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Salicylamide derivative JMX0312 protects immunosuppressed Syrian hamsters against adenovirus lethal challenge
No full textDespite the fact that human adenovirus (HAdV) causes severe infections in immunosuppressed and immunocompetent individuals, especially in children, there is currently no specific treatment for these infections. Previously we reported a new salicylamide analogue, JMX0312, as a potent inhibitor of HAdV infection with low cytotoxicity in vitro. Here we evaluate the in vivo efficacy and safety of this molecule in the immunosuppressed Syrian hamster model of HAdV infection. JMX0312 administration at a dose of 6.25 mg/kg did not affect the body weight of the animals, and reduced the viral load in liver and blood in a similar way than cidofovir. Also, JMX0312 reduced the mortality of the animals, although in a lesser extent than cidofovir, a drug used to treat these infections that must be subject to rigorous monitoring due to its high toxicity and whose used is not approved in children. Our findings highlight the potential of this new antiviral agent for the treatment of HAdV infections, paving the way for future pre-clinical and clinical trial development towards a safer and more effective treatment against HAdV-associated infections.This study was funded by Instituto de Salud Carlos III (DTS20/00010), Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, Spain; by the Subdirección General de Redes y Centros de Investigación Cooperativa, Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad; and by CIBERINFEC - Consorcio Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación and Unión Europea – NextGenerationEU (MEPI and JSC [CB21/13/00006]. Dr. Jia Zhou has no connections with the above-mentioned funding resources in Spain, and is partly supported by the John D. Stobo, M.D. Distinguished Chair Endowment Fund, and Edith & Robert Zinn Chair in Drug Discovery Endowment Fund.Peer reviewe
Stellar populations from H-band VLT spectroscopy in a sample of seven active galaxies
No full textContext. The relationship between an active galactic nucleus (AGN) and its host galaxy is still far from being understood. Properties of the host galaxies of Seyfert nuclei, such as luminosity concentration, morphological type, metallicity, and age of the stellar population, are expected to be related with nuclear activity – either at the epoch of galaxy formation or at the present day via feeding of the central black hole.Aims. In this paper, we investigate whether stellar ages and metallicities are linked to the activity within the nucleus in a sample of AGNs of various types.Methods. Our sample includes seven AGNs, from Seyfert 1 to LINERs, observed with VLT/ISAAC and VLT/SINFONI. Based on an inverse method using a stellar library, we analysed H band infrared spectra, in a wavelength region devoid of emission lines, at a spectral resolution of ≈3000, in the few central 100 pc. Hubble Space Telescope images were used to visualise the regions defined in each galaxy.Results. For each galaxy, we give the results of the spectral synthesis, in particular the percentages of the stellar, power law, and black-body continua, and the percentages of various stellar types that account for the stellar lines.Conclusions. Out of the seven galaxies, three show strong and recent star formation in the inner 100 pc, while no star formation is detected in the three genuine Seyfert 2 galaxies. Beyond a radius of 100 pc, all show more or less recent star formation. Moreover, we can conclude that the star formation history of the inner nucleus is highly heterogeneous. © The Authors 2025We thank the referee for comments and suggestions that helped us to improve the paper. I.M. acknowledges financial support from the State Agency for Research of the Spanish MCIU, through the “Center of Excellence Severo Ochoa” award to the Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (CEX2021-001131-S), and through PID2022-140871NB-C21. F.D. acknowledges long-term support from CNES. This research has made use of the NASA/IPAC Infrared Science Archive, which is funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and operated by the California Institute of Technology, the NASA’s Astrophysics Data System bibliographic services, and of the Centre de Données de Strasbourg. We gratefully thank Sandra Raimundo who provided us with the VLT-SINFONI spectra of MCG-6-30-15.With funding from the Spanish government through the "Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence" accreditation (CEX2021-001131-S).Peer reviewe
Selección y evolución en co-cultivos de levaduras enológicas
No full textTrabajo presentado en Mikrobiogune 2024, celebrado en la Universidad del País Vasco el 10 de diciembre de 2024Saccharomyces cerevisiae es la especie de levadura que domina la mayor parte de las fermentaciones enológicas espontáneas, y ha sido la única especie utilizada industrialmente como cultivo iniciador hasta principios de este siglo. Sin embargo, la fermentación del mosto de uva no depende únicamente de esta especie, tanto porque el sustrato de fermentación contiene numerosas especies de levaduras, como por el creciente uso de cultivos iniciadores de levaduras alternativas, en combinación con S. cerevisiae. En este contexto, el estudio de las interacciones entre diferentes especies de levaduras adquiere relevancia biotecnológica y académica.
