Microbial pathogens in the movies.

Usually, show business depicts viruses, bacteria, and other microorganisms as one of the worse menaces to mankind. Entertainment movies influence the way audiences understand and perceive these topics. Few films accurately portray the science of microbiology and its social implications. Movies and TV series often feature outbreaks of deadly diseases and the efforts of scientists and medical professionals to contain them. However, entertainment movies can also be used to educate the public about the importance and the impact that microorganisms have on our lives, helping to increase public awareness and appreciation of the world of microbiology. The aim of this review is to show the relationship between movies and microbiology, from the fight against diseases such as AIDS or tuberculosis, to the zombie apocalypse.

Florence Nightingale. Cuatro visiones cinematográficas de una pionera de la enfermería / Florence Nightingale. Four Cinematic Visions of a Nursing Pioneer

Florence Nightingale está considerada como la fundadora de la enfermería moderna. Además, tuvo un papel relevante en otras áreas como la estadística o el movimiento feminista. No es de extrañar que su legado a la posteridad sea muy variado y que se le hayan dedicado diversas películas y documentales. En este artículo se repasan las cuatro películas sonoras dedicadas a su biografía. (AU)

Florence Nightingale is considered the founder of modern nursing. She also played an important role in other areas such as statistics and the feminist movement. It is not surprising her legacy to posterity is wide-ranging and a number of films and documentaries have been dedicated to her. This article reviews the four sound films dedicated to her biography. (AU)

Drug Repositioning as a Therapeutic Strategy against Streptococcus pneumoniae: Cell Membrane as Potential Target.

A collection of repurposing drugs (Prestwick Chemical Library) containing 1200 compounds was screened to investigate the drugs' antimicrobial effects against planktonic cultures of the respiratory pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae. After four discrimination rounds, a set of seven compounds was finally selected, namely (i) clofilium tosylate; (ii) vanoxerine; (iii) mitoxantrone dihydrochloride; (iv) amiodarone hydrochloride; (v) tamoxifen citrate; (vi) terfenadine; and (vii) clomiphene citrate (Z, E). These molecules arrested pneumococcal growth in a liquid medium and induced a decrease in bacterial viability between 90.0% and 99.9% at 25 µM concentration, with minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) also in the micromolar range. Moreover, all compounds but mitoxantrone caused a remarkable increase in the permeability of the bacterial membrane and share a common, minimal chemical structure consisting of an aliphatic amine linked to a phenyl moiety via a short carbon/oxygen linker. These results open new possibilities to tackle pneumococcal disease through drug repositioning and provide clues for the design of novel membrane-targeted antimicrobials with a related chemical structure.

Predictive Factors and Management of Macular Edema after Retropupillary Iris-Claw Intraocular Lens Implantation in Aphakia: National Multicenter Audit-Report 2.

The aim of this multicenter, national clinical audit is to evaluate the predictive factors and management of postoperative macular edema (ME) after retropupillary iris-claw intraocular lens (RICI) implantation and pars plana vitrectomy (PPV). Preoperative, surgical and postoperative data were collected. Number and type of intravitreal injections (IT) administered (anti-VEGF or dexamethasone implant), visual acuity (VA), intraocular pressure (IOP) and central retinal thickness (CRT) assessed by OCT were collected at 1, 3, 6 and 12 months. From 325 eyes (325 patients), 11.7% (38/325) developed postoperative ME. Previous complicated cataract surgery with no capsular support was the only significant predictive factor for developing postoperative ME (OR 2.27, 95% CI 1.38-4.52, p = 0.02) after RICI implant. Mean time to ME development was 11.4 ± 10.7 weeks, and mean CRT peaked at 3 months follow-up. Different treatment options were non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAIDs) drops (31.6%, 12/38), dexamethasone (DEX) implant (50%, 19/38), anti-VEGF (7.9%, 3/38) or combined IT (10.5%, 4/38). Cumulative probability of ME resolution was higher in the group treated with IT than in the group treated with topical NSAIDs (85.2% vs. 58.3%, p = 0.9). Performing RICI implantation after complicated cataract surgery is a risk factor for the development of postoperative ME. DEX implants may be an effective treatment for postoperative ME in these cases.

