195 research outputs found

    First Colombian Multicentric Newborn Screening for Congenital Toxoplasmosis

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    Congenital toxoplasmosis can result in permanent sequel as blindness or neurological damage in children and it seems to be more severe in South America than in other continents. There is a lack of information about this frequency in Colombia, where no control program is established, although it is a recognized cause of potentially preventable congenital blindness. We propose the first Colombian multicentric study to determine the frequency and impact of congenital toxoplasmosis. More than 15,000 newborns in seven cities were studied. Newborns were tested at birth by doing a cord blood test for toxoplasmosis. Additionally, children from mothers with history of toxoplasmosis acquired during pregnancy were recalled for a follow-up. The program identified fifteen children otherwise undiagnosed; three of these children died as consequence of congenital toxoplasmosis. The frequency of the congenital infection varied significantly between cities, being higher in Armenia and Florencia, intermediate in Bogota, Bucaramanga and Barranquilla and very low in western cities such as Cucuta and Riohacha. For the first time a significant correlation was found between mean rainfall at the city and the incidence of this congenital infection

    Depletion of abscisic acid levels in roots of flooded Carrizo citrange (Poncirus trifoliata L. Raf. x Citrus sinensis L. Osb.) plants is a stress-specific response associated to the differential expression of PYR/PYL/RCAR receptors

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    [EN] Soil flooding reduces root abscisic acid (ABA) levels in citrus, conversely to what happens under drought. Despite this reduction, microarray analyses suggested the existence of a residual ABA signaling in roots of flooded Carrizo citrange seedlings. The comparison of ABA metabolism and signaling in roots of flooded and water stressed plants of Carrizo citrange revealed that the hormone depletion was linked to the upregulation of CsAOG, involved in ABA glycosyl ester (ABAGE) synthesis, and to a moderate induction of catabolism (CsCYP707A, an ABA 8'-hydroxylase) and buildup of dehydrophaseic acid (DPA). Drought strongly induced both ABA biosynthesis and catabolism (CsNCED1, 9-cis-neoxanthin epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase 1, and CsCYP707A) rendering a significant hormone accumulation. In roots of flooded plants, restoration of control ABA levels after stress release was associated to the upregulation of CsBGLU18 (an ABA beta-glycosidase) that cleaves ABAGE. Transcriptional profile of ABA receptor genes revealed a different induction in response to soil flooding (CsPYL5) or drought (CsPYL8). These two receptor genes along with CsPYL1 were cloned and expressed in a heterologous system. Recombinant CsPYL5 inhibited Delta NHAB1 activity in vitro at lower ABA concentrations than CsPYL8 or CsPYL1, suggesting its better performance under soil flooding conditions. Both stress conditions induced ABA-responsive genes CsABI5 and CsDREB2A similarly, suggesting the occurrence of ABA signaling in roots of flooded citrus seedlings. The impact of reduced ABA levels in flooded roots on CsPYL5 expression along with its higher hormone affinity reinforce the role of this ABA receptor under soil-flooding conditions and explain the expression of certain ABA-responsive genes.This work was supported by Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (MINECO), Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) and Universitat Jaume I through grants No. AGL201676574-R, UJI-B2016-23/UJI-B2016-24 to A.G-C. and V.A. and MINECO, FEDER and Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC) through grant BIO2014-52537-R to P.L.R. S.I.Z. and M.M. were supported by predoctoral grants from Universitat Jaume I and Generalitat Valenciana, respectively. M.G.G. was recipient of a "JAE-DOC" contract from the CSIC. Mass spectrometry analyses were performed at the central facilities (Servei Central d'Instrumentacio Cientifica, SCIC) of Universitat Jaume I.Arbona, V.; Zandalinas, SI.; Manzi, M.; González Guzmán, M.; Rodríguez Egea, PL.; Gómez-Cadenas, A. (2017). Depletion of abscisic acid levels in roots of flooded Carrizo citrange (Poncirus trifoliata L. Raf. x Citrus sinensis L. Osb.) plants is a stress-specific response associated to the differential expression of PYR/PYL/RCAR receptors. Plant Molecular Biology. 93(6):623-640. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11103-017-0587-7S623640936Agarwal PK, Jha B (2010) Transcription factors in plants and ABA dependent and independent abiotic stress signalling. Biol Plant 54:201–212Agustí J, Merelo P, Cercós M, Tadeo FR, Talón M (2008) Ethylene-induced differential gene expression during abscission of citrus leaves. J Exp Bot 59:2717–2733. doi: 10.1093/jxb/ern138Antoni R, Gonzalez-Guzman M, Rodriguez L, Rodrigues A, Pizzio G, Rodriguez PL (2012) Selective inhibition of clade a phosphatases type 2 C by PYR/PYL/RCAR abscisic acid receptors. Plant Physiol 158:970–980. doi: 10.1104/pp.111.188623Antoni R, Gonzalez-Guzman M, Rodriguez L, Peirats-Llobet M, Pizzio G, Fernandez M, De Winne N, De Jaeger G, Dietrich D, Bennett MJ, Rodriguez PL (2013) PYRABACTIN RESISTANCE1-LIKE8 plays an important role for the regulation of abscisic acid signaling in root. Plant Physiol 161:491–931. doi: 10.1104/pp.112.208678Arbona V, Gómez-Cadenas A (2008) Hormonal modulation of citrus responses to flooding. J Plant Growth Regul 27:241–250. doi: 10.1007/s00344-008-9051-xArbona V, López-climent MF, Pérez-Clemente RM, Gómez-cadenas A (2009) Maintenance of a high photosynthetic performance is linked to flooding tolerance in citrus. 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    Prevalence of cognitive impairment in individuals aged over 65 in an urban area: DERIVA study

