Novel Secretion Apparatus Maintains Spore Integrity and Developmental Gene Expression in Bacillus subtilis

Plos Genetics, 5(7): ARTe1000566

The transport of carboxylic acids and important role of the Jen1p transporter during the development of yeast colonies

On solid substrates, yeast colonies pass through distinct developmental phases characterized by the changes in pH of their surroundings from acidic to nearly alkaline and vice versa. At the beginning of the alkali phase colonies start to produce ammonia, which functions as a quorum-sensing molecule inducing the reprogramming of cell metabolism. Such reprogramming includes, among others, the activation of several plasma membrane transporters and is connected with colony differentiation. In the present study, we show that colony cells can use two transport mechanisms to import lactic acid: a ‘saturable’ component of the transport, which requires the presence of a functional Jen1p transporter, and a ‘non-saturable’ component (diffusion) that is independent of Jen1p. During colony development, the efficiency of both transport components changes similarly in central and outer colonial cells. Although the lactate uptake capacity of central cells gradually decreases during colony development, the lactate uptake capacity of outer cells peaks during the alkali phase and is also kept relatively high in the second acidic phase. This lactate uptake profile correlates with the localization of the Jen1p transporter to the plasma membrane of colony cells. Both lactic acid uptake mechanisms are diminished in sok2 colonies where JEN1 expression is decreased. The Sok2p transcription factor may therefore be involved in the regulation of non-saturable lactic acid uptake in yeast colonies.

European Union emissions trading scheme impact on the Spanish electricity price during phase II and phase III implementation

The European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) is a cornerstone of the European Union's policy to combat climate change and its key tool for reducing industrial greenhouse gas emissions cost-effectively. The purpose of the present work is to evaluate the influence of CO2 opportunity cost on the Spanish wholesale electricity price. Our sample includes all Phase II of the EU ETS and the first year of Phase III implementation, from January 2008 to December 2013. A vector error correction model (VECM) is applied to estimate not only long-run equilibrium relations, but also short-run interactions between the electricity price and the fuel (natural gas and coal) and carbon prices. The four commodities prices are modeled as joint endogenous variables with air temperature and renewable energy as exogenous variables. We found a long-run relationship (cointegration) between electricity price, carbon price, and fuel prices. By estimating the dynamic pass-through of carbon price into electricity price for different periods of our sample, it is possible to observe the weakening of the link between carbon and electricity prices as a result from the collapse on CO2 prices, therefore compromising the efficacy of the system to reach proposed environmental goals. This conclusion is in line with the need to shape new policies within the framework of the EU ETS that prevent excessive low prices for carbon over extended periods of time.

Pseudo Phase Plane and Fractional Calculus Modelling of Western Global Economic Downturn

This paper applies Pseudo Phase Plane (PPP) and Fractional Calculus (FC) mathematical tools for modeling world economies. A challenging global rivalry among the largest international economies began in the early 1970s, when the post-war prosperity declined. It went on, up to now. If some worrying threatens may exist actually in terms of possible ambitious military aggression, invasion, or hegemony, countries’ PPP relative positions can tell something on the current global peaceful equilibrium. A global political downturn of the USA on global hegemony in favor of Asian partners is possible, but can still be not accomplished in the next decades. If the 1973 oil chock has represented the beginning of a long-run recession, the PPP analysis of the last four decades (1972–2012) does not conclude for other partners’ global dominance (Russian, Brazil, Japan, and Germany) in reaching high degrees of similarity with the most developed world countries. The synergies of the proposed mathematical tools lead to a better understanding of the dynamics underlying world economies and point towards the estimation of future states based on the memory of each time series.

Fractional Dynamics Representation in the Pseudo Phase Plane

Proceedings of the 10th Conference on Dynamical Systems Theory and Applications

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: levels and phase distributions in preschool microenvironment

This work aims to characterize levels and phase distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in indoor air of preschool environment and to assess the impact of outdoor PAH emissions to indoor environment. Gaseous and particulate (PM1 and PM2.5) PAHs (16 USEPA priority pollutants, plus dibenzo[a,l]pyrene, and benzo[j]fluoranthene) were concurrently sampled indoors and outdoors in one urban preschool located in north of Portugal for 35 days. The total concentration of 18 PAHs (ΣPAHs) in indoor air ranged from 19.5 to 82.0 ng/m3; gaseous compounds (range of 14.1–66.1 ng/m3) accounted for 85% ΣPAHs. Particulate PAHs (range 0.7–15.9 ng/m3) were predominantly associated with PM1 (76% particulate ΣPAHs) with 5-ring PAHs being the most abundant. Mean indoor/outdoor ratios (I/O) of individual PAHs indicated that outdoor emissions significantly contributed to PAH indoors; emissions from motor vehicles and fuel burning were the major sources.

