Different populations of RNA polymerase II in living mammalian cells

RNA polymerase II is responsible for transcription of most eukaryotic genes, but, despite exhaustive analysis, little is known about how it transcribes natural templates in vivo. We studied polymerase dynamics in living Chinese hamster ovary cells using an established line that expresses the largest (catalytic) subunit of the polymerase (RPB1) tagged with the green fluorescent protein (GFP). Genetic complementation has shown this tagged polymerase to be fully functional. Fluorescence loss in photobleaching (FLIP) reveals the existence of at least three kinetic populations of tagged polymerase: a large rapidly-exchanging population, a small fraction resistant to 5,6-dichloro-1-β-D-ribofuranosylbenzimidazole (DRB) but sensitive to a different inhibitor of transcription (i.e. heat shock), and a third fraction sensitive to both inhibitors. Quantitative immunoblotting shows the largest fraction to be the inactive hypophosphorylated form of the polymerase (i.e. IIA). Results are consistent with the second (DRB-insensitive but heat-shock-sensitive) fraction being bound but not engaged, while the third (sensitive to both DRB and heat shock) is the elongating hyperphosphorylated form (i.e. IIO)

The effect of sex on home range in an urban population of European hedgehogs Erinaceus europaeus at the southern edge of the species distribution

The effect of sex on home range in an urban population of European hedgehogs Erinaceus europaeus at the southern edge of the species distribution. As the transformation of natural habitats into urban environments increases, some species, such as hedgehogs, are able to adapt and thrive. Six hedgehogs, three males and three females, were tagged with radio–transmitters and tracked for three nights in the University of Alicante campus to study the effect of sex on their home range size, distance travelled per night, and night activity pattern. Time invested in several activities was also analyzed. Males showed larger home ranges than females (mean ± SD) (♂: 27.7 ha ± 19.2; ♀: 5.5 ha ± 3.4) and travelled longer distances per night (mean ♂: 1,077 m ± 251.18; ♀: 504 m ± 156.37). Activity rhythm through the night presented a bimodal pattern but differed between sexes. Males tended to be on the move significantly more often than females (♂: 38.7 %; ♀: 24.8 %) while females foraged more often than males (♂: 1.4 %; ♀: 9.2 %).El efecto del sexo en el área de campeo de una población urbana de erizos europeos Erinaceus europaeus en el extremo sur de la distribución de la especie. En la creciente transformación de los hábitats naturales en entornos urbanos, algunas especies como el erizo pueden adaptarse y prosperar. Seis erizos, tres machos y tres hembras, fueron equipados con radiotransmisores y seguidos durante tres noches en el campus de la Universidad de Alicante con el fin de estudiar el efecto del sexo sobre el área de campeo, la distancia recorrida por noche y el patrón de actividad nocturna. También se analizó el tiempo invertido en diferentes actividades. Los machos presentaron áreas de campeo mayores que las hembras (media ± DE) (♂: 27,7 ha ± 19,2; ♀: 5,5 ha ± 3,4) y recorrieron distancias mayores por noche (media ♂: 1.077 m ± 251,18; ♀: 504 m ± 156,37). El ritmo de actividad durante la noche presentó un patrón bimodal, pero difirió entre sexos. Los machos tendieron a estar en movimiento con una frecuencia significativamente mayor que las hembras (♂: 38,7 %; ♀: 24,8 %), mientras que las hembras invirtieron más tiempo en forrajear (♂: 1,4 %; ♀: 9,2 %)

Activated-Carbon-Doped Non-Solvent-Induced Phase-Inversion Membranes : A Comprehensive Study on Synthesis, Characterisation, and Performance Evaluation

Acknowledgments: This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. For the purpose of open access, the author has applied a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) licence to any Author-Accepted Manuscript version arising from this submission For the purpose of open access, the author has applied a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) licence to any Author Accepted Manuscript version arising from this submission.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Composition, richness and abundance of Coleoptera associated to semideciduous forests and ruderal vegetation in Sierra del Rosario, Cuba

