Antibiotic resistance in the opportunistic pathogen Stenotrophomonas maltophilia

Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is an environmental bacterium found in the soil, associated with plants and animals, and in aquatic environments. It is also an opportunistic pathogen now causing an increasing number of nosocomial infections. The treatment of S. maltophilia is quite difficult given its intrinsic resistance to a number of antibiotics, and because it is able to acquire new resistances via horizontal gene transfer and mutations. Certainly, strains resistant to quinolones, cotrimoxale and/or cephalosporins—antibiotics commonly used to treat S. maltophilia infections—have emerged. The increasing number of available S. maltophilia genomes has allowed the identification and annotation of a large number of antimicrobial resistance genes. Most encode inactivating enzymes and efflux pumps, but information on their role in intrinsic and acquired resistance is limited. Non-typical antibiotic resistance mechanisms that also form part of the intrinsic resistome have been identified via mutant library screening. These include non-typical antibiotic resistance genes, such as bacterial metabolism genes, and non-inheritable resistant phenotypes, such as biofilm formation and persistence. Their relationships with resistance are complex and require further study.Peer reviewedPeer Reviewe

Multi-Sensor System For Level Measurements With Optical Fibres

A system for measuring liquid level in multiple tanks using optical fibre technology has been developed. The oil field service industry can benefit from this intrinsically safe technology. Plastic optical fibre (POF) sensor heads are excited by a 650 nm laser. Laser diodes are housed in ST connectors to obtain compact and rough prototypes and these connectors are also used in the fibre pigtails. Optical multiplexing is used to increase the measuring safety area. POF splitters and connectors are used to combine all the receiving sensor head fibres in a single one. Frequency division multiplexing is used to address each sensor head. The global system is controlled through a user friendly software application running in a PC connected to the system via an RS-232 port. A scalable prototype with a range greater than 2 meter, good linearity, better than 1.5% FS (full scale), high accuracy and resolution is developed using a unique lens to collimate and focus the light. Measurements are taken to validate the designs. Up to 8 sensor heads can be connected in the present implementation. But a greater number of sensors can be allocated with minor modifications in the electronics.Universidad Carlos III de MadridPublicad

Quinolone Resistance: Much More than Predicted

Since quinolones are synthetic antibiotics, it was predicted that mutations in target genes would be the only mechanism through which resistance could be acquired, because there will not be quinolone-resistance genes in nature. Contrary to this prediction, a variety of elements ranging from efflux pumps, target-protecting proteins, and even quinolone-modifying enzymes have been shown to contribute to quinolone resistance. The finding of some of these elements in plasmids indicates that quinolone resistance can be transferable. As a result, there has been a developing interest on the reservoirs for quinolone-resistance genes and on the potential risks associated with the use of these antibiotics in non-clinical environments. As a matter of fact, plasmid-encoded, quinolone-resistance qnr genes originated in the chromosome of aquatic bacteria. Thus the use of quinolones in fish-farming might constitute a risk for the emergence of resistance. Failure to predict the development of quinolone resistance reinforces the need of taking into consideration the wide plasticity of biological systems for future predictions. This plasticity allows pathogens to deal with toxic compounds, including those with a synthetic origin as quinolones

Characterization of eight species of Aloe (Asphodelaceae) from the nucleolar organizing region

Nucleolar organizing region of eight species of Aloe was analyzed in somatic metaphases and interphase nuclei. All species showed a uniform 2n=14, with eight large chromosomes and six small chromosomes. Satellites were observed on the long arm of one or two pairs of large chromosomes and/or on the short arm of one of the small pairs. The silver-stained nucleolus organizing regions were located on the subtelomeric region of the long arm of one or two pairs of large chromosomes, except for Aloe dichotoma and Aloe maculata, which the AgNORs were located at a short arm of one of their small chromosomes. In most studied species, the active AgNOR number was four. However, this number changing from one to eight. For all species, the interphase number of nucleoli can be one or two, while, in Aloe excelsa, this number can be changing from one to eight. Polymorphism of active AgNORs and the number of interphase nucleoli were revealed, except for Aloe petricola, which active AgNORs were located only in the subtelomeric regions at the long arm of one of the L2 chromosomes, as well as in the L4 pair, which is agreement with the maximum number (three) of interphase nucleoli.Fil: Sánchez, Ysbelia. Universidad Nacional Experimental del Tachira; Venezuela. Universidad Pedagogica Experimental Libertador, Institute Pedagogico de Caracas; VenezuelaFil: Raymúndez, María B.. Universidad Central de Venezuela; VenezuelaFil: Imery, José. Universidad de Oriente - Venezuela; VenezuelaFil: Acosta, María Cristina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Moscone, Eduardo Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentin

Polymorphisms in receptors involved in opsonic and nonopsonic phagocytosis, and correlation with risk of infection in oncohematology patients

Producción CientíficaHigh-risk hematological malignancies are a privileged setting for infection by opportunistic microbes, with invasive mycosis being one of the most serious complications. Recently, genetic background has emerged as an unanticipated risk factor. For this reason, polymorphisms for genes encoding archetypal receptors involved in the opsonic and nonopsonic clearance of microbes, pentraxin-3 (PTX3) and Dectin-1, respectively, were studied and correlated with the risk of infection. Fungal, bacterial, and viral infections were registered for a group of 198 patients with highrisk hematological malignancies. Polymorphisms for the pentraxin-3 gene (PTX3) showed a significant association with the risk of fungal infection by Candida spp. and, especially, by Aspergillus spp. This link remained even for patients undergoing antifungal prophylaxis, thus demonstrating the clinical relevance of PTX3 in the defense against fungi. CLEC7A polymorphisms did not show any definite correlation with the risk of invasive mycosis, nor did they influence the expression of Dectin-1 isoforms generated by alternative splicing. The PTX3 mRNA expression level was significantly lower in samples from healthy volunteers who showed these polymorphisms, although no differences were observed in the extents of induction elicited by bacterial lipopolysaccharide and heat-killed Candida albicans, thus suggesting that the expression of PTX3 at the start of infection may influence the clinical outcome. PTX3 mRNA expression can be a good biomarker to establish proper antifungal prophylaxis in immunodepressed patients

Patrones de actividad física en una muestra española

Este trabajo pretende describir la frecuencia y las actividades físicas y deportivas que realiza una muestra de hombres y mujeres de la provincia de Granada (lo que denominamos perfil de actividad física). Nos interesaba además, ver la frecuencia de práctica de actividades físicas y deportivas que cada uno de los sujetos de la muestra ha realizado a lo largo de su vida (niveles de actividad física). Para ello seleccionamos una muestra de 625 sujetos de ambos sexos, de diferentes niveles culturales y de práctica de actividades físicas y deportivas. Los resultados indican diferencias entre grupos en la práctica de actividades físicas y que los sujetos que en la actualidad realizan más actividad física son también los que más actividad física han realizado a lo largo de su vidaThis work attempted to describe the frequency and type of physical and sports activities in a sample of men and women in the province of Granada (which we call profile of physical activity). We were also interested in seeing the frequency of physical and sports activities for each of the subjects in our sample throughout the course of their lives (levels of physical activity). The sample consisted of 625 men and women of varying socio-cultural levels and different levels of physical and sports activities. The results show between group differences in the practice of physical activities and that those subjects who currently engage in higher levels of physical activity are those who engage in higher levels through the course of their live

A proteomics study of chilling injury in tomato fruit, a low-temperature stress-induced physiological disorder affecting fruit quality

