Quantitative biodistribution of nanoparticles in plants with lanthanide complexes.

The inefficient distribution of fertilizers, nutrients, and pesticides on crops is a major challenge in modern agriculture that leads to reduced productivity and environmental pollution. Nanoformulation of agrochemicals is an attractive approach to enable the selective delivery of agents into specific plant organs, their release in those tissues, and improve their efficiency. Already commercialized nanofertilizers utilize the physiochemical properties of metal nanoparticles such as size, charge, and the metal core to overcome biological barriers in plants to reach their target sites. Despite their wide application in human diseases, lipid nanoparticles are rarely used in agricultural applications and a systematic screening approach to identifying efficacious formulations has not been reported. Here, we developed a quantitative metal-encoded platform to determine the biodistribution of different lipid nanoparticles in plant tissues. In this platform lanthanide metal complexes were encapsulated into four types of lipid nanoparticles. Our approach was able to successfully quantify payload accumulation for all the lipid formulations across the roots, stem, and leaf of the plant. Lanthanide levels were 20- to 57-fold higher in the leaf and 100- to 10,000-fold higher in the stem for the nanoparticle encapsulated lanthanide complexes compared to the unencapsulated, free lanthanide complex. This system will facilitate the discovery of nanoparticles as delivery carriers for agrochemicals and plant tissue-targeting products.

Shorter heels are linked with greater elastic energy storage in the Achilles tendon.

Previous research suggests that the moment arm of the m. triceps surae tendon (i.e., Achilles tendon), is positively correlated with the energetic cost of running. This relationship is derived from a model which predicts that shorter ankle moment arms place larger loads on the Achilles tendon, which should result in a greater amount of elastic energy storage and return. However, previous research has not empirically tested this assumed relationship. We test this hypothesis using an inverse dynamics approach in human subjects (n = 24) at speeds ranging from walking to sprinting. The spring function of the Achilles tendon was evaluated using specific net work, a metric of mechanical energy production versus absorption at a limb joint. We also combined kinematic and morphological data to directly estimate tendon stress and elastic energy storage. We find that moment arm length significantly determines the spring-like behavior of the Achilles tendon, as well as estimates of mass-specific tendon stress and elastic energy storage at running and sprinting speeds. Our results provide support for the relationship between short Achilles tendon moment arms and increased elastic energy storage, providing an empirical mechanical rationale for previous studies demonstrating a relationship between calcaneal length and running economy. We also demonstrate that speed and kinematics moderate tendon performance, suggesting a complex relationship between lower limb geometry and foot strike pattern.

Fibroblast growth factor-21 potentiates glucose transport in skeletal muscle fibers.

Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) is a pleiotropic peptide hormone that is considered a myokine playing a role in a variety of endocrine functions, including regulation of glucose transport and lipid metabolism. Although FGF21 has been associated with glucose metabolism in skeletal muscle cells, its cellular mechanism in adult skeletal muscle fibers glucose uptake is poorly understood. In the present study, we found that FGF21 induced a dose-response effect, increasing glucose uptake in skeletal muscle fibers from flexor digitorum brevis muscle of mice, evaluated using the fluorescent glucose analog 2-NBDG (300 µM) in single living fibers. This effect was prevented by the use of either Cytochalasin B (5 µM) or Indinavir (100 µM), both antagonists of GLUT4 activity. The use of PI3K inhibitors such as Wortmannin (100 nM) and LY294002 (50 µM) completely prevented the FGF21-dependent glucose uptake. In fibers electroporated with the construct encoding GLUT4myc-eGFP chimera and stimulated with FGF21 (100 ng/mL), a strong sarcolemmal GLUT4 label was detected. This effect promoted by FGF21 was demonstrated to be dependent on atypical PKC-ζ, by using selective PKC inhibitors. FGF21 at low concentrations potentiated the effect of insulin on glucose uptake but at high concentrations, completely inhibited the uptake in the presence of insulin. These results suggest that FGF21 regulates glucose uptake by a mechanism mediated by GLUT4 and dependent on atypical PKC-ζ- in skeletal muscle.

