276 research outputs found

    LA INFLUENCIA DEL USO DE LOS MEDIOS PUBLICITARIOS EN EL COMPORTAMIENTO DEL CONSUMIDOR EN LA EMPRESA AGROSMAT, CIUDAD DE MATAGALPA AÑO 2015

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    En esta investigación se analizó la influencia del uso de los medios publicitarios en el comportamiento del consumidor de la ferretería Agrosmat, ubicada en la ciudad de Matagalpa año 2015. Este trabajo se realizó con los objetivos de Describir el comportamiento del consumidor, he identificar los medios publicitarios que más influyen en el comportamiento del consumidor, así como valorar la influencia ejercida por los medios publicitarios en la ferretería Agrosmat, ubicada en la ciudad de Matagalpa Las variables del estudio fueron: Los medios publicitarios, El comportamiento del consumidor. La primera nos indicó a través de que medio el propietario de este negocio publicita sus productos, la segunda nos dio a conocer como es la forma de actuar del cliente ante la compra. Mediante este estudio se determinó si los clientes están satisfechos con los productos ofrecidos por ferretería Agrosmat, así también que si la atención recibida por parte de sus trabajadores es la más adecuada y que si el medio publicitario que actualmente usa la ferretería es el que los clientes prefieren para conocer de los productos brindados por dicha ferretería. En los resultados se pretendió obtener el análisis de si el medio publicitario está siendo efectivo en el cliente al momento de realizar sus compras en ferretería Agrosmat Matagalpa

    Identification of Promoter Region Markers Associated With Altered Expression of Resistance-Nodulation-Division Antibiotic Efflux Pumps in Acinetobacter baumannii

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    Genetic alterations leading to the constitutive upregulation of specific efflux pumps contribute to antibacterial resistance in multidrug resistant bacteria. The identification of such resistance markers remains one of the most challenging tasks of genome-level resistance predictors. In this study, 487 non-redundant genetic events were identified in upstream zones of three operons coding for resistance-nodulation-division (RND) efflux pumps of 4,130 Acinetobacter baumannii isolates. These events included insertion sequences, small indels, and single nucleotide polymorphisms. In some cases, alterations explicitly modified the expression motifs described for these operons, such as the promoter boxes, operators, and Shine-Dalgarno sequences. In addition, changes in DNA curvature and mRNA secondary structures, which are structural elements that regulate expression, were also calculated. According to their influence on RND upregulation, the catalog of upstream modifications were associated with "experimentally verified," "presumed," and "probably irrelevant" degrees of certainty. For experimental verification, DNA of upstream sequences independently carrying selected markers, three for each RND operon, were fused to a luciferase reporter plasmid system. Five out of the nine selected markers tested showed significant increases in expression with respect to the wild-type sequence control. In particular, a 25-fold expression increase was observed with the ISAba1 insertion sequence upstream the adeABC pump. Next, overexpression of each of the three multi-specific RND pumps was linked to their respective antibacterial substrates by a deep A. baumannii literature screen. Consequently, a data flow framework was then developed to link genomic upregulatory RND determinants to potential antibiotic resistance. Assignment of potential increases in minimal inhibitory concentrations at the "experimentally verified" level was permitted for 42 isolates to 7-8 unrelated antibacterial agents including tigecycline, which is overlooked by conventional resistome predictors. Thus, our protocol may represent a time-saving filter step prior to laborious confirmation experiments for efflux-driven resistance. Altogether, a computational-experimental pipeline containing all components required for identifying the upstream regulatory resistome is proposed. This schema may provide the foundational stone for the elaboration of tools approaching antibiotic efflux that complement routine resistome predictors for preventing antimicrobial therapy failure against difficult-to-threat bacteria.This research was supported by grants MPY 380/18 and MPY 509/19 from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII). ML-S is the recipient of a Sara Borrell contract by the ISCIII. AM-G is the recipient of a Miguel Servet contract by the ISCIII.S

    Role of peptidoglycan recycling enzymes AmpD and AnmK in Acinetobacter baumannii virulence features

