Characterisation of polyphenols by HPLC-PAD-ESI/MS and antioxidant activity in Equisetum telmateia

The antioxidant activity of an aqueous extract (infusion) and respective ethyl acetate fraction of Equisetum telmateia Ehrh. (Equisetaceae), a plant used in traditional medicine for its anti-inflammatory and diuretic properties, has been evaluated by DPPH, TEAC and TBARS assays. A high and significant antioxidant activity was detected in the ethyl acetate fraction. Analysis of the aqueous extract and the ethyl acetate fraction by HPLC-PAD-ESI/MS allowed the identification of the major phenolic compounds as flavan-3-ol, kaempferol and phenolic acid derivatives. Among the flavan-3-ols, A-type proanthocyanidins and afzelechin derivatives were detected as well as the more common B-type procyanidins, B2 and C1, whose identification was further confirmed by HPLC using detection involving chemical reaction with p-dimethylamino-cinnamaldehyde. The results suggest that the anti-inflammatory activity of E. telmateia could be due, at least in part, to the presence of compounds with antioxidant activity. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Caffeic and dihydrocaffeic acids promote longevity and increase stress resistance in caenorhabditis elegans by modulating expression of stress-related genes

[EN] Caffeic and dihydrocaffeic acid are relevant microbial catabolites, being described as products from the degradation of different phenolic compounds i.e., hydroxycinnamoyl derivatives, anthocyanins or flavonols. Furthermore, caffeic acid is found both in free and esterified forms in many fruits and in high concentrations in coffee. These phenolic acids may be responsible for a part of the bioactivity associated with the intake of phenolic compounds. With the aim of progressing in the knowledge of the health effects and mechanisms of action of dietary phenolics, the model nematode Caenorhabditis elegans has been used to evaluate the influence of caffeic and dihydrocaffeic acids on lifespan and the oxidative stress resistance. The involvement of different genes and transcription factors related to longevity and stress resistance in the response to these phenolic acids has also been explored. Caffeic acid (CA, 200 M) and dihydrocaffeic acid (DHCA, 300 M) induced an increase in the survival rate of C. elegans under thermal stress. Both compounds also increased the mean and maximum lifespan of the nematode, compared to untreated worms. In general, treatment with these acids led to a reduction in intracellular ROS concentrations, although not always significant. Results of gene expression studies conducted by RT-qPCR showed that the favorable effects of CA and DHCA on oxidative stress and longevity involve the activation of several genes related to insulin/IGF-1 pathway, such as daf-16, daf-18, hsf-1 and sod-3, as well as a sirtuin gene (sir-2.1)[ES] Los ácidos cafeico y dihidrocaféico son catabolitos microbianos relevantes, que se describen como productos de la degradación de diferentes compuestos fenólicos, es decir, derivados hidroxicinámicos antocianinas o flavonoles. Además, el ácido cafeico se encuentra tanto en forma libre como esterificada en muchas frutas y en altas concentraciones en el café. Estos ácidos fenólicos pueden ser responsables de una parte de la bioactividad asociada a la ingesta de compuestos fenólicos. Con el objetivo de avanzar en el conocimiento de los efectos sobre la salud y los mecanismos de acción de los fenoles de la dieta, el nematodo modelo Caenorhabditis elegans se ha utilizado para evaluar la influencia de los ácidos cafeico y dihidrocaféico en la vida útil y la resistencia al estrés oxidativo. La participación de diferentes genes y factores de transcripción relacionados con la longevidad y la resistencia al estrés en la respuesta a estos ácidos fenólicos también han sido explorados. El ácido cafeico (CA, 200 M) y el ácido dihidrocaféico (DHCA, 300 M) indujeron un aumento en la tasa de supervivencia de C. elegans bajo estrés térmico. Ambos compuestos también aumentaron la vida media y vida media y máxima del nematodo, en comparación con los gusanos no tratados. En general, el tratamiento con estos ácidos condujo a una reducción de las concentraciones intracelulares de ROS, aunque no siempre significativa. Resultados de los estudios de expresión génica realizados por RT-qPCR mostraron que los efectos favorables de CA y DHCA sobre el estrés oxidativo y la longevidad implican la activación de varios genes relacionados con la vía insulina/IGF-1 como daf-16, daf-18, hsf-1 y sod-3, así como un gen de sirtuina (sir-2.1

