Publications by authors named "Hectorina Rodulfo"

isolated from dairy farms has a significant effect on animal health and productivity. Different serogroups of affect both human and bovine cattle causing illness in both reservoirs. Dairy cows and calves can be silent shedders, increasing the possibility of dispensing within the farm.

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The spread of beta-lactamase-producing bacteria is of great concern and the environment has been found to be a main source of contamination. Herein, it was proposed to determine the frequency of antimicrobial-resistant-Gram-negative bacteria throughout the Lerma River basin using phenotypic and molecular methods. Resistant bacteria were isolated with chromogenic media and antimicrobial susceptibility tests were used to characterize their resistance.

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Objective: To characterize carbapenemase-producing isolated from patients treated at a hospital in Cumaná, Sucre, Venezuela.

Methods: This was a retrospective study conducted at the general hospital in Cumaná where 58 strains were analyzed for resistance to antimicrobials, specifically carbapenems, in January - June 2015. Production of metallo-β-lactamases and serine carbapenemases was determined by the double-disc synergy test, using EDTA-sodium mercaptoacetic acid and 3-aminophenyl boronic acid discs, respectively.

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is considered a model organism due to its bioluminescence capacity linked to circadian rhythms. The mechanisms underlying the bioluminescent phenomenon have been well characterized in dinoflagellates; however, there are still some aspects that remain an enigma. Such is the case of the presence and diversity of the luciferin-binding protein (LBP), as well as the synthesis process of luciferin.

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Introduction: The treatment of urinary tract infections has become more challenging due to the increasing frequency of multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli in human populations.

Objective: To characterize multidrug-resistant E. coli isolates causing community-acquired urinary tract infections in Cumaná, Venezuela, and associate possible risk factors for infection by extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBL)-producing isolates.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study examines the rise of multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains in a hospital in Venezuela, highlighting their potential threat to public health.
  • Most of the analyzed strains showed virulence factors and mobility, with a significant increase in MDR and XDR strains from 2009 to 2016, linked to specific genes and resistance traits.
  • The findings suggest a strong connection between MDR/XDR strains and severe clinical conditions, emphasizing risks for patients and the possibility of infection spread within the community.
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Background: Necdin (NDN), a member of the melanoma antigen family showing imprinted pattern of expression, has been implicated as causing Prader-Willi symptoms, and known to participate in cellular growth, cellular migration and differentiation. The region where NDN is located has been associated to QTLs affecting reproduction and early growth in cattle, but location and functional analysis of the molecular mechanisms have not been established.

Methods: Here we report the sequence variation of the entire coding sequence from 72 samples of cattle, yak, buffalo, goat and sheep, and discuss its variation in Bovidae.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates the rising issue of enterobacteria in Venezuela that are resistant to quinolone antibiotics, focusing on the role of qnr genes in this resistance.
  • Researchers conducted antimicrobial susceptibility tests and PCR to identify these genes, discovering that 33.6% of the isolates carried the qnrB gene and a small fraction carried qnrA.
  • The findings suggest a significant presence of qnr genes on transferable plasmids, necessitating a careful strategy for antibiotic use to prevent further development of resistant bacterial strains.
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KCNQ1OT1 is located in the region with the highest number of genes showing genomic imprinting, but the mechanisms controlling the genes under its influence have not been fully elucidated. Therefore, we conducted a comparative analysis of the KCNQ1/KCNQ1OT1-CDKN1C region to study its conservation across the best assembled eutherian mammalian genomes sequenced to date and analyzed potential elements that may be implicated in the control of genomic imprinting in this region. The genomic features in these regions from human, mouse, cattle, and dog show a higher number of genes and CpG islands (detected using cpgplot from EMBOSS), but lower number of repetitive elements (including short interspersed nuclear elements and long interspersed nuclear elements), compared with their whole chromosomes (detected by RepeatMasker).

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Type II melanoma-associated antigens (MAGE) are a subgroup of about a dozen proteins found in various locations in the genome and expressed in normal tissues, thus are not related to cancer as the type I MAGE genes. This gene family exists as a single copy in non-mammals and monotremata, but found as two copies in metatherians and occur as a diverse group in all eutherians. Our studies suggest MAGED2 as the ancestor of this subfamily and the most likely evolutionary history of eutherian type II MAGE genes is hereby proposed based on synteny conservation, phylogenetic relations, genome location, homology conservation, and the protein and gene structures.

