Presentación infrecuente de Vólvulo del Sigmoides en 2 casos

Volvulus is the third cause of the obstructive abdomen. It is produced by anatomical abnor-malities, physiological and mechanical causes. Several factors that increase the risk of presenting this pathology are representative of the diet rich in fiber, chronic constipation, adhesions, and increased mobility of the colon and alterations of intestinal motility with pregnancy. We report two cases of infrequent presentation of sigmoid volvulus, in which there was a history of resection of the sigmoid colon by volvulus and who presented with acute obstructive abdomen.Los vólvulos constituyen la tercera causa de abdomen obstructivo. Es producida por alteraciones anatómicas, fisiológicas y mecánicas. Varios factores aumentan el riesgo de presentar esta patología siendo representativas la dieta rica en fibra, estreñimiento crónico, adherencias, aumento en la movilidad del colon y alteraciones de la motilidad intestinal asociadas con el embara-zo. Reportamos dos casos de presentación infrecuente de vólvulos de sigma, en los que existió antece-dentes de resección de colon sigmoides por vólvulo y que acudieron por cuadro de abdomen agudo obstructivo

Presentación infrecuente de Vólvulo del Sigmoides en 2 casos

Volvulus is the third cause of the obstructive abdomen. It is produced by anatomical abnor-malities, physiological and mechanical causes. Several factors that increase the risk of presenting this pathology are representative of the diet rich in fiber, chronic constipation, adhesions, and increased mobility of the colon and alterations of intestinal motility with pregnancy. We report two cases of infrequent presentation of sigmoid volvulus, in which there was a history of resection of the sigmoid colon by volvulus and who presented with acute obstructive abdomen.Los vólvulos constituyen la tercera causa de abdomen obstructivo. Es producida por alteraciones anatómicas, fisiológicas y mecánicas. Varios factores aumentan el riesgo de presentar esta patología siendo representativas la dieta rica en fibra, estreñimiento crónico, adherencias, aumento en la movilidad del colon y alteraciones de la motilidad intestinal asociadas con el embara-zo. Reportamos dos casos de presentación infrecuente de vólvulos de sigma, en los que existió antece-dentes de resección de colon sigmoides por vólvulo y que acudieron por cuadro de abdomen agudo obstructivo

Seasonal drought limits tree species across the Neotropics

Within the tropics, the species richness of tree communities is strongly and positively associated with precipitation. Previous research has suggested that this macroecological pattern is driven by the negative effect of water-stress on the physiological processes of most tree species. This process implies that the range limits of taxa are defined by their ability to occur under dry conditions, and thus in terms of species distributions it predicts a nested pattern of taxa distribution from wet to dry areas. However, this ‘dry-tolerance’ hypothesis has yet to be adequately tested at large spatial and taxonomic scales. Here, using a dataset of 531 inventory plots of closed canopy forest distributed across the Western Neotropics we investigated how precipitation, evaluated both as mean annual precipitation and as the maximum climatological water deficit, influences the distribution of tropical tree species, genera and families. We find that the distributions of tree taxa are indeed nested along precipitation gradients in the western Neotropics. Taxa tolerant to seasonal drought are disproportionally widespread across the precipitation gradient, with most reaching even the wettest climates sampled; however, most taxa analysed are restricted to wet areas. Our results suggest that the ‘dry tolerance’ hypothesis has broad applicability in the world's most species-rich forests. In addition, the large number of species restricted to wetter conditions strongly indicates that an increased frequency of drought could severely threaten biodiversity in this region. Overall, this study establishes a baseline for exploring how tropical forest tree composition may change in response to current and future environmental changes in this region

