The ability of haemolysins expressed by atypical enteropathogenic Escherichia coli to bind to extracellular matrix components

Typical and atypical enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) are considered important bacterial causes of diarrhoea. Considering the repertoire of virulence genes, atypical EPEC (aEPEC) is a heterogeneous group, harbouring genes that are found in other diarrheagenic E. coli pathotypes, such as those encoding haemolysins. Haemolysins are cytolytic toxins that lyse host cells disrupting the function of the plasma membrane. In addition, these cytolysins mediate a connection to vascular tissue and/or blood components, such as plasma and cellular fibronectin. Therefore, we investigated the haemolytic activity of 72 aEPEC isolates and determined the correlation of this phenotype with the presence of genes encoding enterohaemolysins (Ehly) and cytolysin A (ClyA). In addition, the correlation between the expression of haemolysins and the ability of these secreted proteins to adhere to extracellular matrix (ECM) components was also assessed in this study. Our findings demonstrate that a subset of aEPEC presents haemolytic activity due to the expression of Ehlys and/or ClyA and that this activity is closely related to the ability of these isolates to bind to ECM components.

Neutralising antibodies for West Nile virus in horses from Brazilian Pantanal

Despite evidence of West Nile virus (WNV) activity in Colombia, Venezuela and Argentina, this virus has not been reported in most South American countries. In February 2009, we commenced an investigation for WNV in mosquitoes, horses and caimans from the Pantanal, Central-West Brazil. The sera of 168 horses and 30 caimans were initially tested using a flaviviruses-specific epitope-blocking enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (blocking ELISA) for the detection of flavivirus-reactive antibodies. The seropositive samples were further tested using a plaque-reduction neutralisation test (PRNT90) for WNV and its most closely-related flaviviruses that circulate in Brazil to confirm the detection of specific virus-neutralising antibodies. Of the 93 (55.4%) blocking ELISA-seropositive horse serum samples, five (3%) were seropositive for WNV, nine (5.4%) were seropositive for St. Louis encephalitis virus, 18 (10.7%) were seropositive for Ilheus virus, three (1.8%) were seropositive for Cacipacore virus and none were seropositive for Rocio virus using PRNT90, with a criteria of > four-fold antibody titre difference. All caimans were negative for flaviviruses-specific antibodies using the blocking ELISA. No virus genome was detected from caiman blood or mosquito samples. The present study is the first report of confirmed serological evidence of WNV activity in Brazil.

A RT-PCR method for selective amplification and phenotypic characterization of all three serotypes of Sabin-related polioviruses from viral mixtures

Outbreaks caused by vaccine-derived polioviruses are challenging the final eradication of paralytic poliomyelitis. Therefore, the surveillance of the acute flaccid paralysis cases based on poliovirus isolation and characterization remains an essential activity. Due to the use of trivalent oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV), mixtures containing more than one serotype of Sabin-related polioviruses are frequently isolated from clinical samples. Because each poliovirus isolate needs to be individually analyzed, we designed polymerase chain reaction primers that can selectively distinguish and amplify a genomic segment of the three Sabin-related poliovirus serotypes present in mixtures, thus, optimizing the diagnosis and providing prompt information to support epidemiologic actions.

Metallo-β-lactamase-production in meropenem-susceptible Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates: risk for silent spread

The aim of this study was to characterize two metallo-β-lactamases (MBLs)-producing Pseudomonas aeruginosa clinical isolates showing meropenem susceptibility. Antimicrobial susceptibility was assessed by automated testing and Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute agar dilution method. MBL production was investigated by phenotypic tests. Molecular typing was determined by pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). MBL-encoding genes, as well as their genetic context, were identified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequencing. The location of blaIMP-16 was determined by plasmid electrophoresis, Southern blot and hybridization. Transcriptional levels of blaIMP-16, mexB, mexD, mexF, mexY, ampC and oprD were determined by semi-quantitative real time PCR. The P. aeruginosa isolates studied, Pa30 and Pa43, showed imipenem and meropenem susceptibility by automated testing. Agar dilution assays confirmed meropenem susceptibility whereas both isolates showed low level of imipenem resistance. Pa30 and Pa43 were phenotypically detected as MBL producers. PFGE revealed their clonal relatedness. blaIMP-16 was identified in both isolates, carried as a single cassette in a class 1 integron that was embedded in a plasmid of about 60-Kb. Pa30 and Pa43 overexpressed MexAB-OprM, MexCD-OprJ and MexXY-OprM efflux systems and showed basal transcriptional levels of ampC and oprD. MBL-producing P. aeruginosa that are not resistant to meropenem may represent a risk for therapeutic failure and act as silent reservoirs of MBL-encoding genes.

