Ultraflo L, a beta-glucanase preparation from Humicola insolens sold for reducing viscosity problems in the brewing industry, exhibited activity against the methyl esters of ferulic, caffeic, ...p-coumaric and sinapic acids, displaying mainly type-B feruloyl esterase activity. Ultraflo also contained the ability to release 65% of the available ferulic acid (FA) together with three forms of diferulate from brewer's spent grain (BSG). An "esterase-free" Ultraflo preparation greatly enhanced the ability of a feruloyl esterase from Aspergillus niger, AnFAEA, to release FA (from 23 to 47%) and its dimeric forms, especially the 8.5' benzofuran form, from BSG. While total release of these phenolic acids was not observed, this synergistic enhancement of ferulate release demonstrates that FA and its dimeric forms present in BSG require the addition of more than a xylanase. This suggests either that FA is not solely attached to arabinoxylan in the barley cell wall, or that the cell wall polysaccharides in BSG hinder the accessibility of enzymes to the ferulates, due to processing treatments.
Establishing and understanding large format paintings are key to provide accurate information about the artist’s palette and developing conservation strategies. Therefore, investigating the artworks ...of a population offers insight into its culture, history and origins which reveals individual and collective identity through cultural heritage worldwide. Particularly, the ceiling of the Foyer at the National Theatre of Costa Rica (Central America) is decorated with three large format paintings from the nineteenth century made by the Italian painter Vespasiano Bignami. The paintings are known as
La Poesía
,
La Música
and
La Danza
(
The Poetry
,
the Music
and
The Dance
) and have undergone restorations in the past. However, their state of conservation is unknown and thus demands accurate scientific examination in order to document their status and the extent of undocumented previous restoration work. To overcome those issues, we propose the application of a combination of non-invasive and in-situ techniques to carry out a qualitative assessment of the pigments and actual state of conservation. Here, we employed technical photography in the visible and near infrared regions, using panoramic stitching techniques in order to obtain high resolution images of the very large artworks. Several conservation problems were observed such as: detachment of pigments, cracks, stains, and sections with undocumented restorations. In the IR and False Colour Infrared images we observed a very conspicuous behaviour of the red pigment used in the three paintings. Particular areas with the red pigment were fluorescent, and by means of ultraviolet fluorescence imaging we identified the pigment as through its red-coral fluorescence as Madder Lake, by comparison to a historical pigments reference palette. Measurements in five different red pigmented zones using UV–Vis spectroscopy in
The Music
show bands in the (550–650) nm region. A Lorentz Model nonlinear curve fit to the bands allowed us to correlate the fluorescent pigment in the paintings of Vespasiano Bignami with Madder Lake.
We propose an experimental method to fully characterize the energy exchange of particles during the physical vapor deposition (PVD) process of thin surface layers. Our approach is based on the ...careful observation of perturbations of the oscillation frequency of a quartz crystal μ-balance induced by the particles’ interaction. With this technique it is possible to measure the momentum exchange of the atoms during the evaporation process and determine the ideal evaporation rate for uniform energy distribution. We are able to follow the desorption dynamics of particles’ immediately after the first layers have been formed. These results are in close relation to the surface binding energy of the evaporated material and offer a better control to obtain the desired properties of the thin surface layer. The novelty of our work consists of the demonstration that quartz crystal μ-balance can be successfully implemented to monitor complex dynamics through the energy interaction of particles during PVD. We applied our technique to investigate the PVD mechanism for diverse elements, usually implemented in the development of film surface layers, such as Cu, W, Au, Gd and In, and confirm that our results are in agreement with measurements done previously with other techniques such as low temperature photo-luminescence.
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of blindness in the Western world. With an ageing population, it is anticipated that the number of AMD cases will increase dramatically, ...making a solution to this debilitating disease an urgent requirement for the socioeconomic future of the European Union and worldwide. The present paper reviews the limitations of the current therapies as well as the socioeconomic impact of the AMD. There is currently no cure available for AMD, and even palliative treatments are rare. Treatment options show several side effects, are of high cost, and only treat the consequence, not the cause of the pathology. For that reason, many options involving cell therapy mainly based on retinal and iris pigment epithelium cells as well as stem cells are being tested. Moreover, tissue engineering strategies to design and manufacture scaffolds to mimic Bruch’s membrane are very diverse and under investigation. Both alternative therapies are aimed to prevent and/or cure AMD and are reviewed herein.
