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Guía de Trabajos Prácticos – Inglés I – Cátedra de Inglés Técnico

Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas – Universidad Nacional del Litoral

UNIDAD III

I) MODO IMPERATIVO

a) Usando “let”: let + Pronombre Objetivo + infinitivo (sin “to”)

Let him (o her) titrate this solution.

Permítale titular ......


Que titule ................

Let us (o let’s) titrate this solution

Titulemos ..................

b) Verbo en infinitivo (sin “to”)

Describe the biological process briefly.

Describa (usted) ..............

Si es una instrucción negativa:

Do not (don’t) describe the biological process briefly.

No describa .......................

Ejemplos

1) Let them use the measuring instruments for determining the pH value of different solutions.
2) Let me explain you the alternative methods for carrying out water absorption index determination.
3) Let us use now different indicators for those acid concentration determination techniques.
4) Let us consider a new way of dissolving sugar in water.
5) Let’s prepare all the samples for the practical work.
6) Let’s use mean values for the next technical procedures.
7) Prepare the sample and determine its chemical composition.
8) Examine the solubility of potassa crystals, borax and sugar. The first are hardly soluble –observe and record the
effect of every solvent on each one of them.
9) Boil some water in a beaker. Let it cool, record its temperature and then take another portion of the solution and
add tartaric acid to it.
10) Do not pour water on any acid.
11) Do not collect distilled and demineralized water into metal containers.
12) Under no circumstances heat the gradation or calibration elements or the lab’s volumetric glassware.

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Guía de Trabajos Prácticos – Inglés I – Cátedra de Inglés Técnico
Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas – Universidad Nacional del Litoral

II) VERBOS MODALES

CAN can puede


MAY may puede trabajar.....
MUST must debe
WOULD + infinitivo (sin “to) The researcher would work in the lab. El investigador trabajaría
SHOULD should debería
COULD could podría trabajar...
MIGHT might podría
OUGHT TO ought to debería

Ejemplos

Voz Activa

1) Water can dissolve carbon dioxide from the air.


2) The effluent may come into contact with potentially contaminating materials.
3) This condensation can take place only at very high temperatures.
4) To be harmless, this product must fulfill all these quality specifications.
5) Without atmosphere, sunlight would act upon things on the Earth’s crust and it would cause serious
and deleterious effects on them.
6) Among several solutions for eliminating wastes, we might include processes for converting waste into
raw materials for another manufacturing processes.
7) Our criteria for the safety of any type of occupational lead exposure should be apparent to all the
students.
8) The mono- and dichlorinated benzenes have strong narcotic effects and could cause moderate
irritation to the respiratory tract.
9) We ought to establish a clear difference between these two families of chemical compounds.

Voz Pasiva

1) Other methods must be employed for determining the molecular weight of this substance.
2) This mixture can be evaluated photometrically after 20 min. of incubation at 37ºC.
3) Long-chain peptides may be formed simply by heating mixtures of aminoacids.
4) Pasteurization can be used to kill some disease-causing bacteria in food.
5) Useful information about the mechanism of these reactions would be derived from studying the spectra of
various reaction’s intermediate stages.
6) The oxidation of alcohol to acetic acid by potassium bichromate according to the procedure of Nicloux should
be applied to the determination of alcohol in blood and animal tissues.
7) Methyl mercury might be produced from inorganic mercury by microorganisms from aquatic sediments.
8) Dose-related target organ toxicity could be caused by high chlorobenzene levels.
9) Under reducing conditions and in the absence of sulfide and carbonate, high concentrations of soluble ferrous
iron may be found.
10) An accurate relationship between occupational inhalation of asbestos and malignancies of the ovary and larynx
ought to be assessed soon.

