Lindane and Endosulfan Sulfate Isomers in Crassostrea virginica (Gmelin, 1791) Oyster Populations in Lagoon Systems from Central Gulf of Mexico

The aim of this study was to determine Lindane and Endosulfan Sulfate isomers in Crassostrea virginica oyster populations (Gmelin, 1791) in the Mandinga and Alvarado lagoon systems located in the central Gulf of Mexico. Samples were taken from the main oyster banks of each lagoon system, during the three representative seasons of the region, wet, dry and north winds. By means of free diving, 30 commercial size oysters (7 ± 3 cm) were collected in four oyster banks or stations of the Mandinga lagoon system, totaling 360 organisms, while in the Alvarado lagoon system there were a total of 90 oysters during the annual cycle. Concentration of lindane and endosulfan sulfate isotopes in C. virginica was performed with a gas chromatograph (Thermo Electron Model Trace GC Ultra 115V, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc©, Monterrey, Nuevo León, México) with an Electron capture detector. Results showed that in the Alvarado Lagoon system mean concentrations of C. virginica oysters for lindane pesticide were 4.11 ± 3.83 ng⋅g-1, whereas for the Mandinga lagoon system, were 8.69 ± 5.15 ng⋅g-1. Endosulfan sulfate showed the highest average concentration in the Mandinga lagoon system with 24.68 ± 1.20 ng ⋅g-1. In addition, the endosulfan sulfate presents differences in its spatial distribution; high concentration levels in the Mandinga lagoon system whereas the lindane heterogeneity at all sampling points in both lagoons. Values of concentrations and relationships between compounds suggest recent contributions that could correspond to the excessive fluctuations of water discharged into the lagoon caused by the atypical rains of the year of sampling. It was concluded that endosulfan sulfate and lindane show concentration in all the points of sampling in both lagoons

Gene Silencing of \u3ci\u3eArgonaute5\u3c/i\u3e Negatively Affects the Establishment of the Legume-Rhizobia Symbiosis

The establishment of the symbiosis between legumes and nitrogen-fixing rhizobia is finely regulated at the transcriptional, posttranscriptional and posttranslational levels. Argonaute5 (AGO5), a protein involved in RNA silencing, can bind both viral RNAs and microRNAs to control plant-microbe interactions and plant physiology. For instance, AGO5 regulates the systemic resistance of Arabidopsis against Potato Virus X as well as the pigmentation of soybean (Glycine max) seeds. Here, we show that AGO5 is also playing a central role in legume nodulation based on its preferential expression in common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) and soybean roots and nodules. We also report that the expression of AGO5 is induced after 1 h of inoculation with rhizobia. Down-regulation of AGO5 gene in P. vulgaris and G. max causes diminished root hair curling, reduces nodule formation and interferes with the induction of three critical symbiotic genes: Nuclear Factor Y-B (NF-YB), Nodule Inception (NIN) and Flotillin2 (FLOT2). Our findings provide evidence that the common bean and soybean AGO5 genes play an essential role in the establishment of the symbiosis with rhizobia

Therapeutic interventions for countering Leishmaniasis and Chagas's disease: from traditional sources to nanotechnological systems

The incidence of neglected diseases in tropical countries, such as Leishmaniasis and Chagass disease, is attributed to a set of biological and ecological factors associated with the socioeconomic context of developing countries and with a significant burden to health care systems. Both Leishmaniasis and Chagass disease are caused by different protozoa and develop diverse symptoms, which depend on the specific species infecting man. Currently available drugs to treat these disorders have limited therapeutic outcomes, frequently due to microorganisms drug resistance. In recent years, significant efforts have been made towards the development of innovative drug delivery systems aiming to improve bioavailability and pharmacokinetic profiles of classical drug therapy. This paper discusses the key facts of Leishmaniasis and Chagass disease, the currently available pharmacological therapies and the new drug delivery systems for conventional drugs.This research was funded by the Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation (FCT/MCT) and from European Funds (PRODER/COMPETE) under the project references M-ERA-NET/0004/2015 (PAIRED) and UID/AGR/04033/2019 (CITAB), co-financed by FEDER, under the Partnership Agreement PT2020.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Intercellular Trafficking of Gold Nanostars in Uveal Melanoma Cells for Plasmonic Photothermal Therapy

