Type III Secretion Effectors with Arginine N-Glycosyltransferase Activity

Type III secretion systems are used by many Gram-negative bacterial pathogens to inject proteins, known as effectors, into the cytosol of host cells. These virulence factors interfere with a diverse array of host signal transduction pathways and cellular processes. Many effectors have catalytic activities to promote post-translational modifications of host proteins. This review focuses on a family of effectors with glycosyltransferase activity that catalyze addition of N-acetyl-d-glucosamine to specific arginine residues in target proteins, leading to reduced NF-κB pathway activation and impaired host cell death. This family includes NleB from Citrobacter rodentium, NleB1 and NleB2 from enteropathogenic and enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli, and SseK1, SseK2, and SseK3 from Salmonella enterica. First, we place these effectors in the general framework of the glycosyltransferase superfamily and in the particular context of the role of glycosylation in bacterial pathogenesis. Then, we provide detailed information about currently known members of this family, their role in virulence, and their targetsSpanish Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad , Agencia Estatal de Investigación, and the European Regional Development Fund, grant number SAF2016‐75365‐REuropean Union’s Horizon 2020 e Marie Skłodowska‐Curie grant agreement No 84262

Oxidative Stress Associated with Chilling Injury in Immature Fruit: Postharvest Technological and Biotechnological Solutions

Immature, vegetable-like fruits are produced by crops of great economic importance, including cucumbers, zucchini, eggplants and bell peppers, among others. Because of their high respiration rates, associated with high rates of dehydration and metabolism, and their susceptibility to chilling injury (CI), vegetable fruits are highly perishable commodities, requiring particular storage conditions to avoid postharvest losses. This review focuses on the oxidative stress that affects the postharvest quality of vegetable fruits under chilling storage. We define the physiological and biochemical factors that are associated with the oxidative stress and the development of CI symptoms in these commodities, and discuss the different physical, chemical and biotechnological approaches that have been proposed to reduce oxidative stress while enhancing the chilling tolerance of vegetable fruits

Joy and Social Change

Joy is a phenomenon about which many disciplines have written or theorized, with different results that can cause confusion or uncertainty in defining and engaging with it. For individuals involved in change-making, engaging with the concept of joy can provide a sense of momentum, moments of respite, or motivation for imagining the future. Still, it can be difficult to access with imprecise and sometimes conflicting understandings of what joy is. Through a multidisciplinary literature review, this paper synthesizes existing work into a new framework to understand joy in the different ways it may appear. Self-reflexive journaling is also used to help the researcher track thoughts, impressions and engage with the concepts during the development of the framework. The framework presents three forms of joy: Personal Joy, as in how joy appears in an individual’s life and how it impacts their approach to experiences; Applied Joy, as in ways individuals can actively cultivate and use joy in their work; and Aspirational Joy, as in ways joy can serve a goal or be a fruit of change. This framework builds on existing research on joy and furthers the study by creating new spaces for dialogue between disciplines and media on this topic. A prototype of a reflection activity is also presented to provide an example of how the framework might be engaged with, with the intent that it should be tested and refined

Employment opportunities at entry into the labor market in Spain since the mid-1970s

"The objectives of the research are: 1) to determine whether young people's job opportunities at the beginning of their careers have improved or worsened in Spain between 1976 and 2005, 2) to find out what individual characteristics favor or impede a good entry into the world of work, and 3) to find out how inequality according to gender, social class and educational level has evolved in a context where entry into the labor market is increasingly flexible. To this end, all of the trimesters of the Spanish Labor Force Survey were used, from the third trimester of 1976 to the third trimester of 2005. Two files were created, one with the typical ages at entry into the labor market according to level of studies and birth cohort, and the other with ages five years older than the previous ones. Logistic regressions and the artificial cohort method were used to analyze the likelihood of being employed, of having a fixed-term contract, and of being employed in an unskilled job for both of these life moments (entry into the labor market and the first steps in the labor market). With respect to the likelihood of being employed, the results show that entry into the labor market depends largely on the economic cycle. Insofar as concerns the quality of employment, young people today must face a reality that was unknown before the mid-eighties, namely temporary employment, despite the fact that the likelihood of working with a fixed-term contract has decreased slightly for the youngest cohorts. Similarly, the analyses show that temporary employment is, in most cases, a transitory state. As for the likelihood of occupying an unskilled position, the balance of the last thirty years is positive, because the change in the productive structure has favored young people's access to better positions, compared to their parents. Also, gender inequality has decreased, and social and educational level inequalities have not generally increased, although the results show nuances that will be further developed in the text." (author's abstract

Instantaneous Reactive Power Theory in the Geometric Algebra Framework

In this paper, a new approach for instantaneous reactive power analysis in the geometric algebra (GA) environment is presented. The different formulations of the instantaneous reactive power theory (IRPT) proposed, to date, have been developed in three-phase systems. There, an instantaneous power variable, and two/three reactive power variables, all handled independently, were introduced. Thanks to GA, it is possible to carry out a global treatment where an instantaneous power multivector is defined. Thus, in the same multidimensional entity all the power variables are included. From the instantaneous power multivector, the instantaneous power current and the instantaneous reactive current are determined. It should be noted that in this mathematical framework there is no limitation on the number of phases, and the extension of the IRPT to the analysis of multi-phase systems appears in a natural manner. In this study, a systematic approach with the most relevant definitions and theorems corresponding to the proposed methodology has been established. Two practical cases of five-phase and three-phase systems have been included to apply the new established formulation

Sistema de análisis de movimiento tridimensional basado en vídeo: aplicación a la evaluación de movilidad en enfermedades reumatológicas crónicas

