Tripogon ekmanii Nicora & Rúgolo

BonplandpublishedVersio

Cuscuta microstyla Engelm. var. bicolor (Hunz.) Hunz.

Valle del SosneadopublishedVersio

Perturbations in the Urinary Exosome in Transplant Rejection

Urine exosomes are small vesicles exocytosed into the urine by all renal epithelial cell types under normal physiologic and disease states. Urine exosomal proteins may mirror disease specific proteome perturbations in kidney injury. Analysis methodologies for the exosomal fraction of the urinary proteome were developed for comparing the urinary exosomal fraction versus unfractionated proteome for biomarker discovery. Urine exosomes were isolated by centrifugal filtration of urine samples collected from kidney transplant patients with and without acute rejection, which were biopsy matched. The proteomes of unfractionated whole urine (Uw) and urine exosomes (Ue) underwent mass spectroscopy-based quantitative proteonomics analysis. The proteome data were analyzed for significant differential protein abundances in acute rejection (AR). A total of 1018 proteins were identified in Uw and 349 proteins in Ue. 279 overlapped between the two urinary compartments and 70 proteins were unique to the Ue compartment. Of 349 exosomal proteins identified from transplant patients,220 had not been previously identified in the normal Ue fraction. 11 Ue proteins, functionally involved in an inflammatory and stress response, were more abundant in urine samples from patients with acute rejection, 3 of which are exclusive to the Ue fraction. Ue AR-specific biomarkers(8) were also detected in Uw, but since they were observed at significantly lower abundances in Uw, they were not significant for AR in Uw. A rapid urinary exosome isolation method and quantitative measurement of enriched Ue proteins was applied. Perturbed proteins in the exosomal compartment of urine collected from kidney transplant patients were specific to inflammatory responses, and were not observed in the Ue fraction from normal healthy subjects. Ue specific protein alterations in renal disease provide potential mechanistic insights and offer a unique panel of sensitive biomarkers for monitoring AR

Pain in cancer. An outcome research project to evaluate the epidemiology, the quality and the effects of pain treatment in cancer patients

BACKGROUND: Management of pain related to advanced or metastatic cancer, although the availability of several pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions and the existence of well-known guidelines and protocols, is often difficult and inadequate. Evidence of the relative effectiveness of current options for treating cancer pain from comparative randomized studies is scanty. METHODS: In the context of a wider project, a multicenter, open label, prospective Outcome Research study will be launched in Italy in 2006 to investigate the epidemiology of cancer pain and of its treatments, the quality of analgesic-drug therapy and the effectiveness of alternative analgesic strategies in a large, prospective, unselected cohort of cancer patients using the state-of-the art of patient-reported-outcomes. About 100 Italian centers will recruit 2500 patients with advanced/progressive/metastatic cancer with pain (related to the cancer disease) requiring analgesic treatments. Each center is expected to recruit 25 consecutive and eligible patients during the study inception period. Approximately two months will be allowed for subject recruitment and enrollment. Subject evaluation and follow-up will be for 3 months. The effect on outcomes of various therapeutic analgesic options administered by physicians, given the observational approach where patients are not assigned at random to different treatments, will be compared using the propensity score approach, allowing the adjustment for treatment selection bias. Later, after the launch of the observational study and on the basis of results, in specific subsamples of patients and in select centers of the network, a Randomized Controlled Trial will be carried out to formally compare the efficacy of alternative analgesic strategies, with particular emphasis on oral morphine (as comparator) and buprenorphine patch (as experimental arm). Results from the outcome (cohort) and experimental (Randomized Controlled Trial) studies will ensure both the external and internal validity

Enzymatic and Molecular Identification of Meloidogyne Species in Tomato Orchards in Paraguay

Tomato is a major crop in Paraguay, where it provides a source of employment and income for households. Tomato production can be affected by root-knot nematodes, especially Meloidogyne spp. The unequivocal identification of Meloidogyne spp. in Paraguay has not been conducted yet. This study aims to identify Meloidogyne species in eight tomato production districts of this country by biochemical and molecular techniques. Females of Meloidogyne spp. were extracted from tomato roots and characterized using esterase isozyme phenotypes. In addition, DNA was extracted from nematode eggs, and species-specific SCARs (sequence-characterized amplified regions) were used to confirm the diagnosis. Nematodes were detected in 100% of studied samples (prevalence), of which M. incognita (Est: I2, Rm: 1.1;1.2) and M. javanica (Est: J3, Rm: 1.0, 1.20, 1.35) were present in 39.13% and 26.08% of samples, respectively. One population (8.69%) of Meloidogyne sp. presenting an atypical esterase profile (Rm: 1.0 and 1.3) was only detected in Julián Augusto Saldívar District. Mixed populations, mostly M. incognita and M. javanica, were observed in 26.08% of samples. The SCAR primers incK14F/incK14R amplified specific fragments for M. incognita (399 bp) and M. javanica (670 bp), confirming the enzymatic results. Here, we present the first study of root-knot nematode identification at the species level in Paraguay

