Etiology and antimicrobial resistance patterns in chronic osteomyelitis of the tibia: an 11-year clinical experience.

Purpose: To analyze changes in tendency of etiology and of antimicrobial resistance patterns to most common local and systemic antibiotics in chronic osteomyelitis of the tibia (COM-T) in a Level I trauma center over an 11-year period.

Methods: A retrospective review including all patients with COM-T who were surgically treated from January 2009 to December 2019. Patients were divided into two period groups: 2009-2014 and 2015-2019.

Cross-sectional evaluation of the interaction between activity relative-time expenditure and comorbidity concerning physical quality of life.

Quality of life (QoL) is a matter of concern in both healthy and diseased individuals. Lifestyle factors such as physical activity and sleep have a direct impact on QoL. In this context, interactions between activity time expenditure and QoL might be different in comorbid and non comorbid patients.

Measurement of the interaction between mucin and oenological tannins by Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR); relationship with astringency.

The interaction between stomach porcine mucin and 3 oenological tannins (extract of ellagitannins from oak, extract of gallotannins from gall nuts and extract of proanthocyanidins from grape seeds) was measured by Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR). These tannins were analysed and their astringency was determined using the Astringency Index method and by tasting. The interaction constants were determined using a Biacore SPR device (1:1 Langmuir binding model).

Hydroxytyrosol and its complex forms (secoiridoids) modulate aorta and heart proteome in healthy rats: Potential cardio-protective effects.

Scope: Hydroxytyrosol (HT) is the major phenolic compound in virgin olive oil (VOO) in both free and complex forms (secoiridoids; SEC). Proteomics of cardiovascular tissues such as aorta or heart represents a promising tool to uncover the mechanisms of action of phenolic compounds in healthy animals.

Methods And Results: Twelve female Wistar rats were separated into three groups: a standard diet and two diets supplemented in phenolic compounds (HT and SEC) adjusted to 5 mg/kg/day during 21 days.

Foodomics imaging by mass spectrometry and magnetic resonance.

This work explores the use of advanced imaging MS (IMS) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques in food science and nutrition to evaluate food sensory characteristics, nutritional value and health benefits. Determining the chemical content and applying imaging tools to food metabolomics offer detailed information about food quality, safety, processing, storage and authenticity assessment. IMS and MRI are powerful analytical systems with an excellent capability for mapping the distribution of many molecules, and recent advances in these platforms are reviewed and discussed, showing the great potential of these techniques for small molecule-based food metabolomics research.

Reactivity and effectiveness of traditional and novel ligands for multi-micronutrient fertilization in a calcareous soil.

This study compares the effectiveness of multi-micronutrient formulations containing iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), and zinc (Zn) with traditional (EDTA, DTPA, HEEDTA, and EDDHAm) or novel chelates (o,p-EDDHA, S,S-EDDS, and IDHA) and natural complexing agents (gluconate and lignosulfonate). The stability and reactivity of the formulations were studied on batch experiments with calcareous soil and by speciation modeling. Formulations containing traditional ligands maintained higher Mn but lower Zn concentration in soil solution than the novel ligands.

Analytical methods in sphingolipidomics: Quantitative and profiling approaches in food analysis.

In recent years, sphingolipidomics has emerged as an interesting omic science that encompasses the study of the full sphingolipidome characterization, content, structure and activity in cells, tissues or organisms. Like other omics, it has the potential to impact biomarker discovery, drug development and systems biology knowledge. Concretely, dietary food sphingolipids have gained considerable importance due to their extensively reported bioactivity.

Novel chelating agents for iron, manganese, zinc, and copper mixed fertilisation in high pH soil-less cultures.

Background: Studies about simultaneous fertilisation with several micronutrients have increased in recent years, as Fe, Mn and Zn deficiencies may appear in the same culture conditions. In fertigation, the replacement of sulfates by synthetic chelates is essential in areas with high pH irrigation water and substrates. Ethylenediamine-N-(2-hydroxyphenylacetic acid)-N'-(4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid) (o,p-EDDHA) and ethylenediamine disuccinic acid (EDDS) are novel chelating agents whose efficacy in simultaneous fertilisation of Zn, Mn and Cu is unknown.

