44 research outputs found
The presence of a social stimulus reduces cocaine seeking in a place preference conditioning paradigm.
BACKGROUND:
One challenge in the treatment of substance use disorders is to re-engage the interest toward non-drug-related activities. Among these activities, social interaction has had a prominent role due to its positive influence on treatment outcome.
AIMS AND METHODS:
Our aim was to study whether the presence of a social stimulus during the cocaine-induced conditioned place preference test was able to reduce the time spent in the drug-paired compartment. For that purpose, mice were trained for four days on a conditioned place preference task with one compartment paired with cocaine and the opposite with saline. On the test day, we introduced an unfamiliar juvenile male mouse into the saline-conditioned compartment (inside a pencil cup) to analyse the animal preference towards the two rewarding stimuli (cocaine vs mouse). Additionally, to discard the possible effect of novelty, as well as the housing condition (social isolation) on social preference, we decided to include a novel object during the test session, as well as perform the same conditioned place preference protocol with a group of animals in social housing conditions.
RESULTS:
The social stimulus was able to reduce the preference for cocaine and enhance the active interaction with the juvenile mouse (sniffing) compared to the empty pencil cup paired with the drug. The introduction of a novel object during the test session did not reduce the preference for the cocaine-paired compartment, and interestingly, the preference for the social stimulus was independent of the housing condition. c-Fos immunohistochemistry revealed a different pattern of activation based on cocaine-paired conditioning or the presence of social stimulus.
CONCLUSIONS:
These results suggest that social interaction could constitute a valuable component in the treatment of substance use disorders by reducing the salience of the drug.Plan Propio 2017 – ‘Ayudas para proyectos dirigidos por jóvenes investigadores’, PPIT.UMA.B1.2017/38.
Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech
Dissociable Effects of Executive Load on Perceived Exertion and Emotional Valence during Submaximal Cycling
Endurance physical exercise is accompanied by subjective perceptions of exertion (reported
perceived exertion, RPE), emotional valence, and arousal. These constructs have been hypothesized
to serve as the basis for the exerciser to make decisions regarding when to stop, how to regulate
pace, and whether or not to exercise again. In dual physical-cognitive tasks, the mental (executive)
workload generated by the cognitive task has been shown to influence these perceptions, in ways
that could also influence exercise-related decisions. In the present work, we intend to replicate and
extend previous findings that manipulating the amount of executive load imposed by a mental
task, performed concomitantly with a submaximal cycling session, influenced emotional states but
not perceived exertion. Participants (experienced triathletes) were asked to perform a submaximal
cycling task in two conditions with different executive demands (a two-back version of the n-back
task vs. oddball) but equated in external physical load. Results showed that the higher executive load
condition elicited more arousal and less positive valence than the lower load condition. However,
both conditions did not differ in RPE. This experimental dissociation suggests that perceived exertion
and its emotional correlates are not interchangeable, which opens the possibility that they could play
different roles in exercise-related decision-making.Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Secretaria de Estado de Investigacion, Desarrollo e Innovacion; Convocatoria 2017 de Proyectos I + D, de Retos a la Sociedad; Spain)
DEP2017-89879-RSpanish Government (Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad, Secretaria de Estado de Investigacion, Desarrollo e Innovacion; Convocatoria 2017 de Proyectos I + D de Excelencia, Spain - Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional, FEDER, European Union)
PSI2017-85488-
Pomegranate Extract Improves Maximal Performance of Trained Cyclists after an Exhausting Endurance Trial: A Randomised Controlled Trial
The efficacy of pomegranate (Punica granatum) extract (PE) for improving performance
and post-exercise recovery in an active population was equivocal in previous studies. In this study,
a randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, balanced, cross-over trial with two arms was
conducted. Eligibility criteria for participants were as follows: male, amateur cyclist, with a training
routine of 2 to 4 sessions per week (at least one hour per session). The cyclists (n = 26) were
divided into treatment (PE) and placebo (PLA) groups for a period of 15 days. After physical tests,
the groups were exchanged after a 14-day washout period. Exercise tests consisted of endurance
bouts (square-wave endurance exercise test followed by an incremental exercise test to exhaustion)
and an eccentric exercise drill. The objective was to assess the efficacy of PE in performance outcomes
and post-exercise muscular recovery and force restoration after a prolonged submaximal effort.
Twenty-six participants were included for statistical analysis. There was a statistically significant
difference in total time to exhaustion (TTE)(17.66–170.94 s, p < 0.02) and the time to reach ventilatory
threshold 2 (VT2)(26.98–82.55 s, p < 0.001), with greater values for the PE compared to the PLA group.
No significant results were obtained for force restoration in the isokinetic unilateral low limb test.