Intravitreal fluocinolone acetonide implant for the treatment of persistent post-surgical cystoid macular edema in vitrectomized eyes.

Cystoid macular edema (CME) is the most common cause of decreased visual acuity after both vitrectomy and cataract surgery. Various strategies have been used for its treatment, such as intravitreal corticosteroids. The intravitreal fluocinolone acetonide implant (Iluvien®) is approved for the treatment of persisting diabetic macular edema and for the prevention of recurrence of non-infectious uveitis affecting the posterior segment. There are very few reports about its off-label use for post-surgical CME. We present four clinical cases of post-surgical CME (three following vitrectomy and one following cataract surgery in a vitrectomized eye 2 years ago). All of them had been previously treated with an average of four injections of intravitreal dexamethasone implant (Ozurdex®), with repeated recurrence of CME. After treatment with Iluvien, three cases showed improvement of both visual acuity and macular anatomy, with resolution of the macular edema. One patient required additional treatment with Ozurdex during follow-up, further improving CME. Two of the cases required topical pressure lowering treatment, and none required filtering surgery. Iluvien could be an effective therapeutic option for persistent non-diabetic macular edema after vitrectomy or cataract surgery refractory to other intravitreal therapies, with the benefit of being able to provide longer recurrence-free periods.

Simultaneous pars plana vitrectomy, panretinal photocoagulation, cryotherapy, and Ahmed valve implantation for neovascular glaucoma.

AIM: To describe and evaluate the efficacy of Ahmed glaucoma valve implantation (AGV) combined with pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) in a single surgical act for the treatment of advanced neovascular glaucoma (NVG). METHODS: Retrospective observational case series included 51 eyes from 50 patients with severe NVG treated with PPV, AGV, and panretinal photocoagulation and/or cryotherapy in a single surgical act during a 13-year period (2005-2018). Preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative data at day 1 and months 1, 3, 6, 21, and 24 were systematically collected. Definition of surgical success was stablished at IOP between 6 and 21 mm Hg with or without topical treatment. RESULTS: Main indications for surgery were NVG secondary to proliferative diabetic retinopathy (39.2%) and central retinal vein occlusion (37.3%). Mean (±SD) preoperative IOP was 42.0±11.2 mm Hg decreasing to 15.5±7.1 mm Hg at 12mo and 15.8±9.1 mm Hg at 24mo of follow up. Cumulative incidence of success of IOP control was 76.0% at first postoperative month, reaching 88.3% at 6mo. Prevalence of successful IOP control at long term was 74.4% at 12mo and 71.4% at 24mo. Eye evisceration for unsuccessful NVG management was required in 1 case (2.0%). CONCLUSION: Combination of AGV implantation and PPV in a single act may be a suitable option for severe forms of NVG in a case-by-case basis for effective IOP control and a complete panretinal photocoagulation.

Teaching microbiology in times of plague.

The COVID-19 pandemic has imposed several challenges and strains at all levels of the educational system, especially as a consequence of lockdown and social distance measures. After a period of exclusive use of the online educational environment, educators have adapted to the new circumstances and, by a combination of different strategies, have fought to overcome the limitations and deficiencies of virtual learning. Student motivation, productivity, and creativity continue to be the main pedagogical issues that have to be reached with the new didactic tools developed during the pandemic. At the same time, this pandemic has shown the importance of the inclusion of microbiology as a core element of the educational curriculum and the opportunity to raise public awareness of the importance of microbes to everyday life.

