Agroecological analysis of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) crops in orchards in a Mediterranean environment

If adaptability is defined as the ability of a crop (or variety) to respond positively to changes in agricultural conditions, the purpose of this study was to explore the adaptability and relative influence of environmental factors on Cucumber Sativus L. to a specific Mediterranean environmental and agroecological site: Huete (Cuenca, Central Spain). Cucumber requires high temperatures and soil moisture for a satisfactory yield and maintaining an optimum level of humidity is very favorable, which is easy to achieve for farmers in Huete. Abundant sunshine is needed and this is another reason to cultivate during the summer period; it is estimated that there were between 2700 and 2800 hours of sunshine in the Huete area. The study described here revealed that the soils are poorly developed and evolved, with a simple Ap-C or Ap-Bw-C morphology. The soils are friable, slightly adherent and somewhat dry and hard. A significant feature is the presence of good drainage and appreciable effective depth. Like other crops, cucumber plants are preferably grown on loose, well-drained soils, such as the soils studied here. Huete cucumber seems able to tolerate certain levels of soil salinity when compared to other species. The cucumbers are irrigated with water with moderate electrical conductivity without an appreciable decrease in yield. Small doses of salinity may be one of the factors that leads to the characteristics associated with Huete cucumber, an aspect that would need to be investigated more deeply. Substrate nutrients and moisture management are two major concerns regarding Cucumber Sativus L. crops in Huete. Elemental chemical analysis revealed that strontium abounds and this is attributed to the presence of this element in the gypsums. The results of this study open a new horizon in the study of the aptitude of the land and represent a useful step towards the specific site and, consequently, the sustainable management of land under cucumber cultivation. Further research into a wider range of soils, fertilizer compositions and release rates is require

Engineering and Directed Evolution of a Ca2+ Binding Site A-Deficient AprE Mutant Reveal an Essential Contribution of the Loop Leu75–Leu82 to Enzyme Activity

An aprE mutant from B. subtilis 168 lacking the connecting loop Leu75–Leu82 which is predicted to encode a Ca2+ binding site was constructed. Expression of the mutant gene (aprEΔLeu75–Leu82) produced B. subtilis colonies lacking protease activity. Intrinsic fluorescence analysis revealed spectral differences between wild-type AprE and AprEΔL75–L82. An AprEΔL75–L82 variant with reestablished enzyme activity was selected by directed evolution. The novel mutations Thr66Met/Gly102Asp located in positions which are predicted to be important for catalytic activity were identified in this variant. Although these mutations restored hydrolysis, they had no effect with respect to thermal inactivation of AprEΔL75–L82 T66M G102D. These results support the proposal that in addition to function as a calcium binding site, the loop that connects β-sheet e3 with α-helix c plays a structural role on enzyme activity of AprE from B. subtilis 168

ATIPICIDADES EN UN CASO CON DISPLASIA ARRITMOGÉNICA DEL VENTRÍCULO DERECHO O ENFERMEDAD DE UHL / Report of an atypical case with arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia or Uhl´s anomaly

ResumenLa displasia arritmogénica del ventrículo derecho es una miocardiopatía caracterizada por arritmias ventriculares malignas y anomalías estructurales progresivas, que afectan primariamente al ventrículo derecho. Se presenta por una sustitución progresiva parcial o masiva del miocardio por tejido adiposo o fibroadiposo. La enfermedad de Uhl puede ser una manifestación extrema y generalizada de la displasia arritmogénica del ventrículo derecho, trastorno congénito muy poco frecuente con ausencia de miocardio ventricular derecho, por lo que sus paredes son delgadas como el papel. Se comenta el caso de un paciente masculino de 56 años que presentó pérdida de conocimiento y se le realizó el diagnóstico clínico y ecocardiográfico. Se discuten las características clínicas, el diagnóstico y la conducta a seguir ante esta cardiopatía potencialmente letal en pacientes que sufren síncope, taquicardia ventricular o parada cardíaca. / AbstractArrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia is a cardiomyopathy characterized by malignant ventricular arrhythmias and progressive structural abnormalities, affecting primarily the right ventricle. It appears due to a partial or massive progressive replacement of the myocardium by fibroadipose or adipose tissue. Uhl's disease may be an extreme and widespread manifestation of arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia, a rare congenital disorder with absence of right ventricular myocardium, so that its walls are paper thin. The case of a 56 year old male patient who had loss of consciousness and underwent clinical and echocardiographic diagnosis is presented. The clinical features, diagnosis and action to take against this potentially fatal heart disease in patients with syncope, ventricular tachycardia or cardiac arrest are discussed

