Role of endothelin in the pathophysiology of renal ischemia-reperfusion in normal rabbits

Role of endothelin in the pathophysiology of renal ischemia-reperfusion in normal rabbits. The present study addressed the acute effects of endothelin-1 on renal function and neutrophils accumulation in the setting of in vivo severe (60 min) acute ischemia/reperfusion. Ischemia/reperfusion decreased renal functional parameters and increased renal neutrophil accumulation and medullary congestion. All these parameters markedly improved with the intrarenal administration of anti-endothelin-1 antiserum. Comparatively, the intrarenal infusion of endothelin-1 decreased renal function and increased neutrophil accumulation. Abnormalities in renal histology were, however, less pronounced than with ischemia/reperfusion. In experiments using rabbit isolated perfused kidneys, endothelin-1 induced the accumulation of labeled neutrophils. This accumulation was similar to that observed in kidneys obtained after 60 minutes of ischemia plus 60 minutes of reperfusion. Both endothelin and ischemia/reperfusion effects were counteracted by an anti-endothelin antibody. In further in vitro studies, we found that endothelin-1-induced the expression of the CD 18 antigens on the neutrophil surface. In subsequent experiments based on this effect of ET-1 on CD18 antigens, a blockade of both ischemia/reperfusion-induced and endothelin-1-induced neutrophil accumulation was obtained by infusion an anti-CD18 antibody. In conclusion, our experiments disclosed the critical role of endothelin-1 as a major promoter of early neutrophil accumulation after ischemia/reperfusion, which occurred through an integrin-mediated mechanism

A reciclable bifuctional acid-base organocatalyst with ionic liquid character. The role of sites separation and spatial configuration on different condensation reaction