RETROPUPILLARY IRIS-CLAW INTRAOCULAR LENS AND PARS PLANA VITRECTOMY IN APHAKIA MANAGEMENT: A National Multicenter Audit.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the outcomes and safety of retropupillary iris-claw intraocular lens implantation and associated pars plana vitrectomy. METHODS: Multicenter, national audit of 325 eyes (325 patients). Demographics, surgical details, and complications are described. Visual acuity, intraocular pressure, and central retinal thickness assessed by optical coherence tomography were collected at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after surgery. Kaplan-Meier curves were created to assess the cumulative probability of postoperative visual acuity and intraocular pressure levels, macular edema development, and corneal decompensation. RESULTS: The cumulative probability of the final visual acuity ≤0.3 logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (≥20/40 Snellen) was 75.6% at 12-month follow-up. The probability of intraocular pressure >21, ≥25, and ≥30 mmHg was 48.1%, 33.1%, and 19.0%, and the probability of intraocular pressure-lowering drops was 50.9% at 12 months. Glaucoma surgery was required in 4.3% of the eyes (14/325). The cumulative probability of macular edema was 20.5% at 12 months and was greater in complicated cataract surgery than in intraocular lens-luxation eyes (26% vs. 16.7%, P = 0.04). Corneal transplantation was required in 2.8% of the eyes (9/325). CONCLUSION: This study on 325 eyes with aphakia or intraocular lens dislocation managed with the retropupillary iris-claw intraocular lens technique provides clinical outcomes in a real-world scenario, reporting relevant data for patient counseling and preoperative discussions.

Searching for Antipneumococcal Targets: Choline-Binding Modules as Phagocytosis Enhancers.

Choline-binding proteins (CBPs) from Streptococcus pneumoniae comprise a family of modular polypeptides involved in essential events of this pathogen. They recognize the choline residues present in the teichoic and lipoteichoic acids of the cell wall using the so-called choline-binding modules (CBMs). The importance of CBPs in pneumococcal physiology points to them as novel targets to combat antimicrobial resistances shown by this organism. In this work we have tested the ability of exogenously added CBMs to act as CBP inhibitors by competing with the latter for the binding to the choline molecules in the bacterial surface. First, we carried out a thorough physicochemical characterization of three native CBMs, namely C-LytA, C-Cpl1, and C-CbpD, and assessed their affinity for choline and macromolecular, pneumococcal cell-wall mimics. The interaction with these substrates was evaluated by molecular modeling, analytical ultracentrifugation, surface plasmon resonance, and fluorescence and circular dichroism spectroscopies. Van't Hoff thermal analyses unveiled the existence of one noncanonical choline binding site in each of the C-Cpl1 and C-CbpD proteins, leading in total to 5 ligand-binding sites per dimer and 4 sites per monomer, respectively. Remarkably, the binding affinities of the CBMs do not directly correlate with their native oligomeric state or with the number of choline-binding sites, suggesting that choline recognition by these modules is a complex phenomenon. On the other hand, the exogenous addition of CBMs to pneumococcal planktonic cultures caused extensive cell-chaining probably as a consequence of the inhibition of CBP attachment to the cell wall. This was accompanied by bacterial aggregation and sedimentation, causing an enhancement of bacterial phagocytosis by peritoneal macrophages. In addition, the rational design of an oligomeric variant of a native CBM led to a substantial increase in its antibacterial activity by multivalency effects. These results suggest that CBMs might constitute promising nonlytic antimicrobial candidates based on the natural induction of the host defense system.

Social networks as a tool for science communication and public engagement: focus on Twitter.

Social networks have been used to teach and engage people about the importance of science. The integration of social networks in the daily routines of faculties and scientists is strongly recommended to increase their personal brand, improve their skills, enhance their visibility, share and communicate science to society, promote scientific culture, and even as a tool for teaching and learning. Here we review the use of Twitter in science and comment on our previous experience of using this social network as a platform for a Massive Online Open Course (MOOC) in Spain and Latin America. We propose to extend this strategy to a pan-European Microbiology MOOC in the near future.

Stoppering/unstoppering of a rotaxane formed between an N-hetorycle ligand containing surfactant: ß-cyclodextrin pseudorotaxane and pentacyanoferrate(II) ions.

