Protective effects of eicosapentaenoic acid plus hydroxytyrosol supplementation against white adipose tissue abnormalities in mice fed a high-fat diet

Objective: Obesity induced by high-fat diet (HFD) elicits white adipose tissue dysfunction. In this study, we have hypothesized that the metabolic modulator eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) combined with the antioxidant hydroxytyrosol (HT) attenuates HFD-induced white adipose tissue (WAT) alterations. Methods: C57BL/6J mice were administered with a HFD (60% fat, 20% protein, 20% carbohydrates) or control diet (CD; 10% fat, 20% protein, 70% carbohydrates), with or without EPA (50 mg/kg/day), HT (5 mg/kg/day), or both for 12 weeks. Determinations in WAT include morphological parameters, EPA and docosahexaenoic acid content in phospholipids (gas chromatography), lipogenesis, oxidative stress (OS) and inflammation markers, and gene expression and activities of transcription factors, such as sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1c (SREBP-1c), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPAR-γ), nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) (p65 subunit) and nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) (quantitative polymerase chain reaction and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay). Results: HFD led to WAT hypertrophy in relation to PPAR-γ downregulation. WAT metabolic dysfunction was characterized by upregulation of lipogenic SREBP-1c system, mitochondrial energy metabolism depression, loss of the antioxidant Nrf2 signaling with OS enhancement, n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids depletion and activation of the pro-inflammatory NF-κB system. EPA and HT co-supplementation diminished HFD-dependent effects additively, reaching values close or similar to controls. Conclusion: Data presented strengthen the importance of combined protocols such as EPA plus HT to attenuate metabolic-inflammatory states triggered by obesity

Selective Catalytic Reduction of NOx by CO over Cu(Fe)/SBA-15 Catalysts: Effects of the Metal Loading on the Catalytic Activity

Mesoporous Cu(Fe)/SBA-15 catalysts were prepared with distinct metal loadings of ca. 2–10 wt.%. A detailed set of characterizations using X-ray diffraction (XRD), electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy coupled to energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), Mössbauer spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Raman spectroscopy was performed to correlate the relationship among structure, electronic properties and catalytic performances. All solids were evaluated in the selective catalytic reduction of NOx in the presence of CO (CO-SCR). The influence of the metal loadings on the overall activity indicated that introducing high amounts of Fe or Cu on the catalysts was beneficial to form either CuO or α-Fe2O3 clusters. Cux/SBA-15 series exhibited more efficient activity and poison-tolerant ability during CO-SCR reaction, in contrast to Fex/SBA-15. In spite of the Fe species introduced on SBA-15 having structural features similar to those of Cu ones, low interactions among Fe nanoparticles, silica and clusters impeded the high performances of Fe10/SBA-15. XPS revealed the Fe species in a more oxidized state, indicating the stability of the solid after the catalytic tests, in agreement with EPR and Raman spectroscopy. Cu8/SBA-15 worked better, being recyclable due to the interaction of the Cu2+ ions with SBA-15, avoiding the deactivation of the catalyst.The authors acknowledge the financial support by the Funcap (Grant PS1-0186-00346.01.00/21). A.C.O. and ERC thank to Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (Spain) projects PID2021-126235OB-C32 and TED2021-130756B-C31, and FEDER funds. Partial funding for open access charge: Universidad de Málag

Heterogeneity of melanoma cell responses to sleep apnea-derived plasma exosomes and to intermittent hypoxia

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is associated with increased cutaneous melanoma incidence and adverse outcomes. Exosomes are secreted by most cells, and play a role in OSA-associated tumor progression and metastasis. We aimed to study the effects of plasma exosomes from OSA patients before and after adherent treatment with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) on melanoma cells lines, and also to identify exosomal miRNAs from melanoma cells exposed to intermittent hypoxia (IH) or normoxia. Plasma-derived exosomes were isolated from moderate-to-severe OSA patients before (V1) and after (V2) adherent CPAP treatment for one year. Exosomes were co-incubated with three3 different melanoma cell lines (CRL 1424; CRL 1619; CRL 1675) that are characterized by genotypes involving different mutations in BRAF, STK11, CDKN2A, and PTEN genes to assess the effect of exosomes on cell proliferation and migration, as well as on pAMK activity in the presence or absence of a chemical activator. Subsequently, CRL-1424 and CRL-1675 cells were exposed to intermittent hypoxia (IH) and normoxia, and exosomal miRNAs were identified followed by GO and KEG pathways and gene networks. The exosomes from these IH-exposed melanoma cells were also administered to THP1 macrophages to examine changes in M1 and M2 polarity markers. Plasma exosomes from V1 increased CRL-1424 melanoma cell proliferation and migration compared to V2, but not the other two cell lines. Exposure to CRL-1424 exosomes reduced pAMPK/tAMPK in V1 compared to V2, and treatment with AMPK activator reversed the effects. Unique exosomal miRNAs profiles were identified for CRL-1424 and CRL-1675 in IH compared to normoxia, with six miRNAs being regulated and several KEGG pathways were identified. Two M1 markers (CXCL10 and IL6) were significantly increased in monocytes when treated with exosomes from IH-exposed CRL-1424 and CRL-1625 cells. Our findings suggest that exosomes from untreated OSA patients increase CRL-1424 melanoma malignant properties, an effect that is not observed in two other melanoma cell lines. Exosomal cargo from CRL-1424 cells showed a unique miRNA signature compared to CRL-1675 cells after IH exposures, suggesting that melanoma cells are differentially susceptible to IH, even if they retain similar effects on immune cell polarity. It is postulated that mutations in STK-11 gene encoding for the serine/threonine kinase family that acts as a tumor suppressor may underlie susceptibility to IH-induced metabolic dysfunction, as illustrated by CRL-1424 cells. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Prognostic stratification improvement by integrating ID1/ID3/IGJ gene expression signature and immunophenotypic profile in adult patients with B-ALL

