Dwarf pomegranate (Punica granatum L. var. nana): source of 5-HMF and bioactive compounds with applications in the protection of woody crops

While the properties of edible pomegranate varieties have been widely explored, there is little information on ornamental types. In this study, possible alternatives for the valorization of dwarf pomegranate fruits have been explored. The characterization of their hydromethanolic extract by gas chromatography−mass spectrometry evidenced the presence of high contents of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (a carbon-neutral feedstock for the production of fuels and other chemicals) and β- and γ-sitosterol stereoisomers. The microbicidal activity of the crude extract, both alone and in a conjugate complex with chitosan oligomers (COS), was investigated against three plant pathogenic microorganisms that cause significant losses in woody crops: Erwinia amylovora, E. vitivora, and Diplodia seriata. In in vitro assays, a strong synergistic behavior was found after conjugation of the bioactive constituents of the fruit extract with COS, resulting in minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of 750 and 375 μg·mL−1 against E. amylovora and E. vitivora, respectively, and an EC90 value of 993 μg·mL−1 against D. seriata. Hence, extracts from the non-edible fruits of this Punicaceae may hold promise as a source of high value-added phytochemicals or as environmentally friendly agrochemicals

Observation and Spectroscopy of New Proton-Unbound Isotopes 30Ar and 29Cl: An Interplay of Prompt Two-Proton and Sequential Decay

Previously unknown isotopes Ar30 and Cl29 have been identified by measurement of the trajectories of their in-flight decay products S28+p+p and S28+p, respectively. The analysis of angular correlations of the fragments provided information on decay energies and the structure of the parent states. The ground states of Ar30 and Cl29 were found at 2.25+0.15−0.10 and 1.8±0.1  MeV above the two- and one-proton thresholds, respectively. The lowest states in Ar30 and Cl29 point to a violation of isobaric symmetry in the structure of these unbound nuclei. The two-proton decay has been identified in a transition region between simultaneous two-proton and sequential proton emissions from the Ar30 ground state, which is characterized by an interplay of three-body and two-body decay mechanisms. The first hint of a fine structure of the two-proton decay of Ar∗30(2+) has been obtained by detecting two decay branches into the ground and first-excited states of the S28 fragment.A. G., S. K., S. R., and P. S. were supported by the Helmholtz Association Grant No. IK-RU-002. L. V. G. was partly supported by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation Grant No. NSh- 932.2014.2. A. F., A. G., L. V. G., S. K., P. S., and R. S. were partly supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research Grant No. 14-02-00090-a. This work was partly supported by the Polish National Science Center under Contract No. UMO-2011/01/B/ST2/01943. A. A. C. acknowledges support by the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education by Grant No. 0079/DIA/ 2014/43 (Grant Diamentowy). M. P. and X. X. are grateful for a support from the Helmholtz International Center for FAIR (HIC for FAIR). Y. L. was supported by the Helmholtz-CAS Joint Research Group Grant No. HCJRG- 108. J. M. E. acknowledges support from the FPA2009- 08848 contract (MICINN, Spain

Interaction of 8 He with 208Pb at near-barrier energies: 4 He and 6 He production

Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness-FPA-2010-22131-CO2-01 (FINURA) y FPA2013-47327-C2-1-RMinistry of Science and Higher Education of Poland-N202 033637National Science Centre of Poland-2013/08/M/ST2/00257 (LEA-COPIGAL) y 2014/14/M/ST2/00738 (COPIN-INFN Collaboration)European Science Foundation-EUI2009-04163432 (EUROGENESIS

Gene duplications in the E. coli genome: common themes among pathotypes

Background: Gene duplication underlies a significant proportion of gene functional diversity and genome complexity in both eukaryotes and prokaryotes. Although several reports in the literature described the duplication of specific genes in E. coli, a detailed analysis of the extent of gene duplications in this microorganism is needed. Results: The genomes of the E. coli enteroaggregative strain 042 and other pathogenic strains contain duplications of the gene that codes for the global regulator Hha. To determine whether the presence of additional copies of the hha gene correlates with the presence of other genes, we performed a comparative genomic analysis between E. coli strains with and without hha duplications. The results showed that strains harboring additional copies of the hha gene also encode the yeeR irmA (aec69) gene cluster, which, in turn, is also duplicated in strain 042 and several other strains. The identification of these duplications prompted us to obtain a global map of gene duplications, first in strain 042 and later in other E. coli genomes. Duplications in the genomes of the enteroaggregative strain 042, the uropathogenic strain CFT073 and the enterohemorrhagic strain O145:H28 have been identified by a BLASTp protein similarity search. This algorithm was also used to evaluate the distribution of the identified duplicates among the genomes of a set of 28 representative E. coli strains. Despite the high genomic diversity of E. coli strains, we identified several duplicates in the genomes of almost all studied pathogenic strains. Most duplicated genes have no known function. Transcriptomic analysis also showed that most of these duplications are regulated by the H-NS/Hha proteins. Conclusions: Several duplicated genes are widely distributed among pathogenic E. coli strains. In addition, some duplicated genes are present only in specific pathotypes, and others are strain specific. This gene duplication analysis shows novel relationships between E. coli pathotypes and suggests that newly identified genes that are duplicated in a high percentage of pathogenic E. coli isolates may play a role in virulence. Our study also shows a relationship between the duplication of genes encoding regulators and genes encoding their targets

