Oxidative stress in asthmatic and non-asthmatic adolescent swimmers - a breathomics approach

We hypothesize that oxidative stress induced by trichloramine exposure during swimming could be related to etiopathogenesis of asthma among elite swimmers. Aim: To investigate the effect of a swimming training session on oxidative stress markers of asthmatic compared to non‐asthmatic elite swimmers using exhaled breath (EB) metabolomics. Methods: Elite swimmers annually screened in our department (n=27) were invited and those who agreed to participate (n=20, of which 9 with asthma) had EB collected (Tedlar® bags) before and after a swimming training session. SPME fiber (DVB/CAR/PDMS) was used to extract EB metabolites followed by a multidimensional gas chromatography analysis (GC×GC‐ToFMS). Dataset comprises eight metabolites end products of lipid peroxidation: five aliphatic alkanes (nonane, 2,2,4,6,6‐pentamethylheptane, decane, dodecane, and tetradecane) and three aldehydes (nonanal, decanal, and dodecanal). To assess exercise impact on lipid peroxidation markers, data were analyzed using principle component analysis (PCA), which was run on the original data set and on the data set constructed using differences in the metabolite total areas before and after exercise session. Results: Heatmap representation revealed that metabolites content decreased after exercise, both for control and asthma groups; however, the greater decrease was observed for controls. Asthmatics and controls did not form separated clusters; however, control swimmers demonstrated a more varied response to the exercise being dispersed along all score plot. Conclusion: In well‐trained athletes, swimming is associated with a decrease in oxidative stress markers independently of the presence of asthma, although a more pronounced decrease was seen in controls.European Regional Development Fund FEDER through the Competitive Factors Thematic Operational Programme (COMPETE) and FCT, Portugal, under projects PEST-C/QUI/UI0062/2013 (Research Unit 62/94 QOPNA) and PTDC/QUI-QUI/117803/2010

Combined impact of diurnal type and time of day on children’s results in a battery of measurements probing reading abilities: Preliminary Results

The present work is part of a larger ongoing research project and it specifically aims to scrutinize whether diurnal-type (morningness- eveningness) and time-of-day have an impact (synchrony effect) on the results obtained by primary school children in standardized measures assessing reading skills and difficulties. Morning- and evening-type children attending the 2nd, 3rd or 4th grades were selected in a Portuguese “School Cluster” Using the Portuguese version of the Werner et al. (2009) Children Chronotype Questionnaire. The selected participants were randomly assigned to assessment sessions in the morning (9:00-10:30) or in the afternoon (16:00-17:30). There were 78 children (40 boys, 38 girls), 39 (50.0%) morning-type and 38 (50.0%) evening-type, 40 assessed in morning sessions and 38 in afternoon sessions. Reading abilities/difficulties were assessed using the Sucena & Castro (2011) battery ALEPE ‐ Avaliação da Leitura em Português Europeu [European Portuguese Reading Assessment battery], by a single evaluator who was blind to each child diurnaltype. Comparing morning and afternoon sessions, morning-types mainly showed similar scores, both in terms of answer correctness and reaction times, excepting for significantly higher scores in three tests in the morning sessions. Evening-types showed similar scores in most tests for answer correctness, but in two tests they achieved significantly higher scores in the morning, and mean reaction times were consistently shorter in the morning in comparison to the afternoon sessions. In 5 out of the 7 ALEPE tests that yield reaction time scores, differences reached, or were close to, statistical significance (p < 0.05, or p < 0.15, respectively). In conclusion, in spite of evening types’ performance seeming in most cases to be unaffected by time-of-day in a standardized battery of tests assessing reading abilities and difficulties, their shorter reaction times when tested in their nonoptimal time-of-day (i.e., in the morning) indicates an asynchrony effect. Contrarily to our initial expectations, results obtained so far in evening-type children suggest that specific tasks may benefit from non-optimal moments, as indicated by recent evidence. Support: FCT/COMPETE/QREN – research project PTDC/PSIEDD/120003/2010

Scalable manufacturing of gene-modified human mesenchymal stromal cells with microcarriers in spinner flasks