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    [ENG]Background: Few data are available on the prevalence of cognitive impairment (CI) in Spain, and the existing information shows important variations depending on the geographical setting and the methodology employed. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of CI in individuals aged over 65 in an urban area, and to analyze its associated risk factors. Methods: Design: A descriptive, cross-sectional, home questionnaire-based study; Setting: Populational, urban setting. Participants: The reference population comprised over-65s living in the city of Salamanca (Spain) in 2009. Randomized sampling stratified according to health district was carried out, and a total of 480 people were selected. In all, 327 patients were interviewed (68.10%), with a mean age of 76.35 years (SD: 7.33). Women accounted for 64.5% of the total. Measurements: A home health questionnaire was used to obtain the following data: age, sex, educational level, family structure, morbidity and functionality. All participants completed a neuropsychological test battery. The prevalence data were compared with those of the European population, with direct adjustment for age and sex. Diagnoses were divided into three general categories: normal cognitive function, cognitive impairment- no dementia (CIND), and dementia. Results: The prevalence of CI among these over-65s was 19% (14.7% CIND and 4.3% dementia). The age-and sexadjusted global prevalence of CI was 14.9%. CI increased with age (p < 0.001) and decreased with increasing educational level (p < 0.001). Significant risk factors were found with the multivariate analyses: age (OR = 1.08, 95% CI: 1.03-1.12), anxiety-depression (OR = 3.47, 95%CI: 1.61-7.51) and diabetes (OR = 2.07, 95%CI: 1.02-4.18). In turn, years of education was found to be a protective factor (OR = 0.79, 95%CI: 0.70-0.90). Although CI was more frequent among women and in people living without a partner, these characteristics were not significantly associated with CI risk. Conclusions: The observed raw prevalence of CI was 19% (14.9% after adjusting for age and sex). Older age and the presence of diabetes and anxiety-depression increased the risk of CI, while higher educational level reduced the risk

    Abrolhos Bank Reef Health Evaluated by Means of Water Quality, Microbial Diversity, Benthic Cover, and Fish Biomass Data

