Improvement of the drug therapy results in patients with high blood pressure at a community pharmacy

En el presente trabajo se analizan las consecuencias de la actividad asistencial del farmacéutico en un grupo depacientes hipertensos de una ofi cina de farmacia. Se han estudiado los diferentes Problemas Relacionados con laMedicación (PRM) que podrían dar lugar a la aparición de Resultados Negativos asociados a la Medicación (RNM),clasifi cándolos y relacionándolos con las cualidades de necesidad, efectividad y seguridad de la farmacoterapia. Laincidencia de la vía de comunicación utilizada en la intervención (farmacéutico-paciente o farmacéutico-pacientemédico)sobre el resultado fi nal de ésta fue investigada, observándose un mejor resultado si se requería la colaboracióndel médico. En este estudio se ha puesto de manifi esto la necesidad de solucionar determinadas trabas quedifi cultan la mejor aplicación del servicio de seguimiento farmacoterapéutico a los pacientes y la inclusión de unmayor número de personas en éste.In the present work, the consequences of the sanitary assistance activity of the pharmacist in a group of patientswith high blood pressure are analyzed. The Drug Related Problems (DRP), detected in these patients at a communitypharmacy, that could generate Negative Results Associated to the Medication (NRM) were studied, carrying out aclassifi cation with respect to the pharmacotherapy qualities of necessity, effectiveness and security. The impact ofthe communication channel used in the intervention (pharmacist-patient or pharmacist-patient-doctor) in its fi nalresult was also studied. Better result was obtained when the collaboration with the doctor was selected. This studyalso remarks the need to overcome some barriers that hinders a better application of this pharmacotherapeuticmonitoring service and a greater integration of patients

Detection of possible undiagnosed cases of diabetes in customers at a community pharmacy

Entre el 28 de marzo y el 28 de junio de 2005 se desarrolló una campaña de detección de posibles diabéticos nodiagnosticados, de excelente aceptación y repercusión entre los usuarios de una ofi cina de farmacia. El Test deRiesgo de Diabetes de la American Diabetes Association (ADA) fue utilizado en la selección de las personas que sesometerían a una determinación de glucemia capilar en ayunas, mediante metodología basada en reacciones colorimétricas.Una puntuación de diez puntos o más en este test, fue el requisito preciso para ello. El 53,0 % de lostest obtuvieron una puntuación igual o superior a diez y el 36,4 % de las determinaciones de glucemia realizadasdieron un resultado mayor o igual a 110 mg/dL, de lo que se deduce la utilidad del test ADA en el enriquecimientode la muestra objeto de estudio. Las personas con estos valores elevados de glucemia, fueron remitidas al médicopara su valoración.As part of a localised health care initiative, a campaign for the detection of possible undiagnosed cases of diabeteswas carried out from the 28th of March to the 28th of June 2005, at a local community pharmacy, giving good resultsand a high level of acceptance from pharmacy customers. The diabetes risk test proposed by the American DiabetesAssociation (ADA) was used in the selection process of persons for blood glucose testing under conditions of previousfasting (8-10 hrs). The ADA test is based on a points scoring system, in which a score of 10 points is considered ascause for recommendation for blood glucose testing. The methodology used for the determination of blood glucoselevels in this research was that based on colorimetric reactions. In the ADA test, 53.0% of cases scored ten points orover, while 36.4% of blood glucose determinations resulted in levels equal to or over 110 mg/dL, thus indicating theusefulness of this tool for the purposes of research. Persons with such high levels of blood glucose were referred to aphysician for analysis

Swan foraging shapes spatial distribution of two submerged plants, favouring the preferred prey species

Compared to terrestrial environments, grazing intensity on belowground plant parts may be particularly strong in aquatic environments, which may have great effects on plant-community structure. We observed that the submerged macrophyte, Potamogeton pectinatus, which mainly reproduces with tubers, often grows at intermediate water depth and that P. perfoliatus, which mainly reproduces with rhizomes and turions, grows in either shallow or deep water. One mechanism behind this distributional pattern may be that swans prefer to feed on P. pectinatus tubers at intermediate water depths. We hypothesised that when swans feed on tubers in the sediment, P. perfoliatus rhizomes and turions may be damaged by the uprooting, whereas the small round tubers of P. pectinatus that escaped herbivory may be more tolerant to this bioturbation. In spring 2000, we transplanted P. perfoliatus rhizomes into a P. pectinatus stand and followed growth in plots protected and unprotected, respectively, from bird foraging. Although swan foraging reduced tuber biomass in unprotected plots, leading to lower P. pectinatus density in spring 2001, this species grew well both in protected and unprotected plots later that summer. In contrast, swan grazing had a dramatic negative effect on P. perfoliatus that persisted throughout the summer of 2001, with close to no plants in the unprotected plots and high densities in the protected plots. Our results demonstrate that herbivorous waterbirds may play a crucial role in the distribution and prevalence of specific plant species. Furthermore, since their grazing benefitted their preferred food source, the interaction between swans and P. pectinatus may be classified as ecologically mutualistic

