599 research outputs found

    Hemi-Synthesis and Anti-Oomycete Activity of Analogues of Isocordoin

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    Indexación: Web of Science; Scopus.An efficient synthesis of a series of 4-oxyalkyl-isocordoin analogues (2–8) is reported for the first time. Their structures were confirmed by1H-NMR,13C-NMR, and HRMS. Their anti-oomycete activity was evaluated by mycelium and spores inhibition assay against two selected pathogenic oomycetes strains: Saprolegnia parasitica and Saprolegnia australis. The entire series of isocordoin derivatives (except compound 7) showed high inhibitory activity against these oomycete strains. Among them, compound 2 exhibited strong activity, with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum oomyceticidal concentration (MOC) values of 50 µg/mL and 75 µg/mL, respectively. The results showed that 4-oxyalkylated analogues of isocordoin could be potential anti-oomycete agents.http://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/22/6/96

    Microbial food web dynamics in response to a Saharan dust event: results from a mesocosm study in the oligotrophic Mediterranean Sea

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    BiogeosciencesInternational audienceThe significant impact of dust deposition on het-erotrophic bacterial dynamics in the surface oligotrophic ocean has recently been evidenced. Considering the central role of bacteria in the microbial loop, it is likely that dust deposition also affects the structure and the functioning of the whole microbial food web. In the frame of the DUNE project, aiming to estimate the impact of dust deposition on the oligotrophic Mediterranean Sea through mesocosm ex-periments, the main goal of the present paper was to as-sess how two successive dust deposition events affect the dynamics of the microbial food web. The first dust seeding delivered new P and N to the amended mesocosms and re-sulted in a pronounced stimulation of bacterial respiration. It also induced pronounced, but transient, changes in the bac-terial community composition. No significant effects were observed on the abundances of viruses and heterotrophic nanoflagellates. The second dust seeding also delivered new P and N to the amended mesocosms, but the effect on the microbial food web was very different. Bacterial respira-tion remained constant and bacterial abundance decreased. Compositional changes following the second seeding were minor compared to the first one. The decrease in bacterial abundance coincided with an increase in virus abundance, resulting in higher virus : bacteria ratios throughout the sec-ond seeding period. Our study shows that dust deposition to the surface oligotrophic ocean may involve important mod-ifications of the trophic links among the components of the microbial food web with presumed consequences on C and nutrient cycling

    Development and performance of the small-animal R-SPECT prototype

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    [Poster] 4th European Molecular Imaging Meeting, Barcelona, Spain, May 27 - 30, 2009In vivo molecular imaging of small animals has become an essential technique in biomedical research since the introduction of dedicated PeT and SPeCT scanners. however, the capabilities of these typically very expensive machines often exceed the requirements to accomplish common protocols encountered in practice. accordingly, we have developed a simple and compact small-animal SPeCT system, addressed to be used either as an add-on for existing small-animal CT or PeT scanners, or as a stand-alone single photon imagerThis work is supported by Ministerio de Ciencia e innovación (TeC2008-06715-C02-01 and TeC2007-64731/TCM), Ministerio de industria (CdTeaM, Programa CeniT), and the reCaVa-reTiC network.Publicad

    rSPECT: a compact gamma camera based SPECT system for small-animal imaging

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    Proceeding of: 2009 IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium Conference Record (NSS/MIC), Orlando, Florida, 25-31 October 2009We have developed a compact and modular gamma camera system and assessed its performance when used on a small-animal SPECT prototype (rSPECT). Each camera consists of a Hamamatsu H-8500 position sensitive photomultiplier tube coupled to a 30 x 30 NaI (Tl) scintillator array (1.4mm x 1.4mm x 6mm crystal size) and electronics for pre-processing and matching the detector signals to an in-house developed data acquisition system. The camera components are enclosed in a lead-shielded case with a receptacle to insert the collimators (parallel-hole or pinhole with different tungsten apertures). System performance has been assessed for a low energy high resolution parallel-hole collimator (LEHR), and for a 0.75 mm pinhole collimator with 60º aperture angle. In this paper we present details on the system implementation and results of performance measurements, as well as first tomographic images on phantoms and animals. This SPECT was conceived for compactness and cost-effective routine small-animal imaging, and acquisitions of living mice and rats carried out with the system demonstrate its ability to provide useful high-resolution images for in vivo research.This work is partially funded by the CD TEAM project, CENIT Program, Spanish Ministerio de Industria and with grants from the Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia, Projects TEC2007 64731/TCM, TEC2008 06715 C02 01, SAF2009 08076 and the RECAVA RETIC Network

    Adenosine Deaminase Activity Is a Sensitive Marker for the Diagnosis of Tuberculous Pleuritis in Patients with Very Low CD4 Counts

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    Background: Adenosine Deaminase Activity (ADA) is a commonly used marker for the diagnosis of tuberculous pleural effusion. There has been concern about its usefulness in immunocompromised patients, especially HIV positive patients with very low CD4 counts. The objective of this study was to evaluate the sensitivity of ADA in pleural fluid in patients with low CD4 counts. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective case control study. Medical files of patients with tuberculous pleuritis and non-tuberculous pleuritis were reviewed. Clinical characteristics, CD4 cell counts in blood and biochemical markers in pleural fluid, including ADA were recorded. Results: One ninety seven tuberculous pleuritis and 40 non- tuberculous pleuritis patients were evaluated. Using the cut-off value of 30 U/L, the overall sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio, and negative likelihood ratio of ADA was 94%, 95%, 19, and 0.06 respectively. The mean CD4 cell counts among TB pleuritis patients was 29 and 153 cells/microL in patients with CD4 ,50 cells/microL and .50 cells/microL, (p,0.05) respectively. The corresponding mean ADA values for these patients were 76 U/L and 72 U/L respectively (p.0.5). There was no correlation between ADA values and CD4 cell counts (r =20.120, p = 0.369). Conclusion: ADA analysis is a sensitive marker of tuberculous pleuritis even in HIV patients with very low CD4 counts in a high TB endemic region. The ADA assay is inexpensive, rapid, and simple to perform and is of great value for the immediate diagnosis of tuberculous pleuritis while waiting for culture result and this has a positive impact on patient outcome

    Resistance to High-Fat Diet–Induced Obesity but Exacerbated Insulin Resistance in Mice Overexpressing Preadipocyte Factor-1 (Pref-1): A New Model of Partial Lipodystrophy

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    OBJECTIVE—White adipose tissue is a critical regulator of whole-body glucose metabolism. Preadipocyte factor-1 (Pref-1) is a secreted protein that inhibits adipocyte differentiation, both in vitro and in vivo. In this study, we have investigated the effects of Pref-1 overexpression on whole-body glucose homeostasis and its contribution to the development of insulin resistance
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