Modified cyclodextrin type and dehydration methods exert a significant effect on the antimicrobial activity of encapsulated carvacrol and thymol

BACKGROUND The antimicrobial activity of essential oils and their constituents has led to increasing interest in using them as natural preservative agents. However, their high sensitivity to light and oxygen, their volatility and their low aqueous solubility are all obstacles to their application in the food, cosmetic or pharmaceutical industries. Encapsulation in cyclodextrins (CDs) is a solution for the application of such essential oils. RESULTS The complexation of carvacrol and thymol with hydroxypropyl (HP)‐α‐, HP‐β‐ and HP‐γ‐CD, the behavior of the solid complexes prepared by freeze‐drying and spray‐drying methods and the antibacterial activity of solid complexes were studied. Kc values of HP‐α‐ and HP‐γ‐CD complexes with carvacrol (118.4 and 365.7 L mol−1) and thymol (112.5 and 239.7 L mol −1) were far lower than those observed for HP‐β‐CD complexes with carvacrol (2268.2 L mol −1) and thymol (881.6 L mol −1). The lower stability of HP‐α‐ and HP‐γ‐CD complexes increased the release of compounds, thereby affecting the antimicrobial activity of carvacrol and thymol to a lesser extent than complexation with HP‐β‐CD, normally used in the encapsulation of carvacrol and thymol. HP‐β‐CD encapsulation of carvacrol and thymol markedly reduced their antimicrobial activity. The freeze‐drying method barely affected the antimicrobial activity of carvacrol and thymol after encapsulation, while spray drying could be considered for the production of solid complexes in combination with the appropriate CD. CONCLUSIONS It was thus demonstrated that HP‐α‐ and HP‐γ‐CD are very suitable alternatives for the encapsulation of carvacrol and thymol with the purpose of preserving their bacteriostatic and bactericidal activities

Análisis de la distribución de hidrógeno en contención y pozo seco de C.N. Cofrentes.

El desarrollo del modelo de la Contención de C.N. Cofrentes mediante GOTHIC se ha llevado a cabo introduciendo todos los datos geométricos y de estructuras de la Contención, pudiendo así modelar todos los recintos interiores y habitaciones que la componen. De esta forma se ha obtenido un modelo 3D detallado y con la precisión suficiente para el estudio global de la gestión del hidrógeno, permitiendo tener en cuenta, a la hora de la distribución del hidrógeno, la asimetría tanto de la contención como de las descargas de masa y en energía que en ella se realizan, permitiendo simular la distribución del vapor y el hidrógeno presentes en el accidente severo para poder determinar las zonas de mayor riesgo de deflagración o detonación durante la evolución del accident

Atherogenic index of plasma is associated with the severity of Hidradenitis Suppurativa: a case-control study

Background: Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic inflammatory disease associated with several comorbidities and vascular risk factors, such as dyslipidemia. The present study aimed to assess the possible associations between the lipid profile and atherogenic indexes and the severity of HS. Methods: This case-control study enrolled 78 HS patients and 62 healthy controls. Classic lipid profile and lipoprotein ratios, including the atherogenic index of plasma (AIP), were evaluated. The severity of HS was measured by the HS Physician Global Assessment (PGA). Results: HS-patients had lower serum total cholesterol and HDL-C levels and higher AIP than the control group. AIP was positively correlated to BMI, waist circumference, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, LDL-C, triglycerides, non-HDL-C, ApoB, HOMA, and hs-CRP and negatively to HDL-C and ApoA1. For the overall lipid profile, only AIP was related to a more severe HS (PGA ? 3) after controlling for age, sex, BMI, insulin resistance (IR), active smoking, and statin use (r = 0.268; p = 0.023). Multiple logistic regression adjusted for age, sex, BMI, IR, smoking status and statin use, showed that AIP ? 0.11 was significantly associated with the severity of HS (OR, 4.38; CI 95%, 1.09-17.50; p = 0.037). Conclusions: In conclusion, these results showed that AIP is significantly and independently associated with HS severity

Improving the knowledge of sub-surface temperature, salinity and fluorescence variability patterns on the Southern Coast of Galicia

