Marine Terpenic Endoperoxides

Organic extracts of marine invertebrates, mainly sponges, from seas all over the world are well known for their high in vitro anticancer and antibiotic activities which make them promising sources of compounds with potential use as pharmaceutical leads. Most of the structures discovered so far have a peculiar structural feature in common: a 1,2-dioxane ring. This is a highly reactive heterocycle that can be considered as an endoperoxide function. Together with other structural features, this group could be responsible for the strong biological activities of the substances present in the extracts. Numerous research programs have focused on their structural elucidation and total synthesis since the seventies. As a consequence, the number of established chiral centres and the similarity between different naturally occurring substances is increasingly higher. Most of these compounds have a terpenoid nature, mainly diterpene and sesterterpene, with several peculiar structural features, such as the loss of one carbon atom. Although there are many reviews dealing with the occurrence of marine peroxides, their activities, or potential pharmaceutical uses, no one has focused on those having a terpene origin and the endoperoxide function. We present here a comprehensive review of these compounds paying special attention to their structural features and their biological activity

Obstetric Phenotypes in the Heterogeneity of Schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia is a complex mental disorder with genetic and environmental components. Obstetric complications (OCs) are one of the most common environmental risk factors described. However, despite being different in timing and outcome, OCs are usually described as a homogeneous entity. In the present study, we evaluate the presence of different patterns of OCs evaluated with the Lewis-Murray Scale in chronic schizophrenia patients (n = 101) and their association with a crude marker of the intrauterine environment such as weight at birth.OCs related with abnormal fetal growth (p < 0.001) and OCs during gestation (p = 0.003) were associated with lower birth weight. However, difficulties in delivery, complications in pregnancy, and OCs all together (as a set) were not associated with weight at birth.Our results infer that OCs cannot be taken as a homogeneous group. Different patterns of OCs result in different birth weights, which is associated with specific metabolic, cognitive, and brain structure outcomes.This work was supported by the Government of Catalonia, Secretaria d'Universitats i Recerca del Departament d'Economia i Coneixement (2014SGR441), with the grants FI-DGR-2013 Contract of the Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca (AGAUR) (2015 FI_B2 00100) and from Fundació Bosch Gimpera (FBG) within the RETOS COLABORACIÓN 2015, funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economic Affairs and Competitiveness (RTC-2015-3440-1) to G. Mezquida. Dr. Bernardo has been supported by research funding from the Spanish Ministry of Health, the Spanish Ministry of Science and Education, the Spanish Ministry of Economic Affairs and Competitiveness, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), by Secretaria d'Universitat i Recerca del Departament d'Economia I Coneixement (2014SGR441), Foundation European Group for Research In Schizophrenia (EGRIS), and the 7th Framework Program of the European Union. Dr. Garcia-Rizo is supported by the PI14/00753 project, integrated into the State Plan of Scientific and Technical Research and Innovation 2013–2016 and co-financed by the ISCIII-General Evaluation Branch and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). Dr. Bobes is supported by the Spanish Ministry of Health, the Spanish Ministry of Science and Education, the Spanish Ministry of Economic Affairs and Competitiveness and CIBERSAM. Dr. Paz-Portilla has been also supported by the European Commission, ISCIII-General Evaluation Branch and CIBERSAM. Dr. Savulich is funded by a grant from Eton College and theWallitt Foundation. Dr. Fernanez-Egea is supported, in part, by the NIRH-Biomedical Research Center, Cambridge

Body overweight discrimination: Contexts and situations / Discriminación por exceso de peso corporal: Contextos y situaciones

AbstractThe obesity consequences are not only physical but also psychosocial, with respect the psychosocial, body discrimination is clinically relevant, since in Mexico 70% of the population could be sufferer of it. Therefore, the objective of this documentary research was to make a count of the contexts and/or situations of discrimination for overweight. Based on the analysis of the literature consulted, it was found that the family, the school environment, the hospital settings and the workplaces, contexts in which understanding and social support are expected, are contexts where body overweight discrimination is promoted and accepted every day. It is concluded that, is necessary to stablish the mandatory practice of psychoeducational interventions with regard to the effect of discrimination in these contexts to sensitize the population and starting their eradication, since this psychosocial phenomenon can affect the mental health of overweight people; and at the same time, can be a maintainer of the body condition and becoming a vicious cycle.ResumenLas consecuencias del sobrepeso o de la obesidad no son solo físicas sino también psicosociales; entre estas últimas, la discriminación debida al exceso de peso corporal es de relevancia clínica, y en México más del 70% de la población podría ser víctima de ésta. Por tanto, el objetivo del presente trabajo, de naturaleza documental, fue hacer un recuento de los contextos y/o situaciones que propician la discriminación hacia las personas con exceso de peso. Con base al análisis de las investigaciones consultadas, se encontró que la familia, el ambiente escolar, el hospitalario y el laboral, contextos en los que se esperaría la comprensión y el apoyo social, son escenarios donde se promueve y se acepta de manera cotidiana la discriminación por la condición corporal. Se concluye que es importante establecer como práctica obligatoria intervenciones psicoeducativas respecto al efecto de la discriminación debida al exceso de peso en estos contextos para sensibilizar a la población e iniciar su erradicación, ya que este fenómeno psicosocial puede no solo afectar la salud mental de las personas con exceso de peso, sino también constituir un factor mantenedor de dicha condición corporal

