Characterization of bacteriophages infecting clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa stored in a culture collection

Some clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa stored in our culture collection did not grow or grew poorly and showed lysis on the culture plates when removed from the collection and inoculated on MacConkey agar. One hypothesis was that bacteriophages had infected and killed those clinical isolates. To check the best storage conditions to maintain viable P. aeruginosa for a longer time, clinical isolates were stored at various temperatures and were grown monthly. We investigated the presence of phage in 10 clinical isolates of P. aeruginosa stored in our culture collection. Four strains of P. aeruginosa were infected by phages that were characterized by electron microscopy and isolated to assess their ability to infect. The best condition to maintain the viability of the strains during storage was in water at room temperature. Three Siphoviridae and two Myoviridae phages were visualized and characterized by morphology. We confirmed the presence of bacteriophages infecting clinical isolates, and their ability to infect and lyse alternative hosts. Strain PAO1, however, did not show lysis to any phage. Mucoid and multidrug resistant strains of P. aeruginosa showed lysis to 50% of the phages tested.Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Divisao de Doencas Infecciosas Laboratorio Especial de Microbiologia ClinicaInstituto Adolfo Lutz Nucleo de Microscopia EletronicaUNIFESP, Divisao de Doencas Infecciosas Laboratorio Especial de Microbiologia ClinicaSciEL

Contribution to the knowledge of the parasitic trematodes of «thrushes» in Granada (Spain)

Se está llevando a cabo un estudio sobre la helmintofauna parásita de aves pertenecientes al género Turdus «zorzales » ( T. philomelos, T. iliacus, T. viscivorus y T. merula). En este trabajo se denuncia, por primera vez en nuestro país, el trematodo Cyclocoelum mutabile en los sacos aéreos de Turdus philomelos (zorzal común) y se realiza una breve descripción de su morfología.A stady is being carried out on the parasitic helminthfauna in birds belonging to the genus Turdus «thrushes» (T. philomelos, T. iliacus, T, viscivorus y T. merula). In this article is noticed, the trematode Cyclocoelum mutabile, parasite of air sacs of Turdus philomelos (common thrush). For the first time in Spain, also, a brief morphological description is made

Biologia do bicho do cesto Oiketicus kirbyi (Lands.-Guilding, 1827) (Lepidoptera, Psychidae) em folhas de Eucalyptus spp

The bagworm Oiketicus kirbyi (Lands.-Guilding), an extremely polyphagous insect, is a pest of several crops of economic importance mainly in the southern region on Brazil. It occurs in eucalipt plantations although no outbreaks have been registered until today. This paper deals with the biology of 0. kirbyi on Eucalyptus spp. leaves. The insect was reared in laboratory conditions (temperature of 25±3°C, relative humidity of 70±10%, and photophase of 13 hours) and the following mean values were obtained: egg period of 43.1 days; larval period of 140 days (males) and 151 days (females); pupal period of 38.2 days (males); adult longevity of 3.0 days (males) and 3.9 days (females), and oviposition period of 2.1 days. Other data obtained were: dimensions of egg, pupa, adult and head capsules; number of larval instars; mating period and estimation of leaf damage.O bicho do cesto, Oiketicus kirbyi (Lands.-Guilding, 1827), inseto extremamente polífago, é praga de várias culturas de importância econômica, principalmente na região sul do Brasil. Sua ocorrência em áreas reflorestadas com eucalipto é freqüente, embora não tenha causado, ainda, danos econômicos de monta. Este trabalho trata da biologia deste inseto em folhas de Eucalyptus spp., com a finalidade de trazer subsídios para o caso de eventuais surtos de O. kirbyi em florestas implantadas. O bicho do cesto foi criado em laboratório em temperatura de 25±3°C, umidade relativa de 70± 10% e fotofase de 13 h. Os seguintes valores médios foram obtidos: período embrionário de 43,1 dias, período larval de 140 dias (machos) e 151 dias (fêmeas), período pupal de 38,2 dias (machos), longevidade dos adultos de 3,0 dias (machos) e 3,9 dias (fêmeas) e período de oviposição 2,1 dias. Foram determinadas, também, as dimensões de ovos, pupas, adultos e das cápsulas cefálicas, o número de ínstares larvais, período de cópula, além da estimativa do dano foliar

