Respuesta del perifiton de agua dulce al glifosato grado-técnico y dos formulados comerciales

El glifosato es el herbicida más utilizado a nivel mundial. Puede llegar a los cuerpos de agua y afectar a las comunidades microbianas. Comparamos los efectos del glifosato grado técnico y dos formulados comerciales sobre una comunidad periférica de agua dulce. Se llevó a cabo un experimento de laboratorio con cuatro tratamientos: glifosato ácido grado técnico, Glifosato II Atanor, Roundup Max, a una concentración de 3 mg de ingrediente activo/L, y un Control. A los 2, 5 y 9 días posteriores a la aplicación de los herbicidas se determinaron la concentración de pigmentos, peso seco, peso seco libre de cenizas y densidad algal del perifiton. Se registró un incremento de la abundancia de Cyanobacteria y una disminución de Chlorophyta y Bacillariophyta en todos los tratamientos con herbicida. Este efecto fue mayor con la adición de Roundup Max y Glifosato II Atanor, y fue menor con glifosato grado técnico, sugiriendo que los aditivos en los formulados comerciales pueden intensificar los efectos del glifosatoGlyphosate is the most widely used herbicide worldwide. It may reach water bodies and affect microbial communities. We compared the effects of two commercial formulations and technical-grade glyphosate on a freshwater periphytic community. A laboratory bioassay was carried out with four treatments: technical-grade glyphosate acid, Glifosato II Atanor, Roundup Max, at a concentration of 3 mg active ingredient/L, and Control. At 2, 5 and 9 days after herbicide application, pigments concentration, dry weight, ash-free dry weight, and periphytic algal density were determined. An increase of Cyanobacteria and a decrease of Chlorophyta and Bacillariophyta abundances were registered in all treatments with the herbicide. This effect was greater when Roundup Max and Glifosato II Atanor® were added, and was lower with technical-grade glyphosate, suggesting that additives in the commercial formulations may enhance glyphosate effects.Fil: Gonzalez, Daniela. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución; ArgentinaFil: Juarez, Angela Beatriz. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Krug, Cecilia Pamela. Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Instituto de Investigación en Ingeniería Ambiental; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Santos, Marina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Industrial; ArgentinaFil: Vera, Maria Solange. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución de Buenos Aires. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución de Buenos Aires; Argentin

Comparison of different methods in order to identify Proteus spp.

The objectives were: (a) to identify Proteus strains to species level, following Farmer´s and O´Hara´s conventional biochemical reactions; b) to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of both the API 20E method and a schema of reduced reactions (TSI and MIO agar: motility, indole and ornithine) comparing them with conventional methodology, and c) to evaluate the utility of SDS-PAGE (total proteins) in order to identify Proteus strains to species level. Two hundred and five Proteus spp. clinical isolates, were collected between January 1998 and September 2004, from inpatients and outpatients at Hospital de Clinicas. Strains were identified by means of conventional methodology, the API 20E method, and a schema of reduced reactions. SDS-PAGE (total proteins) was used in 48 out of the 205 strains. The API 20E method identified 79 out of 87 (90.8%) strains of P. mirabilis, 103 out of 103 P. vulgaris complex, and 15 out of 15 P. penneri. Eight strains of P. mirabilis were identified as Proteus spp., the acid production from maltose being necessary to identify them to species level. The schema of reduced reactions identified 205 out of 205 (100%) strains, that is, this schema of reduced reactions identified all the strains to species level without any additional tests, in marked contrast to the API 20E method. The SDS-PAGE (total proteins) identified the three species of the genus, even if the strains of P. mirabilis showed different biochemical reactions.Fil: Castro, Silvia. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Departamento de Bioquímica Clínica; ArgentinaFil: Rodriguez, Cynthia. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Departamento de Bioquímica Clínica; ArgentinaFil: Perazzi, Beatriz Elizabeth. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Departamento de Bioquímica Clínica; ArgentinaFil: Radice, Marcela Alejandra. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay; ArgentinaFil: Sticotti, Marta Paz. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica; ArgentinaFil: Muzio, Humberto. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica; ArgentinaFil: Juarez, Josefina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Departamento de Bioquímica Clínica; ArgentinaFil: Gutkind, Gabriel Osvaldo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica; ArgentinaFil: Famiglietti, Angela María Rosa. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Departamento de Bioquímica Clínica; ArgentinaFil: Santini, Pilar Imelda. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica; ArgentinaFil: Vay, Carlos Alberto. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Departamento de Bioquímica Clínica; Argentin

