The influence of in vitro gastrointestinal digestion on the chemical composition and antioxidant and enzyme inhibitory capacities of carob liqueurs obtained with different elaboration techniques

Carob liqueur is a traditional Mediterranean alcoholic beverage obtained via a wide range of production techniques contributing to the different organoleptic attributes of the final product. The aim of this research was to evaluate the stability of the chemical composition and biological capacities (antioxidant and enzyme inhibition) under in vitro simulated gastrointestinal digestion of liqueurs prepared by flavouring the fig spirit with carob pulp by maceration, distillation, percolation, or aqueous and hydro-alcoholic infusions. For this purpose, the phenolic and furanic compositions, the total phenolic (TPC) and flavonoid (TFC) contents, antioxidant capacity (AC), and enzyme inhibitory potential against acethylcholinesterase, tyrosinase, α-glucosidase and α-amylase enzymes were evaluated. The content of gallic acid decreased after gastrointestinal digestion, while TPC, TFC, and AC significantly increased after each digestion phase. Overall, no significantly different enzyme inhibitions (p < 0.05) were observed among digested liqueurs, with moderate inhibition against acethylcholinesterase and tyrosinase (enzymes related with neurodegenerative diseases), and potent and low inhibitory capacities for α-glucosidase and α-amylase, respectively (ideal conditions employed in antidiabetic therapy). The study indicates that hydro-alcoholic infusion and maceration were the most appropriate methods to obtain liqueurs with higher values of the aforementioned parameters and safe levels of toxic furanics.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P.: SFRH/BPD/103086/2014; DL 57/2016/CP1361/CT0022; project INTERREG-MD.NET: When Brand Meets Peopleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Chloroperoxidase-catalyzed aminoalcohol oxidation : substrate specificity and novel strategy for the synthesis of N-Cbz-3-aminopropanal

The ability of chloroperoxidase (CPO) to catalyze amino alcohol oxidations was investigated. The oxidations of compounds with different configurations with respect to the amine position towards hydroxyl - using H₂O₂ and tert-butyl hydroperoxide (t-BuOOH) - were analyzed in terms of the initial reaction rate, substrate conversion, and CPO operational stability. It was observed that the further the amino group from the hydroxyl, the lower the initial reaction rate. The effect of the amino-protecting group and other substituents (i.e., methyl and hydroxyl) was also examined, revealing an increase in steric hindrance due to the effect of bulky substituents. The observed reaction rates were higher with t-BuOOH, whereas CPO was more stable with H₂O₂. Moreover, CPO stability had to be determined case by case as the enzyme activity was modulated by the substrate. The oxidation of N-Cbz-3-aminopropanol (Cbz, carboxybenzyl) to N-Cbz-3-aminopropanal was investigated. Main operational conditions such as the reaction medium, initial amino alcohol concentration, and peroxide nature were studied. The reaction kinetics was determined, and no substrate inhibition was observed. By-products from a chemical reaction between the formed amino aldehyde and the peroxide were identified, and a novel reaction mechanism was proposed. Finally, the biotransformation was achieved by reducing side reactions and identifying the key factors to be addressed to further optimize the product yield

Occupants’ behavioural diversity regarding the indoor environment in social housing. Case study in Northern Spain

Previous research has shown that differences in preferences, habits, and uses can exist in buildings with similar characteristics, which can influence building performance, energy efficiency, and the well-being of occupants. Among this diversity, those residing in social housing have specific socio-economic and cultural characteristics. This study aims to provide evidence of the diversity of thermal preferences and heating-related behaviours in public social rental housing. It also seeks to develop a methodology for identifying behavioural and occupancy patterns that can be applied in building simulation programs and building stock management. To identify occupancy and heating patterns, quantitative and qualitative data analysis methods were applied. The data was collected from a variety of sources, including sensors and surveys. Advanced statistical methods were used to analyse the data and identify patterns and trends. The study was conducted in 58 dwellings of a public social rental housing building in northern Spain. The results showed a lack of association between perceived and monitored thermal comfort. Additionally, variability in the use of the dwelling has been found among similar socioeconomic profiles. The analysis of behavioural diversity revealed six clusters based on energy consumption behaviour, including occupancy patterns and heating usage. The patterns obtained can be integrated into building performance simulation programs, resulting in a more nuanced and accurate representation of energy consumption patterns. Moreover, these patterns can provide valuable insight into the diversity of energy consumption behaviours. This can be leveraged to unlock new opportunities for energy savings, efficiency gains, and enhancing the well-being of occupants across a variety of use cases.The authors would like to acknowledge the Public Society Alokabide and the company STECHome for their support and contribution, as well as for the information, access and monitoring data provided. This research work will form part of a doctoral theses carried out by S. Perez-Bezos, funded by the Call for tender for a researcher training at the University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU 2019 (PIF19/139). Open Access funding provided by University of the Basque Country

LSTM-Based Wastewater Treatment Plants Operation Strategies for Effluent Quality Improvement

Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs) are facilities devoted to managing and reducing the pollutant concentrations present in the urban residual waters. Some of them consist in nitrogen and phosphorus derived products which are harmful for the environment. Consequently, certain constraints are applied to pollutant concentrations in order to make sure that treated waters comply with the established regulations. In that sense, efforts have been applied to the development of control strategies that help in the pollutant reduction tasks. Furthermore, the appearance of Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) has encouraged the adoption of predictive control strategies. In such a fashion, this work is mainly focused on the adoption and development of them to actuate over the pollutant concentrations only when predictions of effluents determine that violations will be produced. In that manner, the overall WWTP's operational costs can be reduced. Predictions are generated by means of an ANN-based Soft-Sensor which adopts Long-Short Term Memory cells to predict effluent pollutant levels. These are the ammonium (S-{NH,e}) and the total nitrogen (S-{Ntot,e}) which are predicted considering influent parameters such as the ammonium concentration at the entrance of the WWTP reactor tanks (S-{NH,po}), the reactors' input flow rate (Q-{po}), the WWTP recirculation rate (Q-{a}) and the environmental temperature (T-{as}). Moreover, this work presents a new multi-objective control scenario which consists in a unique control structure performing the reduction of S-{NH,e} and S-{Ntot,e} concentrations simultaneously. Performance of this new control approach is contrasted with other strategies to determine the improvement provided by the ANN-based Soft-Sensor as well as by the fact of being controlling two pollutants at the same time. Results show that some brief and small violations are still produced. Nevertheless, an improvement in the WWTPs performance w.r.t.The most common control strategies around 96.58% and 98.31% is achieved for S-{NH,e} and S-{Ntot,e}, respectively

Pharmacogenetic inhibition of the infralimbic cortex promotes reinstatement of cocaine-context memories in mice.

Funding: PID2020-113806RB-I00, 08-2021-AREA3, B1-2020_06, FPU20/00908, PRE2018-085673, PREDOC_01094, POSTDOC_ 21_00222. II Plan Propio de Investigación, Transferencia y Divulgación Científica de la UMA.Relapse is one of the main problems concerning treatment of cocaine use disorder. It have been suggested that the infralimbic cortex (IL), a division of the medial prefrontal cortex, is involved in extinction and reinstatement of associative memories, including those involving drugs. However, more selective strategies are needed to elucidate the involvement of IL in the long-term maintenance of drug-related maladaptive behaviours. Here, we employed pharmacogenetics to assess the causal role of IL in the reinstatement of a cocaine-induced conditioned place preference (CPP). For this purpose, adult C57BL/6J mice received bilateral intra-IL microinjections of an adeno-associated viral (AAV) vector containing the hM4Di designed receptor (AAV5-CaMKII-hM4Di-mCherry; AAV-hM4Di, n=11) or a control vector (AAV5-CaMKII-mCherry; AAV-control, n=9) prior receiving training in the cocaine-induced CPP model. After habituation, animals received compartment-paired conditioning by increasing doses of cocaine (2-16 mg/kg/day, i.p.) and were tested for cocaine-CPP, after which they were subjected to forced CPP extinction and then re-tested for cocaine-CPP. On day 37 after AAV infusion, mice received Clozapine N-oxide (CNO, 5 mg/kg, i.p.) and 30 min later were tested for cocaine-primed (7.5 mg/kg, i.p.) CPP reinstatement. Ninety minutes after, animals were perfused, and brains dissected. Our results indicated that both groups acquired and subsequently extinguished cocaine-CPP. However, only the AAV-hM4Di group showed a significant preference for the cocaine-paired compartment during the CPP reinstatement test. Immunofluorescence analyses of c-Fos expression in IL revealed a decrease of ~60% in mCherry+/c-Fos+ co-labelling in the AAV-hM4Di group, suggesting reduced IL neural activity during CPP reinstatement. Therefore, our data suggests that the IL plays a causal role in relapse to cocaine-related maladaptive behaviours, highlighting its importance as a potential therapeutic target.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Selective modulation of the infralimbic cortex activity regulates reinstatement of cocaine-context associations in mice.

Mechanisms underlying relapse into cocaine are not yet fully understood. Animal studies suggest a pivotal involvement of the infralimbic (IL) division of the medial prefrontal cortex, but causal evidence is lacking. Here, we employed chemogenetics to selectively modulate the IL during reinstatement of cocaine-related behaviours in the conditioned place preference (CPP) model. To this aim, C57BL/6J mice (N = 28) received intra-IL microinjections of adenoassociated viral vectors containing either silencing (AAV5-CaMKIIα-hM4Di-mCherry) or stimulatory (AAV5-CaMKIIα-hM3Dq-mCherry) designer receptors, or a control vector (AAV5-CaMKIIα-mCherry). Animals were trained to acquire a CPP induced by increasing doses of cocaine (2-16 mg/kg) and later submitted to forced extinction. Four weeks after AAV infusion, mice received Clozapine N-oxide (5 mg/kg) 30 minutes before undergoing a cocaine-primed (7.5 mg/kg) CPP reinstatement test. Ninety minutes later animals were perfused, and brains dissected to analyse the expression of mCherry and c-Fos proteins in the IL. We found that CPP reinstatement was significantly increased after silencing IL compared to the control group, while blocked after selective stimulation of this brain region. In turn, immunofluorescence analyses revealed a ~0.5-fold decrease and a ~3-fold increase in mCherry /c-Fos co-labelling in AAV-hM4Di and AAV-hM3Dq groups (respectively) compared to the control group. Taken together, our data indicate that the IL is causally involved in the reinstatement of cocaine-related maladaptive behaviours and stands out as a target for modulation to prevent cocaine relapse.Funding: PID2020-113806RB-I00, B4-2023-16, FPU20/00908, PREDOC_01094, POSTDOC_ 21_00222. II Plan Propio de Investigación, Transferencia y Divulgación Científica de la Universidad de Málaga. Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

The infralimbic cortex and the hippocampal CA1-Subiculum are functionally involved in the extinction of cocaine-context associationes in mice.

Funding: PID2020-113806RB-I00, 08-2021-AREA3, B1-2020_06, PREDOC_