Método de obtención de un biomaterial

La presente invención está dirigida a un método de obtención de un biomaterial que comprende un soporte de fibras de carbón activado y células de linaje osteocondral, en el que células madre se ponen en contacto con dicho soporte y se cultivan en presencia de suero y ausencia de factores de diferenciación osteogénica y/o condrogénica adicionales. La invención se dirige asimismo al biomaterial así obtenido y a las diferentes aplicaciones médicas de dicho biomaterial.Peer reviewedUniversidad de Granada, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones CientíficasA1 Solicitud de patente con informe sobre el estado de la técnic

Depolarizing metrics for plant samples imaging

Optical methods, as fluorescence microscopy or hyperspectral imaging, are commonly used for plants visualization and characterization. Another powerful collection of optical techniques is the so-called polarimetry, widely used to enhance image contrast in multiple applications. In the botanical applications framework, in spite of some works have already highlighted the depolarizing print that plant structures left on input polarized beams, the potential of polarimetric methods has not been properly exploited. In fact, among the few works dealing with polarization and plants, most of them study light scattered by plants using the Degree of Polarization (DoP) indicator. Other more powerful depolarization metrics are nowadays neglected. In this context, we highlight the potential of different depolarization metrics obtained using the Mueller matrix (MM) measurement: the Depolarization Index and the Indices of Polarimetric Purity. We perform a qualitative and quantitative comparison between DoP- and MM-based images by studying a particular plant, the Hedera maroccana. We show how Mueller-based metrics are generally more suitable in terms of contrast than DoP-based measurements. The potential of polarimetric measurements in the study of plants is highlighted in this work, suggesting they can be applied to the characterization of plants, plant taxonomy, water stress in plants, and other botanical studies

Brazilian Multicentre Study Of Common Mental Disorders In Primary Care: Rates And Related Social And Demographic Factors [estudo Multicêntrico Brasileiro Sobre Transtornos Mentais Comuns Na Atenção Primária: Prevalência E Fatores Sociodemográficos Relacionados]