Background and ImportanceGalcanezumab is a monoclonal antibody (MAB) for migraine prophylaxis. MAB has been shown to be safe and effective in reducing the number of migraine days per month in ...short-duration clinical trials. However, the optimal duration of therapy remains unresolved. Clinical practice guidelines recommend maintaining treatment for 12 months.Drug is dispensed in the hospital pharmacy service, where pharmacists follow-up the effectiveness, safety and adherence of MAB.Aim and ObjectivesTo assess the long-term effectiveness and safety of galcanezumab in episodic migraine (EM) and chronic migraine (CM).Material and MethodsRetrospective observational study in a second-level hospital. Study period: September 2020– July 2023.Migraine patients treated with galcanezumab were evaluated for at least a 12-month follow-up period from the start of treatment.According to hospital protocol, after 12 months of MAB, neurologists decide whether to continue or discontinue it and re-assess 3 months later and restart MAB if migraine worsens.Data were collected from the electronic medical record. The database included demographic variables, migraine-related variables, treatment-related variables, and adverse events (AE).Results64 patients, 54 CM and 10 EM, median age 48 years (76–21), women 84%. Mean of days of migraine previous to galcanezumab: 20.46±6.55 (CM) and 12±1.48 (EM).The median duration of galcanezumab was 18.4 (1.9–34.9) months.48 patients (n=64) completed the first 12-month of treatment. 32 patients (n=45) continued at 18 months, 19 (n=26) at 24 months, 14 (n=18) at 30 months and 8 (n=8) at 34 months. They were chronically maintained galcanezumab to prevent worsening if MAB was discontinued.24 patients discontinued galcanezumab: lack of response (20), injection site rash (2), pregnancy (1), excellent treatment response (1). 17 patients were switched to another MAB (15: rebound; 2: injection site rash).2 patients restart galcanezumab: after pregnancy (1) and for rebound 10 months after stop galcanezumab (1).AE: constipation (12), injection site pain (3), dizziness (3), rhinitis ( 3), diarrhoea (2), injection site rash (2).Conclusion and RelevanceIn our study, galcanezumab remained long-term effectiveness, safe, and well tolerated with few adverse events for more than 12 months in patients with episodic and chronic migraine. It was only discontinued in case of great improvement or therapeutic failure. Studies with larger samples are required to establish whether it could be used as a chronic treatment in patients with a high probability of worsening if treatment is discontinued.References and/or AcknowledgementsConflict of InterestNo conflict of interest.
An unmet need exists for patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) follicular lymphoma (FL) and high-risk disease features, such as progression of disease within 24 months (POD24) from first-line ...immunochemotherapy or disease refractory to both CD20-targeting agent and alkylator (double refractory), due to no established standard of care and poor outcomes. Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy is an option in R/R FL after two or more lines of prior systemic therapy, but there is no consensus on its optimal timing in the disease course of FL, and there are no data in second-line (2L) treatment of patients with high-risk features. Lisocabtagene maraleucel (liso-cel) is an autologous, CD19-directed, 4-1BB CAR T cell product. The phase 2 TRANSCEND FL study evaluated liso-cel in patients with R/R FL, including 2L patients who all had POD24 from diagnosis after treatment with anti-CD20 antibody and alkylator ≤6 months of FL diagnosis and/or met modified Groupe d’Etude des Lymphomes Folliculaires criteria. Primary/key secondary endpoints were independent review committee–assessed overall response rate (ORR)/complete response (CR) rate. At data cutoff, 130 patients had received liso-cel (median follow-up, 18.9 months). Primary/key secondary endpoints were met. In third-line or later FL (n = 101), ORR was 97% (95% confidence interval (CI): 91.6‒99.4), and CR rate was 94% (95% CI: 87.5‒97.8). In 2L FL (n = 23), ORR was 96% (95% CI: 78.1‒99.9); all responders achieved CR. Cytokine release syndrome occurred in 58% of patients (grade ≥3, 1%); neurological events occurred in 15% of patients (grade ≥3, 2%). Liso-cel demonstrated efficacy and safety in patients with R/R FL, including high-risk 2L FL. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT04245839.
Food allergy is an IgE-mediated hypersensitive reaction estimated to affect up to 4% of infants and adults in developed countries. Proteins termed allergens are mostly responsible for food allergic ...reactions, consisting of mild to severe systemic reactions. Proteomics include multi-dimensional separation and protein identification by mass spectrometry, followed by data analysis by bioinformatic tools. Proteomics have increasingly been used in the allergy field to (i) identify the genetic and phenotypic variability of allergens in crops, (ii) obtain well-characterised allergens as reported within the EC-funded Integrated Project EuroPrevall, (iii) detect and quantify allergens, either in their native form or in forms resulting from food processing, in complex foods such as bread, cookies, etc., as considered by the EC-funded MoniQA project. These approaches are helping to improve food allergy diagnosis, therapy, and allergenic risk assessment. In the future, the development of more cost effective and sensitive technologies will further enhance the value of proteomics to the allergy field allowing routine use of this approach. We review the applications of proteomics in the field of food allergy.
Photosynthesis is a topic that every high school student must learn not only due to its importance to life on earth but because it inspires many other technologies nowadays. The objective is to ...illustrate hands-on learning activities to teach photosynthesis in an exciting and cost-effective way. It will improve their capacity to acquire the basic concepts as well as go deeper and increase their curiosity by being face to face with the different phenomena. The activity is divided into three experiments where the foci are chlorophyll extraction, plants’ oxygen production, and light’s intensity effect on photosynthesis. Each one lets the teacher introduce the basic concepts of photosynthesis and reinforce other chemistry practices and concepts. The activity took place in a Costa Rican high school with 15 10th grade students who worked in 3 groups of 5 students each. This one session activity is an integral approach to teach science with the overall purpose of awakening the interest of high school students in the subject through a low cost and versatile set of experiments that could be easily applied to any targeted audience. The collected data shows it achieved this goal.
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