Serologic survey of West Nile virus in horses from Central-West, Northeast and Southeast Brazil

Since the emergence of West Nile virus (WNV) in North America in 1999, there have been several reports of WNV activity in Central and South American countries. To detect WNV in Brazil, we performed a serological survey of horses from different regions of Brazil using recombinant peptides from domain III of WNV. Positive samples were validated with the neutralisation test. Our results showed that of 79 ELISA-positive horses, nine expressed WNV-specific neutralising antibodies. Eight of the infected horses were from the state of Mato Grosso do Sul and one was from the state of Paraíba. Our results provide additional evidence for the emergence of WNV in Brazil and for its circulation in multiple regions of the country.

De Tàrraco a Bàrcino : Factors econòmics, polítics i socials decisius pel canvi de capitalitat a la futura Catalunya

Anàlisi de les causes per les quals la magnífica Tàrraco romana, capital de la província Tarraconense, va entrar en un procés de decadència que va permetre l'auge de Bàrcino, una petita ciutat que va esdevenir en el futur la capital de Catalunya. L'anàlisi abarca des de la fundació de les dues ciutats romanes fins a l'entrada i domini dels visigots.

Genetic variability in G2 and F2 region between biological clones of human respiratory syncytial virus with or without host immune selection pressure

Human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV) is an important respiratory pathogens among children between zero-five years old. Host immunity and viral genetic variability are important factors that can make vaccine production difficult. In this work, differences between biological clones of HRSV were detected in clinical samples in the absence and presence of serum collected from children in the convalescent phase of the illness and from their biological mothers. Viral clones were selected by plaque assay in the absence and presence of serum and nucleotide sequences of the G2 and F2 genes of HRSV biological clones were compared. One non-synonymous mutation was found in the F gene (Ile5Asn) in one clone of an HRSV-B sample and one non-synonymous mutation was found in the G gene (Ser291Pro) in four clones of the same HRSV-B sample. Only one of these clones was obtained after treatment with the child's serum. In addition, some synonymous mutations were determined in two clones of the HRSV-A samples. In conclusion, it is possible that minor sequences could be selected by host antibodies contributing to the HRSV evolutionary process, hampering the development of an effective vaccine, since we verify the same codon alteration in absence and presence of human sera in individual clones of BR-85 sample.

Revised nomenclature and classification of inherited ichthyoses: results of the First Ichthyosis Consensus Conference in Sorèze 2009.

BACKGROUND: Inherited ichthyoses belong to a large, clinically and etiologically heterogeneous group of mendelian disorders of cornification, typically involving the entire integument. Over the recent years, much progress has been made defining their molecular causes. However, there is no internationally accepted classification and terminology. OBJECTIVE: We sought to establish a consensus for the nomenclature and classification of inherited ichthyoses. METHODS: The classification project started at the First World Conference on Ichthyosis in 2007. A large international network of expert clinicians, skin pathologists, and geneticists entertained an interactive dialogue over 2 years, eventually leading to the First Ichthyosis Consensus Conference held in Sorèze, France, on January 23 and 24, 2009, where subcommittees on different issues proposed terminology that was debated until consensus was reached. RESULTS: It was agreed that currently the nosology should remain clinically based. "Syndromic" versus "nonsyndromic" forms provide a useful major subdivision. Several clinical terms and controversial disease names have been redefined: eg, the group caused by keratin mutations is referred to by the umbrella term, "keratinopathic ichthyosis"-under which are included epidermolytic ichthyosis, superficial epidermolytic ichthyosis, and ichthyosis Curth-Macklin. "Autosomal recessive congenital ichthyosis" is proposed as an umbrella term for the harlequin ichthyosis, lamellar ichthyosis, and the congenital ichthyosiform erythroderma group. LIMITATIONS: As more becomes known about these diseases in the future, modifications will be needed. CONCLUSION: We have achieved an international consensus for the classification of inherited ichthyosis that should be useful for all clinicians and can serve as reference point for future research.

