Staphylococcus aureus outbreak in the intensive care unit of the largest public hospital in Quito, Ecuador

Staphylococcus aureus is a frequent cause of nosocomial pneumonia and bacteremia worldwide. Classical and molecular epidemiology approaches were used to study a S. aureus outbreak in the intensive care unit (ICU) of one of the largest public hospitals in Quito. Staphylococcus aureus isolates from 17 patients and 19 potential carriers from the staff were collected from March 2007 to February 2008 and analyzed by pulsed-fi eld gel electrophoresis (PFGE) to determine their clonal relationships. During this period the hospital reported 16 cases of hospital-acquired staphylococcal pneumonia and an apparent outbreak occurred from June to September 2007. DNA from these isolates formed six different PFGE patterns: four clonal groups, and two groups of clonally related isolates. Molecular typing failed to identify any staphylococcal reservoir among staff members. The current study suggested that a staphylococcal outbreak that occurred in the summer of 2007 was caused by different bacterial clones, although some clones were shared by two patients. Historical analysis of the staphylococcal infections in the ICU showed a higher incidence during the summer months, which coincided with the programmed personnel shift. This observation suggests that outbreaks might be produced by the introduction of improperly trained personnel. [Int Microbiol 2013; 16(2):81-86]Keywords: Staphylococcus aureus; staphylococal pneumonia; nosocomial outbreaks; MRS

Efectos de la calidad del agua en la resistencia del concreto

Este es el segundo proyecto de una serie que estudia los "Efectos de la calidad del agua en la resistencia del concreto". En el primer proyecto se analizan los efectos producidos por diferentes concentraciones de sulfatos, sólidos disueltos y materia orgánica en el agua de mezcla, sobre la resistencia y manejabilidad del concreto. En esta segunda parte se estudia únicamente el efecto del sulfato de magnesio en un rango de concentraciones en el agua de mezcla de 600 a 1.200 mg/lt. con variación de 100 mg/lt en las concentraciones, según la recomendación dada en la primera parte

Use of brassinosteroids as a strategy to increase tolerance to saline stress in petunia plants

La salinidad es uno de los factores ambientales más perjudiciales para las plantas, y puede limitar fuertemente la productividad y calidad de los cultivos. Muchas especies ornamentales cultivadas en contenedores son sensibles a la acumulación de sales en la zona radicular. Por lo tanto, es necesario estudiar alternativas de manejo que permitan aumentar la tolerancia a la salinidad para minimizar el daño ocasionado por dicho estrés. El objetivo de este trabajo fue estudiar el efecto del brasinoesteroide BB16, sobre el crecimiento y desarrollo floral de Petunia x hybrida var. Limbo Red bajo condiciones de salinidad. Las plantas fueron tratadas por aspersión hasta punto de goteo con BB16 0,1 mg.l-1, y luego sometidas a estrés salino durante 45 días, mediante riego con soluciones a concentraciones crecientes de NaCl (50, 100, 150 y 200 mM). Las plantas tratadas con BB16, evidenciaron una mayor longitud radicular y un mayor diámetro de flores en todas las concentraciones salinas evaluadas; un mayor número de flores a 50 y 200 mM de NaCl y una reducción en el tiempo de floración en condiciones de riego con NaCl 200 mM, con respecto a las plantas control. También se pudo observar que las plantas tratadas presentaron una menor pérdida de clorofila a las concentraciones de 150 y 200 mM de NaCl. El marcado efecto protector de BB16 en plantas de petunia expuestas a estrés salino, permitiría atenuar los efectos perjudiciales minimizando las pérdidas de productividad y calidad que ocasiona en el cultivo.Salinity is one of the most damaging environmental factors for plants, and can severely limit the productivity and quality of crops. Many container-grown ornamental species are sensitive to salt accumulation in the root zone. Therefore, it is necessary to study other management alternatives that allow increasing tolerance to salinity to minimize the damage caused by said stress. The objective of this work was to study the effect of the brassinosteroid BB16 on the growth and floral development of Petunia x hybrida var. limbus network under conditions of increasing salinity. The plants were treated by aspersion to dripping point with BB16 0.1 mg.l-1, and then subjected to saline stress for 45 days, by irrigation with solutions at increasing concentrations of NaCl (50, 100, 150 and 200 mM) . Plants treated with BB16, showed a greater root length and a greater diameter of flowers in all the saline concentrations evaluated; a greater number of flowers at 50 and 200 mM NaCl and a reduction in flowering time under irrigation conditions with 200 mM NaCl, with respect to control plants. It was also possible to observe that the petunia plants treated with BB16 presented a lower loss of chlorophyll with respect to the control plants, at concentrations of 150 and 200 mM of NaCl. The marked protective effect of BB16 in petunia plants exposed to saline stress, would allow attenuating the harmful effects minimizing the losses of productivity and quality that this stress causes in the crop.Fil: Furio, Ramiro Nicolás. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Tucuman-Santiago del Estero. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Famaillá; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Medrano, Norma Nelly. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Tucuman-Santiago del Estero. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Famaillá; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Agronomía y Zootecnia; ArgentinaFil: Coll, Yamilet. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Tucuman-Santiago del Estero. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Famaillá; ArgentinaFil: Pérez, G. A.. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Agronomía y Zootecnia; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Tucuman-Santiago del Estero. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Famaillá; ArgentinaFil: Diaz Ricci, Juan Carlos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Instituto Superior de Investigaciones Biológicas. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Instituto Superior de Investigaciones Biológicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Bioquímica, Química y Farmacia; ArgentinaFil: Salazar, Sergio Miguel. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Tucuman-Santiago del Estero. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Famaillá; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Agronomía y Zootecnia; Argentin

