Gluten proteolysis as alternative therapy for celiac patients: A mini-review

Celiac disease (CD) results from damage to the small intestinal mucosa due to an inappropriate immune response to a cereal protein (wheat, rye, barley). The only treatment for CD is life-long avoidance of gluten proteins. Gluten-free products are not widely available and usually more expensive. That is why; there is an urgent need to develop an alternative therapy. Enzymatic degradation of gluten among other approaches, abolishing its immunogenic and toxigenic activities, is an attractive alternative strategy for oral therapy in CD. Several proteases following different approaches were studied. This review focuses on enzymes (microbial or vegetal) designed to digest gluten. Also, recent biotechnological procedures that use microorganisms (cell factories for enzymes) as starter culture to eliminate gluten are reviewed in this manuscript. Keywords: Celiac disease, gluten, proteolytic activity, lactic acid bacteria, therapyAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 11(29), pp. 7323-7330, 10 April, 201

Technological, functional and safety aspects of enterococci in fermented vegetable products: a mini-review

Bacteria belonging to the genus Enterococcus spp.—a member of the lactic acid bacteria group—are natural inhabitants of various environments, including vegetable products. Although some strains show pathogenic determinants, overall these bacteria may have some pro-technological features. Some enterococci have been described as potential starter or protective cultures in the dairy industry, since they contribute to the organoleptic and quality characteristics of dairy products. Although several fermented vegetable products have a long history in human nutrition, studies regarding autochthonous enterococci and their application to fermented vegetable foods are much less numerous than those concerning dairy foods. In this review, after a general overview of enterococci, their presence and role in fermented vegetable foods (including table olives, sauerkraut, kimchi, tomato juice, French beans, caper berries and cereal-based products) will be covered

A formal dynamic semantics of Java: an essential ingredient of Java security, Journal of Telecommunications and Information Technology, 2002, nr 4

Security is becoming a major issue in our highly networked and computerized era. Malicious code detection is an essential step towards securing the execution of applications in a highly inter-connected context. In this paper, we present a formal definition of Java dynamic semantics. This semantics has been used as a basis to develop efficient, rigorous and provably correct static analysis tools and a certifying compiler aimed to detect and prevent the presence of malicious code in Java applications. We propose a small step operational semantics of a large subset for Java. The latter includes features that have not been completely addressed in the related work or addressed in another semantics style. We provide a fully-fledged semantic handling of exceptions, reachable statements, modifiers and class initialization

Development of an ImmunoFET for Analysis of Tumour Necrosis Factor- (alfa) in Artificial Saliva: Application for Heart Failure Monitoring

Assessing tumour necrosis factor-(alfa) (TNF-(alfa)) levels in the human body has become an essential tool to recognize heart failure (HF). In this work, label-free, rapid, easy to use ImmunoFET based on an ion-sensitive field effect transistor (ISFET) was developed for the detection of TNF-(alfa) protein. Monoclonal anti-TNF-(alfa) antibodies (anti-TNF-(alfa) mAb) were immobilized on an ISFET gate made of silicon nitride (Si3N4) after salinization with 11-(triethoxysilyl) undecanal (TESUD). The obtained ISFET functionalized with the mAbs (ImmunoFET) was used to detect TNF-(alfa) protein in both phosphate buffer saline (PBS) and artificial saliva (AS). The change in the threshold voltage of the gate (DVT) showed approximately linear dependency on the concentration of the antigens in the range 5-20 pg/mL for both matrixes. The cross-selectivity study showed that the developed ImmunoFET demonstrated to be selective towards TNF-(alfa), when compared to other HF biomarkers such as N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), interleukin-10 (IL-10), and cortisol, even if further experiments have to be carried out for decreasing possible unspecific absorption phenomena. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first ImmunoFET that has been developed based on Si3N4 for TNF-(alfa) detection in AS by electrical measurement

Anti-coagulation therapy following coronary endarterectomy in patient with coronary artery bypass graft

Background: Since there is a lack of research on postoperative anticoagulation protocol in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) / coronary endarterectomy (CE), we recommend a new protocol for anticoagulation in these patients. Methods: In this double-blind randomized clinical trial study, 52 patients undergoing CABG / CE entered the study and were divided into two groups. In group 1, the patients were given warfarin(international normalized ratio (INR) between 2-3) together with 80 mg aspirin daily for 3 months. In group 2, the patients were given 75 mg plavix daily together with 80 mg aspirin daily for 3 months. We evaluated patients with electrocardiography, echocardiography and checking ceratin phosphokinase MB and troponin I in the several stages. The data were analysed SPSS Version18 software. Results: There was no significant difference between pre and post-operative Ejection fraction in patients with plavix (P=0.21) and warfarin (P=0.316) regimen. However, wall mrotion score was significantly better in clopidogrel – aspirin patients in late (3 months) post operation (p<0.001). Conclusions: Since warfarin has serious hemorrhagic complications and requires closed monitoring of serum drug activity by serial INR checking, it is recommended that clopidogrel – aspirin can be the preferred alternative anticoagulation therapy in CABG / CE patients

PEMBERDAYAAN MASYARAKAT DALAM MENINGKATKAN SARANA SANITASI RUMAH TANGGA (JAMBANISASI) DI DESA BINAAN MARGOAGUNG KECAMATAN JATIMULYO LAMPUNG SELATAN

