Ajo selenizado: ¿un alimento funcional futuro o actual?

In the last years, functional foods have awakened consumer, scientific and business interest. A commonly found vegetable in such kind of foods includes garlic (Allium sativum). By its ability for selenium (Se) bio-accumulation, garlic can turn into an attractive option of selenized food. Selenium is an essential micronutrient for many organisms including plants, animals, and humans. It is an important trace element due to its antioxidant properties and plays a main role in prevention of cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Nowadays, there is an increasing interest in the study of Se speciation due to the different roles that each species manifests in toxicological and nutrition fields. However, Se exhibits a narrow interval between toxicity and essentiality, which is puzzling toxicologists and alarming nutritionists and legislators. In the present review, an overview on the development of selenized garlic studies and its potential implementation in Argentine production is exposed. The development of novel foods with added value such us selenized garlic could be an attractive alternative for local market. Moreover, it becomes a good offering for factory owners, considering that Mendoza represents about 85% of total garlic production in the country.En los últimos años, los alimentos funcionales han despertado el interés de consumidores, científicos y empresarios. El ajo (Allium sativum) puede ser un ejemplo de ello. Gracias a su capacidad de bioacumular selenio (Se), dicha hortaliza puede convertirse en una atractiva opción de alimento enriquecido con Se. El Se es un micronutriente esencial para numerosos organismos, incluyendo plantas, animales y humanos. Este micronutriente es de gran importancia debido a sus propiedades antioxidantes, y actúa, en consecuencia, como protector de numerosas enfermedades, tales como cáncer y problemas cardiovasculares. Actualmente, existe un mayor interés en el estudio de especiación de Se debido a los distintos roles que cada especie manifiesta en los campos nutricionales y toxicológicos. Sin embargo, las concentraciones de Se poseen un estrecho intervalo entre toxicidad y esencialidad, desconcertando a toxicólogos y alarmando a nutricionistas y legisladores. En este trabajo, se presenta un panorama del grado de avance sobre el estudio de fortificación de ajo con Se y sus perspectivas de aplicación en el sistema productivo de la República Argentina. Este tipo de producción, con un significativo valor agregado, representa una atractiva oportunidad de mercado para la provincia de Mendoza, considerando además que la misma posee cerca del 85% de la producción nacional.Fil: Escudero, Leticia B.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y TécnicasFil: Monasterio, Romina P.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y TécnicasFil: Lipinski, Víctor M.. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (Argentina)Fil: Filippini, María Flavia. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Departamento de Ingeniería AgrícolaFil: Wuilloud, Rodolfo Germán. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnica

Selenized garlic: a future prospect or already a current functional food?

In the last years, functional foods have awakened consumer, scientific and business interest. A commonly found vegetable in such kind of foods includes garlic (Allium sativum). By its ability for selenium (Se) bio-accumulation, garlic can turn into an attractive option of selenized food. Selenium is an essential micronutrient for many organisms including plants, animals, and humans. It is an important trace element due to its antioxidant properties and plays a main role in prevention of cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Nowadays, there is an increasing interest in the study of Se speciation due to the different roles that each species manifests in toxicological and nutrition fields. However, Se exhibits a narrow interval between toxicity and essentiality, which is puzzling toxicologists and alarming nutritionists and legislators. In the present review, an overview on the development of selenized garlic studies and its potential implementation in Argentine production is exposed. The development of novel foods with added value such us selenized garlic could be an attractive alternative for local market. Moreover, it becomes a good offering for factory owners, considering that Mendoza represents about 85% of total garlic production in the country.In the last years, functional foods have awakened consumer, scientific and business interest. A commonly found vegetable in such kind of foods includes garlic (Allium sativum). By its ability for selenium (Se) bio-accumulation, garlic can turn into an attractive option of selenized food. Selenium is an essential micronutrient for many organisms including plants, animals, and humans. It is an important trace element due to its antioxidant properties and plays a main role in prevention of cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Nowadays, there is an increasing interest in the study of Se speciation due to the different roles that each species manifests in toxicological and nutrition fields. However, Se exhibits a narrow interval between toxicity and essentiality, which is puzzling toxicologists and alarming nutritionists and legislators. In the present review, an overview on the development of selenized garlic studies and its potential implementation in Argentine production is exposed. The development of novel foods with added value such us selenized garlic could be an attractive alternative for local market. Moreover, it becomes a good offering for factory owners, considering that Mendoza represents about 85% of total garlic production in the country

Zona Este : la vitivinicultura orgánica: enfoques, miradas y perspectivas

El Proyecto NEXOS II dirigido a estudiantes de escuelas con modalidad rural (técnicas y orientadas) de la jurisdicción provincial, propone implementar un recorrido formativo para el desarrollo de competencias específicas vinculadas al Área de Ciencias Básicas y Tecnológicas, diseñado a partir de acuerdos estratégicos entre la Universidad Nacional de Cuyo y Educación Secundaria de la Dirección General de Escuelas