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Guía de Trabajos Prácticos – Inglés I – Cátedra de Inglés Técnico
Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas – Universidad Nacional del Litoral

III) Expresiones sustitutas

CAN = BE ABLE TO
MAY = BE ALLOWED TO + INFINITIVO (sin “to”)
MUST= HAVE TO

Ejemplos

1) Cells are able to regulate their enzyme content in direct response to the environment’s actions.
2) As a result of some previous works, we are now able to provide information to other research groups.
3) In this case, atmospheric air is allowed to react with some metallic surfaces for determining the formation of
oxide films on them.
4) These particles are allowed to migrate through the solution and to react in the cathode.
5) This equipment has to be operated at high temperatures.
6) Considerable attention has to be given to the solvent’s selectivity for any particular solute.

7) Liquefaction of gases: Are we able to explain it?

All gases can be liquefied under the proper conditions of temperature and pressure. For a given pressure, there is
always a definite temperature for the boiling point of a liquid. At the same temperature –pressure has to remain
constant- the substance in gaseous state can be condensed to form the liquid. When the pressure is reduced, the
liquid is allowed to boil at a lower temperature.By raising the temperature and reducing the presure increase, we are
then able to facilitate the liquefaction of any gas.
In gases and liquids we are able to find two different states of the conflict between the kinetic energy of the
molecules and their molecular attraction. In gases the first has to predominate –each molecule must be almost
independent of the influence of other molecules. In liquids, conversely, molecular attraction is a strong force and, as
a result of this, the molecules have to be held together and they are not able to travel through the entire volume of
their container.

IV) Presente Perfecto Potencial Perfecto

VOZ ACTIVA

TO HAVE + ED WOULD + HAVE + -ED

Haber -ado habría + -ado/-ido


-ido
COULD
MIGHT + HAVE + -ED
 We have obtained the exact results in the lab. SHOULD
OUGHT TO
-ía + haber + -ado/ -ido

 We could have obtained the exact results


 We should have obtained the exact results.

Voz Activa

1) Reducing raw material consumption has been one of the research group’s main objectives.
2) Process evaluation has called for a substantial effort from the engineering team.
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Guía de Trabajos Prácticos – Inglés I – Cátedra de Inglés Técnico
Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas – Universidad Nacional del Litoral

3) We have suggested an analysis of toxicity problems –specially effluent control- and have examined lab methods
for solving them.
4) Have the last technological advances opened a wide area for further discovieries on food industrialization?
5) In industrial exposures, nobody has reported systemic poisoning from formic and acetic acids.
6) There has been no evidence of specific or general change in the cellular elements of the peripheral blood of
animals after exposure to any of the mentioned compounds.
7) On the basis of corresponding considerations Cook has tentatively suggested the concentration of 100 p.p.m. as
the maximum allowable dose.
8) Numerous investigators have found acetone in the urine of men and animals after oral administration of
isopropyl alcohol.
9) Many severe cases of intoxication among miners and workers in the extraction of mercury have occurred in
recent years as a result of heating amalgams near induction furnaces.
10) In sampling and interpretation of analytical data, this technique has proved its efficacy over a period of many
years.
11) By combining these analytical data, physicians have been able to establish the significance of the factor of lead
exposure.
12) The physician should have given advice and instruction in matters of diet and preventive medication to the
group of workmen.
13) Ordinary sewage-treatment processes might not have been useful in this situation.

Voz Pasiva

TO HAVE + BEEN + ED WOULD + HAVE + BEEN + -ED

Haber + sido + -ado habría + sido + -ado/-ido


-ido
COULD
MIGHT + HAVE + BEEN + -ED
 Methods have been proposed for the simultaneous SHOULD
determination of pressure and temperature in such OUGHT TO
a reaction.
-ía + haber + sido + -ado/ -ido

 Methods could have been proposed for the


simultaneous determination of pressure and
temperature in such a reaction.

1) Similar changes have been noted by other observers in carrying out the same investigation process.
2) Methods have been proposed for the simultaneous determination of pressure and temperature in this reaction.
3) Turbid water has been clarified by the addition of calcium oxide, chloride, nitrate or bicarbonate.
4) Drying procedures have not been carried out at ordinary room temperature and the effect of air moisture has
not been well investigated yet.
5) Have these two basic methods of heating liquids with steam been already tested?
6) Several theoretical studies have been already made on the action of different types of colorimetric instruments,
but they have not yet reached a useful stage.
7) In this experiment, the administration of insoluble beryllium compounds in saline solution could have been
given without causing mechanical interference with pulmonary function.
8) Many reported cases of intoxication with manganese have been acquired during the mining, transporting,
grinding and smelting of the ore.
9) These areas should have been encouraged to attain international standards for drinking water.

