacional Mujeres, Cultura y Sociedad “Repensando el mundo desde una perspectiva feminista”.A raíz de las realidades emergentes en asignaturas de diversas titulaciones de la Facultad de Ciencias de la Educación, y del compromiso tanto de enraizar nuestros análisis en el contexto social que hombres y mujeres conformamos y habitamos, como de formar profesionales capaces de revertir el patriarcado -raíz de muchas lacras de nuestra sociedad-, en noviembre de 2017 se desarrolla en la Universidad de Málaga la I Jornada sobre Abuso Sexual Infantil y Feminicidio. Su evaluación evidenció la necesidad de convertir esta temática en un hilo de reflexión y acción permanentes, que recorra de forma transversal nuestro trabajo y el de todas y todos nuestros estudiantes. Así, este curso se desarrolla la segunda edición. Esta comunicación se centra en ella, visibilizando la realidad de los ASI y evidenciando la posibilidad de construir conjuntamente herramientas que nos ayuden tanto a prevenir como a intervenir ante una situación de abuso pasada o que se esté produciendo, abordando el problema desde su origen para evitar estigmatizar a la persona que lo sufre; esto minimiza consecuencias que afectan a todos los ámbitos de la vida y posibilita un desarrollo vital pleno. Porque quienes nos dedicamos a la educación no podemos mirar a otro ladoUniversidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. Facultad de Ciencias de la Educación, UMA. Unidad de Igualdad, UMA

Desarrollo de una acción de aprendizaje-servicio en cooperación para el desarrollo para el currículo de estudiantes de ingeniería [Development of a service-learning action of cooperation for development in the curriculum of engineering students ]

El aprendizaje-servicio representa una tendencia formativa de importancia creciente en la educación superior. Los planes de estudios actuales surgidos del entorno de armonización de Bolonia buscan la preparación basada en la adquisición de competencias ligadas a la práctica profesional. El tercer sector (voluntariado, ONG’s, etc.) es un campo de ejercicio profesional o de desarrollo personal de creciente interés. Campo de encuentro fértil para el ejercicio de las competencias técnicas con recursos limitados, la experiencia personal multicultural y el compromiso ético profesional. Se presenta el estudio de configuración y diseño de una acción formativa dirigida a estudiantes de ingeniería en la Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) para la introducción de la cooperación al desarrollo centrado en el saneamiento y el agua, enmarcado en el desarrollo de un proyecto de innovación educativa en curso. Se analizan y discuten las alternativas de contenidos mínimos, su estructura, formatos y canales de acceso. La configuración de la acción se diseña para su integración modular final con vocación de reconocimiento curricular y se propone y discuten el diseño, junto a los riesgos y oportunidades para alcanzar su efectividad. [Service-learning represents a growing trend in higher education. The current curricula arising from the Bologna harmonization environment seek preparation based on the acquisition of competences linked to professional practice. The third sector (volunteering, NGOs, etc.) is a field of professional practice or personal development of growing interest. It is a fertile meeting point for the exercise of the technical competences with limited resources, the multicultural personal experience and the professional ethical commitment. The study of the configuration and design of a training action for engineering students at the Polytechnic University of Madrid (UPM) is presented for the introduction of development cooperation focused on sanitation and water, framed in the development of a project in progress of educational innovation. The alternatives of minimum contents, their structure, formats and access channels are analyzed and discussed. The configuration of the action is designed for its final modular integration with vocation of curricular recognition and the design is proposed and discussed, along with the risks and opportunities to reach its effectiveness.

