Morphosedimentary characterization of sublittoral beds of San Andres beach (Malaga Bay) using side scan sonar

The present work contributes to the characterization and mapping of sublittoral seabed located in the nearshore of the San Andrés Beach in Malaga. This zone extends between the outer dock of the Malaga harbor and the Guadalhorce river mouth. The study was done using the description of the acoustic reflection patterns obtained with Side Scan Sonar thechniques. These patterns have been identified with lithological changes, morphological features, dimension and orientation of bedforms, underwater patrimony and evidences of the human activity on the seabe

First record of an extinct marabou stork in the Neogene of South America

We describe a new large species of marabou stork, Leptoptilus patagonicus(Ciconiiformes, Ciconiidae, Leptoptilini), from the late Miocene Puerto Madryn Formation, Chubut Province, Argentina. The specimen consists mainly of wing and leg bones, pelvis, sternum, cervical vertebrae, and a few fragments of the skull. We provisionally adopt the traditional systematic scheme of ciconiid tribes. The specimen is referred to the Leptoptilini on the basis of similarities in morphology and intramembral proportions with the extant genera Ephippiorhynchus, Jabiru, and Leptoptilos. The fossil specimen resembles in overall morphology and size the species of Leptoptilos, but also exhibits several exclusive characters of the sternum, humerus, carpometacarpus, tibiotarsus, and pelvis. Additionally, its wing proportions differ from those of any living taxon, providing support to erect a new species. This is the first record of the tribe Leptoptilini in the Tertiary of South America

Molecular Mechanisms Associated with Nosocomial Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii in Mexico

Background and Aims: Acinetobacter baumannii is an emerging pathogen worldwide that is most commonly associated with nosocomial infections and multi-drug resistance. In the present study we determined the mechanisms of carbapenem resistance and clonal diversity of A. baumannii nosocomial isolates in Hospital Civil de Guadalajara, Mexico. Methods: A total of 303 clinical isolates of A. baumannii identified during a period expanding from 2004-2011 were analyzed for carbapenem resistance using several microbiological and molecular methods. Clonal relatedness of these isolates was determined using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Results: Of the 303 isolates, 84% were resistant to meropenem, 71.3% to imipenem and 78.3% the resistant isolates were positive for metallo-β-lactamases as determined by the phenotypic assay. In addition, 49.6% of carbapenem-intermediate or -resistant isolates carried the blaOXA-72 gene and 1.2% carried the blaVIM-1 gene. Efflux pump phenotype was responsible for reduced susceptibility to meropenem in 14.5% and to imipenem in 31.6% of the resistant isolates, respectively in the presence of the efflux pump inhibitor, carbonyl cyanide 3-chlorophenylhydrazone. Strains representing different carbapenem-resistant patterns exhibited reduced expression of 22, 29, 33, and 43kDa OMPs. Among the bacterial collection studied, 48 different clones were identified, two of which were predominant and persistently transmitted. Conclusions: Carbapenemase production in combination with efflux pump expression, reduction in OMPs expression and the cross-transmission of clones appear to be major contributors to the high frequency of carbapenem-resistance observed in A. baumannii. To our knowledge, this is the first study to define the molecular mechanisms associated with carbapenem-resistance in A. baumannii in Mexico. © 2014 IMSS

Acinetobacter baumannii infections in a tertiary care hospital in mexico over the past 13 years

Background: Acinetobacter baumannii has evolved from an opportunistic pathogen into a common and persistent nosocomial bacterium capable of causing severe infections during endemic and epidemic periods. Methods: The study period extended from January 1999 to December 2011 and involved patients hospitalized at the Hospital Civil de Guadalajara, Fray Antonio Alcalde, Jalisco, Mexico. From each patient, a single isolate was obtained, and a total of 3,680 unique isolates were collected. Susceptibility tests were performed according to the guidelines of the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute. Results: A. baumannii has disseminated throughout the Hospital Civil de Guadalajara, Fray Antonio Alcalde, since 1999. A. baumannii isolates obtained from patients treated in the adult intensive care unit represent the majority of the isolates that have been collected. In addition, A. baumannii was isolated from the adult neurosurgical ward and the adult internal medicine ward, and these isolates were frequently obtained from secretions. A persistent decrease in the susceptibility of A. baumannii isolates to meropenem (92% in 1999 to 12% in 2011), imipenem and amikacin has been observed. Conclusions: A. baumannii became an endemic nosocomial pathogen during the study period at the Hospital Civil de Guadalajara, Fray Antonio Alcalde, and has exhibited a persistent decrease in susceptibility to all categories of antimicrobial agents over the past 13 years. Copyright © 2013 S. Karger AG, Basel

Actin-binding proteins and signalling pathways associated with the formation and maintenance of dendritic spines [participación de las proteínas de unión a la actina y vías de señalización asociadas a la formación y mantenimiento de las espinas dendréticas]

Background: Acinetobacter baumannii has evolved from an opportunistic pathogen into a common and persistent nosocomial bacterium capable of causing severe infections during endemic and epidemic periods. Methods: The study period extended from January 1999 to December 2011 and involved patients hospitalized at the Hospital Civil de Guadalajara, Fray Antonio Alcalde, Jalisco, Mexico. From each patient, a single isolate was obtained, and a total of 3,680 unique isolates were collected. Susceptibility tests were performed according to the guidelines of the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute. Results: A. baumannii has disseminated throughout the Hospital Civil de Guadalajara, Fray Antonio Alcalde, since 1999. A. baumannii isolates obtained from patients treated in the adult intensive care unit represent the majority of the isolates that have been collected. In addition, A. baumannii was isolated from the adult neurosurgical ward and the adult internal medicine ward, and these isolates were frequently obtained from secretions. A persistent decrease in the susceptibility of A. baumannii isolates to meropenem (92% in 1999 to 12% in 2011), imipenem and amikacin has been observed. Conclusions: A. baumannii became an endemic nosocomial pathogen during the study period at the Hospital Civil de Guadalajara, Fray Antonio Alcalde, and has exhibited a persistent decrease in susceptibility to all categories of antimicrobial agents over the past 13 years. Copyright " 2013 S. Karger AG, Basel.",,,,,,"10.1159/000351098",,,"http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12104/39199","http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84879757511&partnerID=40&md5=d2d7df412b868946249f7662665d26b

Research trends in ecosystem services provided by insects.

Insects play akeyrole in the regulation and dynamics of many ecosystem services (ES). However, this role is often assumed, withlimited or no experimental quantification of itsreal value.We examine publication trends in the research on ES provided by insects, ascertainingwhich ESand taxa were more intensivelyinvestigated,and with which methodological approaches,with particular emphasison experimental approaches. We performed a systematicliterature search to identify which EShave been attributed to insects. Thenweclassifiedthereferences retrieved according to theES, taxonomic group and ecosystem studied, as well as to the method applied to quantify the ES(in four categories:no quantification, proxies, direct quantificationand experiments). Pollination, biological control, food provisioning and recycling organic matter are the most studied ES. However, the majority of papers do not specify theES under consideration, and from those that do it, most do not quantifythe ESprovided. From the rest, alarge number of publications use proxies as indicators for ES, assuming or inferringtheir provision through indirect measurementssuch as species abundances, species richness, diversity indices, species density or the number of functional groups. Pollinators, predators, parasitoids, herbivores and decomposers are the most studied functional groups, while Hymenoptera, Coleoptera andDiptera arethe most studiedtaxa. Experimental studies are relatively scarceandthey mainly focus onbiological control, pollination,and decompositionperformed in agroecosystems. These results suggest that our current knowledge on the ES provided by insects is relatively scarce andbiased, and showsobvious gaps in the least-studied functional and taxonomic groups. An ambitious research agenda to improve the empirical and experimental evidence of the role played byinsects in ES provision is essential to fully assess synergies between functional ecology and biodiversity conservatio

Characteristics and Outcomes of Adult Patients in the PETHEMA Registry with Relapsed or Refractory FLT3-ITD Mutation-Positive Acute Myeloid Leukemia

This retrospective study investigated outcomes of 404 patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3)-internal tandem duplication (ITD) acute myeloid leukemia (AML) enrolled in the PETHEMA registry, pre-approval of tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Most patients (63%) had received first-line intensive therapy with 3 + 7. Subsequently, patients received salvage with intensive therapy (n = 261), non-intensive therapy (n = 63) or supportive care only (n = 80). Active salvage therapy (i.e., intensive or non-intensive therapy) resulted in a complete remission (CR) or CR without hematological recovery (CRi) rate of 42%. More patients achieved a CR/CRi with intensive (48%) compared with non-intensive (19%) salvage therapy (p < 0.001). In the overall population, median overall survival (OS) was 5.5 months; 1-and 5-year OS rates were 25% and 7%. OS was significantly (p <0.001) prolonged with intensive or non-intensive salvage therapy compared with supportive therapy, and in those achieving CR/CRi versus no responders. Of 280 evaluable patients, 61 (22%) had an allogeneic stem-cell transplant after they had achieved CR/CRi. In conclusion, in this large cohort study, salvage treatment approaches for patients with FLT3-ITD mutated R/R AML were heterogeneous. Median OS was poor with both non-intensive and intensive salvage therapy, with best long-term outcomes obtained in patients who achieved CR/CRi and subsequently underwent allogeneic stem-cell transplant