YEAST SUCCESSION IN THE AMAZON FRUIT PARAHANCORNIA-AMAPA AS RESOURCE PARTITIONING AMONG DROSOPHILA SPP

The succession of yeasts colonizing the fallen ripe amapa fruit, from Parahancornia. amapa, aas examined. The occupation of the substrate depended on both the competitive interactions of yeast species, such as the production of killer toxins, and the selective dispersion by the drosophilid guild of the amapa fruit. The yeast community associated with this Amazon fruit differed from those isolated from other fruits in the same forest. The physiological profile of these yeasts was mostly restricted to the assimilation of a few simple carbon sources, mainly L-sorbose, D-glycerol, DL-lactate, cellobiose, and salicin. Common fruit-associated yeasts of the genera Kloeckera and Hanseniaspora, Candida guilliermondii, and Candida krusei colonized fruits during the first three days after the fruit fell. These yeasts were dispersed and served as food for the invader Drosophila malerkotliana. The resident flies of the Drosophila willistoni group fed selectively on patches of yeasts colonizing fruits 3 to 10 days after the fruit fell. The killer toxin-producing yeasts Pichia kluyveri var. kluyveri and Candida fructus were probably involved in the exclusion of some species during the intermediate stages of fruit deterioration. An increase in pH, inhibiting toxin activity and the depletion of simple sugars, may have promoted an increase in yeast diversity in the later stages of decomposition. The yeast succession provided a patchy environment for the drosophilids sharing this ephemeral substrate.61124251425

Validación del Nursing Activities Score en unidades de cuidados intensivos portuguesas

Objective: to describe the process of adaptation and validation of the Nursing Activities Score to the Portuguese context. Method: this was a pilot study of adaptation and validation of the Nursing Activities Score with a sample consisting of 67 patients hospitalized in the intensive care units of three Portuguese hospitals. The construct validity was assessed through factor analysis procedures and the internal consistency of the items was measured through the Cronbach’s alpha coeffi cient. Results: a mean workload value of 63.04% (SD = 14.25; Median = 61.30) was obtained. Psychometric data revealed a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.71 in the total scale, indicating an acceptable accuracy. Confi rmatory factor analysis suggested an appropriate adjustment between the model and the data (χ2 (199) = 214.5, p = 0.214; CFI = 0.95; RMSA = 0.035). Conclusion: in the present study, the Portuguese version of the Nursing Activities Score was found to be a valid instrument, enabling a safe assessment of the workload of nurses.Objetivo: descrever o processo de adaptação e validação do Nursing Activities Score para o contexto português. Método: trata-se de um estudo-piloto de adaptação e validação do Nursing Activities Score, com amostra de 67 doentes internados em unidades de cuidados intensivos de três hospitais portugueses. A validade de constructo avaliou-se mediante procedimentos de análise fatorial e a consistência interna dos itens através do coefi ciente Alpha de Cronbach. Resultados: obteve-se um valor médio da carga de trabalho de 63,04% (DP = 14,25; Mediana = 61,30). Os dados psicométricos revelaram um Alpha de Cronbach de 0,71, na escala total, indicando uma fi delidade aceitável. A análise fatorial confi rmatória sugeriu um ajustamento adequado entre o modelo e os dados (χ2(199) = 214,5, p = 0,214; CFI = 0,95; RMSA = 0,035). Conclusão: neste estudo, a versão portuguesa do Nursing Activities Score revelou-se um instrumento válido, permitindo avaliar a carga de trabalho dos enfermeiros com segurançaObjetivo: describir el proceso de adaptación y validación del Nursing Activities Score al contexto portugués. Método: estudio piloto de adaptación y validación del Nursing Activities Score, con muestra de 67 pacientes internados en unidades de cuidados intensivos de tres hospitales portugueses. La validez del constructo se evaluó mediante análisis factorial y por consistencia interna de los ítems evaluados a través del coefi ciente Alpha de Cronbach. Resultados: se obtuvo un valor medio de carga de trabajo de 63,04% (SD=14,25; Mediana=61,30). Los datos psicométricos expresaron un Alpha de Cronbach de 0,71 en la escala total, indicando fi delidad aceptable. El análisis factorial confi rmatorio sugirió un ajuste adecuado entre el modelo y os datos (χ2 (199)=214,5; p=0,214; CFI=0,95; RMSA=0,035). Conclusión: en este estudio, la versión portuguesa del Nursing Activities Score demostró ser un instrumento válido, permitiendo evaluar la carga de trabajo de los enfermeros con precisión

