An uncharacterized gene encoding a glycoside hydrolase family 43-like enzyme from
strain E-1 was identified from genomic sequence data, and the encoded enzyme,
Xyn43-l, was produced in
Xyn43-l (52.9 ...kDa) is a two-domain endo-β-xylanase consisting of a C-terminal CBM6 and a GH43-like catalytic domain. The positions of the catalytic dyad conserved in GH43, the catalytic base (Asp74), and proton donor (Glu240) were identified in alignments including GH43-enzymes of known 3D-structure from different subfamilies.
Xyn43-l is active at pH 7.0-9.0, with optimum temperature at 65°C, and a more than 7 days' half-life in irreversible deactivation studies at this temperature. The enzyme hydrolyzed birchwood xylan, quinoa stalks glucuronoarabinoxylan, and wheat arabinoxylan with xylotriose and xylotetraose as major hydrolysis products.
Xyn43-l also released xylobiose from
NPX
with low turnover (
of 0.044 s
) but was inactive on
NPX, showing that a degree of polymerization of three (DP3) was the smallest hydrolyzable substrate. Divalent ions affected the specific activity on xylan substrates, which dependent on the ion could be increased or decreased. In conclusion,
Xyn43-l from
strain E-1 is the first characterized member of a large group of homologous hypothetical proteins annotated as GH43-like and is a thermostable endo-xylanase, producing xylooligosaccharides of high DP (xylotriose and xylotetraose) producer.
The genome of
strain E-1 encodes a number of hypothetical enzymes, annotated as glycoside hydrolase-like but not classified in the Carbohydrate Active Enzyme Database (CAZy). A novel thermostable GH43-like enzyme is here characterized as an endo-β-xylanase of interest in the production of prebiotic xylooligosaccharides (XOs) from different xylan sources.
Xyn43-l is a two-domain enzyme composed of a catalytic GH43-l domain and a CBM6 domain, producing xylotriose as main XO product. The enzyme has homologs in many related
strains which may indicate a similar function and be a previously unknown type of endo-xylanase in this evolutionary lineage of microorganisms.
Beta-2 Human papillomaviruses 38b, 107, and 122 have been frequently found in cervical cancer samples in western Mexico. Because their E6/E7 genes functions are not fully elucidated, we deepen into ...their transformation capabilities. To achieve this goal, primary human fibroblasts (FB) were transduced with E6/E7 genotype-specific viral particles. Additionally, E6/E7 from HPVs 16 and 18 were included as controls. All E6/E7-cell models increased their lifespan; however, it is important to highlight that FB-E6/E7-122 showed growth as accelerated as FB-E6/E7-16 and 18. Furthermore, both FB-E6/E7-38b and 122 exhibited abilities to migrate, and FB-E6/E7-122 presented high invasive capacity. On the other hand, ΔNp73 expression was found in all cell models, except for FB-pLVX (empty-vector). Finally, RNAseq found differentially expressed genes enriched in signaling pathways related to cell cycle, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, and cancer, among others. This study shows for the first time, the great transformative potential that genotypes of the Beta-2 also possess, especially HPV122. These Beta-2 HPVs can modulate some of the genes that are well known to be regulated by Alpha-HPVs, however, they also possess alternative strategies to modulate diverse signaling pathways. These data support the idea that Beta-2 HPVs should play an important role in co-infections with Alpha-HPV during carcinogenesis.
•E6/E7 from HPVs 38b, 107 and 122 increased the lifespan of primary fibroblast.•FB-E6/E7-122 showed growth as accelerated as FB-E6/E7-16 and 18.•FB-E6/E7-122 exhibited high migration and invasion capabilities.•Beta-2 HPVs modulate genes that are well known to be regulated by Alpha-HPVs.•Beta-2 HPVs should play an important role in co-infections during carcinogenesis.
In the second half of the 20th century, the behaviour of the world's population has undergone drastic changes: it has grown very rapidly, become longer-lived and moved preferably to urban areas. ...Migration of populations to cities has a special focus because it not only generates socio-economic development, but also causes different economic, social, and environmental issues. How to assess the sustainable development of cities and identify the most representative aspects of sustainability dimensions has become an essential challenge for effective planning and government policies. However, the selection of indicators has scarcely been addressed when Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) has been used for sustainability assessment. This paper aims to identify the key indicators to determine the eco-efficient performance towards a sustainable development of a set of cities. For this purpose, the joint use of a variable selection method and a DEA model is proposed and applied to a set of 31 Spanish cities. The results obtained identified five social (population percentage at risk of poverty, number of registered gender violence cases, population density), five economic (average household income, average rental price per m2, gross domestic product per capita, public/private vehicle ratio, indebtedness), and three environmental (ozone, NO2, PM10) indicators for the assessment. Moreover, 14 Spanish cities were considered non-eco-efficient, and targets to achieve eco-efficient levels were proposed. Policy makers could focus primarily on the social and economic aspects of non-eco-efficient cities, paying attention, for example, to the risk of poverty of the population, indebtedness of local governments, average rental price and NO2 emissions.
