The impact of port governance and infrastructures on maritime containerized trade on the West Coast of Latin America

Latin American countries have historically had a strong dependence on trade, and are mostly characterized by being exporters of raw materials and importers of manufactured products. This fact has brought about a less negative impact of the world crisis on economic growth, mainly because of the high prices of raw materials. This paper focuses on this geographical area (the West Coast of Latin America) between 2008 and 2015, and adds to the literature by assessing institutional, port-related and economic factors that influence maritime transport. The analysis makes use of panel data models with fixed and random effects where the Hausman test has been applied in order to define a solid specification of all the ports, as well as to discount the particular peculiarities of each country. It is shown that the analysis of maritime transport requires the analysis of a number of variables apart from trade (volume of TEUs), infrastructures, superstructures (number of calls, gantry cranes), and that other variables, such as port governance, which are sometimes difficult to quantify, need also to be taken into account

Does fiscal consolidation hurt economic growth? Empirical evidence from Spanish regions

This article brings empirical evidence on the effect of fiscal consolidation in decentralized countries. The focus on Spain is justified by three reasons. First, it is one of the OECD countries most affected by the Great recession in terms of both GDP and public deficit. Second, Spain is one of the most decentralized countries in the world. Third, compliance with fiscal consolidation targets has been very diverse across regions. Using both time series econometrics and the Synthetic Control Method approach (SCM), we show that compliance with fiscal targets at the regional level has not involved lower GDP growth rates in the short-run. Openness and economic integration of regional economies involve that fiscal multipliers tend to fade. Hence, while a fiscal stimulus would not work on this scale, the opposite is also true: the potentially negative demand effects of a stronger regional fiscal consolidation strategy would be exported to other regions.Agencia Estatal de Investigación | Ref. CSO2017-85024-C2-2-

Nutrigenomics and Atherosclerosis: The Postprandial and Long-Term Effects of Virgin Olive Oil Ingestion

Metals technology / metallurg

Chapter Beyond Dietary Fatty Acids as Energy Source: A Point of View for the Prevention and Management of Type 2 Diabetes

Medical genetic

Fatty Acids on Osteoclastogenesis

Excessive bone resorption is a hallmark on the onset and development of bone diseases, including osteoporosis, periodontitis, and rheumatoid arthritis. Osteoclasts are bone‐resorbing multinucleated cells that differentiate from hematopoietic progenitors of the myeloid lineage. The regulation of this differentiation process is considered an effective therapeutic intervention to the treatment of pathological bone loss. Dietary fatty acids (FAs), transported in the form of postprandial triglyceride‐rich lipoproteins, have been linked with inflammation and oxidative stress associated to the overactivation of circulating leukocytes. Monocyte differentiation by soluble cytokines is known to up‐regulate osteoclast maturation via increased expression levels of receptor activator for nuclear factor‐κB ligand relative to osteoprotegerin. This review summarizes the effects of dietary omega‐3 long‐chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, monounsaturated fatty acids, and saturated fatty acids on plasticity during osteoclast formation and function

Membrane composition and dynamics: A target of bioactive virgin olive oil constituents

AbstractThe endogenous synthesis of lipids, which requires suitable dietary raw materials, is critical for the formation of membrane bilayers. In eukaryotic cells, phospholipids are the predominant membrane lipids and consist of hydrophobic acyl chains attached to a hydrophilic head group. The relative balance between saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated acyl chains is required for the organization and normal function of membranes. Virgin olive oil is the richest natural dietary source of the monounsaturated lipid oleic acid and is one of the key components of the healthy Mediterranean diet. Virgin olive oil also contains a unique constellation of many other lipophilic and amphipathic constituents whose health benefits are still being discovered. The focus of this review is the latest evidence regarding the impact of oleic acid and the minor constituents of virgin olive oil on the arrangement and behavior of lipid bilayers. We highlight the relevance of these interactions to the potential use of virgin olive oil in preserving the functional properties of membranes to maintain health and in modulating membrane functions that can be altered in several pathologies. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Membrane Structure and Function: Relevance in the Cell's Physiology, Pathology and Therapy

