Callus culture development from two varieties of Tagetes erecta and carotenoids production

AbstractBackgroundThe properties of natural pigments, such as antioxidants, functional, medical, and nutraceutical, have demonstrated the advantages of these natural compounds over synthetic ones. Some products are accepted only when they are pigmented with natural, food-quality colorants: for example poultry products (manly marigold flower extracts). Carotenoids such as β-carotene, β-criptoxanthin and lutein are very attractive as natural food colorants due to their antioxidant and pro-vitamin activities which provide additional value to the target products. Marigold (Tagetes erecta) is an Asteraceous ornamental plant native to Mexico, and it is also important as a carotenoid source for industrial and medicinal purposes but nowadays its production is destined mainly for ornamental purposes.ResultsFriable callus of T. erecta yellow flower (YF) and white flower (WF) varieties was induced from leaf explants on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 9.0μM 4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and 8.8μM benzyladenine (BA). Calluses developed from both varieties were different in pigmentation. Extract characterization from callus cultures was carried out by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). This analytical process detected several carotenoids; the main pigments in extracts from YF callus were lutein and zeaxanthin, whereas in the extracts of the WF callus the main pigments were lutein, zeaxanthin, β-cryptoxanthin and β-carotene. Callus cultures of T. erecta accumulated pigments even after several rounds of subculture.ConclusionsWF callus appeared to be a suitable candidate as a source of different carotenoids, and tested varieties could represent an alternative for further studies about in vitro pigment production

A Novel Late-Stage Autophagy Inhibitor That Efficiently Targets Lysosomes Inducing Potent Cytotoxic and Sensitizing Effects in Lung Cancer

Simple Summary Lung cancer is the main cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, mainly due to treatment resistance. For that reason, it is necessary to develop novel therapeutic strategies to overcome this phenomenon. The aim of our study was to design and characterize a synthetic anionophore, LAI-1, that would be able to efficiently disrupt lysosomal activity, leading to autophagy blockage, one of the most important resistance mechanisms in cancer cells. We confirmed that LAI-1 selectively localized in lysosomes, deacidifying them. This effect produced a blockage of autophagy, characterized by an abrogation of autophagosomes and lysosomes fusion. Moreover, LAI-1 produced cell death in lung cancer cells from different histological subtypes, inducing cytotoxicity more efficiently than other known autophagy inhibitors. Finally, LAI-1 was evaluated in combination therapy, showing sensitization to the first-line chemotherapeutic agent cisplatin. Altogether, LAI-1 is a novel late-stage autophagy inhibitor with potential therapeutic applications in tumors with cytoprotective autophagy. Overcoming resistance is one of the most challenging features in current anticancer therapy. Autophagy is a cellular process that confers resistance in some advanced tumors, since it enables cancer cells to adapt to stressful situations, such as anticancer treatments. Hence, the inhibition of this cytoprotective autophagy leads to tumor cells sensitization and death. In this regard, we designed a novel potent anionophore compound that specifically targets lysosomes, called LAI-1 (late-stage autophagy inhibitor-1), and evaluated its role in blocking autophagy and its potential anticancer effects in three lung cancer cell lines from different histological subtypes. Compared to other autophagy inhibitors, such as chloroquine and 3-Methyladenine, the LAI-1 treatment induced more potent anticancer effects in all tested cancer cells. LAI-1 was able to efficiently target and deacidify lysosomes, while acidifying cytoplasmic pH. Consequently, LAI-1 efficiently blocked autophagy, indicated by the increased LC3-II/I ratio and p62/SQSTM1 levels. Moreover, no colocalization was observed between autophagosomes, marked with LC3 or p62/SQSTM1, and lysosomes, stained with LAMP-1, after the LAI-1 treatment, indicating the blockage of autophagolysosome formation. Furthermore, LAI-1 induced cell death by activating apoptosis (enhancing the cleavage of caspase-3 and PARP) or necrosis, depending on the cancer cell line. Finally, LAI-1 sensitized cancer cells to the first-line chemotherapeutic agent cisplatin. Altogether, LAI-1 is a new late-stage autophagy inhibitor that causes lysosomal dysfunction and the blockage of autophagolysosome formation, as well as potently induces cancer cell death and sensitization to conventional treatments at lower concentrations than other known autophagy inhibitors, appearing as a potential new therapeutic approach to overcome cancer resistance

MONITOREO DE CONEXIONES TORNILLO CON SIMULINK DE MATLAB Y ARDUINO (MONITORING OF CONNECTIONS SCREW WITH MATLAB AND ARDUINO SIMULINK)