Mental health problems are common in primary health care, particularly anxiety and depression. This study aims to estimate the prevalence of common mental disorders and their associations with socio-demographic characteristics in primary care in Brazil (Family Health Strategy). It involved a multicenter cross-sectional study with patients from Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Fortaleza (Ceará State) and Porto Alegre (Rio Grande do Sul State), assessed using the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HAD). The rate of mental disorders in patients from Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Fortaleza and Porto Alegre were found to be, respectively, 51.9%, 53.3%, 64.3% and 57.7% with significant differences between Porto Alegre and Fortaleza compared to Rio de Janeiro after adjusting for confounders. Prevalence proportions of mental problems were especially common for females, the unemployed, those with less education and those with lower incomes. In the context of the Brazilian government's moves towards developing primary health care and reorganizing mental health policies it is relevant to consider common mental disorders as a priority alongside other chronic health conditions.303623632Kessler, R.C., Aguilar-Gaxiola, S., Alonso, J., Chatterji, S., Lee, S., Ormel, J., The global burden of mental disorders: An update from the WHO World Mental Health (WMH) surveys (2009) Epidemiol Psichiatr Soc, 18, pp. 23-33Druss, B.G., Hwang, I., Petukhova, M., Sampson, N.A., Wang, P.S., Kessler, R.C., Impairment in role functioning in mental and chronic medical disorders in the United States: Results from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication (2009) Mol Psychiatry, 14, pp. 728-737Eaton, W.W., Martins, S.S., Nestadt, G., Bienvenu, O.J., Clarke, D., Alexandre, P., The burden of mental disorders (2008) Epidemiol Rev, 30, pp. 1-14Scott, K.M., Von Korff, M., Alonso, J., Angermeyer, M.C., Bromet, E., Fayyad, J., Mental-physical co-morbidity and its relationship with disability: Results from the World Mental Health Surveys (2009) Psychol Med, 39, pp. 33-43Patten, S.B., Williams, J.V.A., Lavorato, D.H., Modgill, G., Jette, N., Eliasziw, M., Major depression as a risk factor for chronic disease incidence: Longitudinal analyses in a general population cohort (2008) Gen Hosp Psychiatry, 30, pp. 407-413Bijl, D., van Marwijk, H.W.J., de Haan, M., van Tilburg, W., Beekman, A.-J.T.F., Effectiveness of disease management programmes for recognition, diagnosis and treatment of depression in primary care (2004) Eur J Gen Pract, 10, pp. 6-12Kohn, R., Saxena, S., Levav, I., Saraceno, B., The treatment gap in mental health care (2004) Bull World Health Organ, 82, pp. 858-866Prince, M., Patel, V., Saxena, S., Maj, M., Maselko, J., Phillips, M.R., No health without mental health (2007) Lancet, 370, pp. 859-877(2008) Mental health gap action programme: Scaling up care for mental, neurological, and substance use disorders, , World Health Organization, Geneva: World Health Organization(2010) World health statistics 2010, , World Health Organization, Geneva: World Health OrganizationSchramm, J.A., Oliveira, A.F., Leite, I.C., Valente, J.G., Gadelha, A.J., Portela, M.C., Transição epidemiológica e o estudo de carga de doença no Brasil (2004) Ciênc Saúde Coletiva, 9, pp. 897-908Andrade, L.H., Wang, Y.-P., Andreoni, S., Silveira, C.M., Alexandrino-Silva, C., Siu, E.R., Mental disorders in megacities: Findings from the São Paulo megacity mental health survey, Brazil (2012) PLoS One, 7, pp. e31879Harris, M., Haines, A., Brazil's Family Health Programme (2010) BMJ, 341, pp. c4945(2008) Integrating mental health into primary health care a global perspective, , World Health Organization, Geneva: World Health OrganizationÜstürn, T.B., Sartorius, N., Villano, L.B., (1995) Mental illness in general health care an international study, , Chichester: Wiley & SonsGonçalves, D.M., Kapczinski, F., Prevalência de transtornos mentais em indivíduos de uma unidade de referência para Programa Saúde da Família em Santa Cruz do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil (2008) Cad Saúde Pública, 24, pp. 2043-2053Azevedo-Marques, J.M., Zuardi, A.W., COOP/WONCA charts as a screen for mental disorders in primary care (2011) Ann Fam Med, 9, pp. 359-365Busnello, E.D., Lima, B.R., Bertolote, J.M., Aspectos interculturais de classificação e diagnóstico (1983) J Bras Psiquiatr, 32, pp. 207-210Mari, J.J., Psychiatric morbidity in three primary medical care clinics in the city of Sao Paulo. Issues on the mental health of the urban poor (1987) Soc Psychiatry, 22, pp. 129-138Iacoponi, E., (1989) The detection of emotional disorders by primary care physicians: A study, , in São Paulo, Brazil, London: Univestity of LondonAlmeida, M.D., Nunes, M.A., Camey, S., Pinheiro, A.P., Schmidt, M.I., Transtornos mentais em uma amostra de gestantes da rede de atenção básica de saúde no Sul do Brasil (2012) Cad Saúde Pública, 28, pp. 385-394Fortes, S., Villano, L.B., Lopes, C.S., Nosological profile and prevalence of common mental disorders of patients seen at the Family Health Program (FHP) units in Petropolis, Rio de Janeiro (2008) Rev Bras Psiquiatr, 30, pp. 32-37Gonçalves, D.A., Fortes, S., Campos, M., Ballester, D., Portugal, F.B., Tófoli, L.F., Evaluation of a mental health training intervention for multidisciplinary teams in primary care in Brazil: A pre-and posttest study (2013) Gen Hosp Psychiatry, 35, pp. 304-308Goldberg, D., (1978) Manual of the General Health Questionnaire, , Windsor: National Foundation for Educational ResearchMari, J.J., Williams, P., A comparison of the validity of two psychiatric screening questionnaires (GHQ-12 and SRQ-20) in Brazil, using relative operating characteristic (ROC) analysis (1985) Psychol Med, 15, pp. 651-659Mari, J.J., Iacoponi, E., Williams, P., Simões, O., Silva, J.B., Detection of psychiatric morbidity in the primary medical care setting in Brazil (1987) Rev Saúde Pública, 21, pp. 501-507Botega, N.J., Bio, M.R., Zomignani, M.A., Garcia Jr., C., Pereira, W.A., Transtornos do humor em enfermaria de clínica médica e validação de escala de medida (HAD) de ansiedade e depressão (1995) Rev Saúde Pública, 29, pp. 355-363Judd, L.L., Paulus, M.P., Wells, K.B., Rapaport, M.H., Socioeconomic burden of subsyndromal depressive symptoms and major depression in a sample of the general population (1996) Am J Psychiatry, 153, pp. 1411-1417Goldberg, D.P., Huxley, P., (1992) Common mental disorders a bio-social model, , London: 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common mental disorders in general practice attendees across Europe (2008) Br J Psychiatry, 192, pp. 362-367Roca, M., Gili, M., Garcia-Garcia, M., Salva, J., Vives, M., Garcia-Campayo, J., Prevalence and comorbidity of common mental disorders in primary care (2009) J Affect Disord, 119, pp. 52-58Broers, T., Hodgetts, G., Batic-Mujanovic, O., Petrovic, V., Hasanagic, M., Godwin, M., Prevalence of mental and social disorders in adults attending primary care centers in Bosnia and Herzegovina (2006) Croat Med J, 47, pp. 478-484Toft, T., Fink, P., Oernboel, E., Christensen, K., Frostholm, L., Olesen, F., Mental disorders in primary care: Prevalence and co-morbidity among disorders: Results from the functional illness in primary care (FIP) study (2005) Psychol Med, 35, pp. 1175-1178Reichenheim, M.E., Souza, E.R., Moraes, C.L., Mello-Jorge, M.H.P., Silva, C.M.F.P., Minayo, M.C.S., Violence and injuries in Brazil: The effect, progress made, and challenges ahead (2011) Lancet, 377, pp. 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Creation of NOON states by double Fock-state/Bose-Einstein condensates

