The CreC regulator of Escherichia coli, a new target for metabolic manipulations

The CreBC (carbon source-responsive) two-component regulation system of Escherichia coli affects a number of functions, including intermediary carbon catabolism. The impacts of different creC mutations (a ΔcreC mutant and a mutant carrying the constitutive creC510 allele) on bacterial physiology were analyzed in glucose cultures under three oxygen availability conditions. Differences in the amounts of extracellular metabolites produced were observed in the null mutant compared to the wild-type strain and the mutant carrying creC510 and shown to be affected by oxygen availability. The ΔcreC strain secreted more formate, succinate, and acetate but less lactate under low aeration. These metabolic changes were associated with differences in AckA and LdhA activities, both of which were affected by CreC. Measurement of the NAD(P)H/NAD(P)+ ratios showed that the creC510 strain had a more reduced intracellular redox state, while the opposite was observed for the ΔcreC mutant, particularly under intermediate oxygen availability conditions, indicating that CreC affects redox balance. The null mutant formed more succinate than the wild-type strain under both low aeration and no aeration. Overexpression of the genes encoding phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase from E. coli and a NADH-forming formate dehydrogenase from Candida boidinii in the ΔcreC mutant further increased the yield of succinate on glucose. Interestingly, the elimination of ackA and adhE did not significantly improve the production of succinate. The diverse metabolic effects of this regulator on the central biochemical network of E. coli make it a good candidate for metabolic-engineering manipulations to enhance the formation of bioproducts, such as succinate.Fil: Godoy, Manuel Santiago. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Nikel, Pablo Ivan. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas; EspañaFil: Cabrera Gomez, José Gregorio. Unviversidad de San Pablo; BrasilFil: Pettinari, María Julia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentin

Suicidio en azul con negra mancha. Breve historia de un balazo en la pintura de Pablo Picasso

Paris 1901: unrequited love drove Carles Casagemas, a close friend of Pablo Picasso’s youth, to commit suicide by shooting himself in the head. This tragic event was a major blow to Picasso, causing him to dwell upon the subject of death and express his “mourning” through his paintings. The “bullet hole” in his friend’s temple symbolically displaced several areas of the young Picasso’s life and became a “deep vacuum” and “melancholy”, permeating various areas in Picasso’s paintings, and marking the start of his famous blue period.París 1901: por el amor de una mujer, se suicida de un balazo en la cabeza Carles Casagemas, amigo íntimo de juventud de Pablo Picasso. Este trágico suceso producirá un gran dolor en el artista, el cual, lo hará internarse en el tema de la muerte y elaborar su “duelo” apoyado en su pintura. El “hoyo a bala” en la sien de su amigo se desplazará simbólicamente a varios espacios de la vida del joven Picasso y devendrá en “vacío profundo” y “melancolía”, permeando diferentes ámbitos dentro de la pintura de Picasso, dando comienzo a su mentado período azul

"Scenographies of Evil" From the aesthetics of horror to infamous characters

Será la guerra, justamente, el escenario propicio para el abuso de cadáveres con fines políticos, en el que confluyen dos elementos consustanciales al Mal. El primero apunta a la negación del Otro como ser humano y sujeto de derecho, lo cual habilita al agresor para proceder con crueldad sobre su víctima. El segundo remite a la gradual “espectacularización” del cadáver, cuyas imágenes develan el ensañamiento con el Otro. Del arte a las imágenes digitales, las escenografías del Mal se despliegan de modo polisémico. El drama, por lo tanto, acontece en la puesta en escena del sufrimiento del otro, reside no solo en el rostro de dolor y el grito de muerte del derrotado -o en el placer, coraje o valentía de su verdugo-, sino también en un más allá, en el uso y abuso del cadáver enemigo para prolongar el daño y el dolor -directa o indirectamente- en el deudo y su comunidad.The war will be, precisely, the favorable scenario for the abuse of corpses for political reasons where two elements, which are consubstantial to Evil, converge. The first one points to the negation of the Other as a human being and subject of laws, which enables the aggressor to act cruelly on his victim. The second one refers to the gradual "spectacularization" of the corpse, whose images reveal cruelty against the Other. From art to digital images, the scenographies of Evil unfold in a polysemic manner. Drama, therefore, occurs in the staging of the other’s suffering; it not only resides on the face of pain and the death cry of the defeated, or in the pleasure, courage or bravery of his executioner, but also on the afterlife, in the use and abuse of the enemy's corpse to prolong the damage and pain, directly or indirectly of the mourner and his community

