Laccase/TEMPO-mediated bacterial cellulose functionalization: production of paper-silver nanoparticles composite with antimicrobial activity

Bacterial cellulose (BC) was functionalized applying the Laccase/TEMPO oxidative treatment, leading to a five-fold increase of the concentration of carboxyl groups. Paper produced with this cellulose showed improved mechanical properties while maintaining barrier function against water and greases as compared to paper produced with non-oxidized BC. Also, the negative charge provided by the carboxyl groups on functionalized BC was used to generate silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), obtaining a BC paper and Ag composite. The presence of AgNPs in the composites was validated by SEM, EDS and ICP analysis, showing spherical, uniformly sized particles stabilized in the BC nanofibers matrix. Additionally, antimicrobial property of composites containing AgNPs was tested. The results showed the strong antimicrobial activity of the composites against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and fungi. The generation of Ag nanoparticles in a matrix that combine the physical characteristics of the BC nanofibers with the stiffness and the mechanical properties of paper produced composites that may have applicability in technological and biomedical uses

Bacterial cellulose for increasing barrier properties of paper products

Bacterial cellulose was combined with wood cellulose papers in order to obtain biomaterials with increased barrier properties. For this purpose, different parameters were assessed: two producing bacterial strains (Komagataeibacter xylinus and Gluconacetobacter sucrofermentans), two paper supports to hold bacterial cellulose (filter paper and eucalyptus paper), two kinds of combined biomaterials (composite and bilayer) and two drying temperatures (90ºC and room temperature). Papers with increased barrier properties (100º of water contact angle, 1220s of water drop test and air permeability ˂1µm (Pa·s)-1) were obtained by the addition of bacterial cellulose to each paper support. However, due to the lower initial barrier properties of filter paper, higher improvements were produced with this paper. In addition, bacterial cellulose provided smoother surfaces with higher gloss without a detrimental effect on physical properties. Higher resistance to water absorption was obtained with K. xylinus possibly explained by its longer size fibers than G. sucrofermentans, as analysed by SEM. Smoothness and gloss were specially increased in the bilayer biomaterial although resistance to air and water were further improved in the composite. In this biomaterial drying at high temperature had a detrimental effect. SEM analysis of the products obtained showed the intimate contact among fibers of bacterial cellulose and wood paper. Results obtained show the contribution of bacterial cellulose to improve the properties of paper and its potential for the design of new added value paper products from biomass

Laccase/TEMPO-mediated bacterial cellulose functionalization: production of paper-silver nanoparticles composite with antimicrobial activity

“This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of an article published in Cellulose. The final authenticated version is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-019-02678-5Bacterial cellulose (BC) was functionalized applying the Laccase/TEMPO oxidative treatment, leading to a five-fold increase of the concentration of carboxyl groups. Paper produced with this cellulose showed improved mechanical properties while maintaining barrier function against water and greases as compared to paper produced with non-oxidized BC. Also, the negative charge provided by the carboxyl groups on functionalized BC was used to generate silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), obtaining a BC paper and Ag composite. The presence of AgNPs in the composites was validated by SEM, EDS and ICP analysis, showing spherical, uniformly sized particles stabilized in the BC nanofibers matrix. Additionally, antimicrobial property of composites containing AgNPs was tested. The results showed the strong antimicrobial activity of the composites against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and fungi. The generation of Ag nanoparticles in a matrix that combine the physical characteristics of the BC nanofibers with the stiffness and the mechanical properties of paper produced composites that may have applicability in technological and biomedical usesPeer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

A genome-wide transcriptional study reveals that iron deficiency inhibits the yeast TORC1 pathway

Iron is an essential micronutrient that participates as a cofactor in a broad range of metabolic processes including mitochondrial respiration, DNA replication, protein translation and lipid biosynthesis. Adaptation to iron deficiency requires the global reorganization of cellular metabolism directed to optimize iron utilization. The budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been widely used to characterize the responses of eukaryotic microorganisms to iron depletion. In this report, we used a genomic approach to investigate the contribution of transcription rates to the modulation of mRNA levels during adaptation of yeast cells to iron starvation. We reveal that a decrease in the activity of all RNA polymerases contributes to the down-regulation of many mRNAs, tRNAs and rRNAs. Opposite to the general expression pattern, many genes including components of the iron deficiency response, the mitochondrial retrograde pathway and the general stress response display a remarkable increase in both transcription rates and mRNA levels upon iron limitation, whereas genes encoding ribosomal proteins or implicated in ribosome biogenesis exhibit a pronounced fall. This expression profile is consistent with an activation of the environmental stress response. The phosphorylation stage of multiple regulatory factors strongly suggests that the conserved nutrient signaling pathway TORC1 is inhibited during the progress of iron deficiency. These results suggest an intricate crosstalk between iron metabolism and the TORC1 pathway that should be considered in many disorders.This work was supported by predoctoral contracts from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (MICINN) to AMR and LRA; a fellowship from the “Generalitat de Catalunya” (Spain) to SMM; European Union Funds (FEDER) and MICINN grants BIO2017-87828-C2-1-P to SP, BIO2017-87828-C2-2-P to MATR, BFU2016-77728-C3-3-P to JEPO, and BFU2015-71978-REDT to SP and JEPO; and Regional Government of Valencia PROMETEOII 2015/006 grant to JEPO

