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Background: Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is a chronic immune-mediated condition characterized by eosinophil infiltration in the esophagus, leading to symptoms such as food impaction and growth delays. Despite its increasing recognition, there is significant variability in diagnostic and treatment practices, particularly in pediatric populations. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the current diagnostic and treatment practices for EoE in children across multiple centers in Mexico, identify common clinical presentations, and assess the role of IgG4 in EoE. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 32 pediatric patients diagnosed with EoE. Data on clinical symptoms, endoscopic findings, histologic analysis, allergy assessments, and treatment approaches were collected. The presence of IgG4-positive plasma cells was also evaluated. Results: The median age was 10.6 years, with a diagnostic delay of 15.5 months. Acute food impaction was the most common symptom, and 82% had a personal history of atopy. Endoscopic abnormalities were observed in 71% of patients. Histologic analysis confirmed EoE in 83.8% of biopsy samples, with eosinophil counts averaging 17 to 24 per high-power field. IgG4-positive plasma cells were present in 76.5% of patients. Treatment varied, with many receiving proton pump inhibitors and topical corticosteroids, but patients treated with dupilumab showed significant improvement. Conclusions: The study highlights the challenges in diagnosing and managing EoE in children, emphasizing the need for standardized practices and comprehensive evaluations. The presence of IgG4-positive plasma cells suggests a potential role in EoE pathophysiology. Further research is needed to establish effective treatment guidelines and confirm the potential of dupilumab as a therapeutic option.

Abstract Background The Cost of Living Crisis (CoLC), a real term reduction in basic income, risks individuals being unable to afford essentials such as heat, food and clothing. The impact of the CoLC is disproportionate – with different population sub-groups more likely to be negatively affected. The objective of this survey was to evaluate the perceived impact of the CoLC on the life and health of participants across four European countries. Methods A survey housing two questions to investigate the relationship between the CoLC and its perceived impact on life and health was developed. Four European countries (U.K., Sweden, Italy and Germany) took part via the YouGov platform. Logistic regression models were created for each country and question to evaluate which population characteristics were associated with a negative reported impact of the CoLC. Results A total of 8,152 unique individuals responded between 17th March and 30th March 2023. Each country was equally represented. Those aged 36–64 were more likely to report a negative impact of the CoLC on their life and health than younger participants (p

Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae is the causative agent of pleuropneumonia, an economically important lung disease in pigs. In draft genomes of two Cypriot clinical A. pleuropneumoniae isolates (MIDG3457 and MIDG3459), we previously identified single genomic regions with homology to Mu-like bacteriophage and presented preliminary evidence of active phage. Here, updated Phastest genomic analysis identified two loci in both MIDG3457 and MIDG3459 that were predicted to encode proteins with high homology to, and whose organisation was characteristic of, Mu-like phages. Phylogenetically, the closest matches were with Mannheimia Vb and Glaesserella SuMu phages. Phastest scored the loci as “complete”, indicating they produced active phage. PCR amplification of the Mu-like phage c and tail genes from DNase-treated polyethylene glycol 8000 (PEG)-precipitated supernatants of MIDG3457 and MIDG3459 (grown in either Brain Heart Infusion-NAD or Grace’s Insect Medium-NAD broth) indicated the presence of intact virions. The phages from MIDG3457 and MIDG3459 were named PluMu 3457-1, 3457-2, and PluMu 3459-1 and PluMu 3459-2, respectively. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of the PEG-precipitated supernatants of broth-grown MIDG3459 identified virions with icosahedral heads and tails, consistent with other Mu-like phages. We conclude that MIDG3459 produces an active Mu-like phage.

The COVID-19 pandemic has driven the transition from face-to-face visits to virtual care delivery. In this study, we explore patients’ perceptions of the benefits and challenges of using virtual primary care technologies during the pandemic, using machine learning approaches. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in August 2020 in Italy, Sweden, Germany, and the UK. Latent Dirichlet Allocation was used to identify themes of two open-ended questions. Comparisons between participant characteristics were made using Wilcoxon rank-sum test. 6,331 participants were included (51.7% female; 42.4% +55 years; 60.5% white ethnicity; 86.6% low literacy). The benefits extracted included: primary care delivery, infection control, reducing contacts, virtual care, timeliness, patient-doctor interaction, convenience, and safety. Participants from Sweden were most likely to mention “primary care delivery” (UK p = .007, IT p = .03, DE p

BackgroundCybersecurity is a growing challenge for health systems worldwide as the rapid adoption of digital technologies has led to increased cyber vulnerabilities with implications for patients and health providers. It is critical to develop workforce awareness and training as part of a safety culture and continuous improvement within health care organizations. However, there are limited open-access, health care–specific resources to help organizations at different levels of maturity develop their cybersecurity practices. ObjectiveThis study aims to assess the usability and feasibility of the Essentials of Cybersecurity in Health Care Organizations (ECHO) framework resource and evaluate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats associated with implementing the resource at the organizational level. MethodsA mixed methods, cross-sectional study of the acceptability and usability of the ECHO framework resource was undertaken. The research model was developed based on the technology acceptance model. Members of the Imperial College Leading Health Systems Network and other health care organizations identified through the research teams’ networks were invited to participate. Study data were collected through web-based surveys 1 month and 3 months from the date the ECHO framework resource was received by the participants. Quantitative data were analyzed using R software (version 4.2.1). Descriptive statistics were calculated using the mean and 95% CIs. To determine significant differences between the distribution of answers by comparing results from the 2 survey time points, 2-tailed t tests were used. Qualitative data were analyzed using Microsoft Excel. Thematic analysis used deductive and inductive approaches to capture themes and concepts. ResultsA total of 16 health care organizations participated in the study. The ECHO framework resource was well accepted and useful for health care organizations, improving their understanding of cybersecurity as a priority area, reducing threats, and enabling organizational planning. Although not all participants were able to implement the resource as part of information computing technology (ICT) cybersecurity activities, those who did were positive about the process of change. Learnings from the implementation process included the usefulness of the resource for raising awareness and ease of use based on familiarity with other standards, guidelines, and tools. Participants noted that several sections of the framework were difficult to operationalize due to costs or budget constraints, human resource limitations, leadership support, stakeholder engagement, and limited time. ConclusionsThe research identified the acceptability and usability of the ECHO framework resource as a health-focused cybersecurity resource for health care organizations. As cybersecurity in health care organizations is everyone’s responsibility, there is potential for the framework resource to be used by staff with varied job roles. Future research needs to explore how it can be updated for ICT staff and implemented in practice and how educational materials on different aspects of the framework could be developed.

It has been reported that the modification of immobilized glyoxyl–ficin with aldehyde dextran can promote steric hindrances that greatly reduce the activity of the immobilized protease against hemoglobin, while the protease still maintained a reasonable level of activity against casein. In this paper, we studied if this effect may be different depending on the amount of ficin loaded on the support. For this purpose, both the moderately loaded and the overloaded glyoxyl–ficin biocatalysts were prepared and modified with aldehyde dextran. While the moderately loaded biocatalyst had a significantly reduced activity, mainly against hemoglobin, the activity of the overloaded biocatalyst was almost maintained. This suggests that aldehyde dextran was able to modify areas of the moderately loaded enzyme that were not available when the enzyme was overloaded. This modification promoted a significant increase in biocatalyst stability for both biocatalysts, but the stability was higher for the overloaded biocatalyst (perhaps due to a combination of inter- and intramolecular crosslinking).