Seasonal drought limits tree species across the Neotropics

AcceptedArticle in Press© 2016 Nordic Society Oikos.Within the tropics, the species richness of tree communities is strongly and positively associated with precipitation. Previous research has suggested that this macroecological pattern is driven by the negative effect of water-stress on the physiological processes of most tree species. This implies that the range limits of taxa are defined by their ability to occur under dry conditions, and thus in terms of species distributions predicts a nested pattern of taxa distribution from wet to dry areas. However, this 'dry-tolerance' hypothesis has yet to be adequately tested at large spatial and taxonomic scales. Here, using a dataset of 531 inventory plots of closed canopy forest distributed across the western Neotropics we investigated how precipitation, evaluated both as mean annual precipitation and as the maximum climatological water deficit, influences the distribution of tropical tree species, genera and families. We find that the distributions of tree taxa are indeed nested along precipitation gradients in the western Neotropics. Taxa tolerant to seasonal drought are disproportionally widespread across the precipitation gradient, with most reaching even the wettest climates sampled; however, most taxa analysed are restricted to wet areas. Our results suggest that the 'dry tolerance' hypothesis has broad applicability in the world's most species-rich forests. In addition, the large number of species restricted to wetter conditions strongly indicates that an increased frequency of drought could severely threaten biodiversity in this region. Overall, this study establishes a baseline for exploring how tropical forest tree composition may change in response to current and future environmental changes in this region.This paper is a product of the RAINFOR and ATDN networks and of ForestPlots.net researchers (http://www.forestplots.net). RAINFOR and ForestPlots have been supported by a Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation grant, the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (283080, ‘GEOCARBON’; 282664, ‘AMAZALERT’); European Research Council (ERC) grant ‘Tropical Forests in the Changing Earth System’ (T-FORCES), and Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Urgency Grant and NERC Consortium Grants ‘AMAZONICA’ (NE/F005806/1) and ‘TROBIT’ (NE/D005590/1). Additional funding for fieldwork was provided by Tropical Ecology Assessment and Monitoring (TEAM) Network, a collaboration among Conservation International, the Missouri Botanical Garden, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Wildlife Conservation Society. A.E.M. receives a PhD scholarship from the T-FORCES ERC grant. O.L.P. is supported by an ERC Advanced Grant and a Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award. We thank Jon J. Lloyd, Chronis Tzedakis, David Galbraith, and two anonymous reviewers for helpful comments and Dylan Young for helping with the analyses. This study would not be possible without the extensive contributions of numerous field assistants and rural communities in the Neotropical forests. Alfredo Alarcón, Patricia Alvarez Loayza, Plínio Barbosa Camargo, Juan Carlos Licona, Alvaro Cogollo, Massiel Corrales Medina, Jose Daniel Soto, Gloria Gutierrez, Nestor Jaramillo Jarama, Laura Jessica Viscarra, Irina Mendoza Polo, Alexander Parada Gutierrez, Guido Pardo, Lourens Poorter, Adriana Prieto, Freddy Ramirez Arevalo, Agustín Rudas, Rebeca Sibler and Javier Silva Espejo additionally contributed data to this study though their RAINFOR participations. We further thank those colleagues no longer with us, Jean Pierre Veillon, Samuel Almeida, Sandra Patiño and Raimundo Saraiva. Many data come from Alwyn Gentry, whose example has inspired new generations to investigate the diversity of the Neotropics

Caracterización de la ruta de degradación de ibuprofeno en Sphingomonas wittichii MPO218

Resumen del trabajo presentado en el XXVIII Congreso Nacional de Microbiología, celebrado en modalidad virtual del 28 de junio al 02 de julio de 2021.Sphingomonas wittichii MPO218, es una bacteria capaz de crecer con ibuprofeno como única fuente de carbono y energía, contiene al plásmido natural plBU218 que hemos demostrado que es conjugativo y cuya adquisición es suficiente para conferir el fenotipo degradador a Sphingopyxis granuli TFA. Este plásmido es inestable ya que sufre diferentes deleciones en cuando no se selecciona su crecimiento con ibuprofeno.Utilizando un enfoque genético clásico, hemos estudiado la vía metabólica completa del ibuprofeno en MPO218. Además de los genes necesarios, descritos en estudios anteriores, para la vía superior que termina en los intermediarios propionil-coA y 4-isobutilcatecol, hemos identificado otras dos regiones de ADN necesarias para metabolizar ibuprofeno. Una de ellas localizada en el cromosoma de MPO218 en una zona conservada en otras cepas de Sphingomonas, relacionada con la metabolización del propionil-coA a través de la vía del metilmalonil-CoA. La otra región mapea en plBU218 y parece contener los genes necesarios para la vía central de metabolización del ibuprofeno que da lugar a intermediarios del ciclo de Krebs. Esta región incluye dos agrupaciones de genes implicados en la degradación de compuestos aromáticos, parte de los cuales parecen haber sido reclutados para la degradación del ibuprofeno. Ambas agrupaciones se activan a nivel de transcripción en presencia de un intermediario metabólico desconocido de la vía superior del ibuprofeno. Basándonos en nuestros resultados, hemos propuesto la vía completa para la metabolización del ibuprofeno en MPO218.Este trabajo ha sido financiado por el Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades de España con la subvención BIO2014-57545-

