Fumar (no) mata: el lobbying de la industria tabacalera en la Unión Europea

[ES] En el marco de las instituciones comunitarias se llega a aprobar el 80% de las normativas que afectan a la vida cotidiana de todos los ciudadanos europeos. Su creciente poder ha hecho que aumente la presencia de lobbies, entre otras cosas porque Bruselas ofrece una oportunidad cuyas dimensiones son incuestionables: consigue conectar 28 países en un mismo punto. Importantes grupos de presión como la tabacalera Philip Morris, con gran poder económico y usando a su favor la falta de una regulación estricta en materia de transparencia en las instituciones europeas, no han tenido escrúpulos a la hora de posicionar las decisiones legislativas a su favor, obviando las graves consecuencias que genera en la salud pública europea

The Balance of Payments and International Investment Position of Spain in 2022

Rationale The balance of payments and international investment position (IIP) are important because of the information they provide on economic relations with the rest of the world, which affect the national economy. Their analysis is of even greater interest in the light of recent events, such as the war in Ukraine and its impact on energy prices. Takeaways •In 2022 the Spanish economy’s net lending fell, owing largely to the deterioration in the energy trade balance. The services balance performed favourably, particularly in the case of travel services, which returned to pre-pandemic levels. •The negative net IIP continued to correct in 2022, standing at 60.5% of GDP, the lowest level in 18 years, thanks to GDP growth, the positive amount of financial transactions with the rest of the world and positive valuation effects. •Spain’s outward foreign direct investment and inward foreign investment in Spain recovered their pre-pandemic levels, with a notably strong performance by the non-financial corporations sector

Development of a genetic tool for functional screening of anti-malarial bioactive extracts in metagenomic libraries

Ajuts: Departamento Administrativo de Ciencias, Tecnología e Innovación (Colciencias), República de Colombia; Convocatoria 489 - 2009, Código 657048925406, Contrato de financiación RC. 427 - 2009 Colciencias - CorpoGen; Programa de Asistencias Graduadas de Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia; i Programa Jóvenes Investigadores de ColcienciasBACKGROUND: The chemical treatment of Plasmodium falciparum for human infections is losing efficacy each year due to the rise of resistance. One possible strategy to find novel anti-malarial drugs is to access the largest reservoir of genomic biodiversity source on earth present in metagenomes of environmental microbial communities. METHODS: A bioluminescent P. falciparum parasite was used to quickly detect shifts in viability of microcultures grown in 96-well plates. A synthetic gene encoding the Dermaseptin 4 peptide was designed and cloned under tight transcriptional control in a large metagenomic insert context (30 kb) to serve as proof-of-principle for the screening platform. RESULTS: Decrease in parasite viability consistently correlated with bioluminescence emitted from parasite microcultures, after their exposure to bacterial extracts containing a plasmid or fosmid engineered to encode the Dermaseptin 4 anti-malarial peptide. Here, a new technical platform to access the anti-malarial potential in microbial environmental metagenomes has been develope

G and P genotypes of rotavirus circulating among children with diarrhea in the Colombian northern coast

A study on the prevalence of rotavirus G and P genotypes was carried out based on 253 stool specimens obtained from children living in the Colombia northern coast region who were less than 3-years-old and who suffered from acute diarrhea. A previous study had detected the presence of rotavirus A in 90 (36.5%) of the 246 samples tested by enzyme immunoassay (EIA), and these strains were investigated in the present study. Of these, 50 strains yielded an RNA electropherotype, most of which (80.0%) had long profiles and 20.0% of which had short profiles. Genotyping of 84 positive samples indicated that 67.9% of the strains could be typed. G1 (57.9%), was the most predominant VP7 genotype, followed by G3 (21.1%), G9 (15.8%) and G2 (5.3%). Among the VP4 genotypes, P[4] (49.1%) was the most prevalent, followed by P[6] 36.4% and P[8] (14.5%). Neither G4 nor G8 nor P[9] types were detected. The most common G-P combinations were G3 P[4] (8.8%) and G9 P[6] (7.0%), followed by G1 P[4] and G1 P[8] (5.3% each). All G1 P[8] strains showed long RNA profiles, whereas G3 P[4] and G9 P[6] displayed both long and short patterns. Mixed infections involved 21.0% of strains. There was a marked diversity among strains collected, and novel strains, including G9, as well as other atypical combinations of G and P genotypes, such as G9 P[6] and G3 P[4], were found. [Int Microbiol 2004; 7(2):113-120

Extracción de ADN de Trypanosoma cruzi mediante tratamiento con bromuro de hexadecil-trimetil-amonio