Recent advancements in mass spectrometry have significantly enhanced our understanding of complex lipid profiles, opening new avenues for oncological diagnostics. This review highlights the importance of lipidomics in the comprehension of certain metabolic pathways and its potential for the detection and characterization of various cancers, in particular melanoma. Through detailed case studies, we demonstrate how lipidomic analysis has led to significant breakthroughs in the identification and understanding of cancer types and its potential for detecting unique biomarkers that are instrumental in its diagnosis. Additionally, this review addresses the technical challenges and future perspectives of these methodologies, including their potential expansion and refinement for clinical applications. The discussion underscores the critical role of lipidomic profiling in advancing cancer diagnostics, proposing a new paradigm in how we approach this devastating disease, with particular emphasis on its application in comparative oncology.

We present the synthesis of a cross-linking enzyme aggregate (CLEAS) of a peroxidase from Megathyrsus maximus (Guinea Grass) (GGP). The biocatalyst was produced using 50%v/v ethanol and 0.88%w/v glutaraldehyde for 1 h under stirring. The immobilization yield was 93.74% and the specific activity was 36.75 U mg−1. The biocatalyst surpassed by 61% the free enzyme activity at the optimal pH value (pH 6 for both preparations), becoming this increase in activity almost 10-fold at pH 9. GGP-CLEAS exhibited a higher thermal stability (2–4 folds) and was more stable towards hydrogen peroxide than the free enzyme (2–3 folds). GGP-CLEAS removes over 80% of 0.05 mM indigo carmine at pH 5, in the presence of 0.55 mM H2O2 after 60 min of reaction, a much higher value than when using the free enzyme. The operational stability showed a decrease of enzyme activity (over 60% in 4 cycles), very likely related to suicide inhibition.

The generation of a virtual, personal, auditory space to obtain a high-quality sound experience when using headphones is of great significance. Normally this experience is improved using personalized head-related transfer functions (HRTFs) that depend on a large degree of personal anthropometric information on pinnae. Most of the studies focus their personal auditory optimization analysis on the study of amplitude versus frequency on HRTFs, mainly in the search for significant elevation cues of frequency maps. Therefore, knowing the HRTFs of each individual is of considerable help to improve sound quality. The following work proposes a methodology to model HRTFs according to the individual structure of pinnae using multilayer perceptron and linear regression techniques. It is proposed to generate several models that allow knowing HRTFs amplitude for each frequency based on the personal anthropometric data on pinnae, the azimuth angle, and the elevation of the sound source, thus predicting frequency magnitudes. Experiments show that the prediction of new personal HRTF generates low errors, thus this model can be applied to new heads with different pinnae characteristics with high confidence. Improving the results obtained with the standard KEMAR pinna, usually used in cases where there is a lack of information.

Objectives The recent census found that five million people in England and Wales provide unpaid care. With social services struggling, unpaid carers face increasing pressure. The North West London Networked Data Lab aimed to understand unpaid carers’ needs, health issues, and care pathways through public involvement and analysis of linked datasets. Methods We used the Discover dataset containing primary, secondary, mental health, and social care data of 2.5 million North West Londoners to explore our aims. To ensure the questions asked of the data mattered locally, we interviewed five unpaid carers to understand the issues they faced. One carer worked more closely with the data analyst to define the questions. The interim results were presented to a diverse group of unpaid carers to see whether anything resonated with them, surprised them, or required further research. The group also helped develop an engaging and accessible infographic to communicate our findings. Results The unpaid carer cohort in our dataset were, on average, older females from deprived areas, highlighting gender and socioeconomic inequities in caring responsibilities. Unpaid carers had a higher prevalence of long-term conditions before they were identified as a carer (e.g. hypertension, depression, anxiety and diabetes) and were more likely to use healthcare services than non-carers. Through speaking to unpaid carers, we learned that many hadn’t identified as a carer or mentioned it to their GP for many years. In fact, they had only had their carer status recorded after visiting their GP for an issue linked to their caring responsibilities. Our public involvement helped to highlight a major limitation of the data, particularly as men are less likely to interact with their GPs. Conclusion Our analysis found unpaid carers were more likely to have certain conditions and more likely to have multiple long-term conditions. Public involvement was critical in making sense of these findings and identifying policy and practice recommendations. Giving people a meaningful voice in population data research can also build public trust.

Abstract Different reports have shown the clinical and serologic response to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines in preventing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) in the general population, but few studies have examined these responses in transplant recipients. We assessed the vaccine immunogenicity of two doses (100 μg) of the mRNA‐1273 vaccine (Moderna) administered with a 28‐day interval in liver transplant recipients (LTRs) at follow‐up at the Marques de Valdecilla University Hospital. LTRs without a history of COVID‐19 infection were tested for SARS‐CoV‐2 immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies directed against the spike protein (S) a median of 43 days after receiving the second Moderna vaccine dose. Clinical data, including immunosuppressive regimen and routine laboratory data, were obtained from the medical record of each patient up to 3 months before the date of the first vaccination. Factors associated with serologic response were evaluated through logistic regression. In total, 129 LTRs who had anti‐S results were included. Most patients were men (n = 99; 76.7%) with a median age of 63 years (interquartile range, 56–68). Alcohol (43.4%) and chronic hepatitis C (18.6%) were the most frequent causes of liver transplantation. A positive anti‐S IgG response was observed in 113 LTRs (87.6%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 80.8–92.2). A strong inverse relationship between mycophenolate mofetil use and serologic response was found (odds ratio, 0.07; 95% CI, 0.02–0.26; p = 0.001). Conclusion: Most LTRs develop an immunological response to the Moderna SARS‐CoV‐2 mRNA‐based vaccine. An immunosuppressive regimen that includes mycophenolate predicts a weak serologic response.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0009000.].

This study investigated the impact of a support matrix and active group on the support to the nutritional properties of orange juice after juice clarification. Pectinase was immobilized on chitosan and aminated silica supports, activated with genipin or glutaraldehyde, and applied for juice clarification. The effects on various juice properties, including reducing sugars, total soluble solids, vitamin C, and phenolic compounds, juice color, and pH, were evaluated. The results revealed that the immobilization on chitosan activated using genipin resulted in the highest biocatalyst activity (1211.21 U·g−1). The juice treatments using the biocatalysts led to turbidity reduction in the juice (up to 90%), with the highest reductions observed in treatments involving immobilized enzyme on chitosan. Importantly, the enzymatic treatments preserved the natural sugar content, total soluble solids, and pH of the juice. Color differences between treated and raw juice samples were especially relevant for those treated using enzymes, with significant differences in L* and b*, showing loss of yellow vivid color. Analysis of phenolic compounds and vitamin C showed no significant alterations after the enzymatic treatment of the raw juice. According to our results, the clarification of orange juice using immobilized enzymes can be a compromise in turbidity reduction and color reduction to maintain juice quality.

Objectives Arm weakness is common after stroke; repetitive activity is critical for recovery but people struggle with knowing what to do, volume, and monitoring progress. We studied the feasibility and acceptability of OnTrack, a digital intervention supporting arm and hand rehabilitation in acute and home settings.Design A mixed-method, single-arm study evaluating the feasibility of OnTrack for hospital and home use. An independent process evaluation assessed the intervention’s fidelity, dose and reach. Amendments to the protocol were necessary after COVID-19.Setting Acute stroke services and home settings in North West London.Participants 12 adults with a stroke diagnosis

The development of enzyme immobilization started in the middle of the previous century as a potential answer to the problem of the enzyme recovery and reuse [...]

