Innexin function dictates the spatial relationship between distal somatic cells in the Caenorhabditis elegans gonad without impacting the germline stem cell pool

Gap-junctional signaling mediates myriad cellular interactions in metazoans. Yet, how gap junctions control the positioning of cells in organs is not well understood. Innexins compose gap junctions in invertebrates and affect organ architecture. Here, we investigate the roles of gap-junctions in controlling distal somatic gonad architecture and its relationship to underlying germline stem cells i

Pesquería del pez espada : tendencias y perspectivas

La pesquería del pez espada (Xíphias gladíus) ha adquirido especial relevancia dentro del subsector pesquero chileno. En este trabajo se rnisan los antecedentes biológicos de esta especie y aquellos relacionados con la evolución de la pesquería en los océanos Atlántico y Pacífico, y posteriormente en Chile con especial énfasis en el período 1987-1988The swordfish (Xíphias gladílLI) attained special relevance within the Chilean fisheries. The present paper reviews the biological knowledge of the species as well as the fishery evolution in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and later in Chile with special reference to the 1987-1988 perio

Urinary tract infection, its diagnosis in a neonatal unit

Introducción: la infección del tractus urinario es una enfermedad bacteriana frecuente en Pediatría. Objetivo: caracterizar este padecimiento en los pacientes atendidos en el Servicio de Neonatología del Hospital “Mariana Grajales”. Método: se realizó un estudio observacional, analítico entre los años 2012 y 2016. La población estuvo conformada por 40 pacientes en los que se probó por urocultivo esta infección. La información se registró en un formulario que recogió variables perinatales y el análisis estadístico incluyó estadística descriptiva e inferencial; los resultados se representaron en tablas y gráficos. Resultados: predominaron los neonatos masculinos (60%), pretérminos (77,5%) y bajo peso (75%), con una media de edad gestacional (33,1±4,1 semanas) y peso (1 884±853 gramos), seis de cada 10 niños presentaron una estadía hospitalaria entre cuatro y 27 días, las unidades de cuidado intensivo y progresivo fueron los niveles de atención predominantes en el neonato y el método de piel a piel lo fue para los lactantes, la ganancia inadecuada de peso fue la manifestación clínica más frecuente y la Escherichia coli fue el principal agente causal. Conclusiones: esta infección constituyó una enfermedad común en la unidad neonatal y la mayoría de los pacientes presentaron evolución clínico-bacteriológica favorable.Introduction: urinary tract infection is a common bacterial disease in Pediatrics. Objective: to characterize this suffering in patients treated at the Neonatal Service of the “Mariana Grajales” Hospital. Method: an observational, analytical study was carried out between the years 2012 and 2016. The population consisted of 40 patients in whom this infection was tested by urine culture. The information was recorded in a form that collected perinatal variables and the statistical analysis included descriptive and inferential statistics; the results were represented in tables and graphs. Results: male neonates predominated (60%), preterm (77,5%) and low weight (75%), with a mean gestational age (33,1±4,1 weeks) and weight (1 884±853 grams), six out of 10 children presented a hospital stay among four and 27 days, the intensive and progressive care units were the predominant levels of care in the newborn and the skin-to-skin method was for infants, the inadequate gain of weight was the most frequent clinical manifestation and Escherichia coli was the main causative agent. Conclusions: this infection was a common disease in the neonatal unit and most patients presented favorable clinical-bacteriological evolution

Heterogenous presence of neutrophil extracellular traps in human solid tumours is partially dependent on IL-8

Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) are webs of extracellular nuclear DNA extruded by dying neutrophils infiltrating tissue. NETs constitute a defence mechanism to entrap and kill fungi and bacteria. Tumours induce the formation of NETs to the advantage of the malignancy via a variety of mechanisms shown in mouse models. Here, we investigated the presence of NETs in a variety of human solid tumours and their association with IL-8 (CXCL8) protein expression and CD8+ T-cell density in the tumour microenvironment. Multiplex immunofluorescence panels were developed to identify NETs in human cancer tissues by co-staining with the granulocyte marker CD15, the neutrophil marker myeloperoxidase and citrullinated histone H3 (H3Cit), as well as IL-8 protein and CD8+ T cells. Three ELISA methods to detect and quantify circulating NETs in serum were optimised and utilised. Whole tumour sections and tissue microarrays from patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC; n = 14), bladder cancer (n = 14), melanoma (n = 11), breast cancer (n = 31), colorectal cancer (n = 20) and mesothelioma (n = 61) were studied. Also, serum samples collected retrospectively from patients with metastatic melanoma (n = 12) and NSCLC (n = 34) were ELISA assayed to quantify circulating NETs and IL-8. NETs were detected in six different human cancer types with wide individual variation in terms of tissue density and distribution. At least in NSCLC, bladder cancer and metastatic melanoma, NET density positively correlated with IL-8 protein expression and inversely correlated with CD8+ T-cell densities. In a series of serum samples from melanoma and NSCLC patients, a positive correlation between circulating NETs and IL-8 was found. In conclusion, NETs are detectable in formalin-fixed human biopsy samples from solid tumours and in the circulation of cancer patients with a considerable degree of individual variation. NETs show a positive association with IL-8 and a trend towards a negative association with CD8+ tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes

The NEMP family supports metazoan fertility and nuclear envelope stiffness.

Human genome-wide association studies have linked single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in NEMP1 (nuclear envelope membrane protein 1) with early menopause; however, it is unclear whether NEMP1 has any role in fertility. We show that whole-animal loss of NEMP1 homologs in Drosophila, Caenorhabditis elegans, zebrafish, and mice leads to sterility or early loss of fertility. Loss of Nemp leads to nuclear shaping defects, most prominently in the germ line. Biochemical, biophysical, and genetic studies reveal that NEMP proteins support the mechanical stiffness of the germline nuclear envelope via formation of a NEMP-EMERIN complex. These data indicate that the germline nuclear envelope has specialized mechanical properties and that NEMP proteins play essential and conserved roles in fertility

Statefinder diagnostic and w−w′w-w^{\prime} analysis for interacting polytropic gas dark energy model

The interacting polytropic gas dark energy model is investigated from the viewpoint of statefinder diagnostic tool and $w-w^{\prime}$ analysis. The dependency of the statefinder parameters on the parameter of the model as well as the interaction parameter between dark matter and dark energy is calculated. We show that different values of the parameters of model and different values of interaction parameter result different evolutionary trajectories in $s-r$ and $w-w^{\prime}$ planes. The polytropic gas model of dark energy mimics the standard $\Lambda$CDM model at the early time.Comment: 17 pages, 4 figures, ijtp accepte

Stable Isotope Biogeochemistry of Seabird Guano Fertilization: Results from Growth Chamber Studies with Maize (Zea Mays)

Stable isotope analysis is being utilized with increasing regularity to examine a wide range of issues (diet, habitat use, migration) in ecology, geology, archaeology, and related disciplines. A crucial component to these studies is a thorough understanding of the range and causes of baseline isotopic variation, which is relatively poorly understood for nitrogen (δ(15)N). Animal excrement is known to impact plant δ(15)N values, but the effects of seabird guano have not been systematically studied from an agricultural or horticultural standpoint.This paper presents isotopic (δ(13)C and δ(15)N) and vital data for maize (Zea mays) fertilized with Peruvian seabird guano under controlled conditions. The level of (15)N enrichment in fertilized plants is very large, with δ(15)N values ranging between 25.5 and 44.7‰ depending on the tissue and amount of fertilizer applied; comparatively, control plant δ(15)N values ranged between -0.3 and 5.7‰. Intraplant and temporal variability in δ(15)N values were large, particularly for the guano-fertilized plants, which can be attributed to changes in the availability of guano-derived N over time, and the reliance of stored vs. absorbed N. Plant δ(13)C values were not significantly impacted by guano fertilization. High concentrations of seabird guano inhibited maize germination and maize growth. Moreover, high levels of seabird guano greatly impacted the N metabolism of the plants, resulting in significantly higher tissue N content, particularly in the stalk.The results presented in this study demonstrate the very large impact of seabird guano on maize δ(15)N values. The use of seabird guano as a fertilizer can thus be traced using stable isotope analysis in food chemistry applications (certification of organic inputs). Furthermore, the fertilization of maize with seabird guano creates an isotopic signature very similar to a high-trophic level marine resource, which must be considered when interpreting isotopic data from archaeological material