Fifty Years of Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Education in Mexico and Latin America: Results, Reflections and Perspectives.

This manuscript provides reflections and perspectives on BME education in IEEE Region 9 (Mexico and Latin America) on the 50 anniversary of the founding of these undergraduate programs. It includes a bit of history, as well as analysis of around 150 existing programs in the region. Results of the different approaches are also included.

MAMP-elicited changes in amino acid transport activity contribute to restricting bacterial growth.

Plants live under the constant challenge of microbes that probe the environment in search of potential hosts. Plant cells perceive microbe-associated molecular patterns (MAMPs) from incoming microbes and activate defense responses that suppress attempted infections. Despite the substantial progress made in understanding MAMP-triggered signaling pathways, the downstream mechanisms that suppress bacterial growth and disease remain poorly understood.

Environmental Dependence of Competitive Fitness in Rifampin-Resistant Mutants of Bacillus subtilis.

RNA polymerase (RNAP) is a highly conserved macromolecular machine that contributes to the flow of genetic information from genotype to phenotype. In Bacillus subtilis, mutations in the gene encoding the β-subunit of RNAP have been shown to alter a number of global phenotypes, including growth, utilization of unusual nutrient sources, sporulation, germination, and production of secondary metabolites. In addition, the spectrum of mutations in leading to rifampin resistance (Rif) can change dramatically depending upon the environment to which B.

The Spectrum of Spontaneous Rifampin Resistance Mutations in the Bacillus subtilis Gene Depends on the Growth Environment.

Results from previous investigations into spontaneous rifampin resistance (Rif) mutations in the Bacillus subtilis gene suggested that the spectrum of mutations depends on the growth environment. However, these studies were limited by low sample numbers, allowing for the potential distortion of the data by the presence of "jackpot" mutations that may have arisen early in the growth of a population. Here, we addressed this issue by performing fluctuation analyses to assess both the rate and spectrum of Rif mutations in two distinct media: LB, a complete laboratory medium, and SMM, a minimal medium utilizing l-asparagine as the sole carbon source.

Alterations in the Spectrum of Spontaneous Rifampicin-Resistance Mutations in the Gene after Cultivation in the Human Spaceflight Environment.

The effect of exposure to the human spaceflight environment on growth, mutagenic frequency, and spectrum of mutations to rifampicin resistance (Rif) was investigated. cells were cultivated in Biological Research in Canister-Petri Dish Fixation Units (BRIC-PDFUs) on two separate missions to the International Space Station (ISS), dubbed BRIC-18 and BRIC-21, with matching asynchronous ground controls. No statistically significant difference in either growth or in the frequency of mutation to Rif was found in either experiment.