A mechanism of carbapenem resistance due to a new insertion element (ISPa133) in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

This study explored the evolutionary mechanism by which the clinical isolate PA110514 yields the imipenemresistant derivative PA116136. Both isolates were examined by PFGE and SDS-PAGE, which led to the identification of a new insertion sequence, ISPa133. This element was shown to have distinct chromosomal locations in each of the original isolates that appeared to explain the differences in imipenem susceptibilty. In strain PA110514, ISPa133 is located 56 nucleotides upstream of the translational start codon, which has no effect on expression of the porin OprD. However, in strain PA116136 ISPa133 it is located in front of nucleotide 696 and, by interrupting the coding region, causes a loss of OprD expression, thus conferring imipenem resistance. In vitro experiments mimicking the natural conditions of selective pressure yielded imipenem-resistant strains in which ISPa133 similarly interrupted oprD. A mechanism is proposed whereby ISPa133 acts as a mobile switch, with its position in oprD depending on the degree of selective pressure exerted by imipenem

Enrichment cultures should be performed in the detection of bacterial oral human pathogens in DUWLs

Water delivered by dental units during routine dental practice is densely contaminated by bacteria. The aim of this study was to determine actual isolation of the microorganisms sprayed from Dental Unit Water Lines (DUWLs) when enrichment cultures are performed and to compare frequencies with those obtained without enrichment cultures. Moreover, the antimicrobial susceptibilities of the microorganisms isolated were also studied. Water samples were collected from one hundred dental equipments in use at Dental Hospital of our University in order to evaluate the presence/absence of microorganisms and to perform their presumptive identification. Aliquots from all of the samples were inoculated in eight different media including both enrichment and selective media. Minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) were determined by the broth dilution method. The results herein reported demonstrate that most of the DUWLs were colonized by bacteria from human oral cavity; when enrichment procedures were applied the percentage of DUWLs with detectable human bacteria was one hundred percent. The results showed that in order to evaluate the actual risk of infections spread by DUWLs the inclusion of a step of pre-enrichment should be performed. The need for devices preventing bacterial contamination of DUWLs is a goal to be achieved in the near future that would contribute to maintain safety in dental medical assistance

"In vitro" comparative experimental study of antimicrobial action of mouth washing products

Regular use of mouth rinses modifies the oral habitat, since bacterial populations are submitted to a high selective pressure during the treatment exercised by the active presence of the disinfectant. Mostly mouth rinses are based on the antibacterial effect of Chlorhexidine, Triclosan, essential oils and other antibacterials although other pharmaceutical characteristics can also affect their effectiveness. In this paper we compare"in vitro" the antibacterial effect of different oral rinsing solutions. Minimal Inhibitory Concentrations (MIC) and Minimal Bactericidal Concentrations (MBC) were determined as well as the kinetics of bacterial death in the presence of letal concentrations of the mouth rinses. MIC values expressed as Maximal Inhibitory Dilution (MID) of the mouth rinse ranged from 1 to 1/2048 depending on the microorganism and product, whereas Minimal Biocidal Concentration (MBC), expressed as Maximal Biocidal Dilution (MBD) ranged from 1 to 1/1024, being in general one dilution less than MIC. Maximal Biocidal Dilution is a good tool to measure the actual efficiency of mouth washing solutions. However, kinetics of death seems to be better in our work killing curves demonstrate that bacterial populations are mostly eliminated during the first minute after the contact of bacterial suspension and the mouth-washing solution. In all tested bacterial species mouth-washing solutions tested were able to reduce until suspension treated except 1 and 5

Oral pathogens in duwl's: risk of infection and strategies for their control

Water lines are an important source of potentíal contamination. Every dental unit is equipped with small-bore flexible plastic tubing to bring water to different hand pieces, such as the air/water syringe, the ultrasonic scaler or the high-speed hand piece. Most dental units are connected directly to municipal distribution systems for potable water and chlorinated or not, this water contains diverse...

