Phylogeny, Resistome, and Virulome of Escherichia coli Causing Biliary Tract Infections

Escherichia coli is the most frequent Gram-negative bacilli involved in intra-abdominal infections. However, despite high mortality rates associated with biliary tract infections due to E. coli, there is no study focusing on this pathogen. In this study, we have characterized a group of 15 E. coli isolates obtained from 12 patients with biliary tract infections. Demographic and clinical data of the patients were recovered. Phylogeny, resistome, and virulome analysis through whole genome sequencing and biofilm formation were investigated. Among the 15 E. coli isolates, no predominant sequence type (ST) was identified, although 3 of them belonged to unknown STs (20%). Resistance to ampicillin, amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, cotrimoxazole, and quinolones was more present in these isolates; whereas, third and fourth generation cephalosporins, carbapenems, amikacin, tigecycline, and colistin were highly active. Moreover, high diversity of virulence factors has been found, with sfa, fimH, and gad the most frequently detected genes. Interestingly, 26.6% of the E. coli isolates were high biofilm-producers. Altogether, our data characterized for the first time E. coli isolates associated with biliary tract infections in terms of genomic relationship, resistome, and virulome.España, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Subdirección General de Redes y Centros de Investigación Cooperativa, Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (CP15/00132)España, Plan Nacional de I+D+i 2013-2016 and Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Subdirección General de Redes y Centros de Investigación Cooperativa, Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, Spanish Network for Research in Infectious Diseases (RD16/0016/0009

Bibliografía [Cuadernos del Instituto Antonio de Nebrija de estudios sobre la Universidad. 2002, nº 5]

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Aprenentatge autònom de l'alumne i eines per al docent mitjançant l'ús de GeoGebra. Assignatures de Matemàtiques I i II dels Graus d’ADE i d’ECO de la Universitat de Barcelona

Línies d’innovació vinculades: 216231 - Moodle / 201995 - Avaluació formativa / 235623 - Project-based learning, PBL / 020691 - Estudi de casos / 025424 – SimulacionsL’objectiu del nostre projecte ha estat millorar la docència de les assignatures de Matemàtiques dels Graus d’Economia (ECO) i d’Administració i Direcció d’Empreses (ADE), introduint a la docència el software gratuït GeoGebra. El projecte va sorgir en el context de la implantació dels graus, en un moment en què vèiem que ja no podríem seguir fent les classes de pràctiques a les aules d’informàtica amb el programa Derive, que disposaríem de menys hores de docència i que a les aules només hi hauria un ordinador per al professor i un canó de projecció. En aquelles circumstàncies vam pensar que la capacitat de GeoGebra per donar vida a funcions i vectors podia ajudar-nos a explicar els conceptes teòrics de les assignatures de Matemàtiques d’una manera tan atractiva com intuïtiva. Hem elaborat un conjunt de materials (applets) per a les assignatures de Matemàtiques I i Matemàtiques II dels graus d’ADE i d’ECO. Gràcies a la plataforma Moodle hem pogut posar aquestes applets a disposició d’alumnes i professors

Bibliografía [Cuadernos del Instituto Antonio de Nebrija de estudios sobre la Universidad. 2004, nº 7]

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Enfoca la física : una revisió amb història

A la portada: Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, BarcelonatechDescripció del recurs: 15 abril 2014Quan tot just ens acaben d'explicar una cosa, aquesta no acaba de tenir gaire sentit. No s'acaba d'enfocar. I, molt sovint, la falta d'enfocament dura anys. Aquest llibre voldria ajudar a tothom a recol·locar i entendre moltes coses. A fer que, com es diu popularment, tothom arribi a la universitat amb una bona base. I ho vol fer posant-nos en el mateix lloc d'aquells que van descobrir les coses per primera vegada. És una revisió -potser algú en diria repàs-, a partir de contes i d'històries de la història. Una revisió per tal que qualsevol persona pugui enfocar i donar sentit a tot el conei-xement que ha d'haver acumulat abans de començar la física de grau. Des de les regles de tres fins a les integrals i els vectors. L'esperança és que la història t'ajudi a recordar... i a enfocar. I és que, en el fons, tot aprenentatge té una història, i tota ciència és un gran aprenentatge

