scholarly journals THE POWER OF THE SMALL: THE EXAMPLE OF Paracoccidioides brasiliensis CONIDIA

2015 ◽  
Vol 57 (suppl 19) ◽  
pp. 5-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela RESTREPO ◽  
Luz Elena CANO ◽  
Ángel GONZALEZ

SUMMARYResearch on Paracoccidioides brasiliensis has centered in the yeast cell probably because of the lack of distinctive features in the mycelium. In 1942 and for the first time, lateral conidia were noticed in the fungus' hyphae. Later on, Brazilian, Venezuelan and Argentinean researchers described "aleurias" when the fungus was grown in natural substrates. In 1970 authors became interested in the conidia and were able to obtain them in large numbers and treat them as individual units. Their shape and size were defined and the presence of all the elements of a competent eukaryotic cell were demonstrated. Conidia exhibited thermal dimorphism and, additionally, when given intranasally to BALB/c male mice, they converted into yeasts in the lungs and produce progressive pulmonary lesions with further dissemination to other organs. Studies on the phagocyte-conidia interaction were revealing and showed that these versatile structures allow a better understanding of the host- P. brasiliensisinteractions.

EP Europace ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (9) ◽  
pp. 1367-1375
Author(s):  
Jia Li ◽  
Weiqian Lin ◽  
Cheng Zheng ◽  
Chi Zhang ◽  
Jiji Yu ◽  
...  

Abstract Aims To investigate the characteristics of bipolar intracardiac electrograms (bi-EGMs) in target sites of ventricular arrhythmias (VAs) originating from different regions of ventricular outflow tract (VOT). Methods and results Two hundred and seventy patients undergoing first-time ablation for VAs originated from distal great cardiac vein (DGCV), aortic sinus cusps (ASCs), or pulmonary sinus cusps (PSCs) were enrolled in present study. Local intracardiac bipolar recordings on 243 successful sites and 506 attempted but unsuccessful ablation sites were analysed. Specific potentials in bi-EGMs on successful sites were more common compared with unsuccessful sites (76.95%, 187/243 vs. 25.49%, 129/506, P < 0.05). A total of 60.00% (81/135) patients in ASCs group presented a presystolic short-duration fractionated potential, higher than 23.21% (13/56) in DGCV and 23.08% (12/52) in PSCs (all P < 0.05); 44.23% (23/52) patients in PSC group showed a presystolic high-amplitude discrete potential, while 1.79% (1/56) in DGCV and 2.22% (3/135) in ASCs (all P < 0.05); 41.07% (23/56) patients in DGCV group showed bi-EGMs of presystolic long-duration multicomponent fractionated potential, which was significantly higher than 3.85% (2/52) in PSCs and 4.44%(6/135) in ASCs (all P < 0.05). Conclusion Distinctive morphology of bi-EGMs during VAs can be found in different regions of VOT, which probably due to changes in the arrangements of myocardial sleeves. Correct identification and better understanding of the distinctive features of these bi-EGMs with regards to the anatomic location was important, the presence of specific potentials may add help in successful ablation.


Often bizarre in shape and gaudily coloured, the opisthobranchs of the tropical IndoPacific have always been attractive subjects for the specialist worker and for writers of popular natural history. There is certainly no lack of papers describing their anatomy and systematics (Marcus & Burch (1965) give a fairly full bibliography), but only in those by Risbec (1928 a, b , 1951, 1953) are there descriptions of where or how they live and his statements are brief and rather vague. I collected opisthobranchs so as to record them for the British Solomon Islands for the first time and, whenever possible, I noted their habits and habitats. My observations on gut contents are rather scanty as I did not wish to damage any of the few specimens of each species collected. From an examination of ten different types of reef formation I discovered that opisthobranchs are common in only two places; (1) the crest of a semi-exposed reef where algae occur in pools, and (2) the flat of a sheltered or semi-sheltered reef. At each of these sites several distinct habitats can be distinguished. Unfortunately my recognition of these habitats is not supported by strong numerical evidence as none of the 55 species occurred in large numbers.