[Epidemiology and clinical of infections and colonizations caused by Enterobacterales producing carbapenemases in a tertiary hospital]. / Epidemiología y clínica de las infecciones y colonizaciones causadas por enterobacterias productoras de carbapenemasas en un hospital de tercer nivel.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the epidemiology of Enterobacterales producing carbapenemases (EPC) in a tertiary hospital. METHODS: A retrospective observational study, all patients with a positive sample for EPC treated in hospitalization or in the Emergency Department were included, between January 1, 2014 and December 31, 2016. RESULTS: A total of 272 patients (316 samples) were included: 155 (57%) male. Mean age of 70.4 years (95% CI 68.2 -72.7). Mean Charlson index was 3.6 (95% CI 3.4-3.8). In 63.2% the acquisition was nosocomial, in 35.3% it was health-care associated (HA). 55.1% presented infection, the most frequent infection was urinary tract infection (UTI) (58.7%). The most frequent species were Klebsiella pneumoniae (62.7%) and Enterobacter cloacae (10.1%). The most frequent types of carbapenemase were OXA-48 (53.8%) and VIM (43%). The nosocomial acquisition was associated with the male gender, transplantation, immunosuppression, admission to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) or surgical service, prior antibiotic treatment, Enterobacter, VIM, respiratory and intra-abdominal infections. The HA acquisition was associated with age and comorbidity, nursery home origin, bladder catheterization, greater number of outpatient procedures, previous hospital admission, K. pneumoniae and E. coli, OXA-48, coproduction of extended spectrum betalactamases, UTI and sepsis. CONCLUSIONS: Patients who acquire EPC in nursery homes frequently have an infection. Patients with nosocomial acqui-sition are colonized by EPC in the ICU, in relation to invasive procedures and transplantation. This population has a higher mortality due to developing respiratory infections by EPC.

[Turicella otitidis, contributions to its role in the etiology of ear infections]. / Turicella otitidis, aportaciones a su posible papel en la etiología de la patología infecciosa del oído.

OBJECTIVE: Turicella otitidis is a gram-positive bacillus coryneforme described, after 16S RNA sequencing, in 1994 by Funke et al as a microorganism involved in otitis media, and it is in health conditions a habitual colonizer of the external auditory canal. Since its description, more than twenty years ago, few cases of otitis related to or directly attributed to this microorganism have been published. METHODS: Description of a case of mastoiditis that required surgery and other cases of otic pathology in which T. otitidis was isolated, in the second semester of 2017 in our institution. They were reported only when they grew in pure culture. The identification was made by mass spectrophotometry and an antibiogram was performed. RESULTS: In our institution in the second half of 2017, 5 cases of otitis media were documented, some of them complicated, in which T. otitidis was isolated. The most of patients were children with recurrent otic pathology, and in some cases the sample was taken before the administration of antibiotics. CONCLUSIONS: Since the inclusion of new vaccines that protect against microorganisms typically causing otitis media, is possible there are a change in the etiology of this disease and that microorganisms anecdotally isolated until now have become protagonists. The improvement in the microbiological identification provided by tools such as mass spectrometry will help to clarify if there are or not a change in the etiology of these diseases.

Surgical Complications in En Bloc Renal Transplantation.

En bloc pediatric transplantation (EBPT) began with the aim of increasing the donor pool due to the existing high demand for donors. At its inception, it was considered a type of suboptimal transplantation due to its association with a high incidence of vascular, urologic, and immunologic complications. The main objective of this study was to update information on EBPT with the largest case series that exists on a worldwide scale. In a retrospective study, the results obtained from brain-dead donors (BDDs; n = 770) were compared to those of EBPT (n = 100) from January 1990 to December 2012. The median of follow-up was 12.8 years (interquartile range 8.1 to 17.2). The variables collected for analysis were demographic factors (age and sex of recipients, age and weight of donors), renal function, graft survival, recipient survival, surgical complications (thrombosis, lymphocele, urologic complications, and renal artery stenosis and need for revascularization with angioplasty and/or stents). Subsequently in a second analysis, we studied the association between graft survival, thrombosis, angioplasty, stents, and appearance of lymphoceles with the different factors that were considered to be related in accordance with published literature and our own experience. Graft loss due to surgical complications was more frequent in EBPT than in BDD (15% vs 2.2 % in BDD; P < .001), and interstitial fibrosis and tubular atrophy were more frequent in BDD (13% vs 2%; P < .001). EBPT offers a good survival rate after overcoming the possible surgical complications that may arise.

