Climate change will affect semiarid ecosystems through severe droughts that increase the competition for resources in plant and microbial communities. In these habitats, adaptations to climate change ...may consist of thinning—that reduces competition for resources through a decrease in tree density and the promotion of plant survival. We deciphered the functional and phylogenetic responses of the microbial community to 60 years of drought induced by rainfall exclusion and how forest management affects its resistance to drought, in a semiarid forest ecosystem dominated by Pinus halepensis Mill. A multiOMIC approach was applied to reveal novel, community‐based strategies in the face of climate change. The diversity and the composition of the total and active soil microbiome were evaluated by 16S rRNA gene (bacteria) and ITS (fungal) sequencing, and by metaproteomics. The microbial biomass was analyzed by phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs), and the microbially mediated ecosystem multifunctionality was studied by the integration of soil enzyme activities related to the cycles of C, N, and P. The microbial biomass and ecosystem multifunctionality decreased in drought‐plots, as a consequence of the lower soil moisture and poorer plant development, but this decrease was more notable in unthinned plots. The structure and diversity of the total bacterial community was unaffected by drought at phylum and order level, but did so at genus level, and was influenced by seasonality. However, the total fungal community and the active microbial community were more sensitive to drought and were related to ecosystem multifunctionality. Thinning in plots without drought increased the active diversity while the total diversity was not affected. Thinning promoted the resistance of ecosystem multifunctionality to drought through changes in the active microbial community. The integration of total and active microbiome analyses avoids misinterpretations of the links between the soil microbial community and climate change.
A multiOMIC approach was applied to understand the responses of soil microbial communities to drought and how forest management modulates the resistance of soil microbiome. Metaproteomics revealed that the active microbial community was highly sensitive to drought.
The central nervous system (CNS) is one of the most frequent metastatic sites of various cancers, including lung cancer, breast cancer and melanoma. The development of brain metastases requires a ...specific therapeutic approach and is associated with high mortality and morbidity in cancer patients. Advances in precision medicine and the introduction in recent years of new drugs, such as immunotherapy, have made it possible to improve the prognosis of these patients by improving survival and quality of life. New diagnostic techniques such as liquid biopsy allow real-time monitoring of tumor evolution, providing molecular information on prognostic and predictive biomarkers of response to treatment in blood or other fluids. In this review, we perform an exhaustive update of the clinical trials that demonstrate the utility of immunotherapy in patients with brain metastases and the potential of circulating biomarkers to improving the results of efficacy and toxicity in this subgroup of patients.
The voltage‐dependent potassium channel Kv1.3 has been implicated in proliferation in many cell types, based on the observation that Kv1.3 blockers inhibited proliferation. By modulating membrane ...potential, cell volume, and/or Ca2+ influx, K+ channels can influence cell cycle progression. Also, noncanonical channel functions could contribute to modulate cell proliferation independent of K+ efflux. The specificity of the requirement of Kv1.3 channels for proliferation suggests the involvement of molecule‐specific interactions, but the underlying mechanisms are poorly identified. Heterologous expression of Kv1.3 channels in HEK cells has been shown to increase proliferation independently of K+ fluxes. Likewise, some of the molecular determinants of Kv1.3‐induced proliferation have been located in the C‐terminus region, where individual point mutations of putative phosphorylation sites (Y447A and S459A) abolished Kv1.3‐induced proliferation. Here, we investigated the mechanisms linking Kv1.3 channels to proliferation exploring the correlation between Kv1.3 voltage‐dependent molecular dynamics and cell cycle progression. Using transfected HEK cells, we analyzed both the effect of changes in resting membrane potential on Kv1.3‐induced proliferation and the effect of mutated Kv1.3 channels with altered voltage dependence of gating. We conclude that voltage‐dependent transitions of Kv1.3 channels enable the activation of proliferative pathways. We also found that Kv1.3 associated with IQGAP3, a scaffold protein involved in proliferation, and that membrane depolarization facilitates their interaction. The functional contribution of Kv1.3‐IQGAP3 interplay to cell proliferation was demonstrated both in HEK cells and in vascular smooth muscle cells. Our data indicate that voltage‐dependent conformational changes of Kv1.3 are an essential element in Kv1.3‐induced proliferation.
Ion channels have been involved in proliferation in many tissues, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here, the authors demonstrate a link between Kv1.3 conformational changes and proliferation, and conclude that voltage‐dependent transitions of the channel regulate cell cycle progression.