En tres bosques semideciduos y en tres tipos de vegetación ruderal del Área Protegida de Recursos Manejados Mil Cumbres (Sierra del Rosario, Pinar del Río, Cuba), se analizan las comunidades de coleópteros y se las compara respecto a la composición, riqueza, abundancia, diversidad, equitatividad, ordenación y complementariedad. La composición de coleópteros conocida hasta el momento es de 166 especies, incluidas en 75 géneros y 34 familias. La vegetación ruderal presentaó mayor riqueza y abundancia que los bosques semideciduos. El bosque y la vegetación ruderal de Pan de Guajaibón exhibieron los valores más altos de riqueza, abundancia y número de especies únicas. Ambas formaciones vegetales de Sierra Chiquita presentaron la mayor diversidad y equitatividad. Las comunidades de coleópteros más afines estaban entre los bosques y entre la vegetaciones ruderales en Forneguera y Pan de Guajaibón. Cada bosque y tipo de vegetación ruderal presentaba especies exclusivas.In three semideciduous forests and in three types of ruderal vegetation within the Mil Cumbres Protected Area of Managed Resources (Sierra del Rosario, Pinar del Río, Cuba), the beetle communities were analyzed and compared for composition, richness, abundance, diversity, equitability, ordination and complementarity. A total of 166 species of 75 genera and 34 families were recorded. Ruderal vegetation showed higher values of richness and abundance than the semideciduous forests. The forest and ruderal vegetation of Pan de Guajaibón showed the highest values of species richness, abundance and number of unique species. Both plant communities of Sierra Chiquita presented the highest diversity and equitability values. The most similar beetle communities were between forests and between ruderal vegetation types at Forneguera and Pan de Guajaibón. Each forest and ruderal vegetation type had exclusive species

Fabrication and performance of low-fouling UF membranes for 2 the treatment of Isolated Soy Protein solutions

[EN] Consumers are becoming more conscious about the need to include functional and nutritional foods in their diet. This has increased the demand for food extracts rich in proteins and peptides with physiological effects that are used within the food and pharmaceutical industries. Among these protein extracts, soy protein and its derivatives are highlighted. Isolated soy protein (ISP) presents a protein content of at least 90%. Wastewaters generated during the production process contain small proteins (8-50 kDa), and it would be desirable to find a recovery treatment for these compounds. Ultrafiltration membranes (UF) are used for the fractionation and concentration of protein solutions. By the appropriate selection of the membrane pore size, larger soy proteins are retained and concentrated while carbohydrates and minerals are mostly recovered in the permeate. The accumulation and concentration of macromolecules in the proximity of the membrane surface generates one of the most important limitations inherent to the membrane technologies. In this work, three UF membranes based on polyethersulfone (PES) were fabricated. In two of them, polyethylene glycol (PEG) was added in their formulation to be used as a fouling prevention. The membrane fouling was evaluated by the study of flux decline models based on Hermia's mechanisms.The Universitat Politecnica de Valencia (Spain), through the project 2623 (PAID-05-10), funded this research.Garcia-Castello, EM.; Rodríguez López, AD.; Barredo Damas, S.; Iborra Clar, A.; Pascual-Garrido, J.; Iborra-Clar, MI. (2021). Fabrication and performance of low-fouling UF membranes for 2 the treatment of Isolated Soy Protein solutions. Sustainability. 13(24):1-16. https://doi.org/10.3390/su132413682S116132

Graphene-based materials for the electrochemical determination of hazardous ions

[EN] The use of graphene in the field of electrochemical sensors is increasing due to two main properties that make graphene and derivatives appealing for this purpose: their conductivity and high surface area. In addition, graphene materials can be easily functionalized with nanoparticles (Au, Pt, etc.) or organic molecules (DNA, polymers, etc.) producing synergies that allow higher sensitivity, lower limit of detection as well as increased selectivity. The present review focuses on the most important works published related to graphene-based electrochemical sensors for the determination of hazardous ions (such as As(III), Cd2+, Pb2+, Hg2+, Cr(VI), Cu2+, Ag+, etc.). The review presents examples of the use of graphene-based electrodes for this purpose as well as important parameters of the sensors such as: limit of detection, linear range, sensitivity, main interferences, stability, and reproducibility. The application of these graphene-based electrodes in real samples (water or food matrices) is indicated, as well. There is room for improvement of these type of sensors and more effort should be devoted to the use of doped graphene (doped for instance with N, B, S, Se, etc.) since electrochemically active sites originated by doping facilitate charge transfer, adsorption and activation of analytes, and fixation of functional moieties/molecules. This will allow the sensitivity and the selectivity of the electrodes to be increased when combined with other materials (nanoparticles/organic molecules). © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.J. Molina and F. Cases wish to thank to the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion (contract MAT2016-77742-C2-1-P) for the financial support. J. Molina is grateful to the Conselleria d'Educacio, Formacio i Ocupacio (Generalitat Valenciana) for the Programa VALi+D Postdoctoral Fellowship (APOSTD/2013/056). Tim Vickers is gratefully acknowledged for help with the English revision.Molina Puerto, J.; Cases Iborra, FJ.; Moretto, LM. (2016). Graphene-based materials for the electrochemical determination of hazardous ions. Analytica Chimica Acta. 946:9-39. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aca.2016.10.019S93994

