Numerical taxonomy of moderately halophilic Gram-negative rods

A study was made of 516 randomly selected isolates of moderately halophilic bacteria from solar salterns showing salinities between 8.8 and 40.0% (w/v) total salts, located in S.E. Spain. After purification, many cytological, physiological, biochemical, nutritional and an ti biot ic sensitivity characters were determined for 106 selected saltern isolates and two reference strains. Data were coded and analysed by numerical techniques using the Jaccard coefficient ( S J ) ,a nd clusters of strains were obtained by average linkage (UPGMA) analysis. Nine major phenons were found at the 72.5 % similarity level. The properties of each phenon are given, their taxonomic affinities are discussed, and typical reference strains are suggested. Almost all the strains were related to genera known to contain marine species. A large number of the strains could be tentatively assigned to the genus Vibrio, suggesting that this may be an abundant taxon of moderately halophilic Gram-negative rods in solar salterns

The Potential Biotechnological Applications of the Exopolysaccharide Produced by the Halophilic Bacterium Halomonas almeriensis

We have studied the extracellular polysaccharide (EPS) produced by the type strain, M8T, of the halophilic bacterium Halomonas almeriensis, to ascertain whether it might have any biotechnological applications. All the cultural parameters tested influenced both bacterial growth and polysaccharide production. EPS production was mainly growth-associated and under optimum environmental and nutritional conditions M8T excreted about 1.7 g of EPS per litre of culture medium (about 0.4 g of EPS per gram of dry cell weight). Analysis by anion-exchange chromatography and high-performance size-exclusion chromatography indicated that the exopolysaccharide was composed of two fractions, one of 6.3 × 106 and another of 1.5 × 104 Daltons. The monosaccharide composition of the high-molecular-weight fraction was mannose (72% w/w), glucose (27.5% w/w) and rhamnose (0.5% w/w). The low-molecular-weight fraction contained mannose (70% w/w) and glucose (30% w/w). The EPS has a substantial protein fraction (1.1% w/w) and was capable of emulsifying several hydrophobic substrates, a capacity presumably related to its protein content. The EPS produced solutions of low viscosity with pseudoplastic behaviour. It also had a high capacity for binding some cations. It contained considerable quantities of sulphates (1.4% w/w), an unusual feature in bacterial polysaccharides. All these characteristics render it potentially useful as a biological agent, bio-detoxifier and emulsifier.This research was supported by grants from the Dirección General de Investigación Científica y Técnica BOS 2003-00498; CGL2005-05947; CGL2008-02399; BIO2011-2013 and by grants from the Plan Andaluz de Investigación PO6-CVI-01850

Characterization of the Exopolysaccharide Produced by Salipiger mucosus A3T, a Halophilic Species Belonging to the Alphaproteobacteria, Isolated on the Spanish Mediterranean Seaboard

We have studied the exopolysaccharide produced by the type strain of Salipiger mucosus, a species of halophilic, EPS-producing (exopolysaccharide-producing) bacterium belonging to the Alphaproteobacteria. The strain, isolated on the Mediterranean seaboard, produced a polysaccharide, mainly during its exponential growth phase but also to a lesser extent during the stationary phase. Culture parameters influenced bacterial growth and EPS production. Yield was always directly related to the quantity of biomass in the culture. The polymer is a heteropolysaccharide with a molecular mass of 250 kDa and its components are glucose (19.7%, w/w), mannose (34%, w/w), galactose (32.9%, w/w) and fucose (13.4%, w/w). Fucose and fucose-rich oligosaccharides have applications in the fields of medicine and cosmetics. The chemical or enzymatic hydrolysis of fucose-rich polysaccharides offers a new efficient way to process fucose. The exopolysaccharide in question produces a solution of very low viscosity that shows pseudoplastic behavior and emulsifying activity on several hydrophobic substrates. It also has a high capacity for binding cations and incorporating considerable quantities of sulfates, this latter feature being very unusual in bacterial polysaccharides

Decrease of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) in adults after introduction of pneumococcal 13-valent conjugate vaccine in Spain