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    Acinetobacter baumannii is an important causative agent of hospital acquired infections. In addition to acquired resistance to many currently-available antibiotics, it is intrinsically resistant to fosfomycin. It has previously been shown that AmpD and AnmK contribute to intrinsic fosfomycin resistance in A. baumannii due to their involvement in the peptidoglycan recycling pathway. However, the role that these two enzymes play in the fitness and virulence of A. baumannii has not been studied. The aim of this study was to characterize several virulence-related phenotypic traits in A. baumannii mutants lacking AmpD and AnmK. Specifically, cell morphology, peptidoglycan thickness, membrane permeability, growth under iron-limiting conditions, fitness, resistance to disinfectants and antimicrobial agents, twitching motility and biofilm formation of the mutant strains A. baumannii ATCC 17978 ΔampD::Kan and ΔanmK::Kan were compared to the wild type strain. Our results demonstrate that bacterial growth and fitness of both mutants were compromised, especially in the ΔampD::Kan mutant. In addition, biofilm formation was decreased by up to 69%, whereas twitching movement was reduced by about 80% in both mutants. These results demonstrate that, in addition to increased susceptibility to fosfomycin, alteration of the peptidoglycan recycling pathway affects multiple aspects related to virulence. Inhibition of these enzymes could be explored as a strategy to develop novel treatments for A. baumannii in the future. Furthermore, this study establishes a link between intrinsic fosfomycin resistance mechanisms and bacterial fitness and virulence traits.ML-S was supported by the Sara Borrell Program of the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (CD17CIII/00017), and AT was supported by the Garantıa Juvenil Program of the Comunidad ́Autónoma de Madrid (PEJ2018-004820-A -MPY 387/19), is currently supported by a FPU grant (FPU20/03261) and PhD student in Biomedical Sciences and Public Health, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), Madrid, Spain ([email protected]). MM is supported by grants from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (MP 516/19 and MPY 380/18).S

    Optimization of a Lambda-RED Recombination Method for Rapid Gene Deletion in Human Cytomegalovirus

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    Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) continues to be a major cause of morbidity in transplant patients and newborns. However, the functions of many of the more than 282 genes encoded in the HCMV genome remain unknown. The development of bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) technology contributes to the genetic manipulation of several organisms including HCMV. The maintenance of the HCMV BAC in E. coli cells permits the rapid generation of recombinant viral genomes that can be used to produce viral progeny in cell cultures for the study of gene function. We optimized the Lambda-Red Recombination system to construct HCMV gene deletion mutants rapidly in the complete set of tested genes. This method constitutes a useful tool that allows for the quick generation of a high number of gene deletion mutants, allowing for the analysis of the whole genome to improve our understanding of HCMV gene function. This may also facilitate the development of novel vaccines and therapeutics.This study was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and University, Instituto de Salud Carlos III Grant/Award Numbers: PI17CIII-00014 (MPY110/18); PI20CIII-00009 (MPY303/20); DTS18CIII/00006 (MPY127/19). E.G.-R. is supported by the Sara Borrell Program (CD18CIII/00007), M.L.-S. is supported by the Sara Borrell Program (CD17CIIII/00017), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades.S

    Alterations in the abundance and co-occurrence of Akkermansia muciniphila and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii in the colonic mucosa of inflammatory bowel disease subjects

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    This work was funded by the Universitat de Girona projects MPCUdG2016-009 and GdRCompetUdG2017, and the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science through projects SAF2006-00414, SAF2010-15896 and SAF2013-43284-P, being the last co-funded by the European Regional Development. Dr. Sylvia H. Duncan acknowledges support from the Scottish Government Research and Environment Science and Analytical Services Division (RESAS).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

    Genetic and Phenotypic Features to Screen for Putative Adherent-Invasive Escherichia coli

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    To date no molecular tools are available to identify the adherent-invasive Escherichia coli (AIEC) pathotype, which has been associated with Crohn’s disease and colonizes the intestine of different hosts. Current techniques based on phenotypic screening of isolates are extremely time-consuming. The aim of this work was to search for signature traits to assist in rapid AIEC identification. The occurrence of at least 54 virulence genes (VGs), the resistance to 30 antibiotics and the distribution of FimH and ChiA amino acid substitutions was studied in a collection of 48 AIEC and 56 non-AIEC isolated from the intestine of humans and animals. χ2 test was used to find frequency differences according to origin of isolation, AIEC phenotype and phylogroup. Mann–Whitney test was applied to test association with adhesion and invasion indices. Binary logistic regression was performed to search for variables of predictive value. Animal strains (N = 45) were enriched in 12 VGs while 7 VGs were more predominant in human strains (N = 59). The prevalence of 15 VGs was higher in AIEC (N = 49) than in non-AIEC (N = 56) strains, but only pic gene was still differentially distributed when analyzing human and animal strains separately. Among human strains, three additional VGs presented higher frequency in AIEC strains (papGII/III, iss and vat; N = 22) than in non-AIEC strains (N = 37). No differences between AIEC/non-AIEC were found in FimH variants. In contrast, the ChiA sequence of LF82 was shared with the 35.5% of AIEC studied (N = 31) and only with the 7.4% of non-AIEC strains (N = 27; p = 0.027). Binary logistic regression analysis, using as input variables all the VGs and antibiotic resistances tested, revealed that typifying E. coli isolates using pic gene and ampicillin resistance was useful to correctly classify strains according to the phenotype with a 75.5% of accuracy. Although there is not a molecular signature fully specific and sensitive to identify the AIEC pathotype, we propose two features easy to be tested that could assist in AIEC screening. Future work using additional strain collections would be required to assess the applicability of this method