The detection of Scedosporium/Lomentospora is still based on non-standardized low-sensitivity culture procedures. This fact is particularly worrying in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF), where these fungi are the second most common filamentous fungi isolated, because a poor and delayed diagnosis can worsen the prognosis of the disease. To contribute to the discovery of new diagnostic strategies, a rapid serological dot immunobinding assay (DIA) that allows the detection of serum IgG against Scedosporium/Lomentospora in less than 15 min was developed. A crude protein extract from the conidia and hyphae of Scedosporium boydii was employed as a fungal antigen. The DIA was evaluated using 303 CF serum samples (162 patients) grouped according to the detection of Scedosporium/Lomentospora in the respiratory sample by culture, obtaining a sensitivity and specificity of 90.48% and 79.30%, respectively; positive and negative predictive values of 54.81% and 96.77%, and an efficiency of 81.72%. The clinical factors associated with the results were also studied using a univariate and a multivariate analysis, which showed that Scedosporium/Lomentospora positive sputum, elevated anti-Aspergillus serum IgG and chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection were significantly associated with a positive result in DIA, while Staphylococcus aureus positive sputum showed a negative association. In conclusion, the test developed can offer a complementary, rapid, simple and sensitive method to contribute to the diagnosis of Scedosporium/Lomentospora in patients with CF.

The use of marine enzymes as catalysts for biotechnological applications is a topical subject. Marine enzymes usually display better operational properties than their animal, plant or bacterial counterparts, enlarging the range of possible biotechnological applications. Due to the fact that cytochrome P450 enzymes can degrade many different toxic environmental compounds, these enzymes have emerged as valuable tools in bioremediation processes. The present work describes the isolation, purification and biochemical characterization of a liver NADPH-dependent cytochrome P450 reductase (CPR) from the marine fish Liza klunzingeri (LkCPR). Experimental results revealed that LkCPR is a monomer of approximately 75 kDa that is active in a wide range of pH values (6–9) and temperatures (40–60 °C), showing the highest catalytic activity at pH 8 and 50 °C. The activation energy of the enzyme reaction was 16.3 kcal mol−1 K−1. The KM values for cytochrome C and NADPH were 8.83 μM and 7.26 μM, and the kcat values were 206.79 s−1 and 202.93 s−1, respectively. LkCPR displayed a specific activity versus cytochrome C of 402.07 µmol min−1 mg1, the highest activity value described for a CPR up to date (3.2–4.7 times higher than the most active reported CPRs) and showed the highest thermostability described for a CPR. Taking into account all these remarkable catalytic features, LkCPR offers great potential to be used as a suitable biocatalyst.

Stimuli-responsive copolymers are of great interest for targeted drug delivery. This study reports on a controllable post-polymerization quaternization with 2-bromomethyl-4-fluorophenylboronic acid of the poly(4-vinyl pyridine) (P4VP) block of a common poly(styrene)-b-poly(4-vinyl pyridine)-b-poly(ethylene oxide) (SVE) triblock terpolymer in order to achieve a selective responsivity to various diols. For this purpose, a reproducible method was established for P4VP block quaternization at a defined ratio, confirming the reaction yield by 11B, 1H NMR. Then, a reproducible self-assembly protocol is designed for preparing stable micelles from functionalized stimuli-responsive triblock terpolymers, which are characterized by light scattering and by cryogenic transmission electron microscopy. In addition, UV-Vis spectroscopy is used to monitor the boron-ester bonding and hydrolysis with alizarin as a model drug and to study encapsulation and release of this drug, induced by sensing with three geminal diols: fructose, galactose and ascorbic acid. The obtained results show that only the latter, with the vicinal diol group on sp2-hybridized carbons, was efficient for alizarin release. Therefore, the post-polymerization method for triblock terpolymer functionalization presented in this study allows for preparation of specific stimuli-responsive systems with a high potential for targeted drug delivery, especially for cancer treatment.

Objectives To determine the safety and effectiveness of home oximetry monitoring pathways for patients with COVID-19 in the English National Health Service.Design Retrospective, multisite, observational study of home oximetry monitoring for patients with suspected or proven COVID-19.Setting This study analysed patient data from four COVID-19 home oximetry pilot sites in England across primary and secondary care settings.Participants A total of 1338 participants were enrolled in a home oximetry programme across four pilot sites. Participants were excluded if primary care data and oxygen saturations at rest at enrolment were not available. Data from 908 participants were included in the analysis.Interventions Home oximetry monitoring was provided to participants with a known or suspected diagnosis of COVID-19. Participants were enrolled following attendance to emergency departments, hospital admission or referral through primary care services.Results Of 908 patients enrolled into four different COVID-19 home oximetry programmes in England, 771 (84.9%) had oxygen saturations at rest of 95% or more, and 320 (35.2%) were under 65 years of age and without comorbidities. 52 (5.7%) presented to hospital and 28 (3.1%) died following enrolment, of which 14 (50%) had COVID-19 as a named cause of death. All-cause mortality was significantly higher in patients enrolled after admission to hospital (OR 8.70 (2.53–29.89)), compared with those enrolled in primary care. Patients enrolled after hospital discharge (OR 0.31 (0.15–0.68)) or emergency department presentation (OR 0.42 (0.20–0.89)) were significantly less likely to present to hospital than those enrolled in primary care.Conclusions This study finds that home oximetry monitoring can be a safe pathway for patients with COVID-19; and indicates increases in risk to vulnerable groups and patients with oxygen saturations

Background: A critical window in infancy has been proposed, during which the microbiota may affect subsequent health. The longitudinal development of the oropharyngeal microbiota is under-studied and may be associated with early-life wheeze. We aimed to investigate the temporal association of the development of the oropharyngeal microbiota with early-life wheeze. Methods: A population-based birth cohort based in London, UK was followed for 24 months. We collected oropharyngeal swabs at six time-points. Microbiota was determined using sequencing of the V3-V5 region of the 16S rRNA-encoding gene. Medical records were reviewed for the outcome of doctor diagnosed wheeze. We used a time-varying model to investigate the temporal association between the development of microbiota and doctor-diagnosed wheeze. Findings: 159 participants completed the study to 24 months and for 98 there was complete sequencing data at all timepoints and outcome data. Of these, 26 had doctor-diagnosed wheeze. We observed significant increase in the abundance of Neisseria between 9 and 24 months in children who developed wheeze (p = 0∙003), while in those without wheezing there was a significant increment in the abundance of Granulicatella (p = 0∙012) between 9 and 12 months, and of Prevotella (p = 0∙018) after 18 months. Interpretation: A temporal association between the respiratory commensal Granulicatella and also Prevotella with wheeze (negative), and between Neisseria and wheeze (positive) was identified in infants prior to one year of age. This adds to evidence for the proposed role of the microbiota in the development of wheeze. Fund: Research funding from the Winnicott Foundation, Meningitis Now and Micropathology Ltd. Keywords: Wheeze, Microbiome, Granulicatella, Neisseria

Penicillin G acylase (PGA) from Escherichia coli was immobilized on vinyl sulfone (VS) agarose. The immobilization of the enzyme failed at all pH values using 50 mM of buffer, while the progressive increase of ionic strength permitted its rapid immobilization under all studied pH values. This suggests that the moderate hydrophobicity of VS groups is enough to transform the VS-agarose in a heterofunctional support, that is, a support bearing hydrophobic features (able to adsorb the proteins) and chemical reactivity (able to give covalent bonds). Once PGA was immobilized on this support, the PGA immobilization on VS-agarose was optimized with the purpose of obtaining a stable and active biocatalyst, optimizing the immobilization, incubation and blocking steps characteristics of this immobilization protocol. Optimal conditions were immobilization in 1 M of sodium sulfate at pH 7.0, incubation at pH 10.0 for 3 h in the presence of glycerol and phenyl acetic acid, and final blocking with glycine or ethanolamine. This produced biocatalysts with stabilities similar to that of the glyoxyl-PGA (the most stable biocatalyst of this enzyme described in literature), although presenting just over 55% of the initially offered enzyme activity versus the 80% that is recovered using the glyoxyl-PGA. This heterofuncionality of agarose VS beads opens new possibilities for enzyme immobilization on this support.

