Análisis y evaluación del riesgo de micotoxinas en café

La población en general espera tener una alimentación cada vez más sana y segura, con alimentos nutritivos y asequibles. Desafortunadamente, antes durante y después de la cosecha, las materias primas y los productos procesados están sometidos a la contaminación por microorganismos y hongos y, en consecuencia, por sus metabolitos secundarios, las micotoxinas. El café es uno de estos productos. La presente tesis doctoral aborda nuevas técnicas analíticas para desvelar los contenidos de estas micotoxinas en café, y evalúa el “riesgo” que representa un producto tan fuertemente instaurado en la alimentación de numerosas sociedades a lo largo de todo el mundo. Entre las diferentes metodologías analíticas estudiadas se han seleccionado dos de ellas. La primera consiste en una extracción de multimicotoxinas con acetonitrilo/agua como extractante en Ultra-Turrax, que permite el análisis simultaneo de 18 micotoxinas (ocratoxina A, aflatoxina B1, B2, G1, G2, nivalenol, deoxinivalenol, toxinas HT-2 y T-2, diacetoxyscirpenol, fumonisinas B1y B2, zearalenona, eniatinas A, A1, B, B1, y beauvericina) en café tostado. La segunda consiste en la extracción con acetato de etilo/ácido fórmico con Ultra-Turrax, que permite la extracción simultanea de 21 micotoxinas (ocratoxina A, Aflatoxinas B1 B2, G1, G2, esterigmatocistina, nivalenol, deoxinivalenol, 3-acetoxi deoxinivalenol, 15-acetoxi deoxinivalenol, diacetoxyscirpenol, neosolaniol, toxinas HT-2 y T-2, fumonisinas B1 y B2, eniatinas A, A1, B, B1, y beuvericina) desde la bebida de café preparada para su consumo. La técnica instrumental consiste en una cromatografía líquida acoplada a espectrometría de masas de triple cuadrupolo (CL-EM/ EM). Las propuestas se han validado obteniendo resultados satisfactorios de acuerdo con la normativa aplicable europea en cuanto a los requisitos exigidos para los métodos analíticos (CE/657/2002). La aplicación de ambos métodos analíticos a muestras comercializadas revela un alto número de muestras contaminadas por micotoxinas: con rangos de contaminación en café tostado desde 0,10 μg/kg hasta 25,86 mg/kg, y en bebida de café desde 0,69 μg/kg hasta 282,89 μg/kg. Entre las micotoxinas encontradas cabe destacar la presencia de ocratoxina A (OTA), la única micotoxina legislada en café, detectada incluso a niveles superiores a los límites máximos establecidos (5,0 μg/kg) en un pequeño número de muestras. No obstante, una parte de las muestras analizadas no presenta contaminación por ninguna de las micotoxinas analizadas. Los diferentes tipos de café estudiados no muestran diferencias significativas en la mayoría de los casos. Si bien, algunas micotoxinas como OTA o deoxinivalenol entre otras, si muestran diferencias en función del tipo de procesado o del tipo de café. Con los datos de contaminación de café combinados con la base de datos de consumo de la EFSA, se ha calculado la ingesta diaria estimada de acuerdo con las recomendaciones de la OMS. Además, se ha realizado una evaluación del riesgo mediante comparación de la ingesta diaria estimada con parámetros toxicológicos de ingesta diaria tolerable e ingesta semanal tolerable. Tras la evaluación del riesgo en adultos y adolescentes españoles, se concluye que el consumo de café no representa un riesgo potencial por su contenido en micotoxinas. No obstante, la contaminación del café por micotoxinas afecta a la ingesta diaria estimada en la dieta total, especialmente en sectores de la población con alto consumo de café. La presencia y coexistencia de micotoxinas en café, los efectos toxicológicos de las mismas y la legislación actual del café, que solo contempla la ocratoxina A, muestran la necesidad de una legislación más completa, que regule un mayor número de micotoxinas en este producto.Nowadays population desires a healthy and safety diet, with nutritive and affordable foods. Unfortunately, before, during and/or after harvesting, food products are subject to contamination by microorganism and fungi, and consequently by their secondary metabolites, the mycotoxins. Mycotoxins are toxic compounds. There are approximately 400 recognized mycotoxins, but only a few of them are present in food commodities, and some mycotoxins are regulated in foods. Coffee is an agricultural food product and is subject to contamination, the only mycotoxin regulated in coffee is ochratoxin A. This Doctoral Thesis develops new analytical technics for quantification of mycotoxins contents in coffee. In addition, implement the risk assessment of this widely consume and deeply ingrained around the world product. Among the different analytical methodologies, two of them are selected. One for the analysis of roasted coffee, consisting in an extraction with acetonitrile/water for the simultaneous analysis of 18 mycotoxins (ochratoxin A, aflatoxin B1, aflatoxin B2, aflatoxin G1, aflatoxin G2, nivalenol, deoxynivalenol, T-2 and HT-2 toxin, diacetoxyscirpenol, fumonisin B1, fumonisin B2, zearalenone, enniatin A, enniatin A1, enniatin B, enniatin B1, and beauvericin); The other one for the analysis of coffee brews consisting in an extraction with ethyl acetate/formic acid 5% for the simultaneous analysis of 21 mycotoxins (ochratoxin A, aflatoxin B1, aflatoxin B2, aflatoxin G1, aflatoxin G2, sterigmatocystin, nivalenol, deoxynivalenol, 3-acetyldeoxynivalenol, 15-acetyl deoxynivalenol, diacetoxyscirpenol, neosolaniol, HT-2 toxin, T-2 toxin, fumonisin B1, fumonisin B2, enniatin A, enniatin A1, enniatin B, enniatin B1, and beauvericin). Instrumentation consist in a liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry LC-MS/MS. Both analytical methods achieve satisfactory results according quality standards of the European Union regulation (CE/657/2002). The analyses of real samples indicate the presence of the studied mycotoxins in coffee beverages at concentrations ranging from 0.10 μg/kg to 25. 86mg/kg in roasted coffee samples, and from 0.69 μg/kg to 282.89 μg/kg in coffee brew. Ochratoxin A, the only mycotoxin regulated in coffee, is detected in samples, and in some cases concentration levels exceed the maximum limit established (5.0 μg/kg). However, some samples are mycotoxin free. The most coffee types do not show significant differences in the degradation of mycotoxins. Nevertheless, ochratoxin A and deoxynivalenol between others, show different behaviour by the different coffee types and coffee brewing methods. The estimated daily intake is calculated based on the recommendations of WHO. Data on mycotoxin concentrations in coffee samples, and food consumption data available from EFSA data base, have been used for the estimation. In addition, risk assessment has been performed for Spanish adults and adolescents via comparison with the tolerable daily intake or the tolerable weekly intake and with available studies of total diet. The results show that coffee intake does not represent a potential risk for consumers regarding individual mycotoxin contamination. However, contamination of coffee by mycotoxins likely affects the exposition of the total diet, and should be considered in future total diet studies. The presence and co-occurrence of mycotoxins in coffee, their toxic effects and current coffee legislation, that only include ochratoxin A, reaffirm the necessity of new coffee regulations which include a greater number of mycotoxins

