Microbial composition of Saharan dust plumes deposited as red rain in Granada (Southern Spain).

During durst storms, also biological material is transported from arid areas such as the Sahara Desert. In the present work, rain samples containing significant amounts of mineral dust have been collected in Granada during different red rain episodes. Biological features (bacteria, biofilm, pollen grain and fungal spore) as well as size-particle distribution and mineralogical composition were studied by SEM.

Optimized reagents for immunopotency assays on mesenchymal stromal cells for clinical use.

Multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) offer new therapeutic opportunities based on their ability to modulate an imbalanced immune system. Immunomodulatory potency is typically demonstrated in vitro by measuring the presence of surrogate markers (i.e.

Cryptogamic cover determines soil attributes and functioning in polar terrestrial ecosystems.

We still lack studies that provide evidence for direct links between the development of soil surface cryptogamic communities and soil attributes and functioning. This is particularly true in areas free of potentially confounding factors such as different soil types, land uses, or anthropogenic disturbances. Despite the ecological importance of polar ecosystems and their sensitivity to climate change, we are far from understanding how their soils function and will respond to climate change-driven alterations in above- and belowground features.

Exploring Strategies to Contact 3D Nano-Pillars.

This contribution explores different strategies to electrically contact vertical pillars with diameters less than 100 nm. Two process strategies have been defined, the first based on Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) indentation and the second based on planarization and reactive ion etching (RIE). We have demonstrated that both proposals provide suitable contacts.

Reprogramming Cells for Synergistic Combination Therapy with Nanotherapeutics against Uveal Melanoma.

Uveal melanoma (UM) is the most common primary intraocular malignant tumor in adults and around half of the patients develop metastasis and die shortly after because of the lack of effective therapies for metastatic UM. Consequently, new therapeutic approaches to this disease are welcome. In this regard, microRNAs have been shown to have a key role in neoplasia progression and have the potential to be used as therapeutic tools.

Cartography of hevin-expressing cells in the adult brain reveals prominent expression in astrocytes and parvalbumin neurons.

Hevin, also known as SPARC-like 1, is a member of the secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine family of matricellular proteins, which has been implicated in neuronal migration and synaptogenesis during development. Unlike previously characterized matricellular proteins, hevin remains strongly expressed in the adult brain in both astrocytes and neurons, but its precise pattern of expression is unknown. The present study provides the first systematic description of hevin mRNA distribution in the adult mouse brain.

Thermoelectric stack sample cooling modification of a commercial atomic force microscopy.

Enabling temperature dependent experiments in Atomic Force Microscopy is of great interest to study materials and surface properties at the nanoscale. By studying Curie temperature of multiferroic materials, temperature dependent phase transitions on crystalline structures or resistive switching phenomena are only a few examples of applications. We present an equipment capable of cooling samples using a thermoelectric cooling stage down to -61.

[MEDICAGO SATIVA L: IMPROVEMENT AND NEW APPROACHES OF ITS NUTRITIONAL AND FUNCTIONAL VALUE BY BACTERIAL CO-INOCULATION].

Objective: to study the effect of co-inoculation with Ensifer meliloti and Halomonas maura of the leguminous Medicago sativa L., on growth, nutritional and functional value, grown under salinity conditions.

Methods: plants of M.

Spinal anaesthesia in a patient with post-spine surgery dural ectasia.

Dural sac ectasia is a very infrequent anatomical abnormality, usually caused by connective tissue diseases, as Marfan syndrome. Very few cases have been described being a consequence of a previous spine surgical procedure. We describe the case of an elderly patient who should be operated on twice due to sub-occlusive colon disease.

Synchronization dynamics induced on pairs of neurons under applied weak alternating magnetic fields.

Pairs of Helix aspersa neurons show an alternating magnetic field dependent frequency synchronization (AMFS) when exposed to a weak (amplitude B0 between 0.2 and 150 Gauss (G)) alternating magnetic field (AMF) of extremely low frequency (ELF, fM = 50 Hz). We have compared the AMFS patterns of discharge with: i) the synaptic activity promoted by glutamate and acetylcholine; ii) the activity induced by caffeine; iii) the bioelectric activity induced on neurons interconnected by electric synapses.

Vibron quasibound state in the noncentrosymmetric tetragonal heavy-fermion compound CeCuAl3.

We have investigated the noncentrosymmetric tetragonal heavy-fermion antiferromagnetic compound CeCuAl3 (T(N)=2.5 K) using inelastic neutron scattering (INS). Our INS results unequivocally reveal the presence of three magnetic excitations centered at 1.

The role of continuous peripheral nerve blocks.

