Single-cell RNA analysis: Guiding the treatment of DiHS/DRESS

peer-reviewed269 K

Technological requirements for solutions in the conservation and protection of historic monuments and archaeological remains

Executive summary: This Study has discovered many achievements associated with European support for scientific and technological research for the protection and conservation of cultural heritage. The achievements to date are: 1. Creation of an active research community 2. A body of research of unparalleled and enviable international quality and character 3. Ongoing effectiveness of research beyond initial funding 4. Substantial rate of publication 5. Imaginative tools of dissemination and publication 6. Clear spin-offs and contribution to European competitiveness often going outside the European cultural heritage area 7. Contribution to emerging European legislation, for example, air quality management. The Study has also uncovered important research gaps associated with this field that have yet to begin to be investigated. It has also discovered the need for continuing fine scale advancement in areas where researchers have been active for a number of years. The overall picture is that European research in the field of cultural heritage protection must be put on a secure footing if it is to maintain its commanding lead over other regions of the world. This Study concludes that: 1. It would be invidious to attempt to separate basic and applied research in this area of research. Like any other scientific endeavour, this field needs to integrate basic and applied research if it is to continue to thrive. 2. Small, flexible, focused interdisciplinary teams responsive to European needs, must be sustained, promoted and celebrated as models of sustainability and that what is proposed under the European Research Area (ERA) for large and complex research projects, could inflict serious damage on this area of research. 3. Resources cannot be delegated to Member States because of the interdisciplinary nature of cultural heritage and the need for a co-ordinated pan-European perspective across this research that helps to define the essential character of European cultural heritage. National programmes only serve local needs, leading to loss of strategic output, lessening of competitiveness and risk of duplication. 4. A mechanism needs to be created to help researchers working in this field to communicate and exchange information with related sectors such as construction, urban regeneration, land reclamation and agriculture. 5. There is overwhelming agreement over the need for sustainable research funding for cultural heritage and for an iterative process of exchange among researchers, decision-makers and end-users in order to maximize benefits from project inception through to dissemination, audit and review. For all the reasons mentioned above, the most significant recommendation in this Report is the identification of the need for a European Panel on the Application of Science for Cultural Heritage (EPASCH)

Diseño y realización de un equipo de deshidratación de alimentos mediante energía solar para aplicación a países en desarrollo