Specific Recognition of Influenza A/H1N1/2009 Antibodies in Human Serum: A Simple Virus-Free ELISA Method

Although it has been estimated that pandemic Influenza A H1N1/2009 has infected millions of people from April to October 2009, a more precise figure requires a worldwide large-scale diagnosis of the presence of Influenza A/H1N1/2009 antibodies within the population. Assays typically used to estimate antibody titers (hemagglutination inhibition and microneutralization) would require the use of the virus, which would seriously limit broad implementation.An ELISA method to evaluate the presence and relative concentration of specific Influenza A/H1N1/2009 antibodies in human serum samples is presented. The method is based on the use of a histidine-tagged recombinant fragment of the globular region of the hemagglutinin (HA) of the Influenza A H1N1/2009 virus expressed in E. coli.The ELISA method consistently discerns between Inf A H1N1 infected and non-infected subjects, particularly after the third week of infection/exposure. Since it does not require the use of viral particles, it can be easily and quickly implemented in any basic laboratory. In addition, in a scenario of insufficient vaccine availability, the use of this ELISA could be useful to determine if a person has some level of specific antibodies against the virus and presumably at least partial protection

The involvement of thaumatin-like proteins in plant food cross-reactivity: a multicenter study using a specific protein microarray.

Cross-reactivity of plant foods is an important phenomenon in allergy, with geographical variations with respect to the number and prevalence of the allergens involved in this process, whose complexity requires detailed studies. We have addressed the role of thaumatin-like proteins (TLPs) in cross-reactivity between fruit and pollen allergies. A representative panel of 16 purified TLPs was printed onto an allergen microarray. The proteins selected belonged to the sources most frequently associated with peach allergy in representative regions of Spain. Sera from two groups of well characterized patients, one with allergy to Rosaceae fruit (FAG) and another against pollens but tolerant to food-plant allergens (PAG), were obtained from seven geographical areas with different environmental pollen profiles. Cross-reactivity between members of this family was demonstrated by inhibition assays. Only 6 out of 16 purified TLPs showed noticeable allergenic activity in the studied populations. Pru p 2.0201, the peach TLP (41%), chestnut TLP (24%) and plane pollen TLP (22%) proved to be allergens of probable relevance to fruit allergy, being mainly associated with pollen sensitization, and strongly linked to specific geographical areas such as Barcelona, Bilbao, the Canary Islands and Madrid. The patients exhibited mayor que50% positive response to Pru p 2.0201 and to chestnut TLP in these specific areas. Therefore, their recognition patterns were associated with the geographical area, suggesting a role for pollen in the sensitization of these allergens. Finally, the co-sensitizations of patients considering pairs of TLP allergens were analyzed by using the co-sensitization graph associated with an allergen microarray immunoassay. Our data indicate that TLPs are significant allergens in plant food allergy and should be considered when diagnosing and treating pollen-food allergy

Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV: Mapping the Milky Way, Nearby Galaxies, and the Distant Universe

We describe the Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV (SDSS-IV), a project encompassing three major spectroscopic programs. The Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment 2 (APOGEE-2) is observing hundreds of thousands of Milky Way stars at high resolution and high signal-to-noise ratios in the near-infrared. The Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA) survey is obtaining spatially resolved spectroscopy for thousands of nearby galaxies (median $z\sim 0.03$). The extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS) is mapping the galaxy, quasar, and neutral gas distributions between $z\sim 0.6$ and 3.5 to constrain cosmology using baryon acoustic oscillations, redshift space distortions, and the shape of the power spectrum. Within eBOSS, we are conducting two major subprograms: the SPectroscopic IDentification of eROSITA Sources (SPIDERS), investigating X-ray AGNs and galaxies in X-ray clusters, and the Time Domain Spectroscopic Survey (TDSS), obtaining spectra of variable sources. All programs use the 2.5 m Sloan Foundation Telescope at the Apache Point Observatory; observations there began in Summer 2014. APOGEE-2 also operates a second near-infrared spectrograph at the 2.5 m du Pont Telescope at Las Campanas Observatory, with observations beginning in early 2017. Observations at both facilities are scheduled to continue through 2020. In keeping with previous SDSS policy, SDSS-IV provides regularly scheduled public data releases; the first one, Data Release 13, was made available in 2016 July

Staging of Schizophrenia with the Use of PANSS: An International Multi-Center Study

Introduction: A specific clinically relevant staging model for schizophrenia has not yet been developed. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the factor structure of the PANSS and develop such a staging method.Methods: Twenty-nine centers from 25 countries contributed 2358 patients aged 37.21 ± 11.87 years with schizophrenia. Analysis of covariance, Exploratory Factor Analysis, Discriminant Function Analysis, and inspection of resultant plots were performed.Results: Exploratory Factor Analysis returned 5 factors explaining 59% of the variance (positive, negative, excitement/hostility, depression/anxiety, and neurocognition). The staging model included 4 main stages with substages that were predominantly characterized by a single domain of symptoms (stage 1: positive; stages 2a and 2b: excitement/hostility; stage 3a and 3b: depression/anxiety; stage 4a and 4b: neurocognition). There were no differences between sexes. The Discriminant Function Analysis developed an algorithm that correctly classified >85% of patients.Discussion: This study elaborates a 5-factor solution and a clinical staging method for patients with schizophrenia. It is the largest study to address these issues among patients who are more likely to remain affiliated with mental health services for prolonged periods of time.<br /