Indicators of Good Practices of Service-Learning University

The proliferation of innovative experiences in university education has been confirmed in different forums, as well as the evidence of their impact in research. However, the available tools are limited when trying to address the quality assessment of University Service-Learning (USL) projects. We present a tool for the evaluation of your SL projects. The goal of the Matrix is to specify the essential and secondary indicators needed to develop good practices in USL: IM_USL. A protocol is established to carry out its assessment. Dimensions and phases indicators of a project are specied, as well as the agents or people involved in it. This tool tries to guide the development of USL projects and to specify different points to improve. The application of the IM_USL will allow you to explore, exhaustively, each of the dimensions and indicators that make up a USL project, regarding both the AGENTS involved and the PHASES that make up a programme. In order to gather information on the reality of the projects, the phases and agents involved in a USL project will be reviewed in particular, determining the level of achievement of the indicators that compose it and of the dimensions that specify the particularities of each indicator. Finally, a series of questions are proposed to guide the process of analysis and reflection on the quality of the evaluated project. As a result, we will be able to obtain an X-ray of the quality of the project and the possible aspects for improvement.Funding: Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation. Grant: I+D 2019. REFERENCIA DEL PROYECTO/AEI/10.13039/50110001103

ICOS costimulation at the tumor site in combination with CTLA-4 blockade therapy elicits strong tumor immunity

Cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA-4) blockade therapy is able to induce long-lasting antitumor responses in a fraction of cancer patients. Nonetheless, there is still room for improvement in the quest for new therapeutic combinations. ICOS costimulation has been underscored as a possible target to include with CTLA-4 blocking treatment. Herein, we describe an ICOS agonistic aptamer that potentiates T cell activation and induces stronger antitumor responses when locally injected at the tumor site in combination with anti-CTLA-4 antibody in different tumor models. Furthermore, ICOS agonistic aptamer was engineered as a bi-specific tumor-targeting aptamer to reach any disseminated tumor lesions after systemic injection. Treatment with the bi-specific aptamer in combination with CTLA-4 blockade showed strong antitumor immunity, even in a melanoma tumor model where CTLA-4 treatment alone did not display any significant therapeutic benefit. Thus, this work provides strong support for the development of combinatorial therapies involving anti-CTLA-4 blockade and ICOS agonist tumor-targeting agents

Predictors of clinically significant quality of life impairment in Parkinson's disease.

Quality of life (QOL) plays an important role in independent living in Parkinson?s disease (PD) patients, being crucial to know what factors impact QoL throughout the course of the disease. Here we identified predictors of QoL impairment in PD patients from a Spanish cohort. PD patients recruited from 35 centers of Spain from the COPPADIS cohort from January 2016, to November 2017, were followed up during 2 years. Health-related QoL (HRQoL) and global QoL (GQoL) were assessed with the 39-item Parkinson?s disease Questionnaire (PDQ-39) and the EUROHIS-QOL 8-item index (EUROHIS-QOL8), respectively, at baseline (V0) and at 24 months ± 1 month (V2). Clinically significant QoL impairment was defined as presenting an increase (PDQ-39SI) or decrement (EUROHIS-QOL8) at V2 ? 10% of the score at baseline (V0). A comparison with a control group was conducted for GQoL. GQoL did not change significantly in PD patients (N = 507; p = 0.686) or in the control group (N = 119; p = 0.192). The mean PDQ-39SI was significantly increased in PD patients (62.7 ± 8.5 years old; 58.8% males; N = 500) by 21.6% (from 16.7 ± 13 to 20.3 ± 16.4; p < 0.0001) at V2. Ninety-three patients (18.6%) presented a clinically significant HRQoL impairment at V2. To be younger (OR = 0.896; 95% CI 0.829?0.968; p = 0.006), to be a female (OR = 4.181; 95% CI 1.422?12.290; p = 0.009), and to have a greater increase in BDI-II (Beck Depression Inventory-II) (OR = 1.139; 95% CI 1.053?1.231; p = 0.001) and NMSS (Non-Motor Symptoms Scale) (OR = 1.052; 95% CI 1.027?1.113; p < 0.0001) total scores from V0 to V2 were associated with clinically significant HRQoL impairment at the 2-year follow-up (Hosmer?Lemeshow test, p = 0.665; R2 = 0.655). An increase in ?5 and ?10 points of BDI-II and NMSS total score at V2 multiplied the probability of presenting clinically significant HRQoL impairment by 5 (OR = 5.453; 95% CI 1.663?17.876; p = 0.005) and 8 (OR = 8.217; 95% CI, 2.975?22.696; p = 0.002), respectively. In conclusion, age, gender, mood, and non-motor impairment were associated with clinically significant HRQoL impairment after the 2-year follow-up in PD patient

