Are martial arts and combat sports a school for life? Relationships between sport attitudes and quality of life (intermediate results)

[EN] Quality of Life (QoL) is an indicator of health status and represents a multidimensional..

Karate in children with neurodevelopmental disorders: an exploratory study

[ES] The Neurodevelopment Disorders (ND) are a heterogeneous group of diseases that are based on neurological or sensory permanent abnormalities

Endothelial dysfunction in hypertension: pathophysiological mechanism or marker of cardiovascular risk?

Introduction Vascular endothelial production of nitric oxide (NO) plays an important role in the modulation of vessel tone and structure, protecting the vascular wall from atherosclerosis. In pathological conditions, however, the endothelium also produces pro-atherogenic substances (mainly reactive oxygen species), which inactivate NO. The Endothelial dysfunction, induced by reduced NO availability, is known to contribute to the development and progression of vascular damage. For this reason, endothelial function has been a major focus of cardiovascular research in the last few decades. Because NO has a very short half-life and its in vivo measurement is difficult, many researchers prefer to measure its biological activity, particularly the NO-dependent vasodilation, at the level of the coronary and peripheral circulation by endothelial stimuli. The most widely used technique involves measurement of brachial artery flow-mediated dilation. This test allows non-invasive evaluation of endothelium-dependent vasodilation in the peripheral macrocirculation induced by a mechanical stimulus (increase in shear stress caused by 5 minutes of forearm ischemia). The vasodilatatory response is reduced in the presence of major cardiovascular risk factors, particularly essential hypertension. Conclusions Studies conducted mainly in high-risk patients have demonstrated that endothelial dysfunction within the coronary or peripheral circulation is predictive of cardiovascular events (independently of classical risk factors). Drug therapy can improve endothelial function by increasing the availability of NO (a possible adjunctive benefit in terms of preventing vascular damage and improving the prognosis). Future studies will establish whether the evaluation of endothelial function by non-invasive, standardized, reproducible, low-cost techniques is an important test for cardiovascular risk stratification in clinical practice

Golgi localisation of GMAP210 requires two distinct cis-membrane binding mechanisms

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The Golgi apparatus in mammals appears as a ribbon made up of interconnected stacks of flattened cisternae that is positioned close to the centrosome in a microtubule-dependent manner. How this organisation is achieved and retained is not well understood. GMAP210 is a long coiled-coil cis-Golgi associated protein that plays a role in maintaining Golgi ribbon integrity and position and contributes to the formation of the primary cilium. An amphipathic alpha-helix able to bind liposomes <it>in vitro </it>has been recently identified at the first 38 amino acids of the protein (amphipathic lipid-packing sensor motif), and an ARF1-binding domain (Grip-related Arf-binding domain) was found at the C-terminus. To which type of membranes these two GMAP210 regions bind <it>in vivo </it>and how this contributes to GMAP210 localisation and function remains to be investigated.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>By using truncated as well as chimeric mutants and videomicroscopy we found that both the N-terminus and the C-terminus of GMAP210 are targeted to the cis-Golgi <it>in vivo</it>. The ALPS motif was identified as the N-terminal binding motif and appeared concentrated in the periphery of Golgi elements and between Golgi stacks. On the contrary, the C-terminal domain appeared uniformly distributed in the cis-cisternae of the Golgi apparatus. Strikingly, the two ends of the protein also behave differently in response to the drug Brefeldin A. The N-terminal domain redistributed to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) exit sites, as does the full-length protein, whereas the C-terminal domain rapidly dissociated from the Golgi apparatus to the cytosol. Mutants comprising the full-length protein but lacking one of the terminal motifs also associated with the cis-Golgi with distribution patterns similar to those of the corresponding terminal end whereas a mutant consisting in fused N- and C-terminal ends exhibits identical localisation as the endogenous protein.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We conclude that the Golgi localisation of GMAP210 is the result of the combined action of the two N- and C-terminal domains that recognise different sub-regions of the cis-GA. Based on present and previous data, we propose a model in which GMAP210 would participate in homotypic fusion of cis-cisternae by anchoring the surface of cisternae via its C-terminus and projecting its distal N-terminus to bind the rims or to stabilise tubular structures connecting neighbouring cis-cisternae.</p

