Genetic Transformation of Quercus ilex Somatic Embryos with a Gnk2-like Protein That Reveals a Putative Anti-Oomycete Action

Holm oak is a key tree species in Mediterranean ecosystems, whose populations have been increasingly threatened by oak decline syndrome, a disease caused by the combined action of Phytophthora cinnamomi and abiotic stresses. The aim of the present study was to produce holm oak plants that overexpress the Ginkbilobin-2 homologous domain gene (Cast_Gnk2-like) that it is known to possess antifungal properties. Proembryogenic masses (PEMs) isolated from four embryogenic lines (Q8, E2, Q10-16 and E00) were used as target explants. PEMs were co-cultured for 5 days with Agrobacterium EHA105pGnk2 and then cultured on selective medium containing kanamycin (kan) and carbenicillin. After 14 weeks on selective medium, the transformation events were observed in somatic embryos of lines Q8 and E2 and a total of 4 transgenic lines were achieved. The presence of the Cast_Gnk2-like gene on transgenic embryos was verified by PCR, and the number of transgene copies and gene expression was estimated by qPCR. Transgenic plants were obtained from all transgenic lines after cold storage of the somatic embryos for 2 months and subsequent transfer to germination medium. In an in vitro tolerance assay with the pathogen P. cinnamomi, we observed that transgenic plants were able to survive longer than wild typeinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Grado de conocimiento, tratamiento y control de la hipertensión arterial, hipercolesterolemia y diabetes mellitus en la población general adulta

ObjetivosEstimar la prevalencia de los principales factores de riesgo cardiovascular (FRCV) tras la confirmación diagnóstica con el criterio clínico. Analizar el grado de su conocimiento y control, y evaluar la asociación de los FRCV entre sí, estimando qué población es susceptible de intervención.DiseñoEstudio observacional, descriptivo,transversal.EmplazamientoEstudio poblacional realizado en el Área de Salud número 20 de la Comunidad Valenciana (comarca de la Vega Baja del río Segura)PacientesPersonas con ≥ 20 años residentes en dicha área. Muestreo aleatorio polietápico proporcional con definición de cuotas muestrales según el tipo de residencia. Tamaño muestral: 2.550 personas (falta de respuesta en la primera fase en el 26%). Segunda fase del estudio: se realiza la confirmación clínica de los 374 casos detectados de hipertensión arterial (HTA), los 126 de hipercolesterolemia (HCOL) y los 33 de diabetes mellitus (DM).MedicionesSe realiza una entrevista a los pacientes detectados para las tomas de presión arterial a los hipertensos y para practicar la extracción sanguínea a hipercolesterolémicos y diabéticos. Se han utilizado los criterios diagnósticos preconizados por los últimos consensos.ResultadosParticipan 1.886 personas (78,1%). Prevalencias halladas: HTA total, 42 ± 2,2%; diagnosticada, 11,7 ± 1,4%; HCOL total, 26,6 ± 2%; DM total, 9,5 ± 1,3%; tabaquismo: 33,6 ± 2,1% y obesidad: 31,6 ± 2,1%. Grado de control: HTA, 8,6%; HCOL, 21,7%; DM, 56,1%. Asociación de FRCV: el 25,5% no presenta hipertensión, hipercolesterolemia ni fuma.ConclusionesElevada prevalencia FRCV en nuestra área frente a los resultados publicados de ámbito nacional. El tabaquismo resulta menos frecuente que en el resto del país. El grado de control es escaso y la asociación de los FRCV principales para cardiopatía isquémica reflejan que cerca del 75% de la población debe ser intervenida.ObjectivesTo calculate the prevalence of the main cardiovascular risk factors (CVRF) after diagnostic confirmation using clinical criteria. To analyse the degree of understanding and monitoring of these factors and to evaluate the association of CVRF with each other, so estimating who is susceptible to intervention.DesignCross-sectional, descriptive, observational study.SettingPopulation study conducted in Health Area 20 of the Community of Valencia (county of the Low Plain of the River Segura). Patients. People who had lived in this Area for ³20 years. Proportional, multi-stage randomised sampling with definition of sample quotas according to type of residence. Sample size: 2550 people (no reply in first stage: 26%). The second stage involved the clinical confirmation of those identified as suffering from hypertension (HT) (374), hypercholesterolaemia (HCOL) (126), and diabetes (DM) (33).MeasurementsPatients identified were interviewed for taking blood pressure in the case of those with HT, and blood samples in the case of those with HCOL and DM. The diagnostic criteria recommended by the latest consensus were used.Results1886 people (78.1%) took part. Prevalences found: total HT 42±2.2%, diagnosed: 11.7±1.4; total HCOL 26.6±2%; total DM 9.5±1.3%.Tobacco dependency was 33.6±2.1% and Obesity: 31.6±2.1%. Degree of control: HT, 8.6%; HCOL, 21.7%; DM, 56.1%. Association of CVR factors with each other: 25.5% had neither HT nor HCOL and did not smoke.ConclusionsHigh prevalence of CVRF in our area, compared with published national findings.Tobacco dependency is less common than at national level. The degree of control is very low and the association of the main CVRF factors for ischaemic cardiopathy reflect that nearly 75% of the population requires a preventive intervention