Structural behaviour of alkaline sulfides under compression: high-pressure experimental study on Cs2S.

The high-pressure behaviour of cesium sulphide Cs(2)S has been studied up to 19 GPa at room temperature using angle-dispersive x-ray powder diffraction in a diamond-anvil cell. X-ray results show that the initial anticotunnite-type structure (S.G. Pnma) seems to undertake a continuous transformation to a distorted Ni(2)In-type structure (also with S.G. Pnma), starting below 1 GPa and being almost completed at 5 GPa. The profile of the x-ray diffraction patterns did not change noticeably from this pressure to 17 GPa. The observed structural changes in Cs(2)S are discussed in relation to the high-pressure behaviour of the rest of alkaline sulfides and their systematic trends are pointed out. Finally, we discuss the analogies between the structures of alkaline-metal chalcogenides and those of the cationic arrays of their corresponding oxides (sulfates, selenates, and tellurates) comparing the insertion of oxygen and the application of pressure.

Deflux injections for vesicoureteral reflux in transplanted kidneys.

INTRODUCTION: Vesicoureteral reflux (VUR), a complication after kidney transplantation, may be caused by recurrent urinary tract infections evaluating in life-threatening pyelonephritis and urosepsis. Open surgical correction is the standard treatment despite its morbidity. However, minimally invasive approaches are available. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Our study group describes seven patients with functioning kidney grafts and a diagnosis of VUR associated with recurrent urinary tract infections. The procedure was performed under antibiotic prophylaxis and spinal anesthesia. An endoscopic injection of 1 mL of biomaterial (copolymer of dextranomer and hyalurunic acid) was administered into the ureteral neo-orifice following the Sting technique. The catheter was removed within 24 hours in all cases. RESULTS: Between June 2009 and January 2010, nine procedures were performed in seven patients. Two patients experienced self-limiting post-surgical episodes of hematuria that did not need urologic manipulation. There were no episodes of retention, ureteral obstruction, or urinary infections. One patient required a reinjection 5 months later as a result of clinical failure. Apart from this one case, the other patients showed improvements with no infectious complications. CONCLUSIONS: Endoscopic correction with VUR seems to be a reliable and safe option as a first treatment for the transplant patient. More cases are required in order to improve the learning curve and, therefore, the success rate. Closer monitoring is needed to evaluate the efficiency of the copolymer, the evolution of the reflux, and the possible long-term complications in this sort of patients.

A cDNA microarray assessment of gene expression in the liver of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in response to a handling and confinement stressor.

A purpose-designed microarray platform (Stressgenes, Phase 1) was utilised to investigate the changes in gene expression within the liver of rainbow trout during exposure to a prolonged period of confinement. Tissue and blood samples were collected from trout at intervals up to 648 h after transfer to a standardised confinement stressor, together with matched samples from undisturbed control fish. Plasma ACTH, cortisol, glucose and lactate were analysed to confirm that the neuroendocrine response to confinement was consistent with previous findings and to provide a phenotypic context to assist interpretation of gene expression data. Liver samples for suppression subtractive hybridisation (SSH) library construction were selected from within the experimental groups comprising "early" stress (2-48 h) and "late" stress (96-504 h). In order to reduce redundancy within the four SSH libraries and yield a higher number of unique clones an additional subtraction was carried out. After printing of the arrays a series of 55 hybridisations were executed to cover 6 time points. At 2 h, 6 h, 24 h, 168 h and 504 h 5 individual confined fish and 5 individual control fish were used with control fish only at 0 h. A preliminary list of 314 clones considered differentially regulated over the complete time course was generated by a combination of data analysis approaches and the most significant gene expression changes were found to occur during the 24 h to 168 h time period with a general approach to control levels by 504 h. Few changes in expression were apparent over the first 6 h. The list of genes whose expression was significantly altered comprised predominantly genes belonging to the biological process category (response to stimulus) and one cellular component category (extracellular region) and were dominated by so-called acute phase proteins. Analysis of the gene expression profile in liver tissue during confinement revealed a number of significant clusters. The major patterns comprised genes that were up-regulated at 24 h and beyond, the primary examples being haptoglobin, beta-fibrinogen and EST10729. Two representative genes from each of the six k-means clusters were validated by qPCR. Correlations between microarray and qPCR expression patterns were significant for most of the genes tested. qPCR analysis revealed that haptoglobin expression was up-regulated approximately 8-fold at 24 h and over 13-fold by 168 h.

