Control metabólico y de factores de riesgo cardiovascular en una cohorte de pacientes con diabetes mellitus. Resultados a los 4 años

ObjectivesTo assess control of blood glucose and other cardiovascular risk factors in diabetic patients monitored at an outpatient endocrinology clinic. To ascertain treatment used and its changes over time.Patients and methodsA cohort of 424 randomly selected diabetic patients (both type 1 and type 2) was monitored from 2004 to 2008. Final cohort size was 343 patients. Data were collected about epidemiological characteristics, cardiovascular risk factors, chronic complications, glycemic, lipid and blood pressure control, and treatment at baseline and 4 years.ResultsAfter 4 years, the proportion of patients achieving glycosylated hemoglobin levels less than 7% remained stable (type 1: 18.5% in 2004 vs 21.7% in 2008, type 2: 26.6% vs 26.5%). The degree of achievement of lipid and blood pressure (BP) control levels increased in both groups. The complexity of treatment schemes used to achieve these results significantly increased.ConclusionsStabilization of glycemic control after 4 years of follow-up was a positive result, considering the long course of diabetes, progressive pancreatic function impairment, and complexity of our cohort. Treatment optimization significantly improved BP and lipid control in the study group.     

Organ-distinctive changes in respiration rates of rice plants under nickel stress

Nickel (Ni) is an essential mineral element that may accumulate to toxic levels in soils due to anthropogenic activities. The growth of rice plants cultured hydroponically was severely impaired when Ni concentration was raised from 0.1 to 0.5 mM. However, the decrease in plant growth was not accompanied by any significant effect on respiration rates at the whole plant level. Short-term treatments of excised roots with 0.1–1.0 mM Ni did not result in any significant changes in respiration. However, long-term treatments of whole plants induced clear distinctive effects on shoots and roots. There was a significant decline in growth of these organs when the plants were cultured for 10 days at 0.5 mM Ni. Although no significant changes in respiration occurred in shoots, it was drastically reduced in roots. Ni withdrawal after 5 days’ treatment caused an increase in respiration in roots, but a decrease in shoots, despite the fact that stress alleviation induced a similar and significant increase in fresh weight of both organs. Our results point to organ-related differences in the distribution of the energy resulting from respiration under Ni stress.     

Soil nitrogen fluctuations in citrus plots fertilized with sulfur-coated urea and ammonium nitro sulfate

Summary The release of nitrogen from a slow release fertilizer (sulfur-coated urea, SCU) in an orange orchard was studied during three annual cycles and at three soil depths. The release of N from SCU was compared with that from a standard fertilizer (ammonium nitrate sulfate, ANS). The amounts of available soil nitrogen were compared at different periods of the year and for the whole year. The SCU granules maintained higher levels of available nitrogen in the soil during critical periods. Soil N levels were similar between treatments consisting of 1500 g of N from ANS and 750 g of N from SCU.     

Genetic fine localization of the β-glucocerebrosidase (GBA) and prosaposin (PSAP) genes: implications for Gaucher disease

Mutations in the glucocerebrosidase (GBA) and prosaposin (PSAP) genes are responsible for Gaucher disease, the most prevalent sphingolipidosis. Somatic cell hybrid analysis and in situ hybridization experiments have localized the GBA gene to 1q21 and the PSAP gene to 10q21-q22. We performed pairwise and multi-point linkage analyses between the two genes and several highly polymorphic markers from the Généthon human linkage map. Our results show that six markers cosegregate with the GBA gene (Z_max = 8.73 at θ = 0.00 for marker D1S2714) and define a 3.2-cM interval between D1S305 and D1S2624 as the most probable location for the gene. Three of these markers (D1S2777, D1S303, and D1S2140), as well as the gene encoding pyruvate kinase (PKLR), are contained in a single YAC clone together with the GBA gene. A new polymorphism was identified within the PSAP gene (C16045T) and used for linkage studies. The multi-point analysis places the gene in a 9.8-cM interval between D10S1688 and D10S607. The fine localization of these genes provides a useful tool for cosegregation analysis, indirect molecular diagnosis, and population genetic studies. Received: 22 October 1996 / Accepted: 4 February 1997     