Since 2008, the Instituto Español de Oceanografía (IEO) keeps installed a thermosalinometer (TSG) on board of R/V J.M. Navaz that operates on Galician coastal waters. Weekly, it covers the area between Vigo and Muros in the framework of an harmful algal bloom monitoring. High resolution and quality coastal data are very important in order to develop accurate behavior models. The TSG continuously measures the sea subsurface salinity, temperature, and fluorescence along the ships tracks. The classical approach to distribution maps is performing objective analysis of the collected data and assumes errors associated to coastal features. Data-Interpolating Variational Analysis (DIVA) allows the spatial interpolation of data over an adaptable mesh grid, taking into account coastlines and inlets, but also advection constraints. Calculations are optimized and rely on a finite element resolution and the software allows optimizing the analysis parameters, checking for duplicates and performing quality controls. The results of performing and compare DIVA and objective analysis show slight differences that can be appreciated between the inner part of the inlets and the open sea areas. The relative length of the whole data set allows considering also monthly, seasonal and annual variability. These climatological results, that will be updated systematically, can be useful not only for scientific research but also for coastal management activities. All this products, together with quality check flags and metadata information, give added value to the original TSG measures and that will allow a future reuse of data

Spontaneous reporting of adverse drug reactions in a pediatric population in a tertiary hospital

The pediatric population is a vulnerable group for adverse drug reactions (ADRs), and data on spontaneous reporting of ADRs in the hospital setting are scarce. We conducted a retrospective analysis of ADRs in pediatric patients spontaneously reported by health care professionals to a Pharmacovigilance Program in a tertiary hospital between 2010 and 2020, and we compared characteristics of ADRs between pediatric age subgroups. From 1787 spontaneously reported ADRs in an 11-year period, 103 (5.85%) were pediatric ADRs. The median age of patients with ADRs was 8.4 years (range 1 day-17 years) and 57.3% were male. The most frequent ADRs reported were nervous system disorders (13.6%) and the most frequently involved drugs were antineoplastics and immunodulators (32.4%). A 59.2% of the ADRs were serious and 55.3% were classified as being type B reactions. Medication errors were involved in 7.8% of the ADRs and 11.9% of the suspected drugs were used off-label. Spontaneous reports of ADRs in newborns, infants, and toddlers were more serious and less often described in the product data sheet than in children and adolescents (p < 0.001 and p = 0.004 respectively). Medication errors were more frequent in patients under two years of age. These results should be interpreted with caution due to under-reporting and biases in spontaneous reporting of ADRs

Comparative Study of Methods for Estimating Technical Losses in Distribution Systems with Distributed Generation

In this work four methods for estimating annual technical power losses in distribution networks due to the distributed generation (DG) connection are studied. The methods are obtained of professional sources, and are evaluated in a test system. A new method is proposed in this work to be contrasted to previous methods. To find the best method, the power losses of a base case are estimated with simulations every 15 minutes, considering variability of load demand and power generation. Results indicate the effectiveness of the proposed method respect of other analyzed methods. The proposed method can be a useful tool within a Decision Support System for optimizing control, operation and planning of the distribution network

Study of PM2.5-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and anhydro-sugars in ambient air near two Spanish oil refineries: Covid-19 effects

