La familia Sarcoscyphaceae (Pezizales, Ascomycota) en México

Background and Aims: The family Sarcoscyphaceae is the fifth most numerous of the order Pezizales with 102 species. This family is characterized by red to bright orange apothecia due to the presence of carotenoid pigments and suboperculate asci with smooth or ornamented spores, longitudinally striate below the optic microscope. The aim of the present study is to perform a taxonomic revision of the family Sarcoscyphaceae in Mexico with macro- and micromorphological characters and to observe the spores with SEM to distinguish the species.Methods: The studied specimens were collected between 2013 and 2018; in addition, those deposited in the fungi collection of the ENCB herbarium were reviewed. These were studied, described and determined following the traditional mycological techniques. The growth habit and vegetation type where the species develop were analyzed, according to the habitat where the species described here grow.Key results: Eighteen species of Sarcoscyphaceae were identified in Mexico, of which Geodina guanacastensis, Nanoscypha pulchra, Phillipsia olivacea and Sarcoscypha austriaca are cited for the first time for the country. The species of this family were mainly associated with the tropical dry forest and tropical rain forest, where the lignicolous habit was dominant with 16 species.Conclusions: The family Sarcoscyphaceae is well-represented in Mexico, being one of the best-studied family of the Order Pezizales in the Phylum Ascomycota. The family presents a remarkably tropical distribution with more than 60% of the species located in tropical dry forest and tropical rain forest. Temperate species have restricted distribution and greater specificity for the host, in most cases conifers.Antecedentes y Objetivos: La Familia Sarcoscyphaceae es la quinta más numerosa del orden Pezizales con 102 especies; se caracteriza por presentar apotecios de colores rojos a anaranjados brillantes, debido a la presencia de pigmentos carotenoides y ascas suboperculadas con esporas lisas u ornamentadas, principalmente con estrías longitudinales vistas al microscopio óptico. El objetivo del presente estudio es realizar una revisión taxonómica de la familia Sarcoscyphaceae en México, basada en caracteres morfológicos macro y microscópicos y observación de las esporas al MEB para separar las especies.Métodos: Los especímenes estudiados fueron recolectados entre 2013 y 2018; además, se revisaron los que están depositados en la colección de hongos del herbario ENCB. Los ejemplares fueron estudiados, descritos y determinados de acuerdo a las técnicas tradicionales en micología. Por otro lado, se analizó el habito de crecimiento y tipo de vegetación donde se desarrollan las especies, de acuerdo al habitat donde crecen las aquí descritas.Resultados clave: Se determinaron 18 especies de Sarcoscyphaceae en México, de las cuales Geodina guanacastensis, Nanoscypha pulchra, Phillipsia olivacea y Sarcoscypha austriaca se citan por primera vez para el país. De acuerdo al habitat, las especies de esta familia se asociaron principalmente a los bosques tropicales caducifolios y perennifolios, mientras que el hábito lignícola de 16 especies fue el dominante.Conclusiones: La familia Sarcoscyphaceae se encuentra bien representada en México, siendo una de las mejores estudiadas del Orden Pezizales en el Phylum Ascomycota. La familia presenta una distribución destacadamente tropical con más de 60% de las especies localizadas en bosques tropicales caducifolios y perennifolios. Las especies de zonas templadas presentan distribución restringida y una mayor especificidad por el hospedero, en la mayoría de los casos, coníferas

Case Report: Formation of 3D Osteoblast Spheroid Under Magnetic Levitation for Bone Tissue Engineering