Dehydration or food drying is a simple and inexpensive way to preserve food for long time periods. Many areas of the planet lack access to electricity, therefore dehydration is only practical using solar energy. Further, in these areas the food supply is often precarious, especially for children, so the conservation of dry food provides an improvement to their living conditions. This work is designed to develop simple dehydration equipment for family use, which will improve the conditions to feed disadvantaged people. This research aims to preserve the maximum possible nutritional value of the food. To this end, an indirect drying system has been developed using solar energy to heat the air with which the food is dried. Essential features of the designed equipment are ease of use and low cost. Our work includes the assembly of a prototype at the Universitat Politècnica de València, which allows for verification and improvement of its operation. In addition, we have created a basic manual that can be sent to those interested to facilitate its assembly and use. Furthermore, the drying process of different fruits and vegetables is documented graphically; from these graphs their weight-loss curves and drying times can be easily obtained. This study includes the follow-up to the introduction process in Burkina Faso. It has been verified how its implantation has taken place, observing the problems that have arisen and we have developed solutions to solve them. Finally, we have developed practical exercises designed for the students of renewable energies at the Escuela Tecnica Superior de Ingenieria de Diseño de Valencia. With this exercises the students learn a different application of solar energy in addition to understanding the nutritional problems suffered by a significant part of the world population.La deshidratación o secado de alimentos es una forma sencilla y económica de conservarlos durante largos periodos de tiempo. En muchas zonas del planeta no se tiene acceso a la electricidad, por lo que dicha deshidratación se debe hacer utilizando la energía solar. Además, la situación alimentaria es precaria, sobre todo en niños de poca edad, por lo que la conservación de alimentos secos aporta una mejora a sus condiciones de vida. Por ello se plantea este trabajo de diseño y desarrollo de un equipo de deshidratación para familias, que permita mejorar las condiciones de alimentación de personas desfavorecidas. Se pretende que el alimento conserve lo mejor posible sus propiedades nutricionales. Para ello se ha elegido un sistema de secado indirecto que utiliza energía solar para calentar el aire con el que se deshidratan los alimentos. Además se busca que el equipo diseñado sea barato y fácil de usar. El trabajo incluye el montaje de un prototipo en la Universitat Politècnica de València, que ha permitido comprobar su funcionamiento y mejorarlo. También la creación de un manual básico que pueda enviarse a las personas o entidades que estén interesadas, para que puedan montarlo y utilizarlo. Además se documentará gráficamente el proceso de secado de distintas frutas y hortalizas, de las que se obtendrán sus curvas de disminución de peso respecto al tiempo de secado. Este estudio incluye el seguimiento del proceso de introducción del equipo en Burkina Faso. Se ha comprobado cómo se ha producido su implantación, viendo los problemas que han surgido y las soluciones que hemos puesto en marcha para resolverlos. Por último se diseña una práctica para los alumnos que cursan asignaturas de energías renovables de la Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería de Diseño de Valencia. Con esta práctica los alumnos pueden conocer una aplicación diferente del uso de la energía solar, además de entender los problemas de alimentación que sufre una parte importante de la población mundial.La deshidratació o assecat d'aliments és una forma senzilla i econòmica de conservar-los durant llargs períodes de temps. En moltes zones del planeta no es té accés a l'electricitat, motiu pel qual aquesta deshidratació s'ha de fer utilitzant l'energia solar. A més, la situació alimentària és precària, sobretot en els xiquets més menuts, per tant la conservació d'aliments secs aporta una millora a les seues condicions de vida. Per açò es planteja aquest treball de disseny i desenvolupament d'un equip de deshidratació per a famílies, que permeta millorar les condicions d'alimentació de persones desfavorides. Es pretén que l'aliment conserve tan bé com siga possible les seues propietats nutricionals. Per a açò s'ha triat un sistema d'assecat indirecte que utilitza energia solar per calfar l'aire amb el qual s'assequen els aliments. A més, es cerca que l'equip dissenyat siga barat i fàcil d'usar. El treball inclou el muntatge d'un prototip en la Universitat Politècnica de València, que ha permès comprovar el seu funcionament i millorar-ho. També la creació d'un manual bàsic que puga enviar-se a les persones que estiguen interessades perquè puguen muntar-ho i utilitzar-ho. A més es documentarà gràficament el procés d'assecat de diferents fruites i hortalisses, de les quals s'obtindran les seues corbes de disminució de pes respecte al temps d'assecat.  Aquest estudi inclou el seguiment del procés d'introducció de l'equip a Burkina Faso. S'ha comprovat com s'ha produït la seua implantació, veient els problemes que han sorgit i les solucions que hem pres per resoldre'ls.  Finalment es dissenya una pràctica per als alumnes que cursen assignatures d'energies renovables de l'Escola Tècnica Superior d'Enginyeria de Disseny de València. Amb aquesta pràctica els alumnes poden conèixer una aplicació diferent de l'ús de l'energia solar, a més d'entendre els problemes d'alimentació que pateix una part important de la població mundial.  Saiz Jimenez, JÁ. (2017). Diseño y realización de un equipo de deshidratación de alimentos mediante energía solar para aplicación a países en desarrollo [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/90402TESI

Biodiversity of cyanobacteria and green algae on monuments in the Mediterranean Basin: an overview

Microbiology (2009), 155, 3476–3490The presence and deteriorating action of micro-organisms on monuments and stone works of art have received considerable attention in the last few years. Knowledge of the microbial populations living on stone materials is the starting point for successful conservation treatment and control. This paper reviews the literature on cyanobacteria and chlorophyta that cause deterioration of stone cultural heritage (outdoor monuments and stone works of art) in European countries of the Mediterranean Basin. Some 45 case studies from 32 scientific papers published between 1976 and 2009 were analysed. Six lithotypes were considered: marble, limestone, travertine, dolomite,sandstone and granite. A wide range of stone monuments in the Mediterranean Basin support considerable colonization of cyanobacteria and chlorophyta, showing notable biodiversity. About 172 taxa have been described by different authors, including 37 genera of cyanobacteria and 48 genera of chlorophyta. The most widespread and commonly reported taxa on the stone cultural heritage in the Mediterranean Basin are, among cyanobacteria, Gloeocapsa, Phormidium and Chroococcus and, among chlorophyta, Chlorella, Stichococcus and Chlorococcum. The results suggest that cyanobacteria and chlorophyta colonize a wide variety of substrata and that this is related primarily to the physical characteristics of the stone surface, microclimate and environmental conditions and secondarily to the lithotype

