Estudio de factibilidad para la producción de concentrado de proteínas a partir del lactosuero en la empresa APRODEMAG.

The company Aprodemag has the Campolat dairy line which is located in the Province of Cotopaxi, Mulalo Parish in the Macalo Grande neighborhood. The company generates around 1,800 liters of whey. This waste is discarded in the surrounding soils of the company. For the mentioned the main objective of this project is to carry out the feasibility study for the production of protein concentrate from whey, which will reduce and/or eliminate this waste. In order to comply with this objective, a market study was carried out with which a survey of the inhabitants of the Canton of Latacunga showed that there was an acceptance of the product of 67%, which represents 10,464 people. The Technical study also allowed determining the installed capacity of 2,920 units per year with 5,200 liters of whey per day, the difference is acquired from small producers in the sector, the production time is 24 hours 365 days a year, the area required is 60 m2 to locate the equipment , the suppliers of inputs and other ingredients are companies from Quito, Latacunga and Guayaquil, through the economic study was determined the cost of preparation of the product of $69.82 and its cost of sale of$ 115, in addition its balance point is known of 1,062 units and of $122,102.55 in sales, it was also known that the Minimum Acceptable Rate of Return (TMAR) is 8.03$ 247,600.47 is $54,539.88 with an Internal Rate of Return (IRR) is 15.93$ 69,82 y su costo de venta de $115, además se conoce su punto de equilibrio de 1.062 unidades y de$ 122.102,55 en ventas, se conoció también que la Tasa Mínima Aceptable de Retorno (TMAR) es de 8,03 % , además con el análisis del estado de resultado se determinó que el Valor Actual Neto (VAN) al cabo de 5 años de una inversión de $247.600,47 es de$ 54.539,88 con una Tasa Interna de Retorno (TIR) es de 15,93% que es mayor que el valor TMAR, por lo que el proyecto es viable y se puede ejecutar

Decoding the Fucose Migration Product during Mass-Spectrometric analysis of Blood Group Epitopes

Fucose is a signaling carbohydrate that is attached at the end of glycan processing. It is involved in a range of processes, such as the selectin-dependent leukocyte adhesion or pathogen-receptor interactions. Mass-spectrometric techniques, which are commonly used to determine the structure of glycans, frequently show fucose-containing chimeric fragments that obfuscate the analysis. The rearrangement leading to these fragments—often referred to as fucose migration—has been known for more than 25 years, but the chemical identity of the rearrangement product remains unclear. In this work, we combine ion-mobility spectrometry, radical-directed dissociation mass spectrometry, cryogenic IR spectroscopy of ions, and density-functional theory calculations to deduce the product of the rearrangement in the model trisaccharides Lewis x and blood group H2. The structural search yields the fucose moiety attached to the galactose with an α(1→6) glycosidic bond as the most likely product

Smart E-Skin Cancer Care in Europe During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Multidisciplinary Expert Consensus

Introduction: Melanoma is the deadliest of all the skin cancers and its incidence is increasing every year in Europe. Patients with melanoma often present late to the specialist and treatment is delayed for many reasons (delay in patient consultation, misdiagnosis by general practitioners, and/or limited access to dermatologists). Beyond this, there are significant inequalities in skin cancer between population groups within the same country and between countries across Europe. The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic only aggravated these health deficiencies. Objectives: The aim was to create an expert opinion about the challenges in skin cancer management in Europe during the post COVID-19 acute pandemic and to identify and discuss the implementation of new technologies (including e-health and artificial intelligence defined as "Smart Skin Cancer Care") to overcome them. Methods: For this purpose, an ad-hoc questionnaire with items addressing topics of skin cancer care was developed, answered independently and discussed by a multidisciplinary European panel of experts comprising dermatologists, dermato-oncologists, patient advocacy representatives, digital health technology experts, and health technology assessment experts. Results: After all panel of experts discussions, a multidisciplinary expert opinion was created. Conclusions: As a conclusion, the access to dermatologists is difficult and will be aggravated in the near future. This fact, together with important differences in Skin Cancer Care in Europe, suggest the need of a new approach to skin health, prevention and disease management paradigm (focused on integration of new technologies) to minimize the impact of skin cancer and to ensure optimal quality and equity