Study of the near-barrier scattering of 8 He on 208 Pb

The structure and dynamics of 8He have been studied through the collision process with a 208 Pb target at energies of 22 and 16 MeV, above and below the Coulomb barrier, respectively. The energy and angular distributions of the elastically scattered 8He and the 6,4He fragments were measured. In this paper, we discuss the method used to determine the effective position of the beam spot on the reaction target and the scattering and solid angles of each pixel of the detector array.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad PA2010-22131-C021-01, FPA2014-59954-C3-1-PMinistry of Science and Higher Education of Poland N202 03363European Science Foundation EUI2009-0416

Spanish Research Report for 2004

26 páginas, 1 figuras, 24 tablasPeer reviewe

Spanish Research Report for 2006

22 páginas, 1 figura, 20 tablasPeer reviewe

Synthesis, antibacterial and antifungal activities of naphthoquinone derivatives: a structure–activity relationship study

The synthesis of 1,4-naphthoquinone derivatives is of great interest since these compounds exhibit strong activity as antimalarial, antibacterial, antifungal and anticancer agents. A series of 50 naphthoquinone derivatives was synthesized and evaluated for antibacterial and antifungal activity against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus aureus, Candida krusei, Candida parapsilosis and Cryptococcus neoformans using the broth microdilution method. The Candida species were the most susceptible microorganisms. Halogen derivatives of 1,4-naphthoquinone presented strong activity, e.g., 2-bromo-5-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone, which exhibited inhibition at an MIC of 16 lg/ mL in S. aureus, and 2-chloro-5,8-dihydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone, with an MIC of 2 lg/mL in C. krusei. These compounds showed higher activity against fungi, but the antibacterial activities were very low. The study of structure–activity relationships is very important in the search for new antimicrobial drugs due to the limited therapeutic arsenal

Urticaria pigmentosa in adult

La urticaria pigmentosa es una de las formas más comunes de las mastocitosis, las cuales corresponden a una serie de procesos caracterizados por un aumento anormal de los mastocitos en diversos órganos y tejidos corporales. En la urticaria pigmentosa la manifestación es exclusiva de la piel, caracterizada por la presencia de lesiones maculopapulares de 2.5 a 5 mm de diámetro, de un color que puede oscilar entre rojo y café, distribuyéndose generalmente en tronco y extremidades respetando palmas y plantas. Cerca de la mitad de los lesiones presenta rubor localizado, prurito y ampollas. Su incidencia y prevalencia son desconocidas; sin embargo, su aparición es más común en niños que en adultos. El diagnóstico depende en gran manera de un adecuado examen físico complementado con estudios de laboratorio e histopatología. El tratamiento de elección constituye la administración de antihistamínicos orales. [Ávila JA, Cala JC, Gelvis JA, Torres V, Mosquera H. Urticaria pigmentosa en el adulto. MedUNAB 2012; 15:63-67].Urticaria pigmentosa is one of the most common forms of mastocytosis, which correspond to a series of processes characterized by an abnormal increase of mast cells in different organs and tissues. Urticaria pigmentosa has an unique manifestation in the skin, characterized by maculopapular lesions 2.5 to 5 mm in diameter, of a color that can range from red and brown, usually distributed on the trunk and limbs respecting the palms and soles. Half of the lesions presented blush on a specific site, pruritus and blisters. The incidence and prevalence are unknown but their appearance is more common in children than in adults. Diagnosis depends on an properly physical examination with laboratory test and histopathological analysis. The treatment of choice is the administration of oral antihistamines. [Ávila JA, Cala JC, Gelvis JA, Torres V, Mosquera H. Urticaria pigmentosa in adult. MedUNAB 2012; 15:63-67