Manufacturing or assembly defects in gas-insulated equipment can introduce field enhancements that could lead to partial discharge (PD). This paper examines the PD characteristics of SF6 alternatives considered for potential application to retro-filling existing SF6-designed equipment. The PD performance of the C3F7CN/CO2 gas mixture and SF6 were characterised adopting the ultra-high frequency (UHF) method and investigated for different defect configurations, pressures, and gas mediums. Hemispherical rod-plane and plane-to-plane configurations with needle on the high-voltage (HV) and ground electrodes were used to mimic conductor and enclosure protrusion defects, respectively. The results demonstrate that with a needle length of 15 mm, the 20% C3F7CN/80% CO2 gas mixture had almost half the partial discharge inception and extinction voltages (PDIV/EV) of SF6. For less divergent fields, the 20% C3F7CN/80% CO2 gas mixture demonstrated a comparable PDIV/EV performance as SF6. The phase-resolved PD patterns of the 20% C3F7CN/80% CO2 gas mixture demonstrated a 3-stage transition phase that was not observed with SF6, which could be due to the discharge mechanism of the weakly attaching CO2 gas used within the mixture.

Four commercial immobilized lipases biocatalysts have been submitted to modifications with different metal (zinc, cobalt or copper) phosphates to check the effects of this modification on enzyme features. The lipase preparations were Lipozyme®TL (TLL-IM) (lipase from Thermomyces lanuginose), Lipozyme®435 (L435) (lipase B from Candida antarctica), Lipozyme®RM (RML-IM), and LipuraSelect (LS-IM) (both from lipase from Rhizomucor miehei). The modifications greatly altered enzyme specificity, increasing the activity versus some substrates (e.g., TLL-IM modified with zinc phosphate in hydrolysis of triacetin) while decreasing the activity versus other substrates (the same preparation in activity versus R- or S- methyl mandelate). Enantiospecificity was also drastically altered after these modifications, e.g., LS-IM increased the activity versus the R isomer while decreasing the activity versus the S isomer when treated with copper phosphate. Regarding the enzyme stability, it was significantly improved using octyl-agarose-lipases. Using all these commercial biocatalysts, no significant positive effects were found; in fact, a decrease in enzyme stability was usually detected. The results point towards the possibility of a battery of biocatalysts, including many different metal phosphates and immobilization protocols, being a good opportunity to tune enzyme features, increasing the possibilities of having biocatalysts that may be suitable for a specific process.

The Peruvian-Brazilian border is a highly endemic tegumentary leishmaniasis region in South America. The interoceanic highway is a commercial route that connects Peru and Brazil through Madre de Dios and has raised concerns about its impact on previously undisturbed areas. In order to assess leishmaniasis transmission risk along this highway, we conducted a surveillance study of the sand fly populations in this area. Sand flies were collected between 2009 and 2010 along transects at 200 m, 600 m and 1000 m from six study sites located along the highway (Iberia, La Novia, Alto Libertad, El Carmen, Florida Baja, Mazuko and Mavila) and an undisturbed area (Malinowski). Collected specimens were identified based on morphology and non-engorged females of each species were pooled and screened by kinetoplast PCR to detect natural Leishmania infections. A total of 9,023 specimens were collected belonging to 54 different Lutzomyia species including the first report of Lu. gantieri in Peru. Four species accounted for 50% of all specimens (Lutzomyia carrerai carrerai, Lu. davisi, Lu. shawi and Lu. richardwardi). El Carmen, Alto Libertad, Florida Baja and Malinowski presented higher Shannon diversity indexes (H = 2.36, 2.30, 2.17 and 2.13, respectively) than the most human disturbed sites of Mazuko and La Novia (H = 1.53 and 1.06, respectively). PCR detected 10 positive pools belonging to Lu. carrerai carrerai, Lu. yuilli yuilli, Lu. hirsuta hirsuta, Lu. (Trichophoromyia) spp., and Lu. (Lutzomyia) spp. Positive pools from 1,000 m transects had higher infectivity rates than those from 600 m and 200 m transects (9/169 = 5.3% vs 0/79 = 0% and 1/127 = 0.8%, p = 0.018). El Carmen, accounted for eight out of ten positives whereas one positive was collected in Florida Baja and Mazuko each. Our study has shown differences in sand fly diversity, abundance and species composition across and within sites. Multiple clustered Lutzomyia pools with natural Leishmania infection suggest a complex, diverse and spotty role in leishmaniasis transmission in Madre de Dios, with increased risk farther from the highway.

Practice of sports during childhood or adolescence correlates with an earlier onset and more rapidly progressing phenotype in dysferlinopathies. To determine if this correlation relates to greater muscle pathology that persists into adulthood, we investigated the effect of exercise on the degree of muscle fatty replacement measured using muscle MRI. We reviewed pelvic, thigh and leg T1W MRI scans from 160 patients with genetically confirmed dysferlinopathy from the Jain Foundation International clinical outcomes study in dysferlinopathy. Two independent assessors used the Lamminen-Mercuri visual scale to score degree of fat replacement in each muscle. Exercise intensity for each individual was defined as no activity, minimal, moderate, or intensive activity by using metabolic equivalents and patient reported frequency of sports undertaken between the ages of 10 and 18. We used ANCOVA and linear modeling to compare the mean Lamminen-Mercuri score for the pelvis, thigh, and leg between exercise groups, controlling for age at assessment and symptom duration. Intensive exercisers showed greater fatty replacement in the muscles of the pelvis than moderate exercisers, but no significant differences of the thigh or leg. Within the pelvis, Psoas was the muscle most strongly associated with this exercise effect. In patients with a short symptom duration of

In this study, soybean oil deodorizer distillate (SODD), a mixture of free fatty acids and acylglycerides, and isoamyl alcohol were evaluated as substrates in the synthesis of fatty acid isoamyl monoesters catalyzed by Eversa (a liquid formulation of Thermomyces lanuginosus lipase). SODD and the products were characterized by the chemical and physical properties of lubricant base stocks. The optimal conditions to produce isoamyl fatty acid esters were determined by response surface methodology (RSM) using rotational central composite design (RCCD, 23 factorial + 6 axial points + 5 replications at the central point); they were 1 mol of fatty acids (based on the SODD saponifiable index) to 2.5 mol isoamyl alcohol, 45 °C, and 6 wt.% enzymes (enzyme mass/SODD mass). The effect of the water content of the reactional medium was also studied, with two conditions of molecular sieve ratio (molecular sieve mass/SODD mass) selected as 39 wt.% (almost anhydrous reaction medium) and 9 wt.%. Ester yields of around 50 wt.% and 70 wt.% were reached after 50 h reaction, respectively. The reaction products containing 43.7 wt.% and 55.2 wt.% FAIE exhibited viscosity indices of 175 and 163.8, pour points of −6 °C and −9 °C, flash points of 178 and 104 °C, and low oxidative stability, respectively. Their properties (mainly very high viscosity indices) make them suitable to be used as base stocks in lubricant formulation industries.