Citrate-Stabilized Gold Nanoparticles as High-Performance Electrocatalysts: The Role of Size in the Electroreduction of Oxygen

Fuel cells stand out as among the most promising alternatives for non-sustainable fossil fuel based economy. Efficient electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) are required for the mass application of fuel cells. Citrate-stabilized gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are proposed as potentialdependent electrocatalysts for the ORR. AuNPs were synthesized by a green, reproducible, and easy scale-up method. After exhaustive characterization, the electrocatalytic activity of the resulting AuNPs was investigated in alkaline media. Static and dynamic electrochemical studies showed a core-size dependent tendency both for their potentials and intensities. For the first time ever, the hysteresis effect in the ORR profile over Au nanoelectrocatalysts is reported herein. In addition, the electrocatalytic efficiency was comparable to those obtained for Au clusters, suggesting the benefits of the citrate stabilizing agent on the electrocatalyst performance of nanomaterials based on noble metals for ORR. These results pave the way for the design of non-coated AuNPs as strong candidates for ORR

Estrés parental y desarrollo infantil en niños prematuros

El presente trabajo trata de analizar si los niveles de estrés experimentados por los progenitores inciden sobre el desarrollo mental y motor de un grupo de niños nacidos demasiado pequeños o demasiado pronto. Participaron 19 niños y niñas nacidos, con menos de 36 semanas de gestación (media 29,84) y menos de 1500 gramos (media 1099,89), en el Hospital 12 de octubre de Madrid cuyos padres y madres consintieron participar en este trabajo. Los instrumentos utilizados fueron la Escala BSID-II para obtener los índices del desarrollo mental y psicomotor en los niños cuando alcanzaron la edad 2 años y la PSI de Abidin, para valorar el estrés total de los padres y madres participantes, así como su percepción de Malestar Paterno, Interacción Disfuncional y Niño Difícil. Los datos fueron sometidos a análisis de comparaciones de medias para muestras independientes. Los resultados indican que existen diferencias significativas entre los altos y los bajos niveles de estrés en cuanto a su incidencia en el desarrollo. En general, tanto en las madres como en los padres, cuando se obtiene una puntuación baja de estrés, existe un mejor desarrollo mental y psicomotor en los niños. Estos resultados se discuten a la luz de las investigaciones sobre el tema y se analizan las implicaciones para la elaboración de programas de atención temprana.The current document analyze if the parent’s stress levels influence the mental and motor development of a children’s group being born too young or too small. The participants were 19 preterm children born at the “Hospital 12 de Octubre” of Madrid with less than 36 gestation weeks (mean 29,84) and 1500 grammes (mean 1099,89), whose parents were agree to take part in this study. The employed instruments were the Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID-II) to obtain the mental and psychomotor index scores of the toddlers at 2 years old; and the Parenting Stress Index Short Form (PSI) of Abidin. to assess the Total Stress of the parents, and their perception of Parental Distress, Dysfunctional Parent-Child Interactions and Difficult Child also. The obtained data were analyzed comparing the means of two independent samples. The results show that there are significant differences in the children’s development depending of the high or low parental stress levels. In general terms, when parents have low levels of stress, a better mental and psychomotor development is observed in their children. These results are discussed in the light of other researches about the issue, being considered as well, their implications for the implementation of early intervention programs.peerReviewe

Tailoring the ORR and HER electrocatalytic performances of gold nanoparticles through metal–ligand interfaces

The oxygen reduction (ORR) and hydrogen evolution (HER) reactions are the most important cathodic processes involved in fuel cell and water splitting technologies, respectively. The development of bifunctional electrocatalyst materials plays a key role in the rapid advancement of these hydrogen-based renewable energy strategies. This work proposes citrate-stabilized gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) as a bifunctional electrocatalyst for ORR and HER. The capping ligand has a great influence on their resulting electrocatalytic performance. A simple ligand exchange method based on concentration gradients has been optimized. The surface structure of the different ligand-stabilized AuNPs was inferred by lead underpotential deposition (Pb-UPD). Static and dynamic electrochemical studies for both ORR and HER have been performed using different ligand-stabilized AuNPs as electrocatalysts, demonstrating that the citrate ligand confers the best performance. This work suggests that non-doped chemically synthesized AuNPs may be suitable as a bifunctional electrocatalyst in fuel cells and hydrogen production

