Formation of Zn-protoporphyrin during the elaboration process of non-nitrified serrano dry-cured hams and its relationship with lipolysis.

This study assessed the ZnPP content, heme content, salt content, and instrumental color in the biceps femoris and semimembranosus muscles during the elaboration of Serrano dry-cured ham manufactured without the addition of nitrate and nitrite for 15 months. The effects of lipolysis and lipid oxidation on the content of Zn-protoporphyrin were also investigated in the biceps femoris. We found that the maximum formation of Zn-protoporphyrin occurred between end of resting and 6 months of processing, which coincides with temperature increase during processing and the end of salt equalization. Zn-protoporphyrin further increased in the biceps femoris until 9 months of processing but remained unchanged in the semimembranosus. Free fatty acid content increased till 6 months and then remained unchanged until the end of the process. These findings and those from an in vitro study reinforced the idea that the release of free fatty acids can promote the activity of the endogenous enzyme ferrochelatase and contribute to the formation of Zn-protoporphyrin from heme. However, the content of Zn-protoporphyrin decreased at the end of the processing, which may be due to the progression of lipid oxidation.

The clinical efficacy of low-dose whole-lung irradiation in moderate-to-severe COVID-19 pneumonia: RTMX-20 trial.

This is a paired prospective comparative cohort study with 58 patients, in order to analyze the clinical LD-WLI in patients with moderate or severe COVID19 pneumonia. The results of this study show that the Radiotherapy could be an option to improve the clinical response for patients with COVID-19.

Effects of post mortem pH and salting time on Zinc-protoporphyrin content in nitrite-free Serrano dry-cured hams.

There is a growing demand for clean label products and thus the elimination of curing additives in various dry-cured meats is of interest while maintaining colour characteristics. This study was aimed to examine the effect of pH at 24 h post mortem (pHSM24h ≤ 5.4; 5.4 > pHSM24h < 5.9; pHSM24h ≥ 5.9) and salting time (standard vs reduced) on zinc-protoporphyrin content, heme content and other physicochemical parameters of Serrano dry-cured hams manufactured without the addition of curing agents. Results showed that in those hams with higher post mortem pH heme content was increased whereas ZnPP content and proteolysis index were decreased. Reduced salting time decreased salt content whereas ZnPP and heme contents remained unaffected. Lower post mortem pH and reduced salting time led to a higher content in various free fatty acids which, in turn, were found to correlate positively with ZnPP formation. However, the observed changes in heme and ZnPP contents had no effect on the instrumental color of the final product.

High-power light-emitting diode array design and assembly for practical photodynamic therapy research.

SIGNIFICANCE: Commercial lasers, lamps, and light-emitting diode (LED) light sources have stimulated the clinical translation of photodynamic therapy (PDT). Yet, the continued exploration of new photosensitizers (PSs) for PDT often requires separate activation wavelengths for each agent being investigated. Customized light sources for such research frequently come at significant financial or technical cost, especially when compounded over many agents and wavelengths. AIM: LEDs offer potential as a cost-effective tool for new PS and multi-PS photodynamic research. A low-cost-per-wavelength tool leveraging high-power LEDs to facilitate efficient and versatile research is needed to further accelerate research in the field. APPROACH: We developed and validated a high-power LED array system for benchtop PDT with a modular design for efficient switching between wavelengths that overcome many challenges in light source design. We describe the assembly of a low-cost LED module plus the supporting infrastructure, software, and protocols to streamline typical in vitro PDT experimentation. RESULTS: The LED array system is stable at intensities in excess of 100 mW / cm2 with 2.3% variation across the illumination field, competitive with other custom and commercial devices. To demonstrate efficacy and versatility, a primary ovarian cancer cell line was treated with two widely used PSs, aminolevulinic acid and verteporfin, using the LED modules at a clinically relevant 50 J / cm2 light dose that induced over 90% cell death for each treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Our work provides the community with a tool for new PS and multi-PS benchtop photodynamic research that, unlike most commercial light sources, affords the user a low barrier to entry and low-cost-per-wavelength with the goal of illuminating new insights at the forefront of PDT.

Genome sequencing and analysis of the first complete genome of Lactobacillus kunkeei strain MP2, an Apis mellifera gut isolate.

Background. The honey bee (Apis mellifera) is the most important pollinator in agriculture worldwide. However, the number of honey bees has fallen significantly since 2006, becoming a huge ecological problem nowadays. The principal cause is CCD, or Colony Collapse Disorder, characterized by the seemingly spontaneous abandonment of hives by their workers. One of the characteristics of CCD in honey bees is the alteration of the bacterial communities in their gastrointestinal tract, mainly due to the decrease of Firmicutes populations, such as the Lactobacilli. At this time, the causes of these alterations remain unknown. We recently isolated a strain of Lactobacillus kunkeei (L. kunkeei strain MP2) from the gut of Chilean honey bees. L. kunkeei, is one of the most commonly isolated bacterium from the honey bee gut and is highly versatile in different ecological niches. In this study, we aimed to elucidate in detail, the L. kunkeei genetic background and perform a comparative genome analysis with other Lactobacillus species. Methods. L. kunkeei MP2 was originally isolated from the guts of Chilean A. mellifera individuals. Genome sequencing was done using Pacific Biosciences single-molecule real-time sequencing technology. De novo assembly was performed using Celera assembler. The genome was annotated using Prokka, and functional information was added using the EggNOG 3.1 database. In addition, genomic islands were predicted using IslandViewer, and pro-phage sequences using PHAST. Comparisons between L. kunkeei MP2 with other L. kunkeei, and Lactobacillus strains were done using Roary. Results. The complete genome of L. kunkeei MP2 comprises one circular chromosome of 1,614,522 nt. with a GC content of 36,9%. Pangenome analysis with 16 L. kunkeei strains, identified 113 unique genes, most of them related to phage insertions. A large and unique region of L. kunkeei MP2 genome contains several genes that encode for phage structural protein and replication components. Comparative analysis of MP2 with other Lactobacillus species, identified several unique genes of L. kunkeei MP2 related with metabolism, biofilm generation, survival under stress conditions, and mobile genetic elements (MGEs). Discussion. The presence of multiple mobile genetic elements, including phage sequences, suggest a high degree of genetic variability in L. kunkeei. Its versatility and ability to survive in different ecological niches (bee guts, flowers, fruits among others) could be given by its genetic capacity to change and adapt to different environments. L. kunkeei could be a new source of Lactobacillus with beneficial properties. Indeed, L. kunkeei MP2 could play an important role in honey bee nutrition through the synthesis of components as isoprenoids.