En este trabajo se describen dos aproximaciones metodológicas para la identificación de potenciales mecanismos de interacción entre especies de levaduras. Ambas se basan en la competición entre cepas de S. cerevisiae en presencia o ausencia de otras especies. En la primera de ellas compiten cepas derivadas de S. cerevisiae BY4743 (diploide de laboratorio), cada una de ellas con una deleción en homozigosis de un gen no esencial (colección YKO, con unos 5000 aislados). Cada una de estas cepas contiene además secuencias únicas (barcode) que la diferencian en el conjunto de todas ellas. Se han realizado cultivos de esta colección en presencia o ausencia de Torulaspora delbrueckii, Hanseniaspora uvarum, Lachancea thermotolerans o Metschnikowia pulcherrima. Mediante la secuenciación de los barcodes (BAR-Seq), se ha comparado la composición de cepas de S. cerevisiae tras diez generaciones en cada una de las condiciones. La otra aproximación consiste en el desarrollo de evoluciones experimentales de una cepa enológica de S. cerevisiae frente a T. delbrueckii, H. uvarum, M. pulcherrima o Candida zemplinina. Todos los experimentos se realizan en mosto natural reconstituido hasta alcanzar más de 200 generaciones de evolución.
Los experimentos de competición de mutantes apuntan a genes de la ruta de asimilación de sulfato, en concreto los genes (MET3, MET14, MET16, MET5) además de MET17 (necesario para la síntesis de L-cisteína), como genes importantes para la supervivencia en presencia de T. delbrueckii.Por otro lado, al cabo de unas 100 generaciones de evolución experimental se aprecia un incremento de morfologías de colonia en los cultivos en presencia de M. pulcherrima o Candida zemplinina; incluyendo una frecuencia aumentada de mutantes defectivos en respiración (petite). Actualmente seguimos completando los experimentos y analizando resultados.Este trabajo ha sido financiado por el Gobierno de España a través de la Ayuda PID2022-136815OB-I00 y contrato predoctoral AMM financiados por MCIN/AEI/ 10.13039/501100011033 y por ¿FEDER Una manera de hacer Europa¿, y PRE2020-093420 financiada por MCIN/AEI/ 10.13039/501100011033 y por ¿FSE Invierte en tu futuro¿ (contrato predoctoral de MMO).Peer reviewe
Influencia de los Procesos Hipertérmicos en el Crecimiento de Películas Delgadas Nanocolumnares a Ángulo Rasante
No full textResumen del trabajo presentado en el XVII Congreso Nacional de Materiales CNMAT 2024, celebrado en Málaga del 25 al 28 de junio de 202
Optical control of nanodevices using metal-to insulator-transition and nanostructures
No full textTrabajo presentado en la 11th Conference From Solid State to Biophysics (2024), celebrada en Cavtat (Croacia), del 8 al 15 de junio de 2024We present here a study of local heating for the control of the physical properties of nanomaterials and the performance of nanodevices. Almost all the physical properties of materials (electrical, magnetic, optic or mechanical) are temperature dependent. Therefore, inducing local heating in nanometric regions allow to modify locally different properties as resistivity, magnetization, refraction index or induce mechanical stress via thermal dilatation. While the dependence of physical properties with temperature is normally monotonous and soft, some materials exhibit phase transitions where physical properties changes significantly in a small temperature interval. At these phase transitions, strong variations of the physical properties can be induced with a small change of temperature. In addition, as many external stimuli can induce local heating, this method provides a path to couple via local temperature different properties (e.g change magnetization upon illumination, change of transmittance with magnetic fields, etc) in materials that do not show this coupling naturally.
