Association of Body Mass Index of HIV-1-Infected Pregnant Women and Infant Weight, Body Mass Index, Length, and Head Circumference: The NISDI Perinatal Study.

This study assessed the relationship between the body mass index (BMI) of HIV-1-infected women and their infants' perinatal outcomes. The study population consisted of women enrolled in the NICHD International Site Development Initiative (NISDI) Perinatal Study with data allowing calculation of the BMI adjusted for length of gestation (adjBMI), who delivered singleton infants. Outcome variables included infant growth parameters at birth (weight, BMI, length and head circumference) and gestational age. Of 697 women from Argentina, the Bahamas, Brazil and Mexico who were included in the analysis, the adjBMI was classified as underweight for 109 (15.6%), normal for 418 (60.0%), overweight for 88 (12.6%) and obese for 82 (11.8%). Median infant birth weight, BMI, birth length and head circumference differed significantly according to maternal adjBMI (P</=0.0002). Underweight mothers gave birth to infants with lower weight, lower BMI, shorter length and smaller head circumference, while infants born to normal, overweight and obese mothers were of similar size

Wild and commercial mushrooms as source of nutrients and nutraceuticals

In order to promote the use of mushrooms as source of nutrients and nutraceuticals, several experiments were performed in wild and commercial species. The analysis of nutrients included determination of proteins, fats, ash, and carbohydrates, particularly sugars by HPLC-RI. The analysis of nutraceuticals included determination of fatty acids by GC-FID, and other phytochemicals such as tocopherols, by HPLC-fluorescence, and phenolics, flavonoids, carotenoids and ascorbic acid, by spectrophotometer techniques. The antimicrobial properties of the mushrooms were also screened against fungi, Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria. The wild mushroom species proved to be less energetic than the commercial sp., containing higher contents of protein and lower fat concentrations. In general, commercial species seem to have higher concentrations of sugars, while wild sp. contained lower values of MUFA but also higher contents of PUFA. α-Tocopherol was detected in higher amounts in the wild species, while γ-tocopherol was not found in these species. Wild mushrooms revealed a higher content of phenols but a lower content of ascorbic acid, than commercial mushrooms. There were no differences between the antimicrobial properties of wild and commercial species. The ongoing research will lead to a new generation of foods, and will certainly promote their nutritional and medicinal use

Desarrollo de semiconductores con estructuras tipo perovskitas para purificar el agua mediante oxidaciones avanzadas

En este trabajo se llevó a cabo la preparación a través del método sol-gel y la reacción en estado sólido de óxidos semiconductores pertenecientes a las familias del tipo perovskita simple, ABO3 y doble laminar, A2M2O7, como el NaTaO3, NaTaO3:A (A = La, Sm), y Sr2M2O7 (M = Ta, Nb), respectivamente. Éstos fueron probados en la reacción de degradación fotocatalítica de azul de metileno, cristal violeta y rojo alizarín S. En particular, la perovskita simple, NaTaO3:Sm, mostró la mejor eficiencia para la degradación de azul de metileno (t1/2 = 65 min), mientras que la perovskita doble laminar, Sr2Ta2O7, fue eficiente para degradar tanto el cristal violeta (t1/2 = 5 min), como el rojo alizarín S (t1/2 = 25 min). Para el caso del cristal violeta la eficiencia fue incluso mayor a la mostrada por la titania P25 Degussa. La eficiencia fotocatalítica mostrada por los óxidos tipo perovskita simple la hemos relacionado a la formación de su estructura cristalina y a los valores de área superficial específica, además del efecto favorable del dopante. Mientras que en el caso de los óxidos tipo perovskita laminar, la eficiencia se debió a la presencia de la fase cristalina y al pH del medio de reacción. Además, debido a que todos estos óxidos mostraron valores de Eg alrededor de 4.0 eV, su activida

Triplication of the photocurrent in dye solar cells by increasing the elongation of the π-conjugation in Zn-porphyrin sensitizers

Porphyrins are promising sensitizers for dye solar cells (DSCs) but narrow absorption bands at 400-450 and 500-650 nm limit their light-harvesting properties. Increasing elongation of the π-conjugation and loss of symmetry causes broadening and a red-shift of the absorption bands, which considerably improves the performance of the DSC. Herein we use an oligothienylenevinylene to bridge a Zn-porphyrin system and the anchoring group of the sensitizer. We separately study the performance of the two basic units: oligothienylenevinylene and Zn-porphyrin. The combined system provides a three-fold enhancement of the photocurrent with respect to parent dyes. This is caused by an additional strong absorption in the region 400-650 nm that leads to flat IPCE of 60%. Theoretical calculations support that the addition of the oligothienylenevinylene unit as a linking bridge creates a charge transfer band that transforms a Zn-porphyrin dye into a push-pull type system with highly efficient charge injection propertie

Automated Real-Time Tumor Pharmacokinetic Profiling in 3D Models: A Novel Approach for Personalized Medicine

Cancer treatment often lacks individual dose adaptation, contributing to insufficient efficacy and severe side effects. Thus, personalized approaches are highly desired. Although various analytical techniques are established to determine drug levels in preclinical models, they are limited in the automated real-time acquisition of pharmacokinetic profiles. Therefore, an online UHPLC-MS/MS system for quantitation of drug concentrations within 3D tumor oral mucosa models was generated. The integration of sampling ports into the 3D tumor models and their culture inside the autosampler allowed for real-time pharmacokinetic profiling without additional sample preparation. Docetaxel quantitation was validated according to EMA guidelines. The tumor models recapitulated the morphology of head-and-neck cancer and the dose-dependent tumor reduction following docetaxel treatment. The administration of four different docetaxel concentrations resulted in comparable courses of concentration versus time curves for 96 h. In conclusion, this proof-of-concept study demonstrated the feasibility of real-time monitoring of drug levels in 3D tumor models without any sample preparation. The inclusion of patient-derived tumor cells into our models may further optimize the pharmacotherapy of cancer patients by efficiently delivering personalized data of the target tissue