A new vicious cycle involving glutamate excitotoxicity, oxidative stress and mitochondrial dynamics

Glutamate excitotoxicity leads to fragmented mitochondria in neurodegenerative diseases, mediated by nitric oxide and S-nitrosylation of dynamin-related protein 1, a mitochondrial outer membrane fission protein. Optic atrophy gene 1 (OPA1) is an inner membrane protein important for mitochondrial fusion. Autosomal dominant optic atrophy (ADOA), caused by mutations in OPA1, is a neurodegenerative disease affecting mainly retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). Here, we showed that OPA1 deficiency in an ADOA model influences N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor expression, which is involved in glutamate excitotoxicity and oxidative stress. Opa1enu/+ mice show a slow progressive loss of RGCs, activation of astroglia and microglia, and pronounced mitochondrial fission in optic nerve heads as found by electron tomography. Expression of NMDA receptors (NR1, 2A, and 2B) in the retina of Opa1enu/+ mice was significantly increased as determined by western blot and immunohistochemistry. Superoxide dismutase 2 (SOD2) expression was significantly decreased, the apoptotic pathway was activated as Bax was increased, and phosphorylated Bad and BcL-xL were decreased. Our results conclusively demonstrate that not only glutamate excitotoxicity and/or oxidative stress alters mitochondrial fission/fusion, but that an imbalance in mitochondrial fission/fusion in turn leads to NMDA receptor upregulation and oxidative stress. Therefore, we propose a new vicious cycle involved in neurodegeneration that includes glutamate excitotoxicity, oxidative stress, and mitochondrial dynamics

Measurement of the inclusive and dijet cross-sections of b-jets in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The inclusive and dijet production cross-sections have been measured for jets containing b-hadrons (b-jets) in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of sqrt(s) = 7 TeV, using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The measurements use data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 34 pb^-1. The b-jets are identified using either a lifetime-based method, where secondary decay vertices of b-hadrons in jets are reconstructed using information from the tracking detectors, or a muon-based method where the presence of a muon is used to identify semileptonic decays of b-hadrons inside jets. The inclusive b-jet cross-section is measured as a function of transverse momentum in the range 20 < pT < 400 GeV and rapidity in the range |y| < 2.1. The bbbar-dijet cross-section is measured as a function of the dijet invariant mass in the range 110 < m_jj < 760 GeV, the azimuthal angle difference between the two jets and the angular variable chi in two dijet mass regions. The results are compared with next-to-leading-order QCD predictions. Good agreement is observed between the measured cross-sections and the predictions obtained using POWHEG + Pythia. MC@NLO + Herwig shows good agreement with the measured bbbar-dijet cross-section. However, it does not reproduce the measured inclusive cross-section well, particularly for central b-jets with large transverse momenta.Comment: 10 pages plus author list (21 pages total), 8 figures, 1 table, final version published in European Physical Journal

Interplay of ribosomal DNA Loci in nucleolar dominance: dominant NORs are up-regulated by chromatin dynamics in the wheat-rye system

Background: Chromatin organizational and topological plasticity, and its functions in gene expression regulation, have been strongly revealed by the analysis of nucleolar dominance in hybrids and polyploids where one parental set of ribosomal RNA (rDNA) genes that are clustered in nucleolar organizing regions (NORs), is rendered silent by epigenetic pathways and heterochromatization. However, information on the behaviour of dominant NORs is very sparse and needed for an integrative knowledge of differential gene transcription levels and chromatin specific domain interactions. Methodology/Principal Findings: Using molecular and cytological approaches in a wheat-rye addition line (wheat genome plus the rye nucleolar chromosome pair 1R), we investigated transcriptional activity and chromatin topology of the wheat dominant NORs in a nucleolar dominance situation. Herein we report dominant NORs up-regulation in the addition line through quantitative real-time PCR and silver-staining technique. Accompanying this modification in wheat rDNA trascription level, we also disclose that perinucleolar knobs of ribosomal chromatin are almost transcriptionally silent due to the residual detection of BrUTP incorporation in these domains, contrary to the marked labelling of intranucleolar condensed rDNA. Further, by comparative confocal analysis of nuclei probed to wheat and rye NORs, we found that in the wheat-rye addition line there is a significant decrease in the number of wheat-origin perinucleolar rDNA knobs, corresponding to a diminution of the rDNA heterochromatic fraction of the dominant (wheat) NORs. Conclusions/Significance: We demonstrate that inter-specific interactions leading to wheat-origin NOR dominance results not only on the silencing of rye origin NOR loci, but dominant NORs are alsomodified in their transcriptional activity and interphase organization. The results show a cross-talk between wheat and rye NORs, mediated by ribosomal chromatin dynamics, revealing a conceptual shift from differential amphiplasty to ‘mutual amphiplasty’ in the nucleolar dominance process.This work was supported by the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (projects POCI/BIA-BDE/57575/2004 to M.S. and POCI/BIA-BCM/59389/2004 to N.N.