Due to their immunomodulatory properties and in vitro differentiation ability, human mesenchymal stromal cells (hMSCs) have been investigated in more than 1000 clinical trials over the last decade. Multiple studies that have explored the development of gene-modified hMSC-based products are now reaching early stages of clinical trial programmes. From an engineering perspective, the challenge lies in developing manufacturing methods capable of producing sufficient doses of ex vivo gene-modified hMSCs for clinical applications. This work demonstrates, for the first time, a scalable manufacturing process using a microcarrier-bioreactor system for the expansion of gene-modified hMSCs. Upon isolation, umbilical cord tissue mesenchymal stromal cells (UCT-hMSCs) were transduced using a lentiviral vector (LV) with green fluorescent protein (GFP) or vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) transgenes. The cells were then seeded in 100 mL spinner flasks using Spherecol microcarriers and expanded for seven days. After six days in culture, both non-transduced and transduced cell populations attained comparable maximum cell concentrations (≈1.8 × 105 cell/mL). Analysis of the culture supernatant identified that glucose was fully depleted after day five across the cell populations. Lactate concentrations observed throughout the culture reached a maximum of 7.5 mM on day seven. Immunophenotype analysis revealed that the transduction followed by an expansion step was not responsible for the downregulation of the cell surface receptors used to identify hMSCs. The levels of CD73, CD90, and CD105 expressing cells were above 90% for the non-transduced and transduced cells. In addition, the expression of negative markers (CD11b, CD19, CD34, CD45, and HLA-DR) was also shown to be below 5%, which is aligned with the criteria established for hMSCs by the International Society for Cell and Gene Therapy (ISCT). This work provides a foundation for the scalable manufacturing of gene-modified hMSCs which will overcome a significant translational and commercial bottleneck. KEY POINTS: • hMSCs were successfully transduced by lentiviral vectors carrying two different transgenes: GFP and VEGF • Transduced hMSCs were successfully expanded on microcarriers using spinner flasks during a period of 7 days • The genetic modification step did not cause any detrimental impact on the hMSC immunophenotype characteristics

CODAP: um Consenso Multidisciplinar sobre a Definição, Diagnóstico e Tratamento da Dislipidemia Aterogénica em Portugal

Introduction and aims: Atherogenic dyslipidemia is an important contributor to residual cardiovascular (CV) risk, but it is underdiagnosed and undertreated. This study aimed to assess the opinion of Portuguese experts to generate a consensus concerning the diagnosis and treatment of atherogenic dyslipidemia, as well as to contribute toward standardization of clinical practice in this disorder. Methods: The study consisted in the application of a questionnaire to an expert panel, following a modified Delphi methodology. Results: The majority (88.4%) of the proposed items were found to be consensual. The expert panel recognized the importance of the atherogenic dyslipidemia phenotype, the role played by low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol as risk markers and therapeutic targets, the choice of statins as first-line lipid-lowering drugs, and the value of associating statins with fenofibrate as a means to reduce residual CV risk. However, the role played by triglycerides in CV risk and the therapeutic value of fibrates lacked consensus. Taking into consideration the state of the art and the opinions expressed in this study, the scientific committee developed a treatment algorithm aimed to improve the perception and treatment of atherogenic dyslipidemia. Conclusions: The experts involved in this study were shown to be familiar with the concept and the importance of atherogenic dyslipidemia. The few situations in which a consensus could not be found were mainly related to the interpretation and/or relevance of the available evidence.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Saccharomyces cerevisiae oxidative response evaluation by cyclic voltammetry and gas chromatography−mass spectrometry

This study is focused on the evaluation of the impact of Saccharomyces cerevisiae metabolism in the profile of compounds with antioxidant capacity in a synthetic wine during fermentation. A bioanalytical pipeline, which allows for biological systems fingerprinting and sample classification by combining electrochemical features with biochemical background, is proposed. To achieve this objective, alcoholic fermentations of a minimal medium supplemented with phenolic acids were evaluated daily during 11 days, for electrochemical profile, phenolic acids, and the volatile fermentation fraction, using cyclic voltametry, high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection, and headspace/solid-phase microextraction/gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (target and nontarget approaches), respectively. It was found that acetic acid, 2-phenylethanol, and isoamyl acetate are compounds with a significative contribution for samples metabolic variability, and the electrochemical features demonstrated redox-potential changes throughout the alcoholic fermentations, showing at the end a similar pattern to normal wines. Moreover, S. cerevisiae had the capacity of producing chlorogenic acid in the supplemented medium fermentation from simple precursors present in the minimal medium.C.C.C. (SFRH/BD/46737/2008) gratefully acknowledges the Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia (FCT) for her Doctoral grant. This research was funded by the projects: "Open-Microbio (PTDC/BIO/69310/2006)-Framework for Computational Simulation of Cellular Communities during BioProcess Engineering" (FCT), "A Metrica do Vinho: Elucidar o Padrao Molecular Volatile Responsavel pelo aroma "Tipo-Vinho" Fundamental para a Definicao da Qualidade" (PTDC/AGR-ALI/121062/2010), and partially supported by CBMA, IBB, and ESB/UCP plurianual funds through the POS-Conheci-mento Program that includes FEDER funds

Plant sources of Amazon rosewood oil.

The aim of this study is to reevaluate the plant sources of the Amazon rosewood oil which have been named Aniba rosaeodora Ducke and Aniba duckei Kosterm. There is some disagreement on the exact botanical status of these species. Some Lauraceae specialists analyzing available material from both species concluded that there is no basis for regarding them as different. Based on our results we are confirming that the chemical composition of both species is quite different from that previously reported. So we are suggesting to bring back the previous botanical rosewood status as proposed by Adolph Ducke

Desenvolvimento de método por CLUE-EM-EM para detecção de adulterantes em café.

Food: the tree that sustains life. 468