Ocorrência e distribuição geográfica do bacurizeiro

O bacurizeiro é espécie frutífera promissora, devido as amplas possibilidades que apresenta como planta de uso múltiplo (madeira e fruto), podendo vir a se constituir, em breve, em nova alternativa de cultura perene para a Amazônia. A ocorrência e a distribuição geográfica do bacurizeiro, apresentadas neste trabalho, baseiam-se em grande parte nos levantamentos sobre vegetação efetuados pela Comissão Executora do Projeto Radambrasil, por levantamentos em herbários, além de informações em inventários florísticos contidos na literatura. O objetivo deste trabalho foi registrar a distribuição geográfica do bacurizeiro, visando a estudos de disponibilidade genética e coleta de material para definir procedimentos adequados para seu cultivo e conseqüente redução de pressão sobre as populações nativas. Não existem dúvidas sobre a origem amazônica do bacurizeiro, sendo encontrado, no início do século vinte, tanto na margem esquerda como na margem direita do Rio Pará, abundante na costa sudeste da ilha do Marajó, onde se constitui em árvore característica das matas marginais. Em toda a Amazônia, a área de maior concentração da espécie é o estuário do Rio Amazonas. Do Estado do Pará, dispersou-se em direção ao nordeste do Brasil, alcançando os cerrados e chapadões dos Estados do Maranhão e Piauí. Na direção sul, a dispersão atingiu os Estados de Tocantins e Mato Grosso, chegando a romper as fronteiras do Brasil. Na direção norte, atingiu o Estado do Amapá, ocorrendo também, embora de forma rara, no Estado do Amazonas.

Multi-scale effects of nestling diet on breeding performance in a terrestrial top predator inferred from stable isotope analysis

Inter-individual diet variation within populations is likely to have important ecological and evolutionary implications. The diet-fitness relationships at the individual level and the emerging population processes are, however, poorly understood for most avian predators inhabiting complex terrestrial ecosystems. In this study, we use an isotopic approach to assess the trophic ecology of nestlings in a long-lived raptor, the Bonelli"s eagle Aquila fasciata, and investigate whether nestling dietary breath and main prey consumption can affect the species" reproductive performance at two spatial scales: territories within populations and populations over a large geographic area. At the territory level, those breeding pairs whose nestlings consumed similar diets to the overall population (i.e. moderate consumption of preferred prey, but complemented by alternative prey categories) or those disproportionally consuming preferred prey were more likely to fledge two chicks. An increase in the diet diversity, however, related negatively with productivity. The age and replacements of breeding pair members had also an influence on productivity, with more fledglings associated to adult pairs with few replacements, as expected in long-lived species. At the population level, mean productivity was higher in those population-years with lower dietary breadth and higher diet similarity among territories, which was related to an overall higher consumption of preferred prey. Thus, we revealed a correspondence in diet-fitness relationships at two spatial scales: territories and populations. We suggest that stable isotope analyses may be a powerful tool to monitor the diet of terrestrial avian predators on large spatio-temporal scales, which could serve to detect potential changes in the availability of those prey on which predators depend for breeding. We encourage ecologists and evolutionary and conservation biologists concerned with the multi-scale fitness consequences of inter-individual variation in resource use to employ similar stable isotope-based approaches, which can be successfully applied to complex ecosystems such as the Mediterranean.

Estructura espacial de un ecotono bosque subalpino pastos alpinos en el Tessó de Son (Pirineos Centrales) formado por bandas altitudinales de árboles