Food Research ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 557-562
Author(s):  
M.D. Lieu ◽  
T.T.H. Hoang ◽  
H.N.T. Nguyen ◽  
T.K.T. Dang

Anthocyanin is a water-soluble color compound of the flavonoid which was successfully encapsulation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae by plasmolysis, ethanol, and ultrasound treatments using alone or in combination in the first time. Treatment agents significantly enhanced the encapsulation efficiency of anthocyanin fluid. The encapsulation yield (EY) of the combined factors was higher than the individual impact factors. Ethanol 10% (v/v) and ultrasound 180 seconds for the highest EY 40.22±0.67%, then ethanol 10% (v/v) and NaCl 10% (w/v) for EY 36.45±0.35%, NaCl 10% and ultrasound for EY 32.14±0.98% lowest. The color stability evaluation of the capsules was carried out at 80°C for 30 minutes. The color lost rate was determined by the spectrometer. The color loss of samples with the un-treatment yeast was 20.45±1.21%, higher than the treated sample. This suggests that anthocyanin encapsulation by yeast cell is efficient in overcoming the effects of high temperatures and having potential applications in food processing.


2019 ◽  
pp. 43-66
Author(s):  
Steven J. Osterlind

This chapter advances the historical context for quantification by describing the climate of the day—social, cultural, political, and intellectual—as fraught with disquieting influences. Forces leading to the French Revolution were building, and the colonists in America were fighting for secession from England. During this time, three important number theorems came into existence: the binomial theorem, the law of large numbers, and the central limit theorem. Each is described in easy-to-understand language. These are fundamental to how numbers operate in a probability circumstance. Pascal’s triangle is explained as a shortcut solving some binomial expansions, and Jacob Bernoulli’s Ars Conjectandi, which presents the study of measurement “error” for the first time, is discussed. In addition, the central limit theorem is explained in terms of its relevance to probability theory, and its utility today.


2007 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
pp. 1323-1336 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Lunde ◽  
B. Gustavsson ◽  
U. P. Løvhaug ◽  
D. A. Lorentzen ◽  
Y. Ogawa

Abstract. In this paper we present Naturally Enhanced Ion Acoustic Lines (NEIALs) observed with the EISCAT Svalbard Radar (ESR). For the first time, long sequences of NEIALs are recorded, with more than 50 events within an hour, ranging from 6.4 to 140 s in duration. The events took place from ~08:45 to 10:00 UT, 22 January 2004. We combine ESR data with observations of optical aurora by a meridian scanning photometer at wavelengths 557.7, 630.0, 427.8, and 844.6 nm, as well as records from a magnetometer and an imaging riometer. The large numbers of observed NEIALs together with these additional observations, enable us to characterise the particle precipitation during the NEIAL events. We find that the intensities in all optical lines studied must be above a certain level for the NEIALs to appear. We also find that the soft particle precipitation is associated with the down-shifted shoulder in the incoherent scatter spectrum, and that harder precipitation may play a role in the enhancement of the up-shifted shoulder. The minimum energy flux during NEIAL events found in this study was ~3.5 mW/m2 and minimum characteristic energy around 50 eV.


2019 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 53-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah Jordan Brooks ◽  
Stephen G. Brooks ◽  
Brian D. Greenhill ◽  
Mark L. Haas

The world is experiencing a period of unprecedented demographic change. For the first time in human history, marked disparities in age structures exist across the globe. Around 40 percent of the world's population lives in countries with significant numbers of elderly citizens. In contrast, the majority of the world's people live in developing countries with very large numbers of young people as a proportion of the total population. Yet, demographically, most of the world's states with young populations are aging, and many are doing so quickly. This first-of-its kind systematic theoretical and empirical examination of how these demographic transitions influence the likelihood of interstate conflict shows that countries with a large number of young people as a proportion of the total population are the most prone to international conflict, whereas states with the oldest populations are the most peaceful. Although societal aging is likely to serve as a force for enhanced stability in most, and perhaps all, regions of the world over the long term, the road to a “demographic peace” is likely to be bumpy in many parts of the world in the short to medium term.


