EcoCyc (http://EcoCyc.org) is a comprehensive model organism database for Escherichia coli K-12 MG1655. From the scientific literature, EcoCyc captures the functions of individual E. coli gene ...products; their regulation at the transcriptional, post-transcriptional and protein level; and their organization into operons, complexes and pathways. EcoCyc users can search and browse the information in multiple ways. Recent improvements to the EcoCyc Web interface include combined gene/protein pages and a Regulation Summary Diagram displaying a graphical overview of all known regulatory inputs to gene expression and protein activity. The graphical representation of signal transduction pathways has been updated, and the cellular and regulatory overviews were enhanced with new functionality. A specialized undergraduate teaching resource using EcoCyc is being developed.
The dual crop coefficient approach accounts separately for plant transpiration and soil evaporation by using the basal crop coefficient and the evaporation coefficient, respectively. The SIMDualKc ...model, which performs the soil water balance simulation with estimation of the actual crop evapotranspiration (ET) with the dual crop coefficient approach, was applied to a drip-irrigated peach orchard under Mediterranean conditions. Orchard ET was obtained with the eddy covariance technique, which was subsequently correlated with tree transpiration estimated from sap flow measurements and soil evaporation determined with microlysimeters, thus providing ET for the whole irrigation season. Two years of field observations were used for model calibration and validation using those ET measurements and taking into account the fraction of ground covered by trees through a density factor which adjusts the basal crop coefficient. Model fitting relative to ET observations during calibration and validation provided indices of agreement averaging 0.90, coefficients of regression close to 1.0, root mean square errors around 0.41 mm and average absolute errors of 0.32 mm. Model fitting relative to transpiration and to soil evaporation produced similar results, so showing the adequateness of modelling.
Antecedentes: En el movimiento a favor de la equidad sanitaria mundial, el aumento en investigación y financiación no ha contemplado aun la escasez de evidencias en la aplicación eficaz de las ...intervenciones en entornos específicos, una necesidad no cubierta es la de facilitar el acceso a la atención especializada dentro del sector de la salud pública en México. Compañeros en Salud ha estado dirigiendo un programa novedoso, llamado Derecho a la Salud (DS), destinado a aumentar el acceso a la atención especializada para poblaciones en situación de pobreza del medio rural en Chiapas, México. El programa DS incorpora trabajo social, seguimiento de pacientes, Referencias, apoyo económico directo y acompañamiento para pacientes.Objetivos: Este estudio evalúa la efectividad del programa DS. Los primeros resultados analizados incluyen la aceptación de cualquier Referencia y la asistencia a la cita programada. Los resultados secundarios incluyen la aceptación de la primera referencia y la tasa de asistencia a la cita para los pacientes con una referencia aceptada.Métodos: Utilizando datos del proceso de referenica durante los años 2014 al 2019 de un hospital público de atención terciaria en Chiapas, se empataron 91 pacientes inscritos en el programa DS utilizando una coincidencia de pares óptima 2:1 con una cohorte de control que equilibra las covariables de edad del paciente, sexo, especialidad a la que se remite, nivel del hospital de origen y municipio.Hallazgos: Los pacientes con DS tuvieron más posibilidades de haber tenido una referencia aceptada (OR 17,42; IC del 95 % 3,68 a 414,16) y de haber asistido a una cita (OR 5,49; IC del 95 % 2,93 a 11,60) en comparación con el grupo de control empatado. Los pacientes inscritos a DS también tuvieron más posibilidades de que se aceptara su primera referencia (OR 2,78; IC del 95 % 1,29 a 6,73). Entre los pacientes con una referencia aceptada, los pacientes pertenecientes a DS tuvieron más probabilidad de haber asistido a una cita (OR 3,86; IC del 95 % 1,90 a 8,57).Conclusiones: Los resultados demuestran que el modelo DS es exitoso al aumentar el acceso a la atención especializada, tanto en el incremento de referencias aceptadas como en la asistencia a citas.
