Establecimiento in vitro de Jatropha curcas L. a partir de diferentes tipos de explantes

The use of Jatropha curcas L. for biofuels production is growing rapidly worldwide. Traditional methods of propagation have failed to respond to that demand. In vitro culture could become an alternative to propagate this species on a commercial scale. This study aimed to achieve the in vitro establishment of different progenies of J. curcas from various explant types. For this study, apical bud, axillaries buds and leaf discs were used and treated with different concentrations of sodium hypochlorite for 15 minutes. In the case of the apical and axillaries buds not observed fungal contamination but bacterial contamination ranged between 16 and 33%. A concentration of 3.0% NaOCl increased tissue necrosis and caused mortality to the 21% of the explants, while a 2.0% increased sprouting of the apical (83.3%) and axillaries (54%) buds. For leaf discs the best results in terms of microbial contamination rate (30%) and callus formation (65%) were obtained with 1.5% NaOCl. The results give a procedure that guarantees the in vitro establishment of different types of explants, which is a starting point in developing a protocol for the in vitro propagation of this species.Key words: biofuels, disinfection, sodium hypochlorite.El uso de Jatropha curcas L. para la producción de biocombustibles está creciendo rápidamente a nivel mundial. Los métodos tradicionales de propagación no han logrado dar respuesta a dicha demanda. El cultivo in vitro podría convertirse en una alternativa para propagar esta especie a escala comercial. El presente trabajo tuvo como objetivo lograr el establecimiento in vitro de diferentes progenies de J. curcas a partir de varios tipos de explante. Para ello fueron utilizados yemas apicales, yemas axilares y discos de hojas que se trataron con diferentes concentraciones de NaOCl durante 15 minutos. En el caso de las yemas apicales y axilares no se observó contaminación por hongos, pero sí por bacterias y esta osciló entre 16 y 33%. Con la aplicación de NaOCl al 3.0% aumentó la necrosis del tejido y provocó la mortalidad del 21% de los explantes, mientras que con un 2.0%, aumentó la brotación a un 83.3% y 54% de las yemas apicales y axilares respectivamente. Para los discos de hojas se obtuvieron los mejores resultados en cuanto al índice de contaminación microbiana (30%) y formación de callos (65%) con una concentración de 1.5% de NaOCl. Estos resultados permiten disponer de un procedimiento que garantiza establecer in vitro diferentes tipos de explantes, lo cual constituye un punto de partida la propagación in vitro de esta especie.Palabras clave: biocombustibles, desinfección, hipoclorito de sodio

Stain-free detection as loading control alternative to Ponceau and housekeeping protein immunodetection in Western blotting

The authors want to thank the input of Arnaud Remy and Enrique Orozco of Bio-Rad Laboratories. This study was supported by the Ministry of Science and Innovation (SAF2011-22922 and SAF2011-22812), and by funds from Junta de Andalucia (CTS6736 and CTS164). B. Rivero and A. Anzola were supported by fellowships of the Ministry of Education and Science of Spain and Junta de Andalucia, respectively. CIBERehd is funded by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III.It is currently a routine practice to require a measurement of a housekeeping reference, including actin, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, β-tubulin, among others, in Western blots, as it is the rule in RNA blots. Reversible Ponceau staining has been applied successfully to check equal loading of gels. Here we test a new technique, with the Stain-Free gels from Bio-Rad, against both Ponceau staining and housekeeping protein immunodetection under different conditions. Our results show that Stain-Free gels outperform Ponceau staining and that both are more consistent than housekeeping proteins as a loading control.Spanish Government SAF2011-22922 SAF2011-22812Junta de Andalucia CTS6736 CTS164Instituto de Salud Carlos II

