Ozone Therapy on Cerebral Blood Flow: A Preliminary Report

Ozone therapy is currently being used in the treatment of ischemic disorders, but the underlying mechanisms that result in successful treatment are not well known. This study assesses the effect of ozone therapy on the blood flow in the middle cerebral and common carotid arteries. Seven subjects were recruited for the therapy that was performed by transfusing ozone-enriched autologous blood on 3 alternate days over 1 week. Blood flow quantification in the common carotid artery (n = 14) was performed using color Doppler. Systolic and diastolic velocities in the middle cerebral artery (n = 14) were estimated using transcranial Doppler. Ultrasound assessments were conducted at the following three time points: 1) basal (before ozone therapy), 2) after session #3 and 3) 1 week after session #3. The common carotid blood flow had increased by 75% in relation to the baseline after session #3 (P < 0.001) and by 29% 1 week later (P = 0.039). In the middle cerebral artery, the systolic velocity had increased by 22% after session #3 (P = 0.001) and by 15% 1 week later (P = 0.035), whereas the diastolic velocity had increased by 33% after session #3 (P < 0.001) and by 18% 1 week later (P = 0.023). This preliminary Doppler study supports the clinical experience of achieving improvement by using ozone therapy in peripheral ischemic syndromes. Its potential use as a complementary treatment in cerebral low perfusion syndromes merits further clinical evaluation

PepT1 mRNA expression levels in sea bream (Sparus aurata) fed different plant protein sources

The expression and regulation of intestinal oligopeptide transporter (PepT)-1 when vegetable sources are used as a substitute for fish meal in the diet of marine fish has not yet been explored. In the present study, as part of our ongoing work on elucidating PepT1 gene expression in relation to different dietary treatments, we have now isolated and deposited in Genbank database (accession no. GU733710) a cDNA sequence representing the PepT1 in the sea bream (Sparus aurata). The \u201cde novo\u201d prediction of the three-dimensional structure of PepT1 protein is presented. We also analyzed diet-induced changes in the expression of PepT1 mRNA via real-time RTPCR using the standard curve method. Sea bream were fed for 140 days with one of the following four diet formulations (43% protein/21% lipid): a control fast growth-promoting diet (C), and three diets with the same formulation but in which 15% of the fish meal was substituted by protein concentrates either from lupine (LPC), chick pea (CPC), or green pea (PPC). Fish fed PPC had significantly (p < 0.05) lower levels of PepT1 transcripts in the proximal intestine than the controls, whereas PepT1 transcript levels in fish fed LPC or CPC were not significantly different from the controls. Although growth was similar between fish fed with different diets during the first 72 days of feeding, growth of the fish fed with PPC was reduced during the second part of the trial and was significantly (p < 0.05) lower than fish fed LPC and CPC diets by the end of the experiment. Correlation between these results and fish growth performances highlights that the intestinal PepT1 mRNA level may serve as a useful marker of the dietary protein quality and absorption efficiency

Don Quijote navega de nuevo: percepciones de una web desde la metodología del EAS

This research explores the pedagogical and motivational potential of Don Quixote with the support of ICT. It focuses on analyzing the perceptions of the use of a webpage of our own design in differentiated recipients. Emulating the three quixotic outputs, the evaluations are collected in three interest groups: teachers in training,&nbsp; teaching professionals and students, in an educational line on the designed resource. Methodologically, the study is inspired by the perspective of SLE (Situated Learning Episodes) by merging the didactic treatment of the masterpiece of world literature with the use of information and communication technologies.Esta investigación explora el potencial pedagógico y motivacional de El Ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha con el apoyo de las TIC. Pone el foco en analizar las percepciones del uso de un Recurso Educativo en Abierto, una web de diseño propio, en un universo heterogéneo de usuarios. Emulando las tres salidas quijotescas, se recogen las percepciones en tres grupos de interés: profesorado en formación,&nbsp; expertos docentes en activo y alumnado preuniversitario, en una suerte de trazabilidad educativa sobre el REA. Metodológicamente la investigación se contextualiza en un Episodio de Aprendizaje situado (EAS) al fusionar el tratamiento didáctico del relato cervantino y las TIC

An adaptive graph for volumetric mesh visualization

AbstractThis work presents an adaptive strategy in order to visualize volumetric data generated from numerical simulations of partial differential equations. The mesh is represented by a graph data structure. Moreover, the Autonomous Leaves Graph is extended to the three-dimensional case. This scheme intends to achieve better transversal cost than a treelike (e.g., bintree, quadtree and octree) space arrangement approach. Furthermore, this strategy intends to reduce the computational cost of constructing the discretization and the visualization of data. The total-ordering of the mesh volumes used in the discretization and the visualization processes is by the 3D Modified Hilbert space-filling Curve. To evaluate the performance, the strategy is applied on a Heat Conduction simulation problem using finite difference discretizations and the experimental results are discussed. Comparisons are made between numerical results obtained when using the Hilbert Curve and its modified version. In addition, experiments are shown when visualization is made from inside and outside the volume. The results expose the efficiency of using this strategy