Food Drying by Solar Energy

[EN] Food drying it is a technical used to preserved food. The purpose of this practice, which has been used since ancient times, it is to extract the water inside the food, avoiding bacteria growth and their proliferation. Food dehydration can be realized using solar energy. These ideas provide a basis for the project about the food drier done by Grupo Solar of Universidad Politécnica de Valencia.[ES] El secado de alimentos es una práctica que viene utilizándose desde la antigüedad y tiene como fin la deshidratación del alimento para conservarlo. La deshidratación de alimentos se puede realizar mediante el uso de la energía solar. En base a esta idea surge el proyecto del deshidratador de alimentos realizado por el Grupo Solar de la Universitat Politècnica de València, dentro de un proyecto de cooperación que se está aplicando en Burkina, en lugares en los que no llega el suministro eléctrico.Saiz Jimenez, JÁ.; Cornejo Royo, L. (2015). Secado de alimentos mediante energía solar. 3C Tecnología. 3(4):234-244. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/77687S2342443

Growth of phototrophic biofilms from limestone monuments under laboratory conditions

International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation,xxx (2009) 1–8In the current study, five phototrophic biofilms from different Southern Europe limestone monuments were characterised by molecular techniques and cultivated under laboratory conditions. Phototrophic biofilms were collected from Orologio Tower in Martano (Italy), Santa Clara-a-Velha Monastery and Ajuda National Palace, both in Portugal, and Seville and Granada Cathedrals from Spain. The biofilms were grown under laboratory conditions and periodically sampled in order to monitor their evolution over a three-month period. Prokaryotic communities from natural samples and cultivated biofilms were monitored using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) of PCR-amplified 16S rRNA gene fragments in conjunction with clone sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. DNA-based molecular analysis of 16S rRNA gene fragments from the natural green biofilms revealed complex and different communities composition with respect to phototrophic microorganisms. The biofilms from Orologio Tower (Martano,Italy) and Santa Clara-a-Velha Monastery (Coimbra, Portugal) were dominated by the microalga Chlorella. The cyanobacterium Chroococcidiopsis was the dominating genus from Ajuda National Palace biofilm(Lisbon, Portugal). The biofilms from Seville and Granada Cathedrals (Spain) were both dominated by the cyanobacterium Pleurocapsa. The DGGE analysis of the cultivated biofilms showed that the communities developed differently in terms of species establishment and community composition during the threemonth incubation period. The biofilm culture from Coimbra (Portugal) showed a remarkable stability of the microbial components of the natural community in laboratory conditions. With this work,a multiple-species community assemblage was obtained for further stone colonisation experiments

The influence of inherent properties of building limestones on their bioreceptivity to phototrophic microorganisms

Annals of Microbiology, 59 (4) 705-713 (2009)The influence of open porosity, water absorption capillarity, water vapour permeability, surface roughness, stone pH and chemical composition on stone bioreceptivity to phototrophic microorganisms was assessed by means of a thorough stone characterisation with subsequent artificially inoculation of limestone samples with a multi-species phototrophic culture and placing them inside a growth chamber for 90 days. A principal component analysis and an analysis of variance(ANOVA) were carried out in order to evaluate the direct relationships between stone bioreceptivity and petrophysical properties. From the principal component analysis, two main components were obtained and assigned a petrophysical/photosynthetic biomass meaning. Stone bioreceptivity, quantified by the amount of chlorophyll a and intensity of chlorophyll a fluorescence present on the stone samples after 90 days-incubation, was included in both principal components. The first component was linked to the amount of chlorophyll a and was highly and linearly associated to capillarity and roughness,and less associated with open porosity and water vapour permeability. The second component, linked to the intensity of chlorophyll a fluorescence measured on the stone surfaces, was not linearly associated with the petrophysycal properties,showing the fallibility of this in vivo chlorophyll quantification technique on the estimation of photosynthetic biomass growing on stone materials, particularly when endolithic growth occurs