•Key indicators for sustainability assessment of cities are identified.•A variable selection method and a DEA model are combined to evaluate sustainability.•The approach includes three social, five economic and two environmental indicators.•The main difference between sustainable and non-sustainable cities is determined.
The role of oscillometry in interstitial lung disease (ILD) is still unclear. The main objective of our study was to describe the parameters determined by oscillometry in these patients and compare ...them with those obtained in conventional respiratory function tests.
This was a cross-sectional observational study. Patients with no respiratory disease and patients being followed up for ILD in the specialist unit of Hospital Universitario de Getafe, Madrid were included.
A total of 45 individuals were analyzed. Fifteen had no respiratory disease, 15 were ILD patients with mild functional impairment, and another 15 were ILD patients with severe impairment. None of the participants had an obstructive pattern on spirometry.
Comparison between the three groups showed statistically significant differences in the values of R5-19, reactance at 5Hz and reactance at 11Hz. No differences were observed between the three groups in Delta Xrs. The study showed a strong correlation between total and inspiratory reactance at 5Hz and forced vital capacity and diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide.
Our results suggest that the findings in ILD are characteristic of this disease and that they differ from those found in other diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. It also seems that there are differences according to the degree of functional impairment of the patients. The results show a strong correlation with standard pulmonary function tests, so oscillometry could be a useful tool in patients with ILD who are unable to perform it, and could provide additional information.
El papel de la oscilometría en la enfermedad pulmonar intersticial difusa (EPID) aún no está claro. El objetivo principal de nuestro estudio fue describir los parámetros determinados por oscilometría en estos pacientes y compararlos con los obtenidos en las pruebas de función respiratoria convencionales.
Se trata de un estudio observacional transversal. Se incluyeron tanto pacientes sin enfermedad respiratoria como pacientes con EPID en seguimiento en la unidad especializada del Hospital Universitario de Getafe, Madrid.
Se analizaron un total de 45 individuos. Quince no tenían ninguna enfermedad respiratoria, 15 eran pacientes con EPID y deterioro funcional leve, y otros 15 eran pacientes con EPID con deterioro grave. Ninguno de los participantes tenía un patrón obstructivo en la espirometría.
La comparación entre los tres grupos mostró diferencias estadísticamente significativas en los valores de R5-19, Reactancia a 5 Hz y Reactancia a 11 Hz. No se observaron diferencias entre los tres grupos en Delta Xrs. El estudio mostró una fuerte correlación entre la reactancia total e inspiratoria a 5 Hz y la capacidad vital forzada y capacidad de difusión del monóxido de carbono.
Nuestros resultados sugieren que los hallazgos en EPID son característicos de esta enfermedad y que difieren de los que se encuentran en otras enfermedades como la enfermedad pulmonar obstructiva crónica. También parece que existen diferencias según el grado de deterioro funcional de los pacientes. Los resultados muestran una fuerte correlación con las pruebas estándar de función pulmonar, por lo que la oscilometría podría ser una herramienta útil en pacientes con EPID que no pueden realizarla, y podría aportar información adicional.
Abstract
Supplementary cementitious materials interact chemically and physically with cement, influencing the formation of hydrate compounds. Many authors have analyzed the filler and pozzolanic ...effect. However, few studies have explored the influence of these effects on hydration, properties in the fresh and hardened states, and durability parameters of cementitious composites separately. This study investigates the influence of the replacement of 20% of Portland cement for silica fume (SF) or a 20-µm medium diameter quartz powder (QP) on the properties of cementitious composites from the first hours of hydration to a few months of curing. The results indicate that SF is pozzolanic and that QP has no pozzolanic activity. The use of SF and QP reduces the released energy at early times to the control paste, indicating that these materials reduce the heat of hydration. The microstructure with fewer pores of SF compounds indicates that the pozzolanic reaction reduced pore size and binding capability, resulting in equivalent mechanical properties, reduced permeability and increased electrical resistance of the composites. SF and QP increase the carbonation depth of the composites. SF and QP composites are efficient in the inhibition of the alkali-aggregate reaction. The results indicate that, unlike the filler effect, the occurrence of pozzolanic reaction strongly influences electrical resistance, reducing the risk of corrosion of the reinforcement inserted in the concrete.
