Geminiviral protein Rep interferes in PCNA sumoylation

Rep is a multifunctional protein essential for replication of geminivirus that interferes with the sumoylation of a key protein in the DNA replication, PCNA (Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen). It is known that Rep is capable of interacting with a plethora of plant proteins, including PCNA. Despite the biological significance remains unknown, it’s thought that this interaction should play a key role for generating new copies of the virus genome. Therefore, in order to characterize this interaction, we study which lysines are sumoylated in tomato PCNA (SlPCNA). Considering conservation, location and presence of sumoylation domain criteria, we have identified some candidate lysines and studied how its mutation affects this protein sumoylation in Escherichia coli assays. Finally, we plan to confirm and characterize the Rep interference on SlPCNA sumoylation and determine if this interference occurs in planta.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Efectividad de la fototerapia en la hiperbilirrubinemia neonatal

Introducción: La ictericia neonatal es la pigmentación amarilla de la piel causada por aumento de bilirrubina en sangre. Los tratamientos más utilizados para la hiperbilirrubinemia han sido la fototerapia y, la fototerapia más fenobarbital. Objetivo: Identificar las mejores evidencias para mejorar el uso y la efectividad de la fototera-pia en el tratamiento de la hiperbilirrubinemia neonatal. Métodos: Se realizó una búsqueda de artículos publicados de 2007 a 2014 con las siguientes palabras clave, hiperbilirrubinemia neonatal, fototerapia de halógenos, fototerapia LEDS, en la Biblioteca Cochrane, en las Bases de datos REDALyC, Scielo, Medline, CINAHL y CUIDEN. Se iden-tificaron 28 artículos relacionados con la efectividad de la fototerapia. Se realizó un análisis de los artículos encontrados. Resultados: La fototerapia con luz de LED tiene mayor eficacia en el control de bilirrubina sobre la fototerapia de halógeno y fibra óptica (diferencia de medias 0.43, IC 95%: 1.91 a 1.05 h). Las sábanas blancas alrededor de la cuna de calor radiante aumentan la eficacia de la fototera-pia; respecto a la protección de los genitales, la literatura menciona que si los niveles de bili-rrubina están muy altos se deberá quitar el pañal, solo cuando se utiliza la fototerapia de LEDS. Con cualquiera de los dispositivos de fototerapia se deberá utilizar protección ocular; se precisa que los cubre bocas o ese tipo de material no es útil para la aplicación de esta.Conclusiones:La fototerapia de mayor efectividad es de LEDS, las sábanas blancas aumentan la efectividad de la fototerapia, se puede quitar el pañal del neonato cuando la bilirrubina haya incrementado

Influence of single-neutron stripping on near-barrier ⁶He+²⁰⁸Pb and ⁸He+²⁰⁸Pb elastic scattering

The influence of single-neutron stripping on the near-barrier elastic scattering angular distributions for the 6,8He+208Pb systems is investigated through coupled reaction channels (CRC) calculations fitting recently published data to explore the differences in the absorptive potential found in the scattering of these two neutron-rich nuclei. The inclusion of the coupling reduces the elastic cross section in the Coulomb-nuclear interference region for 8He scattering, whereas for 6He its major impact is on the large-angle elastic scattering. The real and imaginary dynamic polarization potentials are obtained by inverting the CRC elastic scattering S-matrix elements. These show that the main absorptive features occur between 11 and 12 fm for both projectiles, while the attractive features are separated by about 1 fm, with their main structures occurring at 10.5 fm for 6He and 11.5 fm for 8He

La proteína Rep/AL1 de geminivirus altera la sumoilación de PCNA

Los geminivirus, llamados así por la forma icosaédrica de su cápside, son una familia de virus patógenos de plantas que causan algunas de las enfermedades con mayor impacto económico a nivel mundial. Estos pequeños virus de ADN se replican en el núcleo de las células vegetales utilizando la maquinaria celular del hospedador, además de requerir la presencia de la proteína viral Rep. Rep es la única proteína del genoma del virus imprescindible para su replicación y es capaz de interaccionar con una gran variedad de proteínas del huésped. Trabajos previos de nuestro grupo demostraron que dos de esas proteínas son PCNA (Proliferating cell nuclear antigen), esencial en el metabolismo del DNA, y SCE (SUMO Conjugating Enzime), enzima que interviene en la sumoilación, uno de los principales mecanismos de modificación postraduccional que está implicado en la respuesta de la planta a estrés abiótico, en el desarrollo, el crecimiento y la respuesta a patógenos. Además, otros resultados que hemos obtenido demuestran que la expresión en Escherichia coli de la proteína Rep del begomovirus TGMV (Tomato golden mosaic virus) reduce la sumoilación de PCNA en plantas y que dicha interferencia no depende de la interacción de la proteína viral con SCE1. Para profundizar en el conocimiento de la interacción Rep-PCNA nos hemos propuesto identificar las lisinas de PCNA que se sumoilan. Teniendo en cuenta criterios de conservación, localización y presencia de dominio de sumoilación se han identificado varias lisinas candidatas y se ha estudiado cómo su mutación afecta a la sumoilación de la proteína. También nos hemos planteado confirmar y caracterizar la interferencia de Rep sobre la sumoilación de PCNA y determinar si dicha interferencia se produce en la planta.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Considerations on Field Methodology for Macrofungi Studies in Fragmented Forests of Mediterranean Agricultural Landscapes