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Besides the importance of Enterobacter cloacae species complex as a nosocomial pathogen, little is known about the frequency of each species/genotype. Here, we describe a strain of E. hormaechei subsp.

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Introduction: Diarrheagenic Escherichia coli is an important causative agent of acute diarrheic syndrome. 

Objective: To identify clonal groups of enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC), in 485 children with acute diarrhea aged 0 to 10 years attending health care centers in Arismendi, Benítez and Sucre municipalities, Sucre state, Venezuela, from March to December, 2011.

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The enzymatic modification of aminoglycosides by aminoglycoside-acetyltransferases (AAC), aminoglycoside-adenyltransferases (AAD), and aminoglycoside-phosphotransferases (APH), is the most common resistance mechanism in P. aeruginosa and these enzymes can be coded on mobile genetic elements that contribute to their dispersion. One hundred and thirty seven P.

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If copy number variants (CNVs) are predominantly deleterious, we would expect them to be more efficiently purged from populations with a large effective population size (Ne) than from populations with a small Ne. Malaria parasites (Plasmodium falciparum) provide an excellent organism to examine this prediction, because this protozoan shows a broad spectrum of population structures within a single species, with large, stable, outbred populations in Africa, small unstable inbred populations in South America and with intermediate population characteristics in South East Asia. We characterized 122 single-clone parasites, without prior laboratory culture, from malaria-infected patients in seven countries in Africa, South East Asia and South America using a high-density single-nucleotide polymorphism/CNV microarray.

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An 83-year-old male patient is admitted to the central hospital in Cumana, Venezuela with severe urinary infection, history of hospitalizaions and prolonged antimicrobial treatments. A strain of Enterobacter cloacae was isolated showing resistance to multiple types of antibiotics (only sensitive to gentamicin), with phenotype of serine- and metallo-carbapenemases. Both, bla(VIM-2) and bla(KPC) genes were detected in the isolate.

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Clinical strains of Enterobacter were isolated from Cumana's Central Hospital in Venezuela, and classified as E. cloacae (21), E. aerogenes (7), E.

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The aim of this study was to identify the presence of Entamoeba histolytica and E. dispar by nested PCR in children attending the "Dr. Luis Razetti" Hospital, Barcelona, Anzoátegui State.

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Microscopy and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were used to survey pathogenic trypanosome infection in naturally infected Nigerian cattle. In 411 animals sampled, microscopy detected 15.1% positive infection of at least one of Trypanosoma brucei, Trypanosoma congolense or Trypanosoma vivax, while PCR detected 63.

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Introduction: In Venezuela, acute diarrheic syndrome (ADS) is a primary cause of morbi-mortality, often involving the Salmonella genus. Salmonella infections are associated with acute gastroenteritis, one of the most common alimentary intoxications, and caused by the consumption of contaminated water and food, especially meat.

Methods: Conventional and molecular methods were used to detect Salmonella strains from 330 fecal samples from individuals of different ages and both sexes with ADS.

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In Venezuela, a total of 363,466 malaria cases were reported between 1999-2009. Several states are experiencing malaria epidemics, increasing the risk of vector and possibly transfusion transmission. We investigated the risk of transfusion transmission in blood banks from endemic and non-endemic areas of Venezuela by examining blood donations for evidence of malaria infection.

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In order to determine the relationship between hematological parameters, parasitaemia and malaria episodes, we evaluated 59 individuals of both sexes, infected with Plasmodium vivax and 30 controls from Sucre state. Blood samples were obtained by venous puncture and from the earlobe at day of diagnosis, 8 and 30 days post-diagnosis. We carried out hematological analysis, microscopic and molecular (PCR) diagnosis and the parasitaemia was calculated.

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This study was carried out to determine the incidence of malaria in an endemic region of Amazonas State, Venezuela. For this, 200 random samples were collected from symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals from San Fernando de Atabapo and Santa Barbara. Epidemiological factors were related to malaria infection, which was diagnosed by microscopy observation and amplification of the 18S rDNA sequence by PCR.

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