Presence of galactooligosaccharides and furosine in special dairy products designed for elderly people

An evaluation of the formation of prebiotic carbohydrates during lactose hydrolysis has been carried out in industrially elaborated dairy preparations designed for elderly people. Due to the hydrolysis of lactose, high levels of galactose and glucose were found together with galactooligosaccharides (GOS), mainly allolactose, 6-galactobiose and 6-galactosyl lactose. Total GOS content was between 7.1% and 13.4% of total carbohydrates, depending on lactose hydrolysis extent. In addition, the determination of furosine as indicator of lysine loss during the Maillard reaction (MR) has been also studied. The high content of monosaccharides promoted the progress of the MR during UHT processing, as reflected by the levels of furosine found in samples. After storage at 20 °C for 4 months the content of furosine increased by 74-90%. These results underline the importance of controlling lactose hydrolysis, and processing and storage conditions to preserve the quality and increase the bioactivity of dairy preparations designed for elderly people.This work has been supported by project POII10-0178-4685 (JCCM and ERDF), ALIBIRD-CM S2009/AGR-1469 (CAM), AGL2011-27884 (MINECO) and SENIFOOD (CENIT Programme, CAPSA and MINECO).Peer Reviewe

Advertising and media competence for environmental education in primary school students

Los medios de comunicación y, sobre todo, la publicidad juegan un papel muy importante en la formación de la sociedad, especialmente, en el sector más joven. En este sentido, hay que reforzar los modelos pedagógicos en el aula para conseguir ciudadanos críticos. Por otro lado, el medio ambiente, en los últimos tiempos, se ha convertido en uno de los temas más populares de estudio. Por lo tanto, la presente investigación pretende arrojar luz sobre el uso de la publicidad para la enseñanza de la educación ambiental en el contexto de la Educación Primaria. Para ello, se ha llevado a cabo una investigación cualitativa a través de la observación participante y grupos focales. La muestra compuesta por cinco spots publicitarios relacionados con temas medioambientales y 75 alumnos de la granja escuela Huerto-Alegre de Granada, trata de esclarecer el nivel de conocimiento que poseen estos estudiantes sobre el objeto de estudio. Los principales resultados y conclusiones demuestran que a pesar de vincular problemas medio ambientales con los spots visionados existe una discontinuidad en los contextos familiar y escolar, incluso con ayuda del mediador, incidiendo en la necesidad de reforzar las competencias en la formación y conocimiento del alumnado.The media and, above all, advertising play a very important role in the formation of society, especially in the youth sector. In this sense, we must reinforce the pedagogical models in the classroom to get critical citizens. On the other hand, the environment, in recent years, has become one of the most popular topics of study. Therefore, this research aims to shed light on the use of advertising for the teaching of environmental education in the context of Primary Education. For this, qualitative research has been carried out through participant observation and focus groups.The sample consists of five advertising spots related to environmental issues and 75 students of the Huerto-Alegre school farm in Granada, trying to clarify the level of knowledge that these students have about the object of study. The main results and conclusions show that in spite of linking environmental problems with the spots viewed there is a discontinuity in the family and school contexts, even with the help of the mediator, emphasizing the need to reinforce the competencies in the formation and knowledge of students

Development and Organization of the Lamprey Telencephalon with Special Reference to the GABAergic System

Lampreys, together with hagfishes, represent the sister group of gnathostome vertebrates. There is an increasing interest for comparing the forebrain organization observed in lampreys and gnathostomes to shed light on vertebrate brain evolution. Within the prosencephalon, there is now a general agreement on the major subdivisions of the lamprey diencephalon; however, the organization of the telencephalon, and particularly its pallial subdivisions, is still a matter of controversy. In this study, recent progress on the development and organization of the lamprey telencephalon is reviewed, with particular emphasis on the GABA immunoreactive cell populations trying to understand their putative origin. First, we describe some early general cytoarchitectonic events by searching the classical literature as well as our collection of embryonic and prolarval series of hematoxylin-stained sections. Then, we comment on the cell proliferation activity throughout the larval period, followed by a detailed description of the early events on the development of the telencephalic GABAergic system. In this context, lampreys apparently do not possess the same molecularly distinct subdivisions of the gnathostome basal telencephalon because of the absence of a Nkx2.1-expressing domain in the developing subpallium; a fact that has been related to the absence of a medial ganglionic eminence as well as of its derived nucleus in gnathostomes, the pallidum. Therefore, these data raise interesting questions such as whether or not a different mechanism to specify telencephalic GABAergic neurons exists in lampreys or what are their migration pathways. Finally, we summarize the organization of the adult lamprey telencephalon by analyzing the main proposed conceptions, including the available data on the expression pattern of some developmental regulatory genes which are of importance for building its adult shape