Association of Candidate Gene Polymorphisms With Chronic Kidney Disease: Results of a Case-Control Analysis in the Nefrona Cohort

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a major risk factor for end-stage renal disease, cardiovascular disease and premature death. Despite classical clinical risk factors for CKD and some genetic risk factors have been identified, the residual risk observed in prediction models is still high. Therefore, new risk factors need to be identified in order to better predict the risk of CKD in the population. Here, we analyzed the genetic association of 79 SNPs of proteins associated with mineral metabolism disturbances with CKD in a cohort that includes 2, 445 CKD cases and 559 controls. Genotyping was performed with matrix assisted laser desorption ionizationtime of flight mass spectrometry. We used logistic regression models considering different genetic inheritance models to assess the association of the SNPs with the prevalence of CKD, adjusting for known risk factors. Eight SNPs (rs1126616, rs35068180, rs2238135, rs1800247, rs385564, rs4236, rs2248359, and rs1564858) were associated with CKD even after adjusting by sex, age and race. A model containing five of these SNPs (rs1126616, rs35068180, rs1800247, rs4236, and rs2248359), diabetes and hypertension showed better performance than models considering only clinical risk factors, significantly increasing the area under the curve of the model without polymorphisms. Furthermore, one of the SNPs (the rs2248359) showed an interaction with hypertension, being the risk genotype affecting only hypertensive patients. We conclude that 5 SNPs related to proteins implicated in mineral metabolism disturbances (Osteopontin, osteocalcin, matrix gla protein, matrix metalloprotease 3 and 24 hydroxylase) are associated to an increased risk of suffering CKD

Canagliflozin and renal outcomes in type 2 diabetes and nephropathy

BACKGROUND Type 2 diabetes mellitus is the leading cause of kidney failure worldwide, but few effective long-term treatments are available. In cardiovascular trials of inhibitors of sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2), exploratory results have suggested that such drugs may improve renal outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes. METHODS In this double-blind, randomized trial, we assigned patients with type 2 diabetes and albuminuric chronic kidney disease to receive canagliflozin, an oral SGLT2 inhibitor, at a dose of 100 mg daily or placebo. All the patients had an estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) of 30 to <90 ml per minute per 1.73 m2 of body-surface area and albuminuria (ratio of albumin [mg] to creatinine [g], >300 to 5000) and were treated with renin–angiotensin system blockade. The primary outcome was a composite of end-stage kidney disease (dialysis, transplantation, or a sustained estimated GFR of <15 ml per minute per 1.73 m2), a doubling of the serum creatinine level, or death from renal or cardiovascular causes. Prespecified secondary outcomes were tested hierarchically. RESULTS The trial was stopped early after a planned interim analysis on the recommendation of the data and safety monitoring committee. At that time, 4401 patients had undergone randomization, with a median follow-up of 2.62 years. The relative risk of the primary outcome was 30% lower in the canagliflozin group than in the placebo group, with event rates of 43.2 and 61.2 per 1000 patient-years, respectively (hazard ratio, 0.70; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.59 to 0.82; P=0.00001). The relative risk of the renal-specific composite of end-stage kidney disease, a doubling of the creatinine level, or death from renal causes was lower by 34% (hazard ratio, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.53 to 0.81; P<0.001), and the relative risk of end-stage kidney disease was lower by 32% (hazard ratio, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.54 to 0.86; P=0.002). The canagliflozin group also had a lower risk of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, or stroke (hazard ratio, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.67 to 0.95; P=0.01) and hospitalization for heart failure (hazard ratio, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.47 to 0.80; P<0.001). There were no significant differences in rates of amputation or fracture. CONCLUSIONS In patients with type 2 diabetes and kidney disease, the risk of kidney failure and cardiovascular events was lower in the canagliflozin group than in the placebo group at a median follow-up of 2.62 years

Development of Luminescent Dendrimeric Metallacrowns from Lanthanide-based Metallacrowns