Biology, Methodology or Chance? The Degree Distributions of Bipartite Ecological Networks

The distribution of the number of links per species, or degree distribution, is widely used as a summary of the topology of complex networks. Degree distributions have been studied in a range of ecological networks, including both mutualistic bipartite networks of plants and pollinators or seed dispersers and antagonistic bipartite networks of plants and their consumers. The shape of a degree distribution, for example whether it follows an exponential or power-law form, is typically taken to be indicative of the processes structuring the network. The skewed degree distributions of bipartite mutualistic and antagonistic networks are usually assumed to show that ecological or co-evolutionary processes constrain the relative numbers of specialists and generalists in the network. I show that a simple null model based on the principle of maximum entropy cannot be rejected as a model for the degree distributions in most of the 115 bipartite ecological networks tested here. The model requires knowledge of the number of nodes and links in the network, but needs no other ecological information. The model cannot be rejected for 159 (69%) of the 230 degree distributions of the 115 networks tested. It performed equally well on the plant and animal degree distributions, and cannot be rejected for 81 (70%) of the 115 plant distributions and 78 (68%) of the animal distributions. There are consistent differences between the degree distributions of mutualistic and antagonistic networks, suggesting that different processes are constraining these two classes of networks. Fit to the MaxEnt null model is consistently poor among the largest mutualistic networks. Potential ecological and methodological explanations for deviations from the model suggest that spatial and temporal heterogeneity are important drivers of the structure of these large networks

Are Nested Networks More Robust to Disturbance? A Test Using Epiphyte-Tree, Comensalistic Networks

Recent research on ecological networks suggests that mutualistic networks are more nested than antagonistic ones and, as a result, they are more robust against chains of extinctions caused by disturbances. We evaluate whether mutualistic networks are more nested than comensalistic and antagonistic networks, and whether highly nested, host-epiphyte comensalistic networks fit the prediction of high robustness against disturbance. A review of 59 networks including mutualistic, antagonistic and comensalistic relationships showed that comensalistic networks are significantly more nested than antagonistic and mutualistic networks, which did not differ between themselves. Epiphyte-host networks from old-growth forests differed from those from disturbed forest in several topological parameters based on both qualitative and quantitative matrices. Network robustness increased with network size, but the slope of this relationship varied with nestedness and connectance. Our results indicate that interaction networks show complex responses to disturbances, which influence their topology and indirectly affect their robustness against species extinctions

Biogenesis and Dynamics of Mitochondria during the Cell Cycle: Significance of 3′UTRs

Nowadays, we are facing a renaissance of mitochondria in cancer biology. However, our knowledge of the basic cell biology and on the timing and mechanisms that control the biosynthesis of mitochondrial constituents during progression through the cell cycle of mammalian cells remain largely unknown. Herein, we document the in vivo changes on mitochondrial morphology and dynamics that accompany cellular mitosis, and illustrate the following key points of the biogenesis of mitochondria during progression of liver cells through the cycle: (i) the replication of nuclear and mitochondrial genomes is synchronized during cellular proliferation, (ii) the accretion of OXPHOS proteins is asynchronously regulated during proliferation being the synthesis of β-F1-ATPase and Hsp60 carried out also at G2/M and, (iii) the biosynthesis of cardiolipin is achieved during the S phase, although full development of the mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) is attained at G2/M. Furthermore, we demonstrate using reporter constructs that the mechanism regulating the accretion of β-F1-ATPase during cellular proliferation is controlled at the level of mRNA translation by the 3′UTR of the transcript. The 3′UTR-driven synthesis of the protein at G2/M is essential for conferring to the daughter cells the original phenotype of the parental cell. Our findings suggest that alterations on this process may promote deregulated β-F1-ATPase expression in human cancer

Predicting Spatial Patterns of Plant Recruitment Using Animal-Displacement Kernels

For plants dispersed by frugivores, spatial patterns of recruitment are primarily influenced by the spatial arrangement and characteristics of parent plants, the digestive characteristics, feeding behaviour and movement patterns of animal dispersers, and the structure of the habitat matrix. We used an individual-based, spatially-explicit framework to characterize seed dispersal and seedling fate in an endangered, insular plant-disperser system: the endemic shrub Daphne rodriguezii and its exclusive disperser, the endemic lizard Podarcis lilfordi. Plant recruitment kernels were chiefly determined by the disperser's patterns of space utilization (i.e. the lizard's displacement kernels), the position of the various plant individuals in relation to them, and habitat structure (vegetation cover vs. bare soil). In contrast to our expectations, seed gut-passage rate and its effects on germination, and lizard speed-of-movement, habitat choice and activity rhythm were of minor importance. Predicted plant recruitment kernels were strongly anisotropic and fine-grained, preventing their description using one-dimensional, frequency-distance curves. We found a general trade-off between recruitment probability and dispersal distance; however, optimal recruitment sites were not necessarily associated to sites of maximal adult-plant density. Conservation efforts aimed at enhancing the regeneration of endangered plant-disperser systems may gain in efficacy by manipulating the spatial distribution of dispersers (e.g. through the creation of refuges and feeding sites) to create areas favourable to plant recruitment