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Guía de Trabajos Prácticos – Inglés I – Cátedra de Inglés Técnico
Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas – Universidad Nacional del Litoral

10) Measurements of concentrations of airborne organochlorine pesticides ought to have been made near the site of
application.
11) The introduction of biodegradable detergents should have been able to reduce water pollution.
12) Acceptable levels of exposure within working environments would have been designed to achieve limited
health objectives.

IV) Presente Perfecto Continuo

VOZ ACTIVA

TO HAVE + BEEN + -ING

Haber + estado + -ando


- endo

 Industry has been producing huge amounts of waste in the last few years and we have been trying to find a good
method for its disposal.

La estructura anterior puede ser precedida por cualquiera de los verbos modales vistos

 Industry could have been producing huge amounts of waste in the last few years and we should have been
trying to find a good method for its disposal.

Ejemplos

1) Industry has been progressively adopting the multipurpose concept of water resource management
during the last 20 years.
2) The technical problems in the chlorination of water supplies in rural areas have been receiving great
attention in recent years.
3) Fluoride vapours from such ponds have been causing considerable pollution of the surrounding
atmosphere.
4) Industry has been producing huge amounts of waste in the last few years and we have been trying to
find a good method for its disposal.
5) Industrial odor sources have been originating many health troubles in nearby populations.
6) During the process, each substance has been influencing the vapour pressure of the other.
7) Wagner et al. have been investigating the association between asbestos exposure and cancer.
8) What have these research teams been looking for as regards the rate of conversion of organic compounds to
inorganic mercury?
9) These electrons have been losing or gaining energy and, therefore, they have been moving from one energy
level to another.
10) The reaction rate has been continuously controlling the substance diffusion from the solution to the
enzymatically active surface.

Ejercicios

I) Basic Rules of Radiation Safety in the Laboratory

The purchase, possession, utilization, and transfer of radiactive material is subject to the regulations of the
country of use. Adherence to the basic rules of radiation safety should provide adequate protection.

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Guía de Trabajos Prácticos – Inglés I – Cátedra de Inglés Técnico
Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas – Universidad Nacional del Litoral

Las medidas de seguridad en la columna (1) han sido refraseadas en la columna (2). Una las
oraciones de ambas columnas que expresen la misma información.

(1)

a) No eating, drinking, smoking or application of cosmetics should be carried out in the presence of
radioactive material.
b) No pipeting of radioactive solutions by mouth.
c) Avoid all contact with radioactive materials by using gloves and laboratory overalls.
d) All manipulation of radioactive substances should be done in an appropriate place distant from
corridors and other busy places.
e) Radioactive materials should be stored in the container provided in a designated area.
f) A record of receipt and storage of all radioactive products should be kept up to date.
g) Laboratory equipment and glassware which are subject to contamination should be segregated to
prevent cross-contamination of different radioisotopes.
h) Every case of radioactive contamination or loss of radioactive material should be resolved according to
established procedures.
i) Radioactive waste should be handled according to the rules established in the country of use.

(2)

1) Be aware of rules for handling emergencies.


2) You must wear adequate protective clothes.
3) Radioactive material must be handled far from circulating areas.
4) It is essential to have actualized data about radioactive material.
5) Be careful not to swallow radioactive solutions.
6) Be aware of rules for handling emergencies.
7) Under no circumstances dispose of the material without previously taking into account legal
dispositions.
8) A special place must be reserved for radioactive material.
9) Keep different materials apart.