[Antibiotic treatment optimization by means of antibiotic treatment experts participation]. / Optimización del tratamiento antibiótico mediante la participación de expertos en antibióticos.

BACKGROUND: Antibiotics account for a high percentage of hospital pharmacy expenses. An elevated proportion of the prescriptions are considered inappropriate. Infectious diseases specialist could help other physicians in improving antibiotics prescriptions. METHODS: Treatments in all patients hospitalized in four surgical wards were checked daily and recommendations were made in cases with signs of inadequate antibiotics prescriptions. The program was carried out during for 4 months and the results were compared with a similar period of the previous year. RESULTS: 562 treatments of 393 patients were reviewed . Five hundred twenty four recommendations were made (90% of them were accepted). There was a significant reduction in the number of inadequate prescriptions. Antibiotic expenditure decreased by 29,262 euros (7,240 euros/month), implying a reduction of 2.35 euros/hospitalization-bed/day. There were no statistically significant differences in the amount of hospital resistant bacteria nor in mortality between the two periods. CONCLUSIONS: Following application of a non-compulsory control program, antibiotic prescription improved and expenditure decreased, with no change in mortality. Acceptation of the program by the physicians of the departments implicated was favourable.

Characterization of plasmid pASV479 from Bifidobacterium pseudolongum subsp. globosum and its use for expression vector construction.

Bifidobacterium pseudolongum subsp. globosum DPC479 is an intestinally-derived strain which contains a plasmid, pASV479, 4.8 kb in size. This plasmid has a G + C content of 59% and contains six open reading frames (ORFs), four of which are cryptic. The other two ORFs have 47% and 54% identity, respectively, to the replication and FtsK-like proteins found in a Bifidobacterium breve NCFB 2258 plasmid, indicating that these plasmids, though isolated from differing Bifidobacterium species, are related. Using this plasmid as a backbone, an expression vector, pBIFRIBO, was constructed which exploits a bifidobacteria rRNA promoter.

Structure, metastability, and electron density of Al lattices in light of the model of anions in metallic matrices.

This paper reports a theoretical investigation of the structure, stability, and electron charge density of cubic, rhombohedral, hexagonal, and monoclinic Al lattices. The equations of state and the elastic constants are computed from total energy calculations at different volumes and unit cell strains using the density functional theory approximation. The topology of the electron density is analyzed within the crystalline implementation of the atoms in molecules formalism. The results are discussed in light of the so-called anions in metallic matrices model, which permits the interpretation of the chemical bonding and the explanation of the existence of particular symmetries of inorganic crystals. First, the Al sublattices are identified as the reference building blocks of AlX(3) (X = F, Cl, OH) compounds. The calculations reveal that the equilibrium zero-pressure Al-Al shortest distance is around 2.75 A in all of the Al matrixes, similar to the value observed in the stable face centered cubic structure of Al at room conditions. Second, at their zero-pressure equilibrium geometries, the Al sublattices are found to fulfill the mechanical stability criteria or, alternatively, to show mechanical instabilities that are compatible with the distortions observed for the structures in AlX(3) crystals. However, at the equilibrium volumes of the AlX(3) crystals, all of the Al matrices violate the spinodal condition, and the cohesion and stabilization are provided by the nonmetallic X atoms. Third, the structural anisotropy of the Al sublattices seems to be the main factor to discriminate metallic matrices able to host nonmetallic elements. The inhomogeneities of the electron charge density, which favor the arrival of nonmetallic elements and the crystal formation, are notably enhanced in passing from the fcc structure of pure Al to the less isotropic Al matrices observed in AlX(3) compounds.