Technological approaches which enable the effective utilization of CO2 for manufacturing value-added chemicals and fuels can help to solve environmental problems derived from large CO2 emissions ...associated with the use of fossil fuels. One of the most interesting products that can be synthesized from CO2 is methanol, since it is an industrial commodity used in several chemical products and also an efficient transportation fuel. In this review, we highlight the recent advances in the development of heterogeneous catalysts and processes for the direct hydrogenation of CO2 to methanol. The main efforts focused on the improvement of conventional Cu/ZnO based catalysts and the development of new catalytic systems targeting the specific needs for CO2 to methanol reactions (unfavourable thermodynamics, production of high amount of water and high methanol selectivity under high or full CO2 conversion). Major studies on the development of active and selective catalysts based on thermodynamics, mechanisms, nano-synthesis and catalyst design (active phase, promoters, supports, etc.) are highlighted in this review. Finally, a summary concerning future perspectives on the research and development of efficient heterogeneous catalysts for methanol synthesis from CO2 will be presented.
Aims
Twenty‐five enological yeasts belonging to nine different species (Candida zeylanoides, Cryptococcus uzbekistanensis, Debaryomyces hansenii, Lachancea thermotolerans, Metschnikowia pulcherrima, ...Torulaspora delbrueckii, Williopsis pratensis, Zygosaccharomyces bailii and Saccharomyces cerevisiae) were screened for aroma formation and fermentative behaviour as part of a non‐Saccharomyces yeast selection programme.
Methods and Results
Pure cultures were inoculated in pasteurized grape juice in order to perform alcoholic fermentations. Some non‐Saccharomyces species did not ferment, others did not get established and none of them completed alcoholic fermentations. The physico‐chemical parameters of the wines and the abundance of aromatic compounds at the end of alcoholic fermentation highlighted the notable differences in the aroma‐forming ability and fermentative behaviour of the different non‐Saccharomyces species, but not within clones.
Conclusions
Lower diversity was detected within non‐Saccharomyces species than that reported in S. cerevisiae with regard to enological behaviour and aromatic profiles. Metschnikowia pulcherrima and L. thermotolerans are the two species with higher possibilities to become an inoculum.
Significance and Impact of the Study
Few significant differences were found within clones of the same species, but very important parameters in wine quality, such as volatile acidity, ethyl acetate and acetoin, which would justify selection programmes within those species. The results also demonstrated that T. delbrueckii and L. thermotolerans are two close species in their aromatic profiles.
We investigate the cosmic evolution of the absolute and specific star formation rate (SFR, sSFR) of galaxies as derived from a spatially resolved study of the stellar populations in a set of 366 ...nearby galaxies from the Calar Alto Legacy Integral Field Area (CALIFA) survey. The sample spans stellar masses from M⋆ ~ 109 to 1012M⊙ and a wide range of Hubble types. The analysis combines images obtained with the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX; far-ultraviolet and near-ultraviolet) and Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS; u, g, r, i, z) with the 4000 Å break, Hβ, and MgFe′ indices measured from the CALIFA data cubes to constrain parametric models for the star formation history (SFH), which are then used to study the cosmic evolution of the SFR density (ρSFR), the sSFR, the main sequence of star formation (MSSF), and the stellar mass density (ρ⋆). Several SFH laws are used to fit the observational constrains. A delayed-τ model, SFR ∝ (t0 − t)exp(−(t0 − t)∕τ), provides the best results, in good agreement with those obtained from cosmological surveys. Our main results from this model are that (a) the mass currently in the inner (≤0.5 half-light radius, HLR) regions formed at earlier epochs than the mass in the outer (1–2 HLR) regions of galaxies. The time since the onset of the star formation is longer in the inner regions (t0 ~ 13−10 Gyr) than in the outer ones (t0 ~ 11−9 Gyr) for all the morphologies, while the e-folding timescale τ in the inner region is similar to or shorter than in the outer regions. These results confirm that galaxies of any Hubble type grow inside-out. (b) The sSFR declines rapidly as the Universe evolves, and faster for early- than for late-type galaxies, and for the inner than for the outer regions of galaxies. (c) The evolution of ρSFR and ρ⋆ agrees well with results from cosmological surveys, particularly with the recent results from the Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA), the G10-Cosmological Evolution Survey (COSMOS), and the 3D Hubble Space Telescope (HST) survey. At low redshift, z ≤ 0.5, most star formation takes place in the outer regions of late spiral galaxies, while at z > 2, the inner regions of the progenitors of the current E and S0 are the main contributors to ρSFR. (d) Similarly, the inner regions of galaxies are the main contributor to ρ⋆ at z > 0.5, growing their mass faster than the outer regions, with a lookback time at 50% ρ⋆ of t50 ~ 9 and 6 Gyr for the inner and outer regions. (e) The MSSF follows a power law at high redshift, with the slope evolving with time but always remaining sub-linear, in good agreement with the Illustris simulation. (f) In agreement with galaxy surveys at different redshifts, the average SFH of CALIFA galaxies indicates that galaxies grow their mass mainly in a mode that is well represented by a delayed-τ model, with the peak at z ~ 2 and an e-folding time of ~3.9 Gyr.