The assembly of a surfactant-based rotaxane by adding the labile aquopentacyanoferrate(II) ion to the previously formed pseudorotaxane between the surfactant 11-(isonicotinoyloxy)-N,N,N-triethyl-1-undecanaminium bromide and ß-cyclodextrin was investigated by 1H NMR and kinetic measurements. NMR spectroscopy has showed that the rotaxane can be formed through two different mechanisms. The rotaxane can be unstoppered by using the pyridine ligand substitution reaction by the high-field cyanide ligand. In this work a new method is developed for the preparation of several new surfactant-based rotaxanes by changing the hydrophilic and hydrophobic regions of the surfactants and the nature of the macrocycle.

Host-guest interactions between cyclodextrins and surfactants with functional groups at the end of the hydrophobic tail.

The aim of this work was to investigate the influence of the incorporation of substituents at the end of the hydrophobic tail on the binding of cationic surfactants to α-, ß-, and γ-cyclodextrins. The equilibrium binding constants of the 1:1 inclusion complexes formed follow the trend K1(α-CD)>K1(ß-CD)≫K1(γ-CD), which can be explained by considering the influence of the CD cavity volume on the host-guest interactions. From the comparison of the K1 values obtained for dodecyltriethylammonium bromide, DTEAB, to those estimated for the surfactants with the substituents, it was found that the incorporation of a phenoxy group at the end of the hydrocarbon tail does not affect K1, and the inclusion of a naphthoxy group has some influence on the association process, slightly diminishing K1. This makes evident the importance of the contribution of hydrophobic interactions to the binding, the length of the hydrophobic chain being the key factor determining K1. However, the presence of the aromatic rings does influence the location of the host and the guest in the inclusion complexes. The observed NOE interactions between the aromatic protons and the CD protons indicate that the aromatic rings are partially inserted within the host cavity, with the cyclodextrin remaining close to the aromatic rings, which could be partially intercalated in the host cavity. To the authors' knowledge this is the first study on the association of cyclodextrins with monomeric surfactants incorporating substituents at the end of the hydrophobic tail.

Signal Conditioning for the Kalman Filter: Application to Satellite Attitude Estimation with Magnetometer and Sun Sensors.

Most satellites use an on-board attitude estimation system, based on available sensors. In the case of low-cost satellites, which are of increasing interest, it is usual to use magnetometers and Sun sensors. A Kalman filter is commonly recommended for the estimation, to simultaneously exploit the information from sensors and from a mathematical model of the satellite motion. It would be also convenient to adhere to a quaternion representation. This article focuses on some problems linked to this context. The state of the system should be represented in observable form. Singularities due to alignment of measured vectors cause estimation problems. Accommodation of the Kalman filter originates convergence difficulties. The article includes a new proposal that solves these problems, not needing changes in the Kalman filter algorithm. In addition, the article includes assessment of different errors, initialization values for the Kalman filter; and considers the influence of the magnetic dipole moment perturbation, showing how to handle it as part of the Kalman filter framework.

Surgical resection of massive liposarcomas at the extremities: a 10-year experience in a referral musculoskeletal sarcoma unit.