The use of methods of the social sciences and computational tools to analyze databases in journalism has had several definitions since Philip Meyer called it precision journalism (PJ). In the last ...decade, this specialty has had an important development under the term data journalism (DJ), in a differentiating technological and sociocultural environment: Big Data. This research aims to differentiate DJ from PJ and computer assisted reporting (CAR) with a perspective taken from the science and technology studies, focusing the news as a boundary object between programmers, designers, journalists and other actors that now are part of the news production process. For this purpose, 14 in-depth interviews have been made from 2015 to 2017 to data journalists from Spain (8), EEUU (1) and Finland (1); PP, PD and transparency academic experts from Spain (1) and Finland (2); and one expert in transparency acts y access to public information in Spain, Europe and Latin American. As a result, it can be affirmed that big data is differentiating element of DJ because it is a sociocultural context where the open data philosophy, free software, collaborative and team work are part of its identity.
Vitamin D has an immunomodulatory function and is involved in eliminating pathogens. Vitamin D deficiencies reported in Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients make them more susceptible to ...developing tuberculosis (TB). The macrophages are the immune cells that control intracellular pathogens by producing the antimicrobial peptide cathelicidin-LL37. This pathway involves TLR activation by pathogens, vitamin D receptor (VDR) ligation, and the enzyme 1α-hydroxylase Cytochrome P450 Family 27 Subfamily B Member 1 (CYP27B1). However, it is not clear whether the biological actions of vitamin D are affected by high glucose concentrations. This study aimed to evaluate the vitamin D contribution in the expression of VDR and CYP27B1, involved in the conversion of an inactive to an active form of vitamin D in the infected macrophages using
as an infection model. The expression of LL37 and the nucleus translocation of VDR were evaluated as the readout of the response of vitamin D and determined if those processes are affected by glucose concentrations. Macrophages from healthy donors were cultured under glucose concentrations of 5.5, 15, or 30 mM, stimulated with vitamin D in inactive (25(OH)D
) or active (1,25(OH)
D
) forms, and infected with
. The vitamin D-dependent induction of LL37 and the expression of VDR and CYP27B1 genes were analyzed by qPCR, and VDR translocation was analyzed in nuclear protein extracts by ELISA.
downregulated the expression of LL37 regardless of the glucose concentration, whereas VDR and CYP27B1 upregulated it regardless of the glucose concentration. After evaluating two concentrations of vitamin D, 1 nM or 1 μM, the high concentration (1 μM) was necessary to restore the induction of LL37 expression in
-infected macrophages. High concentrations of the inactive form of vitamin D restore the infected macrophages' ability to express LL37 regardless of the glucose concentration. This finding supports the idea that vitamin D administration in patients with T2DM could benefit TB control and prevention.
Abstract
BAFF, APRIL and BAFF-R are key proteins involved in the development of B-lymphocytes and autoimmunity. Additionally,
BAFF, APRIL
and
BAFFR
polymorphisms were associated with immune-mediated ...conditions, being
BAFF
GCTGT>A a shared insertion-deletion genetic variant for several autoimmune diseases. Accordingly, we assessed whether
BAFF, APRIL
and
BAFFR
represent novel genetic risk factors for Immunoglobulin-A vasculitis (IgAV), a predominantly B-lymphocyte inflammatory condition.
BAFF
rs374039502, which colocalizes with
BAFF
GCTGT>A, and two tag variants within
APRIL
(rs11552708 and rs6608) and
BAFFR
(rs7290134 and rs77874543) were genotyped in 386 Caucasian IgAV patients and 806 matched healthy controls. No genotypes or alleles differences were observed between IgAV patients and controls when
BAFF, APRIL
and
BAFFR
variants were analysed independently. Likewise, no statistically significant differences were found in the genotype and allele frequencies of
BAFF, APRIL
or
BAFFR
when IgAV patients were stratified according to the age at disease onset or to the presence/absence of gastrointestinal (GI) or renal manifestations. Similar results were disclosed when
APRIL
and
BAFFR
haplotypes were compared between IgAV patients and controls and between IgAV patients stratified according to the clinical characteristics mentioned above. Our results suggest that
BAFF, APRIL
and
BAFFR
do not contribute to the genetic network underlying IgAV.
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