The Small Non-coding Vault RNA1-1 Acts as a Riboregulator of Autophagy

1. Download high-res image (136KB)
2. Download full-size image

     

Broth disk elution method for anaerobic bacteria: a collaborative study to assess its reliability for clinical purposes

A collaborative study involving seven laboratories was undertaken to evaluate the reproducibility and the reliability of the broth disk elution test against anaerobic bacteria by comparing with the reference agar dilution method. A two breakpoint broth test was also evaluated. Assays were performed using the same testing conditions (i.e. medium, temperature, atmosphere and incubation time). One hundred Gram-negative and Gram-positive clinical isolates were initially studied. Overall agreement of 98.5% and 97.5%, were found for disk elution and the two breakpoint tests, respectively. In order to assess the reliability of the disk elution test, two different lots (LOT1 and LOT2) of disks of piperacillin and clindamycin were selected, to obtain two final concentrations after dilution (10 and 60 mg/mL; 1 and 4 mg/mL, respectively). Two hundred and eighty assays were performed against one strain of both Bacteroides fragilis(piperacillin MIC, 8.0 mg/mL; clindamycin MIC, <0.5 mg/mL) and Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron(piperacillin MIC, 16.0 mg/mL; clindamycin MIC, <0.5 mg/mL). With LOT 1, considering both species and both antibiotics, the agreement among six laboratories ranged from 85% to 100% (P > 0.05) with the higher concentration. Overall agreement among all laboratories was 91%. No optimal agreement (>90%) for clindamycin-Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron using the LOT1 (77%) was found. Since this finding was not observed with LOT2 (100% agreement), discrepancies were attributed to variation between lots. Overall agreement with LOT2 was 100% for all centres. The present study indicates that the broth disk elution method proved to be a reliable and suitable alternative for routine susceptibility testing for anaerobic bacteria, as a resistance screening method for clinical purposes.     

Competition between mullet fry

The fry of Liza ramada, L. aurata, L. saliens, Chelon labrosus and Mugil cephalus in a lagoon in NE Spain fed mainly on zooplanktonic crustacea, such as cyclopoids, calanoids and cladocerans, but adult chironomids were also important. A high trophic and temporal overlap was found between the fry of several of these species. Trophic overlap was asymmetrical for almost all the species pairs and niche breadth expanded for the less competitive species when they were alone in the estuary. In contrast, niche breadth did not expand for the most competitive species ( L. ramada ) when it was alone. These results suggest that competition was occurring among these species, but experimental evidence is needed to prove its existence.     

Effects of Polydispyrenia simulii (Microspora; Duboscqiidae) on development of the gonads of Simulium pertinax (Diptera; Simuliidae).

The effects of the infection caused by the microsporidium Polydispyrenia simulii in gonads of the simuliid Simulium pertinax were evaluated. This blackfly species is the main target of control programmes in southeastern Brazil. Infected and noninfected blackflies were reared from larval stage to adults using a laboratory rearing system. There was no significant difference between the oogenic development and dimensions of ovarian follicles of healthy females compared to those reared from infected larvae. Otherwise, there was a significant difference between the fecundity of healthy females and those reared from infected larvae. In males, there was an evident reduction of motility of spermatozoids of males reared from infected larvae. The results obtained suggest that the microsporidium P. simulii have an important effect on the natural population dynamics of S. pertinax.     

Molecular pathways related to the control of proliferation and cell death in 786-O cells treated with plumbagin

Molecular Biology Reports - Plumbagin (PLB) is a phytochemical being used for centuries in traditional medicines. Recently, its capacity to inhibit the development of human tumors has been...     

Global analysis of protein-RNA interactions in SARS-CoV-2-infected cells reveals key regulators of infection

1. Download : Download high-res image (188KB)
2. Download : Download full-size image