Diagnóstico ecocardiográfico en equinos fina sangre de carrera

Echocardiographic examination is a fundamental part of cardiovascular exam if they want to evaluate the real connotation in the presentation of heart murmurs and / or arrhythmias and also where you want to evaluate the performance or the state in which it is related to process of adaptation of cardiovascular system to exercise. The horses are used right and left parasternal windows in which the transducer is moved between the 3rd and 5th intercostal space. In the right parasternal window is where you get more information and it can cut the heart in short axis and long-axis. In the long axis obtained from the right parasternal get the picture of four chambers (biventricular inflow tract), 5 chamber and left outflow tract. In the image of 4 cameras are 2 atrioventricular valves, that is to say, the tricuspid and mitral valves. In the image of the outflow tract of the left ventricle, we'll see right ventricle, right atrium, interventricular septum, left ventricle, sigmoid aortic valve and the aorta. In the image of 5 cameras the right ventricle, right atrium, left atrium, left ventricle and the aorta can be observed. Sometimes a picture is a round hypoechoic near the aorta corresponding to the pulmonary artery. Adaptive changes induced by training translate into changes in the heart that is evident on echocardiography. These changes are caused by increased volume at the end of diastole and increased cardiac output. The changes that can be evidenced by ultrasound are: Increase of cardiac mass, suggesting cardiac hypertrophy, mainly the left ventricle in trained horses. It is also suggested increasing the size of the cavity of the left ventricle and left atrium without changes in ventricular wall thickness, which may reflect the different types of training.    El examen ecocardiográfico es una parte fundamental del examen cardiovascular si se quiere evaluar la real connotación que pudiesen tener murmullos cardiacos y/o arritmias como también en aquellos casos que se desea evaluar el rendimiento deportivo ó el estado en el cual se encuentra éste en relación al proceso de adaptación del sistema cardiovascular al ejercicio. En el equino se usan las ventanas paraesternales derecha e izquierda, en las cuales se mueve el transductor entre el 3º y 5º espacio intercostal. Por la ventana paraesternal derecha es por donde se obtiene mayor informacion y en ella se puede realizar el corte del corazón en el eje corto y también en el eje largo. En el eje largo obtenido desde la ventana paraesternal derecha se obtiene la imagen de cuatro cámaras (tracto de entrada biventricular), 5 cámaras y tracto de salida izquierdo. En la imagen de 4 cámaras se ven 2 válvulas atrioventriculares, es decir, la tricúspide y la mitral. En la imagen del tracto de salida del ventrículo izquierdo, vamos a ver ventrículo derecho, atrio derecha, tabique interventricular, ventrículo izquierdo, válvula sigmoidea aórtica y la aorta. En la imagen de 5 cámaras se aprecia ventrículo derecho, atrio derecho, atrio izquierdo, ventrículo izquierdo y también se puede observar la aorta. Hay veces que se ve una imagen hipoecogénica de forma redondeada cercana a la aorta que corresponde a la arteria pulmonar. Los cambios adaptativos inducidos por el entrenamiento se traducen e cambios en el corazón que se evidencian en la ecocardiografía. Estos cambios son producidos por aumento del volumen al final de la diástole y aumento del debito cardiaco. Los cambios que se pueden evidenciar mediante ecografía son: Aumento de la masa cardiaca, sugiriendo hipertrofia cardiaca, principalmente del ventrículo izquierdo, en caballos entrenados. También se ha sugerido el aumento del tamaño de la cavidad del ventrículo izquierdo y del atrio izquierdo pero sin cambios en el grosor de la pared ventricular, lo que podría reflejar los diferentes tipos de entrenamiento.  

Photo-Induced Black Phase Stabilization of CsPbI3 QDs Films

α-CsPbI3 quantum dots (QDs) show outstanding photoelectrical properties that had been harnessed in the fabrication of perovskite QDs solar cells. Nevertheless, the stabilization of the CsPbI3 perovskite cubic phase remains a challenge due to its own thermodynamic and the presence of surface defects. Herein, we report the optimization of the CsPbI3 QDs solar cells, by monitoring the structure, the morphology and the optoelectronic properties after a precise treatment, consisting of the conventional solvent washing with a time limited ultraviolet (UV) exposure combination, during the layer-by-layer deposition. The UV treatment compensates the defects coming from the essential but deleterious washing treatment. The material is stable for 200 h and the PCE improved by the 25% compared with that of the device without UV treatment. The photo-enhanced ion mobility mechanism is discussed as the main process for the CsPbI3 QDs and solar cell stability

Estimation of bearing fault severity in line-connected and inverter-fed three-phase induction motors

Producción CientíficaThis paper addresses a comprehensive evaluation of a bearing fault evolution and its consequent prediction concerning the remaining useful life. The proper prediction of bearing faults in their early stage is a crucial factor for predictive maintenance and mainly for the production management schedule. The detection and estimation of the progressive evolution of a bearing fault are performed by monitoring the amplitude of the current signals at the time domain. Data gathered from line-fed and inverter-fed three-phase induction motors were used to validate the proposed approach. To assess classification accuracy and fault estimation, the models described in this paper are investigated by using Artificial Neural Networks models. The paper also provides process flowcharts and classification tables to present the prognostic models used to estimate the remaining useful life of a defective bearing. Experimental results confirmed the method robustness and provide an accurate diagnosis regardless of the bearing fault stage, motor speed, load level, and type of supply.CAPES (process BEX552269/2011-5)National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (grant #474290/2008-3, #473576/2011-2, #552269/2011-5, #307220/2016-8

