Response to fungal exudates of the rhizosphere isolate Pseudomonas sp. UMAF110 involves a GGDEF/EAL domain-containing protein

Pseudomonas sp. UMAF110, isolated from rhizosphere soil in Spain, display in vitro antagonism towards the pythopathogenic fungus Rosellinia necatrix and is able grow in fungal exudates (BM-RE medium). A transposon mutant library of this strain was constructed and several mutants were selected by their reduced competitiveness in BM-RE medium. Pseudomonas sp. UMAF110-G3, which contains the transposon into a gene encoding a putative REC/PAS/GGDEF/EAL protein, was selected for further characterization. Blastn searches using the sequence of the gene interrupted by the transposon in UMAF110-G3, here called cmpA (c-di-GMP Metabolizing Protein), yielded a single positive hit (98% cover, 78% identity) with a gene from a terpene-degrading Pseudomonas sp. strain isolated from soil. Context analysis of the cmpA gene in Pseudomonas sp. UMAF110 showed that this gene is located downstream from several genes involved in flagellar motility/chemotaxis. RT-PCR experiments further confirmed that cmpA form a transcriptional unit with the che gene cluster. Expression analysis of cmpA by qRT-PCR clearly showed upregulation of this gene after transfer of Pseudomonas sp. UMAF110 cells to BM-RE medium, suggesting a role for this operon in response to fungal exudates. Deletion of cmpA in Pseudomonas sp. UMAF110 did not affect the ability of the strain to form biofilms under the conditions tested. However, overexpression of wild type CmpA in Pseudomonas putida KT2440 negatively regulated biofilm formation in this strain. Together, these results suggest that CmpA could be involved in signal transduction pathways regulating flagellar motility/chemotaxis in response to fungal exudates.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Estudio de una experiencia de indagación escolar en Ed. Primaria a través del Proyecto IndagaSTEAM Escuela. Valoraciones docentes de su transferencia a la práctica

El uso de la indagación y las prácticas experimentales se presenta como un reto en el desarrollo profesional del profesorado de ciencias en ejercicio. Su puesta en práctica es un objetivo clave en la educación científica actual.. Desde este planteamiento, se describe y analiza una intervención educativa en un centro de educación infantil y primaria, aplicando prácticas científicas de indagación y enfoques de contextualización desde un tratamiento STEAM para implementar talleres científicos presenciales y retos científicos on line. De su puesta en práctica se recogen las valoraciones del profesorado participante, en relación con la aceptación promovida desde estas estrategias respecto a las implicaciones metodológicas habidas en ambos escenarios, el aprendizaje alcanzado en su alumnado y la reflexión docente sobre su propia practica.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

The Application of Rapid Prototyping in the Design of an UAV.

Design and building of UAVs (for civil and military missions) is a field of actuation where the most important Universities, research Centers and Aeronautical designers have dedicated a lot of human effort. In recent years, a team of students and professors (at the Escuela Universitaria de Ingeniería Técnica Aeronáutica, EUITA) have been working on the design and building of an UAV for civil observation. This paper presents the highlights of this project, focussing on the role of rapid prototyping. Furthermore, this paper will present all the features and stages of this engineering project. Also, the current state of technology applied to the process will be presented together with a description of the main difficulties the project has undergone, as a global experience in engineering design and development

La Caridad/Solidaridad en medios gratuitos de la provincia sevillana

Somos periódicos laicos pero para nosotros la Caridad y la Solidaridad tienen interés local, cultural y social; no nos planteamos quién ejerce u organiza esa actividad. El periódico tiene una repercusión en la sociedad y como tal tiene una responsabilidad social con la ciudadanía y aportar su granito de arena informando y haciendo que esas actividades sean un éxito. Muchas veces nos llaman las Hermandades pidiendo que el evento o actividad que van a realizar, se publique y siempre que podemos le damos el máximo de cobertura dentro de nuestro alcance para que eso sea un éxito

Metabolomic-Based Noninvasive Serum Test to Diagnose Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis: Results From Discovery and Validation Cohorts

