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The major theme of this paper is connected to the discussions developed by the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014) and aims to present the Decade's contributions as a tool of international convergence that promoted and strengthened the understanding of education as an essential tool to the sustainable development and contributed to an holistic perception of the world with the purpose of fostering attitudes and responsibilities towards the sustainable development, a model of development that fulfills the necessities of the present without compromising the needs of the future generations. For that reason, there is a discussion and a problematization about the proceedings and concepts that came before the Decade, its purposes and the goals that worked as an inspiration for it, as well as a discussion about its current configurations and future perspectives beyond the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Aquaculture and salmon farming can cause environmental problems due to the pollution of the surrounding waters with nutrients, solid wastes and chemicals, such as antibiotics, which are used for disease control in the aquaculture facilities. Increasing antibiotic resistance in human-impacted environments, such as coastal waters with aquaculture activity, is linked to the widespread use of antibiotics, even at sub-lethal concentrations. In Chile, the world's second largest producer of salmon, aquaculture is considered the primary source of antibiotics residues in the coastal waters of northern Patagonia. Here, we evaluated whether the structure and diversity of marine bacterial community, the richness of antibiotic resistance bacteria and the frequency of antibiotic resistance genes increase in communities from the surface seawater of an area with salmon farming activities, in comparison with communities from an area without major anthropogenic disturbance., Results: The taxonomic structure of bacterial community was significantly different between areas with and without aquaculture production. Growth of the culturable fraction under controlled laboratory conditions showed that, in comparison with the undisturbed area, the bacterial community from salmon farms displayed a higher frequency of colonies resistant to the antibiotics used by the salmon industry. A higher adaptation to antibiotics was revealed by a greater proportion of multi-resistant bacteria isolated from the surface seawater of the salmon farming area. Furthermore, metagenomics data revealed a significant higher abundance of antibiotic resistant genes conferring resistance to 11 antibiotic families in the community from salmon farms, indicating that the proportion of bacteria carrying the resistance determinants was overall higher in salmon farms than in the undisturbed site., Conclusions: Our results revealed an association between bacterial communities and antibiotic resistance from surface seawater of a coastal area of Chile. Although the total bacterial community may appear comparable between sites, the cultivation technique allowed to expose a higher prevalence of antibiotic resistant bacteria in the salmon farming area. Moreover, we demonstrated that metagenomics (culture-independent) and phenotypic (culture-dependent) methods are complementary to evaluate the bacterial communities' risk for antibiotic resistance, and that a human-influenced environment (such as salmon farms) can potentiate bacteria to adapt to environmental stresses, such as antibiotics., Competing Interests: Declarations Ethics approval and consent to participate Not applicable. Consent for publication Not applicable. Competing interests The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: There has been debate over whether the existing World Health Organization (WHO) criteria accurately represent the severity of maternal near misses., Objective: This study assessed the diagnostic accuracy of two WHO clinical and laboratory organ dysfunction markers for determining the best cutoff values in a Latin American setting., Methods: A prospective multicenter cohort study was conducted in five Latin American countries. Patients with severe maternal complications were followed up from admission to discharge. Organ dysfunction was determined using clinical and laboratory data, and participants were classified according to severe maternal outcomes. This study compares the diagnostic criteria of Latin American Centre for Perinatology, Network for Adverse Maternal Outcomes (CLAP/NAMO) to WHO standards., Results: Of the 698 women studied, 15.2% had severe maternal outcomes. Most measured variables showed significant differences between individuals with and without severe outcomes (all P-values <0.05). Alternative cutoff values suggested by CLAP/NAMOs include pH ≤7.40, lactate ≥2.3 mmol/L, respiratory rate ≥ 24 bpm, oxygen saturation ≤ 96%, PaO 2 /FiO 2  ≤ 342 mmHg, platelet count ≤189 × 10 9  × mm 3 , serum creatinine ≥0.8 mg/dL, and total bilirubin ≥0.67 mg/dL. No significant differences were found when comparing the diagnostic performance of the CLAP/NAMO criteria to that of the WHO standards., Conclusion: The CLAP/NAMO values were comparable to the WHO maternal near-miss criteria, indicating that the WHO standards might not be superior in this population. These findings suggest that maternal near-miss thresholds can be adapted regionally, improving the identification and management of severe maternal complications in Latin America., (© 2024 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics.)

