The metabolite vanillic acid regulates Acinetobacter baumannii surface attachment.

The nosocomial bacterium Acinetobacter baumannii is protected from antibiotic treatment by acquiring antibiotic resistances and by forming biofilms. Cell attachment, one of the first steps in biofilm formation, is normally induced by environmental metabolites. We hypothesized that vanillic acid (VA), the oxidized form of vanillin and a widely available metabolite, may play a role in A.

RecA levels modulate biofilm development in Acinetobacter baumannii.

Infections caused by Acinetobacter baumannii, a Gram-negative opportunistic pathogen, are difficult to eradicate due to the bacterium's propensity to quickly gain antibiotic resistances and form biofilms, a protective bacterial multicellular community. The A. baumannii DNA damage response (DDR) mediates the antibiotic resistance acquisition and regulates RecA in an atypical fashion; both RecA and RecA cell types are formed in response to DNA damage.

Strengthening public health policies for childhood cancer: Peru's achievements through the WHO Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer.

Objective: To report the progress in Peru, since June 2019, in the implementation of the World Health Organization Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer using the Cure framework, which can be replicated in low- and middle-income countries.

Methods: A mixed method was used of participatory and documentary evaluation. The participatory evaluation included stakeholders from various government institutions, nonprofit organizations, and international partners.

Improved Sugarcane-Based Fermentation Processes by an Industrial Fuel-Ethanol Yeast Strain.

In Brazil, sucrose-rich broths (cane juice and/or molasses) are used to produce billions of liters of both fuel ethanol and per year using selected industrial strains. Considering the important role of feedstock (sugar) prices in the overall process economics, to improve sucrose fermentation the genetic characteristics of a group of eight fuel-ethanol and five industrial yeasts that tend to dominate the fermentors during the production season were determined by array comparative genomic hybridization. The widespread presence of genes encoding invertase at multiple telomeres has been shown to be a common feature of both baker's and distillers' yeast strains, and is postulated to be an adaptation to sucrose-rich broths.

AspFlex: Molecular Tools to Study Gene Expression and Regulation in .

is a Gram-negative nosocomial opportunistic pathogen frequently found in hospital settings, causing high incidence of in-hospital infections. It belongs to the ESKAPE group of pathogens (the "A" stands for ), which are known to easily develop antibiotic resistances. It is crucial to create a molecular toolkit to investigate its basic biology, such as gene regulation.

Executive Functions Contribute to the Differences Between ADHD and Sluggish Cognitive Tempo (SCT) in Adults.

Objectives: This paper analyses the relationship between sociodemographic variables, executive dysfunctions, Sluggish Cognitive Tempo (SCT) and the mainly dimensions of ADHD: hyperactivity-impulsivity (ADHD-H/I) and inattention (ADHD-IN) in Brazilian adults.

Method: A cross-sectional, exploratory, and comparative design was used. A total of 446 participants (295 women) aging from 18 to 63 years old ( = 3,499 years, = 10.

Treatment of a Mandibular Diastemal Fracture Using Locking Compression Plate and Cerclage Wire in a Mare.

This report describes the combination of two surgical fracture repair techniques and the postoperative management of a mandibular diastemal fracture in a two-year-old mare. The mare was referred to a veterinary hospital with a laceration over the body of the right mandible. Radiographic assessment revealed two mesial fracture lines involving the second premolar tooth and a ventrally displaced bone fragment.

The human connection: First evidence of microplastics in remote high mountain lakes of Sierra Nevada, Spain.

Microplastics have become one of the most serious global threats to animal and human health. While their presence has been documented in all Earth water ecosystems, including remote mountain lakes, the observation that the abundance of microplastics is largely different across nearby lakes has rarely been examined. As part of a citizen science initiative, this study analyzed for the first time the abundance of microplastics in the surface of 35 glacial lakes of Sierra Nevada National Park in Southern Spain with the objective of determining the local factors that control their abundance.

Motor development of infants (6-12 months) with low birth weight.

Objective: The aim of this study was to describe the motor development (MD) and growth of infants born with low birth weight (LBW) versus adequate birth weight (ABW) by using the Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS).

Methods: The cross-sectional study including LBW infants (aged 6-12 months) followed at an outpatient clinic from a University Hospital in Brazil and a group of infants of the same age with ABW. The variables were recorded as maternal, birth, and infant conditions.

Environmental status of marine plastic pollution in Spain.

The excessive use of plastic in our society is causing a massive accumulation, since it is a non-biodegradable product and with still poor recycling rates. This effect can be observed in the seas, which more and more plastic waste are accumulating. The present work is a critical review, based on all currently available literature, that reports environmental status of marine plastic pollution, especially microplastic pollution, in Spain.

Microplastics and fibers from three areas under different anthropogenic pressures in Douro river.

Sources contributing to specific concentration of microplastics and fibers are still not completely understood. This study aimed at assessing the concentrations of microplastics (2-5000 μm) and fibers (18-5667 μm) in three areas of distinct influences in the Douro river, Porto, Portugal: (i) a countryside area; (ii) a wastewater treatment effluent release zone; and (iii) an area in proximity to a boat dock and maintenance station. Nile Red staining coupled with microscopy allowed the identification of small microplastics (≥2 μm) with a median concentration of the three areas of 231 MP L.

