Description and molecular phylogeny of a new and one known needle nematode of the genus Paralongidorus (Nematoda: Longidoridae) from grapevine in Portugal

A new and a known longidorid nematode, Paralongidorus lusitanicus n. sp. and Paralongidorus plesioepimikis, are described and illustrated from populations extracted from soil associated with grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) from Escaroupim and Pó (central-Western Portugal), respectively. The new needle nematode P. lusitanicus n. sp. is characterised by a very large body size (8072–12,022 μm), an expanded and rounded lip region, ca 30 μm wide, with a clear constriction followed by a depression posterior to the amphidial aperture, amphidial fovea very large (11.0–19.0 μm), stirrup-shaped, with conspicuous slit-like aperture as shown in scanning electron microscopy studies, a very long and flexible odontostyle (180.0–223.0 μm), guiding ring located at 28.0–41.5 μm from anterior end, vulva anterior to the mid-body (34–41%), a dorsally convex-conoid tail with rounded terminus (29–42 μm long), bearing two or three pairs of caudal pores and males common (ratio 1:1.6 females) with spicules ca 80 μm long. Morphological and morphometric traits for P. plesioepimikis fit well with the original description, and is reported for the first time in Portugal. Integrative diagnosis of both species was completed with molecular data obtained using D2-D3 expansion segments of 28S rDNA, ITS1-rDNA and partial 18S–rDNA. The phylogenetic relationships of these species with other Paralongidorus spp. using these three molecular markers indicated that P. lusitanicus n. sp. clustered together with other Paralongidorus spp. forming a sister clade with P. plesioepimikis, both of them sharing a large body, long odontostyle, an anteriorly located vulva and an expanded and rounded lip region with a clear constriction followed by a depression posterior to the amphidial aperture

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Índice del volumen de La Perinola, 15, 201

La poesía amorosa de Quevedo como estrategia literaria

El artículo pondera cuestiones cruciales relacionadas con la poesía amorosa quevediana: la escritura ‘al itálico modo’ y cuestiones de re-estilización y reinvención; su relectura, que reclama el intertexto petrarquista, a diferencia de coetáneos que lo subvierten; su conexión con los motivos, formas y tradiciones petrarquistas y cancioneriles; su castellanismo; cuestiones de emisión y recepción; la fluctuación entre el eje biográfico-existencial y el literario-intertextual; estudio de cronología, producción y circulación autógrafa y manuscrita; problemas de datación, composición y retoque; la importancia y el ajuste a la ambientación cortesana, la propaganda académica y cuestiones de mecenazgo en su modelaje; aspectos microestructurales de poemas individuales, y macroestructurales de la poesía amorosa en su conjunto o Canta sola a Lisi como cancionero, con intencionalidad creativa y editorial por parte del autor. En definitiva, el trabajo dilucida el lugar que ocupa la poesía amorosa quevediana como ejercicio implícito en su carrera literaria.This article ponders on crucial aspects concerning Quevedo’s love poetry: the writing ‘to the Italian mode’ and aspects of remodelling and reinvention; its rewriting, acclaiming the Petrarchan seed and its tradition of authors, different to contemporary writers who subvert it; its relation with the motives, forms and traditions of Petrarch and the lovesong tradition (‘cancionero’); its Spanish or ‘castilian-like’ imprint; questions related to emission and reception; its wanderings among the autobiography-existential and the literary-intertextual axes; aspects of chronology, production, and and autograph and manuscript circulation; questions concerning dates, composition, and remodelling; the importance and adjustment to the court atmosphere and reception, to the academic reading sessions and to patronage; microestructural aspects of individual poems and the consideration of the complete love corpus of poetry, and the collection Canta sola a Lisi as a designated authorial corpus for publication. In conclusion, this study reflects on the place that the quevedian love poetry occupates as an implicit authorial exercise within his overall literary career

Manuel Gutiérrez Nájera. Marfil, seda y oro, una antología general. Estudio preliminar y selección de historia y política, periodismo, estética y crítica literaria y crónica de Claudia Canales. Ensayo crítico y selección de obra narrativa, José María Martínez. Ensayo crítico y selección de poesía, Gustavo Jiménez Aguirre. México: Fondo de Cultura Económica /Fundación para las Letras Mexicanas / Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 2014 (Viajes al siglo XIX).

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Effects of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species on actomyosin and their implications for muscle contractility

Experimental evidence accumulated during recent years is pointing out that numerous pathological conditions in skeletal and cardiac muscle are associated with an oxidative stress-induced muscle injury. Additionally, it has been postulated that several oxidants can directly alter contractile function by oxidative modification of the myofibril proteins – actin and myosin. Peroxynitrite (ONOO-), a potent biological oxidizing agent formed in the nearly instantaneous reaction of nitric oxide with superoxide anion, is increasingly recognized as playing a major role in the skeletal and cardiac muscle dysfunction. This is supported by detection of 3-nitrotyrosine, a protein modification produced by the reaction of peroxynitrite with tyrosine, on skeletal and cardiac muscle proteins during aging or in diseases associated with myocardial inflammation or ischemia/reperfusion insults. Although some studies point to a correlation of protein nitration with functional and structural modifications, the mechanism by which peroxynitrite may impair muscle contractility remains far from being elucidated. In the present review we address the role of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species on the structural and functional impairment of actomyosin ATPase activity and their implications for muscle contraction with particular emphasis on the oxidative modifications promoted by peroxynitrite on actin and myosin