Use of brassinosteroids as a strategy to increase tolerance to saline stress in petunia plants

La salinidad es uno de los factores ambientales más perjudiciales para las plantas, y puede limitar fuertemente la productividad y calidad de los cultivos. Muchas especies ornamentales cultivadas en contenedores son sensibles a la acumulación de sales en la zona radicular. Por lo tanto, es necesario estudiar alternativas de manejo que permitan aumentar la tolerancia a la salinidad para minimizar el daño ocasionado por dicho estrés. El objetivo de este trabajo fue estudiar el efecto del brasinoesteroide BB16, sobre el crecimiento y desarrollo floral de Petunia x hybrida var. Limbo Red bajo condiciones de salinidad. Las plantas fueron tratadas por aspersión hasta punto de goteo con BB16 0,1 mg.l-1, y luego sometidas a estrés salino durante 45 días, mediante riego con soluciones a concentraciones crecientes de NaCl (50, 100, 150 y 200 mM). Las plantas tratadas con BB16, evidenciaron una mayor longitud radicular y un mayor diámetro de flores en todas las concentraciones salinas evaluadas; un mayor número de flores a 50 y 200 mM de NaCl y una reducción en el tiempo de floración en condiciones de riego con NaCl 200 mM, con respecto a las plantas control. También se pudo observar que las plantas tratadas presentaron una menor pérdida de clorofila a las concentraciones de 150 y 200 mM de NaCl. El marcado efecto protector de BB16 en plantas de petunia expuestas a estrés salino, permitiría atenuar los efectos perjudiciales minimizando las pérdidas de productividad y calidad que ocasiona en el cultivo.Salinity is one of the most damaging environmental factors for plants, and can severely limit the productivity and quality of crops. Many container-grown ornamental species are sensitive to salt accumulation in the root zone. Therefore, it is necessary to study other management alternatives that allow increasing tolerance to salinity to minimize the damage caused by said stress. The objective of this work was to study the effect of the brassinosteroid BB16 on the growth and floral development of Petunia x hybrida var. limbus network under conditions of increasing salinity. The plants were treated by aspersion to dripping point with BB16 0.1 mg.l-1, and then subjected to saline stress for 45 days, by irrigation with solutions at increasing concentrations of NaCl (50, 100, 150 and 200 mM) . Plants treated with BB16, showed a greater root length and a greater diameter of flowers in all the saline concentrations evaluated; a greater number of flowers at 50 and 200 mM NaCl and a reduction in flowering time under irrigation conditions with 200 mM NaCl, with respect to control plants. It was also possible to observe that the petunia plants treated with BB16 presented a lower loss of chlorophyll with respect to the control plants, at concentrations of 150 and 200 mM of NaCl. The marked protective effect of BB16 in petunia plants exposed to saline stress, would allow attenuating the harmful effects minimizing the losses of productivity and quality that this stress causes in the crop.Fil: Furio, Ramiro Nicolás. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Tucuman-Santiago del Estero. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Famaillá; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Medrano, Norma Nelly. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Tucuman-Santiago del Estero. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Famaillá; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Agronomía y Zootecnia; ArgentinaFil: Coll, Yamilet. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Tucuman-Santiago del Estero. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Famaillá; ArgentinaFil: Pérez, G. A.. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Agronomía y Zootecnia; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Tucuman-Santiago del Estero. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Famaillá; ArgentinaFil: Diaz Ricci, Juan Carlos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Instituto Superior de Investigaciones Biológicas. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Instituto Superior de Investigaciones Biológicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Bioquímica, Química y Farmacia; ArgentinaFil: Salazar, Sergio Miguel. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Tucuman-Santiago del Estero. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Famaillá; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Agronomía y Zootecnia; Argentin