II)

In complex biological systems, each individual reaction is not able to proceed in a homogeneous system and
attain thermodynamic equilibrium. One might go further and consider such thermodynamic equilibria as
incompatible with life, and consequently it would be impossible to apply thermodinamic considerations to
living systems. Such systems, even when their chemical composition does not change, do not have the
characteristics of thermodynamic equilibrium. They have to be considered as systems in a “steady state”, and
so the rates of chemical synthesis and breakdown have to be balanced. Because of the importance to biology
of the concept of the steady state, it could be useful to contrast briefly the properties of steady state systems
with those of a system at thermodynamic equilibrium.
A steady state is reached in a system when energy or matter and energy flow into the system at a rate equal to
that at which they flow out of the system. Such system has been termed an “open system”, in contrast to the
“closed system” (for thermodynamic equilibrium) where there will be no net flow of matter or energy. The
steady state may be the resultant of reversible and irreversible processes, whereas thermodynamic
equilibrium refers to reversible processes only.
At thermodynamic equilibrium, a closed system cannot do useful work without internal change. However, a
steady state system is capable of doing work on its surroundings or on the components of the system.
Furthermore, thermodynamic equilibrium is unstable because it is shifted to a different state by a single
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Guía de Trabajos Prácticos – Inglés I – Cátedra de Inglés Técnico
Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas – Universidad Nacional del Litoral

addition of energy to the system, and the steady state has stability and is rapidly re-established. Of special
importance is the fact that the concentration of the reactants at thermodynamic equilibrium has to be
independent of the concentrations of substances that catalyze the reaction, whereas the stationary
concentrations of the reactants in a steady state system has to be determined by the catalyst concentration.
Clearly, a biological system that is apparently constant in chemical composition approximates more closely a
steady state system than one at thermodynamic equilibrium.

a) Traduzca este texto y sugiera un título que refleje con claridad el tema principal del
mismo.
b) Se mencionan dos sistemas termodinámicos. Nómbrelos y resuma en la tabla siguiente
sus características principales.

Sistema 1: ................................. Sistema 2: ...................................

III)
Recycle

1) Observe los 4 títulos principales solamente y exprese si los siguientes enunciados serán verdaderos o
falsos.
 La mayor parte de nuestros desechos está compuesta por residuos alimenticios.
 El rellenado de terrenos bajos no es la única forma de reutilizar desechos.
 El texto propone una serie de alternativas para reducir la cantidad de desechos.
 El texto propone una definición de reciclaje.
 Todas las comunidades avanzan al mismo ritmo en lo que se refiere al reciclaje de desechos.
 Existe una combinación de lo público y lo privado en este tipo de emprendimientos.
 En alguna parte del texto se apela a la iniciativa personal.

2) Lea el texto rápidamente y corrobore o rectifique sus predicciones. (marque la parte del texto que
corresponda)
3) Le damos los títulos de las subsecciones. Coloque a cada una el que le corresponda.

What is recycling? – Get involved! - What’s in our trash? – Shop smarter! - Why should we recycle? – What
do we do with our recyclables? – Recycle at home!– What can we recycle? – How to start - The solution –
Where does our trash go? – A national goal of 25%

4) Encuentre en el texto estas palabras y también sinónimos de ellas:


a) waste f) recovered
b) produce g) support
c) soar
d) remedy
e) achieve

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Guía de Trabajos Prácticos – Inglés I – Cátedra de Inglés Técnico
Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas – Universidad Nacional del Litoral

5) En el párrafo marcado, detecte todas las derivaciones de la palabra “recycle” y anote sus distintos
significados.
6) Elabore un resumen del texto, consignando la información más importante en forma clara y concisa.

