A classical and semiclassical study of collisions between Xq+ ions and water molecules

Collisions of He2+, Li3+ and C3+ ions with water molecules are studied at energies ranging between 20 keV u-1 and 500 keV u-1. Three methods are employed: the classical trajectory Monte Carlo (CTMC), the expansion of the scattering wave function in terms of asymptotic frozen molecular orbitals (AFMO) and a lattice method to numerically solve the time-dependent Schrödinger equation (GridTDSE). Total cross sections for single ionization, single electron capture, transfer ionization and electron production are calculated and compared with previous close-coupling calculations and experiments. The fragmentation branching ratios are discussedThis work has been partially supported by Ministerio de Economía and Competitividad (Spain), project no. FIS2017-84684-

Changes in melatonin concentrations in seminal plasma are not correlated with testosterone or antioxidant enzyme activity when rams are located in areas with an equatorial photoperiod

In temperate climates, photoperiod and melatonin regulate ram reproduction, modulating hormonal secretions, sperm quality, and seminal plasma composition. Information on the effect of an equatorial photoperiod (12L:12D) on ram reproduction, however, is scarce, and no data on hormonal concentrations and antioxidant enzyme activity in seminal plasma have been reported. Thus, the variation was investigated of melatonin and its relationship with testosterone and antioxidant enzyme activity in the seminal plasma of three sheep breeds in Colombia, when there was a consistent photoperiod during two dry and two rainy seasons per year. Semen was collected once a week from 12 mature rams (four of each breed: Colombian Creole, Hampshire, and Romney Marsh). Seminal plasma was obtained by centrifugation. The concentration of melatonin and testosterone were quantified along with the enzymatic activity of glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione reductase (GRD), and catalase (CAT). Correlation analyses between melatonin and testosterone concentrations or enzymatic activity were also performed. Melatonin concentration was affected by season (P < 0.05) but not breed, with lesser concentrations in the first rainy season. Testosterone concentration, however, was affected by breed and season, with greater concentrations (P < 0.01) in the Hampshire and Romney Marsh rams during the second dry season. Regarding antioxidant enzyme activity, there was only seasonal variation in GPx activity (P < 0.05). When correlation analyses were used for data assessments, there was a negative correlation between melatonin and testosterone concentrations in Hampshire rams. In conclusion, melatonin concentrations in seminal plasma of rams that were located in an area with an equatorial photoperiod was affected by the climatological season but there was no positive correlation with testosterone concentration or antioxidant enzyme activity

Vasectomy and photoperiodic regimen modify the protein profile, hormonal content and antioxidant enzymes activity of ram seminal plasma

This work aimed to determine the contribution of the testis and epididymis and the effect of the photoperiodic regimen on ram seminal plasma (SP). Semen was collected from 15 mature rams located in an equatorial (Colombian Creole and Romney Marsh, eight intact and two vasectomized) or a temperate climate (Rasa Aragonesa, three intact and two vasectomized). SP proteins were analyzed by Bradford, SDS-PAGE and difference gel electrophoresis (DIGE). Melatonin and testosterone concentrations were quantified by ELISA, and activity of glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione reductase (GRD), and catalase by enzymatic assays. Vasectomy increased protein concentration and the intensity of high molecular weight bands (p < 0.001), with no differences between breeds. DIGE revealed the absence of six proteins in vasectomized rams: angiotensin-converting enzyme, lactotransferrin, phosphoglycerate kinase, sorbitol dehydrogenase, epididymal secretory glutathione peroxidase and epididymal secretory protein E1. Vasectomy also decreased melatonin concentrations in seasonal rams, and testosterone in all of them (p < 0.001), but did not affect antioxidant enzyme activity. Equatorial rams showed lower melatonin and testosterone concentration (p < 0.01) and catalase, but higher GPx activity (p < 0.05). In conclusion, vasectomy modifies the protein profile and hormonal content of ram seminal plasma, whereas the exposure to a constant photoperiod affects hormonal concentration and antioxidant enzymes activity

Transcription of toll-like receptors 2, 3, 4 and 9, FoxP3 and Th17 cytokines in a susceptible experimental model of canine Leishmania infantum infection

