Resource utilization by deep-sea sharks at the Le Danois Bank, Cantabrian Sea, north-east Atlantic Ocean.

The feeding habits of birdbeak dogfish Deania calcea, velvet belly lantern shark Etmopterus spinax and blackmouth catshark Galeus melastomus at Le Danois Bank, Cantabrian Sea, south Bay of Biscay were studied in relation to their bathymetric distribution. Deep-sea sharks were collected during two multidisciplinary surveys carried out in October 2003 and April 2004 at the Le Danois Bank. Two different habitats were defined: (1) the top of the bank, ranging from 454 to 642 m depth and covered by fine-sand sediments with a low percentage of organic matter, and (2) the inner basin located between the bank and the Cantabrian Sea's continental shelf, at depths of 810-1048 m, which was characterized by a high proportion of silt and organic matter.

Effect of inulin supplementation and dietary fat source on performance, blood serum metabolites, liver lipids, abdominal fat deposition, and tissue fatty acid composition in broiler chickens.

A study was conducted to evaluate the effect of adding inulin to diets containing 2 different types of fat as energy sources on performance, blood serum metabolites, liver lipids, and fatty acids of abdominal adipose tissue and breast and thigh meat. A total of 240 one-day-old female broiler chicks were randomly allocated into 1 of 6 treatments with 8 replicates per treatment and 5 chicks per pen. The experiment consisted of a 3 x 2 factorial arrangement of treatments including 3 concentrations of inulin (0, 5, and 10 g/kg of diet) and 2 types of fat [palm oil (PO) and sunflower oil (SO)] at an inclusion rate of 90 g/kg of diet.

Influence of body mass index on changes in disease-specific quality of life of veterans completing pulmonary rehabilitation.

Purpose: Body mass index (BMI) has prognostic value in patients with chronic lung disease. Pulmonary rehabilitation improves quality of life. This study investigated whether BMI predicts change in disease-specific quality of life following pulmonary rehabilitation.

The use of otolith microstructure to estimate age in adult Atlantic cod Gadus morhua.

Transverse sections of otoliths from Atlantic cod Gadus morhua from the Baltic Sea revealed narrow growth increments. The widths of these increments corresponded to daily increments from fish with known otolith growth rates and were therefore assumed to be daily increments. They exhibited a distinct pattern with increasing distance from the primary primordium.

Volumetric behavior of the {CO2 (1) + C2H6 (2)} system in the subcritical (T = 293.15 K), critical, and supercritical (T = 308.15 K) regions.

The volumetric behavior for the {CO2 (1) + C2H6 (2)} system has been studied. Density measurements of {CO2 (1) + C2H6 (2)} binary mixtures at 293.15 and 308.

Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults: a case report.

Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults (LADA) is an autoimmune endocrine disorder in which despite the presence of antipancreatic islets antibodies in the moment of diagnostics, the progression to beta-cell secretory insufficiency is slow. It is often confused with others types of diabetes and therefore the management is frequently inadequate. We report a clinical case of a 23-year-old man with diagnosis of type 2 diabetes since 6 months ago, poorly controlled with a sulfonylurea, who initially presented 2 months ago from polyuria, polydipsia, and asthenia and 6 kg weight loss.

Haplotypes of intron 4 of the estrogen receptor alpha gene and hip fractures: a replication study in Caucasians.

Background: Despite their great impact, few genetic association studies have used hip fractures as an endpoint. However, the association of two polymorphisms on intron 4 of estrogen receptor alpha (ESR1) with hip fractures was recently reported in a Chinese population. The aim of this study was to investigate whether such association is also present in Caucasians.

Uptake of predictive testing among relatives of BRCA1 and BRCA2 families: a multicenter study in northeastern Spain.

Identifying a BRCA mutation among families with hereditary breast and ovarian cancer enables distinguishing those who may benefit from a specific medical management. This study aimed to evaluate the uptake of predictive testing among close relatives of a proband in Spanish families with a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation, and to determine the associated demographic and clinical predictors. A retrospective cohort of families undergoing clinical genetic testing at four university hospitals in northeastern Spain was considered.

Stable smectic phase in suspensions of polydisperse colloidal platelets with identical thickness.

We report the nematic and smectic ordering in an aqueous suspension of monolayer alpha -Zirconium phosphate platelets possessing a high polydispersity in diameter but uniform thickness. We observe an isotropic-nematic transition as the platelet volume fraction increases, followed by the formation of a smectic, an elusive phase that has been rarely seen in discotic liquid crystals. The smectic phase is characterized by x-ray diffraction high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and optical microscopy.

Short-term seasonal variability in 7Be wet deposition in a semiarid ecosystem of central Argentina.

The (7)Be wet deposition has been intensively investigated in a semiarid region at San Luis Province, Argentina. From November 2006 to May 2008, the (7)Be content in rainwater was determined in 58 individual rain events, randomly comprising more than 50% of all individual precipitations at the sampling period. (7)Be activity concentration in rainwater ranged from 0.

Non-coding murine centromeric transcripts associate with and potentiate Aurora B kinase.

Non-coding RNAs are emerging as key players in many fundamental biological processes, including specification of higher-order chromatin structure. We examined the implication of RNA transcribed from mouse centromeric minor satellite repeats in the formation and function of centromere-associated complexes. Here we show that the levels of minor satellite RNA vary during cell-cycle progression, peaking in G2/M phase, concomitant with accumulation of proteins of the chromosomal passenger complex near the centromere.

Incidence of the major Brassica pests in northwestern Spain.

Kale (Brassica oleracea L. acephala group) crops are common in northwestern Spain, where they are severely damaged by different insect pests. The damage notably affects the value of this crop because it is freshly consumed and fresh processed.