NOON states (states of the form $|N>_{a}|0>_{b}+|0>_{a}|N>_{b}$ where $a$ and $b$ are single particle states) have been used for predicting violations of hidden-variable theories (Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger violations) and are valuable in metrology for precision measurements of phase at the Heisenberg limit. We show theoretically how the use of two Fock state/Bose-Einstein condensates as sources in a modified Mach Zender interferometer can lead to the creation of the NOON state in which $a$ and $b$ refer to arms of the interferometer and $N$ is the total number of particles in the two condensates. The modification of the interferometer involves making conditional ``side'' measurements of a few particles near the sources. These measurements put the remaining particles in a superposition of two phase states, which are converted into NOON states by a beam splitter. The result is equivalent to the quantum experiment in which a large molecule passes through two slits. The NOON states are combined in a final beam splitter and show interference. Attempts to detect through which ``slit'' the condensates passed destroys the interference.Comment: 8 pages 5 figure

Current challenges in chronic bronchial infection in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Currently, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients and their physicians face a number of significant clinical challenges, one of which is the high degree of uncertainty related to chronic bronchial infection (CBI). By reviewing the current literature, several challenges can be identified, which should be considered as goals for research. One of these is to establish the bases for identifying the biological and clinical implications of the presence of potentially pathogenic microorganisms in the airways that should be more clearly elucidated according to the COPD phenotype. Another urgent area of research is the role of long-term preventive antibiotics. Clinical trials need to be carried out with inhaled antibiotic therapy to help clarify the profile of those antibiotics. The role of inhaled corticosteroids in patients with COPD and CBI needs to be studied to instruct the clinical management of these patients. Finally, it should be explored and confirmed whether a suitable antimicrobial treatment during exacerbations may contribute to breaking the vicious circle of CBI in COPD. The present review addresses the current state of the art in these areas to provide evidence which will enable us to progressively plan better healthcare for these patients