A simple RP-HPLC method for the determination of clotrimazole from acrylic nanocapsule suspensions

A simple and fast HPLC method has been validated for the determination of clotrimazole in nanocapsule suspensions prepared from an acrylic polymer, Eudragit RS100®. Chromatographic runs were performed on a RP C18 column with a mobile phase comprising methanol and water (90:10, v/v) at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min with UV detection at 229 nm. The method was shown to be specific, linear (r = 0.9987), precise and accurate in a concentration range of 2.0-10.0 μg/mL. The proposed method can be successfully used to quantify clotrimazole content in acrylic nanocapsule formulations, as well as to estimate drug encapsulation efficiency.Colegio de Farmacéuticos de la Provincia de Buenos Aire

Congreso online como herramienta docente para estudiantes de tercer ciclo en Electroquímica

Los congresos científicos son una buena herramienta para que los estudiantes de tercer ciclo puedan ampliar sus conocimientos. Sin embargo, las intervenciones donde los estudiantes plantean dudas o preguntas son prácticamente nulas. Con el objetivo de fomentar la participación de los estudiantes en los congresos científicos, la nueva red continua con el trabajo anteriormente realizado, llevando a cabo la II edición del Congreso online de estudiantes dentro del programa interuniversitario “Electroquímica. Ciencia y Tecnología”. La red busca concienciar acerca de la importancia que para un investigador tiene un congreso científico y a su vez, incrementar y mejorar su participación. Para ello, se utiliza un formato más atractivo que en la edición anterior, que mejora el entorno de trabajo y favorece la interacción entre los estudiantes. Asimismo, se emplean estrategias de comunicación más desarrolladas para hacer crecer el número de participantes. Finalmente, se establecerán diferentes parámetros para evaluar la actividad durante el congreso y se entregarán premios para motivar la participación

Slow relaxations and history dependence of the transport properties of layered superconductors

We study numerically the time evolution of the transport properties of layered superconductors after different preparations. We show that, in accordance with recent experiments in BSCCO performed in the second peak region of the phase diagram (Portier et al, 2001), the relaxation strongly depends on the initial conditions and is extremely slow. We investigate the dependence on the pinning center density and the perturbation applied. We compare the measurements to recent findings in tapped granular matter and we interpret our results with a rather simple picture.Comment: 4 pages, 4 fig

Performance of an affordable urine self-sampling method for human papillomavirus detection in Mexican women

Introduction: Urine self-sampling for human papillomavirus (HPV)-based cervical cancer screening is a non-invasive method that offers several logistical advantages and high acceptability, reducing barriers related to low screening coverage. This study developed and evaluated the performance of a low-cost urine self-sampling method for HPV-testing and explored the acceptability and feasibility of potential implementation of this alternative in routine screening. Methods: A series of sequential laboratory assays examined the impact of several pre-analytical conditions for obtaining DNA from urine and subsequent HPV detection. Initially, we assessed the effect of ethylaminediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) as a DNA preservative examining several variables including EDTA concentration, specimen storage temperature, time between urine collection and DNA extraction, and first-morning micturition versus convenience sample collection. We further evaluated the agreement of HPV-testing between urine and clinician-collected cervical samples among 95 women. Finally, we explored the costs of self-sampling supplies as well as the acceptability and feasibility of urine self-sampling among women and healthcare workers. Results: Our results revealed higher DNA concentrations were obtained when using a 40mM EDTA solution, storing specimens at 25°C and extracting DNA within 72 hrs. of urine collection, regardless of using first-morning micturition or a convenience sampling. We observed good agreement (Kappa = 0.72) between urine and clinician-collected cervical samples for HPV detection. Furthermore, urine self-sampling was an affordable method (USD 1.10), well accepted among cervical cancer screening users, healthcare workers, and decision-makers. Conclusion: These results suggest urine self-sampling is feasible and appropriate alternative for HPV-testing in HPV-based screening programs in lower-resource contexts

Loss of microRNA-135b Enhances Bone Metastasis in Prostate Cancer and Predicts Aggressiveness in Human Prostate Samples

About 70% of advanced-stage prostate cancer (PCa) patients will experience bone metastasis, which severely affects patients' quality of life and progresses to lethal PCa in most cases. Hence, understanding the molecular heterogeneity of PCa cell populations and the signaling pathways associated with bone tropism is crucial. For this purpose, we generated an animal model with high penetrance to metastasize to bone using an intracardiac percutaneous injection of PC3 cells to identify PCa metastasis-promoting factors. Using genomic high-throughput analysis we identified a miRNA signature involved in bone metastasis that also presents potential as a biomarker of PCa progression in human samples. In particular, the downregulation of miR-135b favored the incidence of bone metastases by significantly increasing PCa cells' migratory capacity. Moreover, the PLAG1, JAKMIP2, PDGFA, and VTI1b target genes were identified as potential mediators of miR-135b's role in the dissemination to bone. In this study, we provide a genomic signature involved in PCa bone growth, contributing to a better understanding of the mechanisms responsible for this process. In the future, our results could ultimately translate into promising new therapeutic targets for the treatment of lethal PCa