Resumen La salud estructural es un término utilizado en la evaluación y protección de las estructuras civiles o de la industria de la transformación como la automotriz, aeronáutica y aeroespacial. Con la finalidad de determinar el estado de integridad de la rigidez de estructuras con 1 grado de libertad (gdl), la cual se ve afectada por vibraciones eventuales (como los sismos) o vibraciones por fenómenos operativos permanentes (máquinas rotatorias), que se ven generalizados como vibraciones mecánicas aleatorias y no aleatorias. Como el daño puede ser catastrófico y permanente, se vuelve relevante el proponer un sistema de monitoreo de salud estructural que permita cumplir con dicha tarea a un bajo costo, en términos de la pérdida de rigidez de las conexiones tornillo a través de las mediciones de la frecuencia del sistema, que permita prevenir condiciones inseguras de operación. Palabras Clave: Rigidez estructural, Salud Estructural, Vibraciones Mecánicas. Abstract Structural health is a term used in the evaluation and protection of civil structures or the transformation industry such as automotive, aeronautical and aerospace. In order to determine the integrity state of the rigidity of structures with 1 degree of freedom (gdl), which is affected by eventual vibrations (such as earthquakes) or vibrations by permanent operating phenomena (rotary machines), which are seen generalized as random and non-random mechanical vibrations. As the damage can be catastrophic and permanent, it becomes relevant to propose a structural health monitoring system that allows this task to be accomplished at a low cost, in terms of the loss of rigidity of the screw connections through measurements of the system frequency, to prevent unsafe operating conditions. Keywords: Mechanical Vibrations, Structural Health, Structural rigidity

The ALHAMBRA survey: reliable morphological catalogue of 22 051 early- and late-type galaxies

Advanced Large Homogeneous Area Medium Band Redshift Astronomical (ALHAMBRA) is photometric survey designed to trace the cosmic evolution and cosmic variance. It covers a large area of ~4 deg2 in eight fields, where seven fields overlap with other surveys, allowing us to have complementary data in other wavelengths. All observations were carried out in 20 continuous, medium band (30 nm width) optical and 3 near-infrared (JHK) bands, providing the precise measurements of photometric redshifts. In addition, morphological classification of galaxies is crucial for any kind of galaxy formation and cosmic evolution studies, providing the information about star formation histories, their environment and interactions, internal perturbations, etc. We present a morphological classification of >40 000 galaxies in the ALHAMBRA survey. We associate to every galaxy a probability to be early type using the automated Bayesian code GALSVM. Despite of the spatial resolution of theALHAMBRAimages (~1 arcsec), for 22 051 galaxies, we obtained the contamination by other type of less than 10 per cent. Of those, 1640 and 10 322 galaxies are classified as early-(down to redshifts ~0.5) and late-type (down to redshifts ~1.0), respectively, with magnitudes F613W ≤ 22.0. In addition, for magnitude range 22.0 < F613W ≤ 23.0, we classified other 10 089 late-type galaxies with redshifts ≤1.3.We show that the classified objects populate the expected regions in the colour-mass and colour-magnitude planes. The presented data set is especially attractive given the homogeneous multiwavelength coverage available in the ALHAMBRA fields, and is intended to be used in a variety of scientific applications. The low-contamination catalogue (<10 per cent) is made publicly available with this paper. © 2013 The Authors Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society.This research was supported by the Junta de Andalucía through projects PO8-TIC-03531 and TIC114, the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) through projects AYA2006-14046, AYA2010-15169, AYA2010-22111-C03-02, AYA2011-29517-C03-01, and the Generalitat Valenciana through project GV/Prometeo 2009/064. MP acknowledges financial support from JAE-Doc program of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), co-funded by the European Social Fund.Peer Reviewe

Clonal chromosomal mosaicism and loss of chromosome Y in elderly men increase vulnerability for SARS-CoV-2

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19) had an estimated overall case fatality ratio of 1.38% (pre-vaccination), being 53% higher in males and increasing exponentially with age. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, we found 133 cases (1.42%) with detectable clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations (mCA) and 226 males (5.08%) with acquired loss of chromosome Y (LOY). Individuals with clonal mosaic events (mCA and/or LOY) showed a 54% increase in the risk of COVID-19 lethality. LOY is associated with transcriptomic biomarkers of immune dysfunction, pro-coagulation activity and cardiovascular risk. Interferon-induced genes involved in the initial immune response to SARS-CoV-2 are also down-regulated in LOY. Thus, mCA and LOY underlie at least part of the sex-biased severity and mortality of COVID-19 in aging patients. Given its potential therapeutic and prognostic relevance, evaluation of clonal mosaicism should be implemented as biomarker of COVID-19 severity in elderly people. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, individuals with clonal mosaic events (clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations and/or loss of chromosome Y) showed an increased risk of COVID-19 lethality

Inducción y modificación genética de la carotenogénesis en cultivo in vitro de cempaxúchitl (Tagetes erecta)

