Set of Classical PCRs for Detection of Mutations in Candida glabrata FKS Genes Linked with Echinocandin Resistance

Clinical echinocandin resistance among Candida glabrata strains is increasing, especially in the United States. Antifungal susceptibility testing is considered mandatory to guide therapeutic decisions. However, these methodologies are not routinely performed in the hospital setting due to their complexity and the time needed to obtain reliable results. Echinocandin failure in C. glabrata is linked exclusively to Fks1p and Fks2p amino acid substitutions, and detection of such substitutions would serve as a surrogate marker to identify resistant isolates. In this work, we report an inexpensive, simple, and quick classical PCR set able to objectively detect the most common mechanisms of echinocandin resistance in C. glabrata within 4 h. The usefulness of this assay was assessed using a blind collection of 50 C. glabrata strains, including 16 FKS1 and/or FKS2 mutants.Fil: Dudiuk, Catiana Beatriz. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe; ArgentinaFil: Gamarra, Maria Soledad. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe; ArgentinaFil: Leonardelli, Florencia. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe; ArgentinaFil: Jimenez Ortigoza, Cristina. State University of New Jersey; Estados UnidosFil: Vitale, Roxana Gabriela. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital General de Agudos ; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Afeltra, Javier. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica; ArgentinaFil: Perlin, David S.. State University of New Jersey; Estados UnidosFil: Garcia, Guillermo Manuel. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe; Argentin

Indigenous case of mycetoma by Actinomadura madurae in Paraná (Entre Ríos, Argentina): case report and literature review of the argentinian casuistry

El micetoma es una infección granulomatosa crónica que involucra tejidos cutáneos, subcutáneos y eventualmente músculo y hueso. Puede ser causada por bacterias Gram positivas filamentosas (actinomicetomas) o por hongos (eumicetomas). Es una infección endémica de zonas subtropicales con baja humedad relativa. El objetivo de este trabajo es el de presentar un caso de actinomicetoma causado por Actinomadura madurae autóctono de la ciudad de Paraná (Entre Ríos) con el fin de demostrar que pueden darse casos esporádicos por fuera de las zonas endémicas descritas. Además, se realizó una revisión bibliográfica de los casos de micetoma descritos en Argentina y se los comparó con el caso reportado.Mycetoma is a chronic granulomatous infection involving skin, subcutaneous tissue and eventualy muscle and bone. It can be caused by Gram positive filamentous bacteria (actinomycetomas) or fungi (eumicetomas). It is an endemic infection in subtropical areas with low relative humidity. The aim of this work is to present a case of actinomycetoma caused by Actinomadura madurae in a patient from Paraná city (Entre Rios) to demonstrate that sporadic mycetoma cases may occur outside the described endemic areas. In addition, a literature review of Argentinian mycetoma cases was performed.Fil: Dudiuk, Catiana Beatriz. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas; ArgentinaFil: Theill, L.. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas; ArgentinaFil: Moyano, Susana. Laboratorio Privado Avenida. Paraná, Entre Ríos; ArgentinaFil: Barbagelata, María Sol. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas; ArgentinaFil: Leonardelli, Florencia. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Unidad de Administración Territorial; ArgentinaFil: Macedo, Daiana. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas; ArgentinaFil: Latorre Rapella, María Gabriela. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas; ArgentinaFil: Acosta, A.. Laboratorio Privado Avenida. Paraná, Entre Ríos; ArgentinaFil: Gamarra, S.. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas; ArgentinaFil: Garcia, Guillermo Manuel. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe; Argentin

Expressions of Human Sexuality in the Phallic and Latency Phases: Reports from a Field Observation in Children of Porto Velho, Brazil

The present study was conducted according to the Freudian subdivisions on human psychosexuality. The study on sexuality can be subdivided and directed to several themes, walking through several areas of knowledge, where each theoretical field contributes significantly to such study. This work was part of the studies of the discipline Human Sexuality of the Course of Psychology of the Federal University of Rondônia in the second semester of 2017 and reports an observation made with four children, having as subjects children in the age group of 3 to 8 years, whose names used in this Freud's contributions to human sexuality, with emphasis on the phallic phase and latency period, are fictitious and based on theory. To assist in the field observations on the phases, a plan of observations was made with a script of aspects to be observed considering the literature that already indicates some characteristics attributed to this stage of human life. As a result, it was observed that there are clear correspondences between the literature and the practice, however, there is a need to broaden the means and resources of observation to deepen the research, producing, in turn, a better analytical apparatus

Caracterização terpênica de vinhos da variedade Lorena.

