Snapshot of university assignments through autobiographies, memoirs and other literary texts

This manuscript provides a series of examples intedrated by fragments of narrative texts from different works that discuss the value of the descriptions and perceptions of various authors on selected educational aspects. Memorialistic, literary texts and studies onitems related to the university goals have been used. Specifically, information related to study plans, university demography, academic freedom, learning, memories of the teaching staff or choice of specialty is collected. When possible, historical circumstances that may have conditioned the current state of the Spanish university were taken into consideration.En este trabajo se aportan una serie de ejemplos integrados por fragmentos de textos narrativos tomados de diferentes obras que inciden en el valor de las descripciones y percepciones de diversos autores sobre aspectos educativos seleccionados. Se han utilizado textos memorialísticos, literarios y estudios sobre cuestiones relacionadas con los fines de la universidad. En concreto, se recoge información relacionados con planes de estudios, demografía universitaria, libertad de cátedra, aprendizaje, recuerdos del profesorado o elección de especialidad. Cuando ha sido posible se han invocado circunstancias históricas que pueden haber condicionado el estado actual de la universidad española

Coronavirus Crisis Seen from a National Journal. Evolutionary Prospective from January-June 2020

The media, and more specifically the print journalism, is a powerful source of information for the reconstruction of high impact social events, like the current crisis generated by the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) responsible for COVID-19 disease. To evaluate the impact, we analyzed the printed edition of the national journal El País, between January-June 2020, identifying the literature related to the virus or the disease. We quantified the different references and analyze the distribution across pages, sections of the journal, the sources of information and the organizations mentioned in the texts, together with the evolution overtime. The higher number of references (1872) was registered in April, with an average of 64.6±9.6 per day. Also in April, the number of pages where a comment was related to the crisis represented the 70% of the total pages of the journal. By journal section, the higher number of references corresponded to Society, Economy, Opinion and Spain, in this particular order. The news related to national interest were continued overtime, whereas the international ones where higher at the beginning of the crisis with a decreasing tendency overtime. The journalism genres vary from mainly interpretative at the beginning, to informative later on, with opinion texts reaching their highest levels in April. The information source more frequently used in each text corresponds to institutional organizations. Noteworthy, even if the number of texts related with health is lower than those related to economy and politics, there have been a notorious number of information related to public safety, health management, health assistance and drugs.Los medios de comunicación son potencialmente útiles para la construcción social de acontecimientos de alto impacto, como es el caso de la actual crisis provocada por el coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) y la enfermedad COVID-19. Para evaluar su impacto hemos analizado la edición impresa del diario El País entre los meses de enero y junio de 2020, identificando los textos periodísticos que aludían al virus o a la enfermedad, cuantificando su distribución en las páginas y las secciones del diario, las fuentes que se citan en los textos y la evolución de los géneros periodísticos a lo largo del periodo. El número más elevado de textos alusivos se registró en el mes de abril con 1872, con una media diaria de 64,6±9,6. En este mismo mes, el número de páginas del diario en las que se alude a diferentes aspectos de la crisis supera el 70% del total. En la distribución por secciones, el mayor número de textos se alcanzó en Sociedad, seguidos de Economía, Opinión y España. Las noticias de ámbito nacional se mantienen a lo largo del periodo, mientras que las de ámbito internacional son elevadas al inicio de la crisis y luego descienden. Los géneros periodísticos de tipo interpretativo son frecuentes al inicio, pero luego dominan los informativos; los considerados de opinión alcanzan su punto álgido en abril. La fuente documental más abundante es la institucional. Aunque los textos relacionados con salud son cuantitativamente poco numerosos en comparación con los temas económicos y políticos, se ha encontrado información relevante referida a salud pública, gestión sanitaria, asistencia sanitaria y medicamentos

Literatura y enfermedad, dos narrativas diferentes de procesos compartidos

We asked our self about the arguments of authors to write and we have found that there are as many as people, and the number of reasons anyone finds can multiply even this. However, they can be grouped into four categories: a) those which refer to the creation as a playful act, b) those which explored the existential aspects of life, c) the strictly professional, and d) the soothing, those which soften and soothe, those which lick the wounds and heal. When we asked about the relationship between the disease and the creation, a mutual influence can be revealed: the disease is the source of great creative works and the act of creation itself may prove therapeutic powers. But the word, frequently, is clumsy to explain the pain. Therefore, the need of metaphor.</p

Degenerate PCR primers for detecting putative priming glycosyltransferase genes in Bifidobacterium strains