BACKGROUND: There is still no consensus regarding the management of patients with massive liposarcomas located in the extremities. Several discrepancies related to the aggressiveness of the surgery and the application of concomitant radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatments remain controversial. The purpose of this study was to analyse the clinicopathological characteristics, prognostic factors and outcomes of a series of patients with massive liposarcomas of the extremities who were treated at a referral hospital specializing in musculoskeletal oncology. METHODS: This was an observational, descriptive and retrospective case series covering 10 years of clinical practice. The records of 26 adults, 14 men and 12 women, with localized massive liposarcomas in the extremities were studied. The average age was 53 years. The patients were treated from January 2003 until January 2012. Wide surgical resections with limb-sparing surgeries were performed for most patients (96.2 %). RESULTS: The average tumour size was 15.1 ± 6.8 cm in the greatest dimension. Regarding the histological subtypes, there were 11 well-differentiated or atypical lipomatous tumours (42.3 %), 10 myxoid (38.5 %) and 5 (19.2 %) round cell and pleomorphic liposarcomas. Regarding the malignancy grades, 19 cases (73 %) were classified as low grade. Among these low-grade tumours predominated the well-differentiated subtype (57.9 %). Within high-grade tumours, the round cell and pleomorphic subtype was most frequent (57.1 %; p = 0.011). Radiotherapy was additionally applied to 12 patients (46.2 %) and adjuvant chemotherapy to 5 (19.3 %). Tumour recurrence was observed in only 2 cases (7.7 %). Only 1 of these cases developed lung metastatic dissemination. CONCLUSIONS: Across the entire series, these massive tumours did not compromise the survival of the patients. The histologic subtype and the malignancy degree were closely related. Proper and early diagnosis and therapeutic management of these patients via the application of wide-margin surgical excision are essential to ensure long-term survival.

Electronically tunable anion-π interactions in pyrylium complexes: experimental and theoretical studies.

Noncovalent interactions of anions with electron-deficient aromatic rings that have been studied so far involve non-heteroaromatic or nitrogen-based heteroaromatic systems. Here we report the first case of an organic oxygenated aromatic system, in particular the tri-aryl-pyrylium tetrafluoroborate system, for which noncovalent anion-π interactions of the pyrylium cation with the tetrafluoroborate anion have been experimentally detected and demonstrated by means of (19)F NMR spectroscopy in solution. A series of pyrylium tetrafluoroborate salts were synthesized in the presence of BF3·Et2O, by direct reaction of 4-substituted benzaldehydes with 4-substituted acetophenones or via the previously obtained chalcone of the less reactive ketone. Correlations of (19)F NMR chemical shifts of tetrafluoroborate anion for most of the synthesized tri-arylpyrylium tetrafluoroborate complexes with both the pyrylium cation molecular weight and the standard substituent Hammett constants, demonstrate anion-π(+) interaction to act between the polyatomic anion BF4(-) and the pyrylium aromatic system. DFT calculations reveal that an additional (C-H)(+)-anion hydrogen bond involving the H(5) of pyrylium ring exists for these fluorescent dyes that show a tunable cup-to-cap shape cavity. The strong fluorescence emission observed for some representative pyrylium tetrafluoroborates described herein, makes them a promising class of tunable emission wavelength dyes for laser technology applications.

Synthesis, biological evaluation, WAC and NMR studies of S-galactosides and non-carbohydrate ligands of cholera toxin based on polyhydroxyalkylfuroate moieties.

The synthesis of several non-carbohydrate ligands of cholera toxin based on polyhydroxyalkylfuroate moieties is reported. Some of them have been linked to D-galactose through a stable and well-tolerated S-glycosidic bond. They represent a novel type of non-hydrolyzable bidentate ligand featuring galactose and polyhydroxyalkylfuroic esters as pharmacophoric residues, thus mimicking the GM1 ganglioside. The affinity of the new compounds towards cholera toxin was measured by weak affinity chromatography (WAC). The interaction of the best candidates with this toxin was also studied by saturation transfer difference NMR experiments, which allowed identification of the binding epitopes of the ligands interacting with the protein. Interestingly, the highest affinity was shown by non-carbohydrate mimics based on a polyhydroxyalkylfuroic ester structure.

Alkoxyamine-cyanoborane adducts: efficient cyanoborane transfer agents.

We report the synthesis of the hitherto unknown zwitterionic alkoxyamino cyanoboranes by reduction of O-alkyloximes with sodium cyanoborohydride; unprecedented cyanoboronated N-alkoxyformamidines were also isolated as by-products. Boronated alkoxyamines were found to be efficient cyanoborane transfer agents towards more basic amines, including aminosugars; they were also successfully transformed into neoglycoconjugates by the neoglycorandomization reaction with reducing sugars.

