Paecilomyces fumosoroseus blastospore production using liquid culture in a bioreactor

There are many advantages to using liquid cultures for the production of blastospores. These include mainly the processes of scale up which are relatively easy, as well as the control of parameters such astemperature, aeration and pH. In this work, we evaluated the production of Paecilomyces fumosoroseus blastospores using a low-cost liquid culture medium in a fermenter in comparison to a mediumcommonly used for this purpose, with regard to yield and viability of blastospores. The two media contained the same concentration of glucose but differed in N source (M1 containing casamino acidsand M2 provided with collagen peptone and yeast extract). Starting with an inoculum of 1x106 blastospores/ml, M2 medium produced 2x1010 blastospores/ml after incubation for 72 h at 520 rev/minagitation and 1 v/v/m (volume air/volume liquid.min) aeration, while only 2.4 x 108/ml were produced with M1. In addition, the microorganisms in medium M1 grew more slowly during log phase and reached an earlier plateau at 36 h fermentation. The medium containing collagen peptone and yeast extract is an excellent alternative for the production of P. fumosoroseus blastospores, providing lower cost, higher yield and shorter propagation time, but formulation does need to be improved

Quantification of isoflavones in stems of faba bean (Vicia faba L.)

The isoflavone aglycones daidzein and genistein are phytoestrogens that ameliorate the symptoms of menopause and assist in the prevention of chronic diseases. These compounds have been studied mainly in soya but have also been detected in faba beans (Vicia faba L.). Since little information is available concerning the content of isoflavone aglycones in faba beans from Mexico, the present study aimed to establish the presence and concentrations of daidzein and genistein in stems of faba bean cultivars from the Mexican central plateau. Cultivars C-281, C-146, C-160, C-89, C-288, C-181, C-93 and C-Zac22 were grown under greenhouse conditions and 6 to 7 week-old stems were harvested. The presence of daidzein and genistein in these tissues was confirmed by thin layer chromatography using a solvent system containing toluene-ethyl acetate-acetone-formic acid (74:14.8:7.4:3.8). High-pressure liquid chromatographic analysis revealed significant differences (p≤0.01) in the concentrations of aglycones with levels of genistein in the range 0.30 to 0.85 mg kg-1 dry weight (DW) and of daidzein, which was more abundant in all cultivars, present in the concentration range 34.92 to 59.98 mg kg-1 DW. Stems of cultivars C-89, C-181, C-281 and C-146 were exceptional for their concentrations of isoflavones and may represent good alternative sources of phytoestrogens.The isoflavone aglycones daidzein and genistein are phytoestrogens that ameliorate the symptoms of menopause and assist in the prevention of chronic diseases. These compounds have been studied mainly in soya but have also been detected in faba beans (Vicia faba L.). Since little information is available concerning the content of isoflavone aglycones in faba beans from Mexico, the present study aimed to establish the presence and concentrations of daidzein and genistein in stems of faba bean cultivars from the Mexican central plateau. Cultivars C-281, C-146, C-160, C-89, C-288, C-181, C-93 and C-Zac22 were grown under greenhouse conditions and 6 to 7 week-old stems were harvested. The presence of daidzein and genistein in these tissues was confirmed by thin layer chromatography using a solvent system containing toluene-ethyl acetate-acetone-formic acid (74:14.8:7.4:3.8). High-pressure liquid chromatographic analysis revealed significant differences (p≤0.01) in the concentrations of aglycones with levels of genistein in the range 0.30 to 0.85 mg kg-1 dry weight (DW) and of daidzein, which was more abundant in all cultivars, present in the concentration range 34.92 to 59.98 mg kg-1 DW. Stems of cultivars C-89, C-181, C-281 and C-146 were exceptional for their concentrations of isoflavones and may represent good alternative sources of phytoestrogens

Comparison of Convolutional Neural Network Architectures for Classification of Tomato Plant Diseases

Tomato plants are highly affected by diverse diseases. A timely and accurate diagnosis plays an important role to prevent the quality of crops. Recently, deep learning (DL), specifically convolutional neural networks (CNNs), have achieved extraordinary results in many applications, including the classification of plant diseases. This work focused on fine-tuning based on the comparison of the state-of-the-art architectures: AlexNet, GoogleNet, Inception V3, Residual Network (ResNet) 18, and ResNet 50. An evaluation of the comparison was finally performed. The dataset used for the experiments is contained by nine different classes of tomato diseases and a healthy class from PlantVillage. The models were evaluated through a multiclass statistical analysis based on accuracy, precision, sensitivity, specificity, F-Score, area under the curve (AUC), and receiving operating characteristic (ROC) curve. The results present significant values obtained by the GoogleNet technique, with 99.72% of AUC and 99.12% of sensitivity. It is possible to conclude that this significantly success rate makes the GoogleNet model a useful tool for farmers in helping to identify and protect tomatoes from the diseases mentioned

