From environment to clinic: the role of pesticides in antimicrobial resistance

La resistencia a los antimicrobianos (RAM) en los agentes patógenos ha sido relacionada principalmente con el uso excesivo de los antibióticos. La mayoría de los estudios sobre la resistencia se han centrado en los agentes patógenos de importancia clínica; sin embargo, los microorganismos están expuestos a numerosas sustancias antropogénicas. Son muy pocos los estudios dedicados a determinar los efectos que producen las sustancias químicas en los microorganismos. La exposición a estas sustancias puede contribuir a los niveles mayores de la RAM. Comprender las comunidades de microorganismos en el medioambiente natural y los mecanismos de la RAM por los efectos de las sustancias antropogénicas, como los plaguicidas, resulta importante para abordar la actual crisis de la resistencia a los antimicrobianos. En este informe se hace énfasis en las moléculas, en lugar de los antibióticos, que se usan generalmente en los productos agroquímicos y que podrían contribuir a que se desarrolle la RAM en entornos no clínicos, como el suelo. Asimismo, se analiza el papel de los plaguicidas como mediadores en la aparición de la RAM, así como la manera en la que los genes y los microorganismos resistentes a los antibióticos se trasladan hacia el entorno antrópico. La evidencia indica que el entorno natural podría ser una vía clave de propagación para los genes resistentes a los antibióticos. Comprender la interrelación entre el suelo, el agua y los plaguicidas es fundamental para crear consciencia en cuanto a la necesidad de establecer programas de seguimiento ambiental y así poder superar la crisis actual de la RAM.Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in pathogens has been associated mainly with excessive use of antibiotics. Most studies of resistance have focused on clinical pathogens; however, microorganisms are exposed to numerous anthropogenic substances. Few studies have sought to determine the effects of chemical substances on microorganisms. Exposure to these substances may contribute to increased rates of AMR. Understanding microorganism communities in natural environments and AMR mechanisms under the effects of anthropogenic substances, such as pesticides, is important to addressing the current crisis of antimicrobial resistance. This report draws attention to molecules, rather than antibiotics, that are commonly used in agrochemicals and may be involved in developing AMR in non-clinical environments, such as soil. This report examines pesticides as mediators for the appearance of AMR, and as a route for antibiotic resistance genes and antimicrobial resistant bacteria to the anthropic environment. Available evidence suggests that the natural environment may be a key dissemination route for antibiotic-resistant genes. Understanding the interrelationship of soil, water, and pesticides is fundamental to raising awareness of the need for environmental monitoring programs and overcoming the current crisis of AMR

Cambio climático y salud humana: Una revisión desde la perspectiva colombiana/ Climate change and human health: a review from the colombian perspective

El presente trabajo tiene como objetivo recoger la evidencia científica sobre los efectos del cambio climático sobre la salud humana con énfasis en Colombia. Se llevo a cabo una revisión en bases de datos y repositorios de revistas por medio de un algoritmo de términos MeSH. Fueron incluidos artículos originales, revisiones sistemáticas o meta-análisis, que estuvieran disponibles en texto completo o disponibles en las bases de datos y repositorios consultados. Se usaron restrictores de idioma, tiempo e idioma. Fueron elegidos 268 títulos en las bases de datos, repositorios de revistas y trabajos de literatura gris. 29% correspondieron a trabajos sobre seguridad alimentaria, 25% (a publicaciones sobre enfermedades transmisibles, 35% efectos sobre la calidad del aire y enfermedades respiratorias y 11% a publicaciones que abordaban varios temas. Solo fueron encontrados 17 publicaciones sobre trabajos colombianos. La evidencia científica revisada permite afirmar que el cambio climático tiene una afectación transversal a la población mundial a distintos niveles y escenarios. El cambio climático afecta la salud humana de forma directa e indirecta. Por otro lado, es importante resaltar que las publicaciones que dan cuenta de los efectos del cambio climático en Colombia se centran en las enfermedades transmitidas por vectore

A new sesquiterpene essential oil from the native andean species jungia rugosa less (Asteraceae): Chemical analysis, enantiomeric evaluation, and cholinergic activity