Estimation of leaf area index and leaf chlorophyll content in Sporobolus densiflorus using hyperspectral measurements and PROSAIL model simulations

Previous studies have shown the potential of remote-sensing tools to monitor coastal wetlands at a landscape scale. Several biophysical parameters are typically used to evaluate ecosystem conditions such as the chlorophyll content, an indicator of photosynthesis activity. In natural environments characterized by a large fraction of standing litter–such as the marshes on the Atlantic coast of the Buenos Aires Province–spectral indices designed for green vegetation change their typical response and, hence, their biophysical interpretation requires more attention. In this work, a theoretical study was performed to determine if it is possible to detect and eventually quantify the abrupt reductions of leaf chlorophyll content ((Formula presented.)) in Sporobolus densiflorus–the dominant vegetation in these marshes–using hyperspectral data. To achieve this, in situ radiometric measurements in the VIS-NIR-SWIR (Visible, Near-Infrared and Short Wave Infrared) spectral region and biological data, acquired over S. densiflorus specimens in several campaigns, were used to set up an inversion procedure based on the radiative transfer model PROSAIL. By applying this model, simulated reflectances that fit the measured reflectances were obtained and by means of this inversion a theoretical canopy reflectance data set for S. densiflorus was modelled using the PROSAIL parameters. The performance of several vegetation indices typically used to estimate chlorophyll content was studied using the simulated and modelled reflectances, among which MTCI (MERIS Terrestrial Chlorophyll Index), Macc and MCARI/OSAVI (Modified Chlorophyll Absorption in Reflectance Index/Optimized Soil-Adjusted Index) indices showed significant correlation with (Formula presented.). By means of addressing the performance of these indices together with BLRs (Baseline Residuals), a two-step VI-LUT (Vegetation Index–Look-Up Table) inversion model was proposed to retrieve (Formula presented.), which first corrects the effect of variable leaf area index (LAI) using a BLR index (using bands at 800, 1100 and 1300 nm), and then retrieves (Formula presented.) by either using MCARI/OSAVI or another BLR (using bands at 657, 672 and 700 nm). Even though both procedures perform similarly well in the estimation of (Formula presented.) (coefficient of determination (Formula presented.) about 0.6) the two steps BLR-based approach is preferred, given that these indices are a priori less sensitive to undesired atmospheric effects.Fil: Piegari, Estefanía. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio. - Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio; ArgentinaFil: Gossn, Juan Ignacio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio. - Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio; ArgentinaFil: Grings, Francisco Matias. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio. - Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio; ArgentinaFil: Barraza Bernadas, Verónica Daniela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio. - Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio; ArgentinaFil: Juarez, Angela Beatriz. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Mateos Naranjo, Enrique. Universidad de Sevilla; EspañaFil: Gonzalez Trilla, Gabriela Liliana. Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Instituto de Investigación e Ingeniería Ambiental. - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigación e Ingeniería Ambiental; Argentin

A cost-effective algae-based biosensor for water quality analysis: Development and testing in collaboration with peasant communities

