A Novel Niosome-Encapsulated Essential Oil Formulation to Prevent Aspergillus flavus Growth and Aflatoxin Contamination of Maize Grains During Storage

Aflatoxin (AF) contamination of maize is a major concern for food safety. The use of chemical fungicides is controversial, and it is necessary to develop new effective methods to control Aspergillus flavus growth and, therefore, to avoid the presence of AFs in grains. In this work, we tested in vitro the effect of six essential oils (EOs) extracted from aromatic plants. We selected those from Satureja montana and Origanum virens because they show high levels of antifungal and antitoxigenic activity at low concentrations against A. flavus. EOs are highly volatile compounds and we have developed a new niosome-based encapsulation method to extend their shelf life and activity. These new formulations have been successfully applied to reduce fungal growth and AF accumulation in maize grains in a small-scale test, as well as placing the maize into polypropylene woven bags to simulate common storage conditions. In this latter case, the antifungal properties lasted up to 75 days after the first applicatio

A Comprehensive Study on the Occurrence of Mycotoxins and Their Producing Fungi during the Maize Production Cycle in Spain

Mycotoxin contamination is one of the main problems affecting corn production, due to its significant risk to human and animal health. The Fusarium and Aspergillus species are the main producers of mycotoxins in maize, infecting both pre-harvest and during storage. In this work, we evaluated the presence of mycotoxins and their producing species along maize production cycles in three different stages (anthesis, harvest, and storage) during three consecutive seasons (2016–2018). Fungal occurrences were studied using species-specific PCR protocols, whereas mycotoxin levels were determined by LC-MS/MS. Fumonisin-producing Fusarium species (F. verticillioides and F. proliferatum), as well as the aflatoxin producer Aspergillus flavus, were the most predominant species at all stages; although, during some seasons, the presence of F. graminearum and A. niger aggregate species were also identified. Contrastingly, fumonisins were the only mycotoxins detected and levels were always under legal regulations. The results presented here demonstrate that even when fungal contamination occurs at the early stages of the maize production cycle, the application of good agricultural and storage practices might be crucial to ensure mycotoxin-free grains

Proyecto Yuri

El Proyecto Yuri es una actividad divulgativa y científica que surge de la colaboración entre el Departamento de Física y Química del IES Valle del Saja y la Delegación Territorial de AEMET en Cantabria, Textil Santanderina, Meteológica y la Consejería de Educación, Cultura y Deporte del Gobierno de Cantabria. La presente memoria recoge el Proyecto Yuri. Se trata de un documento comprensivo, que incluye todos los extremos de la experiencia: sus objetivos y principios, su planificación, su desarrollo, sus resultados y sus conclusiones. También todos aquellos cálculos y tareas que han sido necesarios para llevarla a cabo.De forma sintética, el proyecto utiliza la realización de un lanzamiento de un globo con equipos de grabación y medida de variables físicas a la estratosfera, como medio de consecución de diversos objetivos generales relacionados con la aplicación del método científico por parte de alumnos y de otros objetivos específicos, como la obtención de datos, gráficas y registros audiovisuales durante el lanzamiento. Cronológicamente, abarca desde el comienzo de los preparativos en la primavera de 2018, hasta la culminación del lanzamiento el 10 de agosto de ese año y aún después, durante la laboriosa extracción de datos y elaboración de documentos (textos, gráficos y audiovisuales), que registran cada extremo del proyecto

The effect of early life events on glucose levels in first-episode psychosis

First episode of psychosis (FEP) patients display a wide variety of metabolic disturbances at onset, which might underlie these patients' increased morbidity and early mortality. Glycemic abnormalities have been previously related to pharmacological agents; however, recent research highlights the impact of early life events. Birth weight (BW), an indirect marker of the fetal environment, has been related to glucose abnormalities in the general population over time. We aim to evaluate if BW correlates with glucose values in a sample of FEP patients treated with different antipsychotics. Two hundred and thirty-six patients were included and evaluated for clinical and metabolic variables at baseline and at 2, 6, 12, and 24 months of follow-up. Pearson correlations and linear mixed model analysis were conducted to analyze the data. Antipsychotic treatment was grouped due to its metabolic risk profile. In our sample of FEP patients, BW was negatively correlated with glucose values at 24 months of follow-up [r=-0.167, p=0.037]. BW showed a trend towards significance in the association with glucose values over the 24-month period (F=3.22; p=0.073) despite other confounders such as age, time, sex, body mass index, antipsychotic type, and chlorpromazine dosage. This finding suggests that BW is involved in the evolution of glucose values over time in a cohort of patients with an FEP, independently of the type of pharmacological agent used in treatment. Our results highlight the importance of early life events in the later metabolic outcome of patients

How does neighbourhood socio-economic status affect the interrelationships between functioning dimensions in first episode of psychosis? A network analysis approach

The links between psychosis and socio-economic disadvantage have been widely studied. No previous study has analysed the interrelationships and mutual influences between functioning dimensions in first episode of psychosis (FEP) according to their neighbourhood household income, using a multidimensional and transdiagnostic perspective. 170 patients and 129 controls, participants in an observational study (AGES-CM), comprised the study sample. The WHO Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS 2.0) was used to assess functioning, whereas participants' postcodes were used to obtain the average household income for each neighbourhood, collected by the Spanish National Statistics Institute (INE). Network analyses were conducted with the aim of defining the interrelationships between the different dimensions of functioning according to the neighbourhood household income. Our results show that lower neighbourhood socioeconomic level is associated with lower functioning in patients with FEP. Moreover, our findings suggest that “household responsibilities” plays a central role in the disability of patients who live in low-income neighbourhoods, whereas “dealing with strangers” is the most important node in the network of patients who live in high-income neighbourhoods. These results could help to personalize treatments, by allowing the identification of potential functioning areas to be prioritized in the treatment of FEP according to the patient's neighbourhood characteristic