ABSTRAK &nbsp; Kondisi lingkungan yang sangat berpengaruh terhadap derajat kesehatan diantaranya adalah penyediaan air bersih, jamban keluarga, kondisi rumah dan kondisi lingkungan pemukiman. Sanitasi yang tidak memadai merupakan penyebab utama timbulnya penyakit.Upaya pemberdayaan masyarakat untuk meningkatkan sarana sanitasi rumah tangga (jambanisasi) memiliki dampak yang sangat positif pada kesehatan di lingkungan rumah tangga dan masyarakat. Pengabdian ini adalah kegiatan yang terdiri dari penyuluhan tentang jamban yang sehat di desa Marga Agung Kecamatan Jati Agung Lampung Selatan. Kegiatan ini bertujuan untuk meningkatkan pengetahuan masyarakat akan pentingnya sanitasi di dalam rumah tangga. Pengabdian ini menggunakan metode ceramah penyuluhan, evaluasi kegiatan dilakukan denhan penilaian pengetahuan peserta dengan memberikan pre-post test. Hasil dari pengabdian ini masyarakat mampu mengidentifikasi dan memilih jenis jamban yang tepat untuk digunakan. Masyarakat diharapkan mampu mengidentifikasi ciri-ciri jamban yang tidak sehat. Berdasarkan hasil evauasi terjadi peningkatan pengetahuan masyarakat tentang jamban sehat dengan peningkatan poin sebesar 10,4 poin setelah dilakukan pengabdian. Kegiatan ini merupakan bagian upaya untuk meningkatkan cakupan jamban sehat. Kata Kunci : Pemberdayaan Masyarakat, Sanitasi, Jamban &nbsp; ABSTRACT Environmental conditions that are very influential on health status include the provision of clean water, family latrines, housing conditions and residential conditions. Inadequate sanitation is a major cause of disease. Efforts to empower the community to improve household sanitation facilities (jambanisasi) have a very positive impact on health in the household and community environment. This service is an activity consisting of counseling about healthy latrines in the village of Marga Agung, Jati Agung Subdistrict, South Lampung. This activity aims to increase public knowledge of the importance of sanitation in the household. This service uses the counseling lecture method, activity evaluation is carried out by evaluating the participants' knowledge by giving a pre-post test. As a result of this service, the community is able to identify and choose the right type of toilet to use. The community is expected to be able to identify the characteristics of unhealthy latrines. Based on the results of the evaluation, there was an increase in community knowledge about healthy latrines with an increase of 10.4 points after dedication. This activity is part of an effort to increase the coverage of healthy latrines. Keywords: Community Empowerment, Sanitation, Latrine

Identification of common genetic risk variants for autism spectrum disorder

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a highly heritable and heterogeneous group of neurodevelopmental phenotypes diagnosed in more than 1% of children. Common genetic variants contribute substantially to ASD susceptibility, but to date no individual variants have been robustly associated with ASD. With a marked sample-size increase from a unique Danish population resource, we report a genome-wide association meta-analysis of 18,381 individuals with ASD and 27,969 controls that identified five genome-wide-significant loci. Leveraging GWAS results from three phenotypes with significantly overlapping genetic architectures (schizophrenia, major depression, and educational attainment), we identified seven additional loci shared with other traits at equally strict significance levels. Dissecting the polygenic architecture, we found both quantitative and qualitative polygenic heterogeneity across ASD subtypes. These results highlight biological insights, particularly relating to neuronal function and corticogenesis, and establish that GWAS performed at scale will be much more productive in the near term in ASD

Shared genetic risk between eating disorder- and substance-use-related phenotypes:Evidence from genome-wide association studies

First published: 16 February 202

Burnout among surgeons before and during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: an international survey

Background: SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has had many significant impacts within the surgical realm, and surgeons have been obligated to reconsider almost every aspect of daily clinical practice. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study reported in compliance with the CHERRIES guidelines and conducted through an online platform from June 14th to July 15th, 2020. The primary outcome was the burden of burnout during the pandemic indicated by the validated Shirom-Melamed Burnout Measure. Results: Nine hundred fifty-four surgeons completed the survey. The median length of practice was 10&nbsp;years; 78.2% included were male with a median age of 37&nbsp;years old, 39.5% were consultants, 68.9% were general surgeons, and 55.7% were affiliated with an academic institution. Overall, there was a significant increase in the mean burnout score during the pandemic; longer years of practice and older age were significantly associated with less burnout. There were significant reductions in the median number of outpatient visits, operated cases, on-call hours, emergency visits, and research work, so, 48.2% of respondents felt that the training resources were insufficient. The majority (81.3%) of respondents reported that their hospitals were included in the management of COVID-19, 66.5% felt their roles had been minimized; 41% were asked to assist in non-surgical medical practices, and 37.6% of respondents were included in COVID-19 management. Conclusions: There was a significant burnout among trainees. Almost all aspects of clinical and research activities were affected with a significant reduction in the volume of research, outpatient clinic visits, surgical procedures, on-call hours, and emergency cases hindering the training. Trial registration: The study was registered on clicaltrials.gov "NCT04433286" on 16/06/2020