A Cytochemical Scanning Electron Microscopy Study of Non-Specific Acid Esterase and Acid Phosphatase Activities in Human Peripheral Blood Lymphocytes

We analyzed the distribution patterns of nonspecific acid esterase and acid phosphatase activities with cytochemistry-scanning electron microscopy in backscattered and secondary electron imaging modes in isolated normal human peripheral blood lymphocytes . The analysis of non-specific acid esterase activity in the backscattered electron imaging mode showed, in some cells, focal distribution with a well-defined, homogenous deposit. Two patterns of acid phosphatase activity were evident with the backscattered electron imaging mode, i.e., focal and granular. Peripheral blood lymphocytes showing focal activity of both enzymes presented a smooth surface with few scattered microvilli as seen with the secondary electron imaging mode ; while lymphocytes with a granular pattern of acid phosphatase activity had abundant microvilli . The correlation between patterns of enzymatic activity as seen in backscattering electron imaging mode, and surface morphological features as seen with secondary electron imaging mode, distinguished a subpopulation of lymphocytes of T lineage in human peripheral blood

WASPSS: A Clinical Decision Support System for Antimicrobial Stewardship

The increase of infections caused by resistant bacteria has become one of the major health-care problems worldwide. The creation of multidisciplinary teams dedicated to the implementation of antimicrobial stewardship programmes (ASPs) is encouraged by all clinical institutions to cope with this problem. In this chapter, we describe the Wise Antimicrobial Stewardship Program Support System (WASPSS), a CDSS focused on providing support for ASP teams. WASPSS gathers the required information from other hospital systems in order to provide decision support in antimicrobial stewardship from both patient-centered and global perspectives. To achieve this, it combines business intelligence techniques with a rule-based inference engine to integrate the data and knowledge required in this scenario. The system provides functions such as alerts, recommendations, antimicrobial prescription support and global surveillance. Furthermore, it includes experimental modules for improving the adoption of clinical guidelines and applying prediction models related with antimicrobial resistance. All these functionalities are provided through a multi-user web interface, personalized for each role of the ASP team

Caracterización fisicoquímica de películas formuladas a partir de proteína y mucílago de chía (Salvia hispanica, L.)

Una alternativa para el uso de plásticos que contribuyen al incremento de la contaminación ambiental, son los polímeros biodegradables producidos a partir de fuentes naturales como las semillas de chía. A partir de ella se pueden extraer componentes como la proteína y mucílago para la elaboración de películas. Las características fisicoquímicas de las películas influyen en gran medida en sus propiedades, es por ello que su conocimiento es relevante pues determinará sus potenciales aplicaciones

Chia protein hydrolysates: characterisation and emulsifying properties

The evaluation of functional properties of different chia protein hydrolysates (CPH) and their application in O/W emulsions were studied. Enzymatic treatments with pepsin, pancreatin or the sequential action of pepsin–pancreatin were applied to hydrolyse a chia protein concentrate (CPC). Oil-in-water emulsions stabilised with CPC or these CPHs, with or without chia mucilage, were prepared at pH 7 or 10. Particle size, global stability, ζ-potential and rheological measurement of emulsions were determined. CPH presented higher (P ≤ 0.05) solubility and surface hydrophobicity levels, exhibiting better emulsifying properties than CPC. Emulsions with CPH presented smaller (P ≤ 0.05) droplet sizes than those with CPC. Regarding to physicochemical stability, emulsions at pH 7 were less stable than those at pH 10, showing destabilisation by creaming and coalescence. The addition of chia mucilage increased the apparent viscosity of emulsions and led to modifications in their fluid behaviour, exhibiting an interesting role as a thickening agent.Fil: Salazar Vega, Ine M.. Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán; MéxicoFil: Julio, Luciana Magdalena. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Criotecnología de Alimentos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Criotecnología de Alimentos. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Criotecnología de Alimentos; ArgentinaFil: Segura Campos, Maira Rubi. Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán; MéxicoFil: Tomás, Mabel Cristina. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Criotecnología de Alimentos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Criotecnología de Alimentos. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Criotecnología de Alimentos; Argentin

Glutamate and Brain Glutaminases in Drug Addiction

Glutamate is the principal excitatory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system and its actions are related to the behavioral effects of psychostimulant drugs. In the last two decades, basic neuroscience research and preclinical studies with animal models are suggesting a critical role for glutamate transmission in drug reward, reinforcement, and relapse. Although most of the interest has been centered in post-synaptic glutamate receptors, the presynaptic synthesis of glutamate through brain glutaminases may also contribute to imbalances in glutamate homeostasis, a key feature of the glutamatergic hypothesis of addiction. Glutaminases are the main glutamate-producing enzymes in brain and dysregulation of their function have been associated with neurodegenerative diseases and neurological disorders; however, the possible implication of these enzymes in drug addiction remains largely unknown. This mini-review focuses on brain glutaminase isozymes and their alterations by in vivo exposure to drugs of abuse, which are discussed in the context of the glutamate homeostasis theory of addiction. Recent findings from mouse models have shown that drugs induce changes in the expression profiles of key glutamatergic transmission genes, although the molecular mechanisms that regulate drug-induced neuronal sensitization and behavioral plasticity are not clear.This work was financially supported by Grants RD12/0028/0013 (JM) and RD12/0028/0001 (FRF) of the RTA RETICS network from the Spanish Health Institute Carlos III, Grant SAF2015-64501-R from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitivity (to JM and JMM) and Excellence Grant CVI-6656 (Regional Andalusian government) (to JM)