Use of plasmid R68.45 for constructing a circular linkage map of the Rhizobium trifolii chromosome

Plasmid R68.45 was used to promote conjugal transfer of chromosomal markers in Rhizobium trifolii RS55. Analysis of two-factor and three-factor crosses among R. trifolii strains enabled construction of a circular linkage map of the R. trifolii chromosome, containing 17 nutritional and resistance markers

Podoplanin associates with CD44 to promote directional cell migration

This article is under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License.-- et al.Podoplanin is a transmembrane glycoprotein up-regulated in different human tumors, especially those derived from squamous stratified epithelia (SCCs). Its expression in tumor cells is linked to increased cell migration and invasiveness; however, the mechanisms underlying this process remain poorly understood. Here we report that CD44, the major hyaluronan (HA) receptor, is a novel partner for podoplanin. Expression of the CD44 standard isoform (CD44s) is coordinately up-regulated together with that of podoplanin during progression to highly aggressive SCCs in a mouse skin model of carcinogenesis, and during epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). In carcinoma cells, CD44 and podoplanin colocalize at cell surface protrusions. Moreover, CD44 recruitment promoted by HA-coated beads or cross-linking with a specific CD44 antibody induced corecruitment of podoplanin. Podoplanin-CD44s interaction was demonstrated both by coimmunoprecipitation experiments and, in vivo, by fluorescence resonance energy transfer/fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FRET/FLIM), the later confirming its association on the plasma membrane of cells with a migratory phenotype. Importantly, we also show that podoplanin promotes directional persistence of motility in epithelial cells, a feature that requires CD44, and that both molecules cooperate to promote directional migration in SCC cells. Our results support a role for CD44-podoplanin interaction in driving tumor cell migration during malignancy.This work was supported by grant SAF2007-63821 from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (to M.Q.), the Royal Society University Research Fellowship (to M.P.), Medical Research Council (to G.E.J.) EU FP7 T3Net Consortium (GEJ), and Cancer Research UK (to G.E.J. and E.M.V.).Peer reviewe

Publicidad y competencia mediática para la educación ambiental en alumnos de primaria

Los medios de comunicación y, sobre todo, la publicidad juegan un papel muy importante en la formación de la sociedad, especialmente, en el sector más joven. En este sentido, hay que reforzar los modelos pedagógicos en el aula para conseguir ciudadanos críticos. Por otro lado, el medio ambiente, en los últimos tiempos, se ha convertido en uno de los temas más populares de estudio. Por lo tanto, la presente investigación pretende arrojar luz sobre el uso de la publicidad para la enseñanza de la educación ambiental en el contexto de la Educación Primaria. Para ello, se ha llevado a cabo una investigación cualitativa a través de la observación participante y grupos focales. La muestra compuesta por cinco spots publicitarios relacionados con temas medioambientales y 75 alumnos de la granja escuela Huerto-Alegre de Granada, trata de esclarecer el nivel de conocimiento que poseen estos estudiantes sobre el objeto de estudio. Los principales resultados y conclusiones demuestran que a pesar de vincular problemas medio ambientales con los spots visionados existe una discontinuidad en los contextos familiar y escolar, incluso con ayuda del mediador, incidiendo en la necesidad de reforzar las competencias en la formación y conocimiento del alumnado.//The media and, above all, advertising play a very important role in the formation of society, especially in the youth sector. In this sense, we must reinforce the pedagogical models in the classroom to get critical citizens. On the other hand, the environment, in recent years, has become one of the most popular topics of study. Therefore, this research aims to shed light on the use of advertising for the teaching of environmental education in the context of Primary Education. For this, qualitative research has been carried out through participant observation and focus groups. The sample consists of five advertising spots related to environmental issues and 75 students of the Huerto-Alegre school farm in Granada, trying to clarify the level of knowledge that these students have about the object of study. The main results and conclusions show that in spite of linking environmental problems with the spots viewed there is a discontinuity in the family and school contexts, even with the help of the mediator, emphasizing the need to reinforce the competencies in the formation and knowledge of students