A prospective laboratory-based multicenter study that collected all adult invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) episodes from 6 Spanish hospitals before (2008-2009) and after (2012-2013). The 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) licensure was conducted in order to analyze the impact of PCV13 introduction for children on adult IPD. A total of 1558 IPD episodes were detected. The incidence of IPD decreased significantly in the second period by-33.9% (95% CI,-40.3% to-26.8%). IPD due to PCV7 serotypes (-52.7%; 95% CI,-64.2% to-37.5%) and to PCV13 additional serotypes (-55.0% 95% CI, -62.0% to-46.7%) significantly decreased whereas IPD due to non-PCV13 serotypes remained stable (1.0% 95% CI,-12.9% to 17.2%). IPD due to all PCV13 additional serotypes significantly declined with the exception of serotype 3 (-11.3%; 95% CI-35.0% to 21.1%). IPD due to two non-PCV13 serotypes varied: serotype 6C that rose (301.6%; 95% CI, 92.7% to 733.3%, p<0.001), related to the expansion of ST386(6C), and serotype 8 that decreased (-34.9%, 95% CI,-57.1 to-1.2, p = 0.049), related to a decline of the ST63(8). The recombinant clone ST6521(11A) (variant of ST156(9V)) increased in frequency. The decrease of serotype 19A IPD was linked to a fall in those antibiotic susceptible clones. In the last period, rates of penicillin-and cefotaxime-resistance remained under 10% and 4%, respectively. Adult IPD decreased after the PCV13 introduction in Spain due to herd protection. The spread of multidrug resistant clones (ST386(6C), ST6521(11A)) related to non-PCV13 serotypes needs further surveillance

Ejercicios de relajación en la recuperación física. Revisión Bibliográfica

A bibliographic review was made on relationship exercises in the physical recovery of students in the branch of medical science "Dr. Efraín Benítez Stern" of Bayamo, Granma Province, with the aim of knowing the State of the art on this topic. It was performed documentary search in the traditional library of that institution, as well as in the Provincial medical sciences information centre. "We identified as keywords" exercises of relaxation and physical recovery", elements that formed the basis for the formulation of the manual and automated search strategy. The major bibliographic databases from the portal Infomed were consulted, taking into account the thematic units that these databases contain, and through this way we could search documents in Pubmed, Hinari, Cochrane, Ebscohost, Scopus, among others on paper. From a total of 3046 documents there were selected those which were published in the last five years (2007-2011) and had the requirement of being original and review articles with a total of 113 of them that were repackaged for the production of this review. This article provides the most updated information available on this topic and can serve as a theoretical foundation for future research.Se realizó una revisión bibliográfica sobre ejercicios de relajación en la recuperación física de estudiantes en la Filial de Ciencias Médicas “Dr. Efraín Benítez Popa”, de Bayamo, provincia Granma, con el objetivo de conocer el estado del arte sobre esta temática. Se realizó búsqueda documental en la biblioteca tradicional de esa institución, así como en el Centro Provincial de Información de Ciencias Médicas. Se identificaron como palabras clave “ejercicios de relajación” y recuperación física”, elementos que constituyeron la base para la formulación de la estrategia de búsqueda manual y automatizada. Se consultaron las principales bases de datos bibliográficas a partir del portal Infomed, teniendo en cuenta las unidades temáticas que contienen, así pudimos consultar documentos en Pubmed, Hinari, Ebscohost, Cochrane, Scopus, entre otras en soporte papel. De un total de 3046 documentos se seleccionaron aquellos que se publicaron en los últimos cinco años (2007 – 2011) y que reunieron el requisito de ser artículos originales y de revisión trabajando con un total de 113 de ellos que se reempaquetaron para la producción de esta revisión. El presente artículo brinda la información más actualizada disponible sobre esta temática y puede servir de fundamentación teórica para futuras investigaciones

Two multi-fragment recombination events resulted in the beta-lactam-resistant serotype 11A-ST6521 related to Spain9V-ST156 pneumococcal clone spreading in south-western Europe, 2008 to 2016

