Spinal cord injury (SCI) is an acute neurodegenerative disorder caused by traumatic damage of the spinal cord. The neuropathological evolution of the primary trauma involves multifactorial processes ...that exacerbate the pathology, worsening the neurodegeneration and limiting neuroregeneration. This complexity suggests that multi-therapeutic approaches, rather than any single treatment, might be more effective. Encouraging preclinical results indicate that stem cell-based treatments may improve the disease outcome due to their multi-therapeutic ability. Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) are currently considered one of the most promising approaches. Significant improvement in the behavioral outcome after MSC treatment sustained by hydrogel has been demonstrated. However, it is still not known how hydrogel contribute to the delivery of factors secreted from MSCs and what factors are released in situ.
Among different mediators secreted by MSCs after seeding into hydrogel, we have found CCL2 chemokine, which could account for the neuroprotective mechanisms of these cells. CCL2 secreted from human MSCs is delivered efficaciously in the lesioned spinal cord acting not only on recruitment of macrophages, but driving also their conversion to an M2 neuroprotective phenotype. Surprisingly, human CCL2 delivered also plays a key role in preventing motor neuron degeneration in vitro and after spinal cord trauma in vivo, with a significant improvement of the motor performance of the rodent SCI models.
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Background Patients with chronic kidney disease have been under-represented in randomized trials of drug-eluting stents relative to bare-metal stents and are at high risk of mortality. Study Design ...Cohort study with propensity score matching. Settings & Participants All adults with chronic kidney disease and severely decreased glomerular filtration rate (GFR; serum creatinine >2.0 mg/dL or dialysis dependence) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention with stent placement between April 1, 2003, and September 30, 2005, at all acute-care nonfederal hospitals in Massachusetts. Predictor Patients were classified as drug-eluting stent–treated if all stents were drug eluting and bare-metal stent–treated if all stents were bare metal. Patients treated with both types of stents were excluded from the primary analysis. Outcomes & Measurements 2-year crude mortality risk differences (drug-eluting − bare-metal stents) were determined from vital statistics records, and risk-adjusted mortality, myocardial infraction (MI), and revascularization differences were estimated using propensity score matching of patients with severely reduced GFR based on clinical and procedural information collected at the index admission. Results 1,749 patients with severely reduced GFR (24% dialysis dependent) were treated with drug-eluting (n = 1,256) or bare-metal stents (n = 493) during the study. Overall 2-year mortality was 32.8% (unadjusted drug-eluting stent vs bare-metal stent; 30.1% vs 39.8%; P < 0.001). After propensity score matching 431 patients with a drug-eluting stent to 431 patients with a bare-metal stent, 2-year risk-adjusted mortality, MI, and target-vessel revascularization rates were 39.4% versus 37.4% (risk difference, 2.1%; 95% CI, −4.3 to 8.5; P = 0.5), 16.0% versus 19.0% (risk difference, −3.0%; 95% CI, −8.2 to 2.1; P = 0.3), and 13.0% versus 17.6% (risk difference, −4.6%; 95% CI, −9.5 to 0.3; P = 0.06). Limitations Observational design, ascertainment of serum creatinine level >2.0 mg/dL and dialysis dependence from case report forms. Conclusions In patients with severely decreased GFR, treatment with drug-eluting stents was associated with a modest decrease in target-vessel revascularization not reaching statistical significance and was not associated with a difference in risk-adjusted rates of mortality or MI at 2 years compared with bare-metal stents.