Uso y percepción social de los recursos naturales en la cuenca media del río Lules, provincia de Tucumán (Argentina)

És conegut que arreu del món hi ha moltes poblacions aïllades que encara viuen a partir de l’agricultura i la ramaderia de subsistència i que utilitzen tots aquells recursos del seu entorn per tal de cobrir les serves necessitats bàsiques. Aquest ús acostuma a ser insostenible, fent que l’entorn tendeixi a degradar-se cada cop més. El projecte representa una peça bàsica en la inserció del desenvolupament sostenible per a moltes d’aquestes poblacions, com és el cas de les comunes el riu Lules (Tucumán, Argentina). Basat en entrevistes i enquestes als pobladors, es fa una anàlisi estadística per determinar l’ús i la percepció de canvi que tenen els habitants, i a la vegada, es relaciona amb altres variables com el nivell socioeconòmic i l’edat, entre d’altres. Aquesta anàlisi juntament amb l’observació directa, permet fer una diagnosi de l’àrea i, conseqüentment, una llista de propostes (i desenvolupament de les més urgents) per tal de crear un pla de gestió de la zona i poder assegurar el seu desenvolupament sostenible

The dynamics of Brazilian protozoology over the past century

Brazilian scientists have been contributing to the protozoology field for more than 100 years with important discoveries of new species such asTrypanosoma cruzi and Leishmania spp. In this work, we used a Brazilian thesis database (Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel) covering the period from 1987-2011 to identify researchers who contributed substantially to protozoology. We selected 248 advisors by filtering to obtain researchers who supervised at least 10 theses. Based on a computational analysis of the thesis databases, we found students who were supervised by these scientists. A computational procedure was developed to determine the advisors’ scientific ancestors using the Lattes Platform. These analyses provided a list of 1,997 researchers who were inspected through Lattes CV examination and allowed the identification of the pioneers of Brazilian protozoology. Moreover, we investigated the areas in which researchers who earned PhDs in protozoology are now working. We found that 68.4% of them are still in protozoology, while 16.7% have migrated to other fields. We observed that support for protozoology by national or international agencies is clearly correlated with the increase of scientists in the field. Finally, we described the academic genealogy of Brazilian protozoology by formalising the “forest” of Brazilian scientists involved in the study of protozoa and their vectors over the past century.

Dilemas de pais e filhos no processo sucessório de empresas familiares

Com o objetivo geral de destacar e analisar a vivência de dilemas de pais e filhos no que concerne ao processo sucessório em empresas familiares, desenvolveu-se pesquisa exploratória de orientação qualitativa a partir do pressuposto de que esses dilemas tenham papel determinante no planejamento (ou falta dele), execução e desfecho do processo sucessório, no futuro da empresa familiar e em suas chances de continuidade. No trabalho, buscou-se aliar o suporte teórico oferecido pela abordagem aplicada às empresas familiares às ideias de Bauman (2007a; 2007b; 2008) sobre a liquidez da existência e ao campo empírico referente a organizações com essas características, de um segmento específico de serviços. A coleta de dados deu-se por meio da realização de entrevistas individuais semiestruturadas que somaram um total de 12 sujeitos - cinco pais-sucedidos e sete filhos-sucessores -, todos eles atuantes em cinco pequenas e médias empresas familiares brasileiras. Nesse sentido, foram identificados dez dilemas principais a serem abordados no presente artigo. Desses, cinco foram dilemas relativos aos pais-sucedidos entrevistados e cinco foram dilemas relativos aos filhos-sucessores indicados pelos primeiros. Analisados à luz da literatura, os resultados indicam, como um aspecto com cunho conclusivo, que os dilemas dos pais-sucedidos entrevistados estão prioritariamente relacionados com a dualidade vida-morte, enquanto os dilemas dos filhos-sucessores estão centrados na questão de legitimação pessoal. Igualmente, identificou-se, a partir do objetivo principal proposto, que os referidos dilemas de pais-sucedidos e filhos-sucessores podem influenciar e inclusive serem determinantes para o trato e o desenvolvimento da questão sucessória dentro da empresa familiar. Por derradeiro, expõem-se as limitações da pesquisa e apresentam-se sugestões para futuros trabalhos sobre o tema.

