Phase 1 repolarization rate defines Ca2+ dynamics and contractility on intact mouse hearts.

In the heart, Ca2+ influx through L-type Ca2+ channels triggers Ca2+ release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum. In most mammals, this influx occurs during the ventricular action potential (AP) plateau phase 2. However, in murine models, the influx through L-type Ca2+ channels happens in early repolarizing phase 1. The aim of this work is to assess if changes in the open probability of 4-aminopyridine (4-AP)-sensitive Kv channels defining the outward K+ current during phase 1 can modulate Ca2+ currents, Ca2+ transients, and systolic pressure during the cardiac cycle in intact perfused beating hearts. Pulsed local-field fluorescence microscopy and loose-patch photolysis were used to test the hypothesis that a decrease in a transient K+ current (Ito) will enhance Ca2+ influx and promote a larger Ca2+ transient. Simultaneous recordings of Ca2+ transients and APs by pulsed local-field fluorescence microscopy and loose-patch photolysis showed that a reduction in the phase 1 repolarization rate increases the amplitude of Ca2+ transients due to an increase in Ca2+ influx through L-type Ca2+ channels. Moreover, 4-AP induced an increase in the time required for AP to reach 30% repolarization, and the amplitude of Ca2+ transients was larger in epicardium than endocardium. On the other hand, the activation of Ito with NS5806 resulted in a reduction of Ca2+ current amplitude that led to a reduction of the amplitude of Ca2+ transients. Finally, the 4-AP effect on AP phase 1 was significantly smaller when the L-type Ca2+ current was partially blocked with nifedipine, indicating that the phase 1 rate of repolarization is defined by the competition between an outward K+ current and an inward Ca2+ current

Matching in vitro bioaccessibility of polyphenols and antioxidant capacity of soluble coffee by Boosted Regression Trees

The aim of this study was to evaluate changes in polyphenol profile and antioxidant capacity of five soluble coffees throughout a simulated gastro-intestinal digestion, including absorption through a dialysis membrane. Our results demonstrate that both polyphenol content and antioxidant capacity were characteristic for each type of studied coffee, showing a drop after dialysis. Twenty-seven compounds were identified in coffee by HPLC-MS, while only 14 of them were found after dialysis. Green+roasted coffee blend and chicory+coffee blend showed the highest and lowest content of polyphenols and antioxidant capacity before in vitro digestion and after dialysis, respectively. Canonical correlation analysis showed significant correlation between the antioxidant capacity and the polyphenol profile before digestion and after dialysis. Furthermore, boosted regression trees analysis (BRT) showed that only four polyphenol compounds (5-p-coumaroylquinic acid, quinic acid, coumaroyl tryptophan conjugated, and 5-O-caffeoylquinic acid) appear to be the most relevant to explain the antioxidant capacity after dialysis, these compounds being the most bioaccessible after dialysis. To our knowledge, this is the first report matching the antioxidant capacity of foods with the polyphenol profile by BRT, which opens an interesting method of analysis for future reports on the antioxidant capacity of foods.Fil: Podio, Natalia Soledad. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología de Alimentos Córdoba. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología de Alimentos Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: López Froilán, Rebeca. Universidad Complutense de Madrid; EspañaFil: Ramirez Moreno, Esther. Universidad Autónoma de Estado de Hidalgo; México. Universidad Complutense de Madrid; EspañaFil: Bertrand, Lidwina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Córdoba. Centro de Investigaciones en Bioquímica Clínica e Inmunología; ArgentinaFil: Baroni, María Verónica. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología de Alimentos Córdoba. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología de Alimentos Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Pérez Rodríguez, María L.. Universidad Complutense de Madrid; EspañaFil: Sánchez Mata, María Cortes. Universidad Complutense de Madrid; EspañaFil: Wunderlin, Daniel A.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología de Alimentos Córdoba. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología de Alimentos Córdoba; Argentin

Children’s improvement of a motor response during backward falls through the implementation of a safe fall program

