Caracterización histológica de la respuesta de caña de azúcar a la infección por Puccinia kuehnii

ABSTRACTSugarcane orange rust, caused by Puccinia kuehnii (W. Krüger) EJ Butler, is one of the major diseases impacting sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) production worldwide. The objective of this work was to characterize by histology the development of P. kuehnii in leaves and the response of the cultivars to the disease. Four cultures with different degrees of infection response were inoculated in greenhouse. Microscopy studies were performed in leaf fragments of plants at 5 and 15 days after inoculation. It was shown that the development of fungus structures, prior to foliar tissue penetration, are similar in all cultivars regardless of the type of plant response. It was found that cultivar with grade 1 developed response similar to the hypersensitive response, while grade 2 suggests resistance based on the quantitative contribution of several genes. The results are a contribution towards understanding the genetic basis of orange rust resistance in sugarcane. RESUMENLa roya naranja de la caña de azúcar, causada por Puccinia kuehnii (W. Krüger) E.J. Butler, es una de las principales enfermedades que afectan la producción de caña de azúcar (Saccharum spp.) a nivel mundial. Este trabajo tuvo como objetivo  caracterizar por histología el desarrollo de P. kuehnii en hojas y la respuesta de los cultivares a la enfermedad. Se seleccionaron cuatro cultivares con diferentes grados de respuesta a la infección, los que fueron inoculados en casa de cultivo. Se realizaron estudios por microscopía en fragmentos de hojas de plantas a los 5 y 15 días posteriores a la inoculación. Se demostró que el desarrollo de las estructuras del hongo previas la penetración del tejido foliar son similares en todos los cultivares, con independencia del tipo de respuesta de la planta. Se encontró que el cultivar con grado 1 presenta una respuesta similar a la respuesta hipersensible, mientras que el grado 2 hace suponer una resistencia a partir de la contribución cuantitativa de varios genes. Los resultados son un aporte al entendimiento de las bases genéticas de la resistencia de la caña de azúcar a la roya naranja.

Activity of the enzyme myeloperoxidase in workers

Introducción: en la evolución de la enfermedad cardiovascular aterosclerótica se propone al estrés oxidativo como potencial inductor de inflamación. Una de las enzimas del estrés oxidativo que vincula las enfermedades producidas por isquemia reperfusión y las enfermedades inflamatorias es la mieloperoxidasa. Objetivo: determinar la relación entre la actividad de la enzima mieloperoxidasa y diferentes variables como el sexo, la edad y los niveles sanguíneos de glucosa, colesterol y triacilgliceridos en trabajadores de la Facultad de Medicina. Método: se realizó un estudio descriptivo transversal en la Facultad de Medicina de la Universidad de Ciencias Médicas de Villa Clara desde enero de 2015 a diciembre de 2016. La población estuvo constituida por 416 trabajadores y se seleccionó una muestra de 90 personas por muestreo probabilístico a los que se les determinó la actividad de la enzima mieloperoxidasa en suero, así como niveles sanguíneos de colesterol, triglicéridos y glucosa. Resultados: el valor promedio de esta actividad en los hombres es 0,233 -superior al valor 0,212 correspondiente a las mujeres-, en relación al color de la piel los valores medios de la actividad de la enzima fueron de 0,227 para los no blancos y 0,220 para los blancos y los valores medios de la actividad enzimática tienden a incrementarse a medida que se aproxima a los valores de 25 a 29,9kg/m2 y ≥30,00kg/m2 del índice de masa corporal. Conclusiones: la actividad de la enzima mieloperoxidasa se encuentra relacionada con el aumento de la glicemia, el sobrepeso y el sexo masculino.Introduction: in the evolution of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, oxidative stress is proposed as a potential inducer of inflammation. One of the enzymes of oxidative stress, that links ischemia reperfusion diseases and inflammatory diseases, is myeloperoxidase. Objective: to determine the relationship between the activity of the enzyme myeloperoxidase and different variables such as sex, age and blood levels of glucose, cholesterol and triacylglycerides in workers at the Faculty of Medicine. Methods: a cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Medical Sciences in Villa Clara from January 2015 to December 2016. The population consisted of 416 workers and a sample of 90 people was selected by probabilistic sampling. The activity of the enzyme myeloperoxidase in serum was determinedin them, as well as blood levels of cholesterol, triglycerides and glucose. Results: the average value of the activity of this enzyme in men is 0.233 -higher than the value of 0.212 corresponding to women-, in relation to skin color the average values of enzyme activity were 0.227 for non-whites and 0.220 for whites and the average values of enzyme activity tend to increase as it approaches the values of 25 to 29.9kg/m2 and ≥30.00kg/m2 of body mass index. Conclusions: myeloperoxidase activity is related to increased glycemia, overweight and male sex

Some recommendations for the construction of walls using adobe bricks

This paper shows some results of the analysis of wall construction with adobe bricks, carried out in a pilot building in Villa Clara, Cuba. Our main objective was to obtain some construction recommendations to avoid the humidity due to capillarity. The recommendations deal with uprising speed of construction, adequate wall longitude, binding mortar between adobe bricks, adobe protection from weathering, etc