Background: Rotator cuff tears are highly prevalent, and their association with critical shoulder angle (CSA) has been reported. There is controversy regarding whether the morphology of the acromion influences its incidence, as well as whether acromioplasty would impact the results of a rotator cuff repair. Lateral acromioplasty does not play a decompressive role; rather, it aims to correct the deltoid vector. According to some publications, this would achieve less loading on the repaired rotator cuff, a lower retear rate, and better function. CSA correction with lateral acromioplasty can be planned with radiography (2-dimensional [2D]), but its predictability has not been fully studied. The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the predictability of 2D planning with radiography in CSA correction in patients with rotator cuff repair. The secondary objective is to analyze the association between the correction of the CSA and the functional outcomes., Methods: This single-center, prospective, observational, analytical study included candidates for arthroscopic repair of a rotator cuff tear with a CSA > 35°. Lateral acromioplasty was performed as planned with preoperative radiography (2D) to achieve a CSA of 35°. The degrees to be corrected were calculated. CSA was recalculated with a postoperative radiography; and the error in the planned grades to be corrected was calculated. At the end of follow-up, Visual Analog Scale, Subjective Shoulder Value (SSV), and Quick-Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (Quick-DASH) scores were evaluated., Results: Forty one cases were included, 43.9% were men, and the mean age was 55.5 ± 8.6 years. The mean preoperative and postoperative CSA were 39.6° ± 1.9° and 35.7° ± 2.3°, respectively; 41.5% achieved a postoperative CSA ≤ 35°. The mean CSA planned correction error was 45.7 ± 28.8%. At the end of the follow-up, 33 (78.6%) had a functional evaluation, with an average follow-up of 41 ± 6.8 months. The mean Visual Analog Scale, Quick-DASH, and SSV were 0.9 ± 1.6, 5.3 ± 7.5, and 92.7 ± 10.6, respectively. There was a significant difference in Quick-DASH ( P  = .01) and SSV ( P  = .02) according to whether a postoperative CSA ≤ 35° was achieved., Conclusion: In lateral acromioplasty, planning of CSA correction with radiography (2D) is imprecise. Reaching a CSA ≤ 35° positively influences functional results., (© 2024 The Author(s).)

Background: Adjuvant radiotherapy represents a key component in curative-intent treatment for early-stage breast cancer patients. In recent years, two accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) techniques are preferred for this population in our organization: electron-based Intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT) and Linac-based External Beam Radiotherapy, particularly Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). Recently published long-term follow-up data evaluating these technologies have motivated a health technology reassessment of IORT compared to IMRT., Methods: We developed a Markov model to simulate health-state transitions from a cohort of women with early-stage breast cancer, after lumpectomy and adjuvant APBI using either IORT or IMRT techniques. The cost-effectiveness from a private health provider perspective was assessed from a disinvestment point of view, using life-years (LYs) and recurrence-free life-years (RFLYs) as measure of benefits, along with their respective quality adjustments. Expected costs and benefits, and the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) were reported. Finally, a sensitivity and scenario analyses were performed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness using lower IORT local recurrence and metastasis rates in IORT patients, and if equipment maintenance costs are removed., Results: IORT technology was dominated by IMRT in all cases (i.e., fewer benefits with greater costs). Despite small differences were found regarding benefits, especially for LYs, costs were considerably higher for IORT. For sensitivity analyses with lower recurrence and metastasis rates for IORT, and scenario analyses without equipment maintenance costs, IORT was still dominated by IMRT., Conclusions: For this cohort of patients, IMRT was, at least, non-inferior to IORT in terms of expected benefits, with considerably lower costs. As a result, IORT disinvestment should be considered, favoring the use of IMRT in these patients., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Loss of income and out-of-pocket expenditures are important causes of financial hardship in many patients with cancer, even in high-income countries. The far-reaching consequences extend beyond the patients themselves to their relatives, including caregivers and dependents. European research to date has been limited and is hampered by the absence of a coherent theoretical framework and by heterogeneous methods and terminology. To address these shortages, a task force initiated by the Organisation of European Cancer Institutes (OECI) produced 25 recommendations, including a comprehensive definition of socioeconomic impact from the perspective of patients and their relatives, a conceptual framework, and a consistent taxonomy linked to the framework. The OECI task force consensus statement highlights directions for future research with a view towards policy relevance. Beyond descriptive studies into the dimension of the problem, individual severity and predictors of vulnerability should be explored. It is anticipated that the consensus recommendations will facilitate and enhance future research efforts into the socioeconomic impact of cancer and cancer care, providing a crucial reference point for the development and validation of patient-reported outcome instruments aimed at measuring its broader effects., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests WvH reports grants from Koningin Wilhelmina Fonds (KWF), European Cancer League for European Fair Pricing Network (EFPN) project, and OECI; and consulting fees from Raad voor de Rechtspraak. VPR reports grants from KWF, EFPN, OECI, and the National Health Care Institute. JMV reports grants from EFPN. OSL reports support for attending meetings and travel from the Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO). EA reports a grant from the Norwegian Directorate of Health; and leadership roles on the scientific board of the Norwegian Cancer Association, the advisory board of the Frisch Centre, and the Faculty of Medicine board elected among academic employees. AE reports support for attending meetings and travel from ICO. NF reports support for the present manuscript and for attending meetings from EFPN and OECI; and a budget-based action grant from EU HORIZON. IK reports a leadership role as a patient advocate at the Institute for Gastroenterological Tumors of Croatia (IGET). SS reports a leadership role at Connect Norway. RS is supported by City Cancer Challenge. SV reports a leadership role at IGET. All other authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Distal biceps pathology can be addressed using different techniques, each with its advantages and disadvantages. The current trend is to move toward minimally invasive procedures based on feasibility and known clinical benefits. Endoscopy for distal biceps pathology is a safe procedure. Through the NanoScope, this procedure is even more effective and safer., (© 2022 The Authors.)