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    The health of the coral reefs of the Abrolhos Bank (southwestern Atlantic) was characterized with a holistic approach using measurements of four ecosystem components: (i) inorganic and organic nutrient concentrations, [1] fish biomass, [1] macroalgal and coral cover and (iv) microbial community composition and abundance. The possible benefits of protection from fishing were particularly evaluated by comparing sites with varying levels of protection. Two reefs within the well-enforced no-take area of the National Marine Park of Abrolhos (Parcel dos Abrolhos and California) were compared with two unprotected coastal reefs (Sebastião Gomes and Pedra de Leste) and one legally protected but poorly enforced coastal reef (the “paper park” of Timbebas Reef). The fish biomass was lower and the fleshy macroalgal cover was higher in the unprotected reefs compared with the protected areas. The unprotected and protected reefs had similar seawater chemistry. Lower vibrio CFU counts were observed in the fully protected area of California Reef. Metagenome analysis showed that the unprotected reefs had a higher abundance of archaeal and viral sequences and more bacterial pathogens, while the protected reefs had a higher abundance of genes related to photosynthesis. Similar to other reef systems in the world, there was evidence that reductions in the biomass of herbivorous fishes and the consequent increase in macroalgal cover in the Abrolhos Bank may be affecting microbial diversity and abundance. Through the integration of different types of ecological data, the present study showed that protection from fishing may lead to greater reef health. The data presented herein suggest that protected coral reefs have higher microbial diversity, with the most degraded reef (Sebastião Gomes) showing a marked reduction in microbial species richness. It is concluded that ecological conditions in unprotected reefs may promote the growth and rapid evolution of opportunistic microbial pathogens

    Search for Dark Matter and Supersymmetry with a Compressed Mass Spectrum in the Vector Boson Fusion Topology in Proton-Proton Collisions at root s=8 TeV

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    Search for strongly interacting massive particles generating trackless jets in proton-proton collisions at s = 13 TeV

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    A search for dark matter in the form of strongly interacting massive particles (SIMPs) using the CMS detector at the LHC is presented. The SIMPs would be produced in pairs that manifest themselves as pairs of jets without tracks. The energy fraction of jets carried by charged particles is used as a key discriminator to suppress efficiently the large multijet background, and the remaining background is estimated directly from data. The search is performed using proton-proton collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 16.1 fb - 1 , collected with the CMS detector in 2016. No significant excess of events is observed above the expected background. For the simplified dark matter model under consideration, SIMPs with masses up to 100 GeV are excluded and further sensitivity is explored towards higher masses

    Search for the X(5568) State Decaying into B-s(0)pi(+/-) in Proton-Proton Collisions at root s=8 TeV

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    A search for resonancelike structures in the B-s(0)pi(+/-) invariant mass spectrum is performed using proton-proton collision data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC at root s = 8 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.7 fb(-1). The B-s(0) mesons are reconstructed in the decay chain B-s(0) -> J/Psi phi, with J/Psi -> mu(+) mu(-) and phi -> K+K-. The B-s(0)pi(+/-) invariant mass distribution shows no statistically significant peaks for different selection requirements on the reconstructed B-s(0) and pi(+/-) candidates. Upper limits are set on the relative production rates of the X(5568) and B-s(0) states times the branching fraction of the decay X(5568)(+/-) -> B-s(0)pi(+/-). In addition, upper limits are obtained as a function of the mass and the natural width of possible exotic states decaying into B-s(0)pi(+/-).Peer reviewe

    Observation of a New Excited Beauty Strange Baryon Decaying to Ξb- π+π-

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    The Ξb-π+π- invariant mass spectrum is investigated with an event sample of proton-proton collisions at s=13 TeV, collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC in 2016-2018 and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 140 fb-1. The ground state Ξb- is reconstructed via its decays to J/ψΞ- and J/ψΛK-. A narrow resonance, labeled Ξb(6100)-, is observed at a Ξb-π+π- invariant mass of 6100.3±0.2(stat)±0.1(syst)±0.6(Ξb-) MeV, where the last uncertainty reflects the precision of the Ξb- baryon mass. The upper limit on the Ξb(6100)- natural width is determined to be 1.9 MeV at 95% confidence level. The low Ξb(6100)- signal yield observed in data does not allow a measurement of the quantum numbers of the new state. However, following analogies with the established excited Ξc baryon states, the new Ξb(6100)- resonance and its decay sequence are consistent with the orbitally excited Ξb- baryon, with spin and parity quantum numbers JP=3/2-

    Evidence for Top Quark Production in Nucleus-Nucleus Collisions

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