New anthropic potentially harmful compounds are released into the environment everyday. In this context, broad range bioassays have emerged providing economically viable and widely applicable alternatives due to their ability to detect the cumulative toxicity of mixtures of both known and unknown chemicals in a sample, thus allowing direct information about water quality. Here we present a low-cost, wide-range algae-based biosensor that is easy to assemble and operate by untrained users and provides direct readings. It was developed as a request of a peasant social movement organization to assess the toxicity of drinking water in rural communities affected by pesticide spraying. Two fresh water algae strains, Scenedesmus acutus and Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata, were immobilized in alginate beads and tested as bioindicators. After incubation with different pollutants for five days, naked eye analysis by several observers proved to be a successful method to survey algae's growth and establish the detection limits. Best detection limits were 10 ppm for technical-grade acid glyphosate, 15 ppm for glyphosate-based formulation, 50 ppb for atrazine formulation, 7.5 ppm for copper and 250 ppb for chromium. Absorbance measurements upon algae resuspension validated these results. The developed device was successfully tested in participatory workshops conducted at rural communities. Children, adults and elders with no scientific training were able to build the sensor and interpret the results, thus evaluating the quality of rain and well water used in their communities.Fil: Prudkin Silva, Cecilia Raquel. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Lanzarotti, Esteban Omar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Álvarez, Lucía. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química, Física de los Materiales, Medioambiente y Energía. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química, Física de los Materiales, Medioambiente y Energía; ArgentinaFil: Vallerga, María Belén. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Factorovich, Matias Hector. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química, Física de los Materiales, Medioambiente y Energía. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química, Física de los Materiales, Medioambiente y Energía; ArgentinaFil: Morzan, Uriel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química, Física de los Materiales, Medioambiente y Energía. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química, Física de los Materiales, Medioambiente y Energía; ArgentinaFil: Gómez, Margarita Petrona. No especifíca;Fil: González, Natalia Paula. No especifíca;Fil: Acosta, Yamila Micaela. No especifíca;Fil: Carrizo, Felicitas. No especifíca;Fil: Carrizo, Emilio Gustavo. No especifíca;Fil: Galeano, Silvio. No especifíca;Fil: Lagorio, María Gabriela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química, Física de los Materiales, Medioambiente y Energía. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química, Física de los Materiales, Medioambiente y Energía; ArgentinaFil: Juarez, Angela Beatriz. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental y Aplicada. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental y Aplicada; ArgentinaFil: Ithuralde, Raúl Esteban. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química, Física de los Materiales, Medioambiente y Energía. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química, Física de los Materiales, Medioambiente y Energía; ArgentinaFil: Romero, Juan Manuel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química, Física de los Materiales, Medioambiente y Energía. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química, Física de los Materiales, Medioambiente y Energía; ArgentinaFil: Urdampilleta, Constanza María. Universidad Nacional de Santiago del Estero; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

A 12-gene pharmacogenetic panel to prevent adverse drug reactions: an open-label, multicentre, controlled, cluster-randomised crossover implementation study

© 2023Background: The benefit of pharmacogenetic testing before starting drug therapy has been well documented for several single gene–drug combinations. However, the clinical utility of a pre-emptive genotyping strategy using a pharmacogenetic panel has not been rigorously assessed. Methods: We conducted an open-label, multicentre, controlled, cluster-randomised, crossover implementation study of a 12-gene pharmacogenetic panel in 18 hospitals, nine community health centres, and 28 community pharmacies in seven European countries (Austria, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain, and the UK). Patients aged 18 years or older receiving a first prescription for a drug clinically recommended in the guidelines of the Dutch Pharmacogenetics Working Group (ie, the index drug) as part of routine care were eligible for inclusion. Exclusion criteria included previous genetic testing for a gene relevant to the index drug, a planned duration of treatment of less than 7 consecutive days, and severe renal or liver insufficiency. All patients gave written informed consent before taking part in the study. Participants were genotyped for 50 germline variants in 12 genes, and those with an actionable variant (ie, a drug–gene interaction test result for which the Dutch Pharmacogenetics Working Group [DPWG] recommended a change to standard-of-care drug treatment) were treated according to DPWG recommendations. Patients in the control group received standard treatment. To prepare clinicians for pre-emptive pharmacogenetic testing, local teams were educated during a site-initiation visit and online educational material was made available. The primary outcome was the occurrence of clinically relevant adverse drug reactions within the 12-week follow-up period. Analyses were irrespective of patient adherence to the DPWG guidelines. The primary analysis was done using a gatekeeping analysis, in which outcomes in people with an actionable drug–gene interaction in the study group versus the control group were compared, and only if the difference was statistically significant was an analysis done that included all of the patients in the study. Outcomes were compared between the study and control groups, both for patients with an actionable drug–gene interaction test result (ie, a result for which the DPWG recommended a change to standard-of-care drug treatment) and for all patients who received at least one dose of index drug. The safety analysis included all participants who received at least one dose of a study drug. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03093818 and is closed to new participants. Findings: Between March 7, 2017, and June 30, 2020, 41 696 patients were assessed for eligibility and 6944 (51·4 % female, 48·6% male; 97·7% self-reported European, Mediterranean, or Middle Eastern ethnicity) were enrolled and assigned to receive genotype-guided drug treatment (n=3342) or standard care (n=3602). 99 patients (52 [1·6%] of the study group and 47 [1·3%] of the control group) withdrew consent after group assignment. 652 participants (367 [11·0%] in the study group and 285 [7·9%] in the control group) were lost to follow-up. In patients with an actionable test result for the index drug (n=1558), a clinically relevant adverse drug reaction occurred in 152 (21·0%) of 725 patients in the study group and 231 (27·7%) of 833 patients in the control group (odds ratio [OR] 0·70 [95% CI 0·54–0·91]; p=0·0075), whereas for all patients, the incidence was 628 (21·5%) of 2923 patients in the study group and 934 (28·6%) of 3270 patients in the control group (OR 0·70 [95% CI 0·61–0·79]; p <0·0001). Interpretation: Genotype-guided treatment using a 12-gene pharmacogenetic panel significantly reduced the incidence of clinically relevant adverse drug reactions and was feasible across diverse European health-care system organisations and settings. Large-scale implementation could help to make drug therapy increasingly safe. Funding: European Union Horizon 2020