Reliability of Two Methods for Identifying the Postural Phase of Gait Initiation in Healthy and Post-stroke Subjects

This study aims to compare two methods of assessing the postural phase of gait initiation as to intrasession reliability, in healthy and post-stroke subjects. As a secondary aim, this study aims to analyse anticipatory postural adjustments during gait initiation based on the centre of pressure (CoP) displacements in post-stroke participants. The CoP signal was acquired during gait initiation in fifteen post-stroke subjects and twenty-three healthy controls. Postural phase was identified through a baseline-based method and a maximal displacement based method. In both healthy and post-stroke participants higher intra-class correlation coefficient and lower coefficient of variation values were obtained with the baseline-based method when compared to the maximal displacement based method. Post-stroke participants presented decreased CoP displacement backward and toward the first swing limb compared to controls when the baseline-based method was used. With the maximal displacement based method, there were differences between groups only regarding backward CoP displacement. Postural phase duration in medial-lateral direction was also increased in post-stroke participants when using the maximal displacement based method. The findings obtained indicate that the baseline-based method is more reliable detecting the onset of gait initiation in both groups, while the maximal displacement based method presents greater sensitivity for post-stroke participants.

Ankle antagonist coactivation in the double-support phase of walking: Stroke vs. healthy subjects

Introduction: Lesions at ipsilateral systems related to postural control at ipsilesional side, may justify the lower performance of stroke subjects during walking. Purpose: To analyse bilateral ankle antagonist coactivation during double-support in stroke subjects. Methods: Sixteen (8 females; 8 males) subjects with a first isquemic stroke, and twenty two controls (12 females; 10 males) participated in this study. The double support phase was assessed through ground reaction forces and electromyography of ankle muscles was assessed in both limbs. Results: Ipsilesional limb presented statistical significant differences from control when assuming specific roles during double support, being the tibialis anterior and soleus pair the one in which this atypical behavior was more pronounced. Conclusion: The ipsilesional limb presents a dysfunctional behavior when a higher postural control activity was demanded.

Excretion-secretion products and proteases from live Sporothrix schenckii yeast phase: immunological detection and cleavage of human IgG

Antigenic preparations from Sporothrix schenckii usually involve materials from mixed cultures of yeast and mycelia presenting cross-reactions with other deep mycoses. We have standardized pure yeast phase with high viability of the cells suitable to obtain specific excretion-secretion products without somatic contaminations. These excretion-secretion products were highly immunogenic and did not produce noticeable cross-reactions in either double immunodiffusion or Western blot. The antigenic preparation consists mainly of proteins with molecular weights between 40 and 70 kDa, some of them with proteolytic activity in mild acidic conditions. We also observed cathepsin-like activity at two days of culture and chymotrypsin-like activity at four days of culture consistent with the change in concentration of different secreted proteins. The proteases were able to cleave different subclasses of human IgG suggesting a sequential production of antigens and molecules that could interact and interfere with the immune response of the host.

Early Infantil Krabbe Disease with Unusual Survival

Introduction: Globoid cell leukodystrophy (Krabbe disease) is caused by a deficiency of the lysosomal galactocerebrosidase that results in progressive demyelination. The sole treatment is hematopoietic cell transplantation, which is only effective if performed before the onset of signs. In the absence of treatment, most children with early infantile Krabbe disease die within 2 years. Case Report: Female patient, first child of non-consanguineous parents, apparently normal till the fifth month of age when she presented with irritability, stiffness with clenched fists, developmental delay and feeding difficulties that progressed rapidly to failure to thrive, apathy, psychomotor regression, few spontaneous movements and spastic tetraparesis. Cerebral MRI showed extensive cerebral white matter abnormalities, relatively sparing the U-fibers, with a pattern of radiating stripes. Galactocerebrosidase activity in leukocytes and fibroblasts and molecular studies confirmed the diagnosis of Krabbe disease. After the rapid and regressive initial phase, she showed no further clinical progression of the disorder and although she did not grow she even showed regression of irritability and had a stable evolution and good visual contact until death over the age of 5 years. Comments: Our case shows that patients may have a stabilized form of disease and that a longer survival than described in the literature without transplant is possible in some patients.