Efficient plasmonic photothermal therapies (PPTTs) using non-harmful pulse laser irradiation at the near-infrared (NIR) are a highly sought goal in nanomedicine. These therapies rely on the use of plasmonic nanostructures to kill cancer cells while minimizing the applied laser power density. Cancer cells have an unsettled capacity to uptake, retain, release, and re-uptake gold nanoparticles, thus offering enormous versatility for research. In this work, we have studied such cell capabilities for nanoparticle trafficking and its impact on the effect of photothermal treatments. As our model system, we chose uveal (eye) melanoma cells, since laser-assisted eye surgery is routinely used to treat glaucoma and cataracts, or vision correction in refractive surgery. As nanostructure, we selected gold nanostars (Au NSs) due to their high photothermal efficiency at the near-infrared (NIR) region of the electromagnetic spectrum. We first investigated the photothermal effect on the basis of the dilution of Au NSs induced by cell division. Using this approach, we obtained high PPTT efficiency after several cell division cycles at an initial low Au NS concentration (pM regime). Subsequently, we evaluated the photothermal effect on account of cell division upon mixing Au NS-loaded and non-loaded cells. Upon such mixing, we observed trafficking of Au NSs between loaded and non-loaded cells, thus achieving effective PPTT after several division cycles under low irradiation conditions (below the maximum permissible exposure threshold of skin). Our study reveals the ability of uveal melanoma cells to release and re-uptake Au NSs that maintain their plasmonic photothermal properties throughout several cell division cycles and re-uptake. This approach may be readily extrapolated to real tissue and even to treat in situ the eye tumor itself. We believe that our method can potentially be used as co-therapy to disperse plasmonic gold nanostructures across affected tissues, thus increasing the effectiveness of classic PPTT

Phosphate Deficiency Negatively Affects Early Steps of the Symbiosis between Common Bean and Rhizobia

Phosphate (Pi) deficiency reduces nodule formation and development in different legume species including common bean. Despite significant progress in the understanding of the genetic responses underlying the adaptation of nodules to Pi deficiency, it is still unclear whether this nutritional deficiency interferes with the molecular dialogue between legumes and rhizobia. If so, what part of the molecular dialogue is impaired? In this study, we provide evidence demonstrating that Pi deficiency negatively affects critical early molecular and physiological responses that are required for a successful symbiosis between common bean and rhizobia. We demonstrated that the infection thread formation and the expression of PvNSP2, PvNIN, and PvFLOT2, which are genes controlling the nodulation process were significantly reduced in Pi-deficient common bean seedlings. In addition, whole-genome transcriptional analysis revealed that the expression of hormones-related genes is compromised in Pi-deficient seedlings inoculated with rhizobia. Moreover, we showed that regardless of the presence or absence of rhizobia, the expression of PvRIC1 and PvRIC2, two genes participating in the autoregulation of nodule numbers, was higher in Pi-deficient seedlings compared to control seedlings. The data presented in this study provides a mechanistic model to better understand how Pi deficiency impacts the early steps of the symbiosis between common bean and rhizobia

RNase H2, mutated in Aicardi-Goutières syndrome, promotes LINE-1 retrotransposition