Emerging antibiotic resistance: a modern-day horseman of the apocalypse

Background: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has emerged as a global public health crisis, posing a significant threat to the effectiveness of antimicrobial agents. Mexico, faces a daunting challenge in tackling the rising prevalence of AMR. The misuse and overuse of antimicrobial drugs, inadequate infection control practices, and a lack of awareness among healthcare providers and the general public have all contributed to the rapid spread of resistant pathogens in the country. We aimed to determine the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance in patients hospitalized from January 2018 to December 2019 Methods: In this study, we analyzed blood, urine, wound, expectoration, and secretion cultures from January 2018 to December 2019 to assess antimicrobial resistance in our unit. We collected patient data, evaluated isolates using EUCAST and CLSI breakpoint tables, and excluded intrinsically resistant antibiotics. A circus plot graph was created to compare resistance profiles between the two years. SPSS version 25 and R Studio software were used for statistical analysis and visualization. Results: AMR increased across diverse organisms (2018-2019), notable rises in A. xylosoxidans (cefuroxime, ciprofloxacin), A. baumannii (piperacillin/tazobactam, ceftazidime), E. coli (ampicillin/sulbactam), K. pneumoniae (ceftazidime), P. aeruginosa (cefuroxime) were observed. Enterococcus faecalis displayed lowest resistance to nitrofurantoin/tobramycin, but highest to fosfomycin. Escherichia coli showed significant resistance to aztreonam, ampicillin/sulbactam, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole. Pseudomonas aeruginosa exhibited concerning levels of resistance to ceftriaxone, ampicillin/sulbactam, ceftazidime. Conclusions: AMR in our unit raise concerns for empiric therapy and infection control. Emerging resistance in key pathogens demands enhanced surveillance, rapid response, and robust infection control strategies, including meticulous hygiene, disinfection, antimicrobial stewardship, and resistance monitoring. Continuous optimization is crucial to combat this escalating public health threat in Mexico

SENSORY MARKETING: DETERMINING FACTOR IN THE DECISION TO BUY IN MYPES FOOTWEAR MARKETERS

La investigación tuvo como propósito identificar de qué manera la estimulación de los sentidos del consumidor (vista, oído y olfato) influye en su decisión de compra y en el tiempo de permanencia dentro del punto de venta. El estudio es de corte transversal y exploratorio, se adopta el estudio de casos múltiples. Los resultados muestran que el sentido más importante que influye en la decisión de compra es la vista, seguido del olfato y el oído, éstos dos últimos influyen más en la decisión del consumidor con respecto al tiempo que permanecen dentro del comercio

Antagonism of two ascomycetes against Phytophthora capsici Leonian, causing wilt of pepper (Capsicum annuum L.)

"En esta investigación se evaluó la actividad antagónica y protección de plántulas in vitro del ascomiceto Xylaria poitei, y la actividad antagónica de éste en combinación con un ascomiceto desconocido (AD) contra P. capsici, causante de la marchitez del chile. Xylaria poitei protegió plántulas de chile y permitió la sobrevivencia de un 58.3% de las plántulas, mientras que el oomiceto causó 100% de mortandad; además este hongo inhibió el crecimiento micelial de P. capsici hasta un 49.6% en uno de los experimentos donde se establecieron confrontaciones duales. En confrontaciones triples ambos ascomicetos incrementan ligeramente su inhibición a los 12 días de establecida la confrontación contra P. capsici; y aún mantienen la inhibición del oomiceto cuatro días después. Ambos ascomicetos estimulan o inhiben su crecimiento en alguna fecha de evaluación durante la confrontación entre ellos. El medio líquido papa dextrosa expuesto al crecimiento de X. poitei (filtrado) tiene baja actividad contra el crecimiento micelial de P. capsici. Los resultados anteriores indican que la actividad antagónica de ambos ascomicetos contra P. capsici se incrementa cuando ambos crecen en forma combinada respecto a las confrontaciones duales, y sugieren que la actividad antagónica de X. poitei es estimulada por la presencia del oomicete.""In this study we evaluated the antagonistic activity and protection of seedlings in vitro of the ascomycete Xylaria poitei, and its antagonistic activity in combination with an unknown ascomycete (AD) against P. capsici, the cause of wilt in pepper. Xylariapoitei protected pepper seedlings and allowed 58.3% survival of seedlings, while the oomycete caused 100% mortality, besides this fungus inhibited the mycelial growth of P. capsici up to 49.6% in one of the experiments where they settled dual confrontations. In triple confrontations both ascomycetes increase slightly their inhibition at 12 days of confortation against P. capsici, and still maintain the inhibition of the oomycete four days later. It was observed that both ascomycetes stimulare or inhibit each other growth at some time during the evaluation of confortation. The potato dextrose liquid medium exposed to the growth of X. poitei (filtrate) has low activity against the mycelial growth of P. capsici. The above results indicate that the antagonistic activity of both ascomycetes againstbP. capsici increases when they grow in combination with respect to the dual confrontations, and suggest that the antagonistic activity of X. poitei is stimulated by the presence of the oomycete.

Persistence of Toxic Activity of Fermentation Extracts from Bacillus thuringiensis

This study was carried out to determine the persistence of toxicity of fermentation extracts of Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis after more than three decades of storage. For this purpose, a population of Aedes aegypti was established. The mortality rate of 20 spore-crystal extracts purified using the acetone-lactose coprecipitation method was measured and evaluated by bioassays according to a modified WHO protocol. The extracts with the highest mortality rate were determined in triplicate by their LD50 and LD98. All extracts showed toxicity at the highest tested dose (1000 ppm) and some, such as strains 3260 and 3501, still killed larvae at doses as low as 0.01 ppm. These data are surprising because no study on the activity of B. thuringiensis toxic proteins after such a long storage time has been reported