Netosis and Inflammasomes in Large Vessel Occlusion Thrombi

The inflammatory response appears to play a critical role in clotting in which neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) are the major drivers of thrombosis in acute ischemic stroke (AIS). The inflammasome is an innate immune complex involved in the activation of interleukin (IL)-18 and IL-1β through caspase-1, but whether the inflammasome plays a role in NETosis in AIS remains poorly understood. Here we assessed the levels of inflammasome signaling proteins in NETs and their association with clinical and procedural outcomes of mechanical thrombectomy for AIS. Electron microscopy and immunofluorescence indicate the presence of NETs in thrombi of patients with AIS. Moreover, the inflammasome signaling proteins caspase-1 and apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a caspase recruitment domain (ASC) were also present in clots associated with the marker of NETosis citrullinated histone H (CitH3). Analysis of protein levels by a simple plex assay show that caspase-1, ASC and interleukin (IL)-1β were significantly elevated in clots when compared to plasma of AIS patients and healthy controls, while IL-18 levels were lower. Moreover, multivariate analyses show that IL-1β levels in clots contribute to the number of passes to achieve complete recanalization, and that ASC, caspase-1 and IL-18 are significant contributors to time to recanalization. Thus, inflammasome proteins are elevated in NETs present in thrombi of patients with AIS that contribute to poor outcomes following stroke.

Programa de capacitación sobre ITS/VIH/SIDA para estudiantes de quinto año de Tecnología de la Salud

An Educative intervention study was carried out through the implementation of a training program on STD/HIV/AIDS, for 5th year students of health technology at “Haydée Santamaría Cuadrado” Medical Sciences Subsidiary in Manzanillo, since September 2011 to may 2012. From a universe of 603 students that fulfilled the inclusion criteria, there were selected at random 100 of them and they participated in the program. The program was developed through the application of an initial survey in a first stage that allowed to evaluate the level of knowledge of the students before the educative intervention. Later on it was implemented the program designed by the author from previous results with the objective to increase the level of knowledge of the students on this subject, and after the intervention the initial diagnosis was applied once more. The obtained result was valued through the application of theoretical methods (observation, interview, survey, analysis and synthesis) and empirical and statistical methods, showing highly significant differences before and after the application of the training program, and it was evaluated as efficient.Se realizó un estudio de intervención educativa a través de la implementación de un programa de capacitación referente a las ITS/VIH/SIDA destinado a estudiantes de quinto año de Tecnología de la Salud de la Filial de Ciencias Médicas “Haydée Santamaría Cuadrado” del Municipio de Manzanillo, en el período comprendido entre septiembre 2013 a mayo de 2014. De un universo de 603 estudiantes que cumplían con los criterios de inclusión se seleccionaron al azar 100 que participaron en el programa de capacitación. El programa propuesto se desarrolló a partir de la aplicación de una encuesta inicial  en una primera etapa que permitió evaluar el nivel de conocimiento que tenían estos alumnos antes de la intervención educativa. Posteriormente se implementó el programa diseñado por la autora a partir de los resultados anteriores, con el objetivo de elevar el nivel del conocimiento que poseían estos estudiantes al respecto, después de la intervención se aplicó nuevamente la  encuesta inicial. El resultado obtenido se valoró mediante la aplicación de los métodos teóricos (observación, entrevista, encuesta, análisis y síntesis), empíricos y estadísticos, arrojando diferencias altamente significativas antes y después de aplicado el programa de capacitación, por lo que el mismo fue evaluado de eficaz

The VLT-FLAMES Tarantula Survey: XXV. Surface nitrogen abundances of O-type giants and supergiants

