Background
Mucormycosis is a rare, invasive disease associated with high mortality rates, produced by opportunistic pathogens related to the Mucorales order and characterised by a diverse range of ...clinical forms; acute rhino‐orbital‐cerebral and pulmonary symptoms are the most reported ones.
Objectives
To report the experience of mucormycosis observed in a tertiary‐care hospital in Mexico for 35 years.
Methods
This was a retrospective, descriptive and observational study on mucormycosis at a tertiary‐care hospital in Mexico from January 1985 to December 2019. Demographic and clinical data and mycological and histopathological records were selected.
Results
Two hundred fourteen proven cases of mucormycosis for 35 years at a tertiary‐care hospital in Mexico were included. Most of the cases were male patients with a median age of 45 years. The two most associated underlying diseases were diabetes mellitus (76.6%) and haematologic malignancy (15.4%). The three primary clinical forms were as follows: rhino‐orbito‐cerebral (75.9%), cutaneous (8.41%) and pulmonary (7.47%) mucormycosis. The most isolated agents were Rhizopus arrhizus (58.4%) and Lichtheimia corymbifera (12.3%). The overall therapeutic response was 58.5%, and the best response was observed with amphotericin B deoxycholate and surgical debridement.
Conclusion
Mucormycosis is an emerging disease, and its incidence has increased at our hospital over the years. In this study, the rhino‐cerebral clinical type was the most frequent in patients with uncontrolled diabetes; the main aetiological agent was R. arrhizus. Early diagnosis, control of the underlying disease and prompt management may increase the survival rate.
Recent findings have documented the importance of (Z)‐11‐octadecenyl acetate (cVA) in the melanogaster group as a sex pheromone that regulates several sexual and social behaviours. However, this ...pheromone is missing in Drosophila suzukii, thus posing the question of whether it could have been replaced by another compound similar to cVA. Olfactory responses of D. suzukii females and males to conspecific volatiles in laboratory and field trails suggest the existence of a pheromone. Females attracted more females and males than the control. In field trials, both sexes were successfully captured in traps baited with conspecifics. Females were attracted to conspecific females and males. Gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry of volatiles showed that both sexes released 18 compounds, including Z‐9‐tricosene, hexacosane and heneicosane. Our results suggest that these compounds may influence the behaviour of D. suzukii and can act as sex or aggregation pheromones.
El propósito del presente artículo es realizar un análisis de la obra dramática El chico de la última fila, de Juan Mayorga, prestando especial atención a los rasgos que comparte con el teatro ...oriental, y especialmente al uso simbólico del espacio. En primer lugar, se estudia el texto dramático escrito de la obra, atendiendo a aquellos rasgos que podemos observar en el propio texto literario, tales como las acotaciones. En segundo lugar, se trabaja sobre una representación de dicha obra (de la Real Escuela Superior de Arte Dramático, dirigida por Beatriz Saiz y que se estrenó en el año 2015), centrándonos en aspectos como el espacio poliescénico y simbólico, que resulta en una ruptura de la lógica espacial.
Porcine glutaraldehyde-fixed pericardium is widely used to replace human heart valves. Despite the stabilizing effects of glutaraldehyde fixation, the lack of endothelialization and the occurrence of ...immune reactions contribute to calcification and structural valve deterioration, which is particularly significant in young patients, in whom valve longevity is crucial. This report shows an optimization system with which to enhance endothelialization of fixed pericardium to mimic the biological function of a native heart valve. The glutaraldehyde detoxification, together with the application of a biodegradable methacrylated chondroitin sulfate hydrogel, reduces aldehydes cytotoxicity, increases the migration and proliferation of endothelial cells and the recruitment of endothelial cell progenitors, and confers thromboresistance in fixed pericardium. The combination of glutaraldehyde detoxification and a coating with chondroitin sulfate hydrogel promotes in situ mechanisms of endothelialization in fixed pericardium. We offer a new solution for improving the long life of bioprosthetic valves and exploring the means of making valves suitable to endothelialization.
