Evolució bioquímica (aigua, greix, insaponificable i àcid clorogènic) durant la maduració de la garrofa ("Ceratonia siliqua")

Ha estat estudiada l'evolució bioquímica de la matèria seca, greix, àcids grassos, esterols i àcid clorogènic en la garrofa (beina i llavor), des de l'aparició del fruit fins a la recol•lecció. L'evolució mostra una disminució de la matèria seca en el verol i un increment en la maduració. Hom estudia l'evolució de la fracció greixosa i específicament dels àcids làuric, mirístic, palmític, esteàric, oleic, linoleic i linolènic. En l'insaponificable, no es detecta colesterol ni brassicasterol, i s'hi valora camposterol, estigmasterol, β-sitosterol, α-5-avenasterol, α-7-esigmasterol i α-7-avenasterol. L'àcid clorogènic va disminuint a mesura que va madurant el fruit.The evolution of dry matter, fat content (with fatty acids composition), sterols and chlorogenic acid in carobs beans (pods and seeds) during the growing and maduration have been evaluated. The dry matter is lowest at the start of the ripening and increase with it. The evolution of fat content and specifically, lauric, myristic, palmitic, estearic, oleic, linoleic and linoleic is described. In the insaponificable, cholesterol, brassicasterol were not detected. Were found camposterol, stigmasterol, , β-sitosterol, α-5-avenasterol, α-7-stigmasterol and α-7-avenasterol. The chlorogenic acid is decreasing from the start just the final point of the maduration.Se ha estudiado la evolución bioquímica de la materia seca, grasa, ácidos grasos, esteroles i ácido clorogénico en la algarroba (vaina y semilla), desde la aparición del fruto hasta su recogida. La evolución muestra una disminución de la materia seca en el envero de la fracción grasa y específicamente de los ácidos láurico, mirístico, palmítico, esterárico, oleico, linoleico y linolénico. En el insaponificable, no se detecta colesterol ni brassicasterol, y se valoran camposterol, estigmasterol, (β-sitosterol, α-5-avenasterol, α-7-estigmasterol y α-7 avenasterol. El ácido clorogénico va despareciendo a medida que madura el fruto

Brain functional abnormality in schizo-affective disorder: an fMRI study.

Background.Schizo-affective disorder has not been studied to any significant extent using functional imaging. The aim of this study was to examine patterns of brain activation and deactivation in patients meeting strict diagnostic criteria for the disorder. METHOD: Thirty-two patients meeting research diagnostic criteria (RDC) for schizo-affective disorder (16 schizomanic and 16 schizodepressive) and 32 matched healthy controls underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during performance of the n-back task. Linear models were used to obtain maps of activations and deactivations in the groups. RESULTS: Controls showed activation in a network of frontal and other areas and also deactivation in the medial frontal cortex, the precuneus and the parietal cortex. Schizo-affective patients activated significantly less in prefrontal, parietal and temporal regions than the controls, and also showed failure of deactivation in the medial frontal cortex. When task performance was controlled for, the reduced activation in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and the failure of deactivation of the medial frontal cortex remained significant. CONCLUSIONS: Schizo-affective disorder shows a similar pattern of reduced frontal activation to schizophrenia. The disorder is also characterized by failure of deactivation suggestive of default mode network dysfunction

Immunologic Insights on the Membrane Proximal External Region: A Major Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type-1 Vaccine Target

Broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) targeting conserved regions within the human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) envelope glycoprotein (Env) can be generated by the human immune system and their elicitation by vaccination will be a key point to protect against the wide range of viral diversity. The membrane proximal external region (MPER) is a highly conserved region within the Env gp41 subunit, plays a major role in membrane fusion and is targeted by naturally induced bNAbs. Therefore, the MPER is considered as an attractive vaccine target. However, despite many attempts to design MPER-based immunogens, further study is still needed to understand its structural complexity, its amphiphilic feature, and its limited accessibility by steric hindrance. These particular features compromise the development of MPER-specific neutralizing responses during natural infection and limit the number of bNAbs isolated against this region, as compared with other HIV-1 vulnerability sites, and represent additional hurdles for immunogen development. Nevertheless, the analysis of MPER humoral responses elicited during natural infection as well as the MPER bNAbs isolated to date highlight that the human immune system is capable of generating MPER protective antibodies. Here, we discuss the recent advances describing the immunologic and biochemical features that make the MPER a unique HIV-1 vulnerability site, the different strategies to generate MPER-neutralizing antibodies in immunization protocols and point the importance of extending our knowledge toward new MPER epitopes by the isolation of novel monoclonal antibodies. This will be crucial for the redesign of immunogens able to skip non-neutralizing MPER determinants