We report the results from a 12 month-long study of the organic compounds associated to PM2.5 samples collected around two petroleum refineries (4 samples/month/site) in two complex industrial zones reporting atmospheric pollution issues in the past (Estuary of Huelva and Bay of Algeciras, Spain). Sampling campaign was done from March 2020 when a Covid-19 lockdown was established at Spain to March 2021. Concentrations of fine particulate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and anhydrosugars were separately measured using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and ion chromatography-amperometric detection (IC-PAD). The annual average abundances of PM2.5-bound benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) are 0.024 and 0.013 ng˖m−3 at La Rábida and Puente Mayorga monitoring stations, while both sites have annual average concentrations of levoglucosan in PM2.5 of 14.98 and 9.78 ng˖m−3, respectively. Seasonal variations are observed for concentrations of ƩPAHs and total anhydrosugars in both sampling sites. For PAHs, the highest concentrations averaging c. a. 0.400 (La Rábida) and 0.350 ng m−3 (Puente Mayorga) are reported in cold months during December 2020-Febraury 2021 (post-lockdown period), compared to the lowest levels averaging 0.111 and 0.211 ng˖m−3, respectively, in temperate months from mid-March 2020 to early June 2020 (0.284 and 0.321 ng m−3 on average annually), coinciding with the confinement and relaxation periods in Spain. Similarly, total anhydrosugars show the highest values of 81.80 ng˖m−3 (La Rábida) and 53.52 ng˖m−3 (Puente Mayorga) in winter and lowest values of 2.71 ng˖m−3 and 3.30 ng˖m−3 into the lockdown period (22.51 and 14.09 ng˖m−3 on average annually). Except phenanthrene, PAHs are present in PM2.5 principally as result of motor vehicle exhausts. Levoglucosan, a tracer for biomass burning, peaked in December 2020 and January 2021, during the high residential wood-burning season. In addition, multivariate analysis was used to assess the origin of organic components of PM2.5 samples. The two principal components are characterized by the grouping of heavy PAHs associated to vehicular traffic, and anhydrosugars indicating biomass burning emissions, respectively.We are grateful to the project of the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities of Spain (Project RTI 2018-095937-B-I00), the cofinanced project by the Andalusian Government and the EU (PY18- 2332), and the Environmental Agency of Andalusia for financial and technical support. Carlos Boente obtained a post-doctoral contract within the program PAIDI 2020 (Ref 707 DOC 01097), co-financed by the Junta de Andalucía (Spain) and the EU. Funding for open access charge: Universidad de Huelva / CBUA

Mobile genetic elements related to the diffusion of plasmid-mediated AmpC β-lactamases or carbapenemases from enterobacteriaceae: Findings from a multicenter study in Spain

We examined the genetic context of 74 acquired ampC genes and 17 carbapenemase genes from 85 of 640 Enterobacteriaceae isolates collected in 2009. Using S1 pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and Southern hybridization, 37 of 74 blaAmpC genes were located on large plasmids of different sizes belonging to six incompatibility groups. We used sequencing and PCR mapping to investigate the regions flanking the acquired ampC genes. The blaCMY-2-like genes were associated with ISEcp1; the surrounding blaDHA genes were similar to Klebsiella pneumoniae plasmid pTN60013 associated with IS26 and the psp and sap operons; and the blaACC-1 genes were associated with IS26 elements inserted into ISEcp1. All of the carbapenemase genes (blaVIM-1, blaIMP-22, and blaIMP-28) were located in class 1 integrons. Therefore, although plasmids are the main cause of the rapid dissemination of ampC genes among Enterobacteriaceae, we need to be aware that other mobile genetic elements, such as insertion sequences, transposons, or integrons, can be involved in the mobilization of these genes of chromosomal origin. Additionally, three new integrons (In846 to In848) are described in this study.Ministerio de Educación BFU2008-00995/BMCMinisterio de Sanidad, Servicios Sociales e Igualdad y Instituto de Salud Carlos III y FEDER REIPI/RD06/0008/0013 FIS 09/ 0125Ministerio de Sanidad, Servicios Sociales e Igualdad y Instituto de Salud Carlos III y Spanish Network for Research in Infectious Diseases REIPI/RD06/0008/0013 FIS 09/ 012

Synthesis, characterization, crystal structures and computational studies on novel cyrhetrenyl hydrazones

The synthesis of novel cyrhetrenyl hydrazones of general formula [Re{(η5-C5H4)single bondC(R1) = NNHR2}(CO)3] {with R1 = H and R2 = 4-NO2single bondC6H4 (4a), C6H5 (4b) or H (4c) or R1 = Me and R2 = 4-NO2single bondC6H4 (5a), C6H5 (5b) or H (5c)} is described. Compounds 4a-4c and 5a-5c were characterized by mass spectrometry and IR spectroscopy. 1H and 13C{1H} NMR studies revealed that 4a-4c and 5a-5c adopt the anti-(E) configuration in solution. X-ray crystal structures of compounds 4a and 5c confirmed the trans-arrangement of the cyrhetrenyl 'Re(η5-C5H4)(CO)3' and the -NHR2 moieties and the existence of strong hydrogen bonds involving the single bondNHsingle bond unit. Molecular Orbital calculations at a DFT level have also been carried out in order to rationalize the influence of the nature of the substituent R3 of [R3CH = NNH(4-NO2single bondC6H4)] (R3 = ferrocenyl, (3a), cyrhetrenyl (4a), phenyl (6a) or cymantrenyl (7a) on the electronic delocalization, the nucleophilicity of the imine carbon, the polarizability and hyperpolarizability of these compounds, and computational studies using time-dependent density functional (TD-DFT) calculations have also been carried out in order to assign the bands detected in their electronic spectra and to explain the effect produced by the solvent