A series of bifunctional organic catalysts containing acid and basic sites with ionic liquid characteristics have been prepared and their catalytic activity and reaction coordinate for aldol and Knoevenagel condensations have been compared. While the only factor controlling catalyst activity for the Knoevenagel condensation was the distance between the acid and base sites, the spatial orientation of the organocatalyst is also key to achieve high activity and selectivity in the Claisen-Schmidt condensation. Mechanistic studies based on theoretical DFT calculations show that the acid-base bifunctional organocatalyst follows a mechanism inspired in natural aldolases for the synthesis of trans-chalcones, being able to produce a large variety of these compounds of industrial interest. The combination of the acid-base pairs within the proper geometry and the ionic liquid nature makes this catalyst active, selective and recyclable.We thank Consolider-Ingenio 2010 (project MULTICAT), Spanish MICINN (Project MAT2006-14274-C02-01), Generalitat Valenciana (Project PROMETEO/2008/130), and Fundacion Areces for financial support.Corma Canós, A.; Boronat Zaragoza, M.; Climent Olmedo, MJ.; Iborra Chornet, S.; Montón Molina, R.; Sabater Picot, MJ. (2011). A reciclable bifuctional acid-base organocatalyst with ionic liquid character. The role of sites separation and spatial configuration on different condensation reaction. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics. 13(38):17255-17261. https://doi.org/10.1039/c1cp21986cS17255172611338Motokura, K., Tada, M., & Iwasawa, Y. (2008). Acid-Base Bifunctional Catalytic Surfaces for Nucleophilic Addition Reactions. Chemistry - An Asian Journal, 3(8-9), 1230-1236. doi:10.1002/asia.200800126Gröger, H. (2001). The Development of New Monometallic Bifunctional Catalysts with Lewis acidand Lewis Base Properties, and their Application in Asymmetric Cyanation Reactions. Chemistry - A European Journal, 7(24), 5246-5251. doi:10.1002/1521-3765(20011217)7:243.0.co;2-oKanai, M., Kato, N., Ichikawa, E., & Shibasaki, M. (2005). Recent progress in Lewis acid-Lewis base bifunctional asymmetric catalysis. Pure and Applied Chemistry, 77(12), 2047-2052. doi:10.1351/pac200577122047Shen, Y., Feng, X., Li, Y., Zhang, G., & Jiang, Y. (2003). A mild and efficient cyanosilylation of ketones catalyzed by a Lewis acid–Lewis base bifunctional catalyst. Tetrahedron, 59(30), 5667-5675. doi:10.1016/s0040-4020(03)00908-6Kanemasa, S., & Ito, K. (2004). Double Catalytic Activation with Chiral Lewis Acid and Amine Catalysts. European Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2004(23), 4741-4753. doi:10.1002/ejoc.200400277Ma, J.-A., & Cahard, D. (2004). Towards Perfect Catalytic Asymmetric Synthesis: Dual Activation of the Electrophile and the Nucleophile. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 43(35), 4566-4583. doi:10.1002/anie.200300635Wang, Y., Li, H., Wang, Y.-Q., Liu, Y., Foxman, B. M., & Deng, L. (2007). Asymmetric Diels−Alder Reactions of 2-Pyrones with a Bifunctional Organic Catalyst. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 129(20), 6364-6365. doi:10.1021/ja070859hLin, Y.-M., Boucau, J., Li, Z., Casarotto, V., Lin, J., Nguyen, A. N., & Ehrmantraut, J. (2007). A Lewis Acid−Lewis Base Bifunctional Catalyst from a New Mixed Ligand. Organic Letters, 9(4), 567-570. doi:10.1021/ol0626903Corma, A., Ródenas, T., & Sabater, M. (2010). A Bifunctional Pd/MgO Solid Catalyst for the One-Pot Selective N-Monoalkylation of Amines with Alcohols. Chemistry - A European Journal, 16(1), 254-260. doi:10.1002/chem.200901501Ruiz, V. R., Corma, A., & Sabater, M. J. (2010). New route for the synthesis of benzimidazoles by a one-pot multistep process with mono and bifunctional solid catalysts. Tetrahedron, 66(3), 730-735. doi:10.1016/j.tet.2009.11.048Boronat, M., Climent, M. J., Corma, A., Iborra, S., Montón, R., & Sabater, M. J. (2010). Bifunctional Acid-Base Ionic Liquid Organocatalysts with a Controlled Distance Between Acid and Base Sites. Chemistry - A European Journal, 16(4), 1221-1231. doi:10.1002/chem.200901519Boronat, M., Concepción, P., Corma, A., Navarro, M. T., Renz, M., & Valencia, S. (2009). Reactivity in the confined spaces of zeolites: the interplay between spectroscopy and theory to develop structure–activity relationships for catalysis. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 11(16), 2876. doi:10.1039/b821297jCorma, A., & Renz, M. (2007). A General Method for the Preparation of Ethers Using Water-Resistant Solid Lewis Acids. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 46(1-2), 298-300. doi:10.1002/anie.200604018Boronat, M., Corma, A., Renz, M., & Viruela, P. M. (2006). Predicting the Activity of Single Isolated Lewis Acid Sites in Solid Catalysts. Chemistry - A European Journal, 12(27), 7067-7077. doi:10.1002/chem.200600478Climent, M. J., Corma, A., De Frutos, P., Iborra, S., Noy, M., Velty, A., & Concepción, P. (2010). Chemicals from biomass: Synthesis of glycerol carbonate by transesterification and carbonylation with urea with hydrotalcite catalysts. The role of acid–base pairs. Journal of Catalysis, 269(1), 140-149. doi:10.1016/j.jcat.2009.11.001Climent, M. J., Corma, A., Iborra, S., Mifsud, M., & Velty, A. (2010). New one-pot multistep process with multifunctional catalysts: decreasing the E factor in the synthesis of fine chemicals. Green Chem., 12(1), 99-107. doi:10.1039/b919660aCorma, A., Iborra, S., & Velty, A. (2007). Chemical Routes for the Transformation of Biomass into Chemicals. Chemical Reviews, 107(6), 2411-2502. doi:10.1021/cr050989dCliment, M. J., Corma, A., & Iborra, S. (2011). Heterogeneous Catalysts for the One-Pot Synthesis of Chemicals and Fine Chemicals. Chemical Reviews, 111(2), 1072-1133. doi:10.1021/cr1002084Koshland, D. E. (1958). Application of a Theory of Enzyme Specificity to Protein Synthesis. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 44(2), 98-104. doi:10.1073/pnas.44.2.98Bass, J. D., Solovyov, A., Pascall, A. J., & Katz, A. (2006). Acid−Base Bifunctional and Dielectric Outer-Sphere Effects in Heterogeneous Catalysis:  A Comparative Investigation of Model Primary Amine Catalysts. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 128(11), 3737-3747. doi:10.1021/ja057395cVasella, A., Davies, G. J., & Böhm, M. (2002). Glycosidase mechanisms. Current Opinion in Chemical Biology, 6(5), 619-629. doi:10.1016/s1367-5931(02)00380-0Drexler, M. (2003). The effect of solvents on the heterogeneous synthesis of flavanone over MgO. 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The e-Sentencias prototype: a procedural ontology for legal multimedia applications in the Spanish Civil Courts