Canine leishmaniosis (CanL) due to Leishmania infantum is a chronic zoonotic systemic disease resulting from complex interactions between protozoa and the canine immune system. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are essential components of the innate immune system and facilitate the early detection of many infections. However, the role of TLRs in CanL remains unknown and information describing TLR transcription during infection is extremely scarce. The aim of this research project was to investigate the impact of L. infantum infection on canine TLR transcription using a susceptible model. The objectives of this study were to evaluate transcription of TLRs 2, 3, 4 and 9 by means of quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) in skin, spleen, lymph node and liver in the presence or absence of experimental L. infantum infection in Beagle dogs. These findings were compared with clinical and serological data, parasite densities in infected tissues and transcription of IL-17, IL-22 and FoxP3 in different tissues in non-infected dogs (n = 10), and at six months (n = 24) and 15 months (n = 7) post infection. Results revealed significant down regulation of transcription with disease progression in lymph node samples for TLR3, TLR4, TLR9, IL-17, IL-22 and FoxP3. In spleen samples, significant down regulation of transcription was seen in TLR4 and IL-22 when both infected groups were compared with controls. In liver samples, down regulation of transcription was evident with disease progression for IL-22. In the skin, upregulation was seen only for TLR9 and FoxP3 in the early stages of infection. Subtle changes or down regulation in TLR transcription, Th17 cytokines and FoxP3 are indicative of the silent establishment of infection that Leishmania is renowned for. These observations provide new insights about TLR transcription, Th17 cytokines and Foxp3 in the liver, spleen, lymph node and skin in CanL and highlight possible markers of disease susceptibility in this model

VOLUMEN 22, NÚMERO 37 (2000)

ANÁLISIS DE VARIABLES MORFOMÉTRICAS DE toxaster roulini agassiz (Echinoides: toxasteriidae) DE LA FORMACIÓN ROSA BLANCA, MUNICIPIO DE ZAPATOCA (SANTANDER, COLOMBIA). Cruz Guevara, L. E.; Jerez Jaimes, J. H., Narváez Parra, E. X.; Franco Blanco, R. A.COMPOSICIÓN QUÍMICA Y MINERALOGÍA DE LAS BIOTITAS METAMÓRFICAS DEL SECTOR CENTRAL DEL MACIZO DE SANTANDER, COLOMBIA. García Ramírez, C. A.; Campos Álvarez, N. O.BRECHAS DE ATRICIÓN Y MINERALIZACIONES AURÍFERAS EN LAS MINAS DE MIRAFLORES (QUINCHÍA, RISARALDA) Y SU RELACIÓN CON UN CUERPO TIPO “BRECHA - PIPE”. Carrillo Lombana, V. M.CRITERIOS PARA LA CLASIFICACIÓN Y DESCRIPCIÓN DE MOVIMIENTOS EN MASA. Vargas Cuervo, G.ANOMALÍAS GEOBOTÁNICAS ESPECTRALES ASOCIADAS CON LOS CAMBIOS EN LITOLOGÍA: SU USO PARA LA CARTOGRAFÍA GEOLÓGICA DE ROCAS ULTRABÁSICAS, EN TERRENOS TOTALMENTE VEGETADOS DE LA COSTA PACÍFICA COLOMBIANA. Villegas, V. H

VOLUMEN 22, NÚMERO 37 (2000)

ANÁLISIS DE VARIABLES MORFOMÉTRICAS DE toxaster roulini agassiz (Echinoides: toxasteriidae) DE LA FORMACIÓN ROSA BLANCA, MUNICIPIO DE ZAPATOCA (SANTANDER, COLOMBIA). Cruz Guevara, L. E.; Jerez Jaimes, J. H., Narváez Parra, E. X.; Franco Blanco, R. A.COMPOSICIÓN QUÍMICA Y MINERALOGÍA DE LAS BIOTITAS METAMÓRFICAS DEL SECTOR CENTRAL DEL MACIZO DE SANTANDER, COLOMBIA. García Ramírez, C. A.; Campos Álvarez, N. O.BRECHAS DE ATRICIÓN Y MINERALIZACIONES AURÍFERAS EN LAS MINAS DE MIRAFLORES (QUINCHÍA, RISARALDA) Y SU RELACIÓN CON UN CUERPO TIPO “BRECHA - PIPE”. Carrillo Lombana, V. M.CRITERIOS PARA LA CLASIFICACIÓN Y DESCRIPCIÓN DE MOVIMIENTOS EN MASA. Vargas Cuervo, G.ANOMALÍAS GEOBOTÁNICAS ESPECTRALES ASOCIADAS CON LOS CAMBIOS EN LITOLOGÍA: SU USO PARA LA CARTOGRAFÍA GEOLÓGICA DE ROCAS ULTRABÁSICAS, EN TERRENOS TOTALMENTE VEGETADOS DE LA COSTA PACÍFICA COLOMBIANA. Villegas, V. H

Risk Factors Associated with Adverse Fetal Outcomes in Pregnancies Affected by Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): A Secondary Analysis of the WAPM study on COVID-19