A continuous peripheral nerve block (cPNB) is provided in the hospital and ambulatory setting. The most common use of CPNBs is in the peri- and postoperative period but different indications have been described like the treatment of chronic pain such as cancer-induced pain, complex regional pain syndrome or phantom limb pain. The documented benefits strongly depend on the analgesia quality and include decreasing baseline/dynamic pain, reducing additional analgesic requirements, decrease of postoperative joint inflammation and inflammatory markers, sleep disturbances and opioid-related side effects, increase of patient satisfaction and ambulation/functioning improvement, an accelerated resumption of passive joint range-of-motion, reducing time until discharge readiness, decrease in blood loss/blood transfusions, potential reduction of the incidence of postsurgical chronic pain and reduction of costs.

Validation of an original incubator set-up for the exposure of human astrocyte cells to X-band microwaves in a GTEM-chamber.

A current concern about the biological effects of electromagnetic fields (EMF) is increasing with the wide spread use of X-band microwaves (MW, 8-10 GHz range). Gigahertz transverse electromagnetic (GTEM) field flat transmission lines are currently being used for experimental exposure of biological samples to high frequency EMF. Experiments carried out on human cells in culture require optimal growing temperature conditions, i.

Magnetic and magnetoelastic properties of epitaxial SmFe2 thin film.

We report on magnetic and magnetoelastic measurements for a 5000 Å (110) SmFe(2) thin film, which was successfully analyzed by means of a point charge model for describing the effect of the epitaxial growth in this kind of system. Some of the main conclusions of the Mössbauer and magnetoelastic results and the new magnetization results up to 5 T allow us to get a full description of the crystal electric field, exchange, and magnetoelastic behavior in this compound. So, new single-ion parameters are obtained for the crystal field interaction of samarium ions, A(4)(r(4)) = +755 K/ion and A(6)(r(6)) = -180 K/ion, and new single-ion magnetoelastic coupling B(γ,2) is approximately equal -200 MPa and B(ε,2) is approximately equal MPa, which represent the tetragonal and the in-plane shear deformations, respectively.

Exposure to ELF-pulse modulated X band microwaves increases in vitro human astrocytoma cell proliferation.

Common concern about the biological effects of electromagnetic fields (EMF) is increasing with the expansion of X-band microwaves (MW). The purpose of our work was to determine whether exposure to MW pulses in this range can induce toxic effects on human astrocytoma cells. Cultured astrocytoma cells (Clonetics line 1321N1) were submitted to 9.

Characterization by immunocytochemistry of ionic channels in Helix aspersa suboesophageal brain ganglia neurons.

The aim of this work was to characterize several ionic channels in nervous cells of the suboesophageal visceral, left and right parietal, and left and right pleural brain ganglia complex of the snail Helix aspersa by immunocytochemistry. We have studied the immunostaining reaction for a wide panel of eleven polyclonal antibodies raised against mammal antigens as follows: voltage-gated-Na+ channel; voltage-gated-delayed-rectifier-K+ channel; SK2-small-conductance-Ca2+-dependent-K+ channel apamin sensitive; SK3 potassium channel; charybdotoxin-sensitive voltage-dependent potassium channel; BKCa-maxi-conductance-Ca2+-dependent-K+ channel; hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated potassium channel 4; G-protein-activated inwardly rectifying potassium channel GIRK2 and voltage-gated-calcium of L, N and P/Q type channels. Our results show positive reaction in neurons, but neither in glia cells nor in processes in the Helix suboesophageal ganglia.

Localization of connexins in neurons and glia cells of the Helix aspersa suboesophageal brain ganglia by immunocytochemistry.

The aim of the present study was to examine the distribution of cells expressing connexin 26 (Cx26) in the suboesophageal visceral, left and right parietal and left and right pleural ganglia of the snail Helix aspersa by immunocytochemistry. Altogether we have found approximately 452 immunoreactive neurons which represent the 4.7% of the total neurons counted.

Halomonas maura is a physiologically versatile bacterium of both ecological and biotechnological interest.

Halomonas maura is a bacterium of great metabolic versatility. We summarise in this work some of the properties that make it a very interesting microorganism both from an ecological and biotechnological point of view. It plays an active role in the nitrogen cycle, is capable of anaerobic respiration in the presence of nitrate and has recently been identified as a diazotrophic bacterium.

A membrane-bound nitrate reductase encoded by the narGHJI operon is responsible for anaerobic respiration in Halomonas maura.

The halophilic bacterium Halomonas maura is capable of anaerobic respiration on nitrates. By insertional mutagenesis with the minitransposon Tn-5 we obtained the mutant Tc62, which was incapable of anaerobic respiration on nitrates. An analysis of the regions adjacent to the transposon allowed us to characterize the membrane-bound anaerobic-respiratory nitrate reductase narGHJI gene cluster in H.