Crio-Tomografía de rayos X (Cryo-XT) de fábricas virales en células infectadas con virus vaccinia

VV (vaccinia virus) is one of the most complex viruses, with a size greater than 300 nm and more than 100 structural proteins. Its assembly involves sequential interactions and important rearrangements of its structural components. The BSC40 cells were infected and then selected by light fluorescence microscopy and subsequently imaged under the X-ray microscope under cryogenic conditions. Tomographic tilt series of X-ray images were used to produce three-dimensional reconstructions showing different cellular organelles (nuclei, mitochondria, RE), together with two other types of viral particles related to different stages of immature vaccinia (IV) maturation and (MV) mature particles; tests with witaferin showed links with actin, which prevents polymerization and elongation of the filaments; causing poorly packaged or aberrant virions, which inhibits the progression of the viral infection. The findings demonstrate that X-ray cryo-tomography is a powerful tool to collect three-dimensional structural information from frozen whole cells, unfixed and without spots with sufficient resolution to detect different virus particles that exhibit different levels of maturation.El VV (virus vaccinia) es uno de los virus más complejos, con un tamaño superior a 300 nm y más de 100 proteínas estructurales. Su montaje implica interacciones secuenciales y reordenamientos importantes de sus componentes estructurales. Se infectaron las células BSC40 y luego se seleccionaron mediante microscopía de fluorescencia de luz y posteriormente se formaron imágenes en el microscopio de rayos X en condiciones criogénicas. Se utilizaron series de inclinación tomográfica de imágenes de rayos X para producir reconstrucciones tridimensionales que muestran diferentes organelos celulares (núcleos, mitocondrias, RE), junto con otros dos tipos de partículas virales relacionadas con diferentes etapas de maduración del virus vaccinia (IV) inmaduros y (MV) partículas maduras; los ensayos con witaferina mostraron enlaces con actina, que impide la polimerización y el alargamiento de los filamentos; causando viriones mal empaquetados o aberrantes, que inhibe la progresión de la infección viral. Los hallazgos demuestran que la cryo-tomografía de rayos X, es una poderosa herramienta para recolectar información estructural tridimensional a partir de células enteras congeladas, no fijadas y sin manchas con resolución suficiente para detectar diferentes partículas de virus que exhiben distintos niveles de maduración

Efectividad de hongos nematófagos sobre Meloidogyne incognita (Kofoid y White) Chitwood en tomate en condiciones de campo, Loja, Ecuador

El objetivo del presente trabajo fue determinar el efecto de varios aislamientos autóctonos de los hongos Pochonia chlamydosporia (Goddard) Zare y Gams (Hypocreales: Clavicipitaceae) y  Purpureocillium lilacinum Luansa-ard et al. (Hypocreales:  Ophiocordycipitaceae) en el control de Meloidogyne incognita (Kofoid y White) Chitwood, en tomate, en condiciones de campo. Se utilizaron seis aislamientos fúngicos y un control sin aplicación, distribuidos según un diseño de bloques al azar con cuatro réplicas. Las aplicaciones de los hongos lograron reducir el índice de agallamiento por M. incognita, así como las poblaciones de juveniles infestivos (J2) en el suelo y en las raíces del cultivo, a la vez que se observó un estímulo en las variables agronómicas número de frutos, masa de los frutos y rendimiento agrícola. Estos resultados constituyen una contribución a la solución del problema de los nematodos formadores de agalla, en el cultivo del tomate en  las condiciones de Loja, Ecuador, con recursos locales, no agresivos al medio ambiente.Palabras clave: hongos nematófagos, Meloidogyne incognita, Pochonia chlamydosporia, Purpureocillium lilacinum, tomate.EFFECTIVENESS OF NEMATOPHAGOUS FUNGI ON MELOIDOGYNE INCOGNITA (KOFOID AND WHITE) CHITWOOD ON TOMATO IN FIELD CONDITIONS IN LOJA, ECUADORABSTRACT: This work was aimed to evaluate the effect of isolates of the fungi Pochonia chlamydosporia (Goddard) Zare and Gams (Hypocreales: Clavicipitaceae) and Purpureocillium lilacinum Luansa-ard et al. (Hypocreales: Ophiocordycipitaceae) in the Meloidogyne incognita (Kofoid and White) Chitwood control in tomato in field conditions. The assay comprised six fungic isolates and a control without fungi, in a ramdomized block design. In treated plants the gall index and the nematode population in roots and in the soil were reduced in comparison with the untreated plots. The number of fruits, the weight of fruits and yields were enhanced in the plots treated with the fungi. These results are a contribution to the solution of the root-knot nematode problem in the conditions of Loja, Ecuador, with local resources and no harmful to the environment.Key words: nematophagous fungi, Meloidogyne incognita, Pochonia chlamydosporia, Purpureocillium lilacinum,tomato

Effect of extracts from three plant species on nematode Meloidogyne incognita (Kofoid and White) Chitwood

Nematodes of Meloidogyne genus are a serious problem for tomato production in the province of Loja, Ecuador. Because of the negative side effects of chemical nematicides, to solve this problem it is necessary look for alternatives. This work aimed to study the effect of ethanolic extracts from Lonchocarpus nicou (Aubl.),Piscidia carthagenensis Jacq. and Thevetia peruviana (Pers.) K. Schum., in Meloidogyne incognita control, “invitro ” and glasshouse conditions, on tomato plants. The extracts induced a significant mortality, “ in vitro”, on juveniles. This effect was related with the source and concentrations of the extracts. In tomato growing in glasshouse, it was observed an appreciable reduction in the root gall index and in the nematode populations in soil, related with the plant species and the concentration used, too

International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortiu (INICC) report, data summary of 43 countries for 2007-2012. Device-associated module

We report the results of an International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium (INICC) surveillance study from January 2007-December 2012 in 503 intensive care units (ICUs) in Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Europe. During the 6-year study using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) U.S. National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) definitions for device-associated health care–associated infection (DA-HAI), we collected prospective data from 605,310 patients hospitalized in the INICC's ICUs for an aggregate of 3,338,396 days. Although device utilization in the INICC's ICUs was similar to that reported from ICUs in the U.S. in the CDC's NHSN, rates of device-associated nosocomial infection were higher in the ICUs of the INICC hospitals: the pooled rate of central line–associated bloodstream infection in the INICC's ICUs, 4.9 per 1,000 central line days, is nearly 5-fold higher than the 0.9 per 1,000 central line days reported from comparable U.S. ICUs. The overall rate of ventilator-associated pneumonia was also higher (16.8 vs 1.1 per 1,000 ventilator days) as was the rate of catheter-associated urinary tract infection (5.5 vs 1.3 per 1,000 catheter days). Frequencies of resistance of Pseudomonas isolates to amikacin (42.8% vs 10%) and imipenem (42.4% vs 26.1%) and Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates to ceftazidime (71.2% vs 28.8%) and imipenem (19.6% vs 12.8%) were also higher in the INICC's ICUs compared with the ICUs of the CDC's NHSN