A new PCR-based method to detect putative exopolysaccharide (EPS) producers from the genus Bifidobacterium was developed based on the detection of two priming glycosyltransferase genes: rfbP (undecaprenyl-phosphate sugar phospho-transferase) and cpsD (galactosyl-transferase). An in silico analysis of the genomes of 28 bifidobacterial strains, belonging to 8 different species, allowed us to detect rfbP, cpsD, or both, in the large majority of the genomes. Based on DNA sequence homology studies, 24 degenerated primers were synthesised in order to select the primer pairs with the broadest capacity to detect the presence of these genes. Four primer pairs targeting internal regions of rfbP and cpsD were selected, allowing the detection of at least one of the two genes in 63 out of 99 bifidobacterial strains analysed, whereas control strains from other genera yielded negative results, suggesting that these genes are widely spread in this genus. The use of these primers is recommended to screen for the potential of Bifidobacterium strains to produce EPS. © 2015 Wageningen Academic Publishers.Peer Reviewe

The medical vocation through literature

The vocation is a value intangible that defines the good doctor and is present in the reference healthcare professionals. The medical vocation can be defined in several ways, a broad consensus of acceptance for the one that proposes it as a deep motivation of service to the patient and society which is determined by the experiences and the environment. While most physicians and medical students invoke the vocation and intellectual appeal for their choice, it is not less true that the chance or being part of certain social groups can be decisive in some cases. The writers, on the other hand, usually attribute traditional values of medicine and medical vocation to their characters such as altruism or empathy, as well as some stereotypes of the profession's image.La vocación es una cualidad que define al buen médico y está presente en los profesionales sanitarios de referencia. La vocación médica puede definirse de varias formas, pero tal vez alcance un amplio consenso la que propone que es una motivación profunda de servicio al enfermo y a la sociedad que está determinada por las vivencias y el entorno. Si bien la mayoría de médicos y estudiantes de medicina invocan la vocación y el atractivo intelectual para su elección, no es menos cierto que el azar o la pertenencia a un determinado grupo social pueden ser decisivos en algunos casos. Los literatos, por su parte, suelen atribuir a sus personajes valores tradicionales de la medicina y de la vocación médica como el altruismo o la empatía, así como algunos estereotipos de la imagen de la profesión

Effect of a Ropy Exopolysaccharide-Producing Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis Strain Orally Administered on DSS-Induced Colitis Mice Model

Exopolysaccharide (EPS)-producing bifidobacteria, particularly Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis strains, are used in the functional food industry as promising probiotics with purported beneficial effects. We used three isogenic strains of B. animalis subsp. lactis, with different EPS producing phenotypes (mucoid-ropy and non-ropy), in order to determine their capability to survive the murine gastrointestinal tract transit, as well as to evaluate their role in improving clinical outcomes in a chemically-induced colitis model. The three strains were able to survive in the intestinal tract of C57BL/6J mice during the course of the intervention study. Furthermore, the disease activity index (DAI) of the animal group treated with the ropy strain was significantly lower than of the DAI of the placebo group at the end of the treatment. However, no significant differences were found among the three strains. The analysis of several immune parameters, such as TNFα and IL-10 quantified in blood plasma and lymphocyte populations enumerated in mesenteric nodes, showed some significant variations among the four experimental animal groups. Remarkably, a higher capability of the ropy strain to increase regulatory T-cells in mesenteric lymphoid nodes was demonstrated, suggesting a higher ability of this strain to regulate inflammatory responses at mucosal level. Our data indicate that strains of B. animalis subsp. lactis producing EPS that confer a mucoid-ropy phenotype could represent promising candidates to perform further studies targeting intestinal inflammatory processes

Capability of exopolysaccharide-producing Lactobacillus paraplantarum BGCG11 and its non-producing isogenic strain NB1, to counteract the effect of enteropathogens upon the epithelial cell line HT29-MTX

