Analyses of amber mutants of Salmonella phage SPN3US

The giant Salmonella enterica phage SPN3US belongs to the ϕKZ-related phages which are amongst the most complex virions of prokaryotic viruses, even more complex than most eukaryotic viruses. SPN3US for example assigns 46% of its 240kbp genome to code for virion proteins. We have limited knowledge about these giant phages as they encode extremely diverged genes, from other phages and even to one another. The ϕKZ-related phages possess large genomes and correspondingly large and complex capsids, two sets of fragmented RNAP β and β’-like proteins and they also exhibit an unusual replication having a DNA polymerase split into two polypeptides. The complete genome of phage SPN3US was previously sequenced by Lee et al. (2011). As is typical for a newly sequenced phage, 80% of its ORFs were annotated as hypothetical. To address this problem of functionally unassigned genes, a novel strategy for phages is to target the essential genes and work to determine their functions using genetic approaches. In this work amber mutants of a giant phage were sequenced for the first time. Once the amber mutation sites were determined the sequence similarity of those genes in other ϕKZ-related phages was analyzed. This has enabled us to identify fourteen essential genes in SPN3US, ten of which code for the components of the phage virion. Previously we knew the function of three genes, now we can infer the function of four more genes. The mutants encoding these essential genes will now form the basis of further studies to determine specific functions for these novel genes. Ten of these genes are well conserved among the ϕKZ-related phages being classified as core genes for this subfamily. These studies have demonstrated that SPN3US is an excellent model system to study the ϕKZ-related phages

Efectividad de la fisioterapia Versus kinesiotaping en pacientes con diagnóstico de Lumbalgia entre las edades de 20 a 50 años atendidos en el Hospital Nacional General de Santa Rosa de Lima, La Unión en el período de julio a septiembre de 2011

La investigación se realizó con el objetivo de determinar la efectividad de la Fisioterapia versus Kinesiotaping en pacientes con diagnóstico de lumbalgia atendidos en el Hospital Nacional General de Santa Rosa de Lima La Unión. El plan de tratamiento se realizó en un período de tres meses con dos sesiones semanales de dos horas para ambos grupos. La Metodología la constituyeron 8 pacientes como muestra con diagnóstico de lumbalgia los cuales fueron atendidos 2 veces por semana en el transcurso de 3 meses. El tipo de investigación fue prospectiva y comparativa las técnicas que se emplearon fueron; documental bibliográfica y de campo, se realizó una evaluación inicial y final sobre el estado físico de los pacientes con diagnóstico de lumbalgia. Los resultados obtenidos fueron que de los 8 pacientes con diagnóstico de lumbalgia, el total de pacientes de sexo masculino fue de 37.5% y el total de pacientes femenino fue de 62.5% donde al final de la ejecución de la investigación se comprobó que los pacientes tratados con la Técnica Kinesiotaping evolucionaron mejor y en menos tiempo. En el parámetro del dolor para el caso de los pacientes tratados con Fisioterapia el 75% se mostró en estado ausente, el 25% moderado. Mientras que los pacientes tratados con la Técnica Kinesiotaping el porcentaje fue de 75% en el estado ausente, 25% leve, cumpliendo el objetivo de Evaluar el grado de dolor del paciente con diagnóstico de lumbalgia en la aplicación de ambos tratamientos. En el parámetro de la sensibilidad para el caso de los pacientes tratados con Fisioterapia el 100% se mostró en estado ausente. De igual forma para los pacientes tratados con la Técnica Kinesiotaping el 100%, cumpliendo el objetivo de Identificar a través de los roces de diferentes texturas la sensibilidad en la aplicación de ambos tratamientos. En el parámetro de la inflamación para el caso de los pacientes tratados con Fisioterapia el 100% de los pacientes presentaron un estado ausente, de igual forma los pacientes tratados con la Técnica Kinesiotaping cumpliendo el objetivo de Verificar la presencia del grado de inflamación en la aplicación de ambos tratamientos. En el parámetro de los espasmos musculares en los pacientes tratados con Fisioterapia el 75% se encuentran en estado ausente, y el 25% presente, mientras que los pacientes tratados con la Técnica Kinesiotaping el 100% se mostró en estado ausente cumpliendo el objetivo de Examinar a través de la palpación la existencia de espasmos musculares a nivel lumbar en la aplicación de ambos tratamientos. En el parámetro de la fuerza muscular en los pacientes tratados con Fisioterapia el 75% completa la fuerza muscular y el 25% incompleto, para los pacientes tratados con la Técnica Kinesiotaping el 100% se encuentra dentro de los rangos normales de la fuerza muscular cumpliendo el objetivo de Determinar mediante la evaluación física la rigidez muscular y articular de la columna en la aplicación de ambos tratamientos. En el parámetro de la amplitud articular en los pacientes tratados con Fisioterapia el 75% completa los arcos articulares, el 25% incompleto. Para los pacientes tratados con la Técnica Kinesiotaping el 100% completó los arcos articulares normales, cumpliendo el objetivo de Determinar mediante la evaluación física la rigidez muscular y articular de la columna en la aplicación de ambos tratamiento

