Biodeterioro de monumentos y bioremediación: estado actual y perspectivas futuras

For centuries the man has tried to stop the natural process of deterioration of the building stones and monuments through maintenance and repairing works, using traditional techniques and materials such as mortar of lime and sand. From the second half of the 20th century, polymer and synthetic materials were introduced in conservation. In recent decades, with the application of biotechnology, the restoration proposals have changed dramatically and are supposed to be superior to traditional methods. However, in some cases, the results do not seem convincing. In the first decade of the 21st century a special attention is being paid to the production of calcite by bacteria as a process of consolidation of deteriorated stone. Cleaning of frescoes and paintings by enzymes or bacterial treatments are another issues that arouses a special attention in the restoration and conservation of monuments. Biotechnology has much to offer but must overcome the barriers that currently make it a promising technique in the field of cultural heritage conservation though, even, of difficult application to monuments. Currently, their use is restricted to test on object of manageable size, while its implementation on an industrial scale is yet to be developed.Durante siglos se ha intentado detener el proceso natural de destrucción de la piedra en construcciones y monumentos mediante obras de mantenimiento y reparación, usando técnicas y materiales tradicionales en siglos pasados como los morteros de cal y arena. A partir de la segunda mitad del siglo XX, se introducen los materiales poliméricos y sintéticos. En las últimas décadas, con el desarrollo de la biotecnología, las propuestas de restauración han cambiado drásticamente y se suponen superiores a los métodos tradicionales. Sin embargo, en algunos casos, los resultados no parecen convincentes. En la primera década del siglo XXI se está prestando una especial atención a la producción de calcita por bacterias en relación con un proceso de consolidación de la piedra deteriorada. La limpieza de frescos y pinturas con enzimas o mediante tratamiento con bacterias es otro de los temas que despierta una especial atención en la restauración y conservación de monumentos. La biotecnología tiene mucho que ofrecer pero debe superar las barreras que actualmente la convierten en una técnica prometedora en el campo de la conservación del patrimonio aunque, aún, de difícil aplicación a monumentos. Su utilización se efectúa en ensayos u objetos de dimensiones abarcables, mientras que su aplicación a escala industrial está aún por desarrollar

A comprehensive database for integrated analysis of omics data in autoimmune diseases

This work is partially funded by FEDER/Junta de Andalucia-Consejeria de Economia y Conocimiento (Grant CV20-36723), Consejeria de Salud (Grant PI-0173-2017) and by EU/EFPIA Innovative Medicines Initiative Joint Undertaking PRECISESADS (115565). JMM is partially funded by Ministerio de Economia, Industria y Competitividad. None of the funding bodies played any role in the design of the study and collection, analysis, and interpretation of data nor in writing the manuscript.Background: Autoimmune diseases are heterogeneous pathologies with difficult diagnosis and few therapeutic options. In the last decade, several omics studies have provided significant insights into the molecular mechanisms of these diseases. Nevertheless, data from different cohorts and pathologies are stored independently in public repositories and a unified resource is imperative to assist researchers in this field. Results: Here, we present Autoimmune Diseases Explorer (https:// adex. genyo. es), a database that integrates 82 curated transcriptomics and methylation studies covering 5609 samples for some of the most common autoimmune diseases. The database provides, in an easy-to-use environment, advanced data analysis and statistical methods for exploring omics datasets, including meta-analysis, differential expression or pathway analysis. Conclusions: This is the first omics database focused on autoimmune diseases. This resource incorporates homogeneously processed data to facilitate integrative analyses among studies.FEDER/Junta de Andalucia-Consejeria de Economia y Conocimiento CV20-36723Consejeria de Salud PI-0173-2017EU/EFPIA Innovative Medicines Initiative Joint Undertaking PRECISESADS 115565Ministerio de Economia, Industria y Competitivida

Role of age and comorbidities in mortality of patients with infective endocarditis

[Purpose]: The aim of this study was to analyse the characteristics of patients with IE in three groups of age and to assess the ability of age and the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) to predict mortality. [Methods]: Prospective cohort study of all patients with IE included in the GAMES Spanish database between 2008 and 2015.Patients were stratified into three age groups:<65 years,65 to 80 years,and ≥ 80 years.The area under the receiver-operating characteristic (AUROC) curve was calculated to quantify the diagnostic accuracy of the CCI to predict mortality risk. [Results]: A total of 3120 patients with IE (1327 < 65 years;1291 65-80 years;502 ≥ 80 years) were enrolled.Fever and heart failure were the most common presentations of IE, with no differences among age groups.Patients ≥80 years who underwent surgery were significantly lower compared with other age groups (14.3%,65 years; 20.5%,65-79 years; 31.3%,≥80 years). In-hospital mortality was lower in the <65-year group (20.3%,<65 years;30.1%,65-79 years;34.7%,≥80 years;p < 0.001) as well as 1-year mortality (3.2%, <65 years; 5.5%, 65-80 years;7.6%,≥80 years; p = 0.003).Independent predictors of mortality were age ≥ 80 years (hazard ratio [HR]:2.78;95% confidence interval [CI]:2.32–3.34), CCI ≥ 3 (HR:1.62; 95% CI:1.39–1.88),and non-performed surgery (HR:1.64;95% CI:11.16–1.58).When the three age groups were compared,the AUROC curve for CCI was significantly larger for patients aged <65 years(p < 0.001) for both in-hospital and 1-year mortality. [Conclusion]: There were no differences in the clinical presentation of IE between the groups. Age ≥ 80 years, high comorbidity (measured by CCI),and non-performance of surgery were independent predictors of mortality in patients with IE.CCI could help to identify those patients with IE and surgical indication who present a lower risk of in-hospital and 1-year mortality after surgery, especially in the <65-year group

