Characterization of three predicted zinc exporters in identifies ZntR-ZntA as a powerful zinc and cadmium efflux system not required for virulence and unveils pathogenic Brucellae heterogeneity in zinc homeostasis.

causes non-zoonotic ovine brucellosis of worldwide distribution and is responsible for important economic losses mainly derived from male genital lesions and reproductive fails. Studies about the virulence mechanisms of this rough species (lacking lipopolysaccharide O-chains) are underrepresented when compared to the main zoonotic species that are smooth (with O-chains). Zinc intoxication constitutes a defense mechanism of the host against bacterial pathogens, which have developed efflux systems to counterbalance toxicity.

The Three Flagellar Loci of PA Are Dispensable for Virulence in Cellular Models and Mice.

is a facultative intracellular bacterium that causes a non-zoonotic ovine brucellosis mainly characterized by male genital lesions and is responsible for important economic losses in sheep farming areas. Studies about the virulence mechanisms of have been mostly performed with smooth (bearing O-polysaccharide in lipopolysaccharide) zoonotic species, and those performed with have revealed similarities but also relevant differences. Except for few strains recently isolated from unconventional hosts, species are non-motile but contain the genes required to assemble a flagellum, which are organized in three main loci of about 18.

Oral health in Alzheimer's disease: a multicenter case-control study.

Objectives: The aim of this case-control study was to carry out an oral health assessment on a group of Alzheimer's patients and to establish a hypothesis regarding the implication of the characteristics of the disease and the treatment of oral health.

Materials And Methods: A total of 70 Alzheimer's patients, residents at the Alzheimer Center Reina Sofia Foundation (Madrid, Spain) and at the Alzheimer State Reference Center (Salamanca, Spain), and 36 controls (companions/acquaintances), were studied by oral examination and saliva sampling. The oral health indices DMFT/DMFS, CPI, the prosthetic condition, oral hygiene, saliva volume, and pH, as well as the specific microbiological parameters governing the risk of developing caries were assessed.

Cave acoustics in prehistory: Exploring the association of Palaeolithic visual motifs and acoustic response.

During the 1980 s, acoustic studies of Upper Palaeolithic imagery in French caves-using the technology then available-suggested a relationship between acoustic response and the location of visual motifs. This paper presents an investigation, using modern acoustic measurement techniques, into such relationships within the caves of La Garma, Las Chimeneas, La Pasiega, El Castillo, and Tito Bustillo in Northern Spain. It addresses methodological issues concerning acoustic measurement at enclosed archaeological sites and outlines a general framework for extraction of acoustic features that may be used to support archaeological hypotheses.

Paenibacillus hispanicus sp. nov. isolated from Triticum aestivum roots.

A bacterial strain designated AMTAE16T was isolated from a root of wheat in Spain. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequences placed the isolate in the genus Paenibacilluswith its closest relative being Paenibacillus daejeonensis AP-20T with 99.0 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity.

Erratum: Theory of Frequency-Filtered and Time-Resolved N-Photon Correlations [Phys. Rev. Lett. 109, 183601 (2012)].

This corrects the article DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.

Pseudomonas endophytica sp. nov., isolated from stem tissue of Solanum tuberosum L. in Spain.

A bacterial strain named BSTT44(T) was isolated in the course of a study of endophytic bacteria occurring in stems and roots of potato growing in a soil from Salamanca, Spain. The 16S rRNA gene sequence had 99.7% identity with respect to that of its closest relative, Pseudomonas psychrophila E-3T, and the next most closely related type strains were those of Pseudomonas fragi, with 99.

Alfalfa microsymbionts from different ITS and nodC lineages of Ensifer meliloti and Ensifer medicae symbiovar meliloti establish efficient symbiosis with alfalfa in Spanish acid soils.

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is an important crop worldwide whose cropping in acid soils is hampered by the poor nodulation and yield commonly attributed to the sensitivity of its endosymbionts to acid pH. In this work, we isolated several acid-tolerant strains from alfalfa nodules in three acid soils in northwestern Spain.

Emitters of -photon bundles.

Controlling the ouput of a light emitter is one of the basic tasks of photonics, with landmarks such as the laser and single-photon sources. The development of quantum applications makes it increasingly important to diversify the available quantum sources. Here, we propose a cavity QED scheme to realize emitters that release their energy in groups, or "bundles" of photons, for integer .

Paenibacillus lupini sp. nov., isolated from nodules of Lupinus albus.

A bacterial strain designated RLAHU15(T) was isolated from root nodules of Lupinus albus in Spain. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequences placed the isolate in the genus Paenibacillus, with its closest relatives being Paenibacillus catalpae D75(T), Paenibacillus glycanilyticus DS-1(T), Paenibacillus endophyticus PECAE04(T) and Paenibacillus xinjiangensis B538(T) with 98.8 %, 98.