In this study, a novel Chromium steel grade (COIN2) is produced as a result of a new steel composition and an innovative heat treatment. This new steel grade COIN2 evolves from the P92 steel grade and other novel steel grade recently created by the authors (COIN), and represents an enhancement of hardness, tensile properties, and creep behaviour with respect to them, which validates the metallurgical strategy used for further research in order to increase the efficiency of power plants and thus reduce the CO _2 emissions. The characterization reveals a significant property improvement with the innovative thermal treatment, contributing to the production of a novel and more competitive steel grade for creep applications.

The objective of this new paper was to evaluate the enzymatic esterification reaction conducted in supercritical or near-critical CO2, catalyzed by immobilized lipase B from Candida antarctica (CALB). The biocatalyst was prepared through the immobilization of CALB by covalent attachment using chitosan sequentially activated with Glycidol, ethylenediamine (EDA) and glutaraldehyde as support. In order to determine the best operational conditions of the esterification reaction (1: 1 (alcohol–acid); biocatalyst content, 10% (by substrate mass); 45 °C), an experimental design (23) was conducted to evaluate the effects of the following parameters: alcohol to oil molar ratios, reaction time and temperature. The maximum loading of chitosan was 20 mg protein/g support, and the thermal and solvent stability of the new biocatalyst was higher than that of the CALB-GX (by a 26-fold factor), CALB-OC (by a 53-fold factor) and Novozym 435 (by a 3-fold factor). The maximum conversion was 46.9% at a temperature of 29.9 °C, ethanol to oleic acid molar ratio equal to 4.50:1, and a reaction time of 6.5 h. Additionally, the removal of water from the medium, by using molecular sieves, promoted a 16.0% increase in the conversion of oleic acid into ethyl esters.

The lipase from Pseudomonas fluorescens (PFL) has been immobilized on octyl-agarose beads under 16 different conditions (varying pH, ionic strength, buffer, adding some additives) at two different loadings, 1 and 60 mg of enzyme/g of support with the objective of check if this can alter the biocatalyst features. The activity of the biocatalysts versus p-nitrophenyl butyrate and triacetin and their thermal stability were studied. The different immobilization conditions produced biocatalysts with very different features. Considering the extreme cases, using 1 mg/g preparations, PFL stability changed more than fourfolds, while their activities versus pNPB or triacetin varied a 50–60%. Curiously, PFL specific activity versus triacetin was higher using highly enzyme loaded biocatalysts than using lowly loaded biocatalysts (even by a twofold factor). Moreover, stability of the highly loaded preparations was higher than that of the lowly loaded preparations, in many instances even when using 5°C higher temperatures (e.g., immobilized in the presence of calcium, the highly loaded biocatalysts maintained after 24 h at 75°c a 85% of the initial activity, while the lowly loaded preparation maintained only 27% at 70°C). Using the highly loaded preparations, activity of the different biocatalysts versus pNPB varied almost 1.7-folds and versus triacetin 1.9-folds. In this instance, the changes in stability caused by the immobilization conditions were much more significant, some preparations were almost fully inactivated under conditions where the most stable one maintained more than 80% of the initial activity. Results suggested that immobilization conditions greatly affected the properties of the immobilized PFL, partially by individual molecule different conformation (observed using lowly loaded preparations) but much more relevantly using highly loaded preparations, very likely by altering some enzyme-enzyme intermolecular interactions. There is not an optimal biocatalyst considering all parameters. That way, preparation of biocatalysts using this support may be a powerful tool to tune enzyme features, if carefully controlled.

Magnetic-chitosan particles were prepared following three different protocols enabling the preparation of particles with different sizes – nano (Nano-CMag, Micro (Micro-CMag) and Macro (Macro-CMag) – and used for pectinase immobilization and clarification of grape, apple and orange juices. The particle size had a great effect in the kinetic parameters, Nano-CMag biocatalyst presented the highest Vmax value (78.95 mg. min−1), followed by Micro-CMag and Macro-CMag, with Vmax of 57.20 mg.min−1 and 46.03 mg.min−1, respectively. However, the highest thermal stability was achieved using Macro-CMag, that was 8 and 3-times more stable than Nano-CMag and Micro-CMag biocatalysts, respectively. Pectinase immobilized on Macro-CMag kept 85% of its initial activity after 25 batch cycles in orange juice clarification. These results suggested that the chitosan magnetic biocatalysts presented great potential application as clarifying catalysts for the fruit juice industry and the great importance of the chitosan particles preparation on the final biocatalyst properties. Keywords: Chitosan, Magnetic particles, Pectin, Pectinase, Immobilization, Juice clarification

In this paper, we have performed the Lipozyme 435-catalyzed synthesis of xylose oleate in methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) from xylose and oleic acid. The effects of substrates’ molar ratios, reaction temperature, reaction time on esterification rates, and Lipozyme 435 reuse were studied. Results showed that an excess of oleic acid (xylose: oleic acid molar ratio of 1:5) significantly favored the reaction, yielding 98% of xylose conversion and 31% oleic acid conversion after 24 h-reaction (mainly to xylose mono- and dioleate, as confirmed by mass spectrometry). The highest Lipozyme 435 activities occurred between 55 and 70 °C. The predicted Ping Pong Bi Bi kinetic model fitted very well to the experimental data and there was no evidence of inhibitions in the range assessed. The reaction product was purified and presented an emulsion capacity close to that of a commercial sugar ester detergent. Finally, the repeated use of Lipozyme 435 showed a reduction in the reaction yields (by 48 and 19% in the xylose and oleic acid conversions, respectively), after ten 12 h-cycles.

In this work, the effect of different immobilization procedures on the properties of a lipase obtained from the extremophilic microorganism Serratia sp. USBA-GBX-513, which was isolated from Paramo soils of Los Nevados National Natural Park (Colombia), is reported. Different Shepharose beads were used: octyl-(OC), octyl-glyoxyl-(OC-GLX), cyanogen bromide (BrCN)-, and Q-Sepharose. The performance of the different immobilized extremophile lipase from Serratia (ESL) was compared with that of the lipase B from Candida antarctica (CALB). In all immobilization tests, hyperactivation of ESL was observed. The highest hyperactivation (10.3) was obtained by immobilization on the OC support. Subsequently, the thermal stability at pH 5, 7, and 9 and the stability in the presence of 50% (v/v) acetonitrile, 50% dioxane, and 50% tetrahydrofuran solvents at pH 7 and 40 °C were evaluated. ESL immobilized on octyl-Sepharose was the most stable biocatalyst at 90 °C and pH 9, while the most stable preparation at pH 5 was ESL immobilized on OC-GLX-Sepharose supports. Finally, in the presence of 50% (v/v) tetrahydrofuran (THF) or dioxane at 40 °C, ESL immobilized on OC-Sepharose was the most stable biocatalyst, while the immobilized preparation of ESL on Q-Sepharose was the most stable one in 40% (v/v) acetonitrile.