Large-scale ocean connectivity and planktonic body size

Villarino, Ernesto ... et al.-- 13 pages, 5 figures, 5 tables, supplementary material https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-017-02535-8Global patterns of planktonic diversity are mainly determined by the dispersal of propagules with ocean currents. However, the role that abundance and body size play in determining spatial patterns of diversity remains unclear. Here we analyse spatial community structure - β-diversity - for several planktonic and nektonic organisms from prokaryotes to small mesopelagic fishes collected during the Malaspina 2010 Expedition. β-diversity was compared to surface ocean transit times derived from a global circulation model, revealing a significant negative relationship that is stronger than environmental differences. Estimated dispersal scales for different groups show a negative correlation with body size, where less abundant large-bodied communities have significantly shorter dispersal scales and larger species spatial turnover rates than more abundant small-bodied plankton. Our results confirm that the dispersal scale of planktonic and micro-nektonic organisms is determined by local abundance, which scales with body size, ultimately setting global spatial patterns of diversityThis research was funded by the project Malaspina 2010 Circumnavigation Expedition (Consolider-Ingenio 2010, CSD2008-00077) and cofounded by the Basque Government (Department Deputy of Agriculture, Fishing and Food Policy). [...] E.V. was supported by a PhD Scholarship granted by the Iñaki Goenaga−Technology Centres FoundationPeer Reviewe

Global beta diversity patterns of microbial communities in the surface and deep ocean

This is contribution 1112 from AZTI Marine Research Division.-- 14 pages, 4 figures, 3 tables, supporting information https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13572.-- Data Availability Statement: DNA sequences for surface prokaryotes are publicly available at the European Nucleotide Archive [http://www.ebi.ac.uk/ena; accession number PRJEB25224 (16S rRNA genes)], for deep prokaryotes at the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) Sequence Read Archive (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Traces/sra) under accession ID SRP031469, and for surface and deep picoeukaryotes at the European Nucleotide Archive with accession number PRJEB23771 (http://www.ebi.ac.uk/ena). Environmental data used in this study are available from https://github.com/ramalok/malaspina.surface.metabacoding, Giner et al. (2020) and Salazar et al. (2015). The code to analyze the data and produce the figures of this research is available from the corresponding author upon request.-- This is the pre-peer reviewed version of the following article: Ernesto Villarino, James R. Watson, Guillem Chust ,A. John Woodill, Benjamin Klempay, Bror Jonsson, Josep M. Gasol, Ramiro Logares, Ramon Massana, Caterina R. Giner, Guillem Salazar, X. Anton Alvarez-Salgado, Teresa S. Catala, Carlos M. Duarte, Susana Agusti, Francisco Mauro, Xabier Irigoien, Andrew D. Barton; Global beta diversity patterns of microbial communities in the surface and deep ocean; Global Ecology and Biogeography 31(11): 2323-2336 (2022), which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13572. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived VersionsAim: Dispersal and environmental gradients shape marine microbial communities, yet the relative importance of these factors across taxa with distinct sizes and dispersal capacity in different ocean layers is unknown. Here, we report a comparative analysis of surface and deep ocean microbial beta diversity and examine how these patterns are tied to oceanic distance and environmental gradients. Location: Tropical and subtropical oceans (30°N–40°S). Time period: 2010-2011. Major taxa studied: Prokaryotes and picoeukaryotes (eukaryotes between 0.2 and 3 μm). Methods: Beta diversity was calculated from metabarcoding data on prokaryotic and picoeukaryotic microbes collected during the Malaspina expedition across the tropical and subtropical oceans. Mantel correlations were used to determine the relative contribution of environment and oceanic distance driving community beta diversity. Results: Mean community similarity across all sites for prokaryotes was 38.9% in the surface and 51.4% in the deep ocean, compared to mean similarity of 25.8 and 12.1% in the surface and deep ocean, respectively, for picoeukaryotes. Higher dispersal rates and smaller body sizes of prokaryotes relative to picoeukaryotes likely contributed to the significantly higher community similarity for prokaryotes compared with picoeukaryotes. The ecological mechanisms determining the biogeography of microbes varied across depth. In the surface ocean, the environmental differences in space were a more important factor driving microbial distribution compared with the oceanic distance, defined as the shortest path between two sites avoiding land. In the deep ocean, picoeukaryote communities were slightly more structured by the oceanic distance, while prokaryotes were shaped by the combined action of oceanic distance and environmental filtering. Main conclusions: Horizontal gradients in microbial community assembly differed across ocean depths, as did mechanisms shaping them. In the deep ocean, the oceanic distance and environment played significant roles driving microbial spatial distribution, while in the surface the influence of the environment was stronger than oceanic distanceData collection was funded by the Malaspina 2010 Circumnavigation Expedition project (Consolider-Ingenio 2010, CSD2008-00077) and cofunded by the Basque Government (Department Deputy of Agriculture, Fishing and Food Policy). We acknowledge funding from the Spanish Government through the “Severo Ochoa Center of Excelence” accreditation CEX2019-000928-S. [...] We also acknowledge H2020 Mission Atlantic project (Ref. Grant Agreement Number 862428). EV was supported by an international exchange post-doc scholarship to Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Oregon State University granted by the Education Department of the Basque GovernmentPeer reviewe