Characteristics of pronostic groups according to EuroFlow immunophenotype. (TIFF 1364 kb

Clinical Audits in Outpatient Clinics for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Methodological Considerations and Workflow

Objectives: Previous clinical audits for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have provided valuable information on the clinical care delivered to patients admitted to medical wards because of COPD exacerbations. However, clinical audits of COPD in an outpatient setting are scarce and no methodological guidelines are currently available. Based on our previous experience, herein we describe a clinical audit for COPD patients in specialized outpatient clinics with the overall goal of establishing a potential methodological workflow.Methods: A pilot clinical audit of COPD patients referred to respiratory outpatient clinics in the region of Andalusia, Spain (over 8 million inhabitants), was performed. The audit took place between October 2013 and September 2014, and 10 centers (20% of all public hospitals) were invited to participate. Cases with an established diagnosis of COPD based on risk factors, clinical symptoms, and a post-bronchodilator FEV1/FVC ratio of less than 0.70 were deemed eligible. The usefulness of formally scheduled regular follow-up visits was assessed. Two different databases (resources and clinical database) were constructed. Assessments were planned over a year divided by 4 three-month periods, with the goal of determining seasonal-related changes. Exacerbations and survival served as the main endpoints.Conclusions: This paper describes a methodological framework for conducting a clinical audit of COPD patients in an outpatient setting. Results from such audits can guide health information systems development and implementation in real-world settings.This study was financially supported by an unrestricted grant from Laboratorios Menarini, SA (Barcelona, Spain)

Effect of Basic Promoters on Porous Supported Alumina Catalysts for Acetins Production

A facile strategy for the design of porous supports was obtained by modifying the sol-gel method followed by the wet impregnation technique. In this respect, herein, the acidity of the γ-Al2O3 phase was modulated by adding basic MgO, La2O3 or ZnO promoters to form binary supported catalysts. The Ni and Co dispersion on the supports associated with their tunable acidity and morphologies resulted in highly porous supported alumina-based catalysts. The physicochemical properties of the solids were comprehensively investigated by XRD, textural properties, Raman and FTIR spectroscopy, SEM-EDS, TEM, EPR and XPS analyses. The catalytic performances in the esterification of glycerol in the presence of acetic acid (EG) for the acetins production were evaluated. The highly dispersed NiO and Co3O4 active species on binary porous supports produced synergistic effects appearing to be the reason for the activity of the solids in the EG reaction. Under the optimized reaction conditions, NiCo/MgO-Al2O3 was found to be a robust solid with superior catalytic performance and improved stability in four reaction cycles with 65.0% of glycerol conversion with an exclusive selectivity of 53% for triacetin. The presence of Co2+/Co3+ and Ni2+ strongly interacting with the spinel γ-Al2O3 and MgAl2O4 phases, the latter having a large number of lattice oxygen species, was considered another active component besides those of Ni and Co in the esterification of glycerol.This work is supported by Funcap (Grant n° PS1-0186-00346.01.00/21). Financial assistance received from Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Junta de Andalucía and FEDER is also thankfully acknowledged for funding project n° PID2021-126235OB-C32, UMA18-FEDERJA-126 and P20_00375. Partial funding for open access charge: Universidad de Málag

Taxa de rebrota e relação folha/haste de seis cruzamentos interespecíficos de "Sorghum bicolor" com "Sorghum sudanense" em duas épocas de plantio e três de corte.

Foram avaliados quatro genótipos experimentais e dois cultivares comerciais de "Sorghum bicolor" e "Sorghum sudanense" quanto às características agronômicas taxa de rebrota e relação folha/haste. Os híbridos foram submetidos a três cortes sucessivos, realizados em duas diferentes épocas de plantio. As taxas de rebrota entre os dois cortes, na primeira época, apenas para o cultivar AG 2501C foi observado maior valor na primeira época em relação à segunda, enquanto que para os demais não foram observadas diferenças significativas (p<0,05). Para a segunda taxa de rebrota, obtida entre o segundo e terceiro cortes, os valores variaram entre 0,45 e 1,00 e não foram observadas diferenças entre as taxas de rebrota entre os híbridos nas duas épocas de cultivo. A importância da determinação da relação folha/haste é devida ao fato de que esta relação influi diretamente no valor nutritivo das plantas de sorgo, uma vez que as folhas possuem coeficiente de digestibilidade superior ao das hastes. Observando-se a primeira época de plantio, para o primeiro e terceiro cortes, não foram observadas diferenças significativas (p<0,05) entre os híbridos. Na segunda época, todos os híbridos apresentaram maiores (p<0,05) relações folha/haste no primeiro corte em relação aos cortes posteriores. Comparando-se as médias das épocas não foram observadas diferenças (p<0,05) nos valores médios de 0,80 e 0,91 entre a primeira e segunda épocas, respectivamente