El límite altitudinal del bosque y los pastos alpinos forman los límites inferior y superior del ecotono bosque subalpino-pastos alpinos, respectivamente. El objetivo es la descripción espacial de este ecotono, en un sitio poco afectado por perturbaciones humanas locales (Tessó, 42° 36' N, 01° 03' E), para inferir los procesos que generaron su estructura espacial. Este ecotono está compuesto por Pinus uncinata y su límite altitudinal se sitúa a -2350 m snm. Se midieron la localización (coordenadas x e y) y varias características (diámetros en la base -Db- y a 1,3 m -Dbh-, altura, edad estimada, etc.) para cada árbol dentro de una parcela rectangular (30 m x 140 m) paralela a la máxima pendiente y cruzando el ecotono. La estructura espacial se describió mediante cuatro grupos de técnicas:(i) análisis del patrón de puntos, (ii) análisis del patrón de superficies, (iii) detección y descripción de fronteras (lattice-wombling), y (iv) ordenación de 115 cuadrados de 6 m x 6 m en que se subdividió la parcela de acuerdo a su posición en el ecotono y al tipo de individuos de P. uncinata (adultos, jóvenes, vástagos, plántulas y muertos) y de plantas (arbustos y herbáceas) que contenían. El límite del bosque se sitúa bajo el límite forestal potencial marcado por la isoterma de 10 ºC para la temperatura media del mes más cálido. A lo largo de la pendiente, las plántulas de P. uncinata aparecen por encima del límite del árbol, donde predomina Dryas octopetala, mientras que los individuos grandes (adultos) aparecen cerca o dentro del bosque, con un sotobosque dominado por densas matas de Rhododendron ferrugineum acompañadas por Vaccinium myrtillus sobre un sustrato de materia orgánica. La ordenación confirma estos resultados colocando a los individuos muertos en una posición intermedia. La variación a lo largo del ecotono de diversas variables ...

Utilização de marcadores ISSR na avaliação da divergência genética entre acessos de biribazeiro

O biribazeiro é uma planta frutífera nativa das matas Atlântica e Amazônica. Seus frutos têm grande aceitação popular para consumo in natura. Objetivou-se com este estudo a avaliação da diversidade genética de acessos de biribazeiro (Rollinia mucosa [Jacq.] Baill) com a utilização de marcadores moleculares ISSR. Foram analisados 16 acessos com 20 primers ISSR, os quais produziram um total de 118 bandas, sendo 96 polimórficas e 22 monomórficas. Os valores de dissimilaridade genética, calculados de acordo com o complemento do índice de Jaccard, variaram de 0,0909 a 0,5147. O método UPGMA (Unweighted Pair Group Method Average) agrupou os acessos em seis grupos. Os acessos 1 e 5 foram mais dissimilares e 11 e 12 os menos dissimilares. Os marcadores ISSR utilizados neste estudo demonstraram eficiência na detecção de polimorfismos moleculares, revelando variabilidade genética entre os 16 acessos. Diante dos resultados obtidos neste trabalho, é possível inferir que existe considerável variabilidade genética entre os acessos de biribazeiro, demonstrando a importância dos marcadores na análise de variabilidade de espécies pouco estudadas, como Rollinia mucosa [Jacq.]Baill.

Els briòfits de les basses de l’Albera, Alt Empordà

We have studied some depressions and areas temporarily flooded where after the water evaporates, a high diversity and abundance of bryophyta can be observed on the emerged soil. For the distribution of these bryophytes we have established three concentric zones according to their humidity level. At the most external one, which is seldom flooded, the hepatics Riccia gougetiana and Fossombronia maritima were found, as well as various Anthocerotae. At the emerged zone Pseudephemerum nitidum, Archidium alternifolium and a high number of Riccia species, such as R. macrocarpa and R. warnstorfii could be found. In some depressions with a long flooding period, we observed pleurocarpous mosses such as Amblystegium riparium and Drepanocladus aduncus

Selecting the most relevant variables for anaerobic digestion imbalances : Two case studies

In this study, a wrapper approach was applied to objectively select the most important variables related to two different anaerobic digestion imbalances, acidogenic states and foaming. This feature selection method, implemented in artificial neural networks (ANN), was performed using input and output data from a fully instrumented pilot plant (1 m 3 upflow fixed bed digester). Results for acidogenic states showed that pH, volatile fatty acids, and inflow rate were the most relevant variables. Results for foaming showed that inflow rate and total organic carbon were among the relevant variables, both of which were related to the feed loading of the digester. Because there is not a complete agreement on the causes of foaming, these results highlight the role of digester feeding patterns in the development of foaming