Conjunto residencial en el Cabanyal

Conjunto residencial de densidad elevada. Compuesto por tres bloques de diferente tipología, con la idea de experimentar las características, ventajas e inconvenientes de cada una de ellas. El proyecto también cuenta con una escuela Infantil en un bloque exento.García Moraleja, M. (2011). Conjunto residencial en el Cabanyal. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/33770.Archivo delegad

Bebidas vegetales

El consumo de bebidas elaboradas a partir de distintos ingredientes vegetales como cereales, leguminosas y frutos secos, es cada vez mayor en diversos sectores de la población y actualmente son considerados como nuevos productos naturales con propiedades saludables. Su disponibilidad a través de la elaboración industrial, su agradable sabor y gran aceptabilidad han motivado el crecimiento de su consumo por la población en general. Las principales variedades comercializadas son bebidas a base de arroz, avena, soja y almendras. Por su composición, muchas de estas bebidas presentan características particulares (sin lactosa, bajas en grasas saturadas), además muchas de ellas se enriquecen con vitaminas y minerales lo que las hacen especialmente adecuadas para ciertos sectores de la población. El trabajo de investigación bibliográfico se centra en el estudio de los diferentes nutrientes y compuestos bioactivos de la leche de vaca frente a 4 tipos de bebidas vegetales (soja, almendra, arroz y avena) así como en el análisis beneficio-riesgo de la leche frente a las bebidas vegetales en enfermedades crónicas (diabetes, obesidad, cáncer y osteoporosis). Como conclusiones se obtiene que la leche de vaca presenta beneficios sobre la salud ósea y cáncer colon-rectal con evidencia científica suficientemente demostrada. No podemos decir lo mismo de las bebidas vegetales puesto que no se han realizado suficientes estudios sobre la bebida elaborada. Por lo tanto, no se puede afirmar actualmente que las bebidas vegetales posean beneficios para la salud superiores a los de la leche, puesto que los estudios deben referirse al producto final y no a la materia prima

