Study of the Phenolic Profile of Cider Apple Cultivars at Maturity by Multivariate Techniques

Phenolic compounds in 46 Spanish cider apple varieties were determined by RP-HPLC with direct injection. Several pattern recognition procedures, including principal component analysis (PCA), linear discriminant analysis (LDA), and partial least squares (PLS-1), were applied to the data in an attempt to classify the samples into bitter and nonbitter categories. Reliable decision rules were obtained by both LDA and PLS-1. LDA achieved 91.3 and 85.7% correct classification respectively, for internal and external evaluation of the model

Removal of pharmaceutical industry pollutants by coal-based activated carbons

Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

A novel method for the determination of total 1,3-octanediols in apple juice via 1,3-dioxanes by solid-phase microextraction and high-speed gas chromatography

In this work, a novel, simple and fast method based on solid-phase microextraction (SPME) followed by high-speed gas chromatography (HSGC) was developed for the analysis of total 1,3-octanediols in apple juices by means of derivatization reaction to volatile 1,3-dioxanes. The derivatization reaction, SPME conditions, glycosidically bound fraction and 1,3-nonanediol as a surrogate standard were studied. The formation of 1,3-dioxanes from 1,3-diols was confirmed by GC–MS. The method was validated obtaining a regression coefficient (r2) of 0.9996, precisions between 0.3 and 9.8%, extraction recoveries in the range 94.7–112.2% and LOD of 2.9 g l−1. Experimental design has been employed in the optimization of extraction factors and robustness assessment. The method was applied to the analysis of 21 Asturian apple varieties finding a double reciprocal relationship between the concentrations of saturated and unsaturated 1,3-octanediol

Impact of oxy-fuel combustion gases on mercury retention in activated carbons from a macroalgae waste: Effect of water

The aim of this study is to understand the different sorption behaviors of mercury species on activated carbons in the oxy-fuel combustion of coal and the effect of high quantities of water vapor on the retention process. The work evaluates the interactions between the mercury species and a series of activated carbons prepared from a macroalgae waste (algae meal) from the agar–agar industry in oxy-combustion atmospheres, focussing on the role that the high concentration of water in the flue gases plays in mercury retention. Two novel aspects are considered in this work (i) the impact of oxy-combustion gases on the retention of mercury by activated carbons and (ii) the performance of activated carbons prepared from biomass algae wastes for this application. The results obtained at laboratory scale indicate that the effect of the chemical and textural characteristics of the activated carbons on mercury capture is not as important as that of reactive gases, such as the SOx and water vapor present in the flue gas. Mercury retention was found to be much lower in the oxy-combustion atmosphere than in the O2 + N2 (12.6% O2) atmosphere. However, the oxidation of elemental mercury (Hg0) to form oxidized mercury (Hg2+) amounted to 60%, resulting in an enhancement of mercury retention in the flue gas desulfurization units and a reduction in the amalgamation of Hg0 in the CO2 compression unit. This result is of considerable importance for the development of technologies based on activated carbon sorbents for mercury control in oxy-combustion processes.The authors acknowledge the financial support provided by the National Research Program under the project CTM2011–22921 and the Program FEDER of the Principado de Asturias 2007–2013 under the Project PC10-40.Peer reviewe

X-linked hypophosphatemia and growth

X-Linked hypophosphatemia (XLH) is the most common form of hereditary rickets caused by loss-of function mutations in the PHEX gene. XLH is characterized by hypophosphatemia secondary to renal phosphate wasting, inappropriately low concentrations of 1,25 dihydroxyvitamin D and high circulating levels of fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23). Short stature and rachitic osseous lesions are characteristic phenotypic findings of XLH although the severity of these manifestations is highly variable among patients. The degree of growth impairment is not dependent on the magnitude of hypophosphatemia or the extent of legs´ bowing and height is not normalized by chronic administration of phosphate supplements and 1α hydroxyvitamin D derivatives. Treatment with growth hormone accelerates longitudinal growth rate but there is still controversy regarding the potential risk of increasing bone deformities and body disproportion. Treatments aimed at blocking FGF23 action are promising, but information is lacking on the consequences of counteracting FGF23 during the growing period. This review summarizes current knowledge on phosphorus metabolism in XLH, presents updated information on XLH and growth, including the effects of FGF23 on epiphyseal growth plate of the Hyp mouse, an animal model of the disease, and discusses growth hormone and novel FGF23 related therapies

Deregulated cellular circuits driving immunoglobulins and complement consumption associate with the severity of COVID-19 patients

SARS-CoV-2 infection causes an abrupt response by the host immune system, which is largely responsible for the outcome of COVID-19. We investigated whether the specific immune responses in the peripheral blood of 276 patients were associated with the severity and progression of COVID-19. At admission, dramatic lymphopenia of T, B, and NK cells is associated with severity. Conversely, the proportion of B cells, plasmablasts, circulating follicular helper T cells (cTfh) and CD56–CD16+ NK-cells increased. Regarding humoral immunity, levels of IgM, IgA, and IgG were unaffected, but when degrees of severity were considered, IgG was lower in severe patients. Compared to healthy donors, complement C3 and C4 protein levels were higher in mild and moderate, but not in severe patients, while the activation peptide of C5 (C5a) increased from the admission in every patient, regardless of their severity. Moreover, total IgG, the IgG1 and IgG3 isotypes, and C4 decreased from day 0 to day 10 in patients who were hospitalized for more than two weeks, but not in patients who were discharged earlier. Our study provides important clues to understand the immune response observed in COVID-19 patients, associating severity with an imbalanced humoral response, and identifying new targets for therapeutic interventionThe study was funded by grants SAF2017- 82886-R to FS-M from the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, and from “La Caixa Banking Foundation” (HR17-00016) to FS-M. Grant PI018/01163 to CMC and grant PI19/00549 to AA were funded by Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias, Ministerio de Sanidad y Consumo, Spain. SAF2017-82886-R, PI018/01163 and PI19/00549 grants were also co-funded by European Regional Development Fund, ERDF/FEDER. This work has been funded by grants Fondo Supera COVID (CRUE-Banco de Santander) to FSM, and “Ayuda Covid 2019” from Comunidad de Madri

Mutational screening of newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients by deep targeted sequencing

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