On the classification theorems of almost-Hermitian or homogeneous Kähler structures

A proof by Young tableaux and symmetrizers is given of the classification theorems by Gray and Hervella of almost-Hermitian structures and by Abbena and Garbiero of homogeneous Kähler structures.Partially supported by DGICYT, Spain, under Grant no. BFM2002–00141.Peer reviewe

On the explicit expressions of the canonical 8-form on Riemannian manifolds with Spin (9) holonomy

6 pags. 1991 Mathematics Subject Classification. Primary 53C29, Secondary 53C27.Two explicit expressions of the canonical 8-form on a Riemannian manifold with holonomy group Spin(9) have been given: One by the present authors and another by Parton and Piccinni. The relation between these two expressions is obtained. Moreover, it is shown that they are different only from a combinatorial viewpoint.The first author has been supported by DGI (Spain) Project MTM2013-46961-P..Peer reviewe

Cranberry-derived phenolic metabolites and urinary tract infections

Resumen del póster presentado a la 7th International Conference on Polyphenols and Health, celebrada en Tours (Francia) del 27 al 30 de octubre de 2015.The beneficial effects of cranbeny products against urinary tract infections (UTIs) have been attributed, at least partly, to their A-type proanthocyanidin (PAC) content. A-type PACs have shown uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC)-anti-adhesive activity, although they are unlikely to appear in urine at relevant concentrations as they are poorly absorbed. One leading hypothesis is that PAC-derived metabolites present in urine would operate in the phase of UPEC adyherence to uroepithelial cells, preventing bacterial colonization. In addition to this, and as it is becoming evident that the intestine is a reservoir for uropathogenic bacteria, other hypothesis is that. A-type proanthocyanidins specifically decrease the transient intestinal colonisation b UPEC, consequently reducing the risk of UTI incidence. In any case, gut microbiota (and its inter-individual variability) seems to be an important factor to be considered. In this communication, we summarize our results from different approaches aimed to look into the mechanisms that are behind the protedive action of cranberry polyphenols against ITUs: 1)in vitro fermentations of cranbeny polyphenols with colonic microbiota, that were performed to access the microbial-derived metabolic profile of cranbeny polyphenols as well as their effect on gut microbiota survival, 2) an in vivo trial with model mouse intraurethral-inoculated wilh UPEC, that evaluated the effectiveness of cranbeny supplementation in bacterial infection as well as its impact on faecal phenolic metabolism and faecal microbiota, 3) testing the UPEC-antiadhesive capacity of cranbeny phenolic compounds and their metabolites in bladder epithelial cell culíures, and 4) ex vivo studies of UPEC-antiadhesive capacity of mice mines collected after cranbeny supplementation.Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MiNECO) (Projects AGL-2010-17499 and AGL2012-40172-C02-01) and the Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid (Project ALIBIRD S2013/ABI-2728), Spain.Peer Reviewe

Synthesis of Zigzag- and Fjord-Edged Nanographene with Dual Amplified Spontaneous Emission

We report the synthesis of a dibenzodinaphthocoronene (DBDNC) derivative as a novel nanographene with armchair, zigzag, and fjord edges, which was characterized by NMR and X-ray crystallography as well as infrared (IR) and Raman spectroscopies. Ultrafast transient absorption (TA) spectroscopy revealed the presence of stimulated emission signals at 655 nm and 710 nm with a relatively long lifetime, which resulted in dual amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) bands under ns-pulsed excitation, indicating the promise of DBNDC as a near-infrared (NIR) fluorophore for photonics. Our results provide new insight into the design of nanographene with intriguing optical properties by incorporating fjord edges.This work was financially supported by the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST), the Max Planck Society, JSPS KAKENHI Grant No. JP19K24686, and the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation program under grant agreement no. 101017821 (LIGHT-CAP). G. M. P thanks Fondazione Cariplo (Grant no. 2018-0979) for financial support. Researchers from the University of Alicante acknowledge support from the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación and the European Union (Next Generation EU) through grant no. PID2020-119124RB-I00; and to the Conselleria de Innovación, Universidades y Sociedad Digital de la Comunidad Valenciana (Grant No. AICO/2021/093)

Comparative effects of A- and B-type proanthocyanidins in the prevention of urinary tract infection in mice

Resumen del póster presentado a la VI International Conference on Polyphenols and Health celebrada en Buenos Aires (Argentina) del 16 al 19 de octubre de 2013.Consumption of cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpum) is widely recommended forprophylaxis against urinary tract infections (UTI) in women. Among cranberry components, A-type proanthocyanins would be implicated in these preventive effects against UTI. However, proanthocyanidins are poorly absorbed in the small intestine, but subjected to extensive biotransformation in the colon, although studies are almost restricted to B-type proanthocyanidins. Therefore, the hypothesis of this study is that urinary metabolome from of A-type and B-type proanthocyanidins-mainly derived from their colonic catabolism-differ,and only metabolites from the A-type procyanidins have protective effects against UTI. To test this hypothesis, JAXc3H/OuJ female mice previously fed with specific diet (control, 1% cranberry extract and 1% grape seed extract) for 2 weeks, were inoculated with the uropathogenic E. coli (ATCC 53503™) to provoke infection, and maintained 2 weeks more before being sacrificed. Urine samples were collected at different times and subjected to E.coli counting, leukocytary esterase and nitrites analyses, and mieloperoxidase task. Samples of kidney and bladder tissues were also collected for E. coli counting and histopathologic analysis. Additionally, the capacity of the urine samples to inhibit bacterial adherence was tested in the T24 bladder cell line (ATCC HTB4 ™).Peer reviewe

Comparison of three different staining methods for the assessment of epididymal red deer sperm morphometry by computerized analysis with ISAS®

When collection of ejaculated sperm samples is not possible, as is the case with wild species, the epididymides of sacrificed wild males become the only possible source of spermatozoa. Mature cauda epididymal spermatozoa display characteristics similar to those of ejaculated sperm cells. The present work proposes a sperm staining technique suitable for the morphometric evaluation of red deer epididymal sperm using a new computerized system. Epididymides from wild animals were extracted no later than 2 h post mortem. After epididymal sectioning, sperm samples were collected, cooled to and equilibrated at 5 °C, and frozen in liquid nitrogen. Before staining, sperm samples were thawed for 20 s at 37 °C, and used for the preparation of slides. Three different sperm stains were tested: Hemacolor, Diff-Quik, and Harris’ Hematoxylin. Morphometric analyses of sperm samples were performed using the morphologic module of the ISAS®. Two hundred spermatozoa per sample and stain were captured at random and analyzed. Sperm morphometric values were significantly affected by the staining technique used. Moreover, significant differences were observed between animals. In our study, Diff-Quik could be considered to be the best sperm staining method, as it provided the highest percentage of well automatically analyzed cells by the ISAS®, and discriminates better between animals. This sperm staining technique also proved to be a useful method for characterizing and discriminating between sperm samples of different animals.This study was partially supported by the Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología, INIA (RZ01-008).Peer reviewe

Functional Recovery and Serum Angiogenin Changes According to Intensity of Rehabilitation Therapy After Stroke

Rehabilitation is still the only treatment available to improve functional status after the acute phase of stroke. Most clinical guidelines highlight the need to design rehabilitation treatments considering starting time, intensity, and frequency, according to the tolerance of the patient. However, there are no homogeneous protocols and the biological effects are under investigation. To investigate the impact of rehabilitation intensity (hours) after stroke on functional improvement and serum angiogenin (ANG) in a 6-month follow-up study. A prospective, observational, longitudinal, and multicenter study with three cohorts: strokes in intensive rehabilitation therapy (IRT, minimum 15 h/week) vs. conventional therapy (NO-IRT, <15 h/week), and controls subjects (without known neurological, malignant, or inflammatory diseases). A total of seven centers participated, with functional evaluations and blood sampling during follow-up. The final cohort includes 62 strokes and 43 controls with demographic, clinical, blood samples, and exhaustive functional monitoring. The median (IQR) number of weekly hours of therapy was different: IRT 15 (15-16) vs. NO-IRT 7.5 (5-9), p < 0.01, with progressive and significant improvements in both groups. However, IRT patients showed earlier improvements (within 1 month) on several scales (CAHAI, FMA, and FAC; p < 0.001) and the earliest community ambulation achievements (0.89 m/s at 3 months). There was a significant difference in ANG temporal profile between the IRT and NO-IRT groups (p < 0.01). Additionally, ANG was elevated at 1 month only in the IRT group (p < 0.05) whereas it decreased in the NO-IRT group (p < 0.05). Our results suggest an association of rehabilitation intensity with early functional improvements, and connect the rehabilitation process with blood biomarkers

Endovascular Therapy in the Extended Time Window for Large Vessel Occlusion in Patients With Pre-Stroke Disability.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE We compared the outcomes of endovascular therapy (EVT) in an extended time window in patients with large-vessel occlusion (LVO) between patients with and without pre-stroke disability. METHODS In this prespecified analysis of the multinational CT for Late Endovascular Reperfusion study (66 participating sites, 10 countries between 2014 and 2022), we analyzed data from patients with acute ischemic stroke with a pre-stroke modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score of 0-4 and LVO who underwent EVT 6-24 hours from the time last seen well. The primary outcome was the composite of functional independence (FI; mRS score 0-2) or return to the pre-stroke mRS score (return of Rankin, RoR) at 90 days. Outcomes were compared between patients with pre-stroke disability (pre-stroke mRS score 2-4) and those without (mRS score 0-1). RESULTS A total of 2,231 patients (median age, 72 years; median National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score, 16) were included in the present analysis. Of these, 564 (25%) had pre-stroke disability. The primary outcome (FI or RoR) was observed in 30.7% of patients with pre-stroke disability (FI, 16.5%; RoR, 30.7%) compared to 44.1% of patients without (FI, 44.1%; RoR, 13.0%) (P<0.001). In multivariable logistic regression analysis with inverse probability of treatment weighting, pre-stroke disability was not associated with significantly lower odds of achieving FI or RoR (adjusted odds ratio 0.73, 95% confidence interval 0.43-1.25). Symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage occurred in 6.3% of both groups (P=0.995). CONCLUSION A considerable proportion of patients with late-presenting LVO and pre-stroke disability regained pre-stroke mRS scores after EVT. EVT may be appropriate for patients with pre-stroke disability presenting in the extended time window

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