How to Inactivate Human Ubiquitin E3 Ligases by Mutation

E3 ubiquitin ligases are the ultimate enzymes involved in the transfer of ubiquitin to substrate proteins, a process that determines the fate of the modified protein. Numerous diseases are caused by defects in the ubiquitin-proteasome machinery, including when the activity of a given E3 ligase is hampered. Thus, inactivation of E3 ligases and the resulting effects at molecular or cellular level have been the focus of many studies during the last few years. For this purpose, site-specific mutation of key residues involved in either protein interaction, substrate recognition or ubiquitin transfer have been reported to successfully inactivate E3 ligases. Nevertheless, it is not always trivial to predict which mutation(s) will block the catalytic activity of a ligase. Here we review over 250 site-specific inactivating mutations that have been carried out in 120 human E3 ubiquitin ligases. We foresee that the information gathered here will be helpful for the design of future experimental strategies.This work was supported by Spanish MINECO (grant SAF2016-76898-P) cofinanced with FEDER funds. JR was funded with a postdoctoral fellowship from the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU)

Etiologies and outcomes of acute liver failure in a spanish community

Previous retrospective study (1992 to 2000) performed in Spain showed that drug toxicity, viral hepatitis, and indeterminate etiology were the most prevalent causes of acute liver failure (ALF). In the last decade, there is no information about ALF in our country. For these reasons we analyze retrospectively, in a ten-year period (2000 to 2010), the presumed causes, clinical characteristics, course, and outcome of ALF in a Spanish community. Causes of ALF were indeterminate in 4 patients (24%), acute hepatitis B infection in 4 patients (24%), drug or toxic reactions in 4 patients (24%), including one case of acetaminophen overdose, followed by miscellaneous causes. The overall short-term survival (6 weeks after admission) was 65%. Liver transplantation was performed in 11 patients with a survival of 82%. Despite fulfilling criteria, 2 patients were not transplanted because of contraindications; they both died. In summary, acute hepatitis B and indeterminate cause are still being the most frequent causes of ALF in our region, and patients with ALF have an excellent chance of survival after emergency liver transplantation. Acetaminophen overdose still represents a very rare cause of ALF in our community

Diseño de catalizadores laminares para la síntesis de nanotubos de carbono con altos rendimientos

La obtención de nanotubos de carbono CNT por el método de deposición catalítica en forma de vapor CCVD, está limitada por la falta de un modelo de crecimiento de CNT que pueda explicar satisfactoriamente los diversos resultados que se encuentran en la literatura. Las más recientes investigaciones en la síntesis de CNT se enfocan en la optimización de las condiciones de operación y el diseño del catalizador. Este trabajo enfatiza la importancia de la temperatura de calcinación para el diseño de catalizadores con una mayor actividad catalítica en la producción de nanotubos de carbono multicapa MWCNT. El proceso CCVD se realiza mediante la descomposición de metano a 1000ºC durante 30 min en una atmósfera CH4/H2 (97:3 v/v) en contacto con 50 mg de catalizador depositado sobre una navecilla de cerámica. Se emplearon 2 catalizadores compuestos Mx-Mg-Mo (Mx=Co,Ni) sintetizados por el método sol-gel. Se estableció una relación directa entre la temperatura de calcinación, las fases cristalográficas predominantes y los rendimientos de MWCNT obtenidos, empleando técnicas de DSC, XRD y Raman. Se obtuvieron rendimientos superiores a 3000 wt.% en presencia de las fases (Co/Ni)xMg1-xMoO4, las cuales se asocian con una buena dispersión del metal activo en la matriz soporte, lo que evita la desactivación del catalizador por sinterización masiva durante el proceso de nucleación. Se propuso un mecanismo de crecimiento de MWCNT empleando catalizadores laminares no porosos, que explica satisfactoriamente los altos rendimientos obtenidos en correspondencia con la morfología de los catalizadores y de los MWCNT observados por microscopía SEM y TEM