Wnt pathway genes in osteoporosis and osteoarthritis: differential expression and genetic association study.

Unlabelled: In comparison with hip fractures, increased expression of genes in the Wnt pathway and increased Wnt activity were found in bone samples and osteoblast cultures from patients with osteoarthritis, suggesting the involvement of this pathway in subchondral bone changes. No consistent differences were found in the genetic association study.

Introduction: This study aims to explore the allelic variations and expression of Wnt pathway genes in patients with osteoporosis and osteoarthritis.

Biaxial nematic and smectic phases of parallel particles with different cross sections.

We have calculated the phase diagrams of one-component fluids made of five types of biaxial particles differing in their cross sections. The orientation of the principal particle axis is fixed in space, while the second axis is allowed to freely rotate. We have constructed a free-energy density functional based on fundamental-measure theory to study the relative stability of nematic and smectic phases with uniaxial, biaxial, and tetratic symmetries.

Neonatal sepsis caused by a CTX-M-32-producing Escherichia coli isolate.

We describe what we believe to be the first case of neonatal sepsis caused by CTX-M-producing Escherichia coli, in a low-weight preterm infant, born to a colonized mother who had received antibiotic treatment antepartum. Increased dissemination of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing E. coli in the community should be borne in mind for empirical therapy of sepsis in high-risk newborns.

Emergence of imipenem resistance in clinical Escherichia coli during therapy.

The molecular epidemiology and the mechanisms of resistance of Escherichia coli isolated from two patients infected by imipenem-resistant strains are reported in this study. From one patient, three closely related consecutive isolates of E. coli were recovered; the first was carbapenem-susceptible but acquired imipenem resistance after treatment with ertapenem, and the third isolate was again imipenem-susceptible.

Comparison of Akt/mTOR signaling in primary breast tumors and matched distant metastases.

Background: The Akt/mammalian target of the rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway represents a promising target for cancer therapy. The phosphorylation status of Akt and of mTOR's phosphorylation target eukaryotic initiation factor 4E-binding protein 1 (4E-BP1) is often used to assess the activity of Akt and mTOR signaling. The purpose of this study was to determine whether primary tumors differ from their metastasis in their expression of pAkt and p4E-BP1.

Ictal technetium-99 m ethyl cysteinate dimer single-photon emission tomographic findings in epileptic patients with polymicrogyria syndromes: a subtraction of ictal-interictal SPECT coregistered to MRI study.

Purpose: To describe the ictal technetium-99 m-ECD SPECT findings in polymicrogyria syndromes (PMG) during epileptic seizures.

Methods: We investigated 17 patients with PMG syndromes during presurgical workup, which included long-term video-electroencephalographic (EEG) monitoring, neurological and psychiatry assessments, invasive EEG, and the subtraction of ictal-interictal SPECT coregistered to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (SISCOM).

Results: The analysis of the PMG cortex, using SISCOM, revealed intense hyperperfusion in the polymicrogyric lesion during epileptic seizures in all patients.

[Gastric surgery as a nutritional risk factor].

Background: The stomach has a role in the digestion and absorption of nutrients, so patients are in nutritional risk after gastric resection. The aim of this work was to study the nutritional status of postgastrectomy outpatients followed in our hospital.

Methods: We retrospectively studied 54 patients (27 M, 27 F) followed more than 12 months postgastrectomy.

[Cerebral vasoreactivity in high-altitude cerebral edema].

Introduction: High-altitude cerebral edema is a potentially fatal neurologic syndrome that develops in subjects exposed to high-altitude. It may appear associated to other forms of altitude illnesses as acute mountain sickness or high-altitude pulmonary edema. The exact pathophysiology of high-altitude cerebral edema is still unknown and there is not consensus about the primarily type of edema: vasogenic or cytotoxic.

Impaired genome maintenance suppresses the growth hormone--insulin-like growth factor 1 axis in mice with Cockayne syndrome.

Cockayne syndrome (CS) is a photosensitive, DNA repair disorder associated with progeria that is caused by a defect in the transcription-coupled repair subpathway of nucleotide excision repair (NER). Here, complete inactivation of NER in Csb(m/m)/Xpa(-/-) mutants causes a phenotype that reliably mimics the human progeroid CS syndrome. Newborn Csb(m/m)/Xpa(-/-) mice display attenuated growth, progressive neurological dysfunction, retinal degeneration, cachexia, kyphosis, and die before weaning.

Analysis of plasmids encoding extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs) from Escherichia coli isolated from non-hospitalised patients in Seville.

Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli is an emerging pathogen in the community. We investigated the specific types of ESBLs in E. coli isolates from non-hospitalised patients and the plasmids harbouring these ESBLs.

Renal dysfunction following adult intestinal transplant under tacrolimus-based immunosuppression.

We analyzed data from the records of 24 adult patients who survived more than 2 years after intestinal transplantation performed between 1995 and 2002 under tacrolimus-based immunosuppression. Ages ranged from 19.3 to 59.

Renal function after pediatric intestinal transplant.

Data were analyzed from 44 patients who survived more than 2 years after intestinal transplantation performed between 1994 and 2002. Median age was 1.7 years.

Cloning and characterization of a beta-galactosidase encoding region in Lactobacillus coryniformis CECT 5711.

A chromosomal DNA fragment of 7.8 kb from Lactobacillus coryniformis CECT 5711 was cloned in Escherichia coli K-12 and was found to express a functional beta-galactosidase. Nucleotide sequence analysis showed that this fragment contained two partially overlapping genes, the lacL (1,881 bp) and the lacM (960 bp), that encode the subunits of a heterodimeric beta-galactosidase, with estimated molecular masses of 72,129 and 35,233 Da, respectively.