Ultrasensitive aptamer based detection of β-conglutin food allergen.

Lupine has been increasingly used in food applications due to its high nutritional value and excellent functional properties. However, there has been a response to the increasing number of severe cases of lupine allergies reported during the last decade, and as a result lupine was recently added to the list of substances requiring mandatory advisory labelling on foodstuffs sold in the European Union. In this paper we report the robust and ultrasensitive detection of the anaphylactic β-conglutin allergen using Apta-PCR achieving a detection limit of 85 pM (25 ng mL(-1)).

Root iron uptake efficiency of Ulmus laevis and U. minor and their distribution in soils of the Iberian Peninsula.

The calcifuge and calcicole character of wild plants has been related to nutrient availability shortages, including iron (Fe)-deficiency. Surprisingly, just a few studies examined the relation between root Fe uptake and plant distribution in different soil types. We assessed the root Fe acquisition efficiency of two Ulmus species with calcareous (Ulmus minor) and siliceous (U.

FRET-based dimeric aptamer probe for selective and sensitive Lup an 1 allergen detection.

A sensitive method for the rapid and sensitive detection of the anaphylactic food allergen Lup an 1 (β-conglutin) exploiting fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) has been developed. A high affinity dimeric form of a truncated 11-mer aptamer against β-conglutin was used, with each monomeric aptamer being flanked by donor/acceptor moieties. The dimeric form in the absence of target yields fluorescence emission due to the FRET from the excited fluorophore to the proximal second fluorophore.

Probing high-affinity 11-mer DNA aptamer against Lup an 1 (β-conglutin).

Aptamers are synthetic nucleic acids with great potential as analytical tools. However, the length of selected aptamers (typically 60-100 bases) can affect affinity, due to the presence of bases not required for interaction with the target, and therefore, the truncation of these selected sequences and identification of binding domains is a critical step to produce potent aptamers with higher affinities and specificities and lowered production costs. In this paper we report the truncation of an aptamer that specifically binds to β-conglutin (Lup an 1), an anaphylactic allergen.

Selection of 2'F-modified RNA aptamers against prostate-specific antigen and their evaluation for diagnostic and therapeutic applications.

Currently, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is considered to be the most sensitive marker available for prostate cancer detection and for monitoring of disease progression. In addition to its importance as a tumor marker, PSA has a role in the biological activity of cancer growth and proliferation. Therefore, the inhibition or activation of its biological activity may be used in prostate cancer therapy.

Comparison of different methods for generation of single-stranded DNA for SELEX processes.

Single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) generation is a crucial step in several molecular biology applications, such as sequencing or DNA chip and microarray technology. Molecules of ssDNA also play a key role in the selection of ssDNA aptamers through Systematic Evolution of Ligands by EXponential enrichment (SELEX). With particular interest for this application, herein we present a comparative study of the most used methods for generation of ssDNA used in SELEX, such as asymmetric PCR, enzyme digestion and magnetic separation with streptavidin beads.

DNA aptamers against the Lup an 1 food allergen.

Using in vitro selection, high affinity DNA aptamers to the food allergen Lup an 1, ß-conglutin, were selected from a pool of DNA, 93 bases in length, containing a randomised sequence of 49 bases. ß-conglutin was purified from lupin flour and chemically crosslinked to carboxylated magnetic beads. Peptide mass fingerprinting was used to confirm the presence of the ß-conglutin.

Biological activity of Fe(III) aquo-complexes towards ferric chelate reductase (FCR).

