Changes induced by glucose in the plasma membrane properties of pancreatic islets

Partially purified membranes obtained from rat pancreatic isolated islets preincubated for 3 min with 3.3 and 16.6 mM glucose were labelled with 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene to study fluorescence polarization. Other islets, incubated for 5 min with the same glucose concentration, were extracted and phospholipids separated by thin-layer chromatography. The composition of phospholipids of fatty acids was then studied by gas-liquid chromatography. Arrhenius plots of the microviscosity in membranes obtained from islets exhibited two components, a steeper slope below 18 degrees C and a gentler slope above 18 degrees C, indicating greater flow activation energy at temperatures below the transition point. Exposure of islets to 16.6 mM glucose significantly increased the flow activation energy (delta E), below and above the transition point. Islets incubated for 5 min with 16.6 mM glucose showed an increase in the percentage composition of 12:0 and 18:2 together with a decrease in the 20:2 W6 and 22:3 W3 fatty acids esterified to phospholipids. Regardless of these changes, no significant alterations occurred in the proportion of saturated fatty acids or in the double bond index; these measurements therefore did not account for the effects of glucose concentration in flow activation energy. The thermotropic changes reported here might be the consequence of some degree of disorder induced by glucose upon the membrane structure. This order alteration could either favor the membrane fusion which occurs during the emiocytosis or only reflects the consequence of such a process

Planificación de políticas de seguridad

El presente trabajo consiste en la planificación de las Políticas de Seguridad para Empresas de tamaño medio y que se dedican en especial a brindar algún tipo de servicio de telecomunicaciones. Para el éxito en el desarrollo de este documento seguimos las recomendaciones que sugieren los estándares ISO/IEC 17799:2005, ISO/IEC 27000:2009, el manual de Políticas de Seguridad Informática- Mejores Prácticas Internacionales y otros adjuntos. Logrando así considerar todos los aspectos de seguridad que se deben analizar en las empresas y consiguiendo además orden y aceptación de las propuestas que exponemos. Presentamos propuestas que ayudan a realizar una mejora continua de los documentos de Políticas de Seguridad que se han decidido aplicar y de como mejorar la manera en que se integran estas políticas en el ambiente laboral a través de un conjunto de sugerencias que cubren la manera en que deben aplicarse las políticas, darles seguimiento y lo más importante aún conseguir que el personal de la empresa acepte y cumpla con las Políticas

Exercises using a touchscreen tablet application improved functional ability more than an exercise program prescribed on paper in people after surgical carpal tunnel release: a randomised trial

Question: In people who have undergone surgical carpal tunnel release, do sensorimotor-based exercises performed on the touchscreen of a tablet device improve outcomes more than a conventional home exercise program prescribed on paper? Design: Randomised, parallel-group trial with concealed allocation, assessor blinding, and intention-to-treat analysis. Participants: Fifty participants within 10 days of surgical carpal tunnel release. Intervention: Each participant was prescribed a 4-week home exercise program. Participants in the experimental group received the ReHand tablet application, which administered and monitored exercises via the touchscreen. The control group was prescribed a home exercise program on paper, as is usual practice in the public hospital system. Outcome measures: The primary outcome was functional ability of the hand, reported using the shortened form of the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (QuickDASH) questionnaire. Secondary outcomes were grip strength, pain intensity measured on a 10-cm visual analogue scale, and dexterity measured with the Nine-Hole Peg Test. Outcomes were measured by a blinded assessor at baseline and at the end of the 4-week intervention period. Results: At Week 4, functional ability improved significantly more in the experimental group than the control group (MD –21, 95% CI –33 to –9) on the QuickDASH score (0 to 100). Although the mean estimates of effect on the secondary outcome also all favoured the experimental group, none reached statistical significance: grip strength (MD 5.6 kg, 95% CI –0.5 to 11.7), pain (MD –1.4 cm, 95% CI –2.9 to 0.1), and dexterity (MD –1.3 seconds, 95% CI –3.7 to 1.1). Conclusion: Use of the ReHand tablet application for early rehabilitation after carpal tunnel release is more effective in the recovery of functional ability than a conventional home exercise program. It remains unclear whether there are any benefits in grip strength, pain or dexterity. Trial registration: ACTRN12618001887268

Changes induced by glucose in the plasma membrane properties of pancreatic islets

Partially purified membranes obtained from rat pancreatic isolated islets preincubated for 3 min with 3.3 and 16.6 mM glucose were labelled with 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene to study fluorescence polarization. Other islets, incubated for 5 min with the same glucose concentration, were extracted and phospholipids separated by thin-layer chromatography. The composition of phospholipids of fatty acids was then studied by gas-liquid chromatography. Arrhenius plots of the microviscosity in membranes obtained from islets exhibited two components, a steeper slope below 18 degrees C and a gentler slope above 18 degrees C, indicating greater flow activation energy at temperatures below the transition point. Exposure of islets to 16.6 mM glucose significantly increased the flow activation energy (delta E), below and above the transition point. Islets incubated for 5 min with 16.6 mM glucose showed an increase in the percentage composition of 12:0 and 18:2 together with a decrease in the 20:2 W6 and 22:3 W3 fatty acids esterified to phospholipids. Regardless of these changes, no significant alterations occurred in the proportion of saturated fatty acids or in the double bond index; these measurements therefore did not account for the effects of glucose concentration in flow activation energy. The thermotropic changes reported here might be the consequence of some degree of disorder induced by glucose upon the membrane structure. This order alteration could either favor the membrane fusion which occurs during the emiocytosis or only reflects the consequence of such a process.Facultad de Ciencias Médica