Trabajo presentado a la conferencia "Molecular Basis of Plant Stress" celebrado en Bulgaria del 21 al 23 de septiembre de 2011.-- FP7 REGPOT Project "BioSupport".Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is the second most cultivated horticultural crop in the world in terms of harvested area and production, after the potato (FAOSTAT 2011, data from 2009). A main problem regarding its postharvest life is its sensitivity to low temperature stress during refrigerated storage, which constitutes a main obstacle for its long-term commercialization. This sensitivity is reflected in the physiopathy of chilling injury (CI), which negatively affects the final fruit quality. The main symptoms of CI-affected fruits are skin depressions, tissue decomposition and impaired ripening, which results in deficient flavour and aroma. Physiological and biochemical events involved in CI progress have been extensively described, but the precise molecular mechanisms that ultimately regulate the plant response to cold stress remain unclear. In order to investigate this response at molecular level in tomato fruit a proteomics strategy has undertaken. The proteome analysis provides a direct insight on the changes undergone by proteins, which are the major functional determinants of the cell machinery, in a certain biological situation such as low temperature stress. The protein expression profile of chilled tomato fruits has been compared with fruits stored at nonchilling temperature (control). The protein analysis has been performed by two-dimensional differential-in-gel-electrophoresis (2D-DIGE), and mass spectrometry of protein spots was applied to identify proteins differentially expressed. Comparative analysis revealed significant changes in abundance of 31 identified proteins between the proteomes of chilled and control fruits. Major modifications in the expression profile are related to those proteins specifically involved in stress (chaperonins and heat-shock proteins); cell wall biochemistry (hydrolytic enzymes), and carbohydrate metabolism (enzymes involved in glycolisis, tricarboxylic acids cycle, photosynthesis and sucrose biosynthesis).This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MICINN) through grant and PIE2009-40I080, and by the Council of Science and Technology from the Spanish Region of Murcia (Fundación SENECA) through grant no. 04553/GERM/06.Peer Reviewe

Revalorization of Broccoli By-Products for Cosmetic Uses Using Supercritical Fluid Extraction

The agri-food industry is currently one of themain engines of economic developmentworldwide. The region ofMurcia is a reference area in Europe for the cultivation of fruits and vegetables and produces the bulk of Spanish exports of broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica). The processing of fresh produce generates a huge number of by-products that represent an important economic and environmental problem when discarded. In this work, an advanced extraction technique using environmentally friendly solvents was applied to assess the revalorization of broccoli by-products, by performing a comparative analysis with conventional extraction. To achieve this goal, supercritical fluid extraction based on response surface methodology was performed using CO2 and ethanol as solvents. The results obtained showed that the supercritical fluid extracts were rich in -carotene, phenolic compounds, chlorophylls and phytosterols. Moreover, in bioactivity assays, the supercritical fluid extracts exhibited a high antioxidant activity and a cytoprotective effect in a non-tumorigenic keratinocyte cell line exposed to ultraviolet B light. The results indicate that supercritical fluid extracts from broccoli by-products could potentially serve as an ingredient for cosmetic purposes

Towards a clinical staging for bipolar disorder: defining patient subtypes based on functional outcome.

BACKGROUND: The functional outcome of Bipolar Disorder (BD) is highly variable. This variability has been attributed to multiple demographic, clinical and cognitive factors. The critical next step is to identify combinations of predictors that can be used to specify prognostic subtypes, thus providing a basis for a staging classification in BD. METHODS: Latent Class Analysis was applied to multiple predictors of functional outcome in a sample of 106 remitted adults with BD. RESULTS: We identified two subtypes of patients presenting "good" (n=50; 47.6%) and "poor" (n=56; 52.4%) outcome. Episode density, level of residual depressive symptoms, estimated verbal intelligence and inhibitory control emerged as the most significant predictors of subtype membership at the p<0.05 level. Their odds ratio (OR) and confidence interval (CI) with reference to the "good" outcome group were: episode density (OR=4.622, CI 1.592-13.418), level of residual depressive symptoms (OR=1.543, CI 1.210-1.969), estimated verbal intelligence (OR=0.969; CI 0.945-0.995), and inhibitory control (OR=0.771, CI 0.656-0.907). Age, age of onset and duration of illness were comparable between prognostic groups. LIMITATIONS: The longitudinal stability or evolution of the subtypes was not tested. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings provide the first empirically derived staging classification of BD based on two underlying dimensions, one for illness severity and another for cognitive function. This approach can be further developed by expanding the dimensions included and testing the reproducibility and prospective prognostic value of the emerging classes. Developing a disease staging system for BD will allow individualised treatment planning for patients and selection of more homogeneous patient groups for research purposes