The World Health Organization has warned that, in children, the second cause of death from unintentional injuries are falls. The objective of this study was to analyze the motor response of primary schoolchildren when a backwards fall occurs. These analyses occurred before and after interventions of the Safe Fall program, which aims to teach safe and protected ways of backward falling. A quasi-experimental research design was used, with a sample of 122 Spanish (Sevillian) schoolchildren in the 10–12 age bracket. The INFOSECA ad-hoc observation scale was used for data collection: this scale registers 5 essential physical reactions throughout the process of a safe and protected backwards fall. After that, a number of descriptive, correlational and contrast statistics were applied. The value used in the McNemar test to establish statistical significance was p < 0.05. Results showed that over 85% of students had developed the competence to correctly perform all five physical motions that allow for a safer backward fall. The teaching of safe and protected techniques for falling backwards in child population in Primary Education is possible through the implementation of the Safe Fall program in Physical Education classes, which can help making falls safer, diminishing the risk and severity of the injuries they cause

Interpersonal Violence and Psychotic-Like Experiences: The Mediation of Ideas of Reference, Childhood Memories, and Dissociation

Previous studies have demonstrated the relationship between the accumulation of situations involving interpersonal violence (IV) and psychotic-like experiences. This study explored whether IV is related to aberrant salience (AS), using a sequential mediation model that included memories of relationship with parents (submission, devaluation, and threat; Early Life Experiences Scale (ELES)), ideas of reference (IR), and dissociative symptoms (absorption and depersonalization), and whether the patient/nonpatient condition moderated this effect. The sample was made of 401 participants (including 43 patients with psychotic disorders) aged 18 to 71 years (Mage = 30.43;SD= 11.19). Analysis of a serial multiple mediator model revealed that IR, ELES, absorption, and depersonalization fully mediated the effect of IV on AS, explaining 39% of the variance, regardless of the patient/nonpatient condition. The indirect paths, which place IR and dissociation (especially absorption, the variable to which the IR and ELES lead) in a primordial position for being related to AS, are discussed. This continuum model could be useful for understanding processes related to the onset of psychosis unmoderated by the patient/nonpatient condition

Modelización de las inestabilidades en la deformación plástica de monocristales de circona estabilizada con itria (YCSZ)

En este trabajo se presenta un modelo para explicar las inestabilidades dinámicas observadas durante la deformación plástica a alta temperatura de monocristales de circona estabilizada con itria, (YCSZ, yttria cubic stabilized zirconia) con alto contenido en itria. El modelo se basa en el fenómeno Portevin-Le Chatelier (PLC), que consiste en episodios sucesivos de anclaje y desanclaje de dislocaciones cuando éstas se mueven con una velocidad del mismo orden que los defectos que obstaculizan su movimiento. La evaluación numérica de los parámetros implicados en el modelo muestra que las inestabilidades plásticas son totalmente compatibles con el efecto Portevin- Le Chatelie

Innovación abierta en tecnología, diseño y dinámicas sociales

ITESO, A.C

Wave Attenuation by Spartina Saltmarshes in the Chesapeake Bay Under Storm Surge Conditions

This material is based upon work supported by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the U.S. Department of the Interior under grant 43932.This material is also based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under grant SES‐1331399.This research was also supported in part by the Thomas F. and Kate Miller Jeffress Memorial Trust, Bank of America, Trustee. M. Maza, J.L. Lara, and I.J. Losada are indebted to the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness for the funding provided in the RETOS INVESTIGACION 2014 (grant BIA2014‐59718‐R) grant program

Evolution des exploitations ovines et caprines en Méditerranée durant les dix dernières années. I. Proposition d'une méthodologie d'étude