The putative protective role of the exopolysaccharide (EPS)-producing Lactobacillus paraplantarum BGCG11, and its non-EPS-producing isogenic strain NB1, was tested upon HT29-MTX monolayers challenged with seven opportunistic pathogens. The probiotic strain Lactobacillus rhamnosus LMG18243 (GG) was used as a reference bacterium. Tested lactobacilli were able to efficiently reduce the attachment to HT29-MTX of most pathogens. Lb. paraplantarum NB1 and Lb. rhamnosus GG were more efficient reducing the adhesion of Clostridium difficile or Yersinia enterocolitica than Lb. paraplantarum BGCG11, while stain BGCG11 reduced, to a greater extent, the adhesion of Escherichia coli and Listeria monocytogenes. The detachment and cell lysis of HT29-MTX monolayers in the presence of pathogens alone and co-incubated with lactobacilli or purified EPS was followed. L. monocytogenes induced the strongest cell detachment among the seven tested pathogens and this effect was prevented by addition of purified EPS-CG11. The results suggest that this EPS could be an effective macromolecule in protection of HT29-MTX cells from the pathogen-induced lysis. Regarding innate intestinal barrier, the presence of C. difficile induced the highest IL-8 production in HT29-MTX cells and this capability was reinforced by the co-incubation with Lb. paraplantarum NB1 and Lb. rhamnosus GG. However, the increase in IL-8 production was not noticed when C difficile was co-incubated with EPS-producing Lb. paraplantarum BGCG11 strain or its purified EPS-CG11 polymer, thus indicating that the polymer could hinder the contact of bacteria with the intestinal epithelium. The measurement of mucus secreted by HT29-MTX and the expression of mud, muc2, muc3B and muc5AC genes in the presence of pathogens and lactobacilli suggested that all lactobacilli strains are weak "co-adjuvants" helping some pathogens to slightly increase the secretion of mucus by HT29-MTX, while purified EPS-CG11 did not induce mucus secretion. Taking altogether, Lb. paraplantarum BGCG11 could act towards the reinforcement of the innate mucosal barrier through the synthesis of a physical-protective EPS layer which could make difficult the contact of the pathogens with the epithelial cells.This is the peer reviewed version of the paper: Zivkovic, M., Hidalgo-Cantabrana, C., Kojic, M., Gueimonde, M., Golic, N., & Ruas-Madiedo, P. (2015). Capability of exopolysaccharide-producing Lactobacillus paraplantarum BGCG11 and its non-producing isogenic strain NB1, to counteract the effect of enteropathogens upon the epithelial cell line HT29-MTX. Food Research International, 74, 199–207.[ https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodres.2015.05.012]Published version : [https://imagine.imgge.bg.ac.rs/handle/123456789/794

Capability of exopolysaccharide-producing Lactobacillus paraplantarum BGCG11 and its non-producing isogenic strain NB1, to counteract the effect of enteropathogens upon the epithelial cell line HT29-MTX

The putative protective role of the exopolysaccharide (EPS)-producing Lactobacillus paraplantarum BGCG11, and its non-EPS-producing isogenic strain NB1, was tested upon HT29-MTX monolayers challenged with seven opportunistic pathogens. The probiotic strain Lactobacillus rhamnosus LMG18243 (GG) was used as a reference bacterium. Tested lactobacilli were able to efficiently reduce the attachment to HT29-MTX of most pathogens. Lb. paraplantarum NB1 and Lb. rhamnosus GG were more efficient reducing the adhesion of Clostridium difficile or Yersinia enterocolitica than Lb. paraplantarum BGCG11, while strain BGCG11 reduced, to a greater extent, the adhesion of Escherichia coli and Listeria monocytogenes. The detachment and cell lysis of HT29-MTX monolayers in the presence of pathogens alone and co-incubated with lactobacilli or purified EPS was followed. L. monocytogenes induced the strongest cell detachment among the seven tested pathogens and this effect was prevented by addition of purified EPS-CG11. The results suggest that this EPS could be an effective macromolecule in protection of HT29-MTX cells from the pathogen-induced lysis. Regarding innate intestinal barrier, the presence of C. difficile induced the highest IL-8 production in HT29-MTX cells and this capability was reinforced by the co-incubation with Lb. paraplantarum NB1 and Lb. rhamnosus GG. However, the increase in IL-8 production was not noticed when C. difficile was co-incubated with EPS-producing Lb. paraplantarum BGCG11 strain or its purified EPS-CG11 polymer, thus indicating that the polymer could hinder the contact of bacteria with the intestinal epithelium. The measurement of mucus secreted by HT29-MTX and the expression of muc1, muc2, muc3B and muc5AC genes in the presence of pathogens and lactobacilli suggested that all lactobacilli strains are weak >co-adjuvants> helping some pathogens to slightly increase the secretion of mucus by HT29-MTX, while purified EPS-CG11 did not induce mucus secretion. Taking altogether, Lb. paraplantarum BGCG11 could act towards the reinforcement of the innate mucosal barrier through the synthesis of a physical-protective EPS layer which could make difficult the contact of the pathogens with the epithelial cells. © 2015 Elsevier Ltd.This work was financed by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competiveness (MINECO) and FEDER funds (European Union) through the project AGL2012-33278, as well as by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia grant No. 173019. The bilateral collaboration project AIB2010SE-00386 between Spain and the Republic of Serbia allowed the mobility of personnel between both institutions. C. Hidalgo-Cantabrana acknowledges his FPI pre-doctoral fellowship to MINECO (BES-2010-038270).Peer Reviewe