El cempaxúchil (Tagetes erecta) es una fuente importante de pigmentos para la industria alimentaria; sus principales pigmentos son carotenoides. A éstos, se les ha relacionado con la prevención de enfermedades crónicas degenerativas. En este trabajo se propuso la elicitación de cultivos in vitro de una variedad blanca de T. erecta. A partir de hojas de T. erecta se indujo callo en medio MS adicionado con BA y 2,4-D. Se analizó el efecto del ácido salicílico y metil jasmonato en cultivos en suspensión y se realizaron ensayos para estalecer las condiciones de transformación genética por medio de biobalistica. Se observó modificación en los niveles de transcrito de genes carotenogénicos, contenido de carotenoides y estructuras de almacenamiento, por efecto de los elicitores abióticos. Se identificó la presencia de luteína, zeaxantina, β-caroteno y β-criptoxantina, se observó cambios en los niveles de transcrito de los genes psy, pds, lcyβ y lcyε por efecto del ácido salicilíco, en cambio con metil jasmonato se observó una disminución de los niveles de transcrito en los genes carotenogéncos con respecto al control. En cuanto a la acumulación de carotenoides totales, se observó que la elicitacion con ácido salicilíco favorece la acumulación de carotenoides con respecto a la elicitacion con metil jasmonato. En cuanto al anaisis de las condiciones de transformación genética, el callo fue susceptible a concentraciones de 100 mg/L de kanamicina, definiéndose como la concentración adecuada para hacer la selección de posibles transformantes. Los explantes de callo de T. erecta fueron bombardeados mediante biobalística con diferentes plasmidos: pBI426 y pC35Sβ en eventos independientes. El pBI426 se utilizó como control de bombardeo evidenciando la efectividad de las condiciones utilizadas, mediante la expresión transitoria del gen uidA, se determino que la condiciones para levar a cabo la transformación por biobalistica son 42.7 kPa/11.5 cm. Los callos bombardeados con las otras construcciones se llevaron a medio de selección. Para verificar la transformación genética, a los callos desarrollados en medio de selección, se les analizó el DNA mediante la reacción en cadena de la polimerasa (PCR), amplificando un fragmento de 617 pb en los callos transformados con el gen nptII. Se obtuvieron materiales positivos en el caso de células desdiferenciadas bombardeadas con pC35Sβ y pBI426

Identification and Quantification of Plant Growth Regulators and Antioxidant Compounds in Aqueous Extracts of Padina durvillaei and Ulva lactuca

© 2020 by the authors.Aqueous seaweed extracts have diverse compounds such as Plant-Growth Regulators (PGRs) which have been utilized in agricultural practices for increasing crop productivity. Algal biomass of Padina durvillaei and Ulva lactuca have been suggested for use as biofertilizers because of plant growth-enhancing properties. This work aimed to identify the main PGRs and antioxidant properties in P. durvillaei and U. lactuca extracts, such as abscisic acid, auxins, cytokinins, gibberellins, jasmonates, and salicylates, to assess their potential use as biofertilizers that improve plant growth and crop yield. Phytochemical analyses of two seaweed extracts showed a significantly higher content of sulfates, flavonoids, and phenolic compounds in P. durvillaei extract, which could be linked to its higher antioxidant activity (DPPH, ABTS, and FRAP) compared to U. lactuca extract. The identification and quantification of PGRs showed two gibberellins (GA1 and GA4), abscisic acid (ABA), indoleacetic acid (IAA), three cytokinins (tZ, IP, and DHZ), jasmonic acid (JA), and salicylic acid (SA) in two seaweed extracts. However, GA4, tZ, and DHZ contents were significantly higher in P. durvillaei compared to U. lactuca extracts. These findings evidence that P. durvillaei and U. lactuca extracts are suitable candidates for use as biofertilizers.Peer reviewe

Contribuciones laborales de una empresa con giro electrónico

Seminario: Diagnóstico financiero de la empres

Improvement and Validation of a Genomic DNA Extraction Method for Human Breastmilk

The human milk microbiota (HMM) of healthy women can vary substantially, as demonstrated by recent advances in DNA sequencing technology. However, the method used to extract genomic DNA (gDNA) from these samples may impact the observed variations and potentially bias the microbiological reconstruction. Therefore, it is important to use a DNA extraction method that is able to effectively isolate gDNA from a diverse range of microorganisms. In this study, we improved and compared a DNA extraction method for gDNA isolation from human milk (HM) samples to commercial and standard protocols. We evaluated the extracted gDNA using spectrophotometric measurements, gel electrophoresis, and PCR amplifications to assess its quantity, quality, and amplifiability. Additionally, we tested the improved method’s ability to isolate amplifiable gDNA from fungi, Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria to validate its potential for reconstructing microbiological profiles. The improved DNA extraction method resulted in a higher quality and quantity of the extracted gDNA compared to the commercial and standard protocols and allowed for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of the V3–V4 regions of the 16S ribosomal gene in all the samples and the ITS-1 region of the fungal 18S ribosomal gene in 95% of the samples. These results suggest that the improved DNA extraction method demonstrates better performance for gDNA extraction from complex samples such as HM