Highly effective fungal inactivation in He+O2 atmospheric-pressure nonequilibrium plasmas

Highly effective (more than 99.9%) inactivation of a pathogenic fungus Candida albicans commonly found in oral, respiratory, digestive, and reproduction systems of a human body using atmospheric-pressure plasma jets sustained in He+ O2 gas mixtures is reported. The inactivation is demonstrated in two fungal culture configurations with open (Petri dish without a cover) and restricted access to the atmosphere (Petri dish with a cover) under specific experimental conditions. It is shown that the fungal inactivation is remarkably more effective in the second configuration. This observation is supported by the scanning and transmission electron microscopy of the fungi before and after the plasma treatment. The inactivation mechanism explains the experimental observations under different experimental conditions and is consistent with the reports by other authors. The results are promising for the development of advanced health care applications.

Virtual power producers integration into MASCEM

All over the world Distributed Generation is seen as a valuable help to get cleaner and more efficient electricity. Under this context distributed generators, owned by different decentralized players can provide a significant amount of the electricity generation. To get negotiation power and advantages of scale economy, these players can be aggregated giving place to a new concept: the Virtual Power Producer. Virtual Power Producers are multi-technology and multi-site heterogeneous entities. Virtual Power Producers should adopt organization and management methodologies so that they can make Distributed Generation a really profitable activity, able to participate in the market. In this paper we address the integration of Virtual Power Producers into an electricity market simulator –MASCEM – as a coalition of distributed producers.

Electromagnetismo : deducción de las fórmulas más importantes partiendo de la ley de Ampere relativa a la acción de corrientes.

Se dan a conocer los resultados de una experiencia que desarrolla el Electromagnetismo partiendo de la segunda ley de Ampère relativa a la acción entre corrientes: ley fundamental, acción mutua entre dos corrientes, acción de una inducción sobre una corriente, acción de una inducción sobre una carga en movimiento, inducción creada por un elemento de corriente, ley de Biot y Savart, inducción creada por una corriente rectilínea indefinida, inducción en el centro de una espira circular e inducción creada por una carga en movimiento.

Effect of superstimulatory treatments on the expression of genes related to ovulatory capacity, oocyte competence and embryo development in cattle.

Multiple ovulation (superovulation) and embryo transfer has been used extensively in cattle. In the past decade, superstimulatory treatment protocols that synchronise follicle growth and ovulation, allowing for improved donor management and fixed-time AI (FTAI), have been developed for zebu (Bos indicus) and European (Bos taurus) breeds of cattle. There is evidence that additional stimulus with LH (through the administration of exogenous LH or equine chorionic gonadotrophin (eCG)) on the last day of the superstimulatory treatment protocol, called the 'P-36 protocol' for FTAI, can increase embryo yield compared with conventional protocols that are based on the detection of oestrus. However, inconsistent results with the use of hormones that stimulate LH receptors (LHR) have prompted further studies on the roles of LH and its receptors in ovulatory capacity (acquisition of LHR in granulosa cells), oocyte competence and embryo quality in superstimulated cattle. Recent experiments have shown that superstimulation with FSH increases mRNA expression of LHR and angiotensin AT(2) receptors in granulosa cells of follicles >8 mm in diameter. In addition, FSH decreases mRNA expression of growth differentiation factor 9 (GDF9) and bone morphogenetic protein 15 (BMP15) in oocytes, but increases the expression of both in cumulus cells, without diminishing the capacity of cumulus-oocyte complexes to generate blastocysts. Although these results indicate that superstimulation with FSH is not detrimental to oocyte competence, supplementary studies are warranted to investigate the effects of superstimulation on embryo quality and viability. In addition, experiments comparing the cellular and/or molecular effects of adding eCG to the P-36 treatment protocol are being conducted to elucidate the effects of superstimulatory protocols on the yield of viable embryos.

Classical cadherin adhesion molecules: coordinating cell adhesion, signaling and the cytoskeleton

Classical cadherin adhesion molecules are fundamental determinants of tissue organization in both health and disease. Recent advances in understanding the molecular and cellular basis of cadherin function have revealed that these adhesion molecules serve as molecular couplers, linking cell surface adhesion and recognition to both the actin cytoskeleton and cell signalling pathways. We will review some of these developments. to provide an overview of progress in this rapidly-developing area of cell and developmental biology.