Estudo piloto em cuidadores de pacientes com enfermidades neurológicas, sobre o significado e conhecimento de cuidados paliativos

Aim. To describe the meaning attributed to palliative care (PC) by caregivers, as well as their preference with respect to informing the patient and their satisfaction in their caring role. Methodology: Study descriptive transversal, sample intended of 40 caregivers of neurologic patients needing PC. A questionnaire about knowledge of the topic and their burnout status was applied. A descriptive-comparative analysis was carried out with 95% (pObjetivo. Describir el significado que atribuyen cuidadores a los cuidados paliativos (CPS), así como su preferencia respecto a informar al paciente y su satisfacción con el papel de cuidador. Metodología. Estudio descriptivo transversal, muestra intencional de 40 cuidadores de enfermos neurológicos con necesidad de CPS. Se aplicó un cuestionario de conocimientos sobre el tema y sobrecarga. Se realizó análisis descriptivo-comparativo con un intervalo de confianza de 95% (pObjetivo. Descrever o significado que atribuem cuidadores aos cuidados paliativos (CPS), assim como sua preferência com respeito a informar ao paciente e sua satisfação com o papel de cuidador. Metodologia. Estudo descritivo transversal, amostra intencional de 40 cuidadores de enfermos neurológicos com necessidade de CPS. Aplicou-se um questionário de conhecimentos sobre o tema e sobrecarga. Realizou-se análise descritivo-comparativa com um intervalo de confiança de 95% (

A clinically oriented computer model for radiofrequency ablation of hepatic tissue with internally cooled wet electrode

Purpose: To improve the computer modelling of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) by internally cooled wet (ICW) electrodes with added clinically oriented features. Methods: An improved RFA computer model by ICW electrode included: (1) a realistic spatial distribution of the infused saline, and (2) different domains to distinguish between healthy tissue, saline-infused tumour, and non-infused tumour, under the assumption that infused saline is retained within the tumour boundary. A realistic saline spatial distribution was obtained from an in vivo pig liver study. The computer results were analysed in terms of impedance evolution and coagulation zone (CZ) size, and were compared to the results of clinical trials conducted on 17 patients with the same ICW electrode. Results: The new features added to the model provided computer results that matched well with the clinical results. No roll-offs occurred during the 4-min ablation. CZ transversal diameter (4.10 ± 0.19 cm) was similar to the computed diameter (4.16 cm). Including the tumour and saline infusion in the model involved (1) a reduction of the initial impedance by 10 − 20 Ω, (2) a delay in roll-off of 20 s and 70 − 100 s, respectively, and (3) 18 − 31% and 22 − 36% larger CZ size, respectively. The saline spatial distribution geometry was also seen to affect roll-off delay and CZ size. Conclusions: Using a three-compartment model and a realistic saline spatial distribution notably improves the match with the outcome of the clinical trials

Effect of disinfectants used in clinical facilities on the induction of the SOS response and mutation frequency in Escherichia coli