La protección de la mujer frente al mobbing y el acoso sexual laboral

En el ámbito laboral existen diferentes tipos de riesgos: los físicos, a los que se suele atender de manera principal, y otros de carácter psicológico y moral. Hoy en día la salud de los trabajadores, en general , y la de las mujeres trabajadoras, en particular, se ve amenazada por la presencia de estos riesgos, siendo uno de los principales peligros el acoso en sus distintas variantes: sexual, moral, por razón de sexo, etc., que a su vez pueden provenir del propio empresario, pero también de otros trabajadores de la empresa.. Es por esto que existen diferentes normativas y protocolos con intención de proteger a la mujer, que, como ya he dicho, en muchas ocasiones va a ser la principal víctima de este tipo de conductas. Aunque la labor preventiva es una de las claves, es evidente que en muchas ocasiones no se van a poder evitar estos comportamientos, por lo que el ordenamiento jurídico también ofrece una serie de mecanismos de tutela a quienes han sufrido acoso en el medio laboral. A lo largo de este trabajo se van a analizar el concepto y los distintos tipos de acoso, las normas y medidas preventivas para evitar estos daños, así como los diferentes mecanismos de tutela que se le ofrecen a la víctima, junto con las sanciones y consecuencias jurídicas para el agresor.<br /

Surfactant-Triggered Molecular Gate Tested on Different Mesoporous Silica Supports for Gastrointestinal Controlled Delivery