European Grapevine Cultivars and Rootstocks Show Differential Resistance to Xylella fastidiosa Subsp. fastidiosa

Several Xylella fastidiosa subsp. fastidiosa (ST1) strains that cause Pierce’s disease were isolated from grapevine in Spain. In this study, we applied an approach to assess PD susceptibility among 24 different well-known Vitis vinifera subsp. vinifera cultivars and five rootstocks belonging to different species of the genus Vitis. Both were commonly commercialized, representing about 75% of the cultivated area in Spain. This method incorporated disease severity, disease progression, and water potential from the stem xylem. The trials were carried out under field and greenhouse conditions. The virulence of the Xff strain XYL 2055/17 was significantly higher than that of strain XYL 2177/18. However, while this difference in strain virulence did not seem to modify the susceptibility profiles of the cultivars, disease severity could be climate dependent. This work established two significantly different groups of European cultivars of grapevine characterized by high and low susceptibility to Xff ST1: cultivars with high susceptibility, including reference cultivars such as Tempranillo and Tempranillo Blanco, and cultivars with high resistance, such as Hondarrabi Zuri and Cabernet Sauvignon. Cultivar susceptibility was independent of the rootstock on which they were grafted. No conclusive data were found regarding the potential of water loss as an early detection test prior to symptom onset. This study provides a framework with which to advance cultivar susceptibility studies under different environmental conditions.This research was partially funded by AEI-INIA Spain, through a NEIKER-Girona University agreement (Laboratory of Plant Pathology, Institute of Food and Agricultural Technology-CIDSAV-XaRTA): Grant number E-RTA2017-00004-C06-03; Basque Government through Grupo de Investigación del Sistema Universitario Vasco: Grant numbers T1682-22 and 00039-IDA2021-45; S.M. was a recipient of a PhD research grant from Department of Economic Development, Sustainability and Environment of the Basque Government (2018–2022): Grant reference SARA MARTINEZ 2018

Balanç de carboni: els embornals a Catalunya

28 pages, 3 figues, 5 tablesEn aquest capítol es determinen els estocs i els embornals de carboni (C) dels diferents sistemes terrestres i marins. El bosc és el sistema terrestre que manté en estoc més quantitat de carboni per hectàrea, 149,5 Mg Cha−1 (en una proporció vegetació/sòl [v:s] de 60:100). Els prats ocupen la segona posició, amb 121,4 Mg Cha−1 (v:s d ’11:10 0 ), i a continuació trobem els conreus llenyosos i els matollars, amb 104,0 Mg Cha−1 (v:s de 12:100) i 112,1 Mg Cha−1 (v:s de 15:100), respectivament. En la darrera posició, hi ha els conreus herbacis, amb 100,8 Mg Cha−1 (v:s d’1:100). La mar catalana ha anat augmentant l’estoc de carboni des del 1750 fins al 2001, amb un còmput acumulat de 12 Mg Cha−1. Les praderies de fanerògames, que acumulen 330 Mg Cha−1 (en una proporció planta/sediment de 4:100) són molt destacables. Les aigües continentals mantenen 47,9 Mg Cha−1, però una part molt elevada és carboni inorgànic dissolt del sistema carbònic-carbonats, que es calcula que pot ser trenta vegades superior al carboni orgànic. [...]Peer Reviewe

Selected indigenous drought tolerant rhizobium strains as promising biostimulants for common bean in Northern Spain

Drought is the most detrimental abiotic stress in agriculture, limiting crop growth and yield and, currently, its risk is increasing due to climate change. Thereby, ensuring food security will be one of the greatest challenges of the agriculture in the nearest future, accordingly it is essential to look for sustainable strategies to cope the negative impact of drought on crops. Inoculation of pulses with biostimulants such as rhizobium strains with high nitrogen fixation efficiency and drought-tolerance, has emerged as a promising and sustainable production strategy. However, some commercial inoculums are not effective under field conditions due to its lower effectiveness against indigenous rhizobium strains in the establishment of the symbiosis. Thus, in the present study, we evaluated the ability to improve drought tolerance in common bean plants of different indigenous rhizobia strains isolated from nearby crop fields in the Basque Country either affected by drought or salinity. The plants in this trial were grown in a climatic chamber under controlled conditions and exposed to values of 30% relative soil water content at the time of harvest, which is considered a severe drought. From the nine bacteria strains evaluated, three were found to be highly efficient under drought (namely 353, A12 and A13). These strains sustained high infectiveness (nodulation capacity) and effectiveness (shoot biomass production) under drought, even surpassing the plants inoculated with the CIAT899 reference strain, as well as the chemically N-fertilized plants. The tolerance mechanisms developed by plants inoculated with 353, A12 and A13 strains were a better adjustment of the cell wall elasticity that prevents mechanical damages in the plasma membrane, a higher WUE and an avoidance of the phenological delay caused by drought, developing a greater number of flowers. These results provide the basis for the development of efficient common bean inoculants able to increase the yield of this crop under drought conditions in the Northern Spain and, thus, to be used as biostimulants. In addition, the use of these efficient nitrogen fixation bacteria strains is a sustainable alternative to chemical fertilization, reducing cost and minimizing its negative impact on environment.This work was founded by Basque Government: Grupo de Investigación del Sistema Universitario Vasco IT1022-16 and T1682-22; and proyects from the Dirección de Calidad e Industrias Alimentarias. Dpto. de Desarrollo Económico e Infraestructuras (32-2016-00043; 37-2017-00047; 00049-IDA-2019-38) and Dpto. De Desarrollo Económico Sostenibilidad y Medio Ambiente (00039-IDA2021-45). A. Del-Canto was the recipient of a predoctoral fellowship granted by the Education Department of the Basque Country Government, Spain