Search, retrieval, and management of multimedia contents are challenging tasks for users and researchers alike. We introduce a software-hardware system for the global management of the multimedia contents produced by Spanish Civil Courts. The ultimate goal is to obtain an automatic classification of images and segments of the audiovisual records that, coupled with textual semantics, allows an efficient navigation and retrieval of judicial documents and additional legal sources. This paper describes our knowledge acquisition process, sets a typology of Spanish Civil hearings as performed in practice, and a preliminary procedural ontology at its actual stage of development (e-Sentencias ontology). A discussion on procedural, contextual and multimedia ontologies is also provided

Accelerating semantic search with application of specific platforms

Semantic Search and Ontologies are one of the key technologies that can improve content management. Nonetheless, in order to be widely diffused, these technologies lack real-time capabilities, that speed up both the indexing and the retrieval processes. This contribution presents the approach and strategy proposed to tackle this problem, within the Spanish project E-Sentencias; a project for the development of a management system for lawyers that includes documentation and multimedia related to the management of their legal case

Effectiveness of a clinical practice guideline implementation strategy for patients with anxiety disorders in primary care: cluster randomized trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Anxiety is a common mental health problem seen in primary care. However, its management in clinical practice varies greatly. Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) have the potential to reduce variations and improve the care received by patients by promoting interventions of proven benefit. However, uptake and adherence to their recommendations can be low.</p> <p>Method/design</p> <p>This study involves a community based on cluster randomized trial in primary healthcare centres in the Madrid Region (Spain). The project aims to determine whether the use of implementation strategy (including training session, information, opinion leader, reminders, audit, and feed-back) of CPG for patients with anxiety disorders in primary care is more effective than usual diffusion.</p> <p>The number of patients required is 296 (148 in each arm), all older than 18 years and diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and panic attacks by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV (DSM-IV). They are chosen by consecutive sampling.</p> <p>The main outcome variable is the change in two or more points into Goldberg anxiety scale at six and twelve months. Secondary outcome variables include quality of life (EuroQol 5D), and degree of compliance with the CPG recommendations on treatment, information, and referrals to mental health services. Main effectiveness will be analyzed by comparing the patients percentage improvement on the Goldberg scale between the intervention group and the control group. Logistic regression with random effects will be used to adjust for prognostic factors. Confounding factors or factors that might alter the effect recorded will be taken into account in this analysis.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>There is a need to identify effective implementation strategies for CPG for the management of anxiety disorders present in primary care. Ensuring the appropriate uptake of guideline recommendations can reduce clinical variation and improve the care patients receive.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>ISRCTN: <a href="http://www.controlled-trials.com/ISRCTN83365316">ISRCTN83365316</a></p

Regulación por el endotelio de la expresión de la óxido nítrico sintasa inducible en la pared vascular de ratas y en células de músculo liso vascular en cultivo: papel del factor transformante del crecimiento-_ y de la angiotensina II

Tesis doctoral inédita leída en la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Facultad de Ciencias, Departamento de Biología Molecular. Fecha de lectura: 19-11-199

Development and Evaluation of a Duplex Lateral Flow Assay for the Detection and Differentiation between Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease Virus Lagovirus europaeus/GI.1 and /GI.2

Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease Virus 2 (RHDV2, recently named Lagovirus europaeus/GI.2) was first reported in France in 2010 and has spread globally since then, replacing most of the circulating former RHDV (genotype GI.1) in many countries. The detection and differentiation of both genotypes is of crucial importance for the surveillance of the disease. In this article, a duplex lateral flow assay (LFA) for antigen detection is described and evaluated, providing the first description of a quick and easy-to-use test that allows for the simultaneous detection and differentiation of RHDV genotypes GI.1 and GI.2. A panel of GI.1- or GI.2-infected and non-infected rabbit liver samples and liver exudates (136 samples) was analysed, obtaining a total sensitivity of 94.4% and specificity of 100%. These data confirm that the developed duplex LFA can be used as a reliable diagnostic test for RHD surveillance, especially in farms and the field

Accelerating semantic search with application of specific platforms

Semantic Search and Ontologies are one of the key technologies that can improve content management. Nonetheless, in order to be widely diffused, these technologies lack real-time capabilities, that speed up both the indexing and the retrieval processes. This contribution presents the approach and strategy proposed to tackle this problem, within the Spanish project E-Sentencias; a project for the development of a management system for lawyers that includes documentation and multimedia related to the management of their legal case