Staging Parkinson's Disease Combining Motor and Nonmotor Symptoms Correlates with Disability and Quality of Life.

Introduction: In a degenerative disorder such as Parkinson's disease (PD), it is important to establish clinical stages that allow to know the course of the disease. Our aim was to analyze whether a scale combining Hoehn and Yahr's motor stage (H&Y) and the nonmotor symptoms burden (NMSB) (assessed by the nonmotor symptoms scale (NMSS)) provides information about the disability and the patient's quality of life (QoL) with regard to a defined clinical stage. Materials and methods: Cross-sectional study in which 603 PD patients from the COPPADIS cohort were classified according to H&Y (1, stage I; 2, stage II; 3, stage III; 4, stage IV/V) and NMSB (A: NMSS = 0-20; B: NMSS = 21-40; C: NMSS = 41-70; D: NMSS ≥ 71) in 16 stages (HY.NMSB, from 1A to 4D). QoL was assessed with the PDQ-39SI, PQ-10, and EUROHIS-QOL8 and disability with the Schwab&England ADL (Activities of Daily Living) scale. Results: A worse QoL and greater disability were observed at a higher stage of H&Y and NMSB (p < 0.0001). Combining both (HY.NMSB), patients in stages 1C and 1D and 2C and 2D had significantly worse QoL and/or less autonomy for ADL than those in stages 2A and 2B and 3A and 3B, respectively (p < 0.005; e.g., PDQ-39SI in 1D [n = 15] vs 2A [n = 101]: 28.6 ± 17.1 vs 7.9 ± 5.8; p < 0.0001). Conclusion: The HY.NMSB scale is simple and reflects the degree of patient involvement more accurately than the HΨ Patients with a lower H&Y stage may be more affected if they have a greater NMS burden

Identifying comorbidities and lifestyle factors contributing to the cognitive profile of early Parkinson's disease

Background: Identifying modifiable risk factors for cognitive impairment in the early stages of Parkinson's disease (PD) and estimating their impact on cognitive status may help prevent dementia (PDD) and the design of cognitive trials. Methods: Using a standard approach for the assessment of global cognition in PD and controlling for the effects of age, education and disease duration, we explored the associations between cognitive status, comorbidities, metabolic variables and lifestyle variables in 533 PD participants from the COPPADIS study. Results: Among the overall sample, 21% of participants were classified as PD-MCI (n = 114) and 4% as PDD (n = 26). The prevalence of hypertension, diabetes and dyslipidemia was significantly higher in cognitively impaired patients while no between-group differences were found for smoking, alcohol intake or use of supplementary vitamins. Better cognitive scores were significantly associated with regular physical exercise (p < 0.05) and cognitive stimulation (< 0.01). Cognitive performance was negatively associated with interleukin 2 (Il2) (p < 0.05), Il6 (p < 0.05), iron (p < 0.05), and homocysteine (p < 0.005) levels, and positively associated with vitamin B12 levels (p < 0.005). Conclusions: We extend previous findings regarding the positive and negative influence of various comorbidities and lifestyle factors on cognitive status in early PD patients, and reinforce the need to identify and treat potentially modifiable variables with the intention of exploring the possible improvement of the global cognitive status of patients with PD

Search for WZ resonances in the fully leptonic channel using pp collisions at s=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search for resonant WZ production in the ℓνℓ'ℓ' (ℓ,ℓ'=e,μ) decay channel using 20.3 fb-1 of s=8TeV pp collision data collected by the ATLAS experiment at LHC is presented. No significant deviation from the Standard Model prediction is observed and upper limits on the production cross sections of WZ resonances from an extended gauge model W' and from a simplified model of heavy vector triplets are derived. A corresponding observed (expected) lower mass limit of 1.52 (1.49) TeV is derived for the W' at the 95% confidence level.Peer Reviewe