Dendrimeric metallacrowns (DMCs) combine both dendrimers and metallacrowns as viable luminescent probes. Three approaches were investigated, these included functionalizing luminescent Ln2Ga8 metallacrowns at either the bridging or ring sites, or simultaneously at both positions, to then use them as the core of dendrimers. Investigation of the physical and optical properties of each DMC was performed, their solution behavior characterized, and in some cases their ability to label cells was investigated. Ln2Ga8 metallacrowns were functionalized with maleimide appendages at the bridging ligands to undergo thiol-coupling reactions. Complete coupling of cysteamine to the functionalized metallacrown confirmed thiol-coupling reactivity and that there was no degradation of the luminescent signal. Toroidal-DMCs could then be prepared by coupling poly(amidoamine) dendrons (G0.5-2.0) to Yb2Ga8 metallacrown-cores. Increased solution stability in mixed-aqueous/organic media was observed in DMCs compared to metallacrowns. YbIII-sensitization yielded long lifetimes (62-64μs) and high quantum yields (7.03-9.38%) in solution. The observed luminescent enhancement of the metallacrown core was attributed to the solvent protection by the dendrons. Depending on the solvent, generation size, and sample preparation, these DMCs showed various degrees of self-aggregation as determined by dynamic light scattering. HeLa cells incubated with G0.5- and G1.5-DMCs exhibited strong luminescence from non-specific binding at the cell membrane, while G1.0 toroidal-DMCs were internalized with luminescent signals localized at cell nucleoli. Altogether, these results show that toroidal-DMCs are more viable as imaging probes than non-functionalized metallacrowns. The more challenging functionalization occurred at the ring position. Four new ligands with allyl- and propargyl-appendages at the para- or meta-position were synthesized, and then LnGa4 and Ln2Ga8 metallacrowns were prepared (SmIII and YbIII) with each ring ligand. It was shown that the functionalization position (para vs. meta) had an effect on the ligand-centric singlet (29412 vs 26667cm-1) and triplet (23450 vs 21630cm-1) energies, as well as on thiol-coupling reactivity (para>meta). The SmIII and YbIII metallacrowns exhibited quantum yields in solution ranging 1.4-2.9% and 3.7-8.1%, which includes the highest value among YbIII-compounds (e.g., DMSO: F15TPPYb-H (Yb-2) 3.5% and PAN-DOTA(Yb) 0.054%). Synthetic trials revealed that Yb2Ga8 metallacrowns with para-allyl ring ligands were the best cored for the photocatalytic synthesis of hyperboloidal-DMCs with G1.0 poly(amidoamine) dendrons based on completeness of coupling. Photophysical characterization confirmed sensitization of YbIII-emission and enhancement of the luminescent properties, resulting in long lifetimes (69μs) and high quantum yields (8.7%) in solution. Since the templating ligands were functionalized independently, bifunctional metallacrowns could be prepared, and the synthesis of symmetric and asymmetric molecules to form more versatile dendrimers constructs was achieved. Three different DMCs were prepared using bifunctionalized Yb-metallacrowns. The first was a symmetric-DMC with twelve poly(amidoamine) dendrons coupled to both ligand positions, matching the highest number of dendron-growth/attachment sites in the literature. Asymmetric coupling was then investigated by preparing Janus-DMCs with orthogonally-positioned biotin and G1.0-dendrons. Finally, controlling the degree of thiol-coupling by selecting redshifted ring ligands with low thiol-reactivity was investigated, yielding a redshifted Yb-metallacrown that selectively coupled thiol-groups at the bridges. Photophysical characterization of the Janus- and redshifted-DMCs exhibited excellent YbIII-emission, with long lifetimes (62-66μs) and high quantum yields (7.4-8.8%). In summary, functionalization of metallacrowns at the templating ring and bridging ligands with thiol-active groups allowed the preparation of DMCs, which have high quantum yields and long luminescent lifetimes for this molecular class. Altogether, this work provides a new strategy toward the versatile design of luminescent DMCs, metallacrowns, and dendrimers.PHDChemistryUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/169963/1/lopezbea_1.pd