The post-transcriptional gene silencing pathway in Eucalyptus

Post-transcriptional gene silencing (PTGS) is a conserved surveillance mechanism that identifies and cleaves double-stranded RNA molecules and their cellular cognate transcripts. The RNA silencing response is actually used as a powerful technique (named RNA interference) for potent and specific inhibition of gene expression in several organisms. To identify gene products in Eucalyptus sharing similarities with enzymes involved in the PTGS pathway, we queried the expressed sequence tag database of the Brazilian Eucalyptus Genome Sequence Project Consortium (FORESTs) with the amino acid sequences of known PTGS-related proteins. Among twenty-six prospected genes, our search detected fifteen assembled sequences encoding products presenting high level of similarity (E value < 10-40) to proteins involved in PTGS in plants and other organisms. We conclude that most of the genes known to be involved in the PTGS pathway are represented in the FORESTs database.496500Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq

Creació d'una websèrie amb nines : "Unmasked"

El meu projecte consisteix en una sèrie de ficció adreçada a un públic pre-adolescent (6-13) amb nines Bratz. La marca (MGAE.) està duent a terme una nova campanya de promoció a través de les xarxes socials i YouTube per donar visibilitat al nou comeback del desembre de 2018. Per tant fer servir aquesta marca incrementaria les visualitzacions del projecte. Entre els aspectes que treballaré en aquest projecte hi ha: la confecció d'una bíblia de la sèrie, la producció d'un teaser de 3 minuts i un estudi de viabilitat del producte.Mi proyecto consiste en una serie de ficción dirigida a un público pre-adolescente (6-13) con muñecas Bratz. La marca (MGAE.) Está llevando a cabo una nueva campaña de promoción a través de las redes sociales y YouTube para dar visibilidad al nuevo comeback de diciembre de 2018. Por lo tanto utilizar esta marca incrementaría las visualizaciones del proyecto. Entre los aspectos que trabajaré en este proyecto están: la confección de una biblia de la serie, la producción de un teaser de 3 minutos y un estudio de viabilidad del producto.My project is about a fictional webseries for a pre-teen audience (6-13) with Bratz dolls. The company MGAE. is starting a campaign through social media and YouTube promoting the dolls latest comeback from December 2018. Therefore using this brand would increase the project's views. The aspects that I will work on are the following: the making of the series bible, the production of a 3 minute teaser and a study of viability of the product

Genetic variability of Sugarcane mosaic virus causing maize mosaic in Brazil

O objetivo deste trabalho foi caracterizar biológica e molecularmente três isolados de Sugarcane mosaic virus (SCMV) de lavouras de milho, analisá‑los filogeneticamente e discriminar polimorfismos do genoma. Plantas com sintomas de mosaico e nanismo foram coletadas em lavouras de milho, no Estado de São Paulo e no Município de Rio Verde, GO, e seus extratos foliares foram inoculados em plantas indicadoras e submetidos à análise sorológica com antissoros contra o SCMV, contra o Maize dwarf mosaic virus (MDMV) e contra o Johnsongrass mosaic virus (JGMV). Mudas de sorgo 'Rio' e 'TX 2786' apresentaram sintomas de mosaico após a inoculação dos três isolados, e o DAS‑ELISA confirmou a infecção pelo SCMV. O RNA total foi extraído e usado para amplificação por transcriptase reversa seguida de reação em cadeia de polimerase (RT‑PCR). Fragmentos específicos foram amplificados, submetidos à análise por polimorfismo de comprimento de fragmento de restrição (RFLP) e sequenciados. Foi possível discriminar os genótipos de SCMV isolados de milho de outros isolados brasileiros do vírus. Alinhamentos múltiplos e análises dos perfis filogenéticos corroboram esses dados e mostram diversidade nas sequências de nucleotídeos que codificam para a proteína capsidial, o que explica o agrupamento separado desses isolados e sugere sua classificação como estirpes distintas, em lugar de simples isolados geográficos.The objective of this work was to characterize biologically and molecularly three Sugarcane mosaic virus (SCMV) isolates from maize crops in Brazil, to analyze them phylogenetically and to discriminate genome polymorphisms. Plants with mosaic and stunting symptons were collected from maize crops in the state of São Paulo and in Rio Verde county, GO, Brazil; their foliar extracts were inoculated in indicator plants and subjected to serological analysis with antisera to SCMV, Maize dwarf mosaic virus (MDMV) and Johnsongrass mosaic virus (JGMV). Sorghum 'Rio' and 'TX 2786' seedlings showed mosaic symptons after inoculation of the three isolates, and DAS‑ELISA confirmed infection by SCMV in these plants. Total RNA was extracted from the infected leaves and was used as template for reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT‑PCR). Specific fragments were amplified, subjected to restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis and sequenced. It was possible to discriminate the SCMV maize isolates from other Brazilian isolates of the virus. Multiple alignments and phylogenetic profile analyses corroborate these data and show diversity in the sequence of nucleotides that code for capsidal protein, what explains the distinct clustering of these isolates, suggesting that they should be ranked as distinct SCMV strains rather than geographical isolates