Presencia e influencia de sintomatología sugestiva de trastorno por déficit de atención e hiperactividad en adultos con un trastorno de la conducta alimentaria

Fundamento. La coexistencia de trastornos de la conducta alimentaria (TCA) y del trastorno por déficit de atención e hiperactividad (TDAH) es frecuente. El objetivo del estudio fue cuantificar la presencia de sintomatología TDAH en pacientes adultos con TCA y evaluar posibles correlaciones entre ambas sintomatologías. Material y métodos. Estudio transversal en pacientes con TCA. Se cumplimentaron los cuestionarios Eating Attitudes Test de 40 ítems (EAT-40), Eating Disorder Inventory 3ª edición (EDI-3) y la versión abreviada del Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS v1.1). Aquellos pacientes con ≥12 puntos en ASRS v1.1 completaron el cuestionario Attention Déficit Hyperactivity Disorder Rating Scale 4ª edición (ADHD-RS IV). Resultados. El 42,6% de los 108 pacientes incluidos puntuaron ≥12 en el ASRS v1.1. Estos sujetos puntuaron más en bulimia y en algunas escalas de desajuste psicológico del EDI-3, y aquellos con conductas de atracón y/o purga puntuaron más en Trastornos psicobiológicos del EAT-40 y en Insatisfacción corporal y Riesgo de TCA del EDI-3. No hubo diferencias en ADHD-RS IV según fueran cuadros restrictivos puros (n=13) o compulsivo-purgativos (n=33). La sintomatología TDAH correlacionó más con la clínica alimentaria y con el desajuste psicológico general en los casos compulsivo-purgativos. Conclusiones. En población clínica con TCA son frecuentes los síntomas sugestivos de TDAH, más en cuadros con clínica compulsivo-purgativa pero no necesariamente más intensos. La correlación entre TDAH y TCA es mayor en cuadros compulsivo-purgativos. Los síntomas de TDAH conllevan mayor desajuste psicológico y mayor gravedad a nivel alimentario en los cuadros con sintomatología compulsivo-purgativa.Background. The coexistence of eating disorders (ED) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is common. The aim of the study was to quantify the presence of ADHD symptoms in adult patients with ED and evaluate any possible correlation between both symptomatologies. Methods. Cross-sectional study of patients with ED. The following questionnaires were completed: the Eating Attitudes Test - 40 items (EAT-40), the Eating Disorder Inventory 3rd edition (EDI-3) and the abbreviated version of the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS v1.1). The patients who scored ≥12 points in ASRS v1.1 completed the Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Rating Scale (4th edition, ADHD-RS IV). Results. 42.6% of the 108 patients scored ≥12 in the ASRS v1.1. These subjects scored higher in bulimia and in some scales of psychological maladjustment of the EDI-3, and those with binging and/or purging behaviours scored higher in Psychobiological disorders of the EAT-40 and in Body dissatisfaction and Eating disorder risk composite scales of the EDI-3. There were no differences in ADHD-RS IV between pure restrictive syndromes (n=13) and those with binging and/or purging behaviours (n=33). We found that, in cases with binge/purge symptoms, ADHD symptoms correlated higher with ED symptoms and with general psychological maladjustment. Conclusion. ADHD symptoms are common in the clinical population with ED, and more in groups with binge/purge symptoms although they are not necessarily more intense. The correlation between ADHD symptoms and ED is higher in cases with binging and/ or purging behaviours. ADHD symptoms involve more psychological maladjustment and more serious ED symptomatology in cases with binge/purge symptoms

Unravelling the 2D self-assembly of Fmoc-dipeptides at fluid interfaces

Dipeptides self-assemble into supramolecular structures showing plenty of applications in the nanotechnology and biomedical fields. A set of Fmoc-dipeptides with different aminoacid sequences has been synthesized and their self-assembly at fluid interfaces has been assessed. The relevant molecular parameters for achieving an efficient 2D self-assembly process have been established. The selfassembled nanostructures of Fmoc-dipeptides displayed significant chirality and retained the chemical functionality of the aminoacids. The impact of the sequence on the final supramolecular structure has been evaluated in detail using in situ characterization techniques at air/water interfaces. This study provides a general route for the 2D self-assembly of Fmoc-dipeptides