Caracterización de la respuesta de cultivares de caña de azúcar a la roya naranja en casa de cultivo

Sugarcane orange rust, caused by Puccinia kuehnii (Krüguer) Butler, is considered one of the most important diseases, due to losses in agricultural yields in susceptible commercial plantations. The objective of this work was to characterize the response of sugarcane cultivars to orange rust in green house conditions. Sugarcane plants of two months old were inoculated with spore suspension obtained from pustules on sugarcane leaves (‘C01-227’) with orange rust symptoms. Previously to inoculum preparation, P. kuehnii occurrence were confirmed by optical microscopy and polymerase chain reaction techniques. The experimental conditions used allow identify differential response between sugarcane cultivars to P. kuehnii infection. Some cultivars showed to be resistant to the fungus through interactions incompatible with a typical hypersensitive response. In other cultivars, different grades of susceptibility with significant differences in latency period of the disease was observed. Key words: Puccinia kuehnii, resistance, Saccharum spp.La roya naranja de la caña de azúcar (Saccharum spp.), causada por Puccinia kuehnii (Krüguer) Butler, es considerada una de las enfermedades más importantes debido a las pérdidas en el rendimiento agrícola en plantaciones comerciales susceptibles. Este trabajo tuvo como objetivo caracterizar la respuesta de cultivares de caña de azúcar a esta enfermedad en condiciones de casa de cultivo. Se inocularon plantas de dos meses de cultivo con una suspensión de esporas obtenidas a partir de pústulas en hojas del cultivar ‘C01-227’ colectadas en la región central de Cuba. Previo a la preparación del inóculo, fue confirmado al microscopio óptico y por reacción en cadena de la polimerasa la presencia de P. kuehnii. Las condiciones empleadas para el experimento permitieron identificar respuestas diferenciales de los cultivares a la infección por P. kuehnii. Algunos cultivares mostraron resistencia al hongo a través de interacciones no compatibles con una típica respuesta hipersensible. En otros casos se observaron diferentes grados de susceptibilidad en los que varió el período de latencia de la enfermedad. Palabras clave: Puccinia kuehnii, resistencia, Saccharum spp

Protocolo para seleccionar cultivares de caña de azúcar resistentes a la roya naranja mediante inoculación artificial en casa de cultivo

Orange rust [Puccinia kuehnii (W. Kruger) E. J. Butler] from sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) is a disease of potential importance for Cuban sugarcane farming. However, under natural conditions, the presence of symptoms has not maintained stability in the foci of infection, which makes it difficult to evaluate the phenotypic resistance response of the cultivars to this disease. The present work was carried out with the objective of establishing a protocol to select sugarcane cultivars for their resistance to orange rust in the greenhouse. Includes, reference cultivars, source of inoculum, morphological and molecular characterization of P. kuehnii uredospores, inoculation conditions and inoculation method, variables to evaluate the response of the inoculated plants and their classification according to the degree of resistance to P. kuehnii. Keywords: inoculation, Puccinia kuehnii, resistance, Saccharum spp.La roya naranja [Puccinia kuehnii (W. Kruger) E. J. Butler] de la caña de azúcar (Saccharum spp.) constituye una enfermedad de importancia potencial para la agricultura cañera cubana. Sin embargo, en condiciones naturales la presencia de síntomas no ha mantenido estabilidad en los focos de infección lo cual dificulta la evaluación de la respuesta fenotípica de resistencia de los cultivares a esta enfermedad. El presente trabajo se realizó con el objetivo de establecer un protocolo para seleccionar cultivares de caña de azúcar por su resistencia a roya naranja en casa de cultivo. Incluye los cultivares de referencia, la fuente de inóculo, caracterización morfológica y molecular de las uredosporas de P. kuehnii, condiciones de inoculación y método de inoculación, variables para evaluar la respuesta de las plantas inoculadas y su clasificación según el grado de resistencia a P. kuehnii. Palabras clave: inoculación, Puccinia kuehnii, resistencia, Saccharum spp

Aortic disease in Marfan syndrome is caused by overactivation of sGC-PRKG signaling by NO

AbstractThoracic aortic aneurysm, as occurs in Marfan syndrome, is generally asymptomatic until dissection or rupture, requiring surgical intervention as the only available treatment. Here, we show that nitric oxide (NO) signaling dysregulates actin cytoskeleton dynamics in Marfan Syndrome smooth muscle cells and that NO-donors induce Marfan-like aortopathy in wild-type mice, indicating that a marked increase in NO suffices to induce aortopathy. Levels of nitrated proteins are higher in plasma from Marfan patients and mice and in aortic tissue from Marfan mice than in control samples, indicating elevated circulating and tissue NO. Soluble guanylate cyclase and cGMP-dependent protein kinase are both activated in Marfan patients and mice and in wild-type mice treated with NO-donors, as shown by increased plasma cGMP and pVASP-S239 staining in aortic tissue. Marfan aortopathy in mice is reverted by pharmacological inhibition of soluble guanylate cyclase and cGMP-dependent protein kinase and lentiviral-mediated Prkg1 silencing. These findings identify potential biomarkers for monitoring Marfan Syndrome in patients and urge evaluation of cGMP-dependent protein kinase and soluble guanylate cyclase as therapeutic targets.</jats:p