Disseny, automatització i telecontrol d'una EBAR

Per tal de poder recollir part de les aigües residuals de la població de Llafranc i fer-les arribar a la depuradora d’aigües residuals (EDAR) de Palamós, és necessari impulsarla. Amb aquesta millora, s’aconseguirà assegurar la impulsióde les aigües residuals de Llafranc tenint en compte les necessitats actuals i futures.S’evitarà l’abocament d’aigües residuals a la riera i mar tal i com està passantactualment amb l’EBAR original ja que no es correspon el cabal de disseny inicial ambel cabal actual. També es garanteix la impulsió de la majoria d’aigües pluvials degut aque no està separada la xarxa d’aigües residuals de la xarxa d’aigües pluvials.A més es garanteix un millor funcionament en els equips degut a la instal•laciód’equips adequats a les tecnologies actuals, poden controlar tot el sistemacorrectament.L’automatització de l’EBAR permetrà reduir el temps de manteniment i neteja de lesinstal•lacions, i reduir el nombre d’avaries de les instal•lacions.A més es reduirà el risc d’abocaments incontrolats per la instal•lació d’un sistema detelecontrol que permetrà assabentar automàticament de qualsevol anomalia a lapersona responsable de mantenir i garantir el funcionament de les instal•lacions.En cas de fallada del subministrament elèctric, es pot garantir durant un cert temps elfuncionament de l’EBAR degut a la instal•lació d’un grup electrogen, tenint més margede maniobra en cas d’una incidència

POSSUM escore como preditor de mortalidade em pacientes cirúrgicos

O estudo avaliou a utilização do escore POSSUM (Physiological and Operative Severity Score for Enumeration of Mortality and Morbidity) para predizer a mortalidade na prática cirúrgica.Foram analisados 416 pacientes cirúrgicos com internação na UTI para cuidados de pós-operatório. Foram realizadas comparações entre as taxas de mortalidade predita e observada de acordo com 4 grupos de risco: 0-4%, 5-14%, 15-49%, 50% ou mais, e calculada a área sob a curva ROC do escore POSSUM e APACHE II para a mortalidade. A taxa de mortalidade foi de 22,4%. O escores POSSUM e APACHE II superestimaram o risco de morte, e a área sob a curva ROC do POSSUM foi de 0,762 e a do APACHE II de 0,737, sugerindo a utilização do POSSUM como ferramenta auxiliar na predição de risco de morte em pacientes cirúrgicos.

Correlation of diffusion tensor tractography and intraoperative macrostimulation during deep brain stimulation for Parkinson disease.

Object The purpose of this study was to investigate whether diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) of the corticospinal tract (CST) is a reliable surrogate for intraoperative macrostimulation through the deep brain stimulation (DBS) leads. The authors hypothesized that the distance on MRI from the DBS lead to the CST as determined by DTI would correlate with intraoperative motor thresholds from macrostimulations through the same DBS lead. Methods The authors retrospectively reviewed pre- and postoperative MRI studies and intraoperative macrostimulation recordings in 17 patients with Parkinson disease (PD) treated by DBS stimulation. Preoperative DTI tractography of the CST was coregistered with postoperative MRI studies showing the position of the DBS leads. The shortest distance and the angle from each contact of each DBS lead to the CST was automatically calculated using software-based analysis. The distance measurements calculated for each contact were evaluated with respect to the intraoperative voltage thresholds that elicited a motor response at each contact. Results There was a nonsignificant trend for voltage thresholds to increase when the distances between the DBS leads and the CST increased. There was a significant correlation between the angle and the voltage, but the correlation was weak (coefficient of correlation [R] = 0.36). Conclusions Caution needs to be exercised when using DTI tractography information to guide DBS lead placement in patients with PD. Further studies are needed to compare DTI tractography measurements with other approaches such as microelectrode recordings and conventional intraoperative MRI-guided placement of DBS leads.

Ikea en la Unión Europea

Vivimos en un mundo en el que las relaciones comerciales, los precios y los mercados internacionales están a la orden del día. Empresas con ánimo de lucro planean estrategias para lograr captar el mayor número de clientes posible. Los precios de los productos, estrategia principal de dichas empresas, varían según la oferta y la demanda de los mismos, así como del país en el que se comercializan. Este es el factor principal que nos ha llamado la atención y nos ha conducido a realizar nuestro proyecto. ¿Porqué el precio del mismo producto cambia según dónde lo compres?, ¿Es realmente más caro en un país que en otro si lo comparamos con el coste de la vida de cada uno?, ¿Realmente hay una integración de mercado en la UE?, ¿Cuál es el coste total de tener una casa?Para responder a todas estas preguntas, hemos diseñado un proyecto en el que tomamos como base una empresa que venda un producto homogéneo en toda la UE.La empresa escogida es IKEA, puesto que se encuentra establecida en gran parte de los países que la conforman, y ofrece la misma gama de productos en todos ellos, con algunas excepciones.