The biodiversity of Ecuadorian stingless bees is almost 200 species. Traditional pot-honey harvest in Ecuador is mostly done from nests of the three genera selected here Geotrigona Moure, 1943, Melipona Illiger, 1806, and Scaptotrigona Moure, 1942. The 20 pot-honey samples collected from cerumen pots and three ethnic honeys "abeja de tierra", "bermejo", and "cushillomishki" were analyzed for qualitative and quantitative targeted 1 H-NMR honey profiling, and for the Honey Authenticity Test by Interphase Emulsion (HATIE). Extensive data of targeted organic compounds (41 parameters) were identified, quantified, and described. The three honey types were compared by ANOVA. Amino acids, ethanol, hydroxymethylfurfural, aliphatic organic acids, sugars, and markers of botanical origin. The number of phases observed with the HATIE were one in Scaptotrigona and three in Geotrigona and Melipona honeys. Acetic acid (19.60 ± 1.45 g/kg) and lactic acid (24.30 ± 1.65 g/kg) were particularly high in Geotrigona honey (in contrast to 1.3 g/kg acetic acid and 1.6 g/kg lactic acid in Melipona and Scaptotrigona ), and with the lowest fructose + glucose (18.39 ± 1.68) g/100g honey compared to Melipona (52.87 ± 1.75) and Scaptotrigona (52.17 ± 0.60). Three local honeys were tested using PCA (Principal Component Analysis), two were assigned with a correct declared bee origin, but "bermejo" was not a Melipona and grouped with the Scaptotrigona cluster. However after HCA (Hierarchical Cluster Analysis) the three honeys were positioned in the Melipona - Scaptotrigona cluster. This research supports targeted 1 H-NMR-based profiling of pot-honey metabolomics approach for multi-parameter visualization of organic compounds, as well as descriptive and pertained multivariate statistics (HCA and PCA) to discriminate the stingless bee genus in a set of Geotrigona , Melipona and Scaptotrigona honey types. The NMR characterization of Ecuadorian honey produced by stingless bees emphasizes the need for regulatory norms. A final note on stingless bee markers in pot-honey metabolites which should be screened for those that may extract phylogenetic signals from nutritional traits of honey. Scaptotrigona vitorum honey revealed biosurfactant activity in the HATIE, originating a fingerprint Honey Biosurfactant Test (HBT) for the genus in this set of pot-honeys., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2022 The Authors.)