Mimicking the bioelectrocatalytic function of recombinant CotA laccase through electrostatically self-assembled bioconjugates

Unprecedented 3D nanobiosystems composed of recombinant CotA laccases and citrate-stabilised gold nanoparticles have been successfully achieved by an electrostatic self-assembly strategy. The bioelectrochemical reduction of O2 driven by CotA laccase at the spore coat was mimicked. Consequently key insights into its bioelectrocatalytic function were unravelled

Estrés parental y desarrollo infantil en niños prematuros

El presente trabajo trata de analizar si los niveles de estrés experimentados por los progenitores inciden sobre el desarrollo mental y motor de un grupo de niños nacidos demasiado pequeños o demasiado pronto. Participaron 19 niños y niñas nacidos, con menos de 36 semanas de gestación (media 29,84) y menos de 1500 gramos (media 1099,89), en el Hospital 12 de octubre de Madrid cuyos padres y madres consintieron participar en este trabajo. Los instrumentos utilizados fueron la Escala BSID-II para obtener los índices del desarrollo mental y psicomotor en los niños cuando alcanzaron la edad 2 años y la PSI de Abidin, para valorar el estrés total de los padres y madres participantes, así como su percepción de Malestar Paterno, Interacción Disfuncional y Niño Difícil. Los datos fueron sometidos a análisis de comparaciones de medias para muestras independientes. Los resultados indican que existen diferencias significativas entre los altos y los bajos niveles de estrés en cuanto a su incidencia en el desarrollo. En general, tanto en las madres como en los padres, cuando se obtiene una puntuación baja de estrés, existe un mejor desarrollo mental y psicomotor en los niños. Estos resultados se discuten a la luz de las investigaciones sobre el tema y se analizan las implicaciones para la elaboración de programas de atención temprana.The current document analyze if the parent’s stress levels influence the mental and motor development of a children’s group being born too young or too small. The participants were 19 preterm children born at the “Hospital 12 de Octubre” of Madrid with less than 36 gestation weeks (mean 29,84) and 1500 grammes (mean 1099,89), whose parents were agree to take part in this study. The employed instruments were the Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID-II) to obtain the mental and psychomotor index scores of the toddlers at 2 years old; and the Parenting Stress Index Short Form (PSI) of Abidin. to assess the Total Stress of the parents, and their perception of Parental Distress, Dysfunctional Parent-Child Interactions and Difficult Child also. The obtained data were analyzed comparing the means of two independent samples. The results show that there are significant differences in the children’s development depending of the high or low parental stress levels. In general terms, when parents have low levels of stress, a better mental and psychomotor development is observed in their children. These results are discussed in the light of other researches about the issue, being considered as well, their implications for the implementation of early intervention programs.peerReviewe

A randomised phase 2 study comparing different dose approaches of induction treatment of regorafenib in previously treated metastatic colorectal cancer patients (REARRANGE trial)

Altres ajuts: Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc.Purpose: The purpose of this article is to evaluate the safety of two regorafenib dose-escalation approaches in refractory metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients. Patients and methods: Patients with mCRC and progression during or within 3 months following their last standard chemotherapy regimen were randomised to receive the approved dose of regorafenib of 160 mg QD (arm A) or 120 mg QD (arm B) administered as 3 weeks of treatment followed by 1 week off, or 160 mg QD 1 week on/1 week off (arm C). The primary end-point was the percentage of patients with G3/G4 treatment-related adverse events (AEs) in each arm. Results: There were 299 patients randomly assigned to arm A (n = 101), arm B (n = 99), or arm C (n = 99); 297 initiated treatments (arm A n = 100, arm B n = 98, arm C n = 99: population for safety analyses). G3/4 treatment-related AEs occurred in 60%, 55%, and 54% of patients in arms A, B, and C, respectively. The most common G3/4 AEs were hypertension (19, 12, and 20 patients), fatigue (20, 14, and 15 patients), hypokalemia (11, 7, and 10 patients), and hand-foot skin reaction (8, 7, and 3 patients). Median overall survival was 7.4 (IQR 4.0-13.7) months in arm A, 8.6 (IQR 3.8-13.4) in arm B, and 7.1 (IQR 4.4-12.4) in arm C. Conclusions: The alternative regorafenib dosing schedules were feasible and safe in patients with mCRC who had been previously treated with standard therapy. There was a higher numerical improvement on the most clinically relevant AEs in the intermittent dosing arm, particularly during the relevant first two cycles. Clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT02835924