[EN] In recent decades, the versatility of mesoporous silica particles and their relevance to develop controlled release systems have been demonstrated. Within them, gated materials able to modulate payload delivery represent great advantages. However, the role played by the porous matrix in this kind of systems is scarce. In this work, different mesoporous silica materials (MCM-41, MCM-48, SBA-15 and UVM-7) are functionalized with oleic acid as a molecular gate. All systems are fully characterized and their ability to confine the entrapped cargo and release it in the presence of bile salts is validated with release assays and in vitro digestion experiments. The cargo release profile of each synthesized support is studied, paying attention to the inorganic scaffold. Obtained release profiles fit to Korsmeyer-Peppas model, which explains the differences among the studied supports. Based on the results, UVM-7 material was the most appropriate system for duodenal delivery and was tested in an in vivo model of the Wistar rat. Payload confinement and its complete release after gastric emptying is achieved, establishing the possible use of mesoporous silica particles as protection and direct release agents into the duodenum and, hence, demonstrating that these systems could serve as an alternative to the administration methods employed until now.This research was funded by the Spanish Government (projects RTI2018-100910-B-C41 and RTI2018-101599-B-C22-AR (MCUI/FEDER, EU)) and the Generalitat Valenciana (project PROMETEO/2018/024 and ACIF/2016/023 grant).Poyatos-Racionero, E.; González-Álvarez, I.; González-Álvarez, M.; Martínez-Máñez, R.; Marcos Martínez, MD.; Bernardos Bau, A.; Aznar, E. (2020). Surfactant-Triggered Molecular Gate Tested on Different Mesoporous Silica Supports for Gastrointestinal Controlled Delivery. Nanomaterials. 10(7):1-18. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano10071290S118107Pérez-Esteve, É., Ruiz-Rico, M., de la Torre, C., Llorca, E., Sancenón, F., Marcos, M. D., … Barat, J. M. (2016). Stability of different mesoporous silica particles during an in vitro digestion. Microporous and Mesoporous Materials, 230, 196-207. doi:10.1016/j.micromeso.2016.05.004Di Pasqua, A. J., Sharma, K. K., Shi, Y.-L., Toms, B. B., Ouellette, W., Dabrowiak, J. C., & Asefa, T. (2008). Cytotoxicity of mesoporous silica nanomaterials. Journal of Inorganic Biochemistry, 102(7), 1416-1423. doi:10.1016/j.jinorgbio.2007.12.028Izquierdo-Barba, I., Colilla, M., Manzano, M., & Vallet-Regí, M. (2010). In vitro stability of SBA-15 under physiological conditions. Microporous and Mesoporous Materials, 132(3), 442-452. doi:10.1016/j.micromeso.2010.03.025Arruebo, M. (2011). Drug delivery from structured porous inorganic materials. WIREs Nanomedicine and Nanobiotechnology, 4(1), 16-30. doi:10.1002/wnan.132Vallet-Regí, M., Balas, F., & Arcos, D. (2007). Mesoporous Materials for Drug Delivery. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 46(40), 7548-7558. doi:10.1002/anie.200604488Descalzo, A. B., Martínez-Máñez, R., Sancenón, F., Hoffmann, K., & Rurack, K. (2006). The Supramolecular Chemistry of Organic–Inorganic Hybrid Materials. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 45(36), 5924-5948. doi:10.1002/anie.200600734Shang, L., Bian, T., Zhang, B., Zhang, D., Wu, L.-Z., Tung, C.-H., … Zhang, T. (2013). Graphene-Supported Ultrafine Metal Nanoparticles Encapsulated by Mesoporous Silica: Robust Catalysts for Oxidation and Reduction Reactions. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 53(1), 250-254. doi:10.1002/anie.201306863Taguchi, A., & Schüth, F. (2005). Ordered mesoporous materials in catalysis. Microporous and Mesoporous Materials, 77(1), 1-45. doi:10.1016/j.micromeso.2004.06.030Bernardos, A., Marina, T., Žáček, P., Pérez-Esteve, É., Martínez-Mañez, R., Lhotka, M., … Klouček, P. (2014). Antifungal effect of essential oil components against Aspergillus niger when loaded into silica mesoporous supports. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 95(14), 2824-2831. doi:10.1002/jsfa.7022Barat, J., Pérez-Esteve, É., Bernardos, A., & Martínez-Mañez, R. (2011). Nutritional effects of folic acid controlled release from mesoporous materials. Procedia Food Science, 1, 1828-1832. doi:10.1016/j.profoo.2011.09.268Ruiz-Rico, M., Daubenschüz, H., Pérez-Esteve, É., Marcos, M. D., Amorós, P., Martínez-Máñez, R., & Barat, J. M. (2016). Protective effect of mesoporous silica particles on encapsulated folates. European Journal of Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics, 105, 9-17. doi:10.1016/j.ejpb.2016.05.016Mas, N., Arcos, D., Polo, L., Aznar, E., Sánchez-Salcedo, S., Sancenón, F., … Martínez-Máñez, R. (2014). Towards the Development of Smart 3D «Gated Scaffolds» for On-Command Delivery. Small, 10(23), 4859-4864. doi:10.1002/smll.201401227Bernardos, A., Piacenza, E., Sancenón, F., Hamidi, M., Maleki, A., Turner, R. J., & Martínez‐Máñez, R. (2019). Mesoporous Silica‐Based Materials with Bactericidal Properties. Small, 15(24), 1900669. doi:10.1002/smll.201900669Santos-Figueroa, L. E., Giménez, C., Agostini, A., Aznar, E., Marcos, M. D., Sancenón, F., … Amorós, P. (2013). Selective and Sensitive Chromofluorogenic Detection of the Sulfite Anion in Water Using Hydrophobic Hybrid Organic-Inorganic Silica Nanoparticles. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 52(51), 13712-13716. doi:10.1002/anie.201306688Poyatos-Racionero, E., Ros-Lis, J. V., Vivancos, J.-L., & Martínez-Máñez, R. (2018). Recent advances on intelligent packaging as tools to reduce food waste. Journal of Cleaner Production, 172, 3398-3409. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.11.075Coll, C., Casasús, R., Aznar, E., Marcos, M. D., Martínez-Máñez, R., Sancenón, F., … Amorós, P. (2007). Nanoscopic hybrid systems with a polarity-controlled gate-like scaffolding for the colorimetric signalling of long-chain carboxylates. Chem. Commun., (19), 1957-1959. doi:10.1039/b617703dPerez-Esteve, E., Bernardos, A., Martinez-Manez, R., & M. Barat, J. (2013). Nanotechnology in the Development of Novel Functional Foods or their Package. An Overview Based in Patent Analysis. Recent Patents on Food, Nutrition & Agriculture, 5(1), 35-43. doi:10.2174/2212798411305010006Lamprecht, A., Schäfer, U., & Lehr, C. (2001). Pharmaceutical Research, 18(6), 788-793. doi:10.1023/a:1011032328064Awaad, A., Nakamura, M., & Ishimura, K. (2012). Imaging of size-dependent uptake and identification of novel pathways in mouse Peyer’s patches using fluorescent organosilica particles. Nanomedicine: Nanotechnology, Biology and Medicine, 8(5), 627-636. doi:10.1016/j.nano.2011.08.009Hussain, N. (2001). Recent advances in the understanding of uptake of microparticulates across the gastrointestinal lymphatics. Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews, 50(1-2), 107-142. doi:10.1016/s0169-409x(01)00152-1Fu, C., Liu, T., Li, L., Liu, H., Chen, D., & Tang, F. (2013). The absorption, distribution, excretion and toxicity of mesoporous silica nanoparticles in mice following different exposure routes. Biomaterials, 34(10), 2565-2575. doi:10.1016/j.biomaterials.2012.12.043ALOthman, Z. (2012). A Review: Fundamental Aspects of Silicate Mesoporous Materials. Materials, 5(12), 2874-2902. doi:10.3390/ma5122874Asefa, T., & Tao, Z. (2012). Mesoporous silica and organosilica materials — Review of their synthesis and organic functionalization. Canadian Journal of Chemistry, 90(12), 1015-1031. doi:10.1139/v2012-094Li, Y., Li, N., Pan, W., Yu, Z., Yang, L., & Tang, B. (2017). Hollow Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles with Tunable Structures for Controlled Drug Delivery. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 9(3), 2123-2129. doi:10.1021/acsami.6b13876Legnoverde, M. S., & Basaldella, E. I. (2016). Influence of particle size on the adsorption and release of cephalexin encapsulated in mesoporous silica SBA-15. Materials Letters, 181, 331-334. doi:10.1016/j.matlet.2016.06.053Popova, M., Szegedi, A., Mavrodinova, V., Novak Tušar, N., Mihály, J., Klébert, S., … Yoncheva, K. (2014). Preparation of resveratrol-loaded nanoporous silica materials with different structures. Journal of Solid State Chemistry, 219, 37-42. doi:10.1016/j.jssc.2014.07.002Martín, A., Morales, V., Ortiz-Bustos, J., Pérez-Garnes, M., Bautista, L. F., García-Muñoz, R. A., & Sanz, R. (2018). Modelling the adsorption and controlled release of drugs from the pure and amino surface-functionalized mesoporous silica hosts. Microporous and Mesoporous Materials, 262, 23-34. doi:10.1016/j.micromeso.2017.11.009Pérez-Esteve, É., Ruiz-Rico, M., de la Torre, C., Villaescusa, L. A., Sancenón, F., Marcos, M. D., … Barat, J. M. (2016). Encapsulation of folic acid in different silica porous supports: A comparative study. Food Chemistry, 196, 66-75. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2015.09.017Silveira, G. Q., da Silva, R. S., Franco, L. P., Vargas, M. D., & Ronconi, C. M. (2015). Redox-responsive nanoreservoirs: The effect of different types of mesoporous silica on the controlled release of doxorubicin in solution and in vitro. Microporous and Mesoporous Materials, 206, 226-233. doi:10.1016/j.micromeso.2014.12.026Wang, S. (2009). Ordered mesoporous materials for drug delivery. Microporous and Mesoporous Materials, 117(1-2), 1-9. doi:10.1016/j.micromeso.2008.07.002Lu, P.-J. (2010). Gastric juice acidity in upper gastrointestinal diseases. World Journal of Gastroenterology, 16(43), 5496. doi:10.3748/wjg.v16.i43.5496ULKER, İ., & YILDIRAN, H. (2019). The effects of bariatric surgery on gut microbiota in patients with obesity: a review of the literature. Bioscience of Microbiota, Food and Health, 38(1), 3-9. doi:10.12938/bmfh.18-018Sardo, P., & Walker, J. H. (2008). Bariatric Surgery: Impact on Medication Management. Hospital Pharmacy, 43(2), 113-120. doi:10.1310/hpj4302-113Geraldo, M., Feder, D., Affonso Fonseca, F. L., & de Fatima Veiga Gouveia, M. R. (2014). The use of drugs in patients who have undergone bariatric surgery. International Journal of General Medicine, 219. doi:10.2147/ijgm.s55332Kurlan, R., Nutt, J. G., Woodward, W. R., Rothfield, K., Lichter, D., Miller, C., … Shoulson, I. (1988). Duodenal and gastric delivery of levodopa in parkinsonism. Annals of Neurology, 23(6), 589-595. doi:10.1002/ana.410230611Bredberg, E., Nilsson, D., Johansson, K., Aquilonius, S. M., Johnels, B., Nystr�m, C., & Paalzow, L. (1993). Intraduodenal infusion of a water-based levodopa dispersion for optimisation of the therapeutic effect in severe Parkinson’s disease. European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 45(2), 117-122. doi:10.1007/bf00315491Antonini, A., & Odin, P. (2009). Pros and cons of apomorphine and l-dopa continuous infusion in advanced Parkinson’s disease. Parkinsonism & Related Disorders, 15, S97-S100. doi:10.1016/s1353-8020(09)70844-2Santos García, D., de Deus Fonticoba, T., López Pazos, E., Macías Arribi, M., Llaneza González, M. A., Echarri Piudo, A., … de la Fuente Fernández, R. (2014). Manejo de las complicaciones relacionadas con la infusión intraduodenal de levodopa/carbidopa en pacientes con enfermedad de Parkinson. Revista de Neurología, 58(11), 505. doi:10.33588/rn.5811.2014067Poyatos‐Racionero, E., Pérez‐Esteve, É., Dolores Marcos, M., Barat, J. M., Martínez‐Máñez, R., Aznar, E., & Bernardos, A. (2019). New Oleic Acid‐Capped Mesoporous Silica Particles as Surfactant‐Responsive Delivery Systems. ChemistryOpen, 8(8), 1052-1056. doi:10.1002/open.201900092Cabrera, S., El Haskouri, J., Guillem, C., Latorre, J., Beltrán-Porter, A., Beltrán-Porter, D., … Amorós *, P. (2000). Generalised syntheses of ordered mesoporous oxides: the atrane route. Solid State Sciences, 2(4), 405-420. doi:10.1016/s1293-2558(00)00152-7Meléndez-Ortiz, H. I., Perera-Mercado, Y. A., García-Cerda, L. A., Mercado-Silva, J. A., & Castruita, G. (2014). Influence of the reaction conditions on the thermal stability of mesoporous MCM-48 silica obtained at room temperature. Ceramics International, 40(3), 4155-4161. doi:10.1016/j.ceramint.2013.08.072Zhao, D., Feng, J., Huo, Q., Melosh, N., Fredrickson, G. H., Chmelka, B. F., & Stucky, G. D. (1998). Triblock Copolymer Syntheses of Mesoporous Silica with Periodic 50 to 300 Angstrom Pores. Science, 279(5350), 548-552. doi:10.1126/science.279.5350.548El Haskouri, J., Zárate, D. O. de, Guillem, C., Latorre, J., Caldés, M., Beltrán, A., … Amorós, P. (2002). Silica-based powders and monoliths with bimodal pore systemsElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available: UV–Vis spectrum of sample 3. See http://www.rsc.org/suppdata/cc/b1/b110883b/. Chemical Communications, (4), 330-331. doi:10.1039/b110883bVersantvoort, C. H. M., Oomen, A. G., Van de Kamp, E., Rompelberg, C. J. M., & Sips, A. J. A. M. (2005). Applicability of an in vitro digestion model in assessing the bioaccessibility of mycotoxins from food. Food and Chemical Toxicology, 43(1), 31-40. doi:10.1016/j.fct.2004.08.007Ritger, P. L., & Peppas, N. A. (1987). A simple equation for description of solute release I. 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B., Hadipour Moghaddam, S. P., & Ghandehari, H. (2018). Influence of Silica Nanoparticle Density and Flow Conditions on Sedimentation, Cell Uptake, and Cytotoxicity. Molecular Pharmaceutics, 15(6), 2372-2383. doi:10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.8b0021

