Topical treatment of actinic keratoses with potassium dobesilate 5% cream. A preliminary open-label study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Fibroblast growth factor (FGF) is involved in skin tumorigenesis: it promotes cell viability, induces angiogenesis and stimulates invasiveness. Dobesilate is a drug that blocks the activity of FGF. The primary objective was to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of potassium dobesilate 5% cream in the treatment of actinic keratoses.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Potassium dobesilate 5% cream was applied twice daily for 16 weeks to actinic keratosis lesions in 30 patients. The lesions were evaluated clinically at an initial baseline visit, at intermediate visits, and at 16 weeks of treatment.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The use of potassium dobesilate 5% cream for 16 weeks induced complete regression in 70% of evaluated actinic keratoses, corresponding to grade I, II and III clinical variants, and a partial response (at least 75% reduction of lesions) in 20% of the cases.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our preliminary trial shows that potassium dobesilate exerts anti-tumorigenic effects and may play a useful role in the chemoprevention of skin cancers.</p

Use of superheated liquids for the extraction of non-volatile compounds from wood: HPLC studies

A study of the extraction of oak wood compounds using superheated water-ethanol mixtures ranging from 10 to 60% ethanol is reported. Identification and characterization of the extracted compounds have been made by high performance liquid chromatography. The extraction has been performed using the static mode by single or repetitive cycles. The variables affecting the extraction process have been studied and their optimum values established (extraction time: 50 min; pressure: 40 atm; extraction temperature: 180º C). The study allows to compare the non-volatile polyphenol fractions obtained in this way with those present in commercial samples with fully agreement between them. In addition, the method allows manipulation of the extract composition by changing the working pressure, temperature and water-ethanol ratio

Detection, size characterization and quantification of silver nanoparticles in consumer products by particle collision coulometry

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are widely used in industrial and consumer products owing to its antimicrobial nature and multiple applications. Consequently, their release into the environment is becoming a big concern because of their negative impacts on living organisms. In this work, AgNPs were detected at a potential of + 0.70 V vs. Ag/AgCl reference electrode, characterized, and quantified in consumer products by particle collision coulometry (PCC). The electrochemical results were compared with those measured with electron microscopy and single-particle inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The theoretical and practical peculiarities of the application of PCC technique in the characterization of AgNPs were studied. Reproducible size distributions of the AgNPs were measured in a range 10–100 nm diameters. A power allometric function model was found between the frequency of the AgNPs collisions onto the electrode surface and the number concentration of nanoparticles up to a silver concentration of 1010 L-1 (ca. 25 ng L-1 for 10 nm AgNPs). A linear relationship between the number of collisions and the number concentration of silver nanoparticles was observed up to 5 × 107 L-1. The PCC method was applied to the quantification and size determination of the AgNPs in three-silver containing consumer products (a natural antibiotic and two food supplements). The mean of the size distributions (of the order 10–20 nm diameters) agrees with those measured by electron microscopy. Graphical abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]

Intra-abdominal pressure and its relationship with markers of congestion in patients admitted for acute decompensated heart failure

Systemic congestion is one of the mechanisms involved in acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF). Increased intra-abdominal pressure (IAP), elicited by abdominal congestion, has been related to acute kidney injury and prognosis. Nonetheless, the link between diuretic response, surrogate markers of congestion and renal function remains poorly understood. We measured IAP in 43 patients from a non-interventional, exploratory, prospective, single center study carried out in patients admitted for ADHF. IAP was measured with a calibrated electronic manometer through a catheter inserted in the bladder. Normal IAP was defined as 12 mmHg at 72 h. In patients with ADHF, higher IAP at admission is associated with poorer baseline renal function and impaired diuretic response. The persistence of IAP at 72 h above 12 mmHg associates to longer length of hospital stay and higher 1-year all-cause mortality

Exploiting Heterogeneous Parallelism on Hybrid Metaheuristics for Vector Autoregression Models

In the last years, the huge amount of data available in many disciplines makes the mathematical modeling, and, more concretely, econometric models, a very important technique to explain those data. One of the most used of those econometric techniques is the Vector Autoregression Models (VAR) which are multi-equation models that linearly describe the interactions and behavior of a group of variables by using their past. Traditionally, Ordinary Least Squares and Maximum likelihood estimators have been used in the estimation of VAR models. These techniques are consistent and asymptotically efficient under ideal conditions of the data and the identification problem. Otherwise, these techniques would yield inconsistent parameter estimations. This paper considers the estimation of a VAR model by minimizing the difference between the dependent variables in a certain time, and the expression of their own past and the exogenous variables of the model (in this case denoted as VARX model). The solution of this optimization problem is approached through hybrid metaheuristics. The high computational cost due to the huge amount of data makes it necessary to exploit High-Performance Computing for the acceleration of methods to obtain the models. The parameterized, parallel implementation of the metaheuristics and the matrix formulation ease the simultaneous exploitation of parallelism for groups of hybrid metaheuristics. Multilevel and heterogeneous parallelism are exploited in multicore CPU plus multiGPU nodes, with the optimum combination of the different parallelism parameters depending on the particular metaheuristic and the problem it is applied to.This work was supported by the Spanish MICINN and AEI, as well as European Commission FEDER funds, under grant RTI2018-098156-B-C53 and grant TIN2016-80565-R