    Evaluation of bacterial biomarkers to aid in challenging inflammatory bowel diseases diagnostics and subtype classification

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    Supported by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science, No. SAF2010-15896, No. SAF2013-43284-P and No. SAF2017-82261-P.Peer reviewedPostprintPublisher PD

    Modelling the emergent dynamics and major metabolites of the human colonic microbiota

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    Funded by Scottish Government's Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services Division (RESAS) Acknowledgements We would like to thank Thanasis Vogogias, David Nutter and Alec Mann for their assistance in developing the software for this model. We also acknowledge the Scottish Government’s Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services Division (RESAS) for their financial support. Furthermore,many thanks go to the two anonymous reviewers whose hard work has greatly improved this paper.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

    Fecal carriage of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Enterobacterales in healthy Spanish schoolchildren

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    Background: Extended-spectrum ß-lactamase-producing Enterobacterales (ESBL-E) are a serious threat among emerging antibiotic resistant bacteria. Particularly, the number of cases of ESBL-E infections reported in children has been increasing in recent years, and approved antibiotic treatments for this age group are limited. However, information regarding the prevalence of colonization in European children, risk factors associated with colonization, and the characteristics of the colonizing strains is scarce. The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence of ESBL-E colonization in fecal samples of apparently healthy schoolchildren, to identify lifestyle routines associated with colonization, and to characterize clonal relationships and mechanisms of resistance in ESBL-E isolates. Methods: A cohort of 887 healthy children (3-13 years old) from seven primary and secondary schools in the Madrid metropolitan area was recruited between April-June 2018, and sociodemographic information and daily habits were collected. Fecal samples were screened for ESBL-E carriage in selective medium. ESBL-E isolates were further characterized by assessing molecular epidemiology (PFGE and MLST), ESBL gene carriage, and antibiotic resistance profile. This information was analyzed in conjunction with the metadata of the participants in order to identify external factors associated with ESBL-E carriage. Results: Twenty four ESBL-E, all but one Escherichia coli, were detected in 23 children (prevalence: 2.6%; 95% CI: 1.6-3.6%). Of these, seven contained the blaCTX-M-14 allele, five the blaCTX-M-15, five the blaSHV-12, three the blaCTX-M-27, three the blaCTX-M-32, and one the blaCTX-M-9. Significant clonal diversity was observed among the isolates that grouped into 22 distinct clusters (at <85% similarity of PFGE profile). ESBL-producing E. coli isolates belonged to 12 different STs, with ST10 (25%) and ST131 (17%) being the most frequent. Apart from ß-lactams, resistance to trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (46%), ciprofloxacin (33%), levofloxacin (33%), tobramycin (21%), and gentamicin (8%) were the most frequently detected. Conclusion: The prevalence of ESBL-E in the studied cohort of children was lower than the average colonization rate previously detected in Europe for both children and adults. E. coli was the main ESBL-producing species detected and CTX-M were the most frequently identified ESBLs. High ST diversity suggests polyclonal dissemination. Compared to other STs, ST131 isolates were associated with resistance to various antimicrobials.ML-S was supported by the Sara Borrell Program of the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) (CD17CIII/00017). ZM was supported by the Río Hortega Program of the ISCIII. AÁ was supported by the Garantía Juvenil Program of the Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid. SS was supported by the Miguel Servet program of ISCIII (CPII18CIII/00005). This study was funded by the ISCIII, Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Spain), under projects PI16CIII/00024, PI18CIII/00030, MPY380/18, and MPY516/19.S

    Assessment of Chemical Inhibitor Addition to Improve the Gas Production from Biowaste

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    The coexistence of sulphate-reducing bacteria and methanogenic archaea in the reactors during the anaerobic digestion from sulphate-containing waste could favor the accumulation of sulfide on the biogas, and therefore reduce its quality. In this study, the effect of sulphate-reducing bacteria inhibitor (MoO−2 4 ) addition in a two phase system from sulphate-containing municipal solid waste to improve the quality of the biogas has been investigated. The results showed that although SRB and sulphide production decreased, the use of inhibitor was not effective to improve the anaerobic digestion in a two phase system from sulphate-containing waste, since a significant decrease on biogas and organic matter removal were observed. Before MoO−2 4 addition the average values of volatile solid were around 12 g/kg, after 5 days of inhibitor use, those values did exceed to 28 g/kg. Molybdate caused acidification in the reactor and it was according to decrease in the pH values. In relation to microbial consortia, the effect of inhibitor was a decrease in Bacteria (44%; 60% in sulphate-reducing bacteria) and Archaea (38%) population
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