Multianalytical approach to the analysis of English polychromed alabaster sculptures: muRaman, muEDXRF, and FTIR spectroscopies.

A complete study of several English polychromed alabaster sculptures is presented. The support, pigment, and binders were characterised by combining muEDXRF, muRaman, and FTIR spectroscopies. Among the pigments, minium, vermilion, lead white, carbon black, red iron oxide, and a degraded green copper pigment were determined, together with gold leaf. The presence of the rare mineral moolooite (copper oxalate) was also found as a degradation product in the green areas, where weddellite (calcium oxalate dihydrate) was also determined. These facts, together with degradation of the green copper pigment, suggest microbiological degradation of the original materials. Remains of glue and a varnish were also determined by FTIR spectroscopy and principal-components analysis (PCA) of the spectra. Finally, PCA analysis was carried out to confirm whether the pieces came from the same quarry.

Effects of organic solvent addition on the aggregation and micellar growth of cationic dimeric surfactant 12-3-12,2Br-.

The micellization and micellar growth of cationic dimeric surfactant propanediyl-alpha-omega-bis(dodecyldimethylammonium) bromide, 12-3-12,2Br-, have been studied in several water-organic solvent mixtures. The organic solvents were ethylene glycol, glycerol, 1,2-propylene glycol, 1,3-propylene glycol, acetonitrile, dioxane, formamide, and N,N-dimethylformamide. Results showed that the aggregation process was less favored in the binary mixtures than in pure water, which was explained by considering the influence of the solvophobic effect on micellization. The addition of organic solvents was accompanied by a diminution in the average aggregation number, Nagg, of the dimeric micelles. This diminution was due to the decrease in the interfacial Gibbs energy contribution, Delta G0interfacial, to the Gibbs energy of micellization caused by the decrease in the hydrocarbon/bulk-phase interfacial tension. As a result of the micelle size diminution, the concentration at which the sphere-to-rod transition occurred, C*, was higher in the mixtures than in pure water. Micelle size reduction is accompanied by a decrease in the ionic interactions and in the extra packing contribution to the deformation of the surfactants tails, making the formation of cylindrical micelles less favorable.

Evidence of recombination within human alpha-papillomavirus.

BACKGROUND: Human papillomavirus (HPV) has a causal role in cervical cancer with almost half a million new cases occurring each year. Presence of the carcinogenic HPV is necessary for the development of the invasive carcinoma of the genital tract. Therefore, persistent infection with carcinogenic HPV causes virtually all cervical cancers. Some aspects of the molecular evolution of this virus, as the putative importance of recombination in its evolutionary history, are an opened current question. In addition, recombination could also be a significant issue nowadays since the frequency of co-infection with more than one HPV type is not a rare event and, thus, new recombinant types could be currently being generated. RESULTS: We have used human alpha-PV sequences from the public database at Los Alamos National Laboratory to report evidence that recombination may exist in this virus. A model-based population genetic approach was used to infer the recombination signal from the HPV DNA sequences grouped attending to phylogenetic and epidemiological information, as well as to clinical manifestations. Our results agree with recently published ones that use a different methodology to detect recombination associated to the gene L2. In addition, we have detected significant recombination signal in the genes E6, E7, L2 and L1 at different groups, and importantly within the high-risk type HPV16. The method used has recently been shown to be one of the most powerful and reliable procedures to detect the recombination signal. CONCLUSION: We provide new support to the recent evidence of recombination in HPV. Additionally, we performed the recombination estimation assuming the best-fit model of nucleotide substitution and rate variation among sites, of the HPV DNA sequence sets. We found that the gene with recombination in most of the groups is L2 but the highest values were detected in L1 and E6. Gene E7 was recombinant only within the HPV16 type. The topic deserves further study because recombination is an important evolutionary mechanism that could have high impact both in pharmacogenomics (i.e. on the influence of genetic variation on the response to drugs) and for vaccine development.