Context. Theoretically, rotation-induced chemical mixing in massive stars has far reaching evolutionary consequences, affecting the sequence of morphological phases, lifetimes, nucleosynthesis, and supernova characteristics. Aims. Using a sample of 72 presumably single O-type giants to supergiants observed in the context of the VLT-FLAMES Tarantula Survey (VFTS), we aim to investigate rotational mixing in evolved core-hydrogen burning stars initially more massive than 15 M� by analysing their surface nitrogen abundances. Methods. Using stellar and wind properties derived in a previous VFTS study we computed synthetic spectra for a set of up to 21 N ii-v lines in the optical spectral range, using the non-LTE atmosphere code FASTWIND. We constrained the nitrogen abundance by fitting the equivalent widths of relatively strong lines that are sensitive to changes in the abundance of this element. Given the quality of the data, we constrained the nitrogen abundance in 38 cases; for 34 stars only upper limits could be derived, which includes almost all stars rotating at 3e sin i > 200 km s−1 . Results. We analysed the nitrogen abundance as a function of projected rotation rate 3e sin i and confronted it with predictions of rotational mixing. We found a group of N-enhanced slowly-spinning stars that is not in accordance with predictions of rotational mixing in single stars. Among O-type stars with (rotation-corrected) gravities less than log gc = 3.75 this group constitutes 30−40 percent of the population. We found a correlation between nitrogen and helium abundance which is consistent with expectations, suggesting that, whatever the mechanism that brings N to the surface, it displays CNO-processed material. For the rapidly-spinning O-type stars we can only provide upper limits on the nitrogen abundance, which are not in violation with theoretical expectations. Hence, the data cannot be used to test the physics of rotation induced mixing in the regime of high spin rates. Conclusions. While the surface abundances of 60−70 percent of presumed single O-type giants to supergiants behave in conformity with expectations, at least 30−40 percent of our sample can not be understood in the current framework of rotational mixing for single stars. Even though we have excluded stars showing radial velocity variations, of our sample may have remained contaminated by postinteraction binary products. Hence, it is plausible that effects of binary interaction need to be considered to understand their surface properties. Alternatively, or in conjunction, the effects of magnetic fields or alternative mass-loss recipes may need to be invoked

Occurrence and impact of delayed cerebral ischemia after coiling and after clipping in the International Subarachnoid Aneurysm Trial (ISAT)

Delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI) is an important cause of poor outcome after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). We studied differences in incidence and impact of DCI as defined clinically after coiling and after clipping in the International Subarachnoid Aneurysm Trial. We calculated odds ratios (OR) for DCI for clipping versus coiling with logistic regression analysis. With coiled patients without DCI as the reference group, we calculated ORs for poor outcome at 2 months and 1 year for coiled patients with DCI and for clipped patients without, and with DCI. With these ORs, we calculated relative excess risk due to Interaction (RERI). Clipping increased the risk of DCI compared to coiling in the 2,143 patients OR 1.24, 95% confidence interval (95% CI 1.01–1.51). Coiled patients with DCI, clipped patients without DCI, and clipped patients with DCI all had higher risks of poor outcome than coiled patients without DCI. Clipping and DCI showed no interaction for poor outcome at 2 months: RERI 0.12 (95% CI −1.16 to 1.40) or 1 year: RERI −0.48 (95% CI −1.69 to 0.74). Only for patients treated within 4 days, coiling and DCI was associated with a poorer outcome at 1 year than clipping and DCI (RERI −2.02, 95% CI −3.97 to −0.08). DCI was more common after clipping than after coiling in SAH patients in ISAT. Impact of DCI on poor outcome did not differ between clipped and coiled patients, except for patients treated within 4 days, in whom DCI resulted more often in poor outcome after coiling than after clipping

Measurement and Interpretation of Fermion-Pair Production at LEP energies above the Z Resonance

This paper presents DELPHI measurements and interpretations of cross-sections, forward-backward asymmetries, and angular distributions, for the e+e- -> ffbar process for centre-of-mass energies above the Z resonance, from sqrt(s) ~ 130 - 207 GeV at the LEP collider. The measurements are consistent with the predictions of the Standard Model and are used to study a variety of models including the S-Matrix ansatz for e+e- -> ffbar scattering and several models which include physics beyond the Standard Model: the exchange of Z' bosons, contact interactions between fermions, the exchange of gravitons in large extra dimensions and the exchange of sneutrino in R-parity violating supersymmetry.Comment: 79 pages, 16 figures, Accepted by Eur. Phys. J.

A Determination of the Centre-of-Mass Energy at LEP2 using Radiative 2-fermion Events

Using e+e- -> mu+mu-(gamma) and e+e- -> qqbar(gamma) events radiative to the Z pole, DELPHI has determined the centre-of-mass energy, sqrt{s}, using energy and momentum constraint methods. The results are expressed as deviations from the nominal LEP centre-of-mass energy, measured using other techniques. The results are found to be compatible with the LEP Energy Working Group estimates for a combination of the 1997 to 2000 data sets.Comment: 20 pages, 6 figures, Accepted by Eur. Phys. J.