Slow (m.soleus) and fast (m.tibialis anterior) muscles of the rabbit were subjected to indirect long-term intermittent stimulation (3 weeks, 8 hrs daily) with a frequency pattern of 10 imp/sec. Whereas no changes were observed in case of the slow muscle, stimulation induced profound changes in the fast tibialis anterior muscle. These consisted in a rearrangement of the enzyme activity pattern of energy-supplying metabolism, e.g. decrease in glycogenolytic and glycolytic enzyme activities and severalfold increase in key enzymes of aerobic endoxidation of substrates in beta-oxidation and the citric acid cycle. Concomitant with the increase in aerobic oxidative capacity, there was an increased resistance to fatigue. Histochemical studies revealed a strong increase in mitochondria of all fibres. The bimodal distribution of fibre cross-sectional area in the normal tibialis anterior muscle was changed by stimulation into a more homogeneous population of fibres with a smaller cross-sectional area. Despite a 50% increase in time to peak of isometric twitch contraction no changes were observed in the fibre population with regard to myofibrillar ATPase reaction in quantitative evaluation of whole cross-sections of the muscles. The percentage of fibres histochemically classified as slow amounted to 2.8% and 3.1% in control and stimulated tibialis anterior muscle. Nevertheless the data suggest a transformation of the fibre population under the influence of long-term intermittent stimulation.

No abstract

Seventy-two (54.5%) out of 132 fecal samples from a group of yellowlegged gulls in Barcelona, Spain, were positive for Escherichia coli producing either extended-spectrum ␤-lactamases (ESBL) (51.5%), carbapenemase (1.5%), or cephamycinase (1.5%). The isolation of two carbapenemase-producing E. coli strains is a matter of concern.KEYWORDS carbapenemases, E. coli, ESBL I n the last decade, the number of bacterial pathogens presenting multidrug resistance to antibacterial agents has increased dramatically, becoming an emergent global concern and a major public health problem (1). The main cause behind the increasing rates of resistance can ultimately be found in the abuse and misuse of antibacterial agents, whether used in patients and livestock or released into the environment. Once antimicrobial-resistant bacteria emerge, they can spread locally or globally. The main factors contributing to their spread at a global level comprise migrant birds, globalization of commercial food, and international travel.There have been several studies about the presence of resistant bacteria in gulls (2, 3), to the extent of being considered an indicator of environmental antibiotic resistance occurrence, as they are distributed almost all around the world (4). Meerburg et al. (5) showed that gull feces contain a greater average concentration of E. coli than other wild animals, and according to Stedt et al. (4), Spain is the country in Europe with the highest levels of gull E. coli isolates resistant to Ն1 antibiotic.The objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence of extended-spectrum ␤-lactamase (ESBL)-and/or carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae from fecal swabs obtained from a group of yellow-legged gulls (Larus michahellis) in Barcelona, Spain.The study was conducted from the beginning of May to late July 2014 in the city of Barcelona, including the breeding period of the yellow-legged gull in the city. The sampling program was part of the sanitary and epidemiological surveillance that is carried out by the Public Health Agency, Barcelona, the institution responsible for the supervision and surveillance of the species. The sampling sites were chosen according to citizens' reports regarding the species nesting on their terraces or high roofs of the city. Every gull chick from each nest found (Fig. 1) was sampled, which amounts to 132 samples in total. All samples were obtained from young specimens born in that same year, and all nests were independent from each other, since the urban structure of cities The samples were plated on ESBL chromogenic agar (bioMérieux, France), and burgundy red colonies were selected, according to the manufacturer's instructions. Colonies were further identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) (Bruker Daltonics, Inc., Bremen, Germany). Susceptibility to ampicillin, amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, cefuroxime, ceftriaxone, cefotaxime, meropenem, gentamicin, amikacin, nalidixic acid, and ciprofloxacin was determined ...

Second-year undergraduated students from 2008, 2009, and 2010 cohorts were asked to respond a questionnaire to determine their learning style preferences, the VARK questionnaire (where V is visual, A is aural, R is reading-writing, and K is kinesthetic), which was translated into Spanish by the author. The translated questionnaire was tested for wording comprehension before its application in the actual study. Using the results of the VARK questionnaire, students were classified as unimodal or multimodal and according to the first preferred sensory modality used for learning as V, A, R, or K learners. Multiple-choice questions (MCQs) and problems that required simple arithmetic calculations (arithmetic-type questions) were applied to the students. The relation between the main sensory modality used for learning and the grades obtained in each question type was analyzed both in unimodal and multimodal students. It was found that R unimodal students performed significantly better in arithmetic questions than A and K unimodal students (P < 0.001 by a Bonferroni multiple-comparison test after ANOVA). R unimodal students also performed better than R multimodal students in arithmetic questions (P = 0.02 by a Mann-Whitney U-test). However, no differences were observed after MCQs in either unimodal or multimodal students with different first sensory modalities used for learning. When MCQ scores between unimodal and multimodal students were compared, no differences were detected. It was concluded that the sensory learning style used for learning affects student outcome when students receive arithmetic questions but not when MCQs are applied.

A low conductance calcium-activated K+ channel is thought to regulate the rate of firing of several excitable cells. In skeletal muscle the expression of this channel is under nerve control. Previously, we reported that axonal flow blockade of rat nerves, induced by colchicine, caused a transient increase in muscle apamin receptors, determined by 125I-apamin binding to membrane fractions. The increase in apamin receptors was correlated with repetitive discharges resembling myotonic potentials in the electromyogram, that were blockable by apamin. Here we show that the increase in muscle apamin receptors and the alteration of the electromyogram are followed closely by a slowing of the twitch relaxation, that in turn, is decreased by apamin. Furthermore, the presence of myotonic-like alterations in the electromyogram and a slowing of muscle relaxation when muscle apamin receptors are increased suggests that these channels may participate, among other factors, in the generation of some kinds of myotonia.