Up to now, local heating has been used mostly to modify the physical properties of individual nanostructures. Here, we explore the use local heating with ensembles of nanostructures to create patterns of heated regions giving rise to regions with modified physical properties that act as nanodevices. In this way, it would be possible to switch on / off via local heating electrical circuits, magnets or waveguides. Using different types of nanostructures that can be selected locally, we will address the activation of different nanodevices at the same region of space as desired. We face here the fabrication of these devices, methods for measurement of the local temperature, optimization of the control of the physical properties and performance of the devices
Architecture in Kharaysin from the late PPNA to the middle PPNB
No full textThe study of the architectural remains discovered at the Early Neolithic site of Kharaysin (Zarqa, Jordan) casts light on the evolution of building techniques in the Jordan Highlands from the late 10th millennium, at the end of the PPNA, to the mid-8th millennium cal BC, during the Middle PPNB. Five main architectural levels are identified. Oval sunken dwellings were built at the end of 10th and the beginning of the 9th millennia cal BC. In ca. 8800 cal BC, important changes are observed in a transitional period, with the first indications of square architecture, the use of lime plaster floors and the construction of large rooms (30m). In 8400–8300 cal BC, during the Early PPNB, square agglomerated houses with rounded corners and lime plaster floors were built, though one of the dwellings, probably with special symbolic meaning, is perfectly square in shape. At the end of the 9th millennium, extended square houses start to be the standard architecture at the site, as can be observed all over the Fertile Crescent during the PPNB. Ca. 7800 cal BC, lines of square houses were built in parallel rows, perpendicular to the natural slope, as it is also observed in 'Ain Ghazal
Naked-Eye Molecular Testing for the Detection of Xylella fastidiosa in Mallorca (Balearic Island) Almond Orchards by Colorimetric LAMP
No full textBeyond Xylella, Integrated Management Strategies for Mitigating Xylella fastidiosa Impact in Europe (BeXyl) (Grant Agreement 101060593). Partner/Coordinador principal: Blanca B. Landa del Castillo, Investigadora Científica del Instituto de Agricultura Sostenible (IAS-CSIC).Xylella fastidiosa (Xf) is a quarantine pathogen heavily affecting economically important crops worldwide. Different sequence types (STs) belonging to Xf subspecies are present in various areas of Spain, including the Balearic Islands, and cause the almond leaf scorch disease (ALSD) in Prunus spp. The increased demand for rapid tests for early detection of the pathogen should enforce strict containment measures. Molecular detection through isothermal amplification reactions enables simplified instrumentation and the use of raw nucleic acid extracts. Colorimetric loop-mediated isothermal amplification (cLAMP) was applied to rapidly detect Xf in naturally infected almonds on Mallorca Island (Spain), using a quick crude sap extraction without DNA purification. Following tissue homogenization, an alkaline treatment for target DNA extraction was conducted before the cLAMP test. The cLAMP assay was able to detect up to 100 CFU/mL of the Xf bacterial suspension diluted in healthy almond sap. The same crude extracts used in the cLAMP test were also tested by qPCR. An overall positive agreement of about 47% was observed between the results of the two techniques, while a decrease in cLAMP sensitivity was evident as the bacterial titer declined in infected plants over Cq > 26–27. This study shows the potential of the cLAMP application as a rapid and low-cost point-of-care diagnostic method for the timely monitoring of Xf directly in the field.This research was conducted through a joint action of the EU’s Horizon 2020 Projects No. 887281. ‘Biovexo; Biocontrol of Xylella and its vector in olive trees for integrated pest management’ (GA n. 887281), ‘FREE@POC; Towards an instrument-FREE future of molecular diagnostics at the Point-Of-Care’ (GA n. 862840) and also partially supported by ‘BEXYL’ (Beyond Xylella, Integrated Management Strategies for Mitigating Xylella fastidiosa impact in Europe; grant number 101060593).Peer reviewe