PE, after a prolonged submaximal effort, may be effective in improving performance outcomes at
maximal effort and might help to restore force in the damaged muscles.Actividad Física y Deport
Muscle damage, physiological changes and energy balance in ultra-endurance mountain event athletes
The biological response to ultra-endurance mountain race events is not yet well understood. The aim of this study was to determine the biochemical and physiological changes after performing an ultra-endurance mountain race in runners. We recruited 11 amateur runners (age: 29.7 ± 10.2 years; height: 179.7 ± 5.4 cm; body mass: 76.7 ± 10.3 kg). Muscle damage, lactate concentration, energy balance, rating of perceived exertion (RPE), heart rate (HR), heart rate variability (HRV), body composition changes, and jump performance were analyzed before, during (only lactate, HR, and HRV), and after the race. Athletes completed 54 km in 6 h, 44 min (±28 min). After the race, myoglobin and creatine kinase concentration increased from 14.9 ± 5.2 to 1419.9 ± 1292.1 μg/L and from 820.0 ± 2087.3 to 2421.1 ± 2336.2 UI/L, respectively (p < 0.01). In addition, lactate dehydrogenase and troponin I significantly increased after the race (p < 0.01). Leukocyte and platelet count increased by 180.6% ± 68.9% and 23.7% ± 11.2%, respectively (p < 0.001). Moreover, after the competition, athletes presented a 3704 kcal negative energy balance; a significant increase in RPE values; a decrease in countermovement and squat jump height; and a decrease in body mass and lower limb girths. During the event, lactate concentration did not change and subjects presented a mean HR of 158.8 ± 17.7 beats/min, a significant decrement in vagal modulation, and a significant increase in sympathetic modulation. Despite the relative “low” intensity achieved, ultra-endurance mountain race is a stressful stimulus that produces a high level of muscle damage in the athletes. These findings may help coaches to design specific training programs that may improve nutritional intake strategies and prevent muscle damage.Actividad Física y Deport
Supplementation of re-esterified docosahexaenoic and eicosapentaenoic acids reduce inflammatory and muscle damage markers after exercise in endurance athletes: a randomized, controlled crossover trial
This study aimed to analyse the e ect of 10 weeks of a highly concentrated docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) + eicosapentaenoic (EPA) supplementation (ratio 8:1) on strength deficit and inflammatory and muscle damage markers in athletes. Fifteen endurance athletes participated in the study. In a randomized, double-blinded cross-over controlled design, the athletes were supplemented with a re-esterified triglyceride containing 2.1 g/day of DHA + 240 mg/day of EPA or placebo for 10 weeks. After a 4-week wash out period, participants were supplemented with the opposite treatment. Before and after each supplementation period, participants performed one eccentric-induced muscle damage exercise training session (ECC). Before, post-exercise min and 24 and 48 h after exercise, muscle soreness, knee isokinetic strength and muscle damage and inflammatory markers were tested. No significant differences in strength deficit variables were found between the two conditions in any of the testing sessions. However, a significant effect was observed in IL1 (p = 0.011) and IL6 (p = 0.009), which showed significantly lower values after DHA consumption than after placebo ingestion. Moreover, a significant main effect was observed in CPK (p = 0.014) and LDH-5 (p = 0.05), in which significantly lower values were found after DHA + EPA consumption. In addition, there was a significant effect on muscle soreness (p = 0.049), lower values being obtained after DHA + EPA consumption. Ten weeks of re-esterified DHA + EPA promoted lower concentrations of inflammation and muscle damage markers and decreased muscle soreness but did not improve the strength deficit after an ECC in endurance athletes
Uso de compuestos diterpenoides como agentes antiinflamatorios y antitumorales
Uso de compuestos diterpenoides como agentes
antiinflamatorios y antitumorales.
La presente invención se refiere al uso de
compuestos diterpenoides para la elaboración de
composiciones farmacéuticas por sus propiedades
antiinflamatorias y antitumorales. Más
particularmente, se utilizan para enfermedades
inflamatorias o tumorales intestinales.Españ
Tau – an inhibitor of deacetylase HDAC6 function
Analysis of brain microtubule protein from patients with Alzheimer’s disease showed decreased alpha tubulin levels along with increased acetylation of the alpha tubulin subunit, mainly in those microtubules from neurons containing neurofibrillary tau pathology. To determine the relationship of tau protein and increased tubulin acetylation, we studied the effect of tau on the acetylation-deacetylation of tubulin. Our results indicate that tau binds to the tubulin-deacetylase, histone deacetylase 6 (HDAC6), decreasing its activity with a consequent increase in tubulin acetylation. As expected, increased acetylation was also found in tubulin from wild-type mice compared with tubulin from mice lacking tau because of the tau-mediated inhibition of the deacetylase. In addition, we found that an excess of tau protein, as a HDAC6 inhibitor, prevents induction of autophagy by inhibiting proteasome function.This work was supported by grants from Spanish Plan Nacional, Comunidad de Madrid, Fundación Botín, CIBERNED, and an institutional grant Fundación Areces.Peer reviewe
Comparative genomics of proteins involved in RNA nucleocytoplasmic export
Background: The establishment of the nuclear membrane resulted in the physical separation of transcription and translation, and presented early eukaryotes with a formidable challenge: how to shuttle RNA from the nucleus to the locus of protein synthesis. In prokaryotes, mRNA is translated as it is being synthesized, whereas in eukaryotes mRNA is synthesized and processed in the nucleus, and it is then exported to the cytoplasm. In metazoa and fungi, the different RNA species are exported from the nucleus by specialized pathways. For example, tRNA is exported by exportin-t in a RanGTP-dependent fashion. By contrast, mRNAs are associated to ribonucleoproteins (RNPs) and exported by an essential shuttling complex (TAP-p15 in human, Mex67-mtr2 in yeast) that transports them through the nuclear pore. The different RNA export pathways appear to be well conserved among members of Opisthokonta, the eukaryotic supergroup that includes Fungi and Metazoa. However, it is not known whether RNA export in the other eukaryotic supergroups follows the same export routes as in opisthokonts.