Latin Americans show wide-spread Converso ancestry and imprint of local Native ancestry on physical appearance

Historical records and genetic analyses indicate that Latin Americans trace their ancestry mainly to the intermixing (admixture) of Native Americans, Europeans and Sub-Saharan Africans. Using novel haplotype-based methods, here we infer sub-continental ancestry in over 6,500 Latin Americans and evaluate the impact of regional ancestry variation on physical appearance. We find that Native American ancestry components in Latin Americans correspond geographically to the present-day genetic structure of Native groups, and that sources of non-Native ancestry, and admixture timings, match documented migratory flows. We also detect South/East Mediterranean ancestry across Latin America, probably stemming mostly from the clandestine colonial migration of Christian converts of non-European origin (Conversos). Furthermore, we find that ancestry related to highland (Central Andean) versus lowland (Mapuche) Natives is associated with variation in facial features, particularly nose morphology, and detect significant differences in allele frequencies between these groups at loci previously associated with nose morphology in this sample.Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celula

Latin Americans show wide-spread Converso ancestry and imprint of local Native ancestry on physical appearance

Historical records and genetic analyses indicate that Latin Americans trace their ancestry mainly to the intermixing (admixture) of Native Americans, Europeans and Sub-Saharan Africans. Using novel haplotype-based methods, here we infer sub-continental ancestry in over 6,500 Latin Americans and evaluate the impact of regional ancestry variation on physical appearance. We find that Native American ancestry components in Latin Americans correspond geographically to the present-day genetic structure of Native groups, and that sources of non-Native ancestry, and admixture timings, match documented migratory flows. We also detect South/East Mediterranean ancestry across Latin America, probably stemming mostly from the clandestine colonial migration of Christian converts of non-European origin (Conversos). Furthermore, we find that ancestry related to highland (Central Andean) versus lowland (Mapuche) Natives is associated with variation in facial features, particularly nose morphology, and detect significant differences in allele frequencies between these groups at loci previously associated with nose morphology in this sample.Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celula

Sexual Relationships in Hispanic Countries: a Literature Review

This is a pre-print of an article published in Current Sexual Health Reports. The final authenticated version is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11930-020-00272-6Purpose of Review: Sexuality is a complex dimension for which culture seems to play an important role, particularly in countries that are more traditional. This review summarizes the knowledge about sexual relationships in Hispanic countries, considering sexual debut, attitudes, behaviors, and satisfaction. Recent Findings: In line with the literature reviewed, the sexual double standard seems to be continuing to influence sexual relationships. Some countries show more open expressions of sexuality based on the level of gender inequality or sexualized context, and within countries, variables such as religious commitment, family characteristics, and access to resources may play important roles in sexuality. Summary: Future research, policies, and interventions should consider these specific characteristics, including these forms of expression of sexuality, in the adjustment of cross-cultural and cross-national strategies

A Contribution of the HAWC Observatory to the TeV era in the High Energy Gamma-Ray Astrophysics: The case of the TeV-Halos

We present a short overview of the TeV-Halos objects as a discovery and a relevant contribution of the High Altitude Water \v{C}erenkov (HAWC) observatory to TeV astrophysics. We discuss history, discovery, knowledge, and the next step through a new and more detailed analysis than the original study in 2017. TeV-Halos will contribute to resolving the problem of the local positron excess observed on the Earth. To clarify the latter, understanding the diffusion process is mandatory.Comment: Work presented in the 21st International Symposium on Very High Energy Cosmic Ray Interactions(ISVHECRI 2022) as part of the Ph. D. Thesis of Ramiro Torres-Escobedo (SJTU, Shanghai, China). Accepted for publication in SciPost Physics Proceedings (ISSN 2666-4003). 11 pages, 3 Figures. Short overview of HAWC and TeV Halos objects until 202