RELACION USO-DISPONIBILIDAD DE COMPONENTES TOPOGRAFICOS Y UN MODELO DE CALIDAD DEL HABITAT PARA EL BORREGO CIMARRON, EN SONORA, MEXICO

This study was done, in the desert ridge known as the Pico-Johnson, in the state of Sonora, Mexico, which is considered as natural habitat for the desert bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis mexicana). In this work, we evaluate the importance of the relationship, between the bighorn sheep and the topographic component of his habitat, by using use-availability techniques. Topography was divided in four subcomponents (Height, Slope, Aspect and Landform) which at the same time were divided in classes. For this study, the visual location of 20 bighorn sheep's (5 males and 15 females) marked with radiotransmition collars as well as unmarked sheep observations, were registered. It was considered as use the frequency of sheep observation, for one year and a half of monthly visits, registered within each subcomponent class. Availability was defined as the proportion in which the subcomponent classes were found throughout the study area. It was found that, the sheep, do not use, most of the habitat classes, in their exact proportions, that some are preferred (terrain’s higher than 300 meters, slopes higher than 60%, S-SW-W composite aspect and canyon slopes) and the rest of the classes either were avoided or used proportionally. Bedsites, were evaluated using the same technique, encountering very similar patterns. We developed a habitat quality model for the sheep, that emphasized topography, besides topography other habitat components evaluated were: vegetation, free water sources, precipitation, habitat discreteness and range expansion. Habitat quality classes were excellent, good, regular and poor. The model was validated, by using the frequency of sheep observation within the different habitat quality classes and considered as a good habitat quality predictor, on the basis that, 73.0% of the frequency observation, were done on areas classified by the model as excellent and good.Este estudio se llevó a cabo en la sierra desértica conocida como Pico-Johnson, en el Estado de Sonora, considerada como hábitat natural del borrego cimarrón (Ovis canadensis mexicana). En este trabajo, se evalúa la importancia de la relación entre el borrego cimarrón y el componente topográfico de su hábitat, mediante técnicas de uso-disponibilidad. La topografía se dividió en cuatro subcomponentes (Altitud, Pendiente, Orientación y Topoforma) y se consideró como uso a las frecuencias de observación, durante un año y medio de visitas mensuales, de los borregos registrados en cada uno de los diferentes subcomponentes, para este estudio se utilizaron como registros, la localización visual de 20 borregos cimarrones (5 machos y 15 hembras) todos con collar radiotransmisor, así como de animales no marcados. La disponibilidad se definió como la proporción en que cada uno de los subcomponentes se encontraba en el área de estudio. Se encontró que los borregos no utilizan los subcomponentes según su proporción, que algunos son preferidos (altitudes mayores de 300m, pendientes mayores de 60%, orientaciones (S-SW-W) y topoformas de tipo ladera de cañón) y otros son evadidos o utilizados en igual proporción. Igualmente, se evaluaron los sitios donde estos animales duermen y descansan (echaderos), encontrándose patrones muy similares de uso. Haciendo énfasis en las variables topográficas, se implementó un modelo de calidad del hábitat en el cual se evaluaron componentes como la topografía, vegetación, agua libre disponible, precipitación, competencia, uso humano, continuidad y expansión del hábitat. El modelo clasificó la calidad del hábitat en excelente, buena, regular y pobre. El modelo fue validado, mediante el registro de frecuencias de observación de borregos en las diferentes clases de calidad del hábitat, considerándose como bueno ya que el 73.0% de los registros, se ubicaron en las zonas clasificadas como excelentes y buenas