Relevant factors for the impact of social media marketing strategies: Empirical study of the internet travel agency sector

Projecte final de carrera fet en col.laboració amb Karlsruher Institut für TechnologieEnglish: Final proyect with the topic "relevant factors for the impact of social media marketing strategies - an empirical study of the internet travel agency sector" at Faculty of Informatics and the chair of management. Supervised by Ferran Sabaté and Antonio Cañabate. Student Philipp Lebherz

Diversität von psychrophilen sulfatreduzierenden und thermophilen sporenbildenden Mikroorganismen im arktischen Meeressediment vor Spitzbergen

Mehr als 90 % des Meeresbodens weist eine Temperatur von unter 4 ° C auf und stellt somit einen wichtigen Lebensraum für marine Mikroorganismen dar. Durch DsrAB-Stammbaumanalyse konnte ein Einblick in die Diversität von sulfatreduzierenden Mikroorganismen (SRM) in diesem Lebensraum gewonnen werden. Der Vergleich zweier mariner Standorte vor der Westküste von Svalbard ergab eine unterschiedliche phylogenetische Zusammensetzung. So bildeten die Mehrheit der gefundenen OTUs (67 % der Sequenzen) des Sediment des nördlicher gelegenen Smeerenburgfjorden (Station J) eine tiefzweigende, monophyletische Gruppe, welche keine Verwandtschaft zu kultivierbaren SRM aufwies, während der Großteil der erhaltenen OTUs (52 % der Sequenzen), isoliert aus dem Sediment von van Mijenfjorden (Station AH) den Deltaproteobacteria zugeordnet werden konnte. Ein weiteres Ziel dieser Arbeit war die Durchführung einer 16S-rRNS-Stammbaumanalyse sowie die Quantifizierung von sporenbildenden, thermophilen Mikroorganismen in arktischem Sediment, isoliert aus zwei Inkubationsreihen bei 50 °C mit, bzw. ohne initialer Zugabe von organischen Substraten. Die Quantifizierung von thermophilen SRM zeigte für beide Inkubationen nach einer anfänglichen Erhöhung der Gen-Abundanz, eine gleichbleibende Kopienzahl der DNS-Matrize für die restliche Inkubation. Die initiale Substratzugabe schien dabei keinen Einfluss auf das Wachstum der SRM, aber auf ihre metabolische Aktivität zu haben. Anhand der phylogenetische Analyse konnte die Mehrheit der Sequenzen (54 %), welche mit allgemeinen 16S-rRNS-Primern amplifiziert wurden, der Klasse der Clostridia zugeordnet werden. 20 % aller Sequenzen gruppierten dabei innerhalb der Gattung Desulfotomaculum, welche Vertreter beinhaltet, die in der Lage sind durch Endosporen extreme Bedingungen zu überdauern. Des Weiteren wurden Sequenzen identifiziert, welche eine hohe Sequenzähnlichkeit zu Vertretern der Gattungen Tepidibacter, Caloranaerobacter und Garciella aufwiesen. Diese Linien beinhalten thermophile Organismen, welche Kohlenhydrate und Proteine zu kurzkettigen freien Fettsäuren abbauen und somit SRM Elektronendonoren zu Verfügung stellen. Einige Vertreter dieser Linien sind mit Ölreservoirs oder heißen marinen Quellen assoziiert, welche möglicherweise den Ursprung der thermophilen Organismen in diesem Habitat darstellen.Since 90 % of the marine sediment has a temperature below 4 °C it is a very important habitat for microorganisms. It was possible to gain insight into the diversity of sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB) in this habitat by analysing DsrAB-sequences. The comparison of two different fjord sediments on the west coast of Svalbard in the Arctic showed differences in the phylogeny of SRB. Most (67 %) of the sequences obtained from the northern Smeerenburgfjorden sediment (station J), showed no affinity to cultivated SRB and generated a monophyletic, deeply branching group within the tree. However, the majority the sequences (52 %) obtained from sediment of the southern van Mijenfjorden (Station AH) were related to the Deltaproteobacteria. Another aim of this study was the phylogenetic analysis and quantification of thermophilic, spore-forming microorganisms obtained from two incubations of arctic sediment at 50 °C. Volatile fatty acids (VFA) were added to one incubation at the beginning of the experiment. The quantification of the SRB showed an increase of 16S-rRNA gene abundance at the beginning of incubation. After this the gene abundance remained constant. Initial adding VFA seemed to have no effect on the growth rate but on the metabolic activity of the bacteria. The phylogenetic analysis showed that most of the sequences (54 %) - amplified with general 16S-rRNS-primers - belong to the class Clostridia. 20 % of all sequences grouped within the genus Desulfotomaculum, which are able to form endospores and are assumed to cause the increase of sulphate reduction at 50 °C. Moreover, sequences where identified which show a high similarity to bacteria of the genera Tepidibacter, Caloranaerobacter and Garciella. These lineages contain thermophilic microorganisms able to catabolize carbohydrates and proteins to VFA that serve as electron-donors for SRB. Some microorganisms of these genera are associated with oil reservoirs or hydrothermal vents, which may serve as sources for the thermophilic population in the arctic sediment