AIM in Dermatology

In medicine, dermatology is a promising pioneer for the use of artificial intelligence (AI). In dermatological practice, the recognition of visual patterns (morphology) has always been fundamental for making a diagnosis, so artificial intelligence has great potential here. The collection of clinical data, especially image data, is playing an increasingly important role in the diagnosis and therapy of skin disease. Existing analog data archives are being digitized and restructured with great effort, and new data sets are often captured and labeled directly in digital form. During the last years, a growing number of studies have demonstrated AI’s benefits in research settings, and first applications are already used clinically. Particularly in the detection of skin cancer and for the quantification of chronic inflammatory skin diseases, artificial intelligence is supporting doctors as well as patients to find the right diagnosis and treatment. The purpose of this book chapter is to discuss the potential applications of artificial intelligence in various areas of dermatology. Keywords Dermatology Digitization Machine learning Artificial intelligence Deep learning Convolutional neural network Image recognition Pattern recognition Algorithm-based decision-making Skin cancer Psoriasis Eczema Teledermatology Telemedicin

Mass Spectrometry-Based Techniques to Elucidate the Sugar Code

Cells encode information in the sequence of biopolymers, such as nucleic acids, proteins, and glycans. Although glycans are essential to all living organisms, surprisingly little is known about the “sugar code” and the biological roles of these molecules. The reason glycobiology lags behind its counterparts dealing with nucleic acids and proteins lies in the complexity of carbohydrate structures, which renders their analysis extremely challenging. Building blocks that may differ only in the configuration of a single stereocenter, combined with the vast possibilities to connect monosaccharide units, lead to an immense variety of isomers, which poses a formidable challenge to conventional mass spectrometry. In recent years, however, a combination of innovative ion activation methods, commercialization of ion mobility–mass spectrometry, progress in gas-phase ion spectroscopy, and advances in computational chemistry have led to a revolution in mass spectrometry-based glycan analysis. The present review focuses on the above techniques that expanded the traditional glycomics toolkit and provided spectacular insight into the structure of these fascinating biomolecules. To emphasize the specific challenges associated with them, major classes of mammalian glycans are discussed in separate sections. By doing so, we aim to put the spotlight on the most important element of glycobiology: the glycans themselves

Intestinal T lymphocyte homing is associated with gastric emptying and epithelial barrier function in critically ill: a prospective observational study

BACKGROUND: Impaired gastric emptying is common in critically ill patients. Intestinal dysmotility, a major cause of feed intolerance, may foster infectious complications due to mucosal barrier disruption. However, little is known about gut-directed immune activation, intestinal barrier function and its association with impaired gastric emptying in critically ill patients at ICU admission. METHODS: We conducted a prospective observational study at two tertiary care medical ICUs. Fifty consecutive patients needing invasive mechanical ventilation were recruited within 24 h of ICU admission, prior to any nutritional support. The acute physiology and chronic health evaluation (APACHE) II score, the sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score and the multiple organ dysfunction score (MODS) were used to assess illness severity and multiple organ dysfunction. Gastric emptying was assessed by paracetamol absorption test. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were freshly isolated and cultured for 24 h, and TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-10 measured in cell culture supernatants and in serum by ELISA. The intestinal epithelial barrier was assessed, quantifying serum concentrations of intestinal fatty acid binding protein (I-FABP), ileal bile-acid binding protein (I-BABP) and zonulin-1 by ELISA. Small bowel homing T lymphocytes (CD4+ α4β7 + CCR9+) were analyzed by flow cytometry. The Mann-Whitney test and Spearman correlation were used in statistical evaluation. RESULTS: CD4 + α4β7 + CCR9+ T lymphocytes were inversely correlated with gastric emptying. Patients with delayed gastric emptying at ICU admission (n = 35) had significantly higher serum and PBMC-induced TNF-α and IL-1β and increased intestinal barrier disruption reflected by higher I-FABP, I-BABP and zonulin-1. Patients who died in the ICU had significantly impaired gastric empting at admission compared to ICU survivors. No differences were observed in APACHE II, SOFA or MODS in patients with delayed gastric emptying compared to patients with normal gastric emptying. CONCLUSIONS: Exaggerated CD4 + α4β7 + CCR9+ T lymphocyte homing with increased pro-inflammatory cytokine release and intestinal epithelial barrier disruption are associated with delayed gastric emptying. This is not simply due to differences in overall severity of illness at ICU admission and may represent a pathophysiological mechanism of gut-directed immune activation leading to impaired barrier function in the critically ill