Gene Replacement and Fluorescent Labeling to Study the Functional Role of Exopolysaccharides in Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis

An extracellular layer of exopolysaccharides (EPS) covers the surface of some Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis strains, which could be of relevance for its probiotic performance. In order to understand the functional characteristics of B. animalis subsp. lactis, two isogenic strains that differ in their EPS-producing phenotype, due to a single mutation in the gene Balat_1410, were studied. By means of a double crossover recombination strategy, successfully used for the first time in bifidobacteria, Balat_1410 in the type strain B. animalis subsp. lactis DSM10140 was replaced by a mutated gene containing a non-synonymous mutation previously associated with the appearance of a mucoid-ropy phenotype. Nuclear magnetic resonance and SEC-MALS analyses showed that the novel strain harboring the mutation acquired a ropy phenotype, due to the production of a high molecular weight (HMW)-EPS that is not produced in the wild-type strain. Fluorescence labeling of both strains with two fluorescent proteins, m-Cherry and Green Fluorescent Protein, was achieved by expressing the corresponding genes under the control of a native selected promoter (the elongation factor Tu promoter). Remarkably, qualitative and quantitative fluorescence analyses demonstrated that the ropy strain displays a lower capability to adhere to human intestinal epithelial cells. In addition, the presence of the HMW-EPS reduced the capability of the producing strain to form biofilms upon three different abiotic surfaces. This work also highlights the fact that different EPS confer variable functional characteristics to the bifidobacterial surface, which may be relevant for the performance of B. animalis subsp. lactis as a probiotic. The construction of molecular tools allowing the functional characterization of surface structures in next generation probiotics is still a challenging issue that deserves further attention, given the relevant role that such molecules must play in the interaction with the host.España, MINECO AGL2015-64901-R. NC-

Monitoring in real time the formation and removal of biofilms from clinical related pathogens using an impedance-based technology

Bacteria found in diverse ecosystems grow in a community of aggregated cells that favors their survival and colonization. Different extracellular polymeric substances are used to entrap this multispecies community forming a biofilm, which can be associated to biotic and abiotic surfaces. This widespread and successful way of bacterial life, however, can lead to negative effects for human activity since many pathogen and spoiling bacteria form biofilms which are not easy to eradicate. Therefore, the search for novel anti-biofilm bio-active molecules is a very active research area for which simple, reliable, and fast screening methods are demanded. In this work we have successfully validated an impedance-based method, initially developed for the study of adherent eukaryotic cells, to monitor the formation of singlespecies biofilms of three model bacteria in real time. The xCelligence real time cell analyzer (RTCA) equipment uses specific microtiter E-plates coated with gold-microelectrodes that detect the attachment of adherent cells, thus modifying the impedance signal. In the current study, this technology allowed the distinction between biofilm-producers and non-producers of Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis, as well as the formation of Streptococcus mutans biofilms only when sucrose was present in the culture medium. Besides, different impedance values permitted discrimination among the biofilm-producing strains tested regardless of the nature of the polymeric biofilm matrix. Finally, we have continuously monitored the inhibition of staphylococcal biofilm formation by the bacteriophage phi-IPLA7 and the bacteriophage-encoded endolysin LysH5, as well as the removal of a preformed biofilm by this last antimicrobial treatment. Results observed with the impedance-based method showed high correlation with those obtained with standard approaches, such as crystal violet staining and bacteria enumeration, as well as with those obtained upon other abiotic surfaces (polystyrene and stainless steel). Therefore, this RTCA technology opens new opportunities in the biofilm research arena and its application could be further explored for other bacterial genera as well as for different bio-active molecules.This work was financed by the FEDER European Union funds through the projects AGL2015-64901-R and AGL201565673-R from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad MINECO) and through the grants EQUIP11 and GRUPIN14-139 (Program of Science, Technology and Innovation, Principado de Asturias). DG and CH-C hold FPI-scholarships of MINECO.Peer Reviewe