The present work describes a fast, simple and efficient method of isolating pure and easily handling of genomic DNAfrom Trypanosoma cruzi This protocol is based on parasite lysis with SDS and the removal of proteins by digestion with proteinase K, followed by polysaccharides and remaining proteins' selective precipitation with CTAB. Finally, the DNA is extracted with chloroform-isoamyl alcohol and is recovered from the aqueous supernatant by isopropanol precipitation.En el presente trabajo se describe un método rápido, sencillo y eficaz para la obtención de ADN genómico de Trypanosoma cruzi, libre de impurezas y fácil de manipular. Dicho procedimiento se basa en la lisis del parásito con SDS y remoción de proteínas mediante la digestión con proteinasa K, seguida de la precipitación selectiva de carbohidratos y proteínas residuales con bromuro de hexadecil-trimetil-amonio (CTAB). Finalmente, el ADN se extrae con cloroformo: alcohol isoamílico y se recupera de la fase acuosa mediante precipitación con isopropanol

Iron deprivation enhances transcriptional responses to in vitro growth arrest of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

The establishment of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) long-term infection in vivo depends on several factors, one of which is the availability of key nutrients such as iron (Fe). The relation between Fe deprivation inside and outside the granuloma, and the capacity of Mtb to accumulate lipids and persist in the absence of growth is not well understood. In this context, current knowledge of how Mtb modifies its lipid composition in response to growth arrest, depending on iron availability, is scarce. To shed light on these matters, in this work we compare genome-wide transcriptomic and lipidomic profiles of Mtb at exponential and stationary growth phases using cultures with glycerol as a carbon source, in the presence or absence of iron. As a result, we found that transcriptomic responses to growth arrest, considered as the transition from exponential to stationary phase, are iron dependent for as many as 714 genes (iron-growth interaction contrast, FDR <0.05), and that, in a majority of these genes, iron deprivation enhances the magnitude of the transcriptional responses to growth arrest in either direction. On the one hand, genes whose upregulation upon growth arrest is enhanced by iron deprivation were enriched in functional terms related to homeostasis of ion metals, and responses to several stressful cues considered cardinal features of the intracellular environment. On the other hand, genes showing negative responses to growth arrest that are stronger in iron-poor medium were enriched in energy production processes (TCA cycle, NADH dehydrogenation and cellular respiration), and key controllers of ribosomal activity shut-down, such as the T/A system mazE6/F6. Despite of these findings, a main component of the cell envelope, lipid phthiocerol dimycocerosate (PDIM), was not detected in the stationary phase regardless of iron availability, suggesting that lipid changes during Mtb adaptation to non-dividing phenotypes appear to be iron-independent. Taken together, our results indicate that environmental iron levels act as a key modulator of the intensity of the transcriptional adaptations that take place in the bacterium upon its transition between dividing and dormant-like phenotypes in vitro

La Balanza de Pagos y la Posición de Inversión Internacional de España en 2022

Motivación La Balanza de Pagos y la Posición de Inversión Internacional (PII) informan de las relaciones económicas con el resto del mundo y son relevantes por el impacto que estas tienen en la economía nacional. Acontecimientos recientes, como la guerra de Ucrania y su impacto en los precios de la energía, hacen que su análisis resulte todavía de mayor interés. Ideas principales •En 2022, la capacidad de financiación de la economía española disminuyó, debido en gran medida al deterioro de la balanza comercial energética. El saldo de los servicios evolucionó favorablemente, en especial el del turismo, que recuperó niveles previos a la pandemia. •La PII deudora neta continuó corrigiéndose en 2022, hasta situarse en el 60,5 % del PIB, el nivel más bajo en 18 años, gracias al avance del PIB, al importe positivo de las transacciones financieras con el exterior y a los efectos valoración también positivos. •La inversión directa de España en el exterior y la del exterior en España recuperaron los niveles previos a la pandemia; destaca el elevado dinamismo del sector de las sociedades no financieras

Detection and Quantification of HspX Antigen in Sputum Samples Using Plasmonic Biosensing : Toward a Real Point-of-Care (POC) for Tuberculosis Diagnosis

Advancements that occurred during the last years in the diagnosis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the causative agent of tuberculosis infection, have prompted increased survival rates of patients. However, limitations related to the inefficiency of an early detection still remain; some techniques and laboratory methods do not have enough specificity and most instruments are expensive and require handling by trained staff. In order to contribute to a prompt and effective diagnosis of tuberculosis, we report the development of a portable, user-friendly, and low-cost biosensor device for its early detection. By using a label-free surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensor, we have established a direct immunoassay for the direct detection and quantification of the heat shock protein X (HspX) of Mtb, a well-established biomarker of this pathogen, directly in pretreated sputum samples. The method relies on highly specific monoclonal antibodies that are previously immobilized on the plasmonic sensor surface. This technology allows for the direct detection of the biomarker without amplification steps, showing a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.63 ng mL-1 and a limit of quantification (LOQ) of 2.12 ng mL-1. The direct analysis in pretreated sputum shows significant differences in the HspX concentration in patients with tuberculosis (with concentration levels in the order of 116-175 ng mL-1) compared with non-tuberculosis infected patients (values below the LOQ of the assay)