Cannabis, an emerging aeroallergen in southeastern Spain (Region of Murcia)

The evolution of the behaviour of the Cannabis taxon in the Region of Murcia, Spain, has been analysed (in the cities of Cartagena, 1993–2020; Murcia, 2010–2020; and Lorca, 2010–2020). An attempt has been made to establish the origin of Cannabis pollen in this region to determine whether it is transported locally or from long distances based on air mass origins. Cannabis is an herbaceous, normally dioecious and anemophilous plant, which produces large quantities of pollen grains. It has been widely used for fibre (hemp), bird food (hempseed), essential oils and narcotics. The origin of Cannabis pollen grains has been established by calculating back trajectories at the altitudes of: 750, 1500 and 2500 m above mean sea level (m amsl); 350, 500 and 650 m amsl; and 10, 100 and 250 m amsl, using the HYSPLIT model. Considering this data, 29 days of Cannabis pollen potentially originating in Africa were identified in Cartagena, 19 days in Murcia and 15 days in Lorca. Of the remaining days, the air mass back trajectories showed local or regional pollen origins. These were 83 days in Cartagena, 61 days in Murcia and 57 days in Lorca. The presence of Cannabis in the bioaerosol of the Region of Murcia is irregular, and it is considered a minority pollen type. However, from 2017 to 2020, concentrations increased, with a positive and significant trend of 90% in the Annual Pollen Integral. The pollen season can be defined between June and August. This increase in the concentration of Cannabis pollen grains during this period coincides with an increase in local transport, suggesting the possibility of increased Cannabis cultivation in the study area

Reversible barocaloric effects over a large temperature span in fullerite C60

Solid-state cooling methods based on field-driven first-order phase transitions are often limited by significant hysteresis and small temperature span, which increase the input work required to drive the cooling cycle reversibly and reduce the temperature range of operation. Here we show that giant reversible caloric effects can be driven using low hydrostatic pressures in the molecular crystal of fullerene C60 across its order-disorder first-order phase transition due to a small transition hysteresis and a high sensitivity of the transition to pressure. In particular, we obtain isothermal entropy changes DS=25 J K1 kg1 under reversible application and removal of a pressure as low as p=0:05 GPa. We also demonstrate that these features allow to obtain these giant effects in a wide temperature span around room temperature which, furthermore, is desirable for single-component regenerative coolers. For a pressure change of p = 0:41 GPa, we obtain giant reversible values of DS = 31 J K1 kg1 and DT = 11 K, in a temperature interval larger than 50 K. This very good barocaloric performance postulates C60 as a one of the best candidates known so far to be considered by engineers for the development of barocaloric devices. The physics underlying these caloric effects is also analyzed