Although ivermectin (IVM) has a wide spectrum and long half-life, its frequent use as an anthelmintic for the last 42 years led to its worldwide tolerance by Haemonchus contortus. We evaluated the ...combination of limonene (LIM), a P-glycoprotein (Pgp) modulator, with IVM in lambs infected with a multidrug-resistant H. contortus. Twenty-four male Dorper lambs were artificially infected with two doses (seven days apart) of 8000 infective larvae of a multidrug-resistant isolate of H. contortus. The infection was patent 25 days later. Fifteen days before treatment with IVM (DAY -15), animals were divided into 4 groups: Infected-untreated control (CTL), IVM, LIM, and LIM+IVM. From DAY -15 to DAY + 14, groups LIM and LIM+IVM received 200 mg/kg of body weight/day of LIM via oral. On DAY 0, a single dose of IVM at 200 µg/kg of body weight was administered orally to groups IVM and LIM+IVM. On DAY + 7 and DAY + 14, fecal egg counts (FEC) were performed and on DAY + 14 animals were euthanized for total worm count (TWC), worm length, fecundity of females, and Pgp-9 gene expression. On DAY + 7, group LIM+IVM had 96.29% efficacy based on Fecal Egg Count Reduction TEST (FECRT) and a highly significant reduction in FEC (P = 0.0005) when compared to CTL. On DAY + 14, the efficacy of LIM+IVM was 82.87% on FECRT, although no differences were found among groups for FEC, TWC, worm length, or Pgp-9 gene expression. Female worms from the CTL group had higher egg counts in their uterus when compared to LIM. No differences were found for hematological or biochemical parameters, body weight, or weight gain among groups. Thus, LIM given daily at 200 mg/kg was safe for animals and, when combined with IVM, decreased egg shedding and could reduce pasture contamination, although it was unable to kill multidrug-resistant H. contortus.
•Model of anaerobic microbial growth incorporating thermodynamic constraints.•Concentrations of substrates and products, and ATP yield impact thermodynamics .•A threshold for substrate use emerges, ...which increases with greater ATP yield.•Half saturation constant increases with increasing ATP yield per substrate.•Changing the ATP yield results in differing ecological strategies.
The magnitude of the Gibbs free energy change of the substrate transformation that supports the growth of a microbe is decreased when the concentrations of the substrates are decreased and when the concentrations of the products of metabolism are increased. Microbes require a supply of ATP for cell maintenance and growth, and coupling the transformation of substrates to products with the formation of ATP also decreases the magnitude of the Gibbs free energy change. Here we include these three thermodynamic controllers (substrate and product concentration, and ATP formation) in a model of substrate transformation by hydrogenotrophic methanogens that results in a number of realistic behaviours. First, a threshold for substrate use emerges, below which the methanogen cannot metabolise its substrate. Under this model, microbes that capture more of the Gibbs free energy change from substrate transformation in the form of ATP have greater thresholds for their substrate, in line with observations of actual microbes. Second, an apparent saturation constant emerges that is controlled by the thermodynamics of the reaction. This increases with increasing ATP synthesis per substrate, so that methanogens that conserve more ATP grow faster at higher substrate concentrations, but are less competitive at low substrate concentrations. As a result, simply changing the ATP yield (moles of ATP per mole of substrate) results in methanogens with differing ecological strategies through thermodynamic impacts on their metabolism. Third, end-product inhibition through thermodynamic feedback can limit the growth of microbes, and those that capture more ATP per substrate are limited by smaller product concentrations than those that capture less ATP.