This paper aims to investigate the effects of some salts (NaCl, (NH4)2SO4 and Na2SO4) at pH 5.0, 7.0 and 9.0 on the stability of 13 different immobilized enzymes: five lipases, three proteases, two glycosidases, and one laccase, penicillin G acylase and catalase. The enzymes were immobilized to prevent their aggregation. Lipases were immobilized via interfacial activation on octyl agarose or on glutaraldehyde-amino agarose beads, proteases on glyoxyl agarose or glutaraldehyde-amino agarose beads. The use of high concentrations of salts usually has some effects on enzyme stability, but the intensity and nature of these effects depends on the inactivation pH, nature and concentration of the salt, enzyme and immobilization protocol. The same salt can be a stabilizing or a destabilizing agent for a specific enzyme depending on its concentration, inactivation pH and immobilization protocol. Using lipases, (NH4)2SO4 generally permits the highest stabilities (although this is not a universal rule), but using the other enzymes this salt is in many instances a destabilizing agent. At pH 9.0, it is more likely to find a salt destabilizing effect than at pH 7.0. Results confirm the difficulty of foreseeing the effect of high concentrations of salts in a specific immobilized enzyme.

The performance of the previously optimized magnetic cross-linked enzyme aggregate of Eversa (Eversa-mCLEA) in the enzymatic synthesis of biolubricants by transesterification of waste cooking oil (WCO) with different alcohols has been evaluated. Eversa-mCLEA showed good activities using these alcohols, reaching a transesterification activity with isoamyl alcohol around 10-fold higher than with methanol. Yields of isoamyl fatty acid ester synthesis were similar using WCO or refined oil, confirming that this biocatalyst could be utilized to transform this residue into a valuable product. The effects of WCO/isoamyl alcohol molar ratio and enzyme load on the synthesis of biolubricant were also investigated. A maximum yield of around 90 wt.% was reached after 72 h of reaction using an enzyme load of 12 esterification units/g oil and a WCO/alcohol molar ratio of 1:6 in a solvent-free system. At the same conditions, the liquid Eversa yielded a maximum ester yield of only 34%. This study demonstrated the great changes in the enzyme properties that can be derived from a proper immobilization system. Moreover, it also shows the potential of WCO as a feedstock for the production of isoamyl fatty acid esters, which are potential candidates as biolubricants.

Evidence of plasmids carrying the tetracycline resistance gene, tet(B), was found in the previously reported whole genome sequences of 14 United Kingdom, and 4 Brazilian, isolates of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae. Isolation and sequencing of selected plasmids, combined with comparative sequence analysis, indicated that the four Brazilian isolates all harbor plasmids that are nearly identical to pB1001, a plasmid previously found in Pasteurella multocida isolates from Spain. Of the United Kingdom isolates, 13/14 harbor plasmids that are (almost) identical to pTetHS016 from Haemophilus parasuis. The remaining United Kingdom isolate, MIDG3362, harbors a 12666 bp plasmid that shares extensive regions of similarity with pOV from P. multocida (which carries blaROB-1, sul2, and strAB genes), as well as with pTetHS016. The newly identified multi-resistance plasmid, pM3362MDR, appears to have arisen through illegitimate recombination of pTetHS016 into the stop codon of the truncated strB gene in a pOV-like plasmid. All of the tet(B)-carrying plasmids studied were capable of replicating in Escherichia coli, and predicted origins of replication were identified. A putative origin of transfer (oriT) sequence with similar secondary structure and a nic-site almost identical to that of RP4 was also identified in these plasmids, however, attempts to mobilize them from an RP4-encoding E. coli donor strain were not successful, indicating that specific conjugation machinery may be required.

Quantifying roughness effects on ground surface emissivity is an important step in obtaining high-quality soil moisture products from large-scale passive microwave sensors. In this study, we used a semi-empirical method to evaluate roughness effects (parameterized here by the parameter) on a global scale from AMSR-E (Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for EOS) observations. AMSR-E brightness temperatures at 6.9 GHz obtained from January 2009 to September 2011, together with estimations of soil moisture from the SMOS (Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity) L3 products and of soil temperature from ECMWF’s (European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasting) were used as inputs in a retrieval process. In the first step, we retrieved a parameter (referred to as the parameter) accounting for the combined effects of roughness and vegetation. Then, global MODIS NDVI data were used to decouple the effects of vegetation from those of surface roughness. Finally, global maps of the Hr parameters were produced and discussed. Initial results showed that some spatial patterns in the values could be associated with the main vegetation types (higher values of were retrieved generally in forested regions, intermediate values were obtained over crops and grasslands, and lower values were obtained over shrubs and desert) and topography. For instance, over the USA, lower values of were retrieved in relatively flat regions while relatively higher values were retrieved in hilly regions.

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is an important health problem in the New World affecting civilian and military populations that are frequently exposed in endemic settings. The Peruvian region of Madre de Dios located near the border with Brazil is one of the most endemic CL regions in South America with more than 4,451 reported cases between 2010 and 2015 according to the Peruvian epidemiology directorate. However, little is known regarding the diversity and distribution of sand fly vectors in this region. In this study, we aimed to characterize the sand fly fauna in this endemic setting and identify sand fly species naturally infected with Leishmania possibly involved in pathogen transmission.Sand fly collections were carried out during 2014 and 2015 in the communities of Flor de Acre, Villa Primavera, Mavila and Arca Pacahuara using CDC light traps and Shannon traps. Collected specimens were identified and non-blood-fed females were selected for Leishmania infection screening using kinetoplastid DNA-PCR (kDNA-PCR) and nested Real time PCR for species identification.A total of 10,897 phlebotomines belonging to the genus Lutzomyia (58 species) and Brumptomyia (2 species) were collected. Our study confirmed the widespread distribution and abundance of Lutzomyia (Trichophoromyia) spp. (24%), Lu. whitmani (19.4%) and Lu. yucumensis (15.8%) in the region. Analysis of Shannon diversity index indicates variability in sand fly composition across sites with Villa Primavera presenting the highest sand fly diversity and abundance. Leishmania screening by kDNA-PCR resulted in 45 positive pools collected from Flor de Acre (34 pools), Mavila (10 pools) and Arca Pacahuara (1 pool) and included 14 species: Lu. yucumensis, Lu. aragoi, Lu. sallesi, Lu. sherlocki, Lu. shawi, Lu. walkeri, Lu nevesi, Lu. migonei, Lu. davisi, Lu. carrerai, Lu. hirsuta, Lu. (Trichophoromyia) spp., Lu. llanosmartinsi and Lu. whitmani. Lutzomyia sherlocki, Lu. walkeri and Lu. llanosmartinsi had the highest infection rates (8%, 7% and 6%, respectively). We identified Leishmania guyanensis in two Lu. whitmani pools, and L. braziliensis in two Lu. llanosmartinsi pools and one Lu. davisi pool.Based on our collections there is high sand fly diversity in Madre de Dios, with differences in sand fly abundance and species composition across sites. We identified 14 sand fly species naturally infected with Leishmania spp., having detected natural infection with L. (V.) guyanensis and L. (V.) braziliensis in three sand fly species. These results suggest the presence of several potential vectors that vary in their spatial and geographical distribution, which could explain the high prevalence of CL cases in this region.

