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Chagas disease affects approximately 7 million people worldwide in Latin America and is a neglected tropical disease. Twenty to thirty percent of chronically infected patients develop chronic Chagas cardiomyopathy decades after acute infection. Identifying biomarkers of Chagas disease progression is necessary to develop better therapeutic and preventive strategies. Circulating microRNAs are increasingly reliable biomarkers of disease and therapeutic targets. To identify new circulating microRNAs for Chagas disease, we performed exploratory small RNA sequencing from the plasma of patients and performed de novo miRNA prediction, identifying potential new microRNAs. The levels of the new microRNAs temporarily named miR-Contig-1519 and miR-Contig-3244 and microRNAs that are biomarkers for nonchagasic cardiomyopathies, such as miR-148a-3p and miR-224-5p, were validated by quantitative reverse transcription. We found a specific circulating microRNA signature defined by low miR-Contig-3244, miR-Contig-1519, and miR-148a-3 levels but high miR-224-5p levels for patients with chronic Chagas disease. Finally, we predicted in silico that these altered circulating microRNAs could affect the expression of target genes involved in different cellular pathways and biological processes, which we will explore in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two series of Ni and Co catalysts supported onto La-Al2O3 were prepared and the CO2 hydrogenation reactions investigated. The catalytic performance was evaluated in terms of the evolution with the reaction temperature of the CO2 conversion and product (CH4 and CO) yields, as well as specific activities (TOF) and apparent activation energies. CH4 was the favored product over both metals while the TOF for CH4 formation was about three times higher for Ni than Co at 240–265 °C. Metallic particle size effects were found, with the TOF for CH4 formation decreasing over both Ni and Co as the mean metallic size decreased. In contrast, the TOF for CO formation tended to increase at a decreasing particle size for the catalysts with the smallest Ni particle sizes. The apparent activation energies for Ni and Co were very similar and significantly decreased to values of 73–79 kJ/mol when the metallic dispersion increased. The catalysts were prepared using the all-in-one method, resulting in (poly)vinyl alcohol (PVA) being a key additive that allowed us to enhance the dispersion of Ni and Co to give very effective catalysts. This comparative study joins the few existing ones in the literature in which catalysts based on these metals operated under strictly the same reaction conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) resist sodium selenite of concentrations greater than 100 mg/L in fermentation media. Selenium affects the growth rate, but once the microorganism absorbs selenium, this element is converted through a complex mechanism into selenocysteine and then into a selenoprotein structure. This study verified the presence of selenocysteine in Enterococcus faecium ABMC-05. The microorganism was cultivated in a medium enriched with a minimum inhibitory concentration of sodium selenite (184 mg/L). The concentration of selenium absorbed and the bioconversion into selenocysteine were determined by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) and reverse-phase high-performance chromatography (RP-HPLC), respectively. The presence of the selD, selA, and cysK genes was determined by amplifying the 16S rDNA through polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The microorganism accumulated inorganic selenium, and part was transformed into selenocysteine. The growth curves were atypical for a lactic acid bacterium with a stationary phase greater than 70 h. Determining the genetic expression showed only the presence of the cysK gene and the absence of the selD and the selA genes. The results demonstrate that this microorganism produces selenocysteine through a mechanism independent of the SelA and SelD pathways in contrast to other LAB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document is a correction notice for an article titled "Discovery of circulating miRNAs as biomarkers of chronic Chagas heart disease via a small RNA-Seq approach" published in Scientific Reports. The correction addresses an incomplete funding section in the original article and provides the complete list of funding sources. The authors of the article are Silvina R. Villar, Alfonso Herreros-Cabello, Francisco Callejas-Hernández, Manuel Fresno, and Núria Gironès. [Extracted from the article]

Zacatecas peach production currently faces low productivity and competitiveness due to multiple factors. Therefore, the objective of the study was to characterize peach genotypes with outstanding characteristics at harvest time and fruit quality. A group of 91 six-year-old genotypes from an improved population of 403 hybrids and peach segregates, planted at random at high densities in 2008, was selected and evaluated in 2014. Controls were ‘Victoria’ and a segregator from ‘Victoria’ (VicS). For the phenotyping of the fruit (n= 10), it was harvested at consumption maturity. The response variables of each fruit were: polar and equatorial diameter, fresh mass, endocarp and mesocarp mass, and dry matter concentration of each fruit; as well as the color of the epicarp and mesocarp, firmness and concentration of total soluble solids. The outstanding peach genotypes GD1, GD3, GD5, and GD7 matured in June, GD43 in July, GD45, GD47, and GD68 in August, while GD70, GD77, and GD87 matured in September, respectively. In addition, these genotypes had the best phenotypic characteristics of the fruit. The results suggest that the fresh fruit supply period and the diversification of peaches with competitive quality for Zacatecas and similar agroecological zones can be extended to improve the prospects for cultivation in these regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Determining the effects of disturbance on genetic variation of plant populations is an important step in establishing conservation strategies for the survival of natural populations. Disturbance reduces effective population size, leading to lower variation through genetic drift. However, a plant species' life cycle will influence the magnitude and speed of the response to disturbance. In this report, genetic structure and variability are evaluated for Ceratozamia fuscoviridis , a critically endangered, endemic, long-lived cycad from Mexico, at four sites with different levels of disturbance. Genetic analysis was performed using intersimple sequence repeat (ISSR) and simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. Populations 1 and 3 were classified as conserved (disturbance index [DI] = 3.11 ± 1.117) and populations 2 and 4 as disturbed ( D I = 6.37 ± 1.414). Levels of genetic diversity according to ISSR markers ranged from 0.169 to 0.279 for expected heterozygosity (H E), and the informative index (I) ranged from 0.266 to 0.425. In general, the genetic diversity measure with ISSRs was greater in the conserved sites than in the disturbed ones. For the SSRs, H E ranged from 0.711 to 0.793, while I ranged from 1.391 to 1.621. Genetic structure shown with these markers does not correspond with geographic distance but does correspond with the conservation state of the populations. We found that there is a negative effect of perturbation on the genetic diversity of C. fuscoviridis. The loss of diversity can lead to various processes such as inbreeding and genetic drift that, in the long term, can culminate in local extinctions. We propose that studies should aim to evaluate the genetic diversity of juveniles, as it is possible that disturbances result in changes in the biology of the species that lead to divergences in the genetic diversity of adults and earlier stages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]