Monomeric versus decameric vanadate in the elucidation of muscle contraction regulation: a kinetic, spectroscopic and structural overview

Vanadium (V) was rediscovered for biology as a “muscle inhibitor factor” when it was found in commercial ATP prepared from equine muscle almost thirty years ago. Since then it has been used as a molecular probe of the mechanisms of several enzyme reactions involving hydrolysis of phosphate ester bonds. Besides acting as a phosphate analogue, vanadate has also the potential to exhibit biological activities through oligomeric vanadate species. Among the vanadate oligomers, decavanadate is one of the most potent inhibitors and has revealed an excellent kinetic and spectroscopic probe. This is particularly relevant for myosin, the major muscle ATPase which along with actin is able to convert the chemical energy of ATP hydrolysis into mechanical work. Apparently, vanadate is able to populate different conformational states of the myosin ATPase cycle depending on its oligomerization state. While monomeric vanadate (VO4 3-) mimics the transition state for the g-phosphate hydrolysis blocking myosin in a pre-power stroke state, decameric vanadate (V10O28 6-) induces the formation of the intermediate myosin·MgATP·V10 complex blocking the actomyosin cycle in a pre-hydrolysis state. These recent findings, that are now reviewed, point out to the importance of taking into account vanadate species variety in studies describing the interaction of vanadate with biological systems and incite the use of decavanadate as a biochemical tool to the elucidation of muscle contraction regulation

Continuous harmonic analysis and power quality measurements in three-phase systems

A virtual instrument, named Power Quality Meter, is presented for (a) measuring power consumption and harmonics in three-phase systems, under non-sinusoidal and imbalance conditions (b) detecting, classifying and organizes power disturbance events. Measurement of the power consumption follows the formulation proposed by the members of the IEEE Working Group on Nonsinusoidal Situations (1996). So, definitions are based on the analysis of functions in the frequency domain, separating the fundamental terms from the harmonic terms of the Fourier series. The virtual instrument has been developed too for monitoring and measuring power disturbances, which are automatically classified and organized in a database while they are being recorded. Software tools use the database structure to present summaries of power disturbances and locate an event by severity or time of occurrence. Records of actual measurements are included to demonstrate the versatility of the instrument

Decavanadate induces mitochondrial membrane depolarization and inhibits oxygen consumption

Decavanadate induced rat liver mitochondrial depolarization at very low concentrations, half-depolarization with 39 nM decavanadate, while it was needed a 130-fold higher concentration of monomeric vanadate (5 lM) to induce the same effect. Decavanadate also inhibits mitochondrial repolarization induced by reduced glutathione in vitro, with an inhibition constant of 1 lM, whereas no effect was observed up to 100 lM of monomeric vanadate. The oxygen consumption by mitochondria is also inhibited by lower decavanadate than monomeric vanadate concentrations, i.e. 50% inhibition is attained with 99 nM decavanadate and 10 lM monomeric vanadate. Thus, decavanadate is stronger as mitochondrial depolarization agent than as inhibitor of mitochondrial oxygen consumption. Up to 5 lM, decavanadate does not alter mitochondrial NADH levels nor inhibit neither FOF1-ATPase nor cytochrome c oxidase activity, but it induces changes in the redox steady-state of mitochondrial b-type cytochromes (complex III). NMR spectra showed that decameric vanadate is the predominant vanadate species in decavanadate solutions. It is concluded that decavanadate is much more potent mitochondrial depolarization agent and a more potent inhibitor of mitochondrial oxygen consumption than monomeric vanadate, pointing out the importance to take into account the contribution of higher oligomeric species of vanadium for the biological effects of vanadate solutions

Decavanadate toxicity effects following in vivo administration

Very few in vivo animal studies involving vanadium consider the contribution of decavanadate (V10) to vanadium biological effects. Recently, it is been suggested that decameric vanadate may not completely fall apart into other vanadate oligomers before induces changes in cell homeostasis, namely in several stress markers. An acute exposure of different fish species (Halobactrachus didactilus, Lusitanian toadfish, and Sparus aurata, gilthead seabream) to decavanadate, but not to other vanadate oligomers, induced different effects than vanadate in catalase activity, glutathione content, lipid peroxidation, mitochondrial superoxide anion production and vanadium accumulation, whereas both solutions seem to equally depress reactive oxygen species (ROS) production as well as total intracellular reducing power. Vanadium is accumulated in Sparus aurata mitochondria in particular when decavanadate is administrated. Moreover, exposure to different vanadate oligomers induced morphological changes in fish cardiac, hepatic and renal tissues causing tissues lesions in the liver and kidney, but not cardiac tissue. Nevertheless, the results highlight that different vanadate oligomers seem to follow, not only in vitro but also in vivo, different pathways, with different targets and effects. These recent findings, that are now summarized, point out the decameric vanadate species contributions to in vivo effects induced by vanadium in biological systems