IV) Soil Quality

Soil is a complex structure created yields of high quality on the basis


by the influence of geology, of chemical, physical and biological
topography, climate, time, and quality factors. Doran and Parkin
anthropogenic activities. As with air have reviewed several definitions of
and water, human life could not be soil quality that have recently been
sustained without access to soil, proposed. All these definitions of
because it is the source of most of soil quality have in common the
our food. The economic well-being of capacity of a soil to function
most of the nations on earth depends effectively at present and also in
greatly on arable soils and how well the future. Doran and Parkin
their productivity can be maintained. suggested that soil quality could be
In addition to producing food, a good defined as “ the capacity of a soil
quality soil also acts as an to function within ecosystem
environmental filter for cleaning air boundaries to sustain biological
and water. Soil is the ultimate productivity, maintain environmental
receptor of, and incubation chamber quality, and promote plant and animal
for the decomposition and recycling health”.
of nutrients from organic materials Soil quality can improve or
back to plants, as well as deteriorate depending on influencing
detoxification of organic pollutants. factors. Some of them cannot be
If mismanaged, the soil can work affected: geology, topography,
against us: e.g. it can pollute the climate and time. Others can be
air by emission of nitrous gases and modified: humus content, phosphorus
the water by leakage of nitrogen and status, the degree of base
other plant nutrients and cease to saturation, etc. Crop yields do not
produce abundant and nutritious food. solely depend on soil-quality
Because of the enormous importance of factors. A number of short term
the soil many attempts have been made measures, such as soil cultivation,
to define soil quality as well as fertilizing, sowing, and weeding, are
suggesting test methods and generally not included in soil
strategies for characterizing soil quality factors. However, maximal
quality. Attempts have also been made yield is harvested when factors that
to diagnose the health status of can be affected, together with short-
soils in large regions. term measures, are optimized. The
intention of short-term measures is
Soil quality encompasses the generally not to change soil quality
capacity of a soil for crop but, if repeated, they may result in
productivity, food safety and animal improvement or deterioration of the
and human health and is, thereby, a sustainability of the soil resource.
concept that has proven to be
difficult to define and quantify.
Persson and Otabbong defined soil
fertility as “the sustainable
capacity of a soil to produce good

a) Lea el texto rápidamente, preste atención solamente a las ideas principales y elabore un resumen del mismo.
Deje de lado ejemplos y aclaraciones y concéntrese en los conceptos centrales.

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Guía de Trabajos Prácticos – Inglés I – Cátedra de Inglés Técnico
Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas – Universidad Nacional del Litoral

b) Complete con información proveniente del mismo texto:

(1) Soil quality influencing factors

Changeable factors Nonchangeable factors

(2)
a a) a)
b
b) b)

A good quality soil implies c) but it can also c) if mismanaged

d) d)

V) Actors in the soil environment

The input of energy to the soil environment derives from dead organic materials, e.g. plant and animal residues.
During utilization of energy sources, complex organic materials are utilized and this results in the relase of carbon
dioxide and inorganic plant nutrients such as N, P and S. The microbial biomass itself represents a considerable
pool of nutrients, which is continuously shunted into growth cycles of macro- and microphytes. Consequently, soils
that maintain a high level of microbial biomass are capable not only of storing more nutrients, but also of cycling
more nutrients through the system. Various catabolic and anabolic capacities are widely distributed within the soil
micro-populations and, when they are disturbed, groups of taxonomically different organisms are able to replace
each other in decomposition cycles without apparent losses in the functioning of the soil system.
The microbial community carries out the majority of decomposition processes in soil, but is stimulated by the
activities of soil invertebrates, especially saprotrophs, which feed on decaying organic matter, and microbivores,
which graze the microflora. The effects of soil invertebrates may be direct ( e.g. contributions to elemental cycles:
production of carbon dioxide, excretion of mineral nitrogen) or indirect (aeration of soil as a result of burrowing
activities, comminution of leaves, grazing of fungal mycelium, spreading of multiplication units). The less labile
fraction of the residues is ultimately incorporated into the soil-organic-matter pool, where mineralization also takes
place. Furthermore, microorganisms are irreplaceable in the transformation and degradation of synthetic organic
compounds and natural waste materials.