Relevant factors for the impact of social media marketing strategies: Empirical study of the internet travel agency sector

Projecte final de carrera fet en col.laboració amb Karlsruher Institut für TechnologieEnglish: Final proyect with the topic "relevant factors for the impact of social media marketing strategies - an empirical study of the internet travel agency sector" at Faculty of Informatics and the chair of management. Supervised by Ferran Sabaté and Antonio Cañabate. Student Philipp Lebherz

Gene transfer of wild-type apoA-I and apoA-I Milano reduce atherosclerosis to a similar extent

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The atheroprotective effects of systemic delivery of either apolipoprotein A-I (wtApoA-I) or the naturally occurring mutant ApoA-I Milano (ApoA-I_M) have been established in animal and human trials, but direct comparison studies evaluating the phenotype of ApoA-I or ApoAI-Milano knock-in mice or bone marrow transplantated animals with selectively ApoA-I or ApoAI-Milano transduced macrophages give conflicting results regarding the superior performance of either one. We therefore sought to compare the two forms of apoA-I using liver-directed somatic gene transfer in hypercholesterinemic mice – a model which is most adequately mimicking the clinical setting.</p> <p>Methods and results</p> <p>Vectors based on AAV serotype 8 (AAV2.8) encoding wtApoA-I, ApoA-I_Mor green fluorescent protein (GFP) as control were constructed. LDL receptor deficient mice were fed a Western Diet. After 8 weeks the AAV vectors were injected, and 6 weeks later atherosclerotic lesion size was determined by aortic <it>en face </it>analysis. Expression of wtApoA-I reduced progression of atherosclerosis by 32% compared with control (p = 0.02) and of ApoA-I_Mby 24% (p = 0.04). There was no significant difference between the two forms of ApoA-I in inhibiting atherosclerosis progression.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Liver-directed AAV2.8-mediated gene transfer of wtApoA-I and ApoA-I_Meach significantly reduced atherosclerosis progression to a similar extent.</p

Long-term retinal PEDF overexpression prevents neovascularization in a murine adult model of retinopathy

Neovascularization associated with diabetic retinopathy (DR) and other ocular disorders is a leading cause of visual impairment and adult-onset blindness. Currently available treatments are merely palliative and offer temporary solutions. Here, we tested the efficacy of antiangiogenic gene transfer in an animal model that mimics the chronic progression of human DR. Adeno-associated viral (AAV) vectors of serotype 2 coding for antiangiogenic Pigment Epithelium Derived Factor (PEDF) were injected in the vitreous of a 1.5 month-old transgenic model of retinopathy that develops progressive neovascularization. A single intravitreal injection led to long-term production of PEDF and to a striking inhibition of intravitreal neovascularization, normalization of retinal capillary density, and prevention of retinal detachment. This was parallel to a reduction in the intraocular levels of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF). Normalization of VEGF was consistent with a downregulation of downstream effectors of angiogenesis, such as the activity of Matrix Metalloproteinases (MMP) 2 and 9 and the content of Connective Tissue Growth Factor (CTGF). These results demonstrate long-term efficacy of AAV-mediated PEDF overexpression in counteracting retinal neovascularization in a relevant animal model, and provides evidence towards the use of this strategy to treat angiogenesis in DR and other chronic proliferative retinal disorders

A922 Sequential measurement of 1 hour creatinine clearance (1-CRCL) in critically ill patients at risk of acute kidney injury (AKI)

Meeting abstrac

Interleukin-6 predicts inflammation-induced increase of Glucagon-like peptide-1 in humans in response to cardiac surgery with association to parameters of glucose metabolism

Objective: Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) is an incretin hormone, which gets secreted in response to nutritional stimuli from the gut mediating glucose-dependent insulin secretion. Interestingly, GLP-1 was recently found to be also increased in response to inflammatory stimuli in an interleukin 6 (IL-6) dependent manner in mice. The relevance of this finding to humans is unknown but has been suggested by the presence of high circulating GLP-1 levels in critically ill patients that correlated with markers of inflammation. This study was performed to elucidate, whether a direct link exists between inflammation and GLP-1 secretion in humans. Research design and methods: We enrolled 22 non-diabetic patients scheduled for cardiac surgery as a reproducible inflammatory stimulus with repeated blood sampling before and after surgery. Results: Mean total circulating GLP-1 levels significantly increased in response to surgery from 25.5 +/- 15.6 pM to 51.9 +/- 42.7 pM which was not found in a control population. This was preceded by an early rise of IL6, which was significantly associated with GLP-1 under inflammatory but not basal conditions. Using repeated measure ANCOVA, IL6 best predicted the observed kinetics of GLP-1, followed by blood glucose concentrations and cortisol plasma levels. Furthermore, GLP-1 plasma concentrations significantly predicted endogenous insulin production as assessed by C-peptide concentrations over time, while an inverse association was found for insulin infusion rate. Conclusion: We found GLP-1 secretion to be increased in response to inflammatory stimuli in humans, which was associated to parameters of glucose metabolism and best predicted by IL6