The methodology used for the determination of macrofungal diversity in Mediterranean areas differs in the time of sampling and the number of years displayed, making it difficult to compare results. Furthermore, the results could be refuted because the studies are being conducted over an insufficient number of years or without considering the variation of the meteorological conditions from one year to the next and its effects on fruiting time, which might not fit the sampling. In order to optimize field work on fungal fruiting in Mediterranean environments dominated by holm oak (Quercus ilex L.), a weekly field analysis of macrofungal diversity from February 2009 to June 2013 was carried out in a Mediterranean holm oak forest in the middle-west of the Iberian Peninsula. The results revealed that fruiting bodies appeared throughout the year and that there was a delay in autumn fruiting, overlapping with spring. All this seems to indicate that weekly collection throughout the year and for a period of two years could be sufficient to estimate the macrofungal biodiversity of this ecosystem. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Influencia de la actividad físico – deportiva y la intención de ser físicamente activos en universitarios de la facultad de educación de la UEX

The current study analyse the physical activity and  sport registered and the intention of being physically active in the future in a sample of university students from the first level of the bachelor of primary education at the faculty of education (Badajoz) by sex. We have started with these variables due to a high percentage of adolescents that do not meet the recommendations of physical activity, showing a high prevalence of physical inactivity and sedentary behavior, prioritising another tasks or personal, academic or laboral activities. That study has been done under the quantitative paradigm with an associative, descriptive, comparative and cross strategy using the MIFAU questionnaire plus an ad-hoc questionnaire to know the participant’s sociodemographic information. The sample was integrated by 170 participants (64.7% female and 35.3% male). Women showed less weekly physical activity in comparison with men with an intermediate effect size (U=2271.5; p smaller than 0.05; d=0.532) and the same if we compare that variable with the intention of being physically active in the future with a higher effect size (U=1754; p smaller than 0.05; d=0.828).La presente investigación analiza la cantidad de actividad físico - deportiva realizada y la intención de ser físicamente activo en el futuro, en una muestra de estudiantes universitarios del primer curso del Grado en Educación Primaria de la Facultad de Educación (Badajoz) en función del sexo. Hemos incidido en estas variables ya que existe un elevado porcentaje de adolescentes que no se mantienen suficientemente activos en su día a día, mostrando una alta prevalencia hacia la inactividad física y el comportamiento sedentario, priorizando en este sentido otras tareas o acciones personales, académicas o laborales. Dicho trabajo se ha realizado dentro del paradigma cuantitativo con una estrategia asociativa, descriptiva, comparativa y transversal utilizando el cuestionario MIFAU junto con un cuestionario Ad-hoc para conocer las variables sociodemográficas de los participantes. La muestra estaba formada por 170 sujetos (64,7% mujeres y 35,3% hombres). Los resultados más significativos en cuanto a la variable sexo revelan que las mujeres realizan menos actividad físico- deportiva a la semana que los hombres, cuyo tamaño del efecto es intermedio (U=2271,5, p menor que .05; d = .532), al igual que si comparamos dicha variable con la intención de ser físicamente activos en el futuro, en el que su tamaño del efecto es fuerte (U=1754, p menor que .05; d = .828)

Geminivirus replication protein decreases PCNA sumoylation at two acceptor sites

Geminiviruses are plant viruses with circular, single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) genomes that infect a broad range of plants causing substantial crop diseases worldwide. They replicate in nuclei of infected cells by using host DNA replication machinery and an essential protein encoded in their genome designated Rep (replication-associated protein). This multifunctional protein induces the accumulation of the host factors involved in replication and it is capable of interacting with a lot of plant proteins including PCNA (Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen), a processivity factor that coordinates a wide range of processes involved in maintenance, duplication and transmission of the genome, and the sumoylation enzyme that conjugates SUMO to target proteins (SUMO-conjugating enzyme- SCE). PCNA modification by SUMO, and also ubiquitin, has long been known to be of key importance for determining how DNA damage is processed by the replisome and for maintenance of overall genome integrity. In yeast, PCNA sumoylation has been associated to DNA repair involving homologous recombination (HR). Previously, we reported that Rep ectopic expression does not result in broad changes in the sumoylation pattern of plant cells, but it modifies the sumoylation state of selected host proteins. In this work, we show, using a reconstituted sumoylation system in Escherichia coli, that tomato PCNA is sumoylated at two residues, K254 and K164, and that co-expression of the Rep protein suppresses PCNA sumoylation at these lysines. Finally, we confirm that PCNA is sumoylated and that Rep also interferes with PCNA sumoylation in planta.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tec

Active Q-switched Fiber Lasers with Single and Dualwavelength Operation

A brief explanation on Q-switched fiber laser operating principle for active technique in terms of operation characteristics is presented. Experimental analysis of proposed pulsed fiber lasers by the active Q-switched technique is demonstrated. Experimental setups include the use of Er/Yb doped fiber as a gain medium and an acousto-optic modulator as cavity elements. Setup variations include the use of fiber Bragg gratings for wavelength selection and tuning and Sagnac interferometer for wavelength selection in single wavelength operation and for cavity loss adjustment in dual wavelength operation. The experimental analysis of principal characteristics of single-wavelength operation of the fiber laser and cavity loss adjustment method for dual-wavelength laser operation are discussed