Variables predictoras del rendimiento académico en el EEES:\ud estilos de pensamiento, metas académicas, nota media de entrada a la titulación y horas de estudio

El interés de este estudio se ha centrado en conocer el grado de adecuación de los estudiantes de primer curso\ud universitario a las necesidades de aprendizaje que plantea el nuevo marco del Espacio Europeo de Educación\ud Superior, en relación a los estilos de pensamiento, las metas académicas, la nota de entrada en la titulación y las\ud horas de estudio. Para ello, se ha trabajado con una muestra de 559 alumnos/as universitarios de primer curso de 11\ud titulaciones pertenecientes a la Universidad de Oviedo, con un total de 190 hombres (34 %) y 369 mujeres (66 %).\ud En esta investigación se han utilizado el Thinking Styles Questionnaire for Students (TSQS), el Cuestionario para\ud la Evaluación de Metas Académicas-II (CEMA-II) y un cuestionario de datos personales y académicos. Los\ud resultados de los análisis sugieren que los alumnos universitarios de primer año están orientados hacia metas de\ud aprendizaje. Además, prefieren estilos de pensamiento relacionados con la resolución de las tareas de forma\ud autónoma y creativa, independientemente de la titulación en la que estén matriculados

Immunometabolic Profile Associated with Progressive Damage of the Intestinal Mucosa in Adults Screened for Colorectal Cancer: Association with Diet

Environmental factors such as diet and lifestyle have been shown to influence the development of some intestinal mucosal lesions that may be precursors of colorectal cancer (CRC). The presence of these alterations seems to be associated with misbalanced immunological parameter levels. However, it is still unclear as to which immunological parameters are altered in each phase of CRC development. In this work, we aimed to study the potential relationships of immunological and metabolic parameters with diet in a CRC-related lesion context. Dietary information was obtained using an annual semi-quantitative food-frequency questionnaire (FFQ) from 93 volunteers classified via colonoscopy examination according to the presence of intestinal polyps or adenocarcinoma. Cytokines, chemokines, and adipokines were determined from serum samples. We observed a reduction in adiponectin according to the damage to the mucosa, accompanied by an increase and decrease in C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 10 (CXCL10) and resistin, respectively, in CRC cases. The presence of aberrant crypt foci (ACF) in the polyp group was associated with higher tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) concentrations. Vegetables were directly correlated with adiponectin and resistin levels, while the opposite occurred with red meat. A bioactive compound, soluble pectin, showed a negative association with TNF-α. Future dietary strategies could be developed to modulate specific immunological parameters in the context of CRC

Estimating Fuel Loads and Structural Characteristics of Shrub Communities by Using Terrestrial Laser Scanning

Forest fuel loads and structural characteristics strongly affect fire behavior, regulating the rate of spread, fireline intensity, and flame length. Accurate fuel characterization, including disaggregation of the fuel load by size classes, is therefore essential to obtain reliable predictions from fire behavior simulators and to support decision-making in fuel management and fire hazard prediction. A total of 55 sample plots of four of the main non-tree covered shrub communities in NW Spain were non-destructively sampled to estimate litter depth and shrub cover and height for species. Fuel loads were estimated from species-specific equations. Moreover, a single terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) scan was collected in each sample plot and features related to the vertical and horizontal distribution of the cloud points were calculated. Two alternative approaches for estimating size-disaggregated fuel loads and live/dead fractions from TLS data were compared: (i) a two-steps indirect estimation approach (IE) based on fitting three equations to estimate shrub height and cover and litter depth from TLS data and then use those estimates as inputs of the existing species-specific fuel load equations by size fractions based on these three variables; and (ii) a direct estimation approach (DE), consisting of fitting seven equations, one for each fuel fraction, to relate the fuel load estimates to TLS data. Overall, the direct approach produced more balanced goodness-of-fit statistics for the seven fractions considered jointly, suggesting that it performed better than the indirect approach, with equations explaining more than 80% of the observed variability for all species and fractions, except the litter loadsThis research was funded by the projects GEPRIF (RTA2014-00011-c06-04) and VIS4FIRE (RTA 2017-0042-C05-05) of the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry, and CompetitivenessS

El robo de la perla negra : argumento de la zarzuela melodramática en un acto y seis cuadros, escrita sobre el pensamiento de una obra extranjera por los señores Llansó y Cuesta, música de los maestros A. y C. Vives.