Characterization of an ibuprofen-eater bacteria

Resumen del trabajo presentado en el Congreso Nacional de Biotecnología BIOTEC2019, celebrado en Vigo (España), del 10 al 13 de junio de 2019The presence of pharmaceutical compounds (PhCs) in drinking water, treated wastewater, groundwater, surface water, and soil around the world is an emerging challenge. It is clear that conventional wastewater treatment technologies are not meeting the challenge of the mounting presence of PhCs in wastewaters. The bioremediation of organic pollutants by microbial degradation is a proven method for counteracting the contamination caused by these recalcitrant substances. In our laboratory, we have isolated a bacterium belonging to the genus Sphingomonas, able to grow with ibuprofen as sole carbon and energy source. This strain was isolated from a Wastewater Treatment Plant of a pharmaceutical company (Almirall). The analysis of its genome sequence showed the presence of genes previously described as necessary for the biotransformation of ibuprofen [1, 2]. The ipf gene cluster was 100% identical to the ipf cluster of the Ibuprofen-degrading strain, Sphingomonas sp. Ibu-2. The ipf cluster is flanked by tranposon sequences and its GC content is lower than the average of the genome, suggesting that this cluster could have been horizontally acquired.Work in the authors' laboratory has been financed by FEDER/ Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities- State Research Agency, grant SAF2017-85785-R

Genetic Characterization of the Ibuprofen-Degradative Pathway of Rhizorhabdus wittichii MPO218

Ibuprofen is one of the most common drugs found as a contaminant in soils, sediments, and waters. Although several microorganisms able to metabolize ibuprofen have been described, the metabolic pathways and factors limiting biodegradation in nature remain poorly characterized. Among the bacteria able to grow on ibuprofen, three different strains belonging to Sphingomonadaceae and isolated from different geographical locations carry the same set of genes required for the upper part of the ibuprofen metabolic pathway. Here, we have studied the metabolic pathway of Rhizorhabdus wittichii MPO218, identifying new genes required for the lower part of the ibuprofen metabolic pathway. We have identified two new DNA regions in MPO218 involved in the metabolism of ibuprofen. One is located on the MPO218 chromosome and appears to be required for the metabolism of propionyl-CoA through the methylmalonyl-CoA pathway. Although involved in ibuprofen metabolism, this region is not strictly necessary for growing using ibuprofen. The second region belongs to the pIBU218 plasmid and comprises two gene clusters containing aromatic compound biodegradation genes, part of which are necessary for ibuprofen degradation. We have identified two genes required for the first two steps of the lower part of the ibuprofen metabolic pathway (ipfL and ipfM), and, based on our results, we propose the putative complete pathway for ibuprofen metabolism in strain MPO218. IMPORTANCE Ibuprofen, one of the most common pharmaceutical contaminants in natural environments, is toxic for some aquatic and terrestrial organisms. The main source of environmental ibuprofen is wastewater, so improving wastewater treatment is of relevant importance. Although several microorganisms capable of biodegrading ibuprofen have been described, the metabolic pathways and their genetic bases remain poorly understood. Three bacterial strains of the family Sphingomonadaceae capable of using ibuprofen as carbon and energy source have been described. Although the genes involved in the upper part of the degradation pathway (ipfABDEF cluster) have been identified, those required for the lower part of the pathway remained unknown. Here, we have confirmed the requirement of the ipf cluster for the generation of isobutyl catechol and have identified the genes involved in the subsequent transformation of the metabolic products. Identification of genes involved in ibuprofen degradation is essential to developing improved strains for the removal of this contaminant.This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities under grant BIO2014-57545-R

Loving to Straighten Out Development: Sexuality and ‘Ethnodevelopment’ in the World Bank’s Ecuadorian Lending

Gender staff in the World Bank -- the world's largest and most influential development institution -- have a policy problem. Having prioritised efforts to get women into paid employment as the "cure-all" for gender inequality they must deal with the work that women already do -- the unpaid labour of caring, socialisation, and human needs fulfilment. This article explores the most prominent policy solution enacted by the Bank to this tension between paid and unpaid work: the restructuring of normative heterosexuality to encourage a two-partner model of love and labour wherein women work more and men care better. Through a case study of Bank gender lending in Ecuador I argue that staff are trying to (re)forge normative arrangements of intimacy, a policy preference that remains invisible unless sexuality is taken seriously as a category of analysis in development studies. Specifically, I focus on four themes that emerge from the attempt to restructure heteronormativity in the loan: (1) the definition of good gender analysis as requiring complementary sharing and dichotomous sex; (2) the Bank's attempt to inculcate limited rationality in women such that they operate as better workers while retaining altruistic attachments to loved ones; (3) the Bank's attempt to inculcate better loving in men, such that they pick up the slack of caring labour when their (partially) rational wives move into productive work, and; (4) the invocation of a racialised hierarchy resting on the extent to which communities approximate ideals of sharing monogamous partnership. Aside from providing clear evidence that the world's largest development institution is involved in micro-processes of sexuality adjustment alongside macro-processes of economic restructuring, I also critique the Bank's sexualised policy interventions and suggest that they warrant contestation