International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortiu (INICC) report, data summary of 43 countries for 2007-2012. Device-associated module

We report the results of an International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium (INICC) surveillance study from January 2007-December 2012 in 503 intensive care units (ICUs) in Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Europe. During the 6-year study using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) U.S. National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) definitions for device-associated health care–associated infection (DA-HAI), we collected prospective data from 605,310 patients hospitalized in the INICC's ICUs for an aggregate of 3,338,396 days. Although device utilization in the INICC's ICUs was similar to that reported from ICUs in the U.S. in the CDC's NHSN, rates of device-associated nosocomial infection were higher in the ICUs of the INICC hospitals: the pooled rate of central line–associated bloodstream infection in the INICC's ICUs, 4.9 per 1,000 central line days, is nearly 5-fold higher than the 0.9 per 1,000 central line days reported from comparable U.S. ICUs. The overall rate of ventilator-associated pneumonia was also higher (16.8 vs 1.1 per 1,000 ventilator days) as was the rate of catheter-associated urinary tract infection (5.5 vs 1.3 per 1,000 catheter days). Frequencies of resistance of Pseudomonas isolates to amikacin (42.8% vs 10%) and imipenem (42.4% vs 26.1%) and Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates to ceftazidime (71.2% vs 28.8%) and imipenem (19.6% vs 12.8%) were also higher in the INICC's ICUs compared with the ICUs of the CDC's NHSN

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (4th edition)

In 2008, we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, this topic has received increasing attention, and many scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Thus, it is important to formulate on a regular basis updated guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Despite numerous reviews, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to evaluate autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. Here, we present a set of guidelines for investigators to select and interpret methods to examine autophagy and related processes, and for reviewers to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of reports that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a dogmatic set of rules, because the appropriateness of any assay largely depends on the question being asked and the system being used. Moreover, no individual assay is perfect for every situation, calling for the use of multiple techniques to properly monitor autophagy in each experimental setting. Finally, several core components of the autophagy machinery have been implicated in distinct autophagic processes (canonical and noncanonical autophagy), implying that genetic approaches to block autophagy should rely on targeting two or more autophagy-related genes that ideally participate in distinct steps of the pathway. Along similar lines, because multiple proteins involved in autophagy also regulate other cellular pathways including apoptosis, not all of them can be used as a specific marker for bona fide autophagic responses. Here, we critically discuss current methods of assessing autophagy and the information they can, or cannot, provide. Our ultimate goal is to encourage intellectual and technical innovation in the field