Cognitive reserve and its correlates in child and adolescent offspring of patients diagnosed with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder

Aim: To analyze cognitive reserve (CR) in child and adolescent offspring of patients diagnosed with schizophrenia (SZ-off) or bipolar disorder (BD-off) and compare them with a group of community controls (CC-off). We also aimed to investigate whether there was an association between CR and clinical and neuropsychological variables according to group. Methods: The study included 46 SZ-off, 105 BD-off and 102 CC-off. All participants completed assessments regarding CR and clinical, neuropsychological and psychosocial functioning. CR was measured with a proxy based on premorbid intelligence, parental occupational level, educational attainment, developmental milestones and sociability. The clinical assessment included the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia, Present and Lifetime, the Semi-structured Interview for Prodromal Syndromes, and the Global Assessment Functioning scale. The neuropsychological assessment included measures of executive functioning, attention, verbal memory, working memory and processing speed. Results: SZ-off showed a lower level of CR compared to BD-off and CC-off, while BD-off showed an intermediate level of CR between SZ-off and CC-off. Moreover, an association between higher CR and less lifetime psychopathology, fewer prodromal psychotic symptoms, higher psychosocial functioning, and a higher working memory score was observed in all groups, but it was stronger in SZ-off. Conclusions: CR seemed to be associated with psychopathology, clinical symptoms, psychosocial functioning, and some cognitive functions. SZ-off appeared to benefit more from a higher CR, therefore it could be considered a protective factor against the development of clinical symptomatology and cognitive impairment

The interplay between functioning problems and symptoms in first episode of psychosis: an approach from network analysis

The relationship between psychotic symptoms and global measures of functioning has been widely studied. No previous study has assessed so far the interplay between specific clinical symptoms and particular areas of functioning in first-episode psychosis (FEP) using network analysis methods. A total of 191 patients with FEP (age 24.45 ± 6.28 years, 64.9% male) participating in an observational and longitudinal study (AGES-CM) comprised the study sample. Functioning problems were assessed with the WHO Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS), whereas the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) was used to assess symptom severity. Network analysis were conducted with the aim of analysing the patterns of relationships between the different dimensions of functioning and PANSS symptoms and factors at baseline. According to our results, the most important nodes were “conceptual disorganization”, “emotional withdrawal”, “lack of spontaneity and flow of conversation”, “delusions”, “unusual thought content”, “dealing with strangers” and “poor rapport”. Our findings suggest that these symptoms and functioning dimensions should be prioritized in the clinical assessment and management of patients with FEP. These areas may also become targets of future early intervention strategies, so as to improve quality of life in this populationThis work was supported by the Madrid Regional Government (R&D activities in Biomedicine (grant number S2017/BMD-3740 - AGES-CM 2-CM)) and Structural Funds of the European Union. Ana Izquierdo’s work is supported by the PFIS predoctoral program (FI17/00138) from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (Spain) and co-funded by the European Union (ERDF/ESF, "A way to make Europe”/ “Investing in your future”) and The Biomedical Research Foundation of La Princesa University Hospital. Angela Ib´a˜nez thanks the support of CIBERSAM and of the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities. Instituto de Salud Carlos III (PI16/00834 and PI19/01295) co-financed by ERDF Funds from the European Commission. Covadonga M. Díaz-Caneja holds a Juan Rod´es Grant from Instituto de Salud Carlos III (JR19/00024). Celso Arango was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation. Instituto de Salud Carlos III (SAM16PE07CP1, PI16/02012, PI19/ 024), co-financed by ERDF Funds from the European Commission, “A way of making Europe”, CIBERSAM. Madrid Regional Government (B2017/BMD-3740 AGES-CM-2), European Union Structural Funds. European Union Seventh Framework Program under grant agreements FP7-4-HEALTH-2009-2.2.1-2-241909 (Project EU-GEI), FP7- HEALTH- 2013-2.2.1-2-603196 (Project PSYSCAN) and FP7- HEALTH-2013- 2.2.1-2-602478 (Project METSY); and European Union H2020 Program under the Innovative Medicines Initiative 2 Joint Undertaking (grant agreement No 115916, Project PRISM, and grant agreement No 777394, Project AIMS-2-TRIALS), Fundaci´on Familia Alonso, Fundaci´on Alicia Koplowitz and Fundaci´on Mutua Madrile˜n

Polygenic contribution to the relationship of loneliness and social isolation with schizophrenia

Previous research suggests an association of loneliness and social isolation (LNL-ISO) with schizophrenia. Here, we demonstrate a LNL-ISO polygenic score contribution to schizophrenia risk in an independent case-control sample (N = 3,488). We then subset schizophrenia predisposing variation based on its effect on LNL-ISO. We find that genetic variation with concordant effects in both phenotypes shows significant SNP-based heritability enrichment, higher polygenic contribution in females, and positive covariance with mental disorders such as depression, anxiety, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, alcohol dependence, and autism. Conversely, genetic variation with discordant effects only contributes to schizophrenia risk in males and is negatively correlated with those disorders. Mendelian randomization analyses demonstrate a plausible bi-directional causal relationship between LNL-ISO and schizophrenia, with a greater effect of LNL-ISO liability on schizophrenia than vice versa. These results illustrate the genetic footprint of LNL-ISO on schizophrenia