Objectives: We aimed to establish new cut-off values for SIRS (Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome) variables in the obstetric population., Methods: A prospective cohort study in pregnant and postpartum women admitted with systemic infections between December 2017 and January 2019. Patients were divided into three cohorts: Group A, patients with infection but without severe maternal outcomes (SMO); Group B, patients with infection and SMO or admission to the intensive care unit (ICU); and Group C, a control group. Outcome measures were ICU admission and SMO. The relationship between SIRS criteria and SMO was expressed as the area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUROC), selecting the best cut-off for each SIRS criterion., Results: A total of 541 obstetric patients were enrolled, including 341 with infections and 200 enrolled as the reference group (Group C). The patients with infections included 313 (91.7%) in Group A and 28 (8.2%) in Group B. There were significant differences for all SIRS variables in Group B, compared with Groups A and C, but there were no significant differences between Groups A and C. The best cut-off values were the following: temperature 38.2 °C, OR 4.1 (1.8-9.0); heart rate 120 bpm, OR 2.9 (1.2-7.4); respiratory rate 22 bpm, OR 4.1 (1.6-10.1); and leukocyte count 16,100 per mcl, OR 3.5 (1.6-7.6)., Conclusions: The cut-off values for SIRS variables did not differ between healthy and infected obstetric patients. However, a higher cut-off may help predict the population with a higher risk of severe maternal outcomes., (© 2021 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston.)

Background and Goals: The aim of the study is to know the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in patients and professional staff of a medium or long-stay hospital during the peak period of the pandemic in Spain, spring 2020., Material and Methods: At the end of February 2020, we developed at the hospital a strategy to diagnose the SARS-CoV-2 infection consisting of complementing the realization of PCR tests at real time with a quick technique of lateral flow immunochromatography to detect IgG and IgM antibodies against the virus. We also developed a protocol to realize those diagnostic tests and considered an infection (current or past) a positive result in any of the above tests. We included 524 participants in the study (230 patients and 294 hospital staff), and divided them into hospital patients and Hemodialysis outpatients. Furthermore, we divided the hospital staff into healthcare and non-healthcare staff. The documented period was from March, 20 th to April, 21 st , 2020., Results: 26 out of 230 patients tested positive in any of the diagnostic techniques (PCR, antibodies IgG, IgM) with a 11.30% prevalence. According to patients groups, we got a 14.38% prevalence in hospital patients vs. 5.95% in outpatients, with a significantly higher risk in admitted patients after adjustment for age and gender (OR=3,309, 95%CI: 1,154-9,495). 24 out of 294 hospital staff tested positive in any of the diagnostic techniques, with a 8.16% prevalence. According to the groups, we got a 8.91% prevalence in healthcare staff vs. 4.26% in non-healthcare staff. Thus, we do not see any statistically significant differences between hospital staff and patients as far as prevalence is concerned (P=0,391), (OR=2,200, 95%CI: 0,500-9,689)., Conclusions: The result of the study was a quite low prevalence rate of SARS-CoV-2 infection, in both patients and hospital staff, being the hospital patients' prevalence rate higher than the outpatients', and the healthcare staff higher than the non-healthcare's. Combining PCR tests (gold standard) with antibodies tests proved useful as a diagnostic strategy., (Copyright © 2020 SEGG. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Arid environments are defined by the lack of water availability, which is directly related to the mean annual precipitation (MAP), and high values of solar irradiation, which impacts the community composition of animals, plants, and the microbial structure of the soil. Recent advances in NGS technologies have expanded our ability to characterize microbiomes, allowing environmental microbiologists to explore the complete microbial structure. Intending to identify and describe the state-of-the-art of bacterial communities in arid soils at a global scale, and to address the effect that some environmental features may have on them, we performed a systematic review based on the PRISMA guideline. Using a combination of keywords, we identified a collection of 66 studies, including 327 sampled sites, reporting the arid soil bacterial community composition by 16S rDNA gene high-throughput sequencing. To identify factors that can modulate bacterial communities, we extracted the geographical, environmental, and physicochemical data. The results indicate that even though each sampled site was catalogued as arid, they show wide variability in altitude, mean annual temperature (MAT), soil pH and electric conductivity, within and between arid environments. We show that arid soils display a higher abundance of Actinobacteria and lower abundance of Proteobacteria, Cyanobacteria, and Planctomycetes, compared with non-arid soil microbiomes, revealing that microbial structure seems to be strongly modulated by MAP and MAT and not by pH in arid soils. We observed that environmental and physicochemical features were scarcely described among studies, hence, we propose a reporting guideline for further analysis, which will allow deepening the knowledge of the relationship between the microbiome and abiotic factors in arid soil. Finally, to understand the academic collaborations landscape, we developed an analysis of the author's network, corroborating a low degree of connectivity and collaborations in this research topic. Considering that it is crucial to understand how microbial processes develop and change in arid soils, our analysis emphasizes the need to increase collaborations between research groups worldwide.