Overview of recent TJ-II stellarator results

The main results obtained in the TJ-II stellarator in the last two years are reported. The most important topics investigated have been modelling and validation of impurity transport, validation of gyrokinetic simulations, turbulence characterisation, effect of magnetic configuration on transport, fuelling with pellet injection, fast particles and liquid metal plasma facing components. As regards impurity transport research, a number of working lines exploring several recently discovered effects have been developed: the effect of tangential drifts on stellarator neoclassical transport, the impurity flux driven by electric fields tangent to magnetic surfaces and attempts of experimental validation with Doppler reflectometry of the variation of the radial electric field on the flux surface. Concerning gyrokinetic simulations, two validation activities have been performed, the comparison with measurements of zonal flow relaxation in pellet-induced fast transients and the comparison with experimental poloidal variation of fluctuations amplitude. The impact of radial electric fields on turbulence spreading in the edge and scrape-off layer has been also experimentally characterized using a 2D Langmuir probe array. Another remarkable piece of work has been the investigation of the radial propagation of small temperature perturbations using transfer entropy. Research on the physics and modelling of plasma core fuelling with pellet and tracer-encapsulated solid-pellet injection has produced also relevant results. Neutral beam injection driven Alfvénic activity and its possible control by electron cyclotron current drive has been examined as well in TJ-II. Finally, recent results on alternative plasma facing components based on liquid metals are also presentedThis work has been carried out within the framework of the EUROfusion Consortium and has received funding from the Euratom research and training programme 2014–2018 under Grant Agreement No. 633053. It has been partially funded by the Ministerio de Ciencia, Inovación y Universidades of Spain under projects ENE2013-48109-P, ENE2015-70142-P and FIS2017-88892-P. It has also received funds from the Spanish Government via mobility grant PRX17/00425. The authors thankfully acknowledge the computer resources at MareNostrum and the technical support provided by the Barcelona S.C. It has been supported as well by The Science and Technology Center in Ukraine (STCU), Project P-507F

Phylogenetic ctDNA analysis depicts early-stage lung cancer evolution.

The early detection of relapse following primary surgery for non-small-cell lung cancer and the characterization of emerging subclones, which seed metastatic sites, might offer new therapeutic approaches for limiting tumour recurrence. The ability to track the evolutionary dynamics of early-stage lung cancer non-invasively in circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) has not yet been demonstrated. Here we use a tumour-specific phylogenetic approach to profile the ctDNA of the first 100 TRACERx (Tracking Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer Evolution Through Therapy (Rx)) study participants, including one patient who was also recruited to the PEACE (Posthumous Evaluation of Advanced Cancer Environment) post-mortem study. We identify independent predictors of ctDNA release and analyse the tumour-volume detection limit. Through blinded profiling of postoperative plasma, we observe evidence of adjuvant chemotherapy resistance and identify patients who are very likely to experience recurrence of their lung cancer. Finally, we show that phylogenetic ctDNA profiling tracks the subclonal nature of lung cancer relapse and metastasis, providing a new approach for ctDNA-driven therapeutic studies

Clonal chromosomal mosaicism and loss of chromosome Y in elderly men increase vulnerability for SARS-CoV-2

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19) had an estimated overall case fatality ratio of 1.38% (pre-vaccination), being 53% higher in males and increasing exponentially with age. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, we found 133 cases (1.42%) with detectable clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations (mCA) and 226 males (5.08%) with acquired loss of chromosome Y (LOY). Individuals with clonal mosaic events (mCA and/or LOY) showed a 54% increase in the risk of COVID-19 lethality. LOY is associated with transcriptomic biomarkers of immune dysfunction, pro-coagulation activity and cardiovascular risk. Interferon-induced genes involved in the initial immune response to SARS-CoV-2 are also down-regulated in LOY. Thus, mCA and LOY underlie at least part of the sex-biased severity and mortality of COVID-19 in aging patients. Given its potential therapeutic and prognostic relevance, evaluation of clonal mosaicism should be implemented as biomarker of COVID-19 severity in elderly people. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, individuals with clonal mosaic events (clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations and/or loss of chromosome Y) showed an increased risk of COVID-19 lethality

Malachite Green Removal by Grape Stalks Biosorption from Natural Waters and Effluents

The efficiency of the grape stalk as a biosorbent for the malachite green removal from natural waters and industrial effluents was investigated in this work. For the optimization of experimental variables, a central composite design was used, in which the effect of pH and biosorbent dose was evaluated on biosorption capacity and removal percentage. Optimal parameters of pH 5 and biosorbent dose of 0.80 g L-1 allowed a malachite green removal percentage of 87.7%. Data obtained from kinetic studies were fitted with the pseudo-second-order model. The maximum biosorption capacity was determined using the Langmuir equilibrium model, reaching a value of 214.2 mg g-1. The biosorption process was thermodynamically favorable and spontaneous at room temperature. The calculated value of biosorption enthalpy change indicated that the nature of the process was exothermic and physical. The biosorption process was applied in natural waters and industrial effluent samples, obtaining removal percentages up to 84.3%, which demonstrates the efficiency of grape stalks for the treatment of complex matrices