Magnetostratigraphy and Biostratigraphy of the Carnian/Norian Boundary Interval from the Pizzo Mondello Section (Sicily)

We present new magnetostratigraphic and biostratigraphic data from an Upper Triassic limestone section named Pizzo Mondello. This section is 141m-thick and crops out in the Sicani Mountains of western Sicily (Italy). The Pizzo Mondello section is one of the Tethyan best in virtue of its high quality of exposure, accessibility, stratigraphic continuity and good magnetostratigraphic data. We recognize a sequence of six magnetozones, from M1 to M6, each subdivided into a lower predominantly normal and an upper predominantly reversed magnetozone. This sequence of magnetozones spans the Carnian/Norian boundary according to conodont biostratigraphy. The Carnian/Norian boundary should fall in the upper part of magnetozone M3 which should correspond to chron E14 in the Newark reference sequence of polarity reversals. The comparison of data from the Newark basin, Pizzo Mondello and the Late Triassic Bolcektasi Tepe section from the literature seems to suggest the existence of a disconformity in the Tethyan marine domain at around the Carnian/Norian boundary which we tentatively relate to intraPangea tectonic mobility. A consistent correlation of Newark/Pizzo Mondello with published data from the Norian Tethyan marine Kavur Tepe and Scheiblkogel sections is still elusive, suggesting that the validity of the original polarity interpretation of the Kavur Tepe section could usefully be critically reviewed

Evidence supporting dissimilatory and assimilatory lignin degradation in Enterobacter lignolyticus SCF1

Lignocellulosic biofuels are promising as sustainable alternative fuels, but lignin inhibits access of enzymes to cellulose, and by-products of lignin degradation can be toxic to cells. The fast growth, high efficiency and specificity of enzymes employed in the anaerobic litter deconstruction carried out by tropical soil bacteria make these organisms useful templates for improving biofuel production. The facultative anaerobe Enterobacter lignolyticus SCF1 was initially cultivated from Cloud Forest soils in the Luquillo Experimental Forest in Puerto Rico, based on anaerobic growth on lignin as sole carbon source. The source of the isolate was tropical forest soils that decompose litter rapidly with low and fluctuating redox potentials, where bacteria using oxygen-independent enzymes likely play an important role in decomposition. We have used transcriptomics and proteomics to examine the observed increased growth of SCF1 grown on media amended with lignin compared to unamended growth. Proteomics suggested accelerated xylose uptake and metabolism under lignin-amended growth, with up-regulation of proteins involved in lignin degradation via the 4-hydroxyphenylacetate degradation pathway, catalase/peroxidase enzymes, and the glutathione biosynthesis and glutathione S-transferase (GST) proteins. We also observed increased production of NADH-quinone oxidoreductase, other electron transport chain proteins, and ATP synthase and ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters. This suggested the use of lignin as terminal electron acceptor. We detected significant lignin degradation over time by absorbance, and also used metabolomics to demonstrate moderately significant decreased xylose concentrations as well as increased metabolic products acetate and formate in stationary phase in lignin-amended compared to unamended growth conditions. Our data show the advantages of a multi-omics approach toward providing insights as to how lignin may be used in nature by microorganisms coping with poor carbon availability

Ground-Based Ultraviolet-Radiation Measurements during Springtime in the Southern Hemisphere

We report the first measurements obtained by a network of UV-B detectors established through Argentina and Chile, at locations covering latitudes extending from 53°S to 18° S. Evidence that UVB increases are detected at these latitudes during the Austral spring 1993 is presented

Ground-based ultraviolet-radiation measurements during springtime in the Southern hemisphere

We report the first measurements obtained by a network of UV-B detectors established through Argentina and Chile, at locations covering latitudes extending from 53°S to 18° S. Evidence that UVB increases are detected at these latitudes during the Austral spring 1993 is presented. The destruction of the stratospheric ozone layer is generally considered one of the most serious environmental problems. It has been recently published that during October 1998 the ozone hole has been the deepest ever recorded. Reduction of the stratospheric ozone layer was un ambiguously detected about two decades ago in the Antarctic continent. Since then it has been systematically monitored by different means (satellite, balloon soundings and ground station observations. One of the most serious content reduction is the increase of biologically effective ultraviolet doses, particularly the so-called ultraviolet B radiation (280-320 nm) received at the Earth surface, with multiple possible hazards for living species. Despite these consequences, ground stations to check the UV Sun radiation are not very numerous, particularly outside the circumpolar area in the Southern Hemisphere. With the aim of studying whether the ozone depletion over the Antarctic area has extended further, and whether the possibility that UV radiation increase may begin to affect inhabited regions, a network of UVB detectors has been established through Argentina and Chile, at locations covering latitudes extending from 53°S to 18° S. Here we report the first measurements obtained by this network providing evidence that UVB increases are detected at these latitudes during the last Austral spring.Facultad de Ciencias Exacta