Search results for "Micro"
showing 10 items of 23412 documents
Harnessing dendritic cells in cancer.
2011
Dendritic cells (DCs) are central to the initiation of tumor-specific immune responses. However, the tumor microenvironment generates immunosuppressive cells and soluble mediators that compromise DC functions and limit the success of DC-based therapies. Progress in understanding DC metabolism in cancer is uncovering novel therapeutic targets that could restore DC capacity to prime T cells and trigger effective anticancer responses. Accumulating evidence also indicates that conventional chemo- and radiotherapy protocols can cause DC activation, enhance antigen cross-presentation, selectively eliminate immunosuppressive cells and revert the immunosuppression state caused by cancer, suggesting…
Hydrolytic enzyme activity of Paenibacillus sp. strain B2 and effects of the antagonistic bacterium on cell integrity of two soil-borne pathogenic fu…
2000
Paenibacillus sp. strain B2, isolated from the mycorrhizosphere of Sorghum bicolor and having an antagonistic activity towards soil-borne fungal pathogens, possessed extracellular cellulolytic, proteolytic, chitinolytic and pectinolytic enzyme activities. The eventual role of these lytic enzymes in cellular interactions between Paenibacillus sp. strain B2 and Phytophthora parasitica and Fusariumoxysporum was investigated by electron microscopy and molecular cytology. Electron microscopic observations showed that the presence of Paenibacillus sp. strain B2 resulted in disorganisation of cell walls and/or cell contents of P. parasitica and F. oxysporum. However, when P. parasitica was treated…
C5a complement and cytokine signaling mediate the pronociceptive effects of complex regional pain syndrome patient IgM in fracture mice.
2020
It has been proposed that complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is a posttraumatic autoimmune disease. Previously, we observed that B cells contribute to CRPS-like changes in a mouse tibia fracture model, and that early (12 months duration) CRPS patient IgM antibodies have pronociceptive effects in the skin and spinal cord of muMT fracture mice lacking B cells. The current study evaluated the pronociceptive effects of intraplantar or intrathecal injections of early CRPS IgM (5 µg) in muMT fracture mice. Skin and lumbar spinal cord were collected for immunohistochemistry and polymerase chain reaction analyses. Wild-type mice exhibited postfracture increases in complement component C5a and it…
Bacteriophage Adherence to Mucus Mediates Preventive Protection against Pathogenic Bacteria
2019
The mucosal surfaces of animals are habitat for microbes, including viruses. Bacteriophages—viruses that infect bacteria—were shown to be able to bind to mucus. This may result in a symbiotic relationship in which phages find bacterial hosts to infect, protecting the mucus-producing animal from bacterial infections in the process. Here, we studied phage binding on mucus and the effect of mucin on phage-bacterium interactions. The significance of our research is in showing that phage adhesion to mucus results in preventive protection against bacterial infections, which will serve as basis for the development of prophylactic phage therapy approaches. Besides, we also reveal that exposure to m…
Genetic features of Multi Drug Resistant (MDR) Klebsiella pneumoniae and its Plasmids
2019
Klebsiella pneumoniae, a major cause of both hospital and community-acquired infections, is listed by the World Health Organization as a critical priority antibiotic- resistant bacterial pathogen. With the appearance of sequencing techniques such as Next-generation Sequencing (NGS), there is the possibility to obtain the whole genome of the bacteria, getting to know all antimicrobial resistance determinants. The purpose of this study has been to apply this new technology to clinical microbiology, in order to characterize the resistome present in carbapenem-resistant K.pneumoniae strains isolated in a tertiary hospital in Valencia, Spain. A total of 234 isolates were prepared for whole-genom…
Descubriendo nuevos antibióticos producidos por bacterias del suelo
2019
El abuso y/o uso inadecuado de antibióticos es actualmente un grave problema en nuestra sociedad que hace que los microorganismos adquieran resistencias frente a estos compuestos antimicrobianos. Estas resistencias son debidas a la presión de selección que ejercemos sobre los microorganismos, lo que dificulta el tratamiento de las enfermedades que causan algunos de ellos. Por lo tanto, se hace necesario la búsqueda de nuevos antibióticos mediante distintas estrategias, siendo una de ellas la relacionada con la participación ciudadana. El objetivo principal del presente proyecto, basado en una estrategia de Aprendizaje-Servicio (ApS), se ha centrado en la realización de una propuesta educati…
Occurrence of Microplastics in Waste Sludge of Wastewater Treatment Plants: Comparison between Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) and Conventional Activated S…
2022
In this study, the presence of microplastics in the sludge of three wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) was examined. The investigated WWTPs operated based on a conventional activated sludge (CAS) process, with (W1) or without (W2) primary clarification, and a membrane bioreactor process (MBR) (W3). The microplastics (MPs) concentration in the samples of W3 was approximately 81.1 ± 4.2 × 103 particles/kg dry sludge, whereas MPs concentrations in W1 and W2 were 46.0 ± 14.8 × 103 particles/kg dry sludge and 36.0 ± 5.2 × 103 particles/kg dry sludge, respectively. Moreover, MPs mainly consisted of fragments (66–68%) in the CAS plants, whereas the fra…
Green value and spatial approaches of energy demand management.
2020
Les contraintes économiques et environnementales actuelles impliquent un besoin de maîtrise de la demande d’énergie du secteur résidentiel. Pour parvenir à cette fin, il est nécessaire d’identifier les déterminants de la consommation d’énergie des ménages puis de trouver des solutions pour réduire la demande d’énergie. Les travaux présentés dans la thèse portent sur le rôle des choix de localisation des ménages dans la formation de la demande d’énergie du secteur résidentiel et s’intéresse à la valeur verte comme outil de promotion des biens immobiliers énergétiquement efficaces. Le premier chapitre étudie les choix de localisation résidentielle et de consommation énergétique des ménages da…
Métodos de análisis de enriquecimiento funcional en estudios genómicos
2016
Los métodos computacionales tienen un papel fundamental en la resolución de problemas clínicos y biológicos. La generación de grandes cantidades de datos procedentes de tecnologías de alto rendimiento y el incremento de información accesible en bases de datos biológicos, han potenciado la demanda de nuevas metodologías capaces de relacionar ambos elementos. Para hacer frente a esta necesidad de la comunidad de investigación biomédica, en este trabajo presentamos una serie de contribuciones en el campo de la Genómica Funcional que ayudarán a los investigadores en la interpretación funcional de sus análisis de datos genómicos. Durante la primera parte de esta tesis, se describe el desarrollo …
Anthropometric indices, lipid profile, and lipopolysaccharide-binding protein levels in metabolic endotoxemia: A case-control study in Calabar Metrop…
2020
Objectives: To determine the anthropometric indices, lipopolysaccharide-binding proteins (LBP), and lipid profile in patients with metabolic endotoxemia. Methods: The study comprised of 47 patients with metabolic endotoxemia (the metabolic endotoxemia group) and 43 controls (the control group). Patients in the metabolic endotoxemia group were categorized further into three subgroups including the normal weight group (n=8), the overweight group (n=12) and the obese group (n=27). Height, weight, waist, and hip circumference were measured, and waist-hip ratio (WHR) and body mass index (BMI) were calculated. LBP was determined by ELISA and total cholesterol, triglycerides, high density lipoprot…