Increasing evidence demonstrate that the electron transfer chain plays a critical role in controlling the effector functions of macrophages. In this work, we have generated a Ndufs4-/- murine ...macrophage cell lines. The Ndufs4 gene, which encodes a supernumerary subunit of complex I, is a mutational hotspot in Leigh syndrome patients. Ndufs4-/- macrophages showed decreased complex I activity, altered complex I assembly, and lower levels of maximal respiration and ATP production. These mitochondrial respiration alterations were associated with a shift towards a pro-inflammatory cytokine profile after lipopolysaccharide challenge and improved ability to phagocytose Gram-negative bacteria.
•A review of properties for the most common molten salts is provided.•Representative values among the scattered data found in the review are suggested.•Properties are exposed in a comprehensive and ...cohesive way for reference.
The growing interest in energy applications of molten salts is justified by several of their properties. Their possibilities of usage as a coolant, heat transfer fluid or heat storage substrate, require thermo-hydrodynamic refined calculations. Many researchers are using simulation techniques, such as Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) for their projects or conceptual designs. The aim of this work is providing a review of basic properties (density, viscosity, thermal conductivity and heat capacity) of the most common and referred salt mixtures. After checking data, tabulated and graphical outputs are given in order to offer the most suitable available values to be used as input parameters for other calculations or simulations. The reviewed values show a general scattering in characterization, mainly in thermal properties. This disagreement suggests that, in several cases, new studies must be started (and even new measurement techniques should be developed) to obtain accurate values.
ABSTRACT The "main sequence of galaxies"-defined in terms of the total star formation rate versus the total stellar mass M*-is a well-studied tight relation that has been observed at several ...wavelengths and at different redshifts. All earlier studies have derived this relation from integrated properties of galaxies. We recover the same relation from an analysis of spatially resolved properties, with integral field spectroscopic (IFS) observations of 306 galaxies from the CALIFA survey. We consider the SFR surface density in units of log(M yr−1 Kpc−2) and the stellar mass surface density in units of log(M Kpc−2) in individual spaxels that probe spatial scales of 0.5-1.5 Kpc. This local relation exhibits a high degree of correlation with small scatter ( = 0.23 dex), irrespective of the dominant ionization source of the host galaxy or its integrated stellar mass. We highlight (i) the integrated star formation main sequence formed by galaxies whose dominant ionization process is related to star formation, for which we find a slope of 0.81 0.02; (ii) for the spatially resolved relation obtained with the spaxel analysis, we find a slope of 0.72 0.04; and (iii) for the integrated main sequence, we also identified a sequence formed by galaxies that are dominated by an old stellar population, which we have called the retired galaxies sequence.
RAS assessment is mandatory for therapy decision in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients. This determination is based on tumor tissue, however, genotyping of circulating tumor (ct)DNA offers ...clear advantages as a minimally invasive method that represents tumor heterogeneity. Our study aims to evaluate the use of ctDNA as an alternative for determining baseline RAS status and subsequent monitoring of RAS mutations during therapy as a component of routine clinical practice.
RAS mutational status in plasma was evaluated in mCRC patients by OncoBEAM™ RAS CRC assay. Concordance of results in plasma and tissue was retrospectively evaluated.RAS mutations were also prospectively monitored in longitudinal plasma samples from selected patients.
Analysis of RAS in tissue and plasma samples from 115 mCRC patients showed a 93% overall agreement. Plasma/tissue RAS discrepancies were mainly explained by spatial and temporal tumor heterogeneity. Analysis of clinico-pathological features showed that the site of metastasis (i.e. peritoneal, lung), the histology of the tumor (i.e. mucinous) and administration of treatment previous to blood collection negatively impacted the detection of RAS in ctDNA. In patients with baseline mutant RAS tumors treated with chemotherapy/antiangiogenic, longitudinal analysis of RAS ctDNA mirrored response to treatment, being an early predictor of response. In patients RAS wt, longitudinal monitoring of RAS ctDNA revealed that OncoBEAM was useful to detect emergence of RAS mutations during anti-EGFR treatment.
The high overall agreement in RAS mutational assessment between plasma and tissue supports blood-based testing with OncoBEAM™ as a viable alternative for genotyping RAS of mCRC patients in routine clinical practice. Our study describes practical clinico-pathological specifications to optimize RAS ctDNA determination. Moreover, OncoBEAM™ is useful to monitor RAS in patients undergoing systemic therapy to detect resistance and evaluate the efficacy of particular treatments.
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