Reproductive pattern of the reef-building coral Pavona gigantea (Scleractinia: Agariciidae) off southwestern Mexico

The reproductive biology of the massive coral Pavona gigantea has been studied along Mexico’s Pacific coast, but basic aspects such as its relation to local environmental variables and its variation on a mesoscale level have not been addressed. The reproductive cycle of P. gigantea was monitored monthly over a two-year period (2010–2012) at four sites along the coast of Oaxaca (southwestern Mexico). Except for one hermaphroditic colony, P. gigantea was gonochoric and exhibited asynchronous development. The data suggest that, in the study area, the species may reproduce seasonally, with minor interannual differences (May–September 2010, April–August 2011, April–May 2012). There were spatial and temporal variations in the percentage of reproductively active colonies and the presence of mature sex cells. A multiple regression analysis revealed that the percentage of reproductively active colonies was significantly explained (69.6%) by mesoscale variations in environmental variables such as sea surface temperature, photosynthetically active radiation, diffuse attenuation coefficient, percentage of lunar illumination, and photoperiod, the latter being the most relevant variable in the model. The data suggest that temporal mesoscale variations can exert a meaningful influence on coral reproduction in the study area.

Behavior of Vibrio spp. in Table Olives

13 Páginas.-- 2 Figuras.-- 6 TablasThe presence of Vibrio species in table olive fermentations has been confirmed by molecular biology techniques in recent studies. However, there has been no report of any foodborne outbreak caused by Vibrio due to the consumption of table olives, and their role as well as the environmental conditions allowing their survival in table olives has not been elucidated so far. The aims of this work were to model the behavior of an inoculated Vibrio cocktail in diverse table olive environments and study the possible behavior of an inoculated Vibrio cocktail in table olives. First, an in vitro study has been performed where the microbial behavior of a Vibrio cocktail was evaluated in a laboratory medium and in olive brines using predictive models at different NaCl concentrations (2–12%) and pH levels (4.0–9.0). Afterward, a challenge testing was done in lye-treated olives inoculated at the beginning of fermentation with the Vibrio cocktail for 22 days. The Vibrio cocktail inoculated in table olives has not been detected in olive brines during fermentation at different pH levels. However, it was observed that this microorganism in a laboratory medium could reach an optimal growth at pH 9 and 2% salt, without time of constant absorbance (t), and the maximum absorbance value (y) observed was at pH 8 and 2% salt conditions. The statistical analysis demonstrated that the effect of salt concentration was higher than pH for the kinetic growth parameters (μ, t, and y). On the other hand, it was confirmed that no growth of the Vibrio cocktail on any sample was noticed in lye-treated olive fermentations. Thus, it was concluded that the presence of olive compounds (unknown) did not allow the development of Vibrio strains, so it is a very safety product as it has a natural antimicrobial compound, but the possibility that a native Vibrio sp. is able to acquire the capacity to adapt to this compound should be considered in further studies.The research leading to these results has received funding from the Spanish government through the TOBE project (RTI2018-100883-B-I00) and Council of Economy, Knowledge, Business and University of Junta de Andalucía (Project AT 2017-5686, Project AT 2017-5503) and FEDER European funds

Composición Florística de la Finca Agroecológica de Zamorano, Honduras: Una Experiencia del Programa Aprender Haciendo

