Genomic Diversity of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Complex Strains in Cantabria (Spain), a Moderate TB Incidence Setting

Background Tuberculosis (TB) control strategies are focused mainly on prevention, early diagnosis, compliance to treatment and contact tracing. The objectives of this study were to explore the frequency and risk factors of recent transmission of clinical isolates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) in Cantabria in Northern Spain from 2012 through 2013 and to analyze their clonal complexity for better understanding of the transmission dynamics in a moderate TB incidence setting. Methods DNA from 85 out of 87 isolates from bacteriologically confirmed cases of MTBC infection were extracted directly from frozen stocks and genotyped using the mycobacterial interspersed repetitive units-variable number tandem repeat (MIRU-VNTR) method. The MIRUVNTRplus database tool was used to identify clusters and lineages and to build a neighbor joining (NJ) phylogenetic tree. In addition, data were compared to the SITVIT2 database at the Pasteur Institute of Guadeloupe. Results The rate of recent transmission was calculated to 24%. Clustering was associated with being Spanish-born. A high prevalence of isolates of the Euro-American lineage was found. In addition, MIRU-VNTR profiles of the studied isolates corresponded to previously found MIRU-VNTR types in other countries, including Spain, Belgium, Great Britain, USA, Croatia, South Africa and The Netherlands. Six of the strains analyzed represented clonal variants. Conclusion Transmission of MTBC is well controlled in Cantabria. The majority of TB patients were born in Spain. The population structure of MTBC in Cantabria has a low diversity of major clonal lineages with the Euro-American lineage predominating

Apodized chirped fibre Bragg gratings for dispersion compensation in a 10 Gbit/s IM-DD semiconductor laser system

Different fibre Bragg grating dispersion compensation schemes are studied for a directly modulated 1550 nm single-mode semiconductor laser signal through a standard nonlinear fibre link. The laser diode is simulated by its stochastic rate equations, while the nonlinear Schrodinger equation is used to simulate the propagation. The optimum length for dispersion compensation after transmission through 100 km SSM fibre is studied. Pulses with a FWHM of the order of 65 ps with any linewidth-enhancement factor are reconstructed using pre-compensation or post-compensation with an apodized 5.75 cm chirped fibre Bragg grating.J.D.A.-C. wishes to thank the Comunidad de Madrid for the financial suppot of his work. This work has been supported by the Comisión Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnología, Spain, Project TIC 98-0418-C05-03 and the Comunidad de Madrid Project 06T/039/96.Peer Reviewe

La ictiosis

Ichthyosis are a group of illnesses with high prevalence in our country. The clinical findings are the scales in the skin. It's not unusual to find these patients in our clinics. This report tries to deep in the knowledge of these illnesses and finds useful aspects for the treatment of our patients.Las ictiosis son un grupo de enfermedades con una elevada prevalencia en nuestro medio. Se caracterizan por la aparición de "escamas" en la piel. Dada su alta frecuencia de presentación, no es inhabitual que podamos atender a estos pacientes en nuestras consultas. Este artículo pretende profundizar en el conocimiento de este grupo de enfermedades y descubrirnos aspectos de las mismas que puedan ser de utilidad para el tratamiento de nuestros pacientes

Comparación molecular de poblaciones de Chile (capsicum spp.) de tabasco y chiapas, méxico

Molecular comparison of chili populations (Capsicum spp.) from Tabasco and Chiapas, Mexico Based on the importance of chile in the Southeast of Mexico, the objectives of this research were to characterize molecularly, and estimate the polymorphism and genetic structure of 21 populations of Capsicum spp. of Tabasco and Chiapas States, Mexico. After 40 days of germination of the seeds collected, two young leaves of each population were cut per each of 10 plants. The 20 leaves were mixed and three samples of 0.5 g were taken to extract the DNA. Four microsatellite markers (SSR) to determine the genetic diversity. A total of 229 alleles were detected, and 70 were polymorphics. The marker Hpms1-106 detected 38.8 % polymorphism, and HpmsCaSIG-19 the lowest polymorphism (20.55 %). The AMOVA explained 13.0 % of the variability among populations, and individuals within populations explained the remaining 87.0 %. The statistics FST = 0.176, showed a large differentiation between populations. The FIS = -0.448 showed an excess of heterozygous in populations, and the FIT = -0.193 showed that individuals in each population have moderate non-random mating effect between them. Cluster analysis grouped all evaluated chili populations into six clusters. The cluster I grouped 13 populations, some of these such as Amashito Cerro Blanco and Colmillo de Lagarto El Porvenir showed to be the most genetically similar. In the cluster VI, Pico de Paloma Miahuatlán showed to be different from the rest of populations. Microsatellite markers were useful to analyze the genetic diversity of these chili populationsDada la importancia que tiene el chile en el sureste de la república mexicana, los objetivos de la investigación fueron caracterizar molecularmente, estimar el polimorfismo y la estructura genética de 21 poblaciones de Capsicum spp. de los estados de Tabasco y Chiapas. Se sembraron semillas de las poblaciones y a los 40 días después de la germinación, se cortaron dos hojas jóvenes por planta de 10 individuos de cada población. Las 20 hojas de cada población se mezclaron y de ellas se tomaron tres muestras de 0,5 g de tejido vegetal para extraer el ADN. Se usaron cuatro marcadores microsatélites (SSR) para estimar la diversidad genética. Se detectaron 229 alelos, de ellos 70 fueron polimórficos. El marcador Hpms1-106 detectó 38,8 % de polimorfismo, y HpmsCaSIG-19 el menor polimorfismo (20,55 %). El AMOVA explicó 13,0 % de la variabilidad entre poblaciones, y los individuos dentro de las poblaciones el 87,0 % restante. El estadístico FST = 0,176 indicó que la diferenciación genética entre poblaciones es grande, el FIS = -0,448 que las poblaciones poseen exceso de heterocigotos, y el FIT = -0,193, que los individuos de cada población mostraron efecto moderado de apareamiento no aleatorio. El análisis cluster aglomeró a las poblaciones evaluadas en seis grupos. El cluster I agrupó 13 poblaciones, y dentro de éstas, Amashito Cerro Blanco y Colmillo de Lagarto El Porvenir mostraron ser las más parecidas genéticamente. En el cluster VI, Pico de Paloma Miahuatlán fue diferente al resto de las poblaciones. Los marcadores microsatélites fueron útiles para analizar la diversidad genética de las poblaciones de chile evaluadas