Circumcision and penile human papillomavirus prevalence in human immunodeficiency virus-infected men: heterosexual and men who have sex with men

AbstractMale circumcision is associated with a lower risk of penile human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) uninfected men. Few studies have evaluated the role of male circumcision in penile HPV infection in HIV-infected men. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to examine the association between male circumcision and the prevalence of penile HPV infection among HIV-infected men—both men who have sex with men (MSM) and heterosexual men. Samples from 706 consecutive men included in the CARH-MEN cohort (overall 24% circumcised: 26% of MSM, 18% of heterosexual men) were examined by Multiplex-PCR. In the overall group (all HIV-infected men included), the prevalence of any penile HPV infection was 22% in circumcised men and 27% in uncircumcised men (OR = 1.0, 95% CI 0.6–1.6, adjusted analysis). In the circumcised group the overall prevalence of HPV infection was 22% in MSM and 24% in the heterosexual men, whereas in the uncircumcised group the prevalence was 26% and 28%, respectively. The prevalence of high-risk HPV types tended to be lower in the circumcised MSM (14% vs 21%, OR = 0.6, 95% CI 0.3–1.1, p 0.088), but it was similar in the heterosexual men (18% in circumcised vs 20% in uncircumcised). These results suggest that male circumcision may be associated with a lower prevalence of oncogenic high-risk penile HPV infection in HIV-infected MSM

Aging-associated symptoms in the physician-patient dialogue in a group of long-term diagnosed HIV-infected individuals

Background: The significant decrease in mortality has resulted in a large number of individuals aged over 50 living with HIV infection. Additionally, the coexistence of certain pathologies suggests premature aging. In this scenario, the presence of aging-associated symptoms in the physician-patient dialogue is yet to be explored. Methods: Cross-sectional observational study to evaluate the presence of aging-associated symptoms in the physician-patient dialogue and to explore the possible differences between genders in a sample of 100 HIV-1 infected subjects diagnosed at least 15 years ago. The survey assessed questions/comments made by the patient, questions/comments made by the physician and patients’ interest in obtaining more information than was provided. Number of patients and percentages were given and compared using the w2 or Fisher exact test (as appropriate). Results: Participants were 60 men and 40 women, diagnosed with HIV infection a median (IQ) of 18 (15.7–21) years ago, who had a nadir CD4 and CD4 cell count at the study entry of 172 (95–272) and 543 (403–677), respectively. Eighty percent of the subjects had VL <25 copies and 42% were HCV/HIV co-infected (31 subjects with low fibrosis stage). The infection route had been mainly intravenous drug use (37%) and MSM (32%). Men and women had similar demographic and clinical characteristics. Sixty-two percent of the participants acknowledged asking their physicians about aging-associated symptoms (58% men vs 66% women; p=0.50), 48% reported that their physicians had provided information without having been asked (48% men vs 55% women; p=0.51) and 75% confirmed that they would like to have more information about aging-associated symptoms (22% men vs 80% women; p<0.001). Conclusions: Around half of the men and women interviewed had discussed aging-associated symptoms with their physician. However, this seemed insufficient for four-fifths of the women, who would have liked to have obtained more information about aging

Hidden costs of antiretroviral treatment: the public health efficiency of drug packaging

While the overall percentage of unused antiretroviral medicines returned to the hospital pharmacy is low, their cost is quite high. Adverse events, treatment failure, pharmacokinetic interactions, pregnancy, or treatment simplification are common reasons for unplanned treatment changes. Socially inefficient antiretroviral packages prevent the reuse of drugs returned to the hospital pharmacy. We defined antiretroviral package categories based on the excellence of drug packaging and analyzed the number of pills and costs of drugs returned during a period of 1 year in a hospital-based HIV unit attending to 2,413 treated individuals. A total of 6,090 pills (34% of all returned antiretrovirals) - with a cost of 47,139.91 € - would be totally lost, mainly due to being packed up in the lowest efficiency packages. Newer treatments are packaged in low-excellence categories of packages, thus favoring the maintenance of these hidden costs in the near future. Therefore, costs of this low-efficiency drug packaging, where medication packages are started but not completed, in high-cost medications are substantial and should be properly addressed. Any improvement in the packaging by the manufacturer, and favoring the choice of drugs supplied through efficient packages (when efficacy, toxicity, and convenience are similar), should minimize the treatment expenditures paid by national health budgets