L’objectif de ce travail est l’élaboration d’une méthode d’analyse comparative interrégionale de la situation et des évolutions des systèmes de production ovine et caprine. Des questionnaires d’enquête différents sont élaborés à destination des éleveurs d’une part, des agents de développement puis des personnes chargées de la commercialisation d’autre part. Des analyses statistiques de variance sont utilisées pour construire des typologies d’exploitation sur la base de la situation actuelle et de l’évolution des exploitations au cours des 10 dernières années. La méthode d’analyse clinique des écosystèmes a pour objet : (i) de connaître les points forts et les points faibles des systèmes et les relations de cause à effet ; (ii) de prévoir de manière prospective l’évolution future de chaque type d’exploitation ; et (iii) de proposer des actions concrètes pour optimiser les perspectives favorables de chaque système. Cette démarche s’inscrit dans l’Observatoire des systèmes de production ovine et caprine du réseau FAO/CIHEAM de recherche coopérative sur les ovins et les caprins.“Evolution of the sheep and goat farms in the Mediterranean over the last ten years. I. Proposal of a study methodology”. The main objective of this paper is to develop a methodology that could be used in diverse regions to make a comparative analysis of situation and changes that may occur in goat and sheep sectors among different regions from the same or different countries. This process has been elaborated for breeders on one hand, for extension and commercial agents on the other. Statistical analysis of variance is used to build up a typology of farms on the basis of the actual situation and changes in farms for the 10 last years. The method of clinical analysis of variance of ecosystems is used to: (i) determine system strengths and weaknesses and the cause-result relationships; (ii) foresee system evolution based on the established cluster; and (iii) propose actions to optimize future evolution in every system according to real possibilities in each particular case. This initiative is an action of the Monitoring Body of sheep and goat production systems of the FAO/CIHEAM network of cooperative research on sheep and goats

Mesomechanical analysis of concrete under loading that generates rotation of cracking

Willam´s test has been often used to compare constitutive models which take into account induced anisotropy due to damage and cracking. This numerical test emulates the continuous rotation of the principal stress and deformation directions, with secondary cracks forming at inclined directions while original primary cracks aligned with the axes tend to close. However, a realistic verification of this type of behavior is limited by the absence of experimental results in the literature of concrete and other quasi brittle materials, which can be explained in part due to the complexity of practical difficulties in this kind of lab test. As a first way to cover this gap, this paper presents numerical results of a concrete meso-structural model under imposed deformations at the boundary similar to the Willam’s test. The results presented include the evolution of average stress components over the sample, cracking state, etc. Generally speaking, the results obtained agree well with the predictions of advanced continuum-type anisotropic models, although some specific aspects are pointed out that would deserve further detailed study and discussion

Relationship Between the Quorum Network (Sensing/Quenching) and Clinical Features of Pneumonia and Bacteraemia Caused by A. baumannii

Acinetobacter baumannii (Ab) is one of the most important pathogens associated with nosocomial infections, especially pneumonia. Interest in the Quorum network, i.e., Quorum Sensing (QS)/Quorum Quenching (QQ), in this pathogen has grown in recent years. The Quorum network plays an important role in regulating diverse virulence factors such as surface motility and bacterial competition through the type VI secretion system (T6SS), which is associated with bacterial invasiveness. In the present study, we investigated 30 clinical strains of A. baumannii isolated in the “II Spanish Study of A. baumannii GEIH-REIPI 2000-2010” (Genbank Umbrella Bioproject PRJNA422585), a multicentre study describing the relationship between the Quorum network in A. baumannii and the development of pneumonia and associated bacteraemia. Expression of the aidA gene (encoding the AidA protein, QQ enzyme) was lower (P < 0.001) in strains of A. baumannii isolated from patients with bacteraemic pneumonia than in strains isolated from patients with non-bacteraemic pneumonia. Moreover, aidA expression in the first type of strain was not regulated in the presence of environmental stress factors such as the 3-oxo-C12-HSL molecule (substrate of AidA protein, QQ activation) or H2O2 (inhibitor of AidA protein, QS activation). However, in the A. baumannii strains isolated from patients with non-bacteraemic pneumonia, aidA gene expression was regulated by stressors such as 3-oxo-C12-HSL and H2O2. In an in vivo Galleria mellonella model of A. baumannii infection, the A. baumannii ATCC 17978 strain was associated with higher mortality (100% at 24 h) than the mutant, abaI-deficient, strain (carrying a synthetase enzyme of Acyl homoserine lactone molecules) (70% at 24 h). These data suggest that the QS (abaR and abaI genes)/QQ (aidA gene) network affects the development of secondary bacteraemia in pneumonia patients and also the virulence of A. baumannii.National Plan for Scientific ResearchTechnological Development and Innovation PI16/01163ISCIII-Deputy General Directorate for Evaluation and Promotion of Research-European Regional Development Fund A way of Making EuropeInstituto de Salud Carlos IIIMiguel Servet Research Programme SERGAS and ISCIIIXunta de Galicia (GAIN, Axencia de Innovación