Immobilization of enzymes and proteins is a requirement for many industrial enzyme applications, as this facilitates enzyme recovery and reuse. Bearing in mind this necessity, the coupling of immobilization to the improvement of other enzyme features has been pursued by many researchers, and nowadays immobilization is recognized as a tool to improve not only stability, but also enzyme selectivity, specificity, resistance to inhibition or chemical modifiers, etc. To achieve these overall improvements of enzymes’ properties via immobilization, it is necessary to both develop new immobilization systems suitable for these purposes, and to achieve a deeper knowledge of the mechanisms of interaction between enzymes and activated solids. That way, immobilization of enzymes, far being an old-fashioned methodology to just reuse these expensive biocatalysts, is a tool of continuous interest that requires a continuous effort to be exploited in all its potential. This special issue collects 23 papers reporting advances in the field of immobilization of enzymes.[...]

It is well established that the performance of lipase B from Candida antarctica (CALB) as catalyst for esterification reactions may be improved by the use of ultrasound technology or by its immobilization on styrene-divinylbenzene beads (MCI-CALB). The present research evaluated the synthesis of butyl acetate using MCI-CALB under ultrasonic energy, comparing the results against those obtained using the commercial preparation, Novozym 435. The optimal conditions were determined using response surface methodology (RSM) evaluating the following parameters: reaction temperature, substrate molar ratio, amount of biocatalyst, and added water. The optimal conditions for butyl acetate synthesis catalyzed by MCI-CALB were: temperature, 48.8 °C; substrate molar ratio, 3.46:1 alcohol:acid; amount of biocatalyst, 7.5%; and added water 0.28%, both as substrate mass. Under these conditions, 90% of conversion was reached in 1.5 h. In terms of operational stability, MCI-CALB was reused in seven cycles while keeping 70% of its initial activity under ultrasonic energy. The support pore size and resistance are key points for the enzyme activity and stability under mechanical stirring. The use of ultrasound improved both activity and stability because of better homogeneity and reduced mechanical stress to the immobilized system.

A commercial and very hydrophobic styrene-divinylbenzene matrix, MCI GEL® CHP20P, has been compared to octyl-Sepharose® beads as support to immobilize three different enzymes: lipases from Thermomyces lanuginosus (TLL) and from Rhizomucor miehie (RML) and Lecitase® Ultra, a commercial artificial phospholipase. The immobilization mechanism on both supports was similar: interfacial activation of the enzymes versus the hydrophobic surface of the supports. Immobilization rate and loading capacity is much higher using MCI GEL® CHP20P compared to octyl-Sepharose® (87.2 mg protein/g of support using TLL, 310 mg/g using RML and 180 mg/g using Lecitase® Ultra). The thermal stability of all new preparations is much lower than that of the standard octyl-Sepharose® immobilized preparations, while the opposite occurs when the inactivations were performed in the presence of organic co-solvents. Regarding the hydrolytic activities, the results were strongly dependent on the substrate and pH of measurement. Octyl-Sepharose® immobilized enzymes were more active versus p-NPB than the enzymes immobilized on MCI GEL® CHP20P, while RML became 700-fold less active versus methyl phenylacetate. Thus, the immobilization of a lipase on this matrix needs to be empirically evaluated, since it may present very positive effects in some cases while in other cases it may have very negative ones.

In this paper, the SOMOSTA (Soil Moisture Monitoring Station) experiment on the intercomparison of soil moisture monitoring from Global Navigation Satellite System Reflectometry (GNSS-R) signals and passive L-band microwave radiometer observations at the Valencia Anchor Station is introduced. The GNSS-R instrument has an up-looking antenna for receiving direct signals from satellites, and a dual-pol down-looking antenna for receiving LHCP (left-hand circular polarization) and RHCP (right-hand circular polarization) reflected signals from the soil surface. Data were collected from the three different antennas through the two channels of Oceanpal GNSS-R receiver and, in addition, calibration was performed to reduce the impact from the differing channels. Reflectivity was thus measured, and soil moisture could be retrieved. The ESA (European Space Agency)-funded ELBARA-II (ESA L Band Radiometer II) is an L-band radiometer with two channels with 11 MHz bandwidth and respective center frequencies of 1407.5 MHz and 1419.5 MHz. The ELBARAII antenna is a large dual-mode Picket horn that is 1.4 m wide, with a length of 2.7 m with −3 dB full beam width of 12° (±6° around the antenna main direction) and a gain of 23.5 dB. By comparing GNSS-R and ELBARA-II radiometer data, a high correlation was found between the LHCP reflectivity measured by GNSS-R and the horizontal/vertical reflectivity from the radiometer (with correlation coefficients ranging from 0.83 to 0.91). Neural net fitting was used for GNSS-R soil moisture inversion, and the RMSE (Root Mean Square Error) was 0.014 m3/m3. The determination coefficient between the retrieved soil moisture and in situ measurements was R2 = 0.90 for Oceanpal and R2 = 0.65 for Elbara II, and the ubRMSE (Unbiased RMSE) were 0.0128 and 0.0734 respectively. The soil moisture retrievals by both L-band remote sensing methods show good agreement with each other, and their mutual correspondence with in-situ measurements and with rainfall was also good.

ICEApl1 was identified in the whole genome sequence of MIDG2331, a tetracycline-resistant (MIC = 8 mg/L) serovar 8 clinical isolate of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, the causative agent of porcine pleuropneumonia. PCR amplification of virB4, one of the core genes involved in conjugation, was used to identify other A. pleuropneumoniae isolates potentially carrying ICEApl1. MICs for tetracycline were determined for virB4 positive isolates, and shotgun whole genome sequence analysis was used to confirm presence of the complete ICEApl1. The sequence of ICEApl1 is 56083 bp long and contains 67 genes including a Tn10 element encoding tetracycline resistance. Comparative sequence analysis was performed with similar integrative conjugative elements (ICEs) found in other members of the Pasteurellaceae. ICEApl1 is most similar to the 59393 bp ICEHin1056, from Haemophilus influenzae strain 1056. Although initially identified only in serovar 8 isolates of A. pleuropneumoniae (31 from the UK and 1 from Cyprus), conjugal transfer of ICEApl1 to representative isolates of other serovars was confirmed. All isolates carrying ICEApl1 had a MIC for tetracycline of 8 mg/L. This is, to our knowledge, the first description of an ICE in A. pleuropneumoniae, and the first report of a member of the ICEHin1056 subfamily in a non-human pathogen. ICEApl1 confers resistance to tetracycline, currently one of the more commonly used antibiotics for treatment and control of porcine pleuropneumonia.

The effects of deep cryogenic treatment (DCT) on the wear behavior of different tool steels have been widely reported in the scientific literature with uneven results. Some tool steels show a significant improvement in their wear resistance when they have been cryogenically treated while others exhibit no relevant amelioration or even a reduction in their wear resistance. In this study, the influence of DCT was investigated for a grade that has been barely studied in the scientific literature, the AISI A8 air-hardening medium-alloy cold work tool steel. Several aspects were analyzed in the present work: the wear resistance of the alloy, the internal residual stress, and finally the secondary carbide precipitation in terms of lengths and occupied area and its distribution into the microstructure. The results revealed a reduction in the wear rate of about 14% when the AISI A8 was cryogenically treated before tempering. The number of carbides that precipitated into the microstructure was 6% higher for the cryogenically treated samples, increasing from 0.68% to 0.73% of the total area they covered. Furthermore, the distribution of the carbides into the microstructure was more homogenous for the cryogenically treated samples.

