Spectral changes of brain activity in rat offspring exposed to aluminium during gestation and lactation

Exposure to aluminium during gestation causes changes in mammalian brain development and behavior. Our aim was to perform spectral analysis on electrocortical activity of Sprague Dawley male pups (30±3 days of age) whose mothers were treated with aluminium during gestation and lactation. There was a higher presence of power spectra in the delta range of parietal electrocortical activity, a lower presence in the theta range and increased values of the parameter DT as the ratio of delta to theta range in pups indirectly exposed to aluminium (whose mothers were drinking a 0.5% water solution of aluminium chloride during the gestation and lactation periods), compared to controls

Cognitive functions in repeated glioma surgery

Low-grade gliomas (LGG) are slow-growing brain tumors infiltrating the central nervous system which tend to recur, often with malignant degeneration after primary treatment. Re-operations are not always recommended due to an assumed higher risk of neurological and cognitive deficits. However, this assumption is relatively ungrounded due to a lack of extensive neuropsychological testing. We retrospectively examined a series of 40 patients with recurrent glioma in eloquent areas of the left hemisphere, who all completed comprehensive pre- (T3) and post-surgical (T4) neuropsychological assessments after a second surgery (4-month follow up). The lesions were most frequent in the left insular cortex and the inferior frontal gyrus. Among this series, in 17 patients the cognitive outcomes were compared before the first surgery (T1), 4 months after the first surgery (T2), and at T3 and T4. There was no significant difference either in the number of patients scoring within the normal range between T3 and T4, or in their level of performance. Further addressing the T1\u2013T4 evolution, there was no significant difference in the number of patients scoring within the normal range. As to their level of performance, the only significant change was in phonological fluency. This longitudinal follow-up study showed that repeated glioma surgery is possible without major damage to cognitive functions in the short-term period (4 months) after surgery

Ouidah et son patrimoine

L'étude sur Ouidah, petite ville de la côte du Bénin, se divise en trois parties. La première présente l'histoire de la cité du 18ème au début du 20ème siècle, les cultes vodouns qui s'y sont développés et le processus d'urbanisation. La 2ème partie inventorie les lieux patrimoniaux qui renvoient à cette histoire et aux traits culturels de cette société. La 3ème dresse un diagnostic des actions et des acteurs dans la ville, rappelle les caractéristiques du patrimoine bâti et propose des mesures pour sa conservation et sa valorisatio

Enhancement of Brassica napus Tolerance to High Saline Conditions by Seed Priming.

Plants grown in saline soils undergo osmotic and oxidative stresses, affecting growth and photosynthesis and, consequently, the yield. Therefore, the increase in soil salinity is a major threat to crop productivity worldwide. Plant’s tolerance can be ameliorated by applying simple methods that induce them to adopt morphological and physiological adjustments to counteract stress. In this work, we evaluated the effects of seed priming on salt stress response in three cultivars of rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) that had different tolerance levels. Seed chemical priming was performed with 2.5 mM spermine (SPM), 5 mM spermidine (SPD), 40 mM NaCl and 2.5 mM Ca (NO3 )2 . Primed and not primed seeds were sown on saline and not saline (controls) media, and morphological and physiological parameters were determined. Since SPD treatment was effective in reducing salinity negative effects on growth, membrane integrity and photosynthetic pigments, we selected this priming to further investigate plant salt stress response. The positive effects of this seed treatment on growth and physiological responses were evident when primed plants were compared to not primed ones, grown under the same saline conditions. SPD priming ameliorated the tolerance towards saline stress, in a genotype-independent manner, by increasing photosynthetic pigments, proline amounts and antioxidant responses in all cultivars exposed to salt. These results may open new perspectives for crop productivity in the struggle against soil salinization

PGPB Improve Photosynthetic Activity and Tolerance to Oxidative Stress in Brassica napus Grown on Salinized Soils.