Motivation: The development of antibiotic resistance is one of the mechanism used to study adaptive evolution. Antibiotics not only select for preexisting resistant strains in a population, but they can also promote the appearance of resistant strains (1, 2). Antibiotics at high concentrations can be lethal to bacteria, but it has been shown that sub-inhibitory concentrations of some antibiotics can stimulate horizontal transfer of DNA and mutation in different chromosomal loci (1, 3). These antibiotics can increase the mutation rate through several mechanisms, such as oxidative stress and the SOS response, which is triggered by DNA damage (2, 3). In this context, we wanted to determine if commonly-used disinfectants also promote mutation. Methods: The disinfectants used were ethanol, sodium hypochlorite, chlorhexidine, silver nitrate, benzalkonium chloride, triclosan and povidone-iodine complex. The E.coli strain used was IBDS1, which includes a tetracycline gene regulated by the cI (Ind-) repressor gene, that allows us to measure the mutation rate.To study the effect of these disinfectants, the strain IBDS1 was tested with a window of concentrations very close to the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) by evaluating the appearance of mutants resistant to rifampicin or tetracycline (3). To determine if this effect could be linked to the induction of the SOS system, we used a plasmid which expresses the "Green Fluorescence Protein" (GFP) under the control of the promoter of the recA gene to detect when the SOS system is activated by measuring fluorescence.Results: Three of the disinfectants tested increased mutation frequency. Concentrations of 0.013 μg/ml and 0.026 μg/ml of NaClO (1/4x CMI y 1/2x MIC) increased the mutation frequency approximatly 4 fold and 0.5 μg/ml of clorhexidine (1/4x MIC) and 0.125 μg/ml of triclosan (1/4x MIC) 3 fold, approximately. In relation to the SOS system, none of the concentrations tested induced the SOS response. Conclusions: These results show that certain concentrations of sodium hypochlorite, chlorhexidine and triclosan increase the mutation frequency and therefore may facilitate the appearance of resistant strains, although it appears that this mutagenic effect is not related to the induction of the SOS system. Therefore, it would be interesting to study whether this mutagenic effects is due to the reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced by disinfectants.

Effect of Eu 3+

This work presents the structural, morphological, and luminescent characterization of pure SrTiO3 and SrTiO3:Eu3+ powders doped with different europium atomic concentrations from 3.0 to 7.0 a.t.%. Those phosphors were prepared by pressure-assisted combustion synthesis using titanium oxide as precursor and were subjected to postannealing at 1200°C. XRD measurements indicated that undoped and Eu3+ doped samples presented a single cubic crystalline phase and SEM images demonstrated that we have particles with sizes in the range of 0.2 µm–1.0 µm. Moreover, the size of the grains increases as the content of Eu3+ dopant increases. A strong red emission from Eu3+ ions was obtained by photoluminescence under excitation at 396 nm and confirmed by cathodoluminescence. All those results indicate that our red phosphors could be useful for potential applications in solid state lighting and field emission displays

Hydrodynamical simulations of convection-related stellar micro-variability. II. The enigmatic granulation background of the COROT target HD49933

Local-box hydrodynamical model atmospheres provide statistical information about a star's emergent radiation field which allows one to predict the level of its granulation-related micro-variability. Space-based photometry is now sufficiently accurate to test model predictions. We aim to model the photometric granulation background of HD49933 as well as the Sun, and compare the predictions to the measurements obtained by the COROT and SOHO satellite missions. We construct hydrodynamical model atmospheres representing HD49933 and the Sun, and use a previously developed scaling technique to obtain the observable disk-integrated brightness fluctuations. We further performed exploratory magneto-hydrodynamical simulations to gauge the impact of small scale magnetic fields on the synthetic light-curves. We find that the granulation-related brightness fluctuations depend on metallicity. We obtain a satisfactory correspondence between prediction and observation for the Sun, validating our approach. For HD49933, we arrive at a significant over-estimation by a factor of two to three in total power. Locally generated magnetic fields are unlikely to be responsible, otherwise existing fields would need to be rather strong to sufficiently suppress the granulation signal. Presently suggested updates on the fundamental stellar parameters do not improve the correspondence; however, an ad-hoc increase of the HD49933 surface gravity by about 0.2dex would eliminate most of the discrepancy. We diagnose a puzzling discrepancy between the predicted and observed granulation background in HD49933, with only rather ad-hoc ideas for remedies at hand.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in A&

Musculoskeletal evaluation in severe haemophilia A patients from Latin America

There is a paucity of literature on haemophilia treatment in Latin American countries, a region characterized by rapidly improving systems of care, but with substantial disparities in treatment between countries. The aim of this study was to evaluate the musculoskeletal status of haemophilia patients from Latin America and to examine the relationship between musculoskeletal status and treatment practices across countries. The Committee of Latin America on the Therapeutics of Inhibitor Groups conducted a survey of its member country representatives on key aspects of haemophilia treatment in 10 countries. Musculoskeletal status of patients was obtained during routine comprehensive evaluations between March 2009 and March 2011. Eligible patients had severe haemophilia A (factor VIII <1%) without inhibitors (<0.6 BU mL−1) and were ≥5 years of age. Musculoskeletal status was compared between three groups of countries, based primarily on differences in the availability of long‐term prophylaxis. Overall, 143 patients (5–66 years of age) were enrolled from nine countries. In countries where long‐term prophylaxis had been available for at least 10 years (Group A), patients aged 5–10 years had significantly better mean World Federation of Hemophilia clinical scores, fewer target joints and fewer affected joints than patients from countries where long‐term prophylaxis has been available for about 5 years (Group B) or was not available (Group C). In Latin America, the musculoskeletal status of patients with severe haemophilia without inhibitors has improved significantly in association with the provision of long‐term prophylaxis. As more countries in Latin America institute this practice, further improvements are anticipated