Alcalase was immobilized on glyoxyl 4% CL agarose beads. This permitted to have Alcalase preparations with 50% activity retention versus Boc-l-alanine 4-nitrophenyl ester. However, the recovered activity versus casein was under 20% at 50 °C, as it may be expected from the most likely area of the protein involved in the immobilization. The situation was different at 60 °C, where the activities of immobilized and free enzyme became similar. The chemical amination of the immobilized enzyme or the treatment of the enzyme with glutaraldehyde did not produce any significant stabilization (a factor of 2) with high costs in terms of activity. However, the modification with glutaraldehyde of the previously aminated enzyme permitted to give a jump in Alcalase stability (e.g., with most than 80% of enzyme activity retention for the modified enzyme and less than 30% for the just immobilized enzyme in stress inactivation at pH 7 or 9). This preparation could be used in the hydrolysis of casein at pH 9 even at 67 °C, retaining around 50% of the activity after 5 hydrolytic cycles when the just immobilized preparation was almost inactive after 3 cycles. The modified enzyme can be reused in hydrolysis of casein at 45 °C and pH 9 for 6 cycles (6 h) without any decrease in enzyme activity.

The preparation of highly porous magnetic crosslinked aggregates (pm-CLEA) of porcine pancreas lipase (PPL) is reported. Some strategies to improve the volumetric activity of the immobilized biocatalyst were evaluated, such as treatment of PPL with enzyme surface-modifying agents (polyethyleneimine or dodecyl aldehyde), co-aggregation with protein co-feeders (bovine serum albumin and/or soy protein), use of silica magnetic nanoparticles functionalized with amino groups (SMNPs) as separation aid, and starch as pore-making agent. The combination of enzyme surface modification with dodecyl aldehyde, co-aggregation with SMNPs and soy protein, in the presence of 0.8% starch (followed by hydrolysis of the starch with α-amylase), yielded CLEAs expressing high activity (immobilization yield around 100% and recovered activity around 80%), high effectiveness factor (approximately 65% of the equivalent free enzyme activity) and high stability at 40 °C and pH 8.0, i.e., PPL CLEAs co-aggregated with SMNPs/bovine serum albumin or SMNPs/soy protein retained 80% and 50% activity after 10 h incubation, respectively, while free PPL was fully inactivated after 2 h. Besides, highly porous magnetic CLEAs co-aggregated with soy protein and magnetic nanoparticles (pm-SP-CLEAs) showed good performance and reusability in the hydrolysis of tributyrin for five 4h-batches.

To ensure realistic results when modeling welded joints using the finite element method (FEM), it is essential to appropriately characterize the thermo-mechanical behavior of the elastic-plastic Finite Element (FE) models. This task is complex. Any small differences between the actual welded joints and the welded joints based on FEM can be amplified enormously in the presence of nonlinearities. Due to the intense concentration of heat on a small area to create such joints, the regions near the weld line undergo severe thermal cycles. These generate significant angular distortion due mainly to the residual stresses. This paper proposes a method to determine the parameters that are most appropriate for modeling the Butt joint single V-groove welded joint FE models’ thermo-mechanical behavior that were created by the one-pass Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW). The method is based on experimental data, as well as genetic algorithms (GA) with multi-objective functions. As a practical example, the proposed methodology is validated with three different welded joints specimens that are manufactured by different voltages and currents (26 volts and 140 amps, 28 volts and 210 amps, and 35 volts and 260 amps). The electrode orientation, shielding gas flow rate, distance between nozzle and plate, and welding speed were considered to be constant for all of the specimens that were studied, and their values were 80°, 20.0 L/min, 4.0 mm, and 6 mm/s, respectively. The base material was EN 235JR low carbon steel, whereas the weld bead was ER70S-6 for the three specimens that were welded. An agreement between the temperature field and the angular distortion that was obtained by the adjusted FE models and those that were obtained experimentally demonstrates that the proposed methodology may be valid for automatically determining the most appropriate parameters.

Short-chain alkyl esters and sugar esters are widely used in the food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries due to their flavor and emulsifying characteristics, respectively. Both compounds can be synthesized via biocatalysis using lipases. This work aims to compare the performance of commercial lipases covalently attached to dry acrylic beads functionalized with oxirane groups (lipases from Candida antarctica type B—IMMCALB-T2-350, Pseudomonas fluorescens—IMMAPF-T2-150, and Thermomyces lanuginosus—IMMTLL-T2-150) and a home-made biocatalyst (lipase from Pseudomonas fluorescens adsorbed onto silica coated with octyl groups, named PFL-octyl-silica) in the syntheses of short- and long-chain carboxylic acid esters. Esters with flavor properties were synthetized by esterification of acetic and butyl acids with several alcohols (e.g., ethanol, 1-butanol, 1-hexanol, and isoamyl alcohol), and sugar esters were synthetized by esterification of oleic and lauric acids with fructose and lactose. All biocatalysts showed similar performance in the syntheses of short-chain alkyl esters, with conversions ranging from 88.9 to 98.4%. However, in the syntheses of sugar esters the performance of PFL-octyl-silica was almost always lower than the commercial IMMCALB-T2-350, whose conversion was up to 96% in the synthesis of fructose oleate. Both biocatalysts showed high operational stability in organic media, thus having great potential for biotransformations.

En el Chile actual, las diversas memorias sobre el golpe y la dictadura militar siguen en conflicto, cada una buscando instalarse como la versión legitima y verdadera de ese periodo. Para algunos, este momento de nuestra historia marcó el fin del caos de la Unidad popular, mientras que para otros fue la interrupción de una larga tradición democrática que marcó con violencia y desencuentros la convivencia entre los chilenos. Para otros, el golpe y la dictadura militar clausuran el intento de transformación de la sociedad chilena que representó el gobierno de Salvador Allende. Cada una de estas versiones, las que si bien no son las únicas pueden considerarse como dominantes, promueve diversas formas de recordar los hechos del pasado.

The main goal of the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) mission over land surfaces is the production of global maps of soil moisture (SM) and vegetation optical depth (τ) based on multi-angular brightness temperature (TB) measurements at L-band. The operational SMOS Level 2 and Level 3 soil moisture algorithms account for different surface effects, such as vegetation opacity and soil roughness at 4 km resolution, in order to produce global retrievals of SM and τ. In this study, we present an alternative SMOS product that was developed by INRA (Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique) and CESBIO (Centre d’Etudes Spatiales de la BIOsphère). One of the main goals of this SMOS-INRA-CESBIO (SMOS-IC) product is to be as independent as possible from auxiliary data. The SMOS-IC product provides daily SM and τ at the global scale and differs from the operational SMOS Level 3 (SMOSL3) product in the treatment of retrievals over heterogeneous pixels. Specifically, SMOS-IC is much simpler and does not account for corrections associated with the antenna pattern and the complex SMOS viewing angle geometry. It considers pixels as homogeneous to avoid uncertainties and errors linked to inconsistent auxiliary datasets which are used to characterize the pixel heterogeneity in the SMOS L3 algorithm. SMOS-IC also differs from the current SMOSL3 product (Version 300, V300) in the values of the effective vegetation scattering albedo (ω) and soil roughness parameters. An inter-comparison is presented in this study based on the use of ECMWF (European Center for Medium range Weather Forecasting) SM outputs and NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) from MODIS (Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer). A six-year (2010–2015) inter-comparison of the SMOS products SMOS-IC and SMOSL3 SM (V300) with ECMWF SM yielded higher correlations and lower ubRMSD (unbiased root mean square difference) for SMOS-IC over most of the pixels. In terms of τ, SMOS-IC τ was found to be better correlated to MODIS NDVI in most regions of the globe, with the exception of the Amazonian basin and the northern mid-latitudes.