Biodeterioration of Roman tombs: The role of pigmented actinobacteria

Etruscan and Roman necropolises are cemeteries with different types of burial practices, which are remarkable for their magnificent mural paintings. The conservation of these paintings is difficult, mainly derived from environmental factors and the opening of the tombs to public visits. One of the most complex phenomena observed on these sites is biodeterioration. The Circular Mausoleum tomb (Roman Necropolis of Carmona, Seville, Spain) is characterized by a heavy colonization of phototrophic microorganisms on the walls and ceiling. In addition, some areas near the ceiling exhibited an important number of violet stains of unknown origin. Previously, Agarossi (1994) found similar violet stains, attributed to streptomycetes, in two Etruscan tombs. However, no data on the species involved or the chemical structure of the pigments were reported. Here we show that the violet stains observed in the Circular Mausoleum are produced by a strain of the actinobacterium Streptomyces isolated from the mortar walls, and able to synthesize the same violet pigment in the laboratory. Streptomyces parvus MC05 was identified after whole genome study by means of Next Generation Sequencing methods. Pairwise comparisons carried out for genomes of the type strain of S. parvus DSM40348T and the MC05 strain were performed using Jspecies service. While results observed for ANIb, ANIm and Tetra indexes indicated that both strains belong to the same species, the S. parvus MC05 strain differs from the DSM20348T type strain in genome size and secondary metabolites production. AntiSMASH analysis implemented for both strains showed that the S. parvus MC05, isolated from the tomb, presents the capacity of synthesize bioactive compounds which were absents in the type strain. HPLC-MS of the culture extracts from S. parvus MC05 showed the production of three main granaticin derivatives (dihydrogranaticin A, granaticin A and granaticin B) in addition to minor products of other granaticin analogues. Granaticin pigments exhibited antibacterial activity, which justified the low number of clones of Gram positive bacteria found in the whole microbial community study. Gram negative bacteria were not affected (Dominguez-Moñino et al. 2017). To conclude, the origin of the violet stains in the walls of the Circular Mausoleum is the presence of S. parvus MC05, a member of the complex microbial community thriving on the tomb. In growing periods (rainy season) the bacterium excretes the soluble violet granaticins, compounds with a benzoisochromanequinone structure, which diffuses to the mortar and surrounding substrata in wetting periods

Biological Control of Phototrophic Biofilms in a Show Cave: The Case of Nerja Cave

13 páginas.- 5 figuras.- 2 tablas.- 39 referenciasCyanobacteria and microalgae are usually found in speleothems, rocks and walls of show caves exposed to artificial lighting. These microorganisms develop as biofilms coating the mineral surfaces and producing aesthetic, physical and chemical deterioration. A wide number of physical, chemical and environmental-friendly methods have been used for controlling the biofilms with different results. Natural biological control has been suggested by some authors as a theoretical approach but without direct evidence or application. Here we report the finding of a natural biological control of phototrophic biofilms on the speleothems of Nerja Cave, Malaga, Spain. The formation of plaques or spots where the phototrophic microorganisms disappeared can be assumed on the basis of processes of predation of bacteria, amoebas and some other organisms on the phototrophic biofilms. This study aims at investigating the potentialities of the biological control of phototrophic biofilms in caves, but the originality of these data should be confirmed in future studies with a larger number of biofilm samples in different ecological scenarios.Peer reviewe

Microbiology of the stalactites from Grotta dei Cervi, Porto Badisco, Italy

The active stalactites from Grotta dei Cervi, Porto Badisco, southeastern Italy, were sampled to investigate the microbial communities present in these speleothems. Sampling was carried out in a transect about 150 m long in the central gallery, where numerous Gram-positive bacteria were isolated. Actinomycetes of the genus Streptomyces were the most abundant, followed by members of the genus Bacillus. Further isolates were assigned to the genera Amycolatopsis, Arthrobacter, Agromyces, Micrococcus, Nocardiopsis and Rhodococcus of the order Actinomycetales. The ability of actinomycetes to colonize subterranean environments is discussed