Aquaculture has maintained a sustained growth trend over the last 50 years, worldwide and in Aotearoa New Zealand.
This industry is known to have environmental consequences, such as impacts on ...benthos, water column and higher trophic levels. Some of these impacts have been thoroughly studied, while others, such as the effects on cetaceans, are not well understood.
This study used passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) to assess, for the first time, the overlap between kūtai—New Zealand greenlipped mussel (Perna canaliculus)—farms and habitat use by endemic endangered Hector's dolphins (Cephalorhynchus hectori hectori) within the Banks Peninsula Marine Mammal Sanctuary.
T‐PODs were deployed in six bays, three with mussel farms and three without, between 2018 and 2019. Occurrence of dolphins, expressed as ‘dolphin positive minutes per day’ (DPM/day), was modelled using generalized linear mixed models.
Results showed a strong interaction between farm (presence/absence) and season (summer/winter), with fewer acoustic detections of dolphins in winter if farms were present. Furthermore, in bays with mussel farms, there were significantly more click train detections on the opposite side of the bay, compared to the side by the mussel farm.
Considering that results from this study suggest potential displacement of the dolphins due to the mussel farms, the recommendation is a precautionary approach. Further expansion of aquaculture in Hector's dolphin habitat should be done carefully, taking into account their habitat use, and conducting intensive monitoring including a robust ‘before and after’ design prior to the establishment of new farms.
Due to the high concentration of pollutants, swine wastewater needs to be treated prior to disposal. The combination of anaerobic and aerobic technologies in one hybrid system allows to obtain higher ...removal efficiencies compared to those achieved via conventional biological treatment, and the performance of a hybrid system depends on the microbial community in the bioreactor. Here, we evaluated the community assembly of an anaerobic-aerobic hybrid reactor for swine wastewater treatment. Sequencing of partial 16S rRNA coding genes was performed using Illumina from DNA and retrotranscribed RNA templates (cDNA) extracted from samples from both sections of the hybrid system and from a UASB bioreactor fed with the same swine wastewater influent. Proteobacteria and Firmicutes were the dominant phyla and play a key role in anaerobic fermentation, followed by Methanosaeta and Methanobacterium. Several differences were found in the relative abundances of some genera between the DNA and cDNA samples, indicating an increase in the diversity of the metabolically active community, highlighting Chlorobaculum, Cladimonas, Turicibacter and Clostridium senso stricto. Nitrifying bacteria were more abundant in the hybrid bioreactor. Beta diversity analysis revealed that the microbial community structure significantly differed among the samples (p < 0.05) and between both anaerobic treatments. The main predicted metabolic pathways were the biosynthesis of amino acids and the formation of antibiotics. Also, the metabolism of C5-branched dibasic acid, Vit B5 and CoA, exhibited an important relationship with the main nitrogen-removing microorganisms. The anaerobic-aerobic hybrid bioreactor showed a higher ammonia removal rate compared to the conventional UASB system. However, further research and adjustments are needed to completely remove nitrogen from wastewater.
•A hybrid anaerobic-aerobic reactor was evaluated for swine wastewater treatment.•The hybrid reactor enhanced NH4+ and P removal compared to a control UASB reactor.•Bacterial composition was significantly different from anaerobic-hybrid to the UASB reactor.•Methanosaeta was predominant in all samples, especially in the UASB.•The relative abundances of total and metabolically active genera differed.