Phosphorylation-mediated unfolding of a KH domain regulates KSRP localization via 14-3-3 binding

The AU-rich element (ARE)-mediated mRNA-degradation activity of the RNA binding K-homology splicing regulator protein (KSRP) is regulated by phosphorylation of a serine within its N-terminal KH domain (KH1). In the cell, phosphorylation promotes the interaction of KSRP and 14-3-3ζ protein and impairs the ability of KSRP to promote the degradation of its RNA targets. Here we examine the molecular details of this mechanism. We report that phosphorylation leads to the unfolding of the structurally atypical and unstable KH1, creating a site for 14-3-3ζ binding. Using this site, 14-3-3ζ discriminates between phosphorylated and unphosphorylated KH1, driving the nuclear localization of KSRP. 14-3-3ζ –KH1 interaction regulates the mRNA-decay activity of KSRP by sequestering the protein in a separate functional pool. This study demonstrates how an mRNA-degradation pathway is connected to extracellular signaling networks through the reversible unfolding of a protein domain.European Molecular Biology Organization 240-2005Italian CIPE-200

Does exposure to greenness improve children's neuropsychological development and mental health? A Navigation Guide systematic review of observational evidence for associations

[EN] Background: Contact with nature may have a key role in child brain development. Recent observational studies have reported improvements in children's neuropsychological development and mental health associated with greenness exposure. In a rapidly urbanizing word, researchers, policymakers, healthcare workers and urban planners need to work together to elaborate evidence-based policies and interventions to increase the availability of quality green space with the potential to enhance childhood development. Objective: To review the observational evidence assessing the effect of exposure to greenness on children's neuropsychological development and mental health. Methods: The protocol for the review was preregistered at PROSPERO (CRD42020213838). The Navigation Guide systematic review methodology was followed. Search strategies were formulated and adapted to each database. Searches were performed in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and EBSCO's GreenFILE on October 5, 2021. Additional articles were further identified by hand-searching reference lists of included papers. Results: A systematic search of 4 databases identified 621 studies, of which 34 were included in the review. The studies included investigated diverse domains within neuropsychological development and mental health, such as attention, working memory, intelligence, cognitive development, academic performance, well-being, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms, and behavior. Most of the studies were rated as having high or probably high risk of bias in the assessment. Discussion: Although nearly all studies showed a positive association between greenness exposure and the outcomes studied, the heterogeneity in the methods used to assess exposure and the diversity of domains within each main outcome has made it difficult to draw clear conclusions. Future studies should adopt a longitudinal design to confirm the causality of the associations and include measures to determine which characteristics of greenness have the greatest influence on each domain. Researchers should also try to explore pathways linking exposure to greenness with the neuropsychological development and mental health, by implementing mechanistic studies.This study was funded by a grant from Instituto de Salud Carlos III (FIS-PI18/01237 include FEDER funds)

Distributed feedback lasers based on dichromated poly(vinyl alcohol) reusable surface-relief gratings

A simple, low-cost and versatile holographic method to produce reusable surface-relief gratings on dichromated poly(vinyl alcohol) (DCPVA) films, with periods Λ ≥ 270 nm and modulation depths up to 300 nm, is reported. DCPVA presents processing advantages with respect to other photoresists, such as dichromated gelatine, i.e. higher light sensitivity, simpler fabrication process and better batch to batch reproducibility. The successful use of these DCPVA relief gratings as distributed feedback (DFB) laser resonators is demonstrated. Second-order DFB devices emitting in the wavelength range 577-614 nm have been easily prepared by coating a dye-doped polymer film on top of the resonators.We thank the Spanish Government (MINECO) and the European Union (FEDER) for grant no. MAT2011-28167-C02

Modeling of energy efficiency for residential buildings using artificial neuronal networks

The energy efficiency dataset used to support the findings of this study has been deposited in the GitHub repository https://github.com/mereshow/ann-energy-efficiency.git.[Abstract] Increasing the energy efficiency of buildings is a strategic objective in the European Union, and it is the main reason why numerous studies have been carried out to evaluate and reduce energy consumption in the residential sector. The process of evaluation and qualification of the energy efficiency in existing buildings should contain an analysis of the thermal behavior of the building envelope. To determine this thermal behavior and its representative parameters, we usually have to use destructive auscultation techniques in order to determine the composition of the different layers of the envelope. In this work, we present a nondestructive, fast, and cheap technique based on artificial neural network (ANN) models that predict the energy performance of a house, given some of its characteristics. The models were created using a dataset of buildings of different typologies and uses, located in the northern area of Spain. In this dataset, the models are able to predict the U-opaque value of a building with a correlation coefficient of 0.967 with the real U-opaque measured value for the same building

Microbial rDNA sequences as markers to determine microbial synthesis in Rusitec fermenters: A comparison with 15N

Microbial rDNA sequences have been proposed as potential internal markers to determine microbial synthesis in the rumen. The objective of this experiment was to compare values of microbial growth determined using 15N as external marker with concentrations of microbial DNA in fermenters, and to assess if both procedures detected similar differences between diets and solid (SOL) and liquid (LIQ) digesta phases

Mujer e investigación en el CSIC de Aragón

2011: Año de la mujer investigadora.Peer Reviewe