2019 ◽  
Vol 56 (5) ◽  
pp. 1389-1394 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Areso Apesteguía ◽  
J B Areso Portell ◽  
N Halaihel Kassab ◽  
M J Gracia Salinas

Abstract This study records the clinical findings in nine hunting dogs showing systemic illness associated with trombiculids and identifies the mite species involved. In fall, coinciding with the seasonality of mites, all dogs were infested with mites and had been in the risk area (Sierra Cebollera Natural Park, La Rioja, Spain) a few hours before the onset of symptoms. The symptoms included vomiting, anorexia, weakness and lethargy, diarrhea, and even stupor. The clinical picture was fast-acting and potentially fatal. The infestations varied from low to severe. Molecular analysis of mites that fed on the dogs confirmed that they were larvae of Neotrombicula inopinata (Oudemans, Acari, Trombiculidae). This is the first time that N. inopinata has been identified as feeding on dogs and implicated in canine systemic illness associated with trombiculids. In contrast to other chiggers, N. inopinata does not seem to cause dermatitis. Likewise, the clinical and epidemiological similarity between the clinical symptoms we describe herein and the occurrence of seasonal canine illness (SCI) led us to suspect that this illness may be caused by infestation with these mites. The condition could be the consequence of severe infestation from large numbers of feeding mites, especially N. inopinata. Whether or not the cases were due to a severe allergic host response to salivary proteins or the result of the transmission of a new or emerging trombiculid-borne pathogen is not known.


2006 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Hendley

Abstract The Primrose League was a patriotic mass organisation nominally independent from, but allied to the British Conservative Party. During the last quarter of the nineteenth century, it politically mobilised large numbers of British women. In addition, through its social activities, the League assisted with the social integration of those holding full political rights with those who did not. The Fourth Reform Act of 1918 fundamentally altered the structure of British politics by tripling the size of the electorate and giving the vote to a significant number of British women for the first time. In this new political environment, Conservatives were concerned with countering the rising Labour Party and limiting the expectations of new voters. After 1918, the Primrose League attempted to define or construct a partisan model of citizenship. The League's model emphasised citizens' duties, individuals' civil rights and the idea of active citizenship. This campaign both helped the Conservative Party to adjust to the new political order and gave the Primrose League a new role to play in the age of mass democracy.


Parasitology ◽  
1929 ◽  
Vol 21 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 189-219 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. F. Harper

A large number of fresh-water Invertebrates has been examined and the parasites obtained from them include examples of the commoner groups to be met with in any area surveyed. Six larval Trematodes have been described in detail, and by means of direct animal experiment two of them have been definitely related to known adults. Of these two one is the larva of Notocotylus seineti Fuhr., and is doubtfully Cercaria monostomi v. Linst., while the other is the larva of Echinoparyphium recurvatum v. Linst., and is described here in detail for the first time. The four xiphidiocercariae described are new. Data relating to the activity, duration of free life, and process of encystment of cercariae within the bodies of secondary intermediate hosts is also given.Effect of the parasite on the host. The disruption of the tissues brought about by the presence of sporocysts or rediae in the liver of a mollusc injures the host, and in many cases brings about its death. The gonads also are often attacked and completely destroyed. This latter feature of parasitic castration has been observed by Giard (1888) among certain species of Limnaea, Planorbis and Paludina attacked by sporocysts. Brown (1926) states that the gonads are rarely infected. As regards the encysted stages of cercariae these appear to do very little harm to their hosts even when present in large numbers. These observations are in agreement with those of Lebour (1912) for the sporocyst, rediae, and encysted stages of marine Trematodes.Double infection. I have found no instance of a double infection among the species described. In the literature, several records show the parasitism of two or more species of cercariae, within one and the same host. The occurrence of two species is most commonly met with, and as a rule one is in predominance. Sewell (1922) states that double infection is not common in India. Faust (1917), on the other hand, has found as many as four trematode species within the same host individual (Planorbis trivolis). Hesse (1923) states that “every large Limnaea peregra examined was heavily infected with sporocysts of either of the two species, but it was rare to find both together.” Brown (1926) in the neighbourhood of Birmingham has found three examples of associated xiphidiocercariae and furcocercariae, one example of xiphidiocercariae and echinostome cercariae, and two examples of echinostome cercaria, all from Limnaea stagnalis L.


2011 ◽  
Vol 47 (No. 1) ◽  
pp. 37-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Lauterer ◽  
R. Bartoš ◽  
P. Milonas

The psyllid Acizzia jamatonica (Kuwayama, 1908), an introduced pest of the ornamental tree Albizia julibrissin Durazz., was found for the first time in Slovakia and Greece. In both countries it occurs in large numbers and reduces the aesthetic qualities as well as the health of the host plant.


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