Long INterspersed Element class 1 (LINE-1) elements are a type of abundant retrotransposons active in mammalian genomes. An average human genome contains ~100 retrotransposition-competent LINE-1s, whose activity is influenced by the combined action of cellular repressors and activators. TREX1, SAMHD1 and ADAR1 are known LINE-1 repressors and when mutated cause the autoinflammatory disorder Aicardi-Goutières syndrome (AGS). Mutations in RNase H2 are the most common cause of AGS, and its activity was proposed to similarly control LINE-1 retrotransposition. It has therefore been suggested that increased LINE-1 activity may be the cause of aberrant innate immune activation in AGS. Here, we establish that, contrary to expectations, RNase H2 is required for efficient LINE-1 retrotransposition. As RNase H1 overexpression partially rescues the defect in RNase H2 null cells, we propose a model in which RNase H2 degrades the LINE-1 RNA after reverse transcription, allowing retrotransposition to be completed. This also explains how LINE-1 elements can retrotranspose efficiently without their own RNase H activity. Our findings appear to be at odds with LINE-1-derived nucleic acids driving autoinflammation in AGS.M.B.-G. is funded by a “Formacion Profesorado Universitario” (FPU) PhD fellowship from the Government of Spain (MINECO, Ref FPU15/03294), and this paper is part of her thesis project (“Epigenetic control of the mobility of a human retrotransposon”). R.V.-A. is funded by a PFIS Fellowship from the Government of Spain (ISCiii, FI16/00413). O.M. is funded by an EMBO Long-Term Fellowship (ALTF 7-2015), the European Commission FP7 (Marie Curie Actions, LTFCOFUND2013, GA-2013-609409) and the Swiss National Science Foundation (P2ZHP3_158709). S.R.H. is funded by the Government of Spain (MINECO, RYC-2016-21395 and SAF2015-71589-P). A.P.J’s laboratory is supported by the UK Medical Research Council (MRC University Unit grant U127527202). J.L.G.P’s laboratory is supported by CICEFEDER- P12-CTS-2256, Plan Nacional de I+D+I 2008-2011 and 2013-2016 (FISFEDER- PI14/02152), PCIN-2014-115-ERA-NET NEURON II, the European Research Council (ERC-Consolidator ERC-STG-2012-233764), by an International Early Career Scientist grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (IECS-55007420), by The Wellcome Trust-University of Edinburgh Institutional Strategic Support Fund (ISFF2) and by a private donation from Ms Francisca Serrano (Trading y Bolsa para Torpes, Granada, Spain)

Nanoinformatics: developing new computing applications for nanomedicine

Nanoinformatics has recently emerged to address the need of computing applications at the nano level. In this regard, the authors have participated in various initiatives to identify its concepts, foundations and challenges. While nanomaterials open up the possibility for developing new devices in many industrial and scientific areas, they also offer breakthrough perspectives for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases. In this paper, we analyze the different aspects of nanoinformatics and suggest five research topics to help catalyze new research and development in the area, particularly focused on nanomedicine. We also encompass the use of informatics to further the biological and clinical applications of basic research in nanoscience and nanotechnology, and the related concept of an extended ?nanotype? to coalesce information related to nanoparticles. We suggest how nanoinformatics could accelerate developments in nanomedicine, similarly to what happened with the Human Genome and other -omics projects, on issues like exchanging modeling and simulation methods and tools, linking toxicity information to clinical and personal databases or developing new approaches for scientific ontologies, among many others

Comisión de plan de estudios de la titulación de Ingeniería Técnica de Telecomunicaciones, especialidad en Sonido e Imagen de la EPS

La red docente de la Comisión de plan de estudios de la titulación de Ingeniería Técnica de Telecomunicación, especialidad en Sonido e Imagen de la EPS ha realizado durante el curso 2007/08 un estudio de los objetivos y competencias del futuro título de grado, así como el análisis y diseño de la posible estructura en bloques y asignaturas obligatorias en la que se podría distribuir dicho título. El estudio toma como base los resultados obtenidos en redes de cursos anteriores (ver memoria de redes 2005/06 y 2006/07), las cuales estaban orientadas al diseño curricular dentro del marco de los créditos ECTS para la convergencia al Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior, y sobre todo, se basa en la experiencia de los propios participantes en trabajos o redes previas. El objetivo principal de este proyecto es el diseño curricular del futuro título de grado en Ingeniería de Telecomunicación en Sonido e Imagen, directamente relacionada con la actual Ingeniería Técnica de Telecomunicación, especialidad en Sonido e Imagen, que se imparte en la Universidad de Alicante. Para ello se han seguido las pautas generales establecidas por el Real Decreto de ordenación de Enseñanzas Universitarias Oficiales (BOE, 30 de octubre de 2007), así como otros documentos elaborados por el Colegio Oficial de Ingenieros Técnicos de Telecomunicación y la Comisión de Universidades de Ingeniería Técnica de Telecomunicación