Piscirickettsia salmons , the causative agent of piscirickettsiosis, is genetically divided into two genomic groups, named after the reference strains as LF-89-like or EM-90-like. Phenotypic differences have been detected between the P. salmonis genogroups, including antibiotic susceptibilities, host specificities and pathogenicity. In this study, we aimed to develop a rapid, sensitive and cost-effective assay for the differentiation of the P. salmonis genogroups. Using an in silico analysis of the P. salmonis 16S rDNA digestion patterns, we have designed a genogroup-specific assay based on PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). An experimental validation was carried out by comparing the restriction patterns of 13 P. salmonis strains and 57 field samples obtained from the tissues of dead or moribund fish. When the bacterial composition of a set of field samples, for which we detected mixtures of bacterial DNA, was analyzed by a high-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene amplicons, a diversity of taxa could be identified, including pathogenic and commensal bacteria. Despite the presence of mixtures of bacterial DNA, the characteristic digestion pattern of the P. salmonis genogroups could be detected in the field samples without the need of a microbiological culture and bacterial isolation.

Listeria monocytogenes is a foodborne pathogen that can cause severe disease in susceptible humans. This microorganism has the ability to adapt to hostile environmental conditions such as the low temperatures used by the food industry for controlling microorganisms. Bacteria are able to adjust their transcriptional response to adapt to stressful conditions in order to maintain cell homeostasis. Understanding the transcriptional response of L. monocytogenes to stressing conditions could be relevant to develop new strategies to control the pathogen. A possible alternative for controlling microorganisms in the food industry could be to use copper as an antimicrobial agent. The present study characterized three L. monocytogenes strains (List2-2, Apa13-2, and Al152-2A) adapted to low temperature and challenged with different copper concentrations. Similar MIC-Cu values were observed among studied strains, but growth kinetic parameters revealed that strain List2-2 was the least affected by the presence of copper at 8°C. This strain was selected for a global transcriptional response study after a 1 h exposition to 0.5 mM of CuSO 4 × 5H 2 O at 8 and 37°C. The results showed that L. monocytogenes apparently decreases its metabolism in response to copper, and this reduction is greater at 8°C than at 37°C. The most affected metabolic pathways were carbohydrates, lipids and nucleotides synthesis. Finally, 15 genes were selected to evaluate the conservation of the transcriptional response in the other two strains. Results indicated that only genes related to copper homeostasis showed a high degree of conservation between the strains studied, suggesting that a low number of genes is implicated in the response to copper stress in L. monocytogenes . These results contribute to the understanding of the molecular mechanisms used by bacteria to overcome a combination of stresses. This study concluded that the application of copper in low concentrations in cold environments may help to control foodborne pathogens as L. monocytogenes in the industry.

The Atacama Desert is a highly complex, extreme ecosystem which harbors microorganisms remarkable for their biotechnological potential. Here, a soil bacterial prospection was carried out in the high Altiplano region of the Atacama Desert (>3,800 m above sea level; m a.s.l.), where direct anthropogenic interference is minimal. We studied: (1) soil bacterial community composition using high-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene and (2) bacterial culturability, by using a soil extract medium (SEM) under a factorial design of three factors: temperature (15 and 30°C), nutrient content (high and low nutrient disposal) and oxygen availability (presence and absence). A total of 4,775 OTUs were identified and a total of 101 isolates were selected for 16S rRNA sequencing, 82 of them corresponded to unique or non-redundant sequences. To expand our view of the Altiplano landscape and to obtain a better representation of its microbiome, we complemented our Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) and isolate collection with data from other previous data from our group and obtained a merged set of OTUs and isolates that we used to perform our study. Taxonomic comparisons between culturable microbiota and metabarcoding data showed an overrepresentation of the phylum Firmicutes (44% of isolates vs. 2% of OTUs) and an underrepresentation of Proteobacteria (8% of isolates vs. 36% of OTUs). Within the Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) results, 33% of the OTUs were unknown up to genus, revealing an important proportion of putative new species in this environment. Biochemical characterization and analysis extracted from the literature indicated that an important number of our isolates had biotechnological potential. Also, by comparing our results with similar studies on other deserts, the Altiplano highland was most similar to a cold arid desert. In summary, our study contributes to expand the knowledge of soil bacterial communities in the Atacama Desert and complements the pipeline to isolate selective bacteria that could represent new potential biotechnological resources.

