Repetitive synaptic stimulation can induce different forms of synaptic plasticity but may also limit the robustness of synaptic transmission by exhausting key resources. Little is known about how synaptic transmission is stabilized after high-frequency stimulation. In the present study, we observed that tetanic stimulation of the Drosophila neuromuscular junction (NMJ) decreases quantal content, release-ready vesicle pool size and synaptic vesicle density for minutes after stimulation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMesoporous silica materials with different pore structures and sizes have been used for supporting aryl sulfonic acid catalytic sites via a postsynthetic grafting approach. The synthesized materials have been evaluated in the solventless acid-catalyzed self-condensation of cyclohexanone (CHO) to obtain the corresponding C adducts. These compounds display great potential as oxygenated fuel precursors as they can be transformed into jet fuel range alkanes in a subsequent hydrodeoxygenation process.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOil refineries produce annually large quantities of oily sludge and non-biodegradable wastewater during petroleum refining that require adequate management to minimize its environmental impact. The fraction solid of the oily sludge accounts for 25 wt% and without treatment for their valorization. This work is focused on the valorization of these solid particles through their transformation into porous materials with enhanced properties and with potential application in the catalytic wet air oxidation (CWAO) of a non-biodegradable spent caustic refinery wastewater.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis work shows the potential of a new way of co-treatment of domestic wastewater (DWW) and a liquid stream coming from the thermal hydrolysis of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) mediated by a mixed culture of purple phototrophic bacteria (PPB) capable of assimilating carbon and nutrients from the medium. The biological system is an open single-step process operated under microaerophilic conditions at an oxidative reduction potential (ORP) < 0 mV with a photoperiod of 12/24 h and fed during the light stage only so the results can be extrapolated to outdoor open pond operations by monitoring the ORP. The effluent mostly complies with the discharge values of the Spanish legislation in COD and -values (<125 mg/L; <2 mg/L), respectively, and punctually on values in N (<15 mg/L).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGlobally increasing concern related to municipal solid waste generation is encouraging research efforts on developing alternative routes to valorize mixed refused wastes. In this way, catalytic pyrolysis is emerging as an interesting and efficient technology due to its great flexibility in terms of feedstock. In the current work, upgrading of a Solid Recovered Fuel (SRF) has been investigated by catalytic pyrolysis over nanocrystalline ZSM-5 zeolite (n-ZSM-5), paying special attention to dechlorination effects due to the high Cl content of the raw waste.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The main functions of the endotracheal tube (ETT) cuff are to prevent aspiration and to allow pressurization of the respiratory system. For this purpose, it is essential to maintain adequate pressure inside the cuff, thus reducing the risks for the patient. It is regularly checked using a manometer and is considered the best alternative.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA significant proportion of infant B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) patients remains with a dismal prognosis due to yet undetermined mechanisms. We performed a comprehensive multicohort analysis of gene expression, gene fusions, and RNA splicing alterations to uncover molecular signatures potentially linked to the observed poor outcome. We identified 87 fusions with significant allele frequency across patients and shared functional impacts, suggesting common mechanisms across fusions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurple phototrophic bacteria (PPB) are a novel driver to recover organics and nutrients from wastewater by assimilative growth. Depending on the source, assimilated resources from the PPB biomass can still be recovered after a releasing step. Anaerobic digestion (AD) releases carbonand nutrients, but the release is incomplete.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe feasibility of a Fenton-type process for the pretreatment of an oily refinery sludge has been explored taking advantage of the iron contained in the own sludge. This process reduces the content of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs) accompanied by an increase in the total organic carbon concentration in the liquid phase. The effect of the temperature and the hydrogen peroxide loading was thoroughly studied in this work being the oxidant concentration the most critical parameter.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF(1) Background: Although a meta-analysis reported that the sensitivity of CD3+ TCRγδ+ cells for coeliac disease diagnosis was >93%, a recent study has suggested that sensitivity decreased to 65% in elderly patients. (2) Aim: To evaluate whether the sensitivity of intraepithelial lymphocyte cytometric patterns for coeliac disease diagnosis changes with advanced age. (3) Methods: We performed a multicentre study including 127 coeliac disease patients ≥ 50 years: 87 with baseline cytometry (45 aged 50-59 years; 23 aged 60-69 years; 19 aged ≥ 70 years), 16 also with a follow-up cytometry (on a gluten-free diet); and 40 with only follow-up cytometry.