Skeletal reconstruction is necessary in cases of bone defects created by tumors, trauma, and abnormalities. Regeneration of bone defects remains a critical problem, and current approaches are based on biocompatible scaffolds. Spheroids represent a simple 3D system since no supporting material is required for cell growth. Different techniques are used to generate spheroids, such as hanging drop, low-attachment plates, and magnetic nanoparticles. The idea of using magnetic nanoparticles is to cross-link through cell membrane overnight to create complex 3D cellular spheroid by using magnets to guide the cellular response. Herein, the current study aimed to achieve 3D human fetal osteoblast (hFOB) spheroid under magnetic levitation. Formation of 3D spheroid culture under magnetic levitation was evaluated by cell viability at 3, 7, and 14 days. Morphology of the 3D hFOB spheroid was analyzed by SEM and fluorescence microscopy and the differentiation towards mineralized lineage by ALP assay, qPCR, and alizarin red staining. The cell viability indicated that the 3D hFOB spheroid still viable after 14 days of culture. ALP assay, qPCR analysis expression of Col1, ALP, and Itg-β1 molecules, and calcium deposition with alizarin red showed a high level of bioactivity of the 3D hFOB spheroid. SEM images allowed the morphological analysis of the 3D microtissue-like spheroid with the presence of matrix deposition. These results indicate that magnetic levitation culture enables 3D stable osteoblast spheroids and could be a promising strategy for engineering application in the 3D construct in surgery regeneration of mineralized tissue

Estudio de las características del ciclo de desarrollo de chlamydia trachomatis relacionadas a la presencia del plásmido 7.5KB

Tesis (Doctorado en Ciencias Quimicobiológicas), Instituto Politécnico Nacional, SEPI, ENCB, 2009, 1 archivo PDF, (73 páginas). tesis.ipn.m

Removal of Methylene Blue from Aqueous Solutions by Using Nance (Byrsonima crassifolia) Seeds and Peels as Natural Biosorbents

Contamination of effluents with chemicals is a serious problem that impacts human health. Methylene blue is a cationic dye found frequently in industrial and urban sewages. In this work, dried grinded seeds and peels of nance were used as biosorbents in aqueous solutions at pH 7 and 10 (simulating urban and textile effluents) finding that Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms adequately described the sorption. Adsorption efficiencies were larger than 98% in all cases and slightly lower at pH 7 due to the closeness with the point of zero charge (pzc) of seeds and peels of nance (5.96 and 3.42, respectively). In all cases, Langmuir adsorption was favorable (RLa < 1), and Gibbs free energy of adsorption was negative indicating spontaneity, and since these values were larger than −80 but lower than 0 kJ/mol, the MB removal process was mainly due to physical interactions, a characteristic of physical adsorption. No significant differences were found amongst bulk mass transfer coefficients for the adsorption of both sorbents, indicating that both bioadsorbents had the same hydrodynamic and driving forces as well as depicted similar MB-adsorbent affinities. Interaction of MB with adsorbents was corroborated by FTIR spectroscopy, and the sorption was evidenced by scanning electron microscopy and image analysis which indicated that both adsorbents had fractal structures

Characterization of Outer Membrane Vesicles from Brucella melitensis

The outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) from smooth B. melitensis 16 M and a derived rough mutant, VTRM1 strain, were purified and characterized with respect to protein content and induction of immune responses in mice. Proteomic analysis showed 29 proteins present in OMVs from B. melitensis 16 M; some of them are well-known Brucella immunogens such as SOD, GroES, Omp31, Omp25, Omp19, bp26, and Omp16. OMVs from a rough VTRM1 induced significantly higher expression of IL-12, TNFα, and IFNγ genes in bone marrow dendritic cells than OMVs from smooth strain 16 M. Relative to saline control group, mice immunized intramuscularly with rough and smooth OMVs were protected from challenge with virulent strain B. melitensis 16 M just as well as the group immunized with live strain B. melitensis Rev1 (P<0.005). Additionally, the levels of serum IgG2a increased in mice vaccinated with OMVs from rough strain VTRM1 consistent with the induction of cell-mediated immunity

Video Supplementary Figure 7

Thymic epithelial cells (TECs) are responsible for shaping the repertoires of T cells, where their postnatal regeneration depends on a subset of clonogenic TECs. Despite the implications for regenerative medicine, their cultivation and expansion remain challenging. Primary explant cell culture is a technique that allows the seeding and expansion of difficult-to-culture cells. Here, we report a reliable and simple culture system to obtain functional TECs and thymic interstitial cells (TICs).</p