Well-ordered molecular films play an important role in nanotechnology, from device fabrication to surface patterning. Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of 6-mercaptopurine (6MP) on the Au(100)-(1 × 1) and Au(111)-(1 × 1) have been used to understand the interplay of molecule-substrate interactions for heterocyclic thiols capable of binding to the surface by two anchors, which spontaneously form a highly disordered film on Au(111). Our results reveal that for the same surface coverage the simple change of the substrate from Au(111)-(1 × 1) to Au(100)-(1 × 1) eliminates molecular disorder and yields well-ordered SAMs. We discuss these findings in terms of differences in the surface mobility of 6MP species on these surfaces, the energetics of the adsorption sites, and the number of degrees of freedom of these substrates for a molecule with reduced surface mobility resulting from its two surface anchors. These results reveal the presence of subtle molecule-substrate interactions involving the heteroatom that drastically alter SAM properties and therefore strongly impact on our ability to control physical properties and to build devices at the nanoscale.

Listeria monocytogenes has become one of the principal foodborne pathogens worldwide. The capacity of this bacterium to grow at low temperatures has opened an interesting field of study in terms of the identification and classification of new strains of L. monocytogenes with different growth capacities at low temperatures. We determined the growth rate at 8°C of 110 strains of L. monocytogenes isolated from different food matrices. We identified a group of slow and fast strains according to their growth rate at 8°C and performed a global transcriptomic assay in strains previously adapted to low temperature. We then identified shared and specific transcriptional mechanisms, metabolic and cellular processes of both groups; bacterial motility was the principal process capable of differentiating the adaptation capacity of L. monocytogenes strains with different ranges of tolerance to low temperatures. Strains belonging to the fast group were less motile, which may allow these strains to achieve a greater rate of proliferation at low temperature.

The capacity to grow at low temperatures has allowed Listeria monocytogenes to become one of the primary food pathogens to date, representing a major public health problem worldwide. Several works have described the homeostatic response of L. monocytogenes under different copper (Cu) treatments growing at mild temperature (30 °C). The aims of this report were to evaluate if changes in the external concentration of Cu affected viability and Cu homeostasis of L. monocytogenes growing at low temperature. Ours results showed that L. monocytogenes growing at 8 °C had a reduced viability relative to 30 °C when exposed to Cu treatments. This decrease was correlated with an increase in the internal concentration of Cu, probably linked to the transcriptional down-regulation of mechanisms involved in Cu homeostasis. This combined effect of Cu and low temperature showed a synergistic impact over the viability and homeostasis of L. monocytogenes, where low temperature exacerbated the toxic effect of Cu. These results can be useful in terms of the use of Cu as an antibacterial agent.