A multi-country test of brief reappraisal interventions on emotions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased negative emotions and decreased positive emotions globally. Left unchecked, these emotional changes might have a wide array of adverse impacts. To reduce negative emotions and increase positive emotions, we tested the effectiveness of reappraisal, an emotion-regulation strategy that modifies how one thinks about a situation. Participants from 87 countries and regions (n = 21,644) were randomly assigned to one of two brief reappraisal interventions (reconstrual or repurposing) or one of two control conditions (active or passive). Results revealed that both reappraisal interventions (vesus both control conditions) consistently reduced negative emotions and increased positive emotions across different measures. Reconstrual and repurposing interventions had similar effects. Importantly, planned exploratory analyses indicated that reappraisal interventions did not reduce intentions to practice preventive health behaviours. The findings demonstrate the viability of creating scalable, low-cost interventions for use around the world

Characterization of soil polysaccharides

9 páginas, 2 figures, 2 tables, 10 references.-- Simposium celebrado del 27-30, agosto, 1985, en Budapest, Hungría.Fractionation of fulvic extracts from four Spanish soils using adsorption on insoluble polyvinyl pyrrolidone (polyclar AT) permitted the separation of polysaccharide fractions. No siqnificant differences between fractions were found with respect to elemental analysis, sugar composition, infrared and pyrolysis mass spectra. The most striking feature was the hiqh sulphur content, varying from 3.7 to 9.8%. In addition to monosaccharides (neutral sugars) the isolates consisted of acetylglucosamlne moieties and sulphate ester groups, suggesting that a complex mixture of different polysaccharides and origin were extracted from soils.Peer reviewe

Degradation of pine kraft lignin by Coriolopsis gallica growing on a fibre-glass support

Coriolopsis gallica was grown in static liquid cultures on an inert support consisting of fibre-glass impregnated with Indulin AT (pine kraft lignin). The fungus developed well in such conditions enabling the study with the SEM of the morphology and penetration of the fungus. The method also pemits the recovery of degraded lignin, the characteristics of which was monitored by direct analysis of its elementary composition, methoxyls groups, and by spectroscopic techniques and gel permeation. Degraded lignin differed from sound lignin by its higher percentages of oxygen, and lower percentages of C, H, and OCH3 was richer in oxygen. The IR and vis-UV spectra as well as the fractionation by gel filtration showed that the structure of the lignin incubated in the presence of the fungus had been modified.Peer Reviewe

Production of some enzymes in the autolysis of the white-rot fungus Coriolus versicolor in fermenter

7 pages, 2 figures, 1 table, 28 references.[EN]: The autolysis and production of some extracellular enzymes by Coriolus versicolor was studied in submerged cultures. After 48 days of incubation the fungus lost 31 % of its maximum dry weight. 1.3-B-glucanase was excreted at the begining of autolysis and proteases were present during the course of the experiment. On the other hand, lacease was produced in very small amount in the first days of incubation, reaching the maximum activity at the 8th-day of autolysis.[ES]: Se ha estudiado la autólisis y producción de enzimas extracelulares en cultivo sumergido de Coriolus versicolor. Después de 48 días de incubación el hongo pierde un 31 % de su peso máximo. Al comienzo de la fase autolítica excreta l,3-B-glucanasa, mientras que las proteasas están presentes durante todo el período de incubación y la lacasa, detectada en pequeña cantidad durante los primeros días alcanza su máxima actividad a los ocho días de autólisis.Peer reviewe

The Role of BANK1 in B Cell Signaling and Disease

The preparation of this review was funded by the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (now Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion) of the Government of Spain with number SAF2016-78631-P. G.G.H. is supported through this grant.Figure 1 was created with https://biorender.com/ on 29 April 2021.The B cell scaffold protein with ankyrin repeats (BANK1) is expressed primarily in B cells and with multiple but discrete roles in B cell signaling, including B cell receptor signaling, CD40-related signaling, and Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling. The gene for BANK1, located in chromosome 4, has been found to contain genetic variants that are associated with several autoimmune diseases and also other complex phenotypes, in particular, with systemic lupus erythematosus. Common genetic variants are associated with changes in BANK1 expression in B cells, while rare variants modify their capacity to bind efferent effectors during signaling. A BANK1-deficient model has shown the importance of BANK1 during TLR7 and TLR9 signaling and has confirmed its role in the disease. Still, much needs to be done to fully understand the function of BANK1, but the main conclusion is that it may be the link between different signaling functions within the B cells and they may act to synergize the various pathways within a cell. With this review, we hope to enhance the interest in this molecule.Spanish Government SAF2016-78631-

Chemical changes of kraft lignin and some enzymes produced by the white-rot fungus Coriolopsis Gallica

9 pages, 3 figures, 18 references.-- Simposium celebrado del 27-30, agosto, 1985, en Budapest, Hungría.The excretion of extracellular enzymes and the degradation of indulin (pine kraft lignin) by the fungus Coriolopsis gallica were studied. By using a lignin-impregnated glass fibre disc which simulated natural conditions, the fungus excreted phenol oxidases during the log phase of growth and reached two activity maxima in the autolytic phase. However, in absence of indulin the fungus had a different behaviour with respect to phenol oxidases. It was concluded that in the extracellular enzymatic system at least two enzymes, laccase and peroxidase, were involved in the indulin degradation. Evidence of structural changes in the indulin molecule was obtained by infrared spectrophotometry.Peer reviewe