[Mortality and prognostic factors in patients admitted with community-acquired bacteremia]. / Mortalidad y factores pronósticos en pacientes hospitalizados por bacteriemia adquirida en la comunidad.

BACKGROUND: Community-acquired bacteremia is a frequently clinical problem and is associated with a high mortality. The Pitt bacteremia score that is calculated using body temperature, mental status, and some respiratory and circulatory features is an useful tool in order to know the prognosis of patients with bacteremia. Objectives were to know microbial etiology of bacteremia in our community, percentage of patients that received an inadequate empiric antibiotic treatment and independent prognostic factors associated with mortality, including Pitt bacteremia score. METHOD: Observational study of a cohort of patients over 18 years admitted at a tertiary hospital due to an infection with a community-acquired bacteremia. Twenty-eight cases were rejected because possible blood culture contamination. RESULTS: Seventy-five patients were included, the mean age was 68.6 +/- 18.2 years, 38 women (51%). Mortality rate was 23% [IC95% 13.8-33.8]. More frequent bacteria isolated were Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, coagulase negative staphylococci, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Streptococcus viridans, enterococci and Klebsiella spp. Mortality in patients treated with an inadequate antibiotic therapy (18%, 3 patients) was not lower than in adequately treated patients (24%, 14 patients, p = 0.42). Independent prognostic factors related to mortality were serum albumin concentration, OR = 5.17 (IC 95% 1.45-16.7) for every downing step of 1 g/dl, the Pitt bacteremia score OR = 1.50 (IC 95% 1.01-2.24) for every unit increase, and a high score at McCabe and Jackson classification OR = 5.08 ( IC 95% 1.43-16.7). CONCLUSIONS: An inadequate empiric antibiotic therapy was not associated with a worse vital prognosis. Independent prognostic factors related to mortality were serum albumin concentration, the Pitt bacteremia score, and the McCabe and Jackson classification.

Cloning and characterization of a homologue of the alpha inhibitor of NF-kappaB in Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss).

A homologue of IkappaBalpha, the alpha member of the IkappaB family of NF-kappaB inhibitors, was identified in a Rainbow trout suppression subtractive hybridization library enriched in sequences up-regulated in cultured leukocytes after lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha) stimulation. The full-length cDNA was isolated and sequenced. The predicted amino acid sequence is 61.5% similar and 54% identical to human IkappaBalpha, while only 42% similar and 35% identical to IkappaBbeta, and 38% similar and 32% identical to IkappaBvarepsilon. Rainbow trout IkappaBalpha contains a central ankyrin repeat domain required for its interaction with NF-kappaB and a putative PEST-like sequence in the C-terminus. Expression of IkappaBalpha is up-regulated by LPS and TNFalpha treatment, two known activators of NF-kappaB, suggesting the existence of an autoregulatory loop in fish, as is the case for mammals. These results confirm the existence of the NF-kappaB signalling pathway in fish and suggest a similar functional interaction between IkappaBalpha and NF-kappaB.

[Prevalence and risk factors associated to malnutrition in elderly inpatients]. / Prevalencia y factores asociados a malnutrición en ancianos hospitalizados.

