Identification and preservation of multiresistant bacteria isolated from bloodstream infections of patients at a hospital in Brazil

The university hospital Cassiano Antônio de Moraes (HUCAM), Federal University of Espírito Santo, Brazil, is a hospital of high complexity that offers treatments in several clinical and surgical specialties. Bloodstream infections with Gram-positive bacteria of hospitalised patients, some of them caused by methicilin-resistant (MRSA) Staphylococcus aureus, are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. Multiresistant bacteria have emerged as a serious public health problem worldwide and require consistent and intensified surveillance efforts. The accurate identification and availability of this biological material for additional tests and studies were the core motivators for the establishment of the Bacterial Strain Reference Culture Collection (CCBR) of HUCAM. The CCBR-HUCAM was established in 2011 and preserves bacterial isolates, from internal and external analysis, with high interest for clinical studies. The main aim of this current work is to present the identification and preservation methodology used in CCBR-HUCAM for multiresistant bacterial strains isolated from blood cultures from January to December 2011 at HUCAM. Blood cultures were received at the Laboratory of Microbiology, HUCAM and incubated in the Bactec 9240 system at 35°C. Positive blood cultures were subcultured to identify microorganisms by a) conventional phenotypic techniques, b) Vitek 2 assays and c) antimicrobial susceptibility. A total of 471 positive blood culture was analysed. Of these, 283 (60%) were E. coli, K. pneumoniae, A. baumanii, P. aeruginosa, S. aureus, S. epidermidis and Enterococcus spp.; from which 107 (38%) were Gram-negative and 175 (62%) were Gram-positive. Also, 127 (45%) presented resistance to various classes of antibiotics used in conventional treatments. All the bacteria were cryopreserved at -20 °C. The MALDI-TOF MS technique is being applied for identifications and for proteomic comparisions between similar species with different profiles of resistance. Furthermore, molecular biology will be used to confirm the classical and phenotypical approaches

Vegetación acuática, halófila y halonitrófila de la provincia de Málaga

In the present work a synthesis of the aquatic,halophytic and halo-nitrofilous vegetation of the province of Málaga (Spain) is presented.The existence of 17 associations and 2 conmunities concerning to 8 fitosociological class (LEMNETEA, CHARETEA, RUPPIETEA, POTAMETEA, PHRACMITETEA, FRANKENIETEA PULVERULENTAE, ARTHROCNEMETEA y MOLINIO-ARRHENATHERETEA) is announced.It is described for first time the subass. halopeplidetosum amplexicaulis, of Parapholi-Frankenietum-pulveruZentae.At last the profiles of the vegetation and the dynamism of the communities are exposed,Se presenta una síntesis de la vegetación acuática,halófila y halonitrófila de la provincia de Málaga,dándose a conocer la existencia de 17 asociaciones y dos comunidades pertenecientes a 8 clases fitosociológicas (LEMNETEA, CHARETEA, RUPPIETEA, POTAMETEA PHRAGMITETEA, FRANKENIETEA PULVERULENTAE, ARTHROCNEMETEA y MOLINIO-ARRHENATHERETEA). Se describe la subas. halopeplidetosum amplexicaulis subas, nova de Parapholi -Frankenietw pulverutentae. Por ultimo se exponen las catenas de vegetación y el dinamismo de las comunidades

Empirical Mathematical Model of Microprocessor Sensitivity and Early Prediction to Proton and Neutron Radiation-Induced Soft Errors

A mathematical model is described to predict microprocessor fault tolerance under radiation. The model is empirically trained by combining data from simulated fault-injection campaigns and radiation experiments, both with protons (at the National Center of Accelerators (CNA) facilities, Seville, Spain) and neutrons [at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE) Weapons Neutron Research Facility at Los Alamos, USA]. The sensitivity to soft errors of different blocks of commercial processors is identified to estimate the reliability of a set of programs that had previously been optimized, hardened, or both. The results showed a standard error under 0.1, in the case of the Advanced RISC Machines (ARM) processor, and 0.12, in the case of the MSP430 microcontroller.This work was supported in part by Spanish MINECO under Project ESP-2015-68245-C4-3-P and Project ESP-2015-68245-C4-4-P

A Hardware-Software Approach for On-Line Soft Error Mitigation in Interrupt-Driven Applications

Integrity assurance of configuration data has a significant impact on microcontroller-based systems reliability. This is especially true when running applications driven by events which behavior is tightly coupled to this kind of data. This work proposes a new hybrid technique that combines hardware and software resources for detecting and recovering soft-errors in system configuration data. Our approach is based on the utilization of a common built-in microcontroller resource (timer) that works jointly with a software-based technique, which is responsible to periodically refresh the configuration data. The experiments demonstrate that non-destructive single event effects can be effectively mitigated with reduced overheads. Results show an important increase in fault coverage for SEUs and SETs, about one order of magnitude.This work was funded in part by the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports with the project “Developing hybrid fault tolerance techniques for embedded microprocessors” (PHB2012–0158-PC)