Silsesquioxanes obtained by the hydrolytic condensation of (3‐glycidoxypropyl)trimethoxysilane (GPMS) in diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) were characterized by electrospray ionization ...time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry (ESI‐TOF MS) and matrix‐assisted ultraviolet laser desorption/ionization time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry (UV‐MALDI‐TOF MS), employing two different matrices and both positive and negative ion modes. A bimodal distribution of molar masses, in the 1 300–6 400 m/z range, was observed in MALDI mass spectra. This distribution accounted for oligomers formed in two successive generations but did not include a cluster of higher molar‐mass species present in SEC chromatograms. Most of the peaks present in ESI and MALDI mass spectra could be described by the generic formula Tn(OCH3)m, with m = 0, 2, and 4 for n = even, m = 1, 3, 5 for n = odd, and T = RSiO(3n‐m)/2n. This corresponds to completely condensed polyhedra (m = 0), incompletely hydrolyzed polyhedra (m = 1 to 3), and their precursors (m = 4). Predominant species in the first cluster contained 10 to 14 Si atoms whereas those in the second cluster had 18 to 23 Si atoms. Small amounts of the following species: T8(OH)(OCH3), T9(OH), T10(OH)(OCH3), and T11(OH) could be identified in MALDI MS, using 9H‐pyrido3,4‐bindole (nor‐harmane) as matrix in the negative ion mode. It was inferred that some of these species had a relevant participation in the generation of the second cluster of higher molar masses. The stability of the silsesquioxane solution in DGEBA was the result of the very small concentration of free SiOH groups available for further condensation.
The OPERA experiment at the Gran Sasso underground laboratory was designed to study vμ → vτ oscillations in appearance mode in the CNGS neutrino beam. Five vτ candidate events have been observed, ...allowing to assess the discovery of vμ → vτ transitions in the atmospheric sector with a significance of 5.1σ. In this paper the vτ data analysis will be discussed, with emphasis on the background constraints obtained using dedicated data-driven control samples. Results on the search for vμ → vτ oscillations, on the search for sterile neutrino mixing and on the atmospheric muon charge ratio will also be presented.
Edible films and coatings containing bioactives Salgado, Pablo R; Ortiz, Cristian M; Musso, Yanina S ...
Current opinion in food science,
October 2015, 2015-10-00, Letnik:
5
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
•Edible films and coatings are promising systems to carry bioactive compounds.•Active packaging contributes to preserve food quality and safety.•Currently active packaging is one of the most dynamic ...packaging technologies.•Agroindustry byproducts are promising resources of bioactives and biopolymers for active packaging.•No single active film or coating would be appropriate for all applications.
Edible films and coatings are promising systems to be used as active ingredient carriers. As they can be consider both a packaging and a food component, they have to fulfill specific requirements: good sensory attributes, high barrier and mechanical properties, biochemical, physicochemical, and microbial stability, safety, non-polluting nature, simple technology and low raw material and processing cost. The addition of bioactive compounds and additives contributes to achieve these requirements to preserve the quality, safety and sensory properties of foods. Research efforts are focused in attempting to optimize the composition of film and coatings materials in order to be well-processed and effective in real, pragmatic, everyday food systems. This short review attempts to summarize the current state of knowledge on this subject, including general aspects, new trends and some successful applications.
What number of staff is sufficient to perform increasingly complicated processes in today's modern ART laboratories?
The adequate number of personnel required for the efficient and safe operation of ...modern ART laboratories needs to be calculated.
In today's modern ART laboratories, the amount of time required to perform increasingly complicated processes has more than doubled, with a downward trend in the amount of work an embryologist can do. Different workload unit values have been used to evaluate each workload task and efficiency in a particular ART laboratory, as well as to occasionally compare one laboratory with another.
Seven senior embryologists working at different IVF centers, three public and four private centers, participated in this multicenter study conducted between 2019 and 2020. We prepared a survey to create a calculator for staff using the average (of three attempts) time spent in every laboratory by each embryologist of the center to perform any ART process.
Different laboratory processes and activities related to quality control, time spent and conventional human double witnessing were included in the survey. To calculate the number of processes that each embryologist can perform per year, an embryologist was considered to be having a full-time contract and working 7 or 8 h/day. The times included in the calculation of each task were those corresponding to the 95th percentile. For the calculations, Microsoft® Office Excel® Professional Plus 2019 was used.