A produção de vinhos é uma das atividades mais tradicionais na Região Sul do país e está diretamente relacionada com a qualidade da uva utilizada. Identificar os componentes e precursores aromáticos é importante para o desenvolvimento de produtos a partir de novas variedades. Para se obter um bom vinho, deve-se conhecer quais são os aromas mais pronunciados e seu desenvolvimento durante a fermentação. Destaca-se a importância do estudo dos compostos terpênicos em variedades de aroma primário pronunciado, que influenciam no perfil aromático dos vinhos. Este trabalho teve como objetivo identificar e quantificar os principais compostos aromáticos (terpenos) e verificar sua influência na constituição aromática dos vinhos da variedade Lorena elaborados com diferentes tempos de maceração. A análise dos terpenos foi realizada por cromatografia gasosa com espectrometria de massa. Nos vinhos sem maceração são encontrados somente linalol e limoneno e com três dias de maceração observa-se uma quantidade elevada de alfa-terpineol. Todos os teores de terpenos encontrados são superiores aos níveis de percepção olfativa em mostos e os vinhos que se destacam pela melhor nota são os vinhos elaborados sem maceração

Adjustment of photosynthetic activity to drought and fluctuating light in wheat

Drought is a major cause of losses in crop yield. Under field conditions, plants exposed to drought are usually also experiencing rapid changes in light intensity. Accordingly, plants need to acclimate to both, drought and light stress. Two crucial mechanisms in plant acclimation to changes in light conditions comprise thylakoid protein phosphorylation and dissipation of light energy as heat by non-photochemical quenching (NPQ). Here, we analyzed the acclimation efficacy of two different wheat varieties, by applying fluctuating light for analysis of plants, which had been subjected to a slowly developing drought stress as it usually occurs in the field. This novel approach allowed us to distinguish four drought phases, which are critical for grain yield, and to discover acclimatory responses which are independent of photodamage. In short-term, under fluctuating light, the slowdown of NPQ relaxation adjusts the photosynthetic activity to the reduced metabolic capacity. In long-term, the photosynthetic machinery acquires a drought-specific configuration by changing the PSII-LHCII phosphorylation pattern together with protein stoichiometry. Therefore, the fine-tuning of NPQ relaxation and PSII-LHCII phosphorylation pattern represent promising traits for future crop breeding strategies

Reply to Komatsu et al.: From local social mindfulness to global sustainability efforts?

Komatsu et al. (1) argue that Van Doesum et al. (2) may have overlooked the role of GDP in reporting a positive association between social mindfulness (SoMi) and the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) at country level. Although the relationship between EPI and SoMi is relatively weaker for countries with higher GDP, that does not imply that the overall observed relationship is a statistical artifact. Rather, it implies that GDP may be a moderator of the relationship between EPI and SoMi. The observed correlation is a valid result on average across countries, and the actual effect size would, at least to some degree, depend on GDP

Reply to Nielsen et al.: Social mindfulness is associated with countries' environmental performance and individual environmental concern.

Nielsen et al. (1) argue that Van Doesum et al. (2) need to consider three points for their interpretation of a positive association between individual-level social mindfulness (SoMi) and environmental performance (EPI) at the country level (3). The association is weaker when 1) it is controlled for GDP and 2) when the data of three countries are removed; also, 3) the data do not address the association between SoMi and individual-level environmental concern. We discuss these points in turn

Social mindfulness and prosociality vary across the globe

Humans are social animals, but not everyone will be mindful of others to the same extent. Individual differences have been found, but would social mindfulness also be shaped by one’s location in the world? Expecting cross-national differences to exist, we examined if and how social mindfulness differs across countries. At little to no material cost, social mindfulness typically entails small acts of attention or kindness. Even though fairly common, such low-cost cooperation has received little empirical attention. Measuring social mindfulness across 31 samples from industrialized countries and regions (n = 8,354), we found considerable variation. Among selected country-level variables, greater social mindfulness was most strongly associated with countries’ better general performance on environmental protection. Together, our findings contribute to the literature on prosociality by targeting the kind of everyday cooperation that is more focused on communicating benevolence than on providing material benefits

From local social mindfulness to global sustainability efforts?

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio