Modulation of the lipolysis and subsequent antibacterial activity of the fat from black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) by the combined selection of slaughtering, drying and defatting methods of the larvae

The aim of this study was to evaluate the modulating effect of the processing of Hermetia illucens larvae on the antibacterial activity of the fat related to lipolysis to free fatty acids (FFAs), mainly as lauric acid. Blanching and freezing were compared for slaughtering, oven or freeze-drying for drying, and mechanical pressing or supercritical fluid for defatting. Freezing plus freeze-drying produced the highest FFAs content (21%), mainly as lauric acid (11%). In agreement, freezing plus freeze-drying was also the most effective method to obtain fats with higher antibacterial activity, regardless of the defatting method. The antibacterial activity was significantly more relevant for gram-positive bacteria, having a strain-dependent character. The most effective fat was bactericidal for Listeria monocytogenes and Bacillus subtilis and reduced Staphylococcus aureus growth. Therefore, it is possible to selectively modulate the antibacterial activity of the H. illucens fat due to lipolysis by the processing methods of larvae. Industrial relevance: This study provides guidance to choose the best mode of processing of H. illucens larvae to selectively modulate the potential use of the lipid coproduct of this edible insect, either from the point of view of food use, which requires methods of processing to yield a high quality (low acidity), or from the point of view of antimicrobial applications, using methods of processing that selectively produce an antibacterial fat (high acidity). Furthermore, the best antibacterial activity demonstrated for fats of H. illucens of poor acid quality is an innovative approach for revalorization of such fats that would fail to meet the quality standard required for food applicationsAGL2017-89566-

Assessment of an educational intervention to improve healthy life habits in children living in vulnerable socioeconomic conditions

Producción CientíficaNutritional condition impacts academic performance and cognitive development. In Peru, the prevalence of chronic undernutrition in children is 6.9%, increasing the risk of mortality and morbidity. This study aimed to develop an educational intervention to achieve an improvement in the healthy habits of children in a primary education school in Lima who live in vulnerable socioeconomic conditions. We conducted a prospective quasi-experimental pre-test and post-test study of an educational intervention. The information was collected through the adaptation of the WHO questionnaire “Global School-based Student Health Survey” (GSHS), with anthropometric variables, socioeconomic level, hygiene and eating habits. One hundred eight students from 5 to 13 years old from Arenitas del Mar School in Lima (Peru) participated. The educational intervention improved eating habits. Fruit and vegetable consumption 3 or more times/day (50.9%) increased after the educational intervention (49% vs. 62.9%,) p < 0.0001. There was an improvement in hygiene habits, such as the frequency of handwashing with soap (32.4% vs. 63.9%) and the frequency of weekly bathing 4–6 times/week (25% vs. 47.5%) p < 0.0001. The educational intervention promoted better healthy living behaviors, eating habits and hygiene. This kind of initiative is a crucial tool to establish healthy living habits

Impact of Nursing Methodology training sessions on completion of the Virginia Henderson assessment record

Producción CientíficaThe Virginia Henderson model, integrated in the computer application GACELA Care, helps to standardise the nursing assessment and establish precise and personalised nursing diagnoses. The aim was to determine the extent of completion of the initial patient assessment record after nurses following a training programme on nursing methodology. A quasi-experimental, retrospective, randomised, observational, single-group study was performed in two stages: pre-training and post-training. Voluntary training sessions were held for the nurses that work with GACELA Care. The completion of the initial patient assessment using the needs of Virginia Henderson and the Norton scale was evaluated before and after the training sessions. Completion of the needs of Virginia Henderson in the initial patient assessment increased from 94.2% to 100% (p = 0.014). Completion of “hygiene/skin” increased significantly from 83.3% to 95.8% (pre-training and post-training, respectively). The remaining needs did not show statistical significance. Recording of the Norton scale increased from 63.13% to 92.5% (p < 0.001). The training sessions on nursing methodology have improved the completion of records and inclusion of normal characteristics, defining characteristics and risk factors, and improving pressure ulcer risk assessment through the Norton scale

Low temperature plasma processing of platinum porphyrins for the development of metal nanostructured layers