In this study we have obtained experimental evidence that confirms the high activity of aquo complexes III and IV towards the enzyme FCR, responsible for the reduction of Fe(III) to Fe(II) in the process of iron acquisition by plants. The in vivo FCR assays in roots of stressed cucumber plants have shown a higher efficiency of the family of complexes III and a striking structure-activity relationship with the nature of the substituent placed in a phenyl group far away from the metal center. The results obtained in this work demonstrate that all the aquo compounds tested interact efficiently with the enzyme FCR and hence constitute a new concept of iron chelates that could be of great use in agronomy.

Extraction, isolation, and characterization of globulin proteins from Lupinus albus.

Lupin has recently been added to the list of allergens requiring mandatory advisory labeling on foodstuffs sold in the European Union, and since December 2008, all products containing even trace amounts of lupin must be labeled correctly. Lupin globulins consist of two major globulins called α-conglutin (11S and "legumin-like") and β-conglutin (7S and "vicilin-like") and another additional two globulins, γ-conglutin and δ-conglutin, which are present in lower amounts. We report on a methodology to facilitate the extraction of each of these proteins using centrifugation and isolation by anion-exchange chromatography followed by size-exclusion chromatography.

Degradation of N-acyl-L-homoserine lactones by Bacillus cereus in culture media and pork extract.

Degradation of the quorum-sensing signal molecule N-acyl-L-homoserine lactone (AHL) in cocultures was verified with Bacillus cereus and Yersinia enterocolitica in culture medium and in pork extract. Results showed evidence of microbial interaction when the AHL-degrading bacterium and AHL-producing bacterium were cocultured in a food-simulating condition.

Structure and fertilizer properties of byproducts formed in the synthesis of EDDHA.

The synthesis of commercial EDDHA produces o,o-EDDHA as the main reaction product, together with a mixture of regioisomers (o,p-EDDHA and p,p-EDDHA) and other unknown byproducts also able to complex Fe3+. These compounds have been obtained by direct synthesis, and their structures have been determined by ESI-MS analysis as oligomeric EDDHA-like products, formed by polysubstitution in the phenolic rings. Short-term experiments show that the iron complexes of samples enriched in these oligomeric byproducts have adequate stability in solution, but a significant amount of them is lost after interaction with soils and soil materials.

Single cell variability of L. monocytogenes grown on liver pâté and cooked ham at 7 degrees C: comparing challenge test data to predictive simulations.

Aims: The variability in growth between individual Listeria monocytogenes cells was investigated on liver pâté and cooked ham. These results were compared to Monte Carlo simulations based on data collected previously in broths (Francois et al., submitted for publication).

Treatment of severe nosocomial pneumonia: a prospective randomised comparison of intravenous ciprofloxacin with imipenem/cilastatin.

Background: A prospective multicentre study was undertaken to compare the efficacy of intravenous ciprofloxacin or imipenem in the treatment of severe nosocomial pneumonia requiring mechanical ventilation.

Methods: Patients with a clinical suspicion of pneumonia were randomised to receive either ciprofloxacin (800-1200 mg/day) or imipenem (2-4 g/day) in doses adjusted for renal function and specimens of the lower respiratory tract were taken. Patients were included in the study when specimens showed significant growth for potentially pathogenic microorganisms in quantitative bacterial cultures (n = 75, ciprofloxacin 41/75 (55%); imipenem 34/75 (45%)).

First Report of Rhizoctonia solani AG-3 on Potato in Catalonia (NE Spain).

During the last 3 years, potatoes (Solanum tuberosum L.) with symptoms typical of Rhizoctonia canker and black scurf have been found in Catalonia; from 21,546 samples submitted to the official diagnostic laboratory (Laboratori de Sanitat Vegetal, DARP, Generalitat de Catalunya), 20% were infected with R. solani.

[Severe Plasmodium falciparum malaria. Description of 5 cases].

In the last few years a considerable number of imported malaria has been reported in Spain, probably due the increased tourism to areas with endemic malaria, particularly with P. falciparum. This is the species more frequently associated with severe complications and the only one capable of causing cerebral malaria.