Co-creating FabLab La Campana: Empowering a Marginalised Community in the North of Mexico

FabLabs are a celebrated approach to formal and informal learning through making with digital fabrication tools. This paper discusses the co-creation of a FabLab with a marginalised community in Monterrey, Mexico. One of the main challenges in establishing these Makerspaces is in sustaining the activities and community engagement on an ongoing basis. In responding to this challenge, this process focused on the empowerment of community members to make the changes they desire, either for themselves or their community. Beyond skills for making and playful engagement in STEAM learning, makerspaces also facilitate the building of networks and partnerships, and the development of social competencies and soft skills, that are often overlooked in the process of empowerment and social mobility. Primary insights from the co-creation process of the La Campana FabLab are reported here. A Mexican higher education institution with a strong social responsibility agenda facilitated the process, securing funds and connecting project partners, locally and globally. Framing the cocreation of the FabLab with the partners was and is an ongoing process. Key factors included the donation of a safe space and tools for the community to host and run the FabLab. Establishing the role of the FabLab in the community from the participants’ point-of-view and committing to regular ongoing educational dialogue was important in forming an equitable partnership between institutions and community. Beyond the physical space, equipment and educational activities, a community architecture intervention demonstrated the large-scale impact digital fabrication could have in creating spaces shaped by and for the community

Snake Cathelicidin from Bungarus fasciatus Is a Potent Peptide Antibiotics

Background: Cathelicidins are a family of antimicrobial peptides acting as multifunctional effector molecules of innate immunity, which are firstly found in mammalians. Recently, several cathelicidins have also been found from chickens and fishes. No cathelicidins from other non-mammalian vertebrates have been reported. Principal Findings: In this work, a cathelicidin-like antimicrobial peptide named cathelicidin-BF has been purified from the snake venoms of Bungarus fasciatus and its cDNA sequence was cloned from the cDNA library, which confirm the presence of cathelicidin in reptiles. As other cathelicidins, the precursor of cathelicidin-BF has cathelin-like domain at the N terminus and carry the mature cathelicidin-BF at the C terminus, but it has an atypical acidic fragment insertion between the cathelin-like domain and the C-terminus. The acidic fragment is similar to acidic domains of amphibian antimicrobial precursors. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the snake cathelicidin had the nearest evolution relationship with platypus cathelicidin. The secondary structure of cathelicidin-BF investigated by CD and NMR spectroscopy in the presence of the helicogenic solvent TFE is an amphipathic α-helical conformation as many other cathelicidins. The antimicrobial activities of cathelicidin BF against forty strains of microorganisms were tested. Cathelicidin-BF efficiently killed bacteria and some fungal species including clinically isolated drug-resistance microorganisms. It was especially active against Gram-negative bacteria. Furthermore, it could exert antimicrobial activity against some saprophytic fungus. No hemolytic and cytotoxic activity was observed at the dose of up to 400 µg/ml. Cathelicidin-BF could exist stably in the mice plasma for at least 2.5 hours. Conclusion: Discovery of snake cathelicidin with atypical structural and functional characterization offers new insights on the evolution of cathelicidins. Potent, broad spectrum, salt-independent antimicrobial activities make cathelicidin-BF an excellent candidate for clinical or agricultural antibiotics

Novel Two-Component Systems Implied in Antibiotic Production in Streptomyces coelicolor

The abundance of two-component systems (TCSs) in Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2) genome indicates their importance in the physiology of this soil bacteria. Currently, several TCSs have been related to antibiotic regulation, and the purpose in this study was the characterization of five TCSs, selected by sequence homology with the well-known absA1A2 system, that could also be associated with this important process. Null mutants of the five TCSs were obtained and two mutants (ΔSCO1744/1745 and ΔSCO4596/4597/4598) showed significant differences in both antibiotic production and morphological differentiation, and have been renamed as abr (antibiotic regulator). No detectable changes in antibiotic production were found in the mutants in the systems that include the ORFs SCO3638/3639, SCO3640/3641 and SCO2165/2166 in any of the culture conditions assayed. The system SCO1744/1745 (AbrA1/A2) was involved in negative regulation of antibiotic production, and acted also as a negative regulator of the morphological differentiation. By contrast, the system SCO4596/4597/4598 (AbrC1/C2/C3), composed of two histidine kinases and one response regulator, had positive effects on both morphological development and antibiotic production. Microarray analyses of the ΔabrC1/C2/C3 and wild-type transcriptomes revealed downregulation of actII-ORF4 and cdaR genes, the actinorhodin and calcium-dependent antibiotic pathway-specific regulators respectively. These results demonstrated the involvement of these new two-component systems in antibiotic production and morphological differentiation by different approaches. One is a pleiotropic negative regulator: abrA1/A2. The other one is a positive regulator composed of three elements, two histidine kinases and one response regulator: abrC1/C2/C3