La finca agroecológica de Zamorano está en el valle de Yeguare, San Antonio de Oriente, Departamento de Francisco Morazán, Honduras, es comanejada por la Escuela Agrícola Panamericana, Zamorano. Esta finca tiene como propósito reproducir un sistema agroecológico que garantice su estructura, funcionamiento y biodiversidad. El objetivo de este estudio fue determinar su composición florística e identificar las especies de importancia ecológica y económica, así como su estado de conservación. Se identificaron 210 especies que pertenecen a 53 familias, las más comunes son Asteraceae, Fabaceae y Malvaceae. El 86% de las especies registradas son nativas, en su mayoría hierbas y árboles de importancia económica. Las especies más importantes son: Guazuma ulmifolia, Quercus oleoides, Luehea candida, Bursera simaruba, Mimosa tenuiflora, Verbesina punctata, Malvaviscus arboreus. Solo ocho especies se encuentran en la categoría de atención menor, según la lista roja de la Unión Internacional para la Conservación de la Naturaleza (UICN), y dos especies de orquídeas en la lista CITES. La finca agroecológica de Zamorano ofrece un potencial económico por las especies de uso medicinal, maderable y comestible. Además, este estudio florístico se considera una herramienta para la elaboración del plan de manejo de la finca

Metforminium Decavanadate as a Potential Metallopharmaceutical Drug for the Treatment of Diabetes Mellitus

New potential drugs based on vanadium are being developed as possible treatments for diabetes mellitus (DM) and its complications. In this regard, our working group developed metforminium decavanadate (MetfDeca), a compound with hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic properties. MetfDeca was evaluated in models of type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus, on male Wistar rats. Alloxan-induction was employed to produce DM1 model, while a hypercaloric-diet was employed to generate DM2 model. Two-month treatments with 3.7 g (2.5 M)/300 g/twice a week for DM2 and 7.18 g (4.8 M)/300 g/twice a week for DM1 of MetfDeca, respectively, were administered. The resulting pharmacological data showed nontoxicological effects on liver and kidney. At the same time, MetfDeca showed an improvement of carbohydrates and lipids in tissues and serum. MetfDeca treatment was better than the monotherapies with metformin for DM2 and insulin for DM1. Additionally, MetfDeca showed a protective effect on pancreatic beta cells of DM1 rats, suggesting a possible regeneration of these cells, since they recovered their insulin levels. Therefore, MetfDeca could be considered not only as an insulin-mimetic agent, but also as an insulin-enhancing agent. Efforts to elucidate the mechanism of action of this compound are now in progress

Assessing Listeria monocytogenes growth during Spanish-style green table olive fermentation

3 Tablas.-- 3 FigurasTable olives are one of the most important fermented vegetables in the Mediterranean countries. Although this fermented vegetable has a long record of microbial safety, various studies have shown the presence of Listeria monocytogenes during table olive processing. This study focused on evaluating the behaviour of a cocktail of L. monocytogenes strains during fermentation of Spanish-style green Manzanilla olives. For this purpose, a challenge test consisting of artificial inoculation of olive fermentation with high levels of the food-borne pathogen (7.0 log10 CFU/ml) was performed. The fermentation was carried out at the laboratory scale in sealed glass bottles (n = 168) under controlled conditions to avoid the initiation of lactic acid fermentation intentionally. This point was confirmed by the evolution of pH, which ranged from an initial 9.0 to final 6.0 units (decrease kinetic constant of −0.0016 h−1), as well as by the behaviour of lactic acid and mesophilic bacteria during the study (55 days). The fate of L. monocytogenes during fermentation was described using mathematical models, including the two-term Gompertz equation. During this time, the food-borne pathogen showed an initial growth phase which lasted until 250 h, reaching a maximum population level close to 9.0 log10 CFU/ml, even in the presence of high salt concentrations (>6.0% NaCl). Then, a rapid decline phase was observed but continuously detecting a residual tail of around 2 log10 CFU/ml. Data obtained in this work shows the importance of the control of olive fermentation, especially during the first weeks when pH is alkaline-neutral and environmental conditions could favour L. monocytogenes growth.This research was funded through TOBE project (RTI2018-100883-B-I00, MCIU/AEI/FEDER, UE), Council of Economy, Knowledge, Business and University of Junta de Andalucía (Project AT 2017–5686), and FEDER European funds.Peer reviewe