This article establishes the bases for a vacuum and plasma supported methodology for the fabrication at mild temperatures of nanostructured platinum in the form of porous layers and nanocolumns using platinum octaethylporphyrin as precursor. In addition, the application of these materials as tunable optical filters and nano-counterelectrodes is proved. On one hand, the transparency in the ultraviolet-visible-near infrared range can be adjusted precisely between 70% and 1% by tuning the deposition and processing conditions, obtaining a high spectral planarity. Deviations of the spectra from an ideal flat filter are below 4%, paving the way to the fabrication of neutral density filters. The transparency limit values yield a sheet resistivity of ¿1350 and 120 ¿ ¿-1, respectively. On the other hand, the catalytic properties of the nanostructures are further demonstrated by their implementation as counterelectrodes of excitonic solar cells surpassing the performance of commercial platinum as counterelectrode in a 20% of the overall cell efficiency due to simultaneous enhancement of short-circuit photocurrent and open-circuit photovoltage. One of the most interesting features of the developed methodology is its straightforward application to other metal porphyrins and phthalocyanines readily sublimable under mild vacuum and temperature conditions.Junta de AndaluciaTEP8067 FQM-6900 FQM 1851 P12-FQM-2265España MinecoMAT2013-40852-R MAT2013-42900-P MAT2013-47192-C3-3-RMAT2016-79866-RMINECO-CSIC 201560E055

H- ras deletion protects against angiotensin II-induced arterial hypertension and cardiac remodeling through protein kinase G-Ibeta pathway activation

15 p.Ras proteins regulate cell survival, growth, differentiation, blood pressure, and fibrosis in some organs.We have demonstrated that H-rasgene deletion produces mice hypotensionviaa soluble guanylate cyclase-proteinkinase G (PKG)–dependent mechanism. In this study, we analyzed the consequences of H-rasdeletiononcardiacremodeling induced by continuous angiotensin II (AngII) infusion and the molecular mechanisms implied. Leftventricular posterior wall thickness and mass and cardiomyocyte cross-sectional area were similar between AngII-treated H-Ras knockout (H-ras2/2) and control wild-type (H-ras+/+) mice, as were extracellular matrix proteinexpression. Increased cardiac PKG-Ibprotein expression in H-ras2/2mice suggests the involvement of this proteinin heart protection.Ex vivoexperiments on cardiac explants could support this mechanism, as PKG blockadeblunted protection against AngII-induced cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis markers in H-ras2/2mice. Geneticmodulation studies in cardiomyocytes and cardiac and embryonic fibroblasts revealed that the lack of H-Ras down-regulates the B-RAF/MEK/ERK pathway, which induces the glycogen synthase kinase-3b-dependent activation ofthe transcription factor, cAMP response element-binding protein, which is responsible for PKG-Iboverexpressionin H-ras2/2mouse embryonic fibroblasts. This study demonstrates that H-rasdeletion protects against AngII-induced cardiac remodeling, possiblyviaa mechanism in which PKG-Iboverexpression could play a partial role, andpoints to H-Ras and/or downstream proteins as potential therapeutic targets in cardiovascular disease.Instituto de Salud Carlos IIIUniversidad de AlcaláFundación SenefroFEDE

Revealing prevalent cancers by interrogating glycoproteins with sustainable immunoelectrochemical tools

Trabajo presentado en el 4th European Biosensor Symposium, celebrado en Aquisgrán (Alemania), del 27 al 30 de agosto de 2023Introduction. The worldwide incidence and death toll of colorectal and pancreatic cancers (CRC and PDAC) have increased considerably since 1990. For this reason, both early detection and regular follow-up are considered key factors in improving patient prognosis. In this sense, the determination of the total content of specific proteins and their aberrantly glycosylated fraction in oncologic processes could help to achieve the proposed goals. Results and Discussion. In this work, two simple but highly competitive electrochemical immunoplatforms for the determination of total and glycosylated post-translational modified haptoglobin (Hp) [1], and CA19-9 [2] (candidate biomarkers associated with colorectal and pancreatic cancer, respectively) are presented. As seen in Figure 1, these biotools are uplifted in the use of magnetic immunocaptors and another antibody or a lectin as detector elements lastly labeled with HRP, which enables subsequent amperometric detection. The presented bioplatforms exhibit attractive characteristics in terms of simplicity, affordability, and point-of-care application compared to the conventional available methodologies, highlighting low detection limits (0.07 and 0.46 ng mL¿1 for total and glycosylated Hp, respectively, and 1.5 U mL¿1 for CA19-9), and short assay times (< 2 h). The workability of these quantitative bioplatforms for the analysis of secretomes from cultured CRC cells with the distinct potential to metastasize (Hp) or serum samples from healthy and PDAC-diagnosed subjects (CA19-9) was assessed to definitely confirm full exploitation of all the above exposed enticing attributes. Conclusions. Our findings clearly revealed the unquestionable ability of these modern electrochemical immunoplatforms to discriminate between healthy and cancer-diagnosed subjects, as well as to assess disease progression, positioning these simple but effective methodologies as advanced electroanalytical tools with proven real biomedical applications, and the hope of aiding in the accurate diagnosis of prevalent and high mortality cancers