Mecanismos de defensa del sistema respiratorio frente a enfermedades virales (con énfasis en el SARS-COV-2)

Introducción: Las funciones de protección o defensa del ser humano&nbsp;en contacto con su ambiente son de enorme importancia, ya que un&nbsp;adulto sano, se pone en contacto diario con 10,000 a 20,000 litros de aire. Este aire contiene agentes físicos, químicos o biológicos, que pueden ser modificados, eliminados o destruidos por los mecanismos de protección del sistema respiratorio. El objetivo de este metaanálisis y revisión sistemática es el análisis en especial de enero a diciembre de 2020, para ver que dice la literatura respecto a las alteraciones en los mecanismos de defensa del huésped frente al virus responsable de la pandemia SARS-CoV-2. Material y métodos: Se buscaron revisiones sistemáticas, metaanálisis y ensayos clínicos de las revistas: New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet, Science, Crit Care Med, Chest, Lung, Journal of Pediatrics, American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, JAMA, utilizando las bases de datos de Pubmed, MEDLINE, Research Square, www.mdconsult.com y www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus. Se buscó que los artículos estuvieran enfocados en los hallazgos de las alteraciones de los mecanismos de defensa del sistema respirtorio y no en epidemiología, cuadro clínico, manejo o vacunación vs&nbsp;coronavirus. El estudio se llevó a cabo de Agosto a Diciembre de 2020 y se realizó en forma virtual en el Departamento de Fisiología de la Facultad de Medicina de la UAEMex. Resultados y discusión: Para finales del primer semestre de 2020más de 89,000 artículos nuevos de COVID-19 y más de 59,000 de ellos junto con capítulos de libros tenían acceso gratuito a través de las plataformas de la UAEMex. Con Research Square se tuvo acceso a más de 13,000 artículos de preimpresión. La mayor parte de los artículos, incluso metaanálisis y revisiones sistemáticas, estuvieron enfocadas a comparar esquemas de tratamiento, datos epidemiológicos y análisis de diferentes subpoblaciones de linfocitos T específicos contra el SARS-CoV-2. Llamó la atención que pacientes afectados hace 17 años por el SARS aún tenían memoria en sus linfocitos T y mostraban inmunidad cruzada contra el SARS-CoV-2. También se evaluaron individuos sanos no infectados y se encontraron células específicas de SARS-CoV-2 en más del 50% de ellos. Esto podría explicar porque algunos sujetos pueden controlar mejor la infección. A pesar de más de 20 años de conocimientos del virus, los factores asociados a la transmisión del virus SARS-CoV-2 aún permanecen no del todo conocidos. Esta pandemia está demostrando que el virus es capaz de romper las defensas del ser humano, enseña y muestra que a pesar de los avances tecnológicos, aún se requiere de mucha más investigación sobre infecciones que pueden volverse epidémicas o pandémicas. En este caso en particular, el futuro es todavía incierto. Conclusiones: Existe una interacción entre los sistemas inmunitarios innato y adaptativo, y es el sistema innato el que activa las respuestas adaptativas y las regula. Los receptores del sistema inmunitario reconocen patrones moleculares asociados con agentes patógenos y patrones moleculares asociados con daño provenientes&nbsp;de células senescentes, dañadas o muertas. La pandemia&nbsp;actual ha demostrado que los sujetos sin co-morbilidades, con buenos hábitos de vida, son los que incluso cursan asintomáticos o con síntomas leves y la vacuna que ya comenzó a aplicarse,debe buscar no solo una buena producción de Ac, sino en hacer que la respuesta adaptativa funcione hacia la parte celular al haber despertado una buena respuesta innata que contribuya a una buena defensa celular antiviral