Estrenada en el Teatro de la Zarzuela la noche del 11 de Mayo de 1908

Estilos de pensamiento en universitarios y su relación con el Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior

Los estilos de pensamiento, tal como establece la Teoría del Autogobierno Mental de Sternberg (1999), representan la forma en que cada individuo prefiere procesar la información y tratar con las tareas, lo que relacionado con el ámbito académico y con las diferencias individuales entorno al rendimiento, puede suponer que los estudiantes obtengan mejores resultados ante determinados tipos de actividades y con unos sistemas de evaluación concretos. El presente trabajo se ha desarrollado con la intención de conocer, qué estilos de pensamiento son los más representativos en los estudiantes universitarios de primer curso, y además, reflexionar de manera teórica, acerca de aquellos que con el nuevo sistema de enseñanza-aprendizaje de la futura Educación Superior, se ajustarán más favorablemente a las exigencias del Espacio Europeo. Para ello se ha trabajado con una muestra de 559 alumnos/as de primer curso de la Universidad de Oviedo, con un total de 190 hombres (34 %) y 369 mujeres (66 %), que han respondido al Thinking Styles Questionnaire for Students (TSQS) de Sternberg y Wagner (1991).Thinking Styles, as Stenberg (1999) sets in his Mental Self-Government Theory, represent the way each individual prefers to process information and face the tasks. Referring to the academic area and individual differences in achievement it could mean that students reach a better performance on some specific tasks with a particular assessment method. This work has been developed to know what the most representative first-year students´ Thinking Styles are and which of them fits or fit better with the new teaching-learning process that the EHEA enacts. For this aim the present research works with a sample of 559 first-year students from the University of Oviedo, 190 men (34 %) and 369 women (66 %), who answered the Thinking Styles Questionnaire for Students (TSQS) (Sternberg & Wagner, 1991).peerReviewe

Is Organizing Knowledge Effective in Primary Education?

The acquisition of reading comprehension abilities and written expression is one of the key factors among learning processes in which students show many difficulties. For this reason, it is necessary to implement effective intervention strategies from early school years. The program EPI.com is aimed at improving lexical, semantic, and syntactic processes related to the reading process. This work aims to analyze the efficiency of EPI.com in years 1&2 of Primary Education. Participants in the research were 62 students (ages 6-8), who were assigned to an Experimental Group (EG; 38 students receiving the EPI.com intervention) and a Control Group (CG; 24 following traditional teaching and learning methods). The Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities and the Peabody test were applied before and after the intervention was carried out. Results showed that the strategy was effective in EG in improving the psycholinguistic aspects measured by the ITPA, with better results in the variables related to syntactic and lexical processing. Taking the results into account, it was concluded that EPI.com allows students to improve the abilities relating to reading skills. Also, the results highlight the need to incorporate interventions aimed at favoring maturation in some key aspects at early ages

Acute and Preventive Treatment of COVID-19-Related Headache: A Series of 100 Patients

To describe the need and effectiveness of acute and preventive medications in a series of 100 consecutive patients referred due to COVID-19-related headaches. Patients were aged 48.0 (standard deviation (SD): 12.4), 84% were female, and 56% had a prior history of headache. The most common headache phenotype was holocranial (63%), frontal (48%), pressing (75%), of moderate intensity (7 out of 10), and accompanied by photophobia (58%). Acute medication was required by 93%, with paracetamol (46%) being the most frequently used drug, followed by ibuprofen (44%). The drugs with the highest proportion of a 2 h pain-freedom response were dexketoprofen (58.8%), triptans (57.7%), and ibuprofen (54.3%). Preventive treatment was required by 75% of patients. The most frequently used drugs were amitriptyline (66%), anesthetic blockades (18%), and onabotulinumtoxinA (11%). The drugs with the highest 50% responder rate were amitriptyline (45.5%), mirtazapine (50%), and anesthetic blockades (38.9%). The highest 75% responder rate was experienced following onabotulinumtoxinA (18.2%). In conclusion, most patients required acute medication, with triptans and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs achieving the best responses. Three-quarters of patients required preventive medication. The most frequently used drug was amitriptyline, which obtained the best results. In some treatment-resistant patients, anesthetic blockades and onabotulinumtoxinA were also beneficial.Grant GRS 2284/A/2020 - Gerencia Regional de Salud Cy