As part of a project devoted to the phytochemical study of Ecuadorian biodiversity, new essential oils are systematically distilled and analysed. In the present work, Jungia rugosa Less (Asteraceae) has been selected and some wild specimens collected to investigate the volatile fraction. The essential oil, obtained from fresh leaves, was analysed for the first time in the present study. The chemical composition was determined by gas chromatography, coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS) for qualitative analysis, and to flame ionization detector (GC-FID) for quantitation. The calculation of relative response factors (RRF), based on combustion enthalpy, was carried out for each quantified component. Fifty-six compounds were identified and quantified in a 5% phenyl-polydimethylsiloxane non-polar column and 53 compounds in a polyethylene glycol polar column, including four undetermined compounds. The main feature of this essential oil was the exclusive sesquiterpenes content, both hydrocarbons (74.7% and 80.4%) and oxygenated (8.3% and 9.6%). Major constituents were: γ-curcumene (47.1% and 49.7%) and β-sesquiphellandrene (17.0% and 17.9%), together with two abundant undetermined oxygenated sesquiterpenes, whose abundance was 6.7–7.2% and 4.7–3.3%, respectively. In addition, the essential oil was submitted to enantioselective evaluation in two β-cyclodextrin-based enantioselective columns, determining the enantiomeric purity of a minor component (1S,2R,6R,7R,8R)-(+)-α-copaene. Finally, the AChE inhibition activity of the EO was evaluated in vitro. In conclusion, this volatile fraction is suitable for further investigation, according to two main lines: (a) the purification and structure elucidation of the major undetermined compounds, (b) a bio-guided fractionation, intended to investigate the presence of new sesquiterpene AChE inhibitors among the minor components

Una perspectiva fenomenológica para la enseñanza del Electromagnetismo a nivel introductorio

The student's lack of knowledge about a phenomenology which could be the object of study is one of the problems encountered in teaching the electromagnetic theory. The construction and B first approzimation to a characterization of this phenomenology is used as an strategy to allow the student to start the elaboration of the basic electromagnetic 's theory concepts. The process is carry out around three problems: the electrification by friction phenomena (static electricity), electric current and its relation with the static electricity, and the  lectromagnetic phenomena.</p

Identification of flavin-containing monooxygenase 5 (FMO5) as a regulator of glucose homeostasis and a potential sensor of gut bacteria

We have previously identified flavin-containing monooxygenase 5 (FMO5) as a regulator of metabolic aging. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of FMO5 in glucose homeostasis and the impact of diet and gut flora on the phenotype of mice in which the Fmo5 gene has been disrupted (Fmo5−/− mice). In comparison with wild-type (WT) counterparts, Fmo5−/− mice are resistant to age-related changes in glucose homeostasis and maintain the higher glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity characteristic of young animals. When fed a high-fat diet, they are protected against weight gain and reduction of insulin sensitivity. The phenotype of Fmo5−/− mice is independent of diet and the gut microbiome and is determined solely by the host genotype. Fmo5−/− mice have metabolic characteristics similar to those of germ-free mice, indicating that FMO5 plays a role in sensing or responding to gut bacteria. In WT mice, FMO5 is present in the mucosal epithelium of the gastrointestinal tract where it is induced in response to a high-fat diet. In comparison with WT mice, Fmo5−/− mice have fewer colonic goblet cells, and they differ in the production of the colonic hormone resistin-like molecule β. Fmo5−/− mice have lower concentrations of tumor necrosis factor α in plasma and of complement component 3 in epididymal white adipose tissue, indicative of improved inflammatory tone. Our results implicate FMO5 as a regulator of body weight and of glucose disposal and insulin sensitivity and, thus, identify FMO5 as a potential novel therapeutic target for obesity and insulin resistance

Direct detection of dark matter axions with directional sensitivity

We study the directional effect of the expected axion dark matter signal in a resonant cavity of an axion haloscope detector, for cavity geometries not satisfying the condition that the axion de Broglie wavelength $\lambda_a$ is sufficiently larger than the cavity dimensions $L$ for a fully coherent conversion, i.e. $\lambda_a \gtrsim 2\pi L$. We focus on long thin cavities immersed in dipole magnets and find, for appropriately chosen cavity lengths, an O(1) modulation of the signal with the cavity orientation with respect the momentum distribution of the relic axion background predicted by the isothermal sphere model for the galactic dark matter halo. This effect can be exploited to design directional axion dark matter detectors, providing an unmistakable signature of the extraterrestrial origin of a possible positive detection. Moreover, the precise shape of the modulation may give information of the galactic halo distribution and, for specific halo models, give extra sensitivity for higher axion masses.Comment: 14 pages, 12 figures, prepared for submission to JCA