Nomads of Knowledge: Analysis of Disruptive Pedagogical Practices in Secondary Education

Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, proyecto RTI2018-097144-B-I00 de la secretaría de estado de investigaciónThis paper presents an exploratory study and a critical analysis of experiences of emerging pedagogies and disruptive practices in secondary education, developed in 4 universities, in Spain (Extremadura, Valladolid, Granada and Málaga). This study intends to transform these schools into an open space for educational experimentation through the production of shared designs, prototypes of experiences and cultural productsUniversidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Herramientas de comunicación en el aprendizaje de la Bioquímica

Sección Deptal. de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular (Biológicas)Depto. de Bioquímica y Biología MolecularFac. de Ciencias BiológicasFac. de Ciencias QuímicasFALSEsubmitte

RNA-seq analysis of the Rhizobium tropici CIAT 899 Transcripitome shows similarites in the activation patterns of symbiotic genes in the presence of apigenin and salt.

Rhizobium tropici strain CIAT 899 establishes effective symbioses with several legume species, including Phaseolus vulgaris and Leucaena leucocephala. This bacterium synthesizes a large variety of nodulation factors in response to nod-gene inducing flavonoids and, surprisingly, also under salt stress conditions. The aim of this study was to identify differentially expressed genes in the presence of both inducer molecules, and analyze the promoter regions located upstream of these genes. Results obtained by RNA-seq analyses of CIAT 899 induced with apigenin, a nod gene-inducing flavonoid for this strain, or salt allowed the identification of 19 and 790 differentially expressed genes, respectively. Fifteen of these genes were up-regulated in both conditions and were involved in the synthesis of both Nod factors and indole-3-acetic acid. Transcription of these genes was presumably activated through binding of at least one of the five NodD proteins present in this strain to specific nod box promoter sequences when the bacterium was induced by both apigenin and salt. Finally, under saline conditions, many other transcriptional responses were detected, including an increase in the transcription of genes involved in trehalose catabolism, chemotaxis and protein secretion, as well as ribosomal genes, and a decrease in the transcription of genes involved in transmembrane transport. To our knowledge this is the first time that a transcriptomic study shows that salt stress induces the expression of nodulation genes in the absence of flavonoids. Thus, in the presence of both nodulation inducer molecules, apigenin and salt, R. tropici CIAT 899 up-regulated the same set of symbiotic genes. It could be possible that the increases in the transcription levels of several genes related to nodulation under saline conditions could represent a strategy to establish symbiosis under abiotic stressing conditions

Osmotic stress activates nif and fix genes and induces the Rhizobium tropici CIAT 899 Nod factor production via NodD2 by up-regulation of the nodA2 operon and the nodA3 gene

The symbiosis between rhizobia and legumes is characterized by a complex molecular dialogue in which the bacterial NodD protein plays a major role due to its capacity to activate the expression of the nodulation genes in the presence of appropiate flavonoids. These genes are involved in the synthesis of molecules, the nodulation factors (NF), responsible for launching the nodulation process. Rhizobium tropici CIAT 899, a rhizobial strain that nodulates Phaseolus vulgaris, is characterized by its tolerance to multiple environmental stresses such as high temperatures, acidity or elevated osmolarity. This strain produces nodulation factors under saline stress and the same set of CIAT 899 nodulation genes activated by inducing flavonoids are also up-regulated in a process controlled by the NodD2 protein. In this paper, we have studied the effect of osmotic stress (high mannitol concentrations) on the R. tropici CIAT 899 transcriptomic response. In the same manner as with saline stress, the osmotic stress mediated NF production and export was controlled directly by NodD2. In contrast to previous reports, the nodA2FE operon and the nodA3 and nodD1 genes were up-regulated with mannitol, which correlated with an increase in the production of biologically active NF. Interestingly, in these conditions, this regulatory protein controlled not only the expression of nodulation genes but also the expression of other genes involved in protein folding and synthesis, motility, synthesis of polysaccharides and, surprinsingly, nitrogen fixation. Moreover, the non-metabolizable sugar dulcitol was also able to induce the NF production and the activation of nod genes in CIAT 899.España, MINECO AGL2016-77163-