Modification of Nafion Membranes with Polyaniline to Reduce Methanol Permeability

The modification of Nafion membranes with polyaniline (PAni) has been studied as an alternative for reducing methanol crossover in direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC). The modification has been performed by directly polymerizing the PAni following two different routes: immersion (Naf-S-Y, where S mean surface and Y the number of hours exposition) and crossover (Naf-C-Y, where C means crossover). The former consist of exposing the membranes to a reactive solution containing the aniline, oxidant and catalyst; while in the latter the aniline and a solution with the oxidant and the catalyst are in different chambers separated by the membrane, thus forcing them to react inside it. The effect of the modification mechanism and the reaction times has been studied. The resulting membranes were extensively characterized by means of Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), ionic exchange capacity (IEC), water uptake (WU), methanol permeability and single direct methanol fuel cell performance. Chemical characterization revealed that the oxidation state of the polyaniline was in all cases emeraldine and the amount of PAni for an equivalent exposure time was bigger for the crossover route. The crossover route has proven to be more effective in decreasing the apparent methanol permeability of Nafion modified membranes up to 48% for the crossover sample with higher modification time when the polymerization is due inside the membrane such is the case of the composite Naf-C-Y membranes. The Direct Methanol Fuel Cells performances of membrane-electrode assemblies prepared with pristine Nafion and Nafion-PAni membranes were tested at 40, 60 and 80 degrees C under 2 M methanol concentration. The results are compared with those found for Nafion pristine membranes which power densities were 90, 65, 60 and 50 mW/cm(2) at 80 degrees C for Nafion, Naf-S-1, Naf-S-5 and Naf-C-2, membranes respectively.This research is in the frame of Support Program for Research and Development of the Polytechnic University of Valencia and the Ministry of Science and Innovation for funding provided through the projects: SP-ENE-20120718 and 24761, respectively.Gonzalez-Ausejo, J.; Cabedo Mas, L.; Gámez-Pérez, J.; Mollá Romano, S.; Giménez Torres, E.; Compañ Moreno, V. (2015). Modification of Nafion Membranes with Polyaniline to Reduce Methanol Permeability. Journal of The Electrochemical Society. 162(14):E325-E333. doi:10.1149/2.0521514jesSE325E3331621

Cuantificación de ácidos grasos a partir de biomasa microalgal

Long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids are focusing the interest of researchers as long as analytical techniques are being improved. The Lepage and Roy direct transesterification method is being widely used to measure fatty acid content of microalgae which are proposed as potential sources of these products. In this paper, the physical state of the biomass to be analyzed is studied. Comparison has been stated between lyophilized biomass and wet biomass just harvested. Furthermore, the amount of sample and the number of methyl ester extractions have also been studied. From the statistical analysis carried out, wet biomass to fatty acid determination and the adequate range of sample are proposed. Three methyl ester extractions improve the resolution of GC analysis.El interés creciente por los ácidos grasos poliinsaturados de cadena larga viene favorecido por la mejora de las técnicas de análisis. La metodología de transesterificación directa propuesta por Lepage y Roy está siendo ampliamente utilizada para la determinación del contenido en ácidos grasos de microalgas, consideradas como potenciales fuentes de estos productos. En el presente trabajo, se analiza la influencia del estado físico de la biomasa analizada, seca, normalmente por liofilización, o húmeda recién cosechada del cultivo. Asimismo, se analiza el efecto de la cantidad de biomasa empleada y del número de extracciones de los esteres metílicos obtenidos. Del estudio estadístico realizado se pone de manifiesto la importancia del estado físico de la muestra, aconsejándose el uso de biomasa directamente obtenida del cultivo. Se proponen los intervalos de cantidad de biomasa para metilación, así como la conveniencia de realizar tres extracciones previas a la inyección en el cromatógrafo, que favorece la resolución del análisis

Hexaclorobenzeno (HCB) en leches esterilizadas españolas

Se ha investigado hexaclurobcnLenu (I!Cil) en 329 mucstms d~ leches esterilizadas procedentes de 49 centrales lecheras de todas las regiones espanolas. Las medias obtenidas han sido las siguientes. C:mtobria, 0,227 ppm (en base grasa), Galic.a, 0,050 ppm; castellano-leonesa. 0,289 ppm; Aragón-Navarra. 0.212 ppm; Centro (Madrid), 0,132 pprn; Catalufta. 0,283 ppm; Levmllc, 0,286 ppm; Extremadura, 0,231 ppm; Andalucía, 0,646 ppm; y Salmes, 0,160 ppm. 1.:1 98,7 por LOO de las muestras conten(an HCB; solamente el 13,06 por ciento de éstas rebasaban Jos límites recomendados por la FAO/OMS, sie11do la región Andaluza la que prensentó niveles más elevados