Informatización de la red de bibliotecas de las unidades de la atención primaria en Cuba

The whole process of automation of the libraries of the polyclinics from the primary health care network in Cuba is approached. The health-primary care-information interrelation, its growth and the national need to transform the polyclinics' libraries to take the information available in Infomed to the information units located at the primary health care level, are dealt with. The main activities related to the creation of new libraries in the polyclinics, the equipment and furniture distribution, the human resources training, and the establishment of the guidlines and principles ruling the activity of this type of info institutions in the country, are described

<i>Purshia plicata</i> Triggers and Regulates Proteins Related to Apoptosis in HeLa Cancer Cells

Cervical cancer represents a public health problem, develops resistance to traditional therapies and cost-of-treatment is high. These disadvantages have led to the search for alternative bioactive-compound-based therapies. Said bioactive compounds include phenolic compounds, flavonoids, and tannins. The present study aimed to evaluate the therapeutic effect of a P. plicata extract on the HeLa cell line. Viability and apoptosis assays were run on the two cell lines treated with the extract. The peptides, up- and down-expressed in both cell lines, were identified by PDQuest analysis software and high-performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry (HPLC/MS/MS). Our results show that a 500 mg/L treatment deregulated cell viability, with different apoptotic morphologies observed which are associated with the presence of bio-compounds, which up- and down-regulated the peptides. In conclusion, P. plicata regulates proteins associated with apoptosis in HeLa cancer cells

Unveiling Novel Urease Inhibitors for <i>Helicobacter pylori</i>: A Multi-Methodological Approach from Virtual Screening and ADME to Molecular Dynamics Simulations

Helicobacter pylori (Hp) infections pose a global health challenge demanding innovative therapeutic strategies by which to eradicate them. Urease, a key Hp virulence factor hydrolyzes urea, facilitating bacterial survival in the acidic gastric environment. In this study, a multi-methodological approach combining pharmacophore- and structure-based virtual screening, molecular dynamics simulations, and MM-GBSA calculations was employed to identify novel inhibitors for Hp urease (HpU). A refined dataset of 8,271,505 small molecules from the ZINC15 database underwent pharmacokinetic and physicochemical filtering, resulting in 16% of compounds for pharmacophore-based virtual screening. Molecular docking simulations were performed in successive stages, utilizing HTVS, SP, and XP algorithms. Subsequent energetic re-scoring with MM-GBSA identified promising candidates interacting with distinct urease variants. Lys219, a residue critical for urea catalysis at the urease binding site, can manifest in two forms, neutral (LYN) or carbamylated (KCX). Notably, the evaluated molecules demonstrated different interaction and energetic patterns in both protein variants. Further evaluation through ADMET predictions highlighted compounds with favorable pharmacological profiles, leading to the identification of 15 candidates. Molecular dynamics simulations revealed comparable structural stability to the control DJM, with candidates 5, 8 and 12 (CA5, CA8, and CA12, respectively) exhibiting the lowest binding free energies. These inhibitors suggest a chelating capacity that is crucial for urease inhibition. The analysis underscores the potential of CA5, CA8, and CA12 as novel HpU inhibitors. Finally, we compare our candidates with the chemical space of urease inhibitors finding physicochemical similarities with potent agents such as thiourea

An Exploratory Study of Itolizumab on the Preservation of Beta Cell Function in Adults with Recent-Onset Type 1 Diabetes

We conducted a phase I-IIa, randomized, monocentric, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial to evaluate the safety and impact of the combination treatment of Itolizumab and insulin on preserving beta cell function in adults with recent-onset type 1 diabetes. Twelve patients were randomly assigned to three treatment groups, each receiving a different Itolizumab dose (0.4/0.8/1.6 mg/kg body weight, respectively) and a placebo group. All patients received concomitant intensive multiple-dose insulin therapy. Endogenous insulin secretion was assessed by the measurement of C-peptide during the mixed-meal tolerance test. No serious adverse events were reported. No changes in the total daily insulin doses, glycated hemoglobin levels, and stimulated C-peptide were observed between the Itolizumab and placebo groups at 52 weeks. A significant decrease in stimulated C-peptide was observed during the follow-up period (p = 0.012). One subject treated with 1.6 mg of Itolizumab showed a marked increase in the levels of stimulated C-peptide three years after completion of the trial. Taken together, this is the first study to demonstrate that combination treatment with Itolizumab and insulin is safe in humans and does not affect the residual function of beta cells up to 52 weeks. The findings from our study show preliminary evidence that high doses of Itolizumab could potentially arrest the loss of beta cell function in the long term. Further studies with a longer follow-up and larger numbers of patients are envisaged to assess the effect with high dose Itolizumab