Chia protein hydrolysates : Characterisation and emulsifying properties

The evaluation of functional properties of different chia protein hydrolysates (CPH) and their application in O/W emulsions were studied. Enzymatic treatments with pepsin, pancreatin, or the sequential action of pepsin-pancreatin were applied to hydrolyse a chia protein concentrate (CPC). Oil-in-water emulsions stabilized with CPC or these CPHs, with or without chia mucilage, were prepared at pH 7 or 10. Particle size, global stability, ζ-potential, and rheological measurement of emulsions were determined. CPH presented higher (p≤0.05) solubility and surface hydrophobicity levels, exhibiting better emulsifying properties than CPC. Emulsions with CPH presented smaller (p≤0.05) droplet sizes than those with CPC. Regarding to physicochemical stability, emulsions at pH 7 were less stable than those at pH 10, showing destabilization by creaming and coalescence. The addition of chia mucilage increased the apparent viscosity of emulsions and led to modifications in their fluid behaviour, exhibiting an interesting role as a thickening agent.Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Criotecnología de Alimento

FOCUS : frailty management optimisation through EIPAHA commitments and utilisation of stakeholders’ input – an innovative European project in elderly care

The goal of FOCUS, which stands for Frailty Management Optimization through EIPAHA Commitments and Utilization of Stakeholders’ Input, is to reduce the burden of frailty in Europe. The partners are working on advancing knowledge of frailty detection, assessment, and management, including biological, clinical, cognitive and psychosocial markers, in order to change the paradigm of frailty care from acute intervention to prevention. FOCUS partners are working on ways to integrate the best available evidence from frailty-related screening tools, epidemiological and interventional studies into the care of frail people and their quality of life. Frail citizens in Italy, Poland and the UK and their caregivers are being called to express their views and their experiences with treatments and interventions aimed at improving quality of life. The FOCUS Consortium is developing pathways to leverage the knowledge available and to put it in the service of frail citizens. In order to reach out to the broadest audience possible, the FOCUS Platform for Knowledge Exchange and the platform for Scaling Up are being developed with the collaboration of stakeholders. The FOCUS project is a development of the work being done by the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing (EIPAHA), which aims to increase the average healthy lifespan in Europe by 2020 while fostering sustainability of health/social care systems and innovation in Europe. The knowledge and tools developed by the FOCUS project, with input from stakeholders, will be deployed to all EIPAHA participants dealing with frail older citizens to support activities and optimize performance

Ratones knock-out del receptor lpa1 de ácido lisofosfatídico presentan un acusado déficit de la isoenzima glutaminasa KGA (GLS) y una morfología alterada en las espinas dendríticas de hipocampo y corteza

Objectives: The objective of the present study was to utilize mice with knocked-down lysophosphatidic acid 1 (LPA1) receptor to ascertain changes in glutamatergic transmission that may help to explain part of the cognitive and memory deficits shown by these KO-LPA1 mice. Material & methods: A well characterized KO-LPA1 mouse strain was used as animal model and compared with wild-type (WT) and heterozygous animals. Expression studies were implemented by immunohistochemistry and Western analysis of mouse brain regions, real-time quantitative RT-PCR of GA isoforms, enzymatic analysis of regional GA activity and Golgi staining to assess dendritic spine morphology and density. Results: A strong reduction of KGA immunoreactivity was mostly revealed in cerebral cortex and hippocampus of KO-LPA1 mice versus WT and heterozygous animals. In contrast, neither mRNA levels nor enzyme activity were significantly altered in KO mice suggesting compensatory mechanisms for neurotransmitter Glu synthesis. Interestingly, Golgi staining of hippocampal and cortical neurons revealed a clear morphology change toward a less-mature undifferentiated spine phenotype, without changes in the total number of spines. Conclusions: The molecular mechanisms underlying KGA downregulation in null LPA1 mutant mice are unknown. However, LPA increases neuronal differentiation, arborization and neurite outgrowth of developing neurons, while Gln-derived Glu, through GA reaction, has been also involved in neuronal growth and differentiation. It is tempting to speculate that downregulation of KGA protein in KO-LPA1 mice induce morphological changes in dendritic spines of cortical and hippocampal neurons which, in turn, may account for memory and cognitive deficits shown by KO-LPA1 mice.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. Acknowledgements: Red de Trastornos Adictivos, RTA, (RD12/0028/0013/) RETICS, ISCIII, y Consejería Innovación, Ciencia y Empresa, Junta de Andalucía (Proyecto de Excelencia CVI-6656)