Elaboration of the Competence Profile of the Residential Child/Youth Care Worker

This paper describes the steps used to develop a professional competence profile which allows a residential child youth care worker to perform his or her tasks in an efficient effective and confident way Among the strategic and specific competencies 11 were selected which explain a high percentage of performance empathy planning resistance to stress responsibility problem solving flexibility collaboration teamwork commitment expertise and communication skills Once the list of competencies has been established the behaviors that reflect them are determined and a questionnaire to evaluate the candidates for the position is elaborate

Identification of new antifungal metabolites produced by the yeast Metschnikowia pulcherrima involved in the biocontrol of postharvest plant pathogenic fungi

Several strains of the yeast Metschnikowia pulcherrima exhibit strong antagonistic activity against postharvest pathogens and may have broad biotechnological potential as biocontrol agents. However, the nature and interplay of the mechanisms contributing to this antifungal activity are still largely unknown. This study characterizes the antifungal compounds present in the exometabolome of two yeast strains that previously showed an efficient inhibition of Botrytis cinerea infection. We show that a yeast-fungus co-culture assay is a good system to examine the antagonistic interaction and elucidate the nature of the produced yeast metabolites. As a result, our UPLC-MS/MS analysis identified a total of 35 differentially secreted metabolites, potentially involved in the biocontrol of gray mold. Subsequent in vitro analysis and in vivo tomato, grape and apple fruit protection assays with such metabolites allowed us to identify several new antifungal compounds, with 3-amino-5-methylhexanoic acid, biphenyl-2,3-diol and sinapaldehyde being the most active (with up to 90–100% reduction in the infection of tomato and apple with B. cinerea). In addition, the first two metabolites protected tomatoes against Alternaria alternata infection. It was observed that these metabolites negatively affected the cell membrane integrity and mycelial morphology of B. cinerea and increased the intracellular level of ROS. Furthermore, other unexpected metabolites with interesting biotechnological applications were identified for the first time as being secreted by yeast cells, such as piperideine and protoemetine (alkaloids), p-coumaroyl quinic acid (phenylpropanoid), β-rhodomycin (antibiotic), hexadecanedioic acid (long chain fatty acid) or taurocholic acid (bile acid). This fact highlights that the antifungal activity of M. pulcherrima may result from synergistic action of several active molecules

Towards understanding of fungal biocontrol mechanisms of different yeasts antagonistic to Botrytis cinerea through exometabolomic analysis

There is increased interest in research on yeasts as potential phytopathogen biocontrol agents due to increasing restrictions in the use of chemical pesticides. Yeast strains from a range of genera and species have been reported to inhibit postharvest decay in different fruits. However, the mechanisms behind these yeast biocontrol capacities have not been completely deciphered because they are complex and act synergistically. In this study, we performed a thorough untargeted analysis of the exometabolome generated in a co-culture of the fungal plant pathogen Botrytis cinerea with four antagonistic yeast strains: Pichia fermentans (two strains), Issatchenkia terricola and Wickerhamomyces anomalus. As a result, general and strain-specific antifungal mechanisms and molecules were identified. The P. fermentans strains secreted the highest number of differential metabolites to the extracellular medium when co-cultured with B. cinerea. In vitro antagonistic and in vivo pathogen protection assays were performed with the selected metabolites. Among a plethora of 46 differentially secreted metabolites related to yeast-fungus competitive interaction, the phenylpropanoid trans-cinnamic acid and the alkaloid indole-3-carboxaldehyde were identified as the best antagonistic metabolites against gray mold infection under in vivo protection assays. Both metabolites caused damage to the fungal membrane and increased ROS generation in spores of B. cinerea. In addition, enhanced yeast secretion to the extracellular medium of oxylipins, dipeptides, alkaloids or antibiotics deserve to be further investigated as signaling or antagonistic molecules. This study opens the door to future investigations of roles of these molecules in yeast metabolism and application of this knowledge for biotechnological purposes.This work was financed by the Departamento de Desarrollo Económico y Empresarial from the Gobierno de Navarra (Spain): grants 0011-1365-2021-000079 and 0011-1411-2019-000009. Open Access funding provided by Universidad Pública de Navarra

El turismo como integrador de la Alianza del Pacífico

La Alianza del Pacifico se establece como mecanismo de crecimiento económico a nivel regional donde sectores como el turismo son preponderantes para el desarrollo de los objetivos de este bloque de integración, es por ello que el estudio de los resultados y metodologías aplicadas, desde la implementación del acuerdo, hasta el momento, son el punto de partida para la identificación de aquellos obstáculos que se han presentado para el fortalecimiento y potencialización del sector de manera conjunta. De igual forma, se busca contribuir con una serie de estrategias que aporten a la reducción de estos factores que impiden que cada uno de los miembros explote al máximo su potencial turístico y que a partir de ellos se logre alcanzar el mayor beneficio de hacer parte de este importante acuerdo de integración.The Pacific Alliance is established as a mechanism for economic growth at the regional level where sectors such as tourism are essential for the development of the objectives of this integration bloc. For this reason, the study of the results and applied methodologies, since the implementation of the agreement, until now, are the starting point for the identification of those obstacles that have been presented for the joint strengthening and potentiation of the sector. In the same way, it seeks to contribute with a series of strategies that contribute to the reduction of these factors that prevent each of the members from fully exploiting their tourism potential and from them achieving the greatest benefit of being part of this important integration agreement

Tobacco plastidial thioredoxins as modulators of recombinant protein production in transgenic chloroplasts