The Yeast Spore Wall Enables Spores to Survive Passage through the Digestive Tract of Drosophila

In nature, yeasts are subject to predation by flies of the genus Drosophila. In response to nutritional starvation Saccharomyces cerevisiae differentiates into a dormant cell type, termed a spore, which is resistant to many types of environmental stress. The stress resistance of the spore is due primarily to a spore wall that is more elaborate than the vegetative cell wall. We report here that S. cerevisiae spores survive passage through the gut of Drosophila melanogaster. Constituents of the spore wall that distinguish it from the vegetative cell wall are necessary for this resistance. Ascospores of the distantly related yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe also display resistance to digestion by D. melanogaster. These results suggest that the primary function of the yeast ascospore is as a cell type specialized for dispersion by insect vectors

Cervical lymph node metastasis in adenoid cystic carcinoma of the larynx: a collective international review

Adenoid cystic carcinoma (AdCC) of the head and neck is a well-recognized pathologic entity that rarely occurs in the larynx. Although the 5-year locoregional control rates are high, distant metastasis has a tendency to appear more than 5 years post treatment. Because AdCC of the larynx is uncommon, it is difficult to standardize a treatment protocol. One of the controversial points is the decision whether or not to perform an elective neck dissection on these patients. Because there is contradictory information about this issue, we have critically reviewed the literature from 1912 to 2015 on all reported cases of AdCC of the larynx in order to clarify this issue. During the most recent period of our review (1991-2015) with a more exact diagnosis of the tumor histology, 142 cases were observed of AdCC of the larynx, of which 91 patients had data pertaining to lymph node status. Eleven of the 91 patients (12.1%) had nodal metastasis and, based on this low proportion of patients, routine elective neck dissection is therefore not recommended

Manufacture Techniques of Chitosan-Based Microcapsules to Enhance Functional Properties of Textiles

In recent years, the textile industry has been moving to novel concepts of products, which could deliver to the user, improved performances. Such smart textiles have been proven to have the potential to integrate within a commodity garment advanced feature and functional properties of different kinds. Among those functionalities, considerable interest has been played in functionalizing commodity garments in order to make them positively interact with the human body and therefore being beneficial to the user health. This kind of functionalization generally exploits biopolymers, a class of materials that possess peculiar properties such as biocompatibility and biodegradability that make them suitable for bio-functional textile production. In the context of biopolymer chitosan has been proved to be an excellent potential candidate for this kind of application given its abundant availability and its chemical properties that it positively interacts with biological tissue. Notwithstanding the high potential of chitosan-based technologies in the textile sectors, several issues limit the large-scale production of such innovative garments. In facts the morphologies of chitosan structures should be optimized in order to make them better exploit the biological activity; moreover a suitable process for the application of chitosan structures to the textile must be designed. The application process should indeed not only allow an effective and durable fixation of chitosan to textile but also comply with environmental rules concerning pollution emission and utilization of harmful substances. This chapter reviews the use of microencapsulation technique as an approach to effectively apply chitosan to the textile material while overcoming the significant limitations of finishing processes. The assembly of chitosan macromolecules into microcapsules was proved to boost the biological properties of the polymer thanks to a considerable increase in the surface area available for interactions with the living tissues. Moreover, the incorporation of different active substances into chitosan shells allows the design of multifunctional materials that effectively combine core and shell properties. Based on the kind of substances to be incorporated, several encapsulation processes have been developed. The literature evidences how the proper choices concerning encapsulation technology, chemical formulations, and process parameter allow tuning the properties and the performances of the obtained microcapsules. Furthermore, the microcapsules based finishing process have been reviewed evidencing how the microcapsules morphology can positively interact with textile substrate allowing an improvement in the durability of the treatment. The application of the chitosan shelled microcapsules was proved to be capable of imparting different functionalities to textile substrates opening possibilities for a new generation of garments with improved performances and with the potential of protecting the user from multiple harms. Lastly, a continuous interest was observed in improving the process and formulation design in order to avoid the usage of toxic substances, therefore, complying with an environmentally friendly approach