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We are in the midst of a golden age of uncovering defense systems against bacteriophages. Apart from the fundamentalinterest in these defense systems, and revolutionary applications that have been derived from them (e.g. CRISPR-Cas9 andrestriction endonucleases), it is unknown how defense systems contribute to resistance formation against bacteriophagesin clinical settings. Bacteriophages are now being reconsidered as therapeutic agents against bacterial infections due theemergence of multidrug resistance. However, bacteriophage resistance through defense systems and other means couldhinder the development of successful phage-based therapies. Here, we review the current state of the field of bacteriophagedefense, highlight the relevance of bacteriophage defense for potential clinical use of bacteriophages as therapeutic agentsand suggest new directions of research.

A low intake of fruits and vegetables is a risk factor for gastric cancer, although there is uncertainty regarding the magnitude of the associations. In our study, the relationship between fruits and vegetables intake and gastric cancer was assessed, complementing a previous work on the association betweenconsumption of citrus fruits and gastric cancer. Data from 25 studies (8456 cases and 21 133 controls) with information on fruits and/or vegetables intake were used. A two-stage approach based on random-effects models was used to pool study-specific adjusted (sex, age and the main known risk factors for gastric cancer) odds ratios (ORs) and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Exposure-response relations, including linear and nonlinear associations, were modeled using one- and two-order fractional polynomials. Gastric cancer risk was lower for a higher intake of fruits (OR: 0.76, 95% CI: 0.64-0.90), noncitrus fruits (OR: 0.86, 95% CI: 0.73-1.02), vegetables (OR: 0.68, 95% CI: 0.56-0.84), and fruits and vegetables (OR: 0.61, 95% CI: 0.49-0.75); results were consistent across sociodemographic and lifestyles categories, as well as study characteristics. Exposure-response analyses showed an increasingly protective effect of portions/day of fruits (OR: 0.64, 95% CI: 0.57-0.73 for six portions), noncitrus fruits (OR: 0.71, 95% CI: 0.61-0.83 for six portions) and vegetables (OR: 0.51, 95% CI: 0.43-0.60 for 10 portions). A protective effect of all fruits, noncitrus fruits and vegetables was confirmed, supporting further dietary recommendations to decrease the burden of gastric cancer. © 2020 UICC

The consumption of processed meat has been associated with noncardia gastric cancer, but evidence regarding a possible role of red meat is more limited. Our study aims to quantify the association between meat consumption, namely white, red and processed meat, and the risk of gastric cancer, through individual participant data meta-analysis of studies participating in the “Stomach cancer Pooling (StoP) Project”. Data from 22 studies, including 11,443 cases and 28,029 controls, were used. Study-specific odds ratios (ORs) were pooled through a two-stage approach based on random-effects models. An exposure-response relationship was modeled, using one and two-order fractional polynomials, to evaluate the possible nonlinear association between meat intake and gastric cancer. An increased risk of gastric cancer was observed for the consumption of all types of meat (highest vs. lowest tertile), which was statistically significant for red (OR: 1.24; 95% CI: 1.00–1.53), processed (OR: 1.23; 95% CI: 1.06–1.43) and total meat (OR: 1.30; 95% CI: 1.09–1.55). Exposure-response analyses showed an increasing risk of gastric cancer with increasing consumption of both processed and red meat, with the highest OR being observed for an intake of 150 g/day of red meat (OR: 1.85; 95% CI: 1.56–2.20). This work provides robust evidence on the relation between the consumption of different types of meat and gastric cancer. Adherence to dietary recommendations to reduce meat consumption may contribute to a reduction in the burden of gastric cancer. © 2019 UICC

The observation in microscopy of histological sections allows us to evaluate structural differences, in pancreatic cells, between rats with normal glucose tolerance and with glucose intolerance (pre-diabetic) situation. Nevertheless, this pre-diabetic condition implies subtle changes in islets of Langerhans structure. This and the normal variability among sampled cells makes difficult the task of identifying glucose intolerance (pre-diabetic situation) with a low level of error. This paper presents preliminary results in the processing of histological pancreas images with the goal of identifying pre-diabetic situation in Wistar rats. The immediate goal of this work is to evaluate the performance of a classifier based in a morphometric measurement of the histological images and to assess the potential for image based automatic processing and classification. A set of 90 images, were used (58 from rats with normal glucose tolerance, and 32 from pre-diabetic ones). These images were segmented manually using ImageJ. This segmentation and area measurements have been speedup by the application of ImageJ macros which were defined for this purpose. The ratio, between the area of -cells and the islets of Langerhans , was used has the indicator of the prediabetic situation. Considering this feature, a receiver operating characteristic analysis has been performed. True positive rate, vs. false positive rate shows the predicted performance of a binary classifier as its discrimination threshold is varied.

La inseminación instrumental es una técnica fundamental en el momento de plantear la selección y mejora de las abejas melíferas, no solo por la necesidad de preservar nuestros ecotipos locales, sino también por la necesidad de mejorarlos, procurando colonias con características que aumenten la producción y ofrezcan resistencia a las enfermedades (abejas resistentes a varroasis, ascosferosis, etc.) . Este estudio fue realizado can el objetivo de comparar la actividad de colonias de Apis melifera L. sometidas a inseminación instrumental con la actividad de colonias fecundadas naturalmente. Siguiendo la técnica de inseminación de Schley o el acoplamiento natural, comparamos los tratamientos con enfoque en el porcentaje de perdidas, la eficacia del tipo de tratamiento, la aceptación de las reinas en las colmenas y la producción de reinas vivas y fértiles después de su introducción en las colmenas. EI estudio estadístico de la información fue realizado usando el test del-K. En el laboratorio de Fisióloga e Reproducción de la Escuela Superior Agraria de Bragança , realizamos la inseminación de 30 reinas y en la colmena de fecundación se dejaron acoplar naturalmente 26 reinas. Todas las reinas fueron seleccionadas según su comportamiento higiénico y productivo. Con la inseminación instrumental, obtuvimos 80% de reinas fertilizadas y con el acoplamiento natural obtuvimos 85%. Fueron detectadas diferencias significativas (P