From purposeless residues to biocomposites: A hyphae made connection.

Biocomposites create attractive alternatives to match packing needs with available agricultural residues. Growing native fungal strains developed a mycelium biocomposite over a mixture of Peach Palm Fruit Peel Flour and Sugar Cane Bagasse Wet Dust. A methodology was proposed to analyze their main characteristics: 1) morphological, 2) chemical, and 3) biodegradability. 1) SEM analysis evidenced the structural change of the dried vs pressed material and mycelium morphology for both species. 2) The ratio lignin:carbohydrate showed that P. ostreatus degrades the cellulose-hemicellulose fraction of the substrate at a higher rate than T. elegans, and 3) the curve BMP indicated that these materials are readily biodegradable with a maximum yield of 362,50 mL biogas/g VS. An innovative tangible valorization strategy based on mass balances is also presented: from just 50 kg of peel flour, up to 1840 units can be manufactured, which could pave the way for a more sustainable future.

Effect of Low-Dose Radiotherapy on the Circulating Levels of Paraoxonase-1-Related Variables and Markers of Inflammation in Patients with COVID-19 Pneumonia.

The aim of our study was to investigate the changes produced by low-dose radiotherapy (LDRT) in the circulating levels of the antioxidant enzyme paraoxonase-1 (PON1) and inflammatory markers in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia treated with LDRT and their interactions with clinical and radiological changes. Data were collected from the IPACOVID prospective clinical trial (NCT04380818). The study included 30 patients treated with a whole-lung dose of 0.5 Gy. Clinical follow-up, as well as PON1-related variables, cytokines, and radiological parameters were analyzed before LDRT, at 24 h, and 1 week after treatment. Twenty-five patients (83.3%) survived 1 week after LDRT. Respiratory function and radiological images improved in survivors. Twenty-four hours after LDRT, PON1 concentration significantly decreased, while transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-ß1) increased with respect to baseline. One week after LDRT, patients had increased PON1 activities and lower PON1 and TGF-ß1 concentrations compared with 24 h after LDRT, PON1 specific activity increased, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and C-reactive protein (CRP) decreased, and CD4+ and CD8+ cells increased after one week. Our results highlight the benefit of LDRT in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia and it might be mediated, at least in part, by an increase in serum PON1 activity at one week and an increase in TGF-ß1 concentrations at 24 h.

First and second waves of coronavirus disease-19: A comparative study in hospitalized patients in Reus, Spain.

Many countries have seen a two-wave pattern in reported cases of coronavirus disease-19 during the 2020 pandemic, with a first wave during spring followed by the current second wave in late summer and autumn. Empirical data show that the characteristics of the effects of the virus do vary between the two periods. Differences in age range and severity of the disease have been reported, although the comparative characteristics of the two waves still remain largely unknown. Those characteristics are compared in this study using data from two equal periods of 3 and a half months. The first period, between 15th March and 30th June, corresponding to the entire first wave, and the second, between 1st July and 15th October, corresponding to part of the second wave, still present at the time of writing this article. Two hundred and four patients were hospitalized during the first period, and 264 during the second period. Patients in the second wave were younger and the duration of hospitalization and case fatality rate were lower than those in the first wave. In the second wave, there were more children, and pregnant and post-partum women. The most frequent signs and symptoms in both waves were fever, dyspnea, pneumonia, and cough, and the most relevant comorbidities were cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and chronic neurological diseases. Patients from the second wave more frequently presented renal and gastrointestinal symptoms, were more often treated with non-invasive mechanical ventilation and corticoids, and less often with invasive mechanical ventilation, conventional oxygen therapy and anticoagulants. Several differences in mortality risk factors were also observed. These results might help to understand the characteristics of the second wave and the behaviour and danger of SARS-CoV-2 in the Mediterranean area and in Western Europe. Further studies are needed to confirm our findings.

Alkaline hydrogen peroxide pretreatment of softwood: hemicellulose degradation pathways.

This study investigated softwood hemicelluloses degradation pathways during alkaline hydrogen peroxide (AHP) pretreatment of Douglas fir. It was found that glucomannan is much more susceptible to alkaline pretreatment than xylan. Organic acids, including lactic, succinic, glycolic and formic acid are the predominant products from glucomannan degradation. At low treatment temperature (90°C), a small amount of formic acid is produced from glucomannan, whereas glucomannan degradation to lactic acid and succinic acid becomes the main reactions at 140°C and 180°C. The addition of H2O2 during alkaline pretreatment of D. fir led to a significant removal of lignin, which subsequently facilitated glucomannan solubilization. However, H2O2 has little direct effect on the glucomannan degradation reaction. The main degradation pathways involved in glucomannan conversion to organics acids are elucidated. The results from this study demonstrate the potential to optimize pretreatment conditions to maximize the value of biomass hemicellulose.

Sentimientos: encuentro entre la neurobiología y la ética según Antonio Damasio / Feelings: meeting point between neurobiology and ethics according to Antonio Damasio

Este artículo tiene como objetivo realizar una revisión sintética del aporte teórico de Antonio Damasio acerca de los sentimientos (“feelings”) como punto de encuentro entre la neurobiología y la ética y las implicaciones de esta propuesta para la educación y el bienestar humano. El artículo se basa principalmente en su tetralogía El error de Descartes, Sentir lo que sucede, En busca de Spinoza y El Cerebro Creó al Hombre, y en algunos de sus artículos científicos. Se presenta inicialmente la forma como ocurre, dentro de su marco teórico, la génesis de las emociones y los sentimientos, de la mente y de la conciencia, y luego se expone la teoría del marcador somático (“somatic marker”); finalmente, se presenta su propuesta del encuentro entre neurobiología y ética y algunas de sus consecuencias filosóficas y pedagógicas.

Efecto de la Ciclosporina A y el Verapamil en Pancreas Endocrino de ratas / Effect of cyclosporin A and verapamil in the rats, endocrine pancreas

Se demostró el efecto tóxico de la ciclosporina A (10 mg/kg) sobre las células ß-pancreáticas, al ser suministrada diariamente durante una semana a ratas Wistar, así como la reducción de su toxicidad por tratamiento conjunto de verapamil (1 mg/kg). El tratamiento con ciclosporina A produjo hiperglicemia, disminuyó la tolerancia a la glucosa y los niveles de insulina, lo que ocasionó una reducción del incremento de peso en las ratas. Desde el punto de vista ultraestructural, se observó desorden y destrucción celular. Se concluyó que el tratamiento con ciclosporina A y verapamil simultáneamente evitó los efectos tóxicos de la ciclosporina A(AU)