The relationship between social support and self-reported health status in immigrants: an adjusted analysis in the Madrid Cross Sectional Study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Social support is an important factor in the adaptation process of immigrants, helping for their integration in a new environment. The lack of social support may influence on well-being and health status. The aim of this study is to describe the social support of immigrant and native population and study the possible association between immigration and lack social support after adjusting for sociodemographic factors, income, stress and self-reported health status.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Cross-sectional population based study of immigrants and national patients without mental disorders of 15 urban primary health centers in the north-eastern area of Madrid. Participants provided information on social support, stress level, perceived health status and socio-economic characteristics. Descriptive and multiple logistic regression were conducted.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The proportion of the global perception of social support among immigrants and natives was 79.2% and 94.2%, respectively. The lack of global social support adjusted prevalence ratio (PR) of immigrant was 2.72 (95% Confidence Interval = 1.81-4.09), showing a significant association with being male (PR = 2.26), having monthly income below 500 euros (PR = 3.81) and suffering stress (PR = 1.94). For the dimensions of lack of social support the higher association was being an immigrant and suffering stress.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We conclude that with regardless of the level of monthly income, stress level, self-reported health status, and gender, immigrant status is directly associated with lack social support. The variable most strongly associated with lack social support has been monthly income below 500 euros.</p

The Multifunctional Role of SPANX-A/D Protein Subfamily in the Promotion of Pro-Tumoural Processes in Human Melanoma

Human sperm protein associated with the nucleus on the X chromosome (SPANX) genes encode a protein family (SPANX-A, -B, -C and -D), whose expression is limited to the testis and spermatozoa in normal tissues and various tumour cells. SPANX-A/D proteins have been detected in metastatic melanoma cells, but their contribution to cancer development and the underlying molecular mechanisms of skin tumourigenesis remain unknown. Combining functional and proteomic approaches, the present work describes the presence of SPANX-A/D in primary and metastatic human melanoma cells and how it promotes pro-tumoural processes such as cell proliferation, motility and migration. We provide insights into the molecular features of skin tumourigenesis, describing for the first time a multifunctional role of the SPANX-A/D protein family in nuclear function, energy metabolism and cell survival, considered key hallmarks of cancer. A better comprehension of the SPANX-A/D protein subfamily and its molecular mechanisms will help to describe new aspects of tumour cell biology and develop new therapeutic targets and tumour-directed pharmacological drugs for skin tumoursUniversity of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) (GIU19/018). IU-A is supported by a fellowship from the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU). IM-H is supported by a fellowship from the Basque Government

Estimation of Admission D-dimer Cut-off Value to Predict Venous Thrombotic Events in Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients: Analysis of the SEMI-COVID-19 Registry

Background: Venous thrombotic events (VTE) are frequent in COVID-19, and elevated plasma D-dimer (pDd) and dyspnea are common in both entities. Objective: To determine the admission pDd cut-off value associated with in-hospital VTE in patients with COVID-19. Methods: Multicenter, retrospective study analyzing the at-admission pDd cut-off value to predict VTE and anticoagulation intensity along hospitalization due to COVID-19. Results: Among 9386 patients, 2.2% had VTE: 1.6% pulmonary embolism (PE), 0.4% deep vein thrombosis (DVT), and 0.2% both. Those with VTE had a higher prevalence of tachypnea (42.9% vs. 31.1%; p = 0.0005), basal O2 saturation &lt;93% (45.4% vs. 33.1%; p = 0.0003), higher at admission pDd (median [IQR]: 1.4 [0.6–5.5] vs. 0.6 [0.4–1.2] µg/ml; p &lt; 0.0001) and platelet count (median [IQR]: 208 [158–289] vs. 189 [148–245] platelets × 109/L; p = 0.0013). A pDd cut-off of 1.1 µg/ml showed specificity 72%, sensitivity 49%, positive predictive value (PPV) 4%, and negative predictive value (NPV) 99% for in-hospital VTE. A cut-off value of 4.7 µg/ml showed specificity of 95%, sensitivity of 27%, PPV of 9%, and NPV of 98%. Overall mortality was proportional to pDd value, with the lowest incidence for each pDd category depending on anticoagulation intensity: 26.3% for those with pDd &gt;1.0 µg/ml treated with prophylactic dose (p &lt; 0.0001), 28.8% for pDd for patients with pDd &gt;2.0 µg/ml treated with intermediate dose (p = 0.0001), and 31.3% for those with pDd &gt;3.0 µg/ml and full anticoagulation (p = 0.0183). Conclusions: In hospitalized patients with COVID-19, a pDd value greater than 3.0 µg/ml can be considered to screen VTE and to consider full-dose anticoagulation. © 2021, Society of General Internal Medicine