To evaluate the strength of association between maternal and pregnancy characteristics and the risk of adverse perinatal outcomes in pregnancies with laboratory confirmed COVID-19. Secondary analysis of a multinational, cohort study on all consecutive pregnant women with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 from February 1, 2020 to April 30, 2020 from 73 centers from 22 different countries. A confirmed case of COVID-19 was defined as a positive result on real-time reverse-transcriptase-polymerase-chain-reaction (RT-PCR) assay of nasal and pharyngeal swab specimens. The primary outcome was a composite adverse fetal outcome, defined as the presence of either abortion (pregnancy loss before 22 weeks of gestations), stillbirth (intrauterine fetal death after 22 weeks of gestation), neonatal death (death of a live-born infant within the first 28 days of life), and perinatal death (either stillbirth or neonatal death). Logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate parameters independently associated with the primary outcome. Logistic regression was reported as odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI). Mean gestational age at diagnosis was 30.6\ub19.5 weeks, with 8.0% of women being diagnosed in the first, 22.2% in the second and 69.8% in the third trimester of pregnancy. There were six miscarriage (2.3%), six intrauterine device (IUD) (2.3) and 5 (2.0%) neonatal deaths, with an overall rate of perinatal death of 4.2% (11/265), thus resulting into 17 cases experiencing and 226 not experiencing composite adverse fetal outcome. Neither stillbirths nor neonatal deaths had congenital anomalies found at antenatal or postnatal evaluation. Furthermore, none of the cases experiencing IUD had signs of impending demise at arterial or venous Doppler. Neonatal deaths were all considered as prematurity-related adverse events. Of the 250 live-born neonates, one (0.4%) was found positive at RT-PCR pharyngeal swabs performed after delivery. The mother was tested positive during the third trimester of pregnancy. The newborn was asymptomatic and had negative RT-PCR test after 14 days of life. At logistic regression analysis, gestational age at diagnosis (OR: 0.85, 95% CI 0.8-0.9 per week increase; p<0.001), birthweight (OR: 1.17, 95% CI 1.09-1.12.7 per 100 g decrease; p=0.012) and maternal ventilatory support, including either need for oxygen or CPAP (OR: 4.12, 95% CI 2.3-7.9; p=0.001) were independently associated with composite adverse fetal outcome. Early gestational age at infection, maternal ventilatory supports and low birthweight are the main determinants of adverse perinatal outcomes in fetuses with maternal COVID-19 infection. Conversely, the risk of vertical transmission seems negligible

A eukaryotic-type signalling system of Pseudomonas aeruginosa contributes to oxidative stress resistance, intracellular survival and virulence

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The genome of <it>Pseudomonas aeruginosa </it>contains at least three genes encoding eukaryotic-type Ser/Thr protein kinases, one of which, <it>ppkA</it>, has been implicated in <it>P. aeruginosa </it>virulence. Together with the adjacent <it>pppA </it>phosphatase gene, they belong to the type VI secretion system (H1-T6SS) locus, which is important for bacterial pathogenesis. To determine the biological function of this protein pair, we prepared a <it>pppA-ppkA </it>double mutant and characterised its phenotype and transcriptomic profiles.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Phenotypic studies revealed that the mutant grew slower than the wild-type strain in minimal media and exhibited reduced secretion of pyoverdine. In addition, the mutant had altered sensitivity to oxidative and hyperosmotic stress conditions. Consequently, mutant cells had an impaired ability to survive in murine macrophages and an attenuated virulence in the plant model of infection. Whole-genome transcriptome analysis revealed that <it>pppA-ppkA </it>deletion affects the expression of oxidative stress-responsive genes, stationary phase σ-factor RpoS-regulated genes, and quorum-sensing regulons. The transcriptome of the <it>pppA-ppkA </it>mutant was also analysed under conditions of oxidative stress and showed an impaired response to the stress, manifested by a weaker induction of stress adaptation genes as well as the genes of the SOS regulon. In addition, expression of either RpoS-regulated genes or quorum-sensing-dependent genes was also affected. Complementation analysis confirmed that the transcription levels of the differentially expressed genes were specifically restored when the <it>pppA </it>and <it>ppkA </it>genes were expressed ectopically.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our results suggest that in addition to its crucial role in controlling the activity of <it>P. aeruginosa </it>H1-T6SS at the post-translational level, the PppA-PpkA pair also affects the transcription of stress-responsive genes. Based on these data, it is likely that the reduced virulence of the mutant strain results from an impaired ability to survive in the host due to the limited response to stress conditions.</p