The survey showed that the time needed per embryologist to perform the different processes necessary for a classic IVF cycle without time lapse (TL) was 8.11 h, and with TL, it was 10.27 h. The calculated time also considered the time spent in documentation handling, cycle preparation, database management and conventional human double witnessing verification. An ICSI without TL needed 8.55 h, and with TL, it needed 10.71 h. An ICSI-PGT without a TL cycle needed 11.75 h, and with TL, it needed 13.91 h. Furthermore, 1.81 h should be added for every vitrification support needed. The time needed to control more than 200 critical steps, including equipment control and culture parameters, was 30 min per day plus 3.9 min per device to control.The time spent in semen analysis (including documentation handling, cycle preparation and database management) or intrauterine insemination with a partner sperm was 2.7 h. For donor sperm, an additional hour was required for the management involved. The time required to perform a testicular biopsy and cryopreserve the sample was 4 h. Similarly, the time required to perform seminal cryopreservation was 3.7 h.
The study was conducted considering a full-time contract embryologist working 7 or 8 h/day, 5 days a week, with days off according to the Spanish regulations. However, our findings can be adapted to foreign regulations using the developed online calculation platform.
A new advanced staff calculator allows any IVF laboratory to estimate the minimum number of embryologists necessary without compromising the security or success of the results. Nevertheless, we recommend a minimum of two qualified embryologists in every laboratory, regardless of the workload.
This work was funded by the Asociación para el Estudio de la Biología de la Reproducción (ASEBIR). None of the authors has any conflict of interest to declare.
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Consumption of diets high in fat and/or fructose content promotes tissue inflammation, oxidative stress, and insulin resistance, activating signals (e.g. NF-κB/JNK) that downregulate the insulin ...cascade. Current evidence supports the concept that select flavonoids can mitigate obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2D). This work investigated if supplementation with the anthocyanidins (AC) cyanidin and delphinidin could attenuate the adverse consequences of consuming a high fat diet (HFD) in mice. Consumption of an AC-rich blend mitigated HFD-induced obesity, dyslipidemia and insulin resistance (impaired responses to insulin and glucose). HFD-fed mice were characterized by increased liver lipid deposition and inflammation, which were also attenuated upon AC supplementation. HFD caused liver oxidative stress showing an increased expression of NADPH oxidases, generators of superoxide and H2O2, and high levels of oxidized lipid-protein adducts. This was associated with the activation of the redox sensitive signals IKK/NF-κB and JNK1/2, and increased expression of the NF-κB-regulated PTP1B phosphatase, all known inhibitors of the insulin pathway. In agreement with an improved insulin sensitivity, AC supplementation inhibited oxidative stress, NF-κB and JNK activation, and PTP1B overexpression. Thus, cyanidin and delphinidin consumption either through diet or by supplementation could be a positive strategy to control the adverse effects of Western style diets, including overweight, obesity, and T2D. Modulation of inflammation, oxidative stress, and NF-κB/JNK activation emerge as relevant targets of AC beneficial actions.
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•Anthocyanidins (AC) mitigate high fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity and insulin resistance in mice.•AC inhibits HFD-induced liver lipid deposition and inflammation.•AC inhibit HFD-induced liver NADPH oxidase upregulation and oxidative stress.•AC inhibit the activation of redox sensitive signals that cause insulin resistance.•AC could be beneficial against the adverse effects of Western style diets.
The aim of this work was to develop biodegradable protein-based films capable of sense pH changes. These protein films were prepared by casting from aqueous solutions of bovine gelatin, glycerol and ...three acid-base indicators: methyl orange (MO), neutral red (NR) and bromocresol green (BCG), at pH 2, 6 and 11. All resulting protein films were homogeneous, thin and had different colors depending on pH and the indicator used. The response of these materials was evaluated simulating their contact with liquid and semisolid media, and with a container headspace at acid and alkaline pH. In all tests, developed protein films could modify their color after being in contact with media of different pH. The physicochemical properties of films were also affected differently by the presence of each acid-base indicator. While the addition of BCG did not significantly modify the properties of control gelatin films, except its color; the incorporation of MO and NR into film-forming solutions significantly improved mechanical properties and decreased the water solubility and moisture content of the resulting protein films without affecting their water vapor permeability.
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•Smart gelatin films added with synthetic acid-base indicators were developed.•Films modified their color after being in contact with media at different pHs.•Films’ response was evaluated against gaseous, liquid and semisolid media.•Protein matrix didn’t interfere with the discoloration of the acid-base indicators.•Acid-base indicator’s presence affected the physicochemical properties of films.
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