Evaluation in mice of Brucella ovis attenuated mutants for use as live vaccines against B. ovis infection.

Brucella ovis causes ram contagious epididymitis, a disease for which a specific vaccine is lacking. Attenuated Brucella melitensis Rev 1, used as vaccine against ovine and caprine brucellosis caused by B. melitensis, is also considered the best vaccine available for the prophylaxis of B.

Cohnella lupini sp. nov., an endophytic bacterium isolated from root nodules of Lupinus albus.

A bacterial strain designated RLAHU4B(T) was isolated from root nodules of Lupinus albus in León (Spain). The 16S rRNA gene sequence of this strain showed similarities lower than 97 % with respect to species of the genus Cohnella. The strain was a Gram-variable, sporulating rod, motile by means of peritrichous flagella, and facultatively anaerobic.

Paenibacillus endophyticus sp. nov., isolated from nodules of Cicer arietinum.

A bacterial strain, designated PECAE04(T), was isolated from root nodules of Cicer arietinum in Spain. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequence placed the isolate into the genus Paenibacillus with its closest relative being Paenibacillus castaneae Ch-32(T) with 98.4 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity followed by Paenibacillus glycanilyticus DS-1(T), Paenibacillus prosopidis PW21(T), Paenibacillus xinjiangensis B538(T) and Paenibacillus catalpae D75(T) with similarities ranging from 97.

Theory of strong coupling between quantum emitters and propagating surface plasmons.

Here we present the theoretical foundation of the strong coupling phenomenon between quantum emitters and propagating surface plasmons observed in two-dimensional metal surfaces. For that purpose, we develop a quantum framework that accounts for the coherent coupling between emitters and surface plasmons and incorporates the presence of dissipation and dephasing. Our formalism is able to reveal the key physical mechanisms that explain the reported phenomenology and also determine the physical parameters that optimize the strong coupling.

Control and ultrafast dynamics of a two-fluid polariton switch.

We investigate the cross interactions in a two-component polariton quantum fluid coherently driven by two independent pumping lasers tuned at different energies and momenta. We show that both the hysteresis cycles and the on-off threshold of one polariton signal can be entirely controlled by a second polariton fluid. Furthermore, we study the ultrafast switching dynamics of a driven polariton state, demonstrating the ability to control the polariton population with an external laser pulse, in less than a few picoseconds.

Theory of frequency-filtered and time-resolved N-photon correlations.

A theory of correlations between N photons of given frequencies and detected at given time delays is presented. These correlation functions are usually too cumbersome to be computed explicitly. We show that they are obtained exactly through intensity correlations between two-level sensors in the limit of their vanishing coupling to the system.

Endobacter medicaginis gen. nov., sp. nov., isolated from alfalfa nodules in an acidic soil.

A bacterial strain designated M1MS02(T) was isolated from a surface-sterilized nodule of Medicago sativa in Zamora (Spain). The 16S rRNA gene sequence of this strain showed 96.5 and 96.

Frictionless flow in a binary polariton superfluid.

We study the properties of a binary microcavity polariton superfluid coherently injected by two lasers at different momenta and energies. The crossover from the supersonic to the subsonic regime, where motion is frictionless, is described by evaluating the linear response of the system to a weak defect potential. We show that the coupling between the two components requires that either both components flow without friction or both scatter against the defect, though scattering can be small when the two fluids are weakly coupled.

Onset and dynamics of vortex-antivortex pairs in polariton optical parametric oscillator superfluids.

We study, both theoretically and experimentally, the occurrence of topological defects in polariton superfluids in the optical parametric oscillator (OPO) regime. We explain in terms of local supercurrents the deterministic behavior of both the onset and dynamics of vortex-antivortex pairs generated by perturbing the system with a pulsed probe. Using a generalized Gross-Pitaevskii equation, including photonic disorder, pumping and decay, we elucidate the reason why topological defects form in couples and can be detected by direct visualizations in multishot OPO experiments.

Entanglement of two qubits mediated by one-dimensional plasmonic waveguides.

We investigate qubit-qubit entanglement mediated by plasmons supported by one-dimensional waveguides. We explore both the situation of spontaneous formation of entanglement from an unentangled state and the emergence of driven steady-state entanglement under continuous pumping. In both cases, we show that large values for the concurrence are attainable for qubit-qubit distances larger than the operating wavelength by using plasmonic waveguides that are currently available.

Spontaneous and triggered vortices in polariton optical-parametric-oscillator superfluids.

We study nonequilibrium polariton superfluids in the optical-parametric-oscillator regime by using a Gross-Pitaevskii equation with pumping and decay. We identify a regime above the optical-parametric-oscillator threshold, where the system undergoes spontaneous symmetry breaking and is unstable towards vortex formation without any rotating drive. Stable vortex solutions differ from metastable ones; the latter can persist but can be triggered only externally.