Copy number variation (CNV) identification, interpretation, and database from Brazilian patients.

Copy number variations (CNVs) constitute an important class of variation in the human genome and the interpretation of their pathogenicity considering different frequencies across populations is still a challenge for geneticists. Since the CNV databases are predominantly composed of European and non-admixed individuals, and Brazilian genetic constitution is admixed and ethnically diverse, diagnostic screenings on Brazilian variants are greatly difficulted by the lack of populational references. We analyzed a clinical sample of 268 Brazilian individuals, including patients with neurodevelopment disorders and/or congenital malformations.

Effects of distance to the sea and geomorphological characteristics on the quantity and distribution of microplastics in beach sediments of Granada (Spain).

Microplastics became an unprecedented challenge and mapping their contamination all over the world is needed in order to establish baseline levels and identify the polymers in order to enhance adequate legislation and policy. The main objective of this study is to demonstrate the existence of microplastic pollution on three beaches on the coast of Granada (Spain), namely La Herradura, Motril Beach and La Rábita, characterizing the particles and the relationships in their distribution. This may contribute supporting the studies carried out at a national level in accordance with the Directive on Marine Strategy (2008/56/EC).

Respiratory physical therapy techniques recommended for patients with cystic fibrosis treated in specialized centers.

Background: Respiratory therapy is a part of the treatment of patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). However, there is no information about the main factors influencing the recommendation of the use of different techniques or devices by physical therapists from different specialized centers.

Objective: To determine the respiratory therapy techniques recommended for the treatment of patients with CF seen in specialized treatment centers in Brazil.

The potential of microplastics as carriers of metals.

Microplastics can adsorb chemical pollutants such as metals or pharmaceuticals, and transferred them along the food chain. In this work, an investigation of the adsorption of Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn by five different types of microplastics was performed in Milli-Q water and natural waters (seawater, urban wastewater and irrigation water) via a series of batch adsorption experiments. The effects of concentration of metals and physicochemical characteristics of polymers were particularly studied.

Slow extension of the invading DNA strand in a D-loop formed by RecA-mediated homologous recombination may enhance recognition of DNA homology.

DNA recombination resulting from RecA-mediated strand exchange aided by RecBCD proteins often enables accurate repair of DNA double-strand breaks. However, the process of recombinational repair between short DNA regions of accidental similarity can lead to fatal genomic rearrangements. Previous studies have probed how effectively RecA discriminates against interactions involving a short similar sequence that is embedded in otherwise dissimilar sequences but have not yielded fully conclusive results.

Physical-chemical characterization of microplastics present in some exfoliating products from Spain.

Plastic pollution in oceans is a global problem, with growing research efforts focusing on the threat of microplastics (<5 mm fractions). A source of microplastics pollution is derived from personal care products that contain polyethylene micro-spheres which are not captured by wastewater plants. In this work, ten personal care products (mainly scrubs) containing microplastics and marketed in Spain, were physico-chemically characterized.

The positioning of Chi sites allows the RecBCD pathway to suppress some genomic rearrangements.

Bacterial recombinational repair of double-strand breaks often begins with creation of initiating 3' single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) tails on each side of a double-strand break (DSB). Importantly, if the RecBCD pathway is followed, RecBCD creates a gap between the sequences at 3' ends of the initiating strands. The gap flanks the DSB and extends at least to the nearest Chi site on each strand.

Lon Protease Has Multifaceted Biological Functions in .

is a Gram-negative opportunistic pathogen that is known to survive harsh environmental conditions and is a leading cause of hospital-acquired infections. Specifically, multicellular communities (known as biofilms) of can withstand desiccation and survive on hospital surfaces and equipment. Biofilms are bacteria embedded in a self-produced extracellular matrix composed of proteins, sugars, and/or DNA.

RNA-Mediated Regulation in Acinetobacter baumannii Modulates Stress-Induced Phenotypic Variation.

In the nosocomial opportunistic pathogen , RecA-dependent mutagenesis, which causes antibiotic resistance acquisition, is linked to the DNA damage response (DDR). Notably, unlike the paradigm, and DDR gene expression in is bimodal. Namely, there is phenotypic variation upon DNA damage, which may provide a bet-hedging strategy for survival.

RNA Primer Extension Hinders DNA Synthesis by Mutagenic DNA Polymerase IV.

In the highly conserved DNA damage regulated gene encodes DNA Polymerase IV (DinB), an error prone specialized DNA polymerase with a central role in stress-induced mutagenesis. Since DinB is the DNA polymerase with the highest intracellular concentrations upon induction of the SOS response, further regulation must exist to maintain genomic stability. Remarkably, we find that DinB DNA synthesis is inherently poor when using an RNA primer compared to a DNA primer, while high fidelity DNA polymerases are known to have no primer preference.