Background: The successful pneumococcal clone Spain(9V)-ST156 (PMEN3) is usually associated with vaccine serotypes 9V and 14. Aim: Our objective was to analyse the increase of a serotype 11A variant of PMEN3 as cause of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) in Spain and its spread in south-western Europe. Methods: We conducted a prospective multicentre study of adult IPD in Spain (2008-16). Furthermore, a subset of 61 penicillin-resistant serotype 11A isolates from France, Italy, Portugal and Spain were subjected to whole genome sequencing (WGS) and compared with 238 genomes from the European Nucleotide Archive (ENA). Results: Although the incidence of serotype 11A in IPD was stable, a clonal shift was detected from CC62 (penicillin-susceptible) to CC156 (penicillin-resistant). By WGS, three major 11A-CC156 lineages were identified, linked to ST156 (n=5 isolates; France, Italy and Portugal), ST166 (n=4 isolates; France and Portugal) and ST838/6521 (n=52 isolates; France, Portugal and Spain). Acquisition of the capsule allowed to escape vaccine effect. AP200 (11A-ST62) was the donor for ST156 and ST838/6521 but not for ST166. In-depth analysis of ST838/6521 lineage showed two multi-fragment recombination events including four and seven fragments from an 11A-ST62 and an NT-ST344 representative, respectively. Conclusion: The increase in penicillin-resistant serotype 11A IPD in Spain was linked to the spread of a vaccine escape PMEN3 recombinant clone. Several recombination events were observed in PMEN3 acquiring an 11A capsule. The most successful 11A-PMEN3 lineage spreading in south-western Europe appeared after two multi-fragment recombination events with representatives of two major pneumococcal clones (11A-ST62 and NT-ST344)

Egg sac construction by folding dead leaves in Pozonia nigroventris and Micrathena sp. (Araneae: Araneidae)

Published descriptions of egg sac construction behavior in araneids are scarce. We describe egg sac construction and oviposition in one individual of the poorly known araneid Pozonia nigroventris (Bryant 1936) and two individuals of Micrathena sp. These spiders folded dead leaves to protect their eggs. All individuals pulled up and hung a dead leaf above the forest floor, oviposited on the leaf, and then folded the leaf around the egg sac. They then deposited the enclosed egg sac in the leaf litter below. The use of dead leaves in this way probably evolved convergently, since these genera are only distantly related.Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama, USAUCR::Vicerrectoría de Docencia::Ciencias Básicas::Facultad de Ciencias::Escuela de Biologí

A new teaching strategy to teach microbiology through its history

Ante el nuevo reto de la implantación del Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior los métodos de estudio deben adaptarse y servirse de herramientas innovadoras. Una buena estrategia para comprender una ciencia, su metodología y objetivos, es conocer su historia. Esta estrategia se hace especialmente útil en el caso de la Microbiología por ser una disciplina joven, que se ha cimentado precisamente en la metodología que sus creadores han ido elaborando. El objetivo de este trabajo ha sido crear una herramienta de utilidad en el aprendizaje de la Microbiología. Para ello hemos tomado como punto de apoyo su historia, es decir, explicar la Microbiología mediante la descripción de los descubrimientos y hechos que contribuyeron al desarrollo de esta ciencia. Para ello se ha creado una página web con dos aplicaciones independientes que operan sobre una base de datos común. 1. La primera de carácter público para los alumnos aunque con posibilidad de acceso restringido; se pueden consultar los contenidos sin posibilidad de alterarlos. 2. La otra aplicación es privada, los profesores pueden administrar los contenidos, y hacer uso de diferentes herramientas que facilitan la gestión de los mismos.In the light of the challenge presented by the European Higher Education Area, study strategies will have to adapt themselves and take advantage of innovative tools provided by modern information technology. One good way of understanding a science, its methodology and objectives is by taking an interest in its history. This approach is especially useful with regard to Microbiology, which is a fairly young discipline founded upon and made cohesive by the methods devised and constantly elaborated on by its designers. The aim of this work has been to offer guidance towards learning Microbiology. To this end we have chosen as our starting point, and indeed one of the keystones of our approach, the history of the subject itself; that is to say, an explanation of Microbiology via a description of the discoveries and milestones that have contributed to the development of this science. Thus we have set up a web page with two separate applications operating on one common database. 1. The first is openly available to the students, although allowing the possibility of restricted access. Its contents may be consulted but not altered. 2. The second is accessible only by lecturers, who may administer its contents and resort to different tools to facilitate the management of the information available on the site