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Guía de Trabajos Prácticos – Inglés I – Cátedra de Inglés Técnico
Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas – Universidad Nacional del Litoral

Plants create a specific situation in the soil, because the plant root exudates consist mainly of sugars and
aminoacids. The diversity of organisms may depend on the type of plant and the proximity of the organism to the
plant root itself. The numbers and activities of organisms vary with the distance from the root. The effect of the root
on soil organisms decreases with increasing distance from the root.
Soil microorganisms are critical in creating and maintaining good soil structure, e.g. by proper aeration and
formation of humus and particle aggregates. Especially filamentous fungi and actinomycetes entrap soil particles to
form aggregates. In addition, bacteria produce extracellular metabolites, e.g. polysaccharides, lipids and proteins,
which function as gums and cementing agents that stabilize aggregates. Soil texture, in combination with variations
in structure and moisture levels, can drastically affect the aeration status and influence the distribution of
physiological groups in the microbial community. Soil structure may also impose physical restrictions on the ability of
the fauna to graze on microbes, as pointed out by Hassink. He also showed that the size of the microbial biomass
and the amount of carbon and nitrogen mineralized per unit of microbial biomass are dependent on soil texture.
In all terrestrial ecosystems, organisms are exposed to changing environmental conditions. Domsch et al.
considered the following stress situations on soil microbial populations and their activities: fluctuations of
temperature; extremes of water potential; extremes of soil pH; physical disturbances of soil; decreased gas
exchange; decreased supply of nutrients; and inhibitors.
The microbial community is also affected by soil management. Organic fertilizers usually increase the microbial
biomass and activity in soils, while there is evidence of the reverse effect of inorganic fertilizers. In addition, a
diverse crop rotation has a positive effect on the microbial community..
Finally, climatic factors are important regulators of the soil microbial community. Wardle and Parkinson suggested
that the influence of microclimate on the specific respiration of the microbial population indicates a lower ecosystem
stability under low temperature and moisture conditions. On the macroscale, a negative relation between
decreasing aridity and microbial biomass was found, as well as a negative influence of mean annual temperature on
the microbial biomass and respiration.

a) Realice un esquema que represente los factores físicos, químicos y biológicos que influyen en la
estructura del suelo y que se mencionan en el texto.

b) Indique, en forma de algún tipo de esquema, cómo se relacionan e influyen entre sí los
distintos factores.

c) Busque en el texto las siguientes palabras, ya sea como tales o en alguna de sus formas derivadas:

Input – pool – shunted – store – loss – feed – decay – burrow – comminution – grazing – spreading – grow –
root – entrap – crop – moisture.

 ¿Qué función están cumpliento en el texto? (sustantivo, adjetivo, etc.) En el/los caso/s que corresponda/n diga si
existe una palabra base, de la cual deriven.

 Trate de asignarles un significado, de acuerdo con el contexto.

 Revise sus predicciones. Trate de no recurrir al diccionario.

d) Diga si los siguientes enunciados son verdaderos o falsos.

1- La calidad de los suelos está en relación directa con los niveles de microorganismos presentes.
2- La pérdida o alteración de un grupo de microorganismos ocasiona necesariamente trastornos en el funcionamiento del
sistema suelo.
3- Existe una relación inversa entre el efecto de la raíz sobre los microorganismos y la distancia a la que se encuentran.
4- La textura del suelo tiene una influencia moderada sobre la posibilidad de aireación de los suelos.
5- Debería evitarse el uso de fertilizantes inorgánicos.

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Guía de Trabajos Prácticos – Inglés I – Cátedra de Inglés Técnico
Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas – Universidad Nacional del Litoral

VI) Traduzca el siguiente texto. Luego represéntelo por medio de un esquema en donde figure la información más
relevante.

Many people are victims of respiratory diseases. They are probably yearning for the long, hot days of summer, but warm
weather brings its share of hazards. Deep breaths of pollen-laden air can also result in problems. For thousands of asthma
sufferers, pollen from grass and other tissues may trigger an allergic reaction. Pollen is not the only allergen; feathers, dust
and animal hair can provoke asthmatic attacks. The pollen stimulates the antibody production on the surface of most cells
and subsequent exposure to pollen may result in release of histamine from these cells. Histamine causes the bronchial
tube`s constriction, and consequently, it may be difficult to breathe. Antihistamines, histamine- blocking drugs, are only
partially effective in relieving asthmatic attacks; other chemicals are also important. Asthma sufferers can breathe a little
now because a team of doctors in Baltimore may identify the missing mediator.