Methods: Our objective was to reconstruct the evolutionary history of the different RNA export pathways across eukaryotes. To do so, we screened an array of eukaryotic genomes for the presence of homologs of the proteins involved in RNA export in Metazoa and Fungi, using human and yeast proteins as queries.
Results: Our genomic comparisons indicate that the basic components of the RanGTP-dependent RNA pathways are conserved across eukaryotes, and thus we infer that these are traceable to the last eukaryotic common ancestor (LECA). On the other hand, several of the proteins involved in RanGTP-independent mRNA export pathways are less conserved, which would suggest that they represent innovations that appeared later in the evolution of eukaryotes.
Conclusions: Our analyses suggest that the LECA possessed the basic components of the different RNA export mechanisms found today in opisthokonts, and that these mechanisms became more specialized throughout eukaryotic evolution
Sistema de evaluación institucional en enseñanza obligatoria en Iberoamérica
La presente aportación se focaliza, en este contexto, en la evaluación institucional externa (vinculada o no a la autoevaluación interna) y, por tanto, considera prioritariamente la manera como se evalúan los centros educativos como totalidad y no tanto alguno de sus aspectos (evaluación de la dirección, de los profesores, de los programas, etc.), que también pueden estar considerados. El énfasis también está en conocer la organización y desarrollo del sistema de evaluación. Recoge la visión de 43 especialistas de trece países iberoamericanos sobre las formas de entender y promover la evaluación institucional en sus centros educativos. Sus aportaciones, que deben contextualizarse en las particularidades educativas de sus países (ya presentadas en anteriores informes de la RedAGE), presentan los aspectos generales y normativos de la evaluación, las formas cómo se organiza, los efectos institucionales que tienen y algunas reflexiones, retos y propuestas para la mejora. Su orientación es claramente práctica y se vincula al encuentro anual que la RedAGE realizado los días 16 y 17 de mayo de 2016 en la ciudad de Leiria (Portugal). Allí, los representantes de las organizaciones miembro seleccionaron la temática por su interés actual (con clara vinculación a la mejora de los sistemas educativos y la acreditación institucional), consensuaron la estructura de las aportaciones y realizaron un intercambio de posibles ideas sobre la temática. Se cubre así y como en ocasiones anteriores el propósito fundamental de la RedAGE, como es el de fomentar el intercambio de experiencias, la promoción del conocimiento sobre administración y gestión educativa y la reflexión sobre la práctica de la gestión. La finalidad última sigue siendo la de mejorar el funcionamiento de los centros educativos (y, a través de ellos, de los sistemas educativos), procurando sean de calidad y un instrumento para el cambio profesional y social
TGA/FTIR studies of segmented aliphatic polyurethanes and their nanocomposites prepared with commercial montmorillonites
12 páginas, 14 figuras, 2 esquemas, 1 tabla.Nanocomposites prepared with segmented polyurethane (SPU) and commercially available nanoclays (Cloisite™ Na+, Cloisite™ 15A, Cloisite™ 30B) were studied using thermogravimetric analysis coupled with Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (TGA/FTIR). The results showed that the thermal degradation of unfilled SPU and the 4, 6 and 10 wt% hand mixed nanocomposites occurred in two stages being the first due to degradation of hard segments and the second due to the degradation of soft segments. It was also found that the thermal stability of these nanocomposites was not improved by increasing nanoclay concentration except for SPU/Cloisite™ 15A nanocomposites were a 40 °C increase was observed. In a similar manner, FTIR spectra of the evolved gases obtained after the thermal degradation of these nanocomposites were qualitatively similar to the unfilled polymer except in those containing Cloisite™ 30B where isocyanate absorptions were detected. In contrast, SPU/Cloisite™ 30B nanocomposites prepared by in-situ polymerization, exhibited higher thermal stability than the corresponding hand mixed nanocomposites. In addition, these nanocomposites exhibited the presence of carbon dioxide in the evolved gases during its second degradation stage which was not observed in the hand mixed nanocomposites. In this case, it can be said that the presence of clays in the nanocomposites has a significant effect on the thermal degradation pathways.Peer reviewe