Influence of major mergers on the radio emission of elliptical galaxies

We investigate the influence of major mergers on the radio emission of elliptical galaxies. We use a complete sample of close pairs, which contains 475 merging and 1828 non-merging paired elliptical galaxies of M_r<-21.5 selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. In addition, a control sample of 2000 isolated field galaxies is used for comparison. We cross-identify the optical galaxies with the radio surveys of FIRST and NVSS. We find that the radio fraction of merging paired galaxies is about 6%, which is slightly higher than the 5% obtained for non-merging paired galaxies, although these values are consistent with each other owing to the large uncertainty caused by the limited sample. The radio fraction is twice as that of isolated galaxies, which is less than 3%. Radio emission of elliptical galaxies is only slightly affected by major mergers, but predominantly depends on their optical luminosities. Therefore, merging is not important in triggering the radio emission of elliptical galaxies.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, 1 table, accepted for publication in A&A, minor change

Práctica docente y TIC: asociación indispensable en el presente siglo

Reflexionar sobre la integración de las tecnologías de la información y la comunicación en la práctica curricular es la intención de este artículo. Decir que las mis- mas suponen, hoy en día, un valor añadido (imprescindible) al proceso de enseñanza aprendizaje es hablar de una educación inmersa ya en el siglo XXI y, por tanto, en la sociedad actual. Exponemos, desde la práctica y la investigación contrastada, una re- flexión sobre el empleo de diversas herramientas de la Web 2.0. Sirven estas para potenciar tanto la interacción entre los miembros de la comunidad educativa como para promover un sistema de trabajo creativo , participativo y enormemente motivador

Exploring the Impact of Galaxy Interactions over Seven Billion Years with CAS

We explore galaxy assembly over the last seven billion years by characterizing "normal" galaxies along the Hubble sequence, against strongly disturbed merging/interacting galaxies with the widely used CAS system of concentration (C), asymmetry (A), and 'clumpiness' (S) parameters, as well as visual classification. We analyze Hubble Space Telescope (HST) ACS images of ~4000 intermediate and high mass (> 10^9 solar masses) galaxies from the GEMS survey, one of the largest HST surveys conducted to date in two filters. We explore the effectiveness of the CAS criteria [A>S and A>~0.35] in separating normal and strongly disturbed galaxies at different redshifts, and quantify the recovery and contamination rate. We also compare the average star formation rate and the cosmic star formation rate density as a function of redshift between normal and interacting systems identified by CAS.Comment: ASP conference proceedings of 2007 Bash Symposium. Latex with asp2006.sty. 4 pages, 4 figure

Efecto del glicerol sobre los lípidos de la alga roja Gratelupia doryphora

The red alga Gratelupia doryphora was cultivated in Provasoli enricher (plain) seawater and in a glycerol media. The incubation in seawater leads to an increase in the percentage of polyunsaturated acids, while the glycerol increase the total lipid content. If the alga is being grown as a heterotrophic culture, it is possible to increase the alga biomass as well as the content of biologically-active fatty acids.Se cultivó alga roja Gratelupia doryphora en agua de mar enriquecida con Provasoli y en glicerol. La incubación en agua de mar condujo a un aumento en el porcentaje de los ácidos grasos poliinsaturados, mientras que el glicerol incrementó el contenido de lípidos totales. Por tanto, si la alga está siendo producida como un cultivo heterotrófico, es posible aumentar la biomasa de la misma así como el contenido de ácidos grasos biológicamente activos

Ozone Therapy for Tumor Oxygenation: a Pilot Study

Tumor hypoxia is an adverse factor for chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Ozone therapy is a non-conventional form of medicine that has been used successfully in the treatment of ischemic disorders. This prospective study was designed to assess the effect of ozone therapy on tumor oxygenation. Eighteen subjects were recruited for the study. Systemic ozone therapy was administered by autohemotransfusion on three alternate days over one week. Tumor oxygenation levels were measured using polarographic needle probes before and after the first and the third ozone therapy session. Overall, no statistically significant change was observed in the tumor oxygenation in the 18 patients. However, a significant decrease was observed in hypoxic values ≤10 and ≤5 mmHg of pO(2). When individually assessed, a significant and inverse non-linear correlation was observed between increase in oxygenation and the initial tumor pO(2) values at each measuring time-point, thus indicating that the more poorly-oxygenated tumors benefited most (rho = −0.725; P = 0.001). Additionally, the effect of ozone therapy was found to be lower in patients with higher hemoglobin concentrations (rho = −0.531; P < 0.034). Despite being administered over a very short period, ozone therapy improved oxygenation in the most hypoxic tumors. Ozone therapy as adjuvant in chemo-radiotherapy warrants further research