Population tendency of the magpie (Pica pica) in the period 1994-2009 at the mouth of the Millars river (Castelló)

Aquesta nota mostra la tendència poblacional de la garsa (Pica pica) al llarg del kilòmetre 1 (des de la línea de costa, riu amunt) del paisatge protegit de la Desembocadura del riu Millars (Castelló), per al període comprés de 1994-2009 (16 anys). Els resultats se centren en censos realitzats a la zona mitjançant el mètode del transecte lineal duts a terme 3 o 4 vegades al mes. L’espècie se censa per primera vegada l’any 1997 i des l’aleshores mostra una tendència a l’alça sobretot a partir de 2003 i molt especialment en els dos últims (2008-2009). S’ha estabilitzat una abundància mitjana de 8,3 aus/km. Pel que fa a les correlacions amb la meteorologia, en els anys més freds presenta menor abundància que en els càlids. Els hiverns càlids podrien permetre major supervivència i, a més, major disponibilitat de recursos amb els quals assegurar un bon nombre de polls. L’espècie troba en la zona suficients recursos tròfics per sobreviure i un lloc excel·lent on lliurar-se de la pressió cinegètica.This note shows the population trend of the magpie (Pica pica) over 1 kilometer (up river from the coast line) of the protected landscape of the mouth of the Mijares river (Castellón), for the period of 1994-2009 (16 years). I focus on census conducted in the area by the method of linear transect, carried out 3 or 4 times every month. The species was registered for the first time in 1997 and since then it shows an upward trend, especially after 2003 and more so in the last two years (2008-2009). Abundance has stabilized arround an average of 8.3 birds/km. Regarding correlations with weather, the species presented lower abundance in cold years than in warm ones. Cool winters could allow higher survival rates and increased resources availability to breed a higher number of youngs. The species founds in the area sufficient food resources to survive and an excellent place to avoid hunting pressure

AlN-based BAW resonators with CNT electrodes for gravimetric biosensing

Solidly mounted resonators (SMRs) with a top carbon nanotubes (CNTs) surface coating that doubles as an electrode and as a sensing layer have been fabricated. The influence of the CNTs on the frequency response of the resonators was studied by direct comparison to identical devices with a top metallic electrode. It was found that the CNTs introduced significantly less mass load on the resonators and these devices exhibited a greater quality factor, Q (>2000, compared to ∼1000 for devices with metal electrodes), which increases the gravimetric sensitivity of the devices by allowing the tracking of smaller frequency shifts. Protein solutions with different concentrations were loaded on the top of the resonators and their responses to mass-load from physically adsorbed coatings were investigated. Results show that resonators using CNTs as the top electrode exhibited a higher frequency change for a given load (∼0.25 MHz cm2 ng−1) compared to that of a metal thin film electrode (∼0.14 MHz cm2 ng−1), due to the lower mass of the CNTelectrodes and their higher active surface area compared to that of a thin film metal electrode. It is therefore concluded that the use of CNTelectrodes on resonators for their use as gravimetric biosensors is a significant improvement over metallic electrodes that are normally employed

Genets en l'art rupestre de les terres valencianes

En este trabajo se presenta una revisión de las figuras de jinetes documentadas en conjuntos de arte rupestre del territorio valenciano y se hace una valoración de su cronología y de su significado. Por sus caracteristicas técnicas y formales no pueden adscribirse a los artes rupestres Levantino y Esquematico, sino que se enmarcan en un horizonte gráfico de la Edad del Hiero y de época histórica.This paper present the painted and engraved riders located in the Valencian region. Technically and formally they are different from the human and animal figures dated to the Levantine and Schematic Art. This article describes the motifs and ascribes them a chronology of the Iron Age and historical times