Effect of sex pheromone emission on the attraction of Lobesia botrana

Since the discovery of Lobesia botrana Denis & Schiffermüller (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) sex pheromone, it has played an important role in the control and detection of this pest, for example, through the use of pheromone‐baited traps and mating disruption techniques. Rubber septa are the most common pheromone dispensers used in monitoring traps, but often dispenser performance is not optimized. The key to improve methods based on pheromones as attractants (monitoring, mass trapping, or ‘attract and kill’) is to know the optimum emission interval, because release rates can strongly affect the attraction. In this work, five levels of pheromone load with different release rates were compared in traps using mesoporous pheromone dispensers to investigate the optimum release rate maximizing L. botrana catches. Residual pheromone loads of the dispensers were extracted and quantified by gas chromatography, to study release profiles and to estimate the various emission levels. The efficacy of pheromone emission was measured in field trials as number of moths caught. A quadratic model was fitted to relate the numbers caught vs. the daily emission rates. The resulting quadratic term was statistically significant, confirming the existence of a relative maximum for L. botrana catches. Taking into account that the trial was carried out only in one location, an optimum emission value of ca. 400 μg per day could be considered to enhance the attraction of L. botrana under West‐Mediterranean weather conditions.     

Identification and genetic diversity analysis of strain Pseudomonas syringae S5: A pathogen responsible for bacteriosis in Avena sativa plants

The genus Pseudomonas includes pathogenic species P. syringae, which can be found in various agricultural environments and which can affect a wide variety of plants, causing significant economic losses when the environmental conditions for its proliferation are optimal. Comprehensive characterizations of phytopathogenic bacteria belonging to the genus Pseudomonas are scarce in Argentina. In this work, the tabtoxin‐producing strain Pseudomonas S5, isolated from oat, was identi?ed as a P. syringae through biochemical tests such as the LOPAT test, and genetic tests such as the analysis of the small subunit ribosomal RNA gene (16S rRNA) sequence and repetitive elements, using BOX and ERIC primers. It was also determined that this phytopathogen is potentially capable of infecting other crops of agricultural importance for our region, such as soybean. This ability to infect different hosts gives it an adaptive advantage that allows it to endure seasonal changes in the environment where it lives. Our work contributes to the physiological classification of the phytopathogen P. syringae S5 isolated from our region, as well as to the knowledge about its range of potential hosts.     

Genetically different wine yeasts isolated from Austrian vine-growing regions influence wine aroma differently and contain putative hybrids between Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Saccharomyces kudriavzevii

To evaluate the influence of the genomic properties of yeasts on the formation of wine flavour, genotypic diversity among natural Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains originating from grapes collected in four localities of three Austrian vine-growing areas (Thermenregion: locations Perchtoldsdorf and Pfaffst?tten, Neusiedlersee-Hügelland: location Eisenstadt, Neusiedlersee: location Halbturn) was investigated and the aroma compounds produced during fermentation of the grape must of 'Grüner Veltliner' were identified. Amplified fragment length polymorphism analysis (AFLP) showed that the yeast strains cluster in four groups corresponding to their geographical origin. The genotypic analysis and sequencing of the D1/D2 domain of 26S rRNA encoding gene and ITS1/ITS2 regions indicated that the Perchtoldsdorf strains were putative interspecies hybrids between S. cerevisiae and Saccharomyces kudriavzevii. Analysis of the aroma compounds by GS/MS indicated a region-specific influence of the yeasts on the chemical composition of the wines. The aroma compound profiles generated by the Perchtoldsdorf strains were more related to those produced by the Pfaffst?tten strains than by the Eisenstadt and Halbturn strains. Similar to the Pfaffst?tten yeasts, the putative hybrid strains were good ester producers, suggesting that they may influence the wine quality favourably.