BACKGROUND: Malnutrition is a frequent clinical finding in elderly inpatients that is deleterious to the physiologic function of several body's organs or systems that is accompanied of an increase of the length of hospitalization, economic burden and mortality. Protein-energy malnutrition risk factors in elderly patients are not well defined. METHOD: A transversal study of inpatients over 70 years in a internal medicine ward was undertaken in order to know the protein-energy malnutrition's prevalence a possible risk factors. It was considered that a patient suffered from had protein-energy malnutrition if he or she had a tricipital skinfold thickness or an arm circumference under 10th percentile and/or had low levels of two of the following clinical parameters: plasmatic albumin (under 3.5 mg/100 ml). Plasmatic transferrin (under 150 mg/100 ml) or a lymphocytic cell count (under 1,500 cells/ml). RESULTS: A hundred and five patients were included. Mean age was 83.0 +/- 6.4 years with a predominance of the female sex (61%). Thirty-three patients (31%) were sent from nursing homes. A 35% were very dependent and frail elderly patients. Fifty-eight patients presented at hospital with protein-energy malnutrition (prevalence = 57.1%; CI 95% 47.1%-66.8%). Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and a acute infectious disease were independent risk factors associated protein-energy malnutrition (prevalence ratio of 1.4 and 0.5, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Protein-energy malnutrition's prevalence in elderly inpatients is very important. Infectious diseases and COPD are positively and negatively associated with protein-energy malnutrition.

[Internet physician's offices: main reasons for consultation and differences with Primary Care offices]. / Consultorios médicos por internet: principales motivos de consulta y diferencias con la Atención Primaria.

INTRODUCTION: Direct communication between patients and physicians through internet can represent an opportunity for medical consultation because of higher access that provides this medium. METHODS: A retrospective observational study was conducted in order to know the content and the characteristics of the consultations of a free medical physician's office by internet and its differences with the consultations in Primary Care. RESULTS: During a period of 45 days 221 consultations of which 188 corresponded to health problems were received. The average age of the consultants was very young (21.5 15.7 years; average SD), with predominance of men over women (1,4:1). In the consultations by internet, and in comparison with those of Primary Care, dermatological (relative risk: 6.1; CI 95%: 5.2-10.8), nervous system and sense organs (RR: 1.9; CI 95%: 1.3-2.8), genitourinary (RR: 2.0; CI 95%: 1.3-3.2), and digestive system (RR: 1.7; CI 95%: 1.1-2.6) consultations were carried out more frequently; less frequent consultations were those of respiratory tract (RR: 0.30; CI 95%: 0.16-0.56) and circulatory system (RR: 0.11; CI 95%: 0.03-0.33). CONCLUSIONS: The characteristics of this type of consultations and of the population group that ask for them are the reasons that their content and the grade of resolution of problems are very far from those of Primary Care.

[Intraepithelial lymphocytes in celiac disease]. / Linfocitos intraepiteliales en la enfermedad celíaca.

Coeliac disease (CD) is a permanent intolerance to gluten that provokes alterations in the mucosa of the small intestine. The disease can usually be controlled by excluding gluten from the diet. CD is immunologically-mediated, with a strong linkage to certain HLA alleles and a permanently altered intraepithelial lymphocytes (IEL) pattern. The development of a flow cytometric technique for the evaluation of IEL subsets has increased our understanding of these alterations and has prepared the ground for its clinical application. Our experience shows that this procedure has excellent sensitivity and specificity in the diagnosis of CD and that it is particularly useful in the evaluation of atypical presentations of the disease. The present article reviews our experience in the diagnosis of CD and discusses some of the hypotheses that have been put forward on the possible role of IEL in its pathogenesis.

The making of a gradient: IcsA (VirG) polarity in Shigella flexneri.

The generation and maintenance of subcellular organization in bacteria is critical for many cell processes and properties, including growth, structural integrity and, in pathogens, virulence. Here, we investigate the mechanisms by which the virulence protein IcsA (VirG) is distributed on the bacterial surface to promote efficient transmission of the bacterium Shigella flexneri from one host cell to another. The outer membrane protein IcsA recruits host factors that result in actin filament nucleation and, when concentrated at one bacterial pole, promote unidirectional actin-based motility of the pathogen. We show here that the focused polar gradient of IcsA is generated by its delivery exclusively to one pole followed by lateral diffusion through the outer membrane. The resulting gradient can be modified by altering the composition of the outer membrane either genetically or pharmacologically. The gradient can be reshaped further by the action of the protease IcsP (SopA), whose activity we show to be near uniform on the bacterial surface. Further, we report polar delivery of IcsA in Escherichia coli and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis, suggesting that the mechanism for polar delivery of some outer membrane proteins is conserved across species and that the virulence function of IcsA capitalizes on a more global mechanism for subcellular organization.