University of Córdoba (Spain)

About: University of Córdoba (Spain) is a education organization based out in Cordova, Spain. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Catalysis. The organization has 12006 authors who have published 22998 publications receiving 537842 citations. The organization is also known as: University of Córdoba (Spain) & Universidad de Córdoba.

Carbon-Increasing Catalytic Strategies for Upgrading Biomass into Energy-Intensive Fuels and Chemicals

Abstract: Lignocellulosic biomass is the most abundant organic carbon source and has received a great deal of interest as renewable and sustainable feedstock for the production of potential biofuels and value-added chemicals with a wide range of designed catalytic systems. However, those natural polymeric materials are composed of short-chain monomers (typically C6 and C5 sugars) and complex lignin molecules containing plenty of oxygen, resulting in products during the downstream processing having low-grade fuel properties or limited applications in organic syntheses. Accordingly, approaches to increase the carbon-chain length or carbon atom number have been developed as crucial catalytic routes for upgrading biomass into energy-intensive fuels and chemicals. The primary focus of this review is to systematically describe the recent examples on the selective synthesis of long-chain oxygenates via different C-C coupling catalytic processes, such as Aldol condensation, hydroalkylation/alkylation, oligomerization, keto...

Immunosenescence and vaccine failure in the elderly

Abstract: An age-related decline in immune responses in the elderly results in greater susceptibility to infection and reduced responses to vaccination. This decline in immune function affects both innate and adaptive immune systems. A meeting of experts in immunology and gerontology in Paris, France, in April 2008, considered current understanding of immunosenescence and its clinical consequences. Essential features of immunosenescence include: reduced natural killer cell cytotoxicity on a per cell basis; reduced number and function of dendritic cells in blood; decreased pools of naive T and B cells; and increases in the number of memory and effector T and B cells. In particular, an accumulation of late differentiated effector T cells, commonly associated with cytomegalovirus infection, contributes to a decline in the capacity of the adaptive immune system to respond to novel antigens. Consequently, vaccine responsiveness is compromised in the elderly, especially frail patients. Strategies to address the effects of immunosenescence include ensuring that seroprotective antibody levels against preventable infectious diseases are maintained throughout adulthood, and improving diet and exercise to address the effects of frailty. New vaccines are being developed, such as intradermal and high-dose vaccines for influenza, to improve the efficacy of immunization in the elderly. In the future, the development and use of markers of immunosenescence to identify patients who may have impaired responses to vaccination, as well as the use of end-points other than antibody titers to assess vaccine efficacy, may help to reduce morbidity and mortality due to infections in the elderly.