Metabolomics analysis of type 2 diabetes remission identifies 12 metabolites with predictive capacity: a CORDIOPREV clinical trial study.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is one of the most widely spread diseases, affecting around 90% of the patients with diabetes. Metabolomics has proven useful in diabetes research discovering new biomarkers to assist in therapeutical studies and elucidating pathways of interest. However, this technique has not yet been applied to a cohort of patients that have remitted from T2DM. All patients with a newly diagnosed T2DM at baseline (n = 190) were included. An untargeted metabolomics approach was employed to identify metabolic differences between individuals who remitted (RE), and those who did not (non-RE) from T2DM, during a 5-year study of dietary intervention. The biostatistical pipeline consisted of an orthogonal projection on the latent structure discriminant analysis (O-PLS DA), a generalized linear model (GLM), a receiver operating characteristic (ROC), a DeLong test, a Cox regression, and pathway analyses. The model identified a significant increase in 12 metabolites in the non-RE group compared to the RE group. Cox proportional hazard models, calculated using these 12 metabolites, showed that patients in the high-score tercile had significantly (p-value < 0.001) higher remission probabilities (Hazard Ratio, HR, high versus low = 2.70) than those in the lowest tercile. The predictive power of these metabolites was further studied using GLMs and ROCs. The area under the curve (AUC) of the clinical variables alone is 0.61, but this increases up to 0.72 if the 12 metabolites are considered. A DeLong test shows that this difference is statistically significant (p-value = 0.01). Our study identified 12 endogenous metabolites with the potential to predict T2DM remission following a dietary intervention. These metabolites, combined with clinical variables, can be used to provide, in clinical practice, a more precise therapy. ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT00924937.The CORDIOPREV study is supported by the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad, Spain, under the grants AGL2012/39615, PIE14/00005, and PIE14/00031 associated to J.L.-M.; AGL2015-67896-P to J.L.-M. and A.C.; CP14/00114 to A.C.; PI19/00299 to A.C.; DTS19/00007 to A.C.; FIS PI13/00023 to J.D.-L., PI16/01777 to F.P.-J. and P.P.-M.; Antonio Camargo is supported by an ISCIII research contract (Programa Miguel-Servet CPII19/00007); Marina Mora-Ortiz has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 847468; ‘Fundacion Patrimonio Comunal Olivarero’, Junta de Andalucía (Consejería de Salud, Consejeria de Agricultura y Pesca, Consejería de Innovacion, Ciencia y Empresa), ‘Diputaciones de Jaen y Cordoba’, ‘Centro de Excelencia en Investigación sobre Aceite de Oliva y Salud’ and ‘Ministerio de Medio Ambiente, Medio Rural y Marino’, Gobierno de España; ‘Consejeria de Innovación, Ciencia y Empresa, Proyectos de Investigación de Excelencia’, Junta de Andalucía under the grant CVI-7450 obtaiend by J.L.-M.; and we would also like to thank the ‘Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER)’.S

Ovarian germ cell tumors with rhabdomyosarcomatous components and later development of growing teratoma syndrome: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Development of a sarcomatous component in a germ cell tumor is an uncommon phenomenon. Most cases reported have a grim prognosis. Growing teratoma syndrome is also an uncommon phenomenon and occurs in approximately 2% to 7% of non seminomatous germ cell tumors and should be treated surgically.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>We report the case of a 12-year-old Asian girl with an ovarian mixed germ cell tumor containing a rhabdomyosarcomatous component. She was treated with a germ cell tumor chemotherapy regimen and rhabdomyosarcoma-specific chemotherapy. Towards the end of her treatment, she developed a retroperitoneal mass that was increasing in size. It was completely resected, revealing a mature teratoma, consistent with growing teratoma syndrome. She is still in complete remission approximately three years after presentation.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The presence of rhabdomyosarcoma in a germ cell tumor should be treated by a combined chemotherapy regimen (for germ cell tumor and rhabdomyosarcoma). In addition, development of a mass during or after therapy with normal serum markers should raise the possibility of growing teratoma syndrome that should be treated surgically.</p