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: One hundred fifty million contagions, more than 3 million deaths and little more than 1 year of COVID-19 have changed our lives and our health management systems forever. Ageing is known to be one of the significant determinants for COVID-19 severity. Two main reasons underlie this: immunosenescence and age correlation with main COVID-19 comorbidities such as hypertension or dyslipidaemia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBioelectrochemical systems are a promising technology capable of reducing CO emissions, a renewable carbon source, using electroactive microorganisms for this purpose. Purple Phototrophic Bacteria (PPB) use their versatile metabolism to uptake external electrons from an electrode to fix CO. In this work, the effect of the voltage (from -0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRefinery treatment plants produce large quantities of oily sludge during the petroleum refining processes. The hazardousness associated with the disposal of these wastes, make necessary the development of innovative technologies to handle it adequately, linked to the concepts of circular economy and environmental sustainability. This work provides for the first time a methodology for the deep characterization of this kind of wastes and consequently new insights regarding its valorization.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe increasing volume of waste streams require new biological technologies that can address pollution concerns while offering sustainable products. Purple phototrophic bacteria (PPB) are very versatile organisms that present a unique metabolism that allows them to adapt to a variety of environments, including the most complex waste streams. Their successful adaptation to such demanding conditions is partly the result of internal polymers accumulation which can be stored for electron/energy balance or as carbon and nutrients reserves for deprivation periods.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The SARS-CoV-2 infection has widely spread to become the greatest public health challenge to date, the COVID-19 pandemic. Different fatality rates among countries are probably due to non-standardized records being carried out by local health authorities. The Spanish case-fatality rate is 11.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe development of novel wastewater platforms should include the analysis of the most critical functional factors including the effects of toxic or inhibitory substances. Due to the novelty of purple phototrophic bacteria (PPB)-based wastewater treatment systems, this analysis has not been done yet in mixed cultures. In this work, various relevant chemical compounds, including aromatic (phenol, 2,4,6-trichlorophenol or 246TCP, 4-nitrophenol or 4CP, sulfathiazole) and aliphatic organics (methanol, trichlorethylene or TCE, oleic acid, ethanol, propionic acid), inorganic salts (ammonium, ClO, Na), and metals (Fe, Fe, Cu, Zn, Ni, Al), as well as pH, are analyzed for their effect on mixed PPB cultures in anaerobic photoheterotrophic conditions using acetate as the model organic substrate.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this study, two different organic fractions of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) served as raw material in a novel treatment process that combines thermal hydrolysis (TH) pretreatment at different times, followed by anaerobic digestion of the solid fraction and photo-fermentation of the liquid fraction. The results indicate that both wastes performed similarly, and no statistically relevant differences stand out on the overall performance regarding TH times. The thermal pretreatment improves the biodegradability of the solid fraction during anaerobic digestion compensating the loss of the organic matter in the liquid fraction.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCerebellar mutism syndrome (CMS) is a common surgical sequela in children following posterior fossa tumor (PFT) resection. Here, we analyze the neuropsychological features associated with PFT in children, focusing particularly on the differential profiles associated with the presence or absence of CMS after surgery. We further examine the effect of post-resection treatments, tumor type, and presence/absence of hydrocephalus on surgical outcome.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPropagation of emerging pollutants (EPs) in wastewater treatment plants has become a warning sign, especially for novel resource-recovery concepts. The fate of EPs on purple phototrophic bacteria (PPB)-based systems has not yet been determined. This work analyzes the performance of a photo-anaerobic membrane bioreactor treating a low-N wastewater contaminated with 25 EPs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Transl Med
March 2019
Background: Oxidized low-density lipoproteins and scavenger receptors (SRs) play an important role in the formation and development of atherosclerotic plaques. However, little is known about their presence in epicardial adipose tissue (EAT). The objective of the study was to evaluate the mRNA expression of different SRs in EAT of patients with ischemic heart disease (IHD), stratifying by diabetes status and its association with clinical and biochemical variables.
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