Effects of regularly consuming dietary fibre rich soluble cocoa products on bowel habits in healthy subjects: a free-living, two-stage, randomized, crossover, single-blind intervention

Abstract Background Dietary fibre is both preventive and therapeutic for bowel functional diseases. Soluble cocoa products are good sources of dietary fibre that may be supplemented with this dietary component. This study assessed the effects of regularly consuming two soluble cocoa products (A and B) with different non-starch polysaccharides levels (NSP, 15.1 and 22.0% w/w, respectively) on bowel habits using subjective intestinal function and symptom questionnaires, a daily diary and a faecal marker in healthy individuals. Methods A free-living, two-stage, randomized, crossover, single-blind intervention was carried out in 44 healthy men and women, between 18-55 y old, who had not taken dietary supplements, laxatives, or antibiotics six months before the start of the study. In the four-week-long intervention stages, separated by a three-week-wash-out stage, two servings of A and B, that provided 2.26 vs. 6.60 g/day of NSP respectively, were taken. In each stage, volunteers' diet was recorded using a 72-h food intake report. Results Regularly consuming cocoa A and B increased fibre intake, although only cocoa B significantly increased fibre intake (p < 0.001) with respect to the non-cocoa stage. No changes in body weight were observed in either of the 4 week interventions. With cocoa product B, the number of daily bowel movements increased (p = 0.002), the frequency of having a bowel movement once a day increased (p = 0.009), the time to have a bowel movement was lower (p = 0.016) as well as the feeling of constipation (p = 0.046) without inducing adverse gastrointestinal symptoms, only flatulence increased (p = 0.019). Conclusions Regular consumption of the cocoa products increases dietary fibre intake to recommended levels and product B improves bowel habits. The use of both objective and subjective assessments to evaluate the effects of food on bowel habits is recommended.Projects AGL2007-64042 and Consolider-Ingenio (CSD2007-00063) from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation also acknowledged. S.M.-L. is a JAE-Predoc fellow of CSIC Programme "Junta para la Ampliación de Estudios" co-funded by the European Social Fund (ESF). M.G.-J. is a predoctoral fellow of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation. A.F.-E. was a FINNOVA fellow also cofinanced by CSIC and the ESF.Peer Reviewe

Synthesis and Antioxidant Activity of Alkyl Nitroderivatives of Hydroxytyrosol

A series of alkyl nitrohydroxytyrosyl ether derivatives has been synthesized from free hydroxytyrosol (HT), the natural olive oil phenol, in order to increase the assortment of compounds with potential neuroprotective activity in Parkinson’s disease. In this work, the antioxidant activity of these novel compounds has been evaluated using Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP), 2,2′-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt (ABTS), and Oxygen Radical Scavenging Capacity (ORAC) assays compared to that of nitrohydroxytyrosol (NO2HT) and free HT. New compounds showed variable antioxidant activity depending on the alkyl side chain length; compounds with short chains (2–4 carbon atoms) maintained or even improved the antioxidant activity compared to NO2HT and/or HT, whereas those with longer side chains (6–8 carbon atoms) showed lower activity than NO2HT but higher than HT.Junta de Andalucía P09-AGR-509

Características tecnológicas de las rocas ornamentales de Asturias

Las ocho explotaciones de rocas omamentales existentes en Asturias a comienzos de 2000 aprovechaban dos formaciones geológicas paleozoicas (Amao y Alba) y una mesozoica (Lastres). En las dos primeras se extraian calizas, mientras que en la tercera se explotaban areniscas.Aqui se presentan las caracteristicas petrograficas (textura, mineralogia, etc.) y fisico-mecánicas (densidad, porosidad, absorción de agua, heladicidad, resistencias a la cnstalizaci6n de sales,al choque, al desgaste, a la compresion uniaxial y a la flexión) de dichos niateriales, con el fin de darlas a conocer en el sector de la Piedra Natural (no aparecen en los catálogos de rocas ornamentales españolas) y facilitar información respecto a su utilización más idónea. En base a los resultados obtenidos, las calizas, como roca ornamental, podrian ser utilizadas para cualquier fin, mientras que las areniscas podrian presentar, a largo plazo, algunas limitaciones en ambientes marinos y/o contaminados.At the beginning of 2000, eight ornamental stone quarries in Asturias extracted rocks from two paleozoic formations (Amao and Alba) and a mesozoic one (Lastres). Limestones were exploited iii ihe two tirst formations, whereiis sdndstoties wem extracted from the third one. The petrographical (texrure, mineralogy, etc.) and physico-mechanical characteristics (volumetric weight, porosity, water absorptioii, frcczing and sal1 crystallization resisrance, elastic modulus, friction wear resistance, and impact, uniaxial compression and flexure strengths) of these materials are hcre presentcd, to introduce thcm to the Natural Stone sector (these rocks do not appear in the spanish ornamental stone catalogues) and to give infomation about their more suitable uses. Accvrding to the obtained results, limestones, as ornamental stone, could be used for any purpose, while sandstones could have, after long time, some probleins in marine andior contaminated environments