La presente Tesis Doctoral describe el diseño y validación de un sistema de captura de movimiento basado en vídeo. Se ha descrito su esquema de funcionamiento y algoritmos principales así como una serie de ensayos para evaluar la precisión y fiabilidad del mismo. Por otro lado se ha demostrado la aplicabilidad de este sistema sobre una patología reumática que produce una reducción de la movilidad: la espondilitis anquilosante. Esta reducción es habitualmente registrada utilizando una serie de procedimientos e instrumentación validados. Se ha aplicado el sistema de captura de movimiento descrito en la evaluación de la movilidad sobre esta patología Con el sistema desarrollado se ha establecido un protocolo de medida, en base a la construcción de un laboratorio de movimiento, que permite obtener informes de movilidad sobre el sujeto a analizar. Los resultados de fiabilidad y precisión se han llevado a cabo en diferentes fases y con diferentes muestras con ensayos en más de 80 pacientes. Todas las medidas correlacionaron bien con las medidas utilizadas tradicionalmente en la consulta reumatológica y con otros parámetros como índices de afectación radiológica, índices de nivel de función física y de calidad de vida. Las medidas obtenidas, basadas en nuestro sistema de captura de movimiento, permiten obtener el nivel de afectación del paciente con un grado de objetividad, precisión y fiabilidad mayor que las herramientas hasta ahora existentes

Implantes angulados en la rehabilitación del maxilar atrófico

Introducción: Tras la pérdida dental se produce la reabsorción ósea del hueso alveolar, dificultando su rehabilitación. Una de las formas es mediante los implantes angulados, con los que disminuimos la morbilidad del paciente. Objetivo: analizar y considerar si los implantes angulados son una alternativa fiable para rehabilitar el maxilar atrófico, en sustitución de las demás técnicas. Material y método: Un total de 7 artículos fueron utilizados para realizar esta revisión sistemática, seleccionados de la base de datos PUBMED. Resultados: A medio plazo no hay diferencias significativas de pérdida marginal de hueso y supervivencia entre los implantes angulados y los axiales. Conclusión: La rehabilitación de los maxilares atróficos mediante implantes angulados presentan la misma seguridad que mediante implantes axiales a corto/medio plazo.Introduction: After tooth loss, bone resorption of the alveolar bone occurs, making it difficult to rehabilitate. One of the ways is through angled implants, with which we decrease the patient's morbidity. Objective: to analyze and consider whether angled implants are a reliable alternative to rehabilitate the atrophic maxilla, replacing the other techniques. Material and method: A total of 7 articles were used to carry out this systematic review, selected from the PUBMED database. Results: In the medium term, there are no significant differences in marginal bone loss and survival between angled and axial implants. Conclusion: The rehabilitation of the atrophic maxilla by angled implants presents the same safety as by axial implants in the short / medium term.Universidad de Sevilla. Grado en Odontologí

Wildfire spreading simulator using fast marching algorithm

Programs that can predict wildfire behavior are a very useful tool in terms of extinguishing these fires more effectively. State of the art wildfire simulators present some drawbacks such as not being sufficiently user-friendly, being expensive, requiring great computational power or having poor graphical representation. This paper presents a prototype wildfire simulation app that uses Fast Marching (FM) as its core algorithm. The wildfire app is developed as a Matlab GUI. Said application shows the shape of the fire front at a given moment in time in a 3D map of the terrain affected by the fire. Any real life maps can be loaded to the application for wildfire prediction. The user can choose to vary parameters such as starting (ignition) and ending points, wind direction and speed and propagation time, and see its effect on fire propagation. Interface response to each change in the input is very fast, therefore proving the effciency of the algorithm. Although a prototype, the wildfire basic app is superior to some state of the art simulators regarding certain important features. It can be concluded that Fast Marching is a valid core algorithm for a fire simulator. The way the app is programmed in Matlab confers it flexibility, enabling further specific changes that make it truly competitive against currently used wildfire simulators

Surface Electromyography of the Longissimus and Gluteus Medius Muscles in Greyhounds Walking and Trotting on Ground Flat, Up, and Downhill

In the field of canine rehabilitation, knowledge of muscle function in the therapeutic exercises prescribed is needed by physical therapists and veterinary surgeons. To gain insight into the function of longissimus dorsi (LD) and gluteus medius (GM) muscles in dogs, five Greyhounds performing leash walking and trotting on the ground flat, up (+7%), and downhill (−7%) were studied by surface electromyography, and the mean and maximum activity was compared. For the same incline, the surface electromyography (sEMG) of LD was higher (p < 0.05) at the trot than at the walk. In LD muscle, trotting uphill showed significantly higher maximum activity than any other exercise. A change of +7% incline or −7% decline affected (increased or decreased, respectively) the mean sEMG of the LD and GM muscles of dogs walking or trotting on the ground. When combined, the influence of gait and incline on electromyographic activity was analyzed, and walking at certain inclines showed no difference with trotting at certain inclines. Walking and trotting up and downhill added separate therapeutic value to flat motion. The results of the present study might contribute to a better understanding of the function of LD and GM muscles in dogs, this being especially useful for the field of canine rehabilitation

New trends on nonlinear dynamics and its applications

This paper is the Preface of a special issue devoted to Nonlinear Dynamics and Complexity generated by the contributions of participants at the conference NDC 2015, La Manga, Spain (http://ndc.lhscientificpublishing.com) organized by the Dynamical System Research Group of Región of Murcia (http://www.um.es/sistdinamicos/)