The idea that memories are not invariable after the consolidation process has led to new perspectives about several mnemonic processes. In this framework, we review our studies on the modulation of memory expression during reconsolidation. We propose that during both memory consolidation and reconsolidation, neuromodulators can determine the probability of the memory trace to guide behavior, i.e. they can either increase or decrease its behavioral expressibility without affecting the potential of persistent memories to be activated and become labile. Our hypothesis is based on the findings that positive modulation of memory expression during reconsolidation occurs even if memories are behaviorally unexpressed. This review discusses the original approach taken in the studies of the crab Neohelice (Chasmagnathus) granulata, which was then successfully applied to test the hypothesis in rodent fear memory. Data presented offers a new way of thinking about both weak trainings and experimental amnesia: memory retrieval can be dissociated from memory expression. Furthermore, the strategy presented here allowed us to show in human declarative memory that the periods in which long-term memory can be activated and become labile during reconsolidation exceeds the periods in which that memory is expressed, providing direct evidence that conscious access to memory is not needed for reconsolidation. Specific controls based on the constraints of reminders to trigger reconsolidation allow us to distinguish between obliterated and unexpressed but activated long-term memories after amnesic treatments, weak trainings and forgetting. In the hypothesis discussed, memory expressibility--the outcome of experience-dependent changes in the potential to behave--is considered as a flexible and modulable attribute of long-term memories. Expression seems to be just one of the possible fates of re-activated memories., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The diversity of sponge-associated fungi has been poorly investigated in remote geographical areas like Antarctica. In this study, 101 phenotypically different fungal isolates were obtained from 11 sponge samples collected in King George Island, Antarctica. The analysis of ITS sequences revealed that they belong to the phylum Ascomycota. Sixty-five isolates belong to the genera Geomyces, Penicillium, Epicoccum, Pseudeurotium, Thelebolus, Cladosporium, Aspergillus, Aureobasidium, Phoma, and Trichocladium but 36 isolates could not be identified at genus level. In order to estimate the potential of these isolates as producers of interesting bioactivities, antimicrobial, antitumoral and antioxidant activities of fungal culture extracts were assayed. Around 51% of the extracts, mainly from the genus Geomyces and non identified relatives, showed antimicrobial activity against some of the bacteria tested. On the other hand, around 42% of the extracts showed potent antitumoral activity, Geomyces sp. having the best performance. Finally, the potential of the isolated fungi as producers of antioxidant activity seems to be moderate. Our results suggest that fungi associated with Antarctic sponges, particularly Geomyces, would be valuable sources of antimicrobial and antitumoral compounds. To our knowledge, this is the first report describing the biodiversity and the metabolic potential of fungi associated with Antarctic marine sponges.

Unlike filamentous fungi and bacteria, very little is known about cultivable yeasts associated with marine sponges, especially those from Antarctic seas. During an expedition to King George Island, in the Antarctica, samples of 11 marine sponges were collected by scuba-diving. From these sponges, 20 psychrotolerant yeast isolates were obtained. Phylogenetic analyses of D1/D2 and ITS rRNA gene sequences revealed that the marine ascomycetous yeast Metschnikowia australis is the predominant organism associated with these invertebrates. Other species found belonged to the Basidiomycota phylum: Cystofilobasidium infirmominiatum, Rhodotorula pinicola, Leucosporidiella creatinivora and a new yeast from the Leucosporidiella genus. None of these yeasts have been previously associated with marine sponges. A screening to estimate the ability of these yeasts as producers of extracellular enzymatic activities at several pH and temperature conditions was performed. Several yeast isolates demonstrated amylolytic, proteolytic, lipolytic or cellulolytic activity, but none of them showed xylanolytic activity under the conditions assayed. To our knowledge, this work is the first description of cultivable yeasts associated with marine sponges from the Antarctic sea.

Background: No cases of Encephalitozoon cuniculi infection have been reported in transplant patients., Methods: A 42-year-old man received a renal transplant 8 months earlier because of terminal glomerulonephritis and was admitted with cough, fever, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and colon wall thickening. While under rapamycin (2 g/day), cyclosporine A (4.4 mg/kg/day), and prednisone (100 mg/day) therapy, he developed Banff grade IB graft rejection and was treated with methylprednisolone (1 g/day) for 3 days and oral prednisone (60 mg/d)., Results: Microbiologic studies were inconclusive, and biopsy specimens of ileum, colon, liver, and the grafted kidney revealed numerous gram-positive microsporidia spores. Parasitophorous vacuoles containing various developing stages of Encephalitozoon were seen. Immunofluorescence studies identified the etiologic agent as E. cuniculi. Albendazole therapy resulted in clinical improvement but no eradication after 10 months of follow-up., Conclusions: This report describes what is, to the authors' knowledge, the first case of disseminated E. cuniculi infection in a kidney transplant human immunodeficiency virus-negative patient from Mexico.

An epidemiological study on oral health was conducted on 200 mapuche natives, aged from 14 to 30 years in order to correlate their oral health level with their oral health habits, scholar level, age and sex. DMFT index and the simplified Oral Hygiene Index were evaluated in the sample of studied patients. It was found a 18.15 DMFT score, higher than the national level in our country, and the simplified Oral Hygiene Index (OHI-S) was 1.7, showing deficient oral hygiene habits. A direct relationship between a low scholar level and a high caries index and a high OHI-S index was found.