Hypercytokinemia in COVID-19: Tear cytokine profile in hospitalized COVID-19 patients

The aim of this study is to analyze the concentrations of cytokines in tear of hospitalized COVID-19 patients compared to healthy controls. Tear samples were obtained from 41 healthy controls and 62 COVID-19 patients. Twenty-seven cytokines were assessed: interleukin (IL)-1b, IL-1RA, IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-7, IL-8, IL9, IL-10, IL-12, IL-13, IL-15, IL-17, eotaxin, fibroblast growth factor basic, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), granulocyte-monocyte colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), interferon (IFN)-γ, interferon gamma-induced protein, monocyte chemo-attractant protein-1, macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-1a, MIP-1b, platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), regulated on activation normal T cell expressed and secreted, tumor necrosis factor-α and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). In tear samples of COVID-19 patients, an increase in IL-9, IL-15, G-CSF, GM-CSF, IFN-γ, PDGF and VEGF was observed, along with a decrease in eotaxin compared to the control group (p < 0.05). A poor correlation between IL-6 levels in tear and blood was found. IL-1RA and GM-CSF were significantly lower in severe patients and those who needed treatment targeting the immune system (p < 0.05). Tear cytokine levels corroborate the inflammatory nature of SARS-CoV-2

All-cause mortality in the cohorts of the Spanish AIDS Research Network (RIS) compared with the general population: 1997Ł2010

Abstract Background: Combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) has produced significant changes in mortality of HIVinfected persons. Our objective was to estimate mortality rates, standardized mortality ratios and excess mortality rates of cohorts of the AIDS Research Network (RIS) (CoRIS-MD and CoRIS) compared to the general population. Methods: We analysed data of CoRIS-MD and CoRIS cohorts from 1997 to 2010. We calculated: (i) all-cause mortality rates, (ii) standardized mortality ratio (SMR) and (iii) excess mortality rates for both cohort for 100 personyears (py) of follow-up, comparing all-cause mortality with that of the general population of similar age and gender. Results: Between 1997 and 2010, 8,214 HIV positive subjects were included, 2,453 (29.9%) in CoRIS-MD and 5,761 (70.1%) in CoRIS and 294 deaths were registered. All-cause mortality rate was 1.02 (95% CI 0.91-1.15) per 100 py, SMR was 6.8 (95% CI 5.9-7.9) and excess mortality rate was 0.8 (95% CI 0.7-0.9) per 100 py. Mortality was higher in patients with AIDS, hepatitis C virus (HCV) co-infection, and those from CoRIS-MD cohort (1997. Conclusion: Mortality among HIV-positive persons remains higher than that of the general population of similar age and sex, with significant differences depending on the history of AIDS or HCV coinfection

Spatiotemporal Characteristics of the Largest HIV-1 CRF02_AG Outbreak in Spain: Evidence for Onward Transmissions

Background and Aim: The circulating recombinant form 02_AG (CRF02_AG) is the predominant clade among the human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) non-Bs with a prevalence of 5.97% (95% Confidence Interval-CI: 5.41–6.57%) across Spain. Our aim was to estimate the levels of regional clustering for CRF02_AG and the spatiotemporal characteristics of the largest CRF02_AG subepidemic in Spain.Methods: We studied 396 CRF02_AG sequences obtained from HIV-1 diagnosed patients during 2000–2014 from 10 autonomous communities of Spain. Phylogenetic analysis was performed on the 391 CRF02_AG sequences along with all globally sampled CRF02_AG sequences (N = 3,302) as references. Phylodynamic and phylogeographic analysis was performed to the largest CRF02_AG monophyletic cluster by a Bayesian method in BEAST v1.8.0 and by reconstructing ancestral states using the criterion of parsimony in Mesquite v3.4, respectively.Results: The HIV-1 CRF02_AG prevalence differed across Spanish autonomous communities we sampled from (p &lt; 0.001). Phylogenetic analysis revealed that 52.7% of the CRF02_AG sequences formed 56 monophyletic clusters, with a range of 2–79 sequences. The CRF02_AG regional dispersal differed across Spain (p = 0.003), as suggested by monophyletic clustering. For the largest monophyletic cluster (subepidemic) (N = 79), 49.4% of the clustered sequences originated from Madrid, while most sequences (51.9%) had been obtained from men having sex with men (MSM). Molecular clock analysis suggested that the origin (tMRCA) of the CRF02_AG subepidemic was in 2002 (median estimate; 95% Highest Posterior Density-HPD interval: 1999–2004). Additionally, we found significant clustering within the CRF02_AG subepidemic according to the ethnic origin.Conclusion: CRF02_AG has been introduced as a result of multiple introductions in Spain, following regional dispersal in several cases. We showed that CRF02_AG transmissions were mostly due to regional dispersal in Spain. The hot-spot for the largest CRF02_AG regional subepidemic in Spain was in Madrid associated with MSM transmission risk group. The existence of subepidemics suggest that several spillovers occurred from Madrid to other areas. CRF02_AG sequences from Hispanics were clustered in a separate subclade suggesting no linkage between the local and Hispanic subepidemics