Antibodies Against M-Type Phospholipase A2 Receptor (PLA2R) in Patients with Primary Membranous Nephropathy and Lupus Nephritis Class V: A Review

Membranous nephropathy (MN) is a very common disease of male adults with nephrotic syndrome. The disease can be primary, when the cause is not known, or secondary associated with infections, drugs, neoplasias and autoimmune systemic diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The primary form accounts for 70–80% of the cases. SLE is a common cause of secondary MN affecting young women. The differential diagnosis from primary and lupus MN by clinical and morphological findings can be difficult. The search for autoantibodies against podocyte antigen M-type phospholipase A2 receptor (PLA2R) has demonstrated high positivity in the serum and renal biopsies in the primary MN and negativity in lupus MN (WHO class V). There is a large literature on the role of anti-PLA2R antibody in the diagnosis and follow-up of patients with membranous nephropathy. The aim of this review is to summarize the literature data on the etiopathogenesis of MN and the value of anti-PLA2R antibody screening for the diagnosis and management of patients

Study of different pretreatments on Spirulina platensis biomass for bioethanol production

Aquatic biomass presents a large variety of compounds that can be used for the production of third generation (3G) biofuels, mainly carbohydrates, lipids, proteins and co-products, which can be obtained and used in the production of biofuels such as bioethanol from rich carbohydrate biomass [1]. Nowadays Spirulina platensis biomass can be considered as an alternative since it has a great capacity to produce carbohydrates [2]. This work presents a study of 3G biorefinery process from Spirulina platensis biomass; diverse types of hydrothermal pretreatments (autoclave 121 °C 20 min; freezing/thawing -4 °C and gelatinization 100 °C 10 min; gelatinization 100 °C 20 min; microwave 121 °C 20 min; ultrasound bath 20 min) and their effects on enzymatic hydrolysis with -amylase and amyloglucosidase in order to obtain fermentable sugars were evaluated. Moreover, two fermentation strategies were evaluated; simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) and pre-saccharification and fermentation (PSF), the conditions used for the fermentation were pH 4.5, 35 ° C, 150 rpm and Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast was employed, all strategies were used as alternatives in 3G bioethanol process. Results showed that the pretreatment with autoclave (121 ° C 20 min 5% solids) was better for the cellular breakdown and accessibility of enzymes to cellular matrix in the enzymatic hydrolysis. The treatment of pre-saccharification and fermentation (PSF) with 5 % solids pretreated with autoclave at 121 ° C for 20 min and pre-hydrolyzed with -amylase and amyloglucosidase after fermentation obtained a maximum yield of conversion of glucose to bioethanol of 79.34 %. Simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) was the best strategy for the obtention of bioethanol from pretreatment biomass of Spirulina platensis with a yield of 81.12 %. These results are good since there are no previously reported studies of the use of SSF for bioethanol from microalgae biomass production.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Chemistry of volcanic soils used for agriculture in Brava Island (Cape Verde) envisaging a sustainable management

In order to acquire a better knowledge of iron forms, clay minerals and the content and distribution of trace elements in soils mostly used for agriculture in the semi-arid Brava Island (Cape Verde), iron speciation, mineralogy and chemical contents in the clay-size fraction (<2 μm) of incipient soils developed on sediments and phonolitic pyroclasts was performed by Mössbauer spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and neutron activation analysis. In contrast with the whole samples in the clay-size fraction of all the studied soils only Fe(III) was detected. Iron and chromium are depleted suggesting their occurrence as ferromagnesian and oxide minerals present in coarser particles. Rare earth elements are concentrated in the clay-size fraction, and significant differences are found in their distribution which may be partially due to oxidation, since Ce anomalies were observed. Among the other chemical elements studied, high concentrations of arsenic, bromine, and particularly antimony were found in the clay-size fraction of soils where all the Fe oxides are nano-sized, confirming the predominant adsorption of these elements on the nano-particles surface. The existence of significant amounts of these elements as well as of vitreous phases in fine particles of these soils may contribute to their mobility and accumulation in groundwater and in plants, both by absorption and by dust deposition onto the plant leaves.publishe