VII) Traduzca el siguiente texto:

Chagas’ disease
Trypanosoma cruzi, the hemoflagellate protozoan that causes Chagas’ disease, is an important cause of heart
disease in Latin America.
In areas where the disease is endemic, it is most common among the rural poor, who live in an environment with
many feral reservoir hosts.
A vaccine for preventing transmission of T. cruzi has not been developed despite considerable experimental work,
and no chemoprophylactic drug is available.
Natural transmission of T. cruzi to humans is associated with the bite of the reduviid bug, which deposits excreta
with infectious metacyclic trypomastigotes that then contaminate the bite site and mucosal surfaces. Transmission via
blood transfusion is common in areas of endemicity and has been reported in the United States and Canada.

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Guía de Trabajos Prácticos – Inglés I – Cátedra de Inglés Técnico
Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas – Universidad Nacional del Litoral

Life cycle of T. cruzi: The parasites multiply as epimastigotes in the midgut of the insect vector. After transformation in
metacyclic trypomastigotes, the organisms are deposited with the faeces of the vector and infect mammalian cells in
mucosal surface conjunctiva, or breaks in the skin. Once inside the host cells, the parasites transform into amastigotes and,
after several cycles multiplication, transform again into bloodstream amastigotes, which are morphologically similar to
the trypomastigotes present in insect faeces. The host cell then ruptures, releasing the parasites into adjacent tissues and
the circulation. The cycle is completed when circulating trypomastigotes are ingested in a blood meal taken by another
insect vector and transform to epimastygotes in its midgut. The vertical arrow indicates the point at which the cycle could
be broken by chemoprophylaxis or vaccination, neither of which has been developed yet. The short arrows indicate other
points of intervention.

- Basándose en el texto traducido conteste las siguientes preguntas.

a- Cuál es la principal afección que produce el T. cruzi en el hombre?


b- Por qué mecanismo el insecto vector transmite el parásito a los mamíferos?
c- Mencione las distintas formas del parásito en su ciclo biológico.

- Diga si las siguientes afirmaciones son V o F.

a- In the host cell the parasite transforms into tripomastigotes and after its multiplication it transforms again
into amastigotes.
b- The parasites are released from the host cell by exocitosis.
c- The vaccine for preventing Chagas’ disease has not been developed yet.

X) Drug susceptibility testing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Proper chemotherapeutic management of tuberculosis has to be based on antimicrobial susceptibility studies on bacilli
from the patient. In addition to determining drug susceptibility of the primary culture, tests should be repeated periodically
until response to therapy is definite. When patients with M. Tuberculosis cannot reach a negative status within a few
months, this could be due to the microorganism`s resistance to the drug.
Conventional diffusion techniques are able to measure bacterial susceptibility to a given drug in terms of a zone of
inhibition around a drug-embedded paper disc, but they are not suitable for mycobacteria. The drug in the medium is
dispersed because of their very slow growth. Nevertheless, this fact permits the development of a simplified method for
preparing drug-containing media.
In some cases, it could be necessary to perform susceptibility studies by inoculating from a previously grown culture. The
culture could be fairly young or it could be rather old: in this case, the inoculum could be prepared by scraping colonies
from the surface of the medium.
When a culture has to be tested and it is quite old, it might be necessary to grow it in Dubos Tween albumin broth to
prepare the inoculum, but it would be undesirable to add this extra step when it can be avoided.

Lea este texto y decida si los siguientes enunciados son verdaderos o falsos. Marque el lugar del texto donde ha
encontrado las respuestas.

1) Conventional diffusion techniques are able to measure mycobacterium susceptibility to drugs.

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Guía de Trabajos Prácticos – Inglés I – Cátedra de Inglés Técnico
Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas – Universidad Nacional del Litoral

2) It is important to accomplish antimicrobial susceptibility studies for properly managing tuberculosis.


3) The drug disperses in the medium because the M. Tuberculosis grows very slowly.
4) Young cultures require previous growing in Dubos Tween albumin broth.

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