Soil salinization, one of the most common causes of soil degradation, negatively affects plant growth, reproduction, and yield in plants. Saline conditions elicit some physiological changes to cope with the imposed osmotic and oxidative stresses. Inoculation of plants with some bacterial species that stimulate their growth, i.e., plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB), may help plants to counteract saline stress, thus improving the plant’s fitness. This manuscript reports the effects of the inoculation of a salt-sensitive cultivar of Brassica napus (canola) with five different PGPB species (separately), i.e., Azospirillum brasilense, Arthrobacter globiformis, Burkholderia ambifaria, Herbaspirillum seropedicae, and Pseudomonas sp. on plant salt stress physiological responses. The seeds were sown in saline soil (8 dS/m) and inoculated with bacterial suspensions. Seedlings were grown to the phenological stage of rosetta, when morphological and physiological features were determined. In the presence of the above-mentioned PGPB, salt exposed canola plants grew better than noninoculated controls. The water loss was reduced in inoculated plants under saline conditions, due to a low level of membrane damage and the enhanced synthesis of the osmolyte proline, the latter depending on the bacterial strain inoculated. The reduction in membrane damage was also due to the increased antioxidant activity (i.e., higher amount of phenolic compounds, enhanced superoxide dismutase, and ascorbate peroxidase activities) in salt-stressed and inoculated Brassica napus. Furthermore, the salt-stressed and inoculated plants did not show detrimental effects to their photosynthetic apparatus, i.e., higher efficiency of PSII and low energy dissipation by heat for photosynthesis were detected. The improvement of the response to salt stress provided by PGPB paves the way to further use of PGPB as inoculants of plants grown in saline soils

STUDY ON THE ANTIBIOTIC-RESISTANCE IN STRAINS OF SALMONELLA ISOLATES IN FOOD FROM 2003 TO 2010

A survey on the antibiotics resistance on salmonella strains of food origin was carried out. Four hundred thirty five different strains of Salmonella detected during eight years since 2003 were tested with the protocols of the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standard (NCCLS). One hundred twenty Salmonella strains were of cow origin, 166 from swine, 92 from poultry and the remaining 57 from shellfish. Starting from 2007 a reduction in the resistance was evident on the total isolates

Métodos computacionales para estudio de la anemia drepanocítica

El procesamiento de imágenes digitales y la visión por computador son ampliamente utilizados en medicina actualmente y son de gran interés las propuestas de nuevos métodos de análisis automatizado de imágenes digitales o mejorar la eficiencia de los existentes. En este trabajo se desarrollaron métodos nuevos para estudiar computacionalmente a través de imágenes de muestras de sangre la drepanocitosis, dolencia con alta incidencia mundial y en Cuba, sobre todo en la región oriental. Se propusieron nuevos métodos de análisis de formas, obtenidos a partir de resultados clásicos de geometría integral y nuevas propuestas de visión por computador para evaluar trastornos neurofisiológicos asociados a través del estudio de las expresiones faciales del paciente. La validación estadística realizada comprobó la superioridad de estos métodos sobre otros, se determinó que son válidos para ser introducidos en software de apoyo para mejorar la calidad de la atención médica.Palabras clave: análisis de forma, análisis de expresiones faciales, drepanocitosis.</p

Photonic Label-Free Biosensors for Fast and Multiplex Detection of Swine Viral Diseases

[EN] In this paper we present the development of photonic integrated circuit (PIC) biosensors for the label-free detection of six emerging and endemic swine viruses, namely: African Swine Fever Virus (ASFV), Classical Swine Fever Virus (CSFV), Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus (PPRSV), Porcine Parvovirus (PPV), Porcine Circovirus 2 (PCV2), and Swine Influenza Virus A (SIV). The optical biosensors are based on evanescent wave technology and, in particular, on Resonant Rings (RRs) fabricated in silicon nitride. The novel biosensors were packaged in an integrated sensing cartridge that included a microfluidic channel for buffer/sample delivery and an optical fiber array for the optical operation of the PICs. Antibodies were used as molecular recognition elements (MREs) and were selected based on western blotting and ELISA experiments to ensure the high sensitivity and specificity of the novel sensors. MREs were immobilized on RR surfaces to capture viral antigens. Antibody-antigen interactions were transduced via the RRs to a measurable resonant shift. Cell culture supernatants for all of the targeted viruses were used to validate the biosensors. Resonant shift responses were dose-dependent. The results were obtained within the framework of the SWINOSTICS project, contributing to cover the need of the novel diagnostic tools to tackle swine viral diseases.This work was funded by the EU-2020 program under grant agreement Nº 771649-SWINOSTICS project.Gómez-Gómez, MI.; Sánchez, C.; Peransi, S.; Zurita, D.; Bellieres, L.; Recuero, S.; Rodrigo, M.... (2022). Photonic Label-Free Biosensors for Fast and Multiplex Detection of Swine Viral Diseases. Sensors. 22(3):1-14. https://doi.org/10.3390/s2203070811422