Draft Genome of Chilean Honeybee (Apis mellifera) Gut Strain Lactobacillus kunkeei MP2.

Here, we report the first draft genome sequence of Lactobacillus kunkeei strain MP2, isolated from a Chilean honeybee gut. The sequenced genome has a total size of 1.58 Mb distributed into 44 contigs and 1,356 protein-coding sequences.

Multiple syntrophic interactions in a terephthalate-degrading methanogenic consortium.

Terephthalate (TA) is one of the top 50 chemicals produced worldwide. Its production results in a TA-containing wastewater that is treated by anaerobic processes through a poorly understood methanogenic syntrophy. Using metagenomics, we characterized the methanogenic consortium inside a hyper-mesophilic (that is, between mesophilic and thermophilic), TA-degrading bioreactor. We identified genes belonging to dominant Pelotomaculum species presumably involved in TA degradation through decarboxylation, dearomatization, and modified ß-oxidation to H(2)/CO(2) and acetate. These intermediates are converted to CH(4)/CO(2) by three novel hyper-mesophilic methanogens. Additional secondary syntrophic interactions were predicted in Thermotogae, Syntrophus and candidate phyla OP5 and WWE1 populations. The OP5 encodes genes capable of anaerobic autotrophic butyrate production and Thermotogae, Syntrophus and WWE1 have the genetic potential to oxidize butyrate to CO(2)/H(2) and acetate. These observations suggest that the TA-degrading consortium consists of additional syntrophic interactions beyond the standard H(2)-producing syntroph-methanogen partnership that may serve to improve community stability.

[Influence of the use of oral contraceptives as risk factors for human papillomavirus infection and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia]. / Influencia del uso de anticonceptivos orales como factores de riesgo para infección por virus del papiloma humano y neoplasia intraepitelial cervical.

OBJECTIVE: To study the influence of oral contraception use as risk factor for human papillomavirus infection (HPV) and progression to cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A prospective, transversal and comparative study of 84 female patients in reproductive age that had used oral contraception for more than three years as birth control method and who had CIN mild (CIN I), moderate (CIN II) or severe (CIN III) associated or not to HPV infection documented by colposcopy, pathology and cytology was done. 84 cases and 60 controls submitted to a directed interrogation were studied. Differences among groups were determined by linear regression, multivariance and logistic regression tests, p <0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Average age for cases and controls was 37.5 and 36.2 years, respectively. The 70% of patients started their active sexual life in the second decade of their life. The most frequent age was 18 and 19 years. 50.6% of these patients had more than one sexual partner, two in average. 67.8% of cases had HPV infection and applying the multivariance analysis: sexual partners (p < 0.05), age at first pregnancy (p < 0.05) and oral contraception use (p < 0.05) were considered statistically significant. According to the CIN grade, the HPV presence was found as highly statistically significant (p < 0.001). Oral contraception use was found as risk factor for HPV infection by logistic regression (p = 0.0242); OR = 3.2714; CI = 1.1670-9.1702. As for the CIN degree, HPV presence was found as highly significant (p = 0.0001); OR = 2.4158; CI = 1.7150-3.4028. CONCLUSION: A high incidence of HPV was found in our study. This is an important risk factor during cellular transformation, so the use of oral contraception as birth control method could accelerate the viral oncogenes expression present in HPV cellular genome. It is highly recommended to discard HPV infection before prescribing oral contraception as birth control method.

Microbial community structure in a thermophilic anaerobic hybrid reactor degrading terephthalate.

A thermophilic terephthalate-degrading methanogenic consortium was successfully enriched for 272 days in an anaerobic hybrid reactor, and the microbial structure was characterized using terminal RFLPs, clone libraries and fluorescence in-situ hybridization with rRNA-targeted oligonucleotide probes. All the results suggested that Methanothrix thermophila-related methanogens, Desulfotomaculum-related bacterial populations in the Gram-positive low-G + C group, and OP5-related populations were the key members responsible for terephthalate degradation under thermophilic methanogenic conditions except during periods when the reactor experienced heat shock and pump failure. These perturbations caused a significant shift in bacterial population structure in sludge samples taken from the sludge bed but not from the surface of the packing materials. After system recovery, many other bacterial populations emerged, which belonged mainly to the Gram-positive low-G + C group and Cytophaga-Flexibacter-Bacteroides, as well as beta-Proteobacteria, Planctomycetes and Nitrospira. These newly emerged populations were probably also capable of degrading terephthalate in the hybrid system, but were out-competed by those bacterial populations before perturbations.