Focal Malignant Liver Lesions: Diagnosis by Dynamic Incremental CT, Early Phase

The purpose of our study was to evaluate the accuracy of dynamic incremental bolus-enhanced conventional CT (DICT) with intravenous contrast administration, early phase, in the diagnosis of malignancy of focal liver lesions. A total of 122 lesions were selected in 74 patients considering the following criteria: lesion diameter 10 mm or more, number of lesions less than six per study, except in multiple angiomatosis and the existence of a valid criteria of definitive diagnosis. Lesions were categorized into seven levels of diagnostic confidence of malignancy compared with the definitive diagnosis for acquisition of a receiver-operator-characteristic (ROC) curve analysis and to determine the sensitivity and specificity of the technique. Forty-six and 70 lesions were correctly diagnosed as malignant and benign, respectively; there were 2 false-positive and 4 false-negative diagnoses of malignancy and the sensitivity and specificity obtained were 92 and 97%. The DICT early phase was confirmed as a highly accurate method in the characterization and diagnosis of malignancy of focal liver lesions, requiring an optimal technical performance and judicious analysis of existing semiological data.

Effects of vitamin C supplementation on acute phase Chagas disease in experimentally infected mice with Trypanosoma cruzi QM1 strain

The tissue changes that occur in Chagas disease are related to the degree of oxidative stress and antioxidant capacity of affected tissue. Studies with vitamin C supplementation did not develop oxidative damage caused by Chagas disease in the host, but other studies cite the use of peroxiredoxins ascorbate - dependent on T. cruzi to offer protection against immune reaction. Based on these propositions, thirty "Swiss" mice were infected with T. cruzi QM1 strain and treated with two different vitamin C doses in order to study the parasitemia evolution, histopathological changes and lipid peroxidation biomarkers during the acute phase of Chagas disease. The results showed that the parasite clearance was greater in animals fed with vitamin C overdose. There were no significant differences regarding the biomarkers of lipid peroxidation and inflammatory process or the increase of myocardium in animals treated with the recommended dosage. The largest amount of parasite growth towards the end of the acute phase suggests the benefit of high doses of vitamin C for trypomastigotes. The supplementation doesn't influence the production of free radicals or the number of amastigote nests in the acute phase of Chagas disease.

SOIL CONTAMINATION IN PUBLIC SQUARES IN BELO HORIZONTE, MINAS GERAIS, BY CANINE PARASITES IN DIFFERENT DEVELOPMENTAL STAGES

SUMMARY To evaluate soil contamination by parasites in different developmental stages in public squares used as recreation and leisure areas for children in Belo Horizonte (MG, Brazil), 210 soil samples and 141 canine fecal samples were collected from 42 squares in the city. These samples were analyzed by the Caldwell and Caldwell technique and the Hoffman, Pons, and Janer technique. Of the samples analyzed, 89 (42.4%) soil samples and 104 (73.5%) fecal samples were contaminated with Ancylostoma sp., Toxocara sp., Trichuris sp., or Dipylidium sp. eggs; Giardia sp. cysts; or Isospora sp. oocysts. The commonest parasite was Ancylostoma sp., found in 85% soil and 99% fecal samples, followed by Toxocara sp., found in 43.7% soil and 30.7% fecal samples.

EXPERIMENTAL INFECTION WITH Toxocara cati IN PIGS: MIGRATORY PATTERN AND PATHOLOGICAL RESPONSE IN EARLY PHASE

Experimental inoculations of approximately 100,000 infective Toxocara cati larval eggs were done in twelve pigs. The T. cati eggs used for inoculation were collected from cat's feces. Another group of three pigs served as an uninfected control. Groups of infected pigs were euthanized at seven, 14, 21, and 28 days post-inoculation (dpi). Tissue samples were taken for digestion and histopathology changes in early phase. The number of larvae recovered from the lungs peaked at seven and 14 dpi and were also present at 21, and 28 dpi. Larvae of T. cati were present in the lymph nodes of the small and large intestine at seven, 14, and 28 dpi and at seven, 14, 21, and 28 dpi respectively. In other studied tissues, no larvae or less than one larva per gram was detected. The pathological response observed in the liver and lungs at seven and 14 dpi, showed white spots on the liver surface and areas of consolidation were observed in the lungs. The lungs showed an inflammatory reaction with larvae in center at 28 dpi. In the liver we observed periportal and perilobular hepatitis. The lymph nodes of the intestines displayed eosinophil lymphadenitis with reactive centers containing parasitic forms in some of them. The granulomatous reaction was not observed in any tissues. The role of the other examined tissues had less significance. The relevance of this parasite as an etiological agent that leads to disease in paratenic hosts is evident.