We report our study of features at the observed red end of the white dwarf cooling sequences for three Galactic globular clusters: NGC 6397, 47...Tucanae and M 4. We use deep colour-magnitude ...diagrams constructed from archival Hubble Space Telescope (Advanced Camera for Surveys) to systematically investigate the blue turn at faint magnitudes and the age determinations for each cluster. We find that the age difference between NGC 6397 and 47 Tuc is 1.98... Gyr, consistent with the picture that metal-rich halo clusters were formed later than metal-poor halo clusters. We self-consistently include the effect of metallicity on the progenitor age and the initial-to-final mass relation. In contrast with previous investigations that invoked a single white dwarf mass for each cluster, the data show a spread of white dwarf masses that better reproduce the shape and location of the blue turn. This effect alone, however, does not completely reproduce the observational data - the blue turn retains some mystery. In this context, we discuss several other potential problems in the models. These include possible partial mixing of H and He in the atmosphere of white dwarf stars, the lack of a good physical description of the collision-induced absorption process and uncertainties in the opacities at low temperatures. The latter are already known to be significant in the description of the cool main sequence. Additionally, we find that the present-day local mass function of NGC 6397 is consistent with a top-heavy type, while 47 Tuc presents a bottom-heavy profile. (ProQuest: ... denotes formulae/symbols omitted.)
Canine monocytic ehrlichiosis is a highly prevalent disease in Brazil, where the genetic diversity of Ehrlichia canis remains undefined. In this study, we used the TRP36 gene to examine the genetic ...diversity of E. canis strains from naturally infected dogs residing in five distinct geographic regions in Brazil. E. canis DNA was detected in 82/126 (65%) dogs by dsb-specific PCR and E. canis was isolated in cell culture from 13 dogs. Sequences obtained from dsb genes amplified from the isolates were identical to the US E. canis strain. An extended molecular characterization based on the TRP36 gene identified two major genogroups based on differences among eight isolates. Isolates with tandem repeat amino acid sequence (TEDSVSAPA) identical to the previously reported TRP36 sequence were found in the midwest, northeast and southeast regions of Brazil, and classified into the US genogroup. A novel Brazilian genotype with a different tandem repeat sequence (ASVVPEAE) was also identified in midwest, northern and southern regions. Similarity in the N-terminal sequence of a US genogroup member with the Brazilian genogroup suggested that genomic recombination between the two genogroups may have occurred. Other subtypes within the Brazilian genogroup were also identified using C-terminal amino acid divergence. We identified two distinct major Brazilian genogroups and several subtypes based on analysis of TRP36, and such information will be useful for further genotyping and possible associations with disease severity, understanding of the genetic and antigenic variability of E. canis, and for developing strain-specific vaccines and diagnostic methods based on TRP36.
Summary
This study evaluates the incidence of bone fractures in women with BC.We found that women with invasive breast cancer are at an increased risk for bone fractures, with fractures most commonly ...occurring at lower extremity and vertebral sites. The risk is further increased in women undergoing cancer therapy.
Introduction
Bone loss and fractures in breast cancer have generally been attributed to aromatase inhibitor use. This study assessed the incidence of fractures after invasive breast cancer diagnosis and evaluated bone density and FRAX risk calculation at time of fracture occurrence.
Methods
Retrospective cohort study of women with invasive breast cancer June 2003–December 2011 who participated in an academic hospital based genetic biobank. Demographic and clinical characteristics were abstracted from the electronic medical record (EMR).
Results
A total of 422 women with invasive breast cancer were assessed; 79 (28 %) sustained fractures during the observation period; fractures occurred at multiple skeletal sites in 27 cases (116 fractures). The incidence of fractures was 40 per 1000 person-years. Women who sustained fractures were mostly white and had a family history of osteoporosis (36.9 %,
p
= 0.03) or history of a prior fracture (6/79,
p
= 0.004). Fractures occurred 4.0 years (range 0–12 years) after cancer diagnosis. Fracture cases had femoral neck bone mineral density (BMD) of 0.72 + 0.12 g/cm
2
, T-score of −1.2, that is, within the low bone mass range. Fractures most commonly occurred in lower extremities, vertebral, and wrist sites. Hip fractures accounted for 11 % of fractures, occurring at a median age of 61 years.
Conclusions
Fractures occur shortly after commencing cancer therapy. Rapid bone loss associated with cancer therapy may precipitate fractures. Fractures occur at relatively higher BMD in BC. Occurrence of fractures in invasive breast cancer raises the possibility of cancer-induced impairment in bone quality.
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