In this study, the biosurfactants (Bs) production of two Serratia marcescens strains (SM3 and its isogenic SMRG‐5 strain) was improved and the tenso‐active agents were purified and characterized. A ...23 factorial design was used to evaluate the effect of nitrogen and carbon sources on the surface tension (ST) reduction and emulsion index (EI24) of the produced Bs. Optimum Bs production by SM3 was achieved at high concentrations of carbon and nitrogen, reducing ST to 26.5 ± 0.28 dynes/cm, with an EI24 of 79.9 ± 0.2%. Meanwhile, the best results for SMRG‐5 were obtained at low concentrations, reducing the ST to 25.2 ± 0.2 dynes/cm, with an EI24 of 89.7 ± 0.28%. The optimal conditions for Bs production were scaled up in a 2‐L reactor, yielding 4.8 and 5.2 g/L for SM3 and SMRG‐5, respectively. Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry (GC–MS) analysis revealed the presence of two different lipopeptides (hidrofobic fractions: octadecanoic and hexadecanoic acid for SM3 and SMRG5, respectively). Both strains were capable of benzo a pyrene removal (59% after 72 H of culture).
During embryo implantation, the outer layer of the blastocyst interacts with the endometrium giving rise to the development of the trophoblast cell lineage. The cells in this lineage participate in ...the penetration of endometrium due to their motility and invasive properties. The mechanisms that regulate the differentiation and invasive ability of these cells are essential for the establishment and maintenance of an efficient exchange between maternal and fetal tissues during pregnancy. In this context, hyperglycemia can induce oxidative stress causing alterations in the placenta. This study evaluated the role of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the actions of high glucose concentration (HG) on trophoblast spreading and the expression of extracellular proteases in cultured mouse conceptuses. Blastocysts from gestational day 4 (GD4) were cultured until GD7 in HAM‐F10 medium and further treated for 48 hr with HG (25 mM glucose) from GD7 to GD9. This treatment induced larger trophoblast outgrowths and increased ROS concentration, which was associated with increased expression levels of urokinase‐type plasminogen activator (PLAU), plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (PAI‐1), and matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP‐9). These effects were prevented by treatment with the non‐specific antioxidant N‐acetylcysteine (NAC) or apocynin, an inhibitor of NADPH oxidase. Our data suggest that the HG‐induced trophoblast spreading and the expression of PLAU, PAI‐1, and MMP‐9 were mediated by the production of ROS via NADPH oxidase activity. Our results shed light on placental alterations in gestational diabetes mellitus.
Polyphenols have been shown to be effective against many chronic diseases, including neurodegenerative diseases. Specifically, the consumption of raisins, being a food rich in polyphenols, has been ...attributed with neuroprotective benefits. Therefore, our main objective is to evaluate the effect of including 50 g of raisins in the diet daily for 6 months, on the improvement of cognitive performance, cardiovascular risk factors and markers of inflammation in a population of older adults without cognitive impairment.
Design and intervention: This study will be a randomized controlled clinical trial of two parallel groups. Each subject included in the study will be randomly assigned to one of two study groups: control group (no supplement), intervention group (50 g of raisins daily during 6 months).
The participants will be selected by consecutive sampling in the Primary Care consultations of urban health centers in Salamanca and Zamora (Spain), taking into account the selection criteria.
Two visits will be made, baseline and at 6 months. Cognitive performance will be evaluated (Mini-Mental State Examination test, Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test, verbal fluency and montreal cognitive assessment (Moca)). It will also be analyzed the level of physical activity, quality of life, activities of daily living, energy and nutritional composition of the diet, body composition, blood pressure, heart rate, markers of inflammation and other laboratory tests of clinical relevance (glycaemia, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and triglycerides). In addition, sociodemographic data, personal and family history, medication use and alcohol and tobacco consumption will be collected.
In this project, it is intended to contribute to minimize the problems derived from cognitive deterioration in older people.
ClincalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04966455 Registration date: July 1, 2021.
Drought is a climatic risk with notable repercussions on water supply systems. The aim of this study is to analyze the principal measures for management and planning implemented during recent decades ...in south-eastern Spain (Segura River Basin) to respond to drought situations, focusing on the role played by non-conventional water resources (desalination and treated water). The results demonstrate that the study area (despite being one of the driest places of Spain) is less vulnerable to drought than regions with an Atlantic climate and greater availability of water. This has been possible thanks to the integration of non-conventional water resources as a means of adaptation to confront this natural risk, which is estimated to become more intense and frequent in the future owing to climate change.
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