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common type of chronic liver disease worldwide and includes a broad spectrum of histologic phenotypes, ranging from simple hepatic steatosis or nonalcoholic fatty liver (NAFL) to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). While liver biopsy is the reference gold standard for NAFLD diagnosis and staging, it has limitations due to its sampling variability, invasive nature, and high cost. Thus, there is a need for noninvasive biomarkers that are robust, reliable, and cost effective. In this study, we measured 540 lipids and amino acids in serum samples from biopsy-proven subjects with normal liver (NL), NAFL, and NASH. Using logistic regression analysis, we identified two panels of triglycerides that could first discriminate between NAFLD and NL and second between NASH and NAFL. These noninvasive tests were compared to blinded histology as a reference standard. We performed these tests in an original cohort of 467 patients with NAFLD (90 NL, 246 NAFL, and 131 NASH) that was subsequently validated in a separate cohort of 192 patients (7 NL, 109 NAFL, 76 NASH). The diagnostic performances of the validated tests showed an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, sensitivity, and specificity of 0.88 +/- 0.05, 0.94, and 0.57, respectively, for the discrimination between NAFLD and NL and 0.79 +/- 0.04, 0.70, and 0.81, respectively, for the discrimination between NASH and NAFL. When the analysis was performed excluding patients with glucose levels >136 mg/dL, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for the discrimination between NASH and NAFL increased to 0.81 +/- 0.04 with sensitivity and specificity of 0.73 and 0.80, respectively. Conclusion: The assessed noninvasive lipidomic serum tests distinguish between NAFLD and NL and between NASH and NAFL with high accuracy.Supported by the National Institutes of Health Blueprint for Neuroscience Research (R01AT001576 to S.C.L., J.M.M.), Agencia Estatal de Investigacion of the Ministerio de Economia, Industria y Competitividad (SAF2014-52097R to J.M.M.), CIBER Hepatic and Digestive Diseases and Instituto de Salud Carlos III (PIE14/0003 to J.M.M.), Etorgai 2015-Gobierno Vasco (ER-2015/00015 to R.M., I.M.A., C.A., A.C.), Plan de Promocion de la Innovacion 2015-Diputacion Foral de Bizkaia (6/12/IN/2015/00131 to A.C., C.A.), National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (RO1DK81410 to A.J.S.), and Czech Ministry of Health (RVO VFN64165 to L.V.)

Amphioxus functional genomics and the origins of vertebrate gene regulation.

Vertebrates have greatly elaborated the basic chordate body plan and evolved highly distinctive genomes that have been sculpted by two whole-genome duplications. Here we sequence the genome of the Mediterranean amphioxus (Branchiostoma lanceolatum) and characterize DNA methylation, chromatin accessibility, histone modifications and transcriptomes across multiple developmental stages and adult tissues to investigate the evolution of the regulation of the chordate genome. Comparisons with vertebrates identify an intermediate stage in the evolution of differentially methylated enhancers, and a high conservation of gene expression and its cis-regulatory logic between amphioxus and vertebrates that occurs maximally at an earlier mid-embryonic phylotypic period. We analyse regulatory evolution after whole-genome duplications, and find that-in vertebrates-over 80% of broadly expressed gene families with multiple paralogues derived from whole-genome duplications have members that restricted their ancestral expression, and underwent specialization rather than subfunctionalization. Counter-intuitively, paralogues that restricted their expression increased the complexity of their regulatory landscapes. These data pave the way for a better understanding of the regulatory principles that underlie key vertebrate innovations

Incidence, Clinical Characteristics and Management of Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Spain : Large-Scale Epidemiological Study

(1) Aims: To assess the incidence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in Spain, to describe the main epidemiological and clinical characteristics at diagnosis and the evolution of the disease, and to explore the use of drug treatments. (2) Methods: Prospective, population-based nationwide registry. Adult patients diagnosed with IBD-Crohn's disease (CD), ulcerative colitis (UC) or IBD unclassified (IBD-U)-during 2017 in Spain were included and were followed-up for 1 year. (3) Results: We identified 3611 incident cases of IBD diagnosed during 2017 in 108 hospitals covering over 22 million inhabitants. The overall incidence (cases/100,000 person-years) was 16 for IBD, 7.5 for CD, 8 for UC, and 0.5 for IBD-U; 53% of patients were male and median age was 43 years (interquartile range = 31-56 years). During a median 12-month follow-up, 34% of patients were treated with systemic steroids, 25% with immunomodulators, 15% with biologics and 5.6% underwent surgery. The percentage of patients under these treatments was significantly higher in CD than UC and IBD-U. Use of systemic steroids and biologics was significantly higher in hospitals with high resources. In total, 28% of patients were hospitalized (35% CD and 22% UC patients, p < 0.01). (4) Conclusion: The incidence of IBD in Spain is rather high and similar to that reported in Northern Europe. IBD patients require substantial therapeutic resources, which are greater in CD and in hospitals with high resources, and much higher than previously reported. One third of patients are hospitalized in the first year after diagnosis and a relevant proportion undergo surgery

Correction : Chaparro et al. Incidence, Clinical Characteristics and Management of Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Spain: Large-Scale Epidemiological Study. J. Clin. Med. 2021, 10, 2885

The authors wish to make the following corrections to this paper [...]