Bases para la confección del atlas florístico de la provincia de Málaga

Se examinan los atlas florísticos hechos últimamente en Europa, especialmente los que siguen la cuadrícula UTM, y se comentan las características de cada uno de ellos. A continuación se señalan los criterios que se han seguido para la elaboración del plano matriz, en cuadrícula UTM, para la provincia de Málaga, y los trabajos que se siguen, a fin de hacer el correspondiente atlas florístico

Estructuras de algunas comunidades vegetales de dunas en el litoral de Marbella (Málaga)

In this work, is described the structure of the vegetation of dunes of the seashore of Marbella (Málaga), and are made several samples of the main plant communities. Those communities are placed in their phytocoenological entities, following a synoptic form. For the first time, are described two new phytosociological associations: Malcolmio-Vulpietum alopecuri and Sporobolo-Centaureetum sphaerocephalae. Is presented a block scheme of the different communities and their structural relationships.

Copper nitride: a versatile semiconductor with great potential for next-generation photovoltaics

Copper nitride (Cu3N) has gained significant attention recently due to its potential in several scientific and technological applications. This study focuses on using Cu3N as a solar absorber in photovoltaic technology. Cu3N thin films were deposited on glass substrates and silicon wafers by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering at different nitrogen flow ratios with total pressures ranging from 1.0 to 5.0 Pa. The thin films' structural, morphology and chemical properties were determined by XRD, Raman, AFM and SEM/EDS techniques. The results revealed that the Cu3N films exhibited a polycrystalline structure, with the preferred orientation varying from (100) to (111) depending on the working pressure employed. Raman spectroscopy confirmed the presence of Cu-N bonds through characteristic peaks observed in the 618-627 cm-1 range. While SEM and AFM images confirmed the presence of uniform and smooth surface morphologies. The optical properties of the films were investigated using UV-VIS-NIR spectroscopy and photothermal de-flection spectroscopy (PDS). The obtained band gap, refractive index, and Urbach energy values demonstrated promising optical properties for Cu3N, indicating their potential as solar absorbers in photovoltaic technology. This study highlights the favorable properties of Cu3N films deposited by the RF sputtering method, paving the way for their implementation in thin-film photovoltaic technologies. These findings contribute to the progress and optimisation of Cu3N-based materials for efficient solar energy conversion

Salmonella enterica subsp houtenae sorogrupo O:16 em um paciente HIV positivo: relato de caso

We described a case of salmonellosis in a 33-year old HIV-infected patient. The patient presented oral and esophageal candidiasis, intense epigastric and retrosternal pain. During the physical examination he was hypochloraemic, acyanotic, hypohydrated, anicteric and afebrile. Admittance laboratorial tests indicated: red cells 3.6 millions/mm³; hemoglobin, 10.1 g/dL; leukocyte count, 3,000/mm³, with 1% of eosinophils, 14% of non-segmented and 53% of segmented neutrophils and 31% of lymphocytes. The blood culture was positive for Salmonella enterica subsp houtenae serogroup O:16. This is probably the first human report of bacteremia due to Salmonella enterica subsp houtenae in Brazil associated to HIV-infected patient.Descreve-se um caso clínico de salmonelose ocorrido em paciente HIV positivo de 33 anos, portador de candidíase oral e esofágica, com intensa dor abdominal superior e dor retro-esternal. Ao exame clínico apresentou-se hipocorado, acianótico, hipohidratado, anictérico e afebril. A investigação laboratorial na admissão apresentou: hemácias, 3,6 milhões/mm³; hemoglobina, 10,1 g/dL; contagem de leucócitos, 3.000/mm³, com 1% de eosinófilos, 14% de bastões; 53% de neutrófilos segmentados e 31% de linfócitos. A hemocultura foi positiva para Salmonella enterica subsp houtenae sorogrupo O:16. Provavelmente, este é o primeiro relato de caso clínico humano com bacteremia causado por Salmonella enterica subsp houtenae no Brasil associado a paciente HIV-infectado

VentQsys: Low-cost open IoT system for CO2 monitoring in classrooms

In educational context, a source of nuisance for students is carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration due to closed rooms and lack of ventilation or circulatory air. Also, in the pandemic context, ventilation in indoor environments has been proven as a good tool to control the COVID-19 infections. In this work, it is presented a low cost IoT-based open-hardware and open-software monitoring system to control ventilation, by measuring carbon dioxide (CO2), temperature and relative humidity. This system provides also support for automatic updating, auto-self calibration and adds some Cloud and Edge offloading of computational features for mapping functionalities. From the tests carried out, it is observed a good performance in terms of functionality, battery durability, compared to other measuring devices, more expensive than our proposal