Thioredoxins (Trxs) are small ubiquitous disulphide proteins widely known to enhance expression and solubility of recombinant proteins in microbial expression systems. Given the common evolutionary heritage of chloroplasts and bacteria, we attempted to analyse whether plastid Trxs could also act as modulators of recombinant protein expression in transgenic chloroplasts. For that purpose, two tobacco Trxs (m and f) with different phylogenetic origins were assessed. Using plastid transformation, we assayed two strategies: the fusion and the co-expression of Trxs with human serum albumin (HSA), which was previously observed to form large protein bodies in tobacco chloroplasts. Our results indicate that both Trxs behave similarly as regards HSA accumulation, although they act differently when fused or co-expressed with HSA. Trxs-HSA fusions markedly increased the final yield of HSA (up to 26% of total protein) when compared with control lines that only expressed HSA; this increase was mainly caused by higher HSA stability of the fused proteins. However, the fusion strategy failed to prevent the formation of protein bodies within chloroplasts. On the other hand, the co-expression constructs gave rise to an absence of large protein bodies although no more soluble HSA was accumulated. In these plants, electron micrographs showed HSA and Trxs co-localization in small protein bodies with fibrillar texture, suggesting a possible influence of Trxs on HSA solubilization. Moreover, the in vitro chaperone activity of Trx m and f was demonstrated, which supports the hypothesis of a direct relationship between Trx presence and HSA aggregates solubilization in plants co-expressing both proteins. © 2011 The Authors. Plant Biotechnology Journal © 2011 Society for Experimental Biology, Association of Applied Biologists and Blackwell Publishing Ltd.Authors wish to thank MJ Villafranca for excellent plant care and cultivation. This work was supported by grants Res. 17/2004 and IIM10865.RI1 (Proyecto EUROINNOVA) from Gobierno de Navarra (Spain). RSB and PCM were supported by predoctoral fellowships from CSIC and Generalitat Valenciana, respectively. AFS was supported by a postdoctoral fellowship from Public University of Navarra.Sanz-Barrio, R.; Fernandez-San Millan, A.; Corral Martínez, P.; Seguí-Simarro, JM.; Farran, I. (2011). Tobacco plastidial thioredoxins as modulators of recombinant protein production in transgenic chloroplasts. Plant Biotechnology Journal. 9(6):639-650. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7652.2011.00608.xS6396509

Effects of stunting on body composition, biological age, and muscle strength of Maya and Ladino children in Guatemala [Abstract]

Effects of stunting on body composition, biological age, and muscle strength of Maya and Ladino children in Guatemala [Abstract

Reducing Uncertainties in Carbonate Clumped Isotope Analysis Through Consistent Carbonate-Based Standardization

About a decade after its introduction, the field of carbonate clumped isotope thermometry is rapidly expanding because of the large number of possible applications and its potential to solve long‐standing questions in Earth Sciences. Major factors limiting the application of this method are the very high analytical precision required for meaningful interpretations, the relatively complex sample preparation procedures, and the mass spectrometric corrections needed. In this paper we first briefly review the evolution of the analytical and standardization procedures and discuss the major remaining sources of uncertainty. We propose that the use of carbonate standards to project the results to the carbon dioxide equilibrium scale can improve interlaboratory data comparability and help to solve long‐standing discrepancies between laboratories and temperature calibrations. The use of carbonates reduces uncertainties related to gas preparation and cleaning procedures and ensures equal treatment of samples and standards. We present a set of carbonate standards of diverse composition, discuss how they can be used to correct for mass spectrometric biases, and demonstrate that their use significantly improves the comparability among four laboratories. We propose that the use of these standards or of a similar set of carbonate standards will improve the comparability of data across laboratories.publishedVersio

Distinct Roles of Endothelial and Adipocyte Caveolin-1 in Macrophage Infiltration and Adipose Tissue Metabolic Activity

OBJECTIVE: Defective caveolin-1 expression is now recognized as a cause of lipoatrophic diabetes in patients, due to primary caveolin gene mutations or secondary caveolin deficiency caused by PTRF/cavin gene defects. The goal of this study was to establish the relative contribution of endothelial cells and adipocytes, both highly expressing caveolin-1 to the lipoatrophic phenotype of mice with global caveolin-1 gene invalidation (Cav1-KO). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We compared adipose tissue development and metabolic phenotype of wild-type (WT), lipoatrophic Cav1-KO, and a murine model with specific rescue of caveolin-1 expression in endothelial cells (caveolin-1-reconstituted [Cav1-RC]). RESULTS: Defective adipose tissue development, reduced adipocyte size, and global alteration in adipose tissue gene expression that characterize lipoatrophic caveolin-1 null mice were still observed in Cav1-RC, indicating a prominent role of adipocyte-derived caveolin in lipoatrophy. We also observed that Cav1-KO adipose tissue contained an increased proportion of infiltrated macrophages compared with control mice, mostly with an alternate activation M2 phenotype. In contrast with defective lipid storage and lipoatrophy, macrophage infiltration was normalized in Cav1-RC mice, pointing to caveolin-1-dependent endothelium permeability as the causing factor for adipose tissue macrophage infiltration in this model. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first report of a specific role for adipocyte caveolin expression in lipid storage. Our study also shows that endothelium caveolin critically participates in the control of macrophage extravasation from the blood into adipose tissue, therefore establishing distinct roles depending on topology of caveolin expression in different cell types of adipose tissue