A physiological approach to study the competition ability of the grassland species Trifolium pratense and Agrostis capillaris

(EN) The response of plant species to external factors depends partly on the interaction with the environment and with the other species that coexist in the same ecosystem. Several studies have investigated the main traits that determine the competitive capacity of plant species, and although the relevance of the traits is not clear, traits both from belowground and aboveground have been observed. In this paper, we grew Trifolium pratense and Agrostis capillaris in intra- and interspecific competition, analyzing the photosynthetic metabolism and nitrogen uptake, among other variables. The results indicated that T. pratense possesses better competition ability due to the higher competitive performance for soil resources compared to A. capillaris, explained by a higher root biomass and a higher nitrogen uptake rate in the former than in the latter. These traits permitted T. pratense to show higher photosynthetic rate than A. capillaris when both species were grown in mixture. Furthermore, the interspecific competition provoked A. capillaris to activate its antioxidant metabolism, through SOD activity, to detoxify the reactive oxygen species generated due to its lower capacity for using the photochemical energy absorbed. In this experiment, we conclude that the competitiveness seems to be more related with soil resources competition than with light competition, and that the photosynthetic rate decline in A. capillaris is more a secondary effect as a consequence of nitrogen limitation.Research was financially supported by: MICINN-BFU2010-16349/BFI cofounded by ERDF, UFI11/24 and GRUPO Gobierno Vasco-IT1022-16. J. Miranda-Apodaca is the recipient of a postdoctoral fellow from the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU

Caveolin-1 deficiency induces a MEK-ERK1/2-Snail-1-dependent epithelial-mesenchymal transition and fibrosis during peritoneal dialysis

Peritoneal dialysis (PD) is a form of renal replacement therapy whose repeated use can alter dialytic function through induction of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and fibrosis, eventually leading to PD discontinuation. The peritoneum from Cav1-/- mice showed increased EMT, thickness and fibrosis. Exposure of Cav1-/- mice to PD fluids further increased peritoneal membrane thickness, altered permeability and increased the number of FSP-1/cytokeratin-positive cells invading the sub-mesothelial stroma. High-throughput quantitative proteomics revealed increased abundance of collagens, FN and laminin, as well as proteins related to TGF- activity in matrices derived from Cav1-/- cells. Lack of Cav1 was associated with hyperactivation of a MEK-ERK1/2-Snail-1 pathway that regulated the Smad2-3/Smad1-5-8 balance. Pharmacological blockade of MEK rescued E-cadherin and ZO-1 inter-cellular junction localization, reduced fibrosis and restored peritoneal function in Cav1-/- mice. Moreover, treatment of human PD-patient-derived MCs with drugs increasing Cav1 levels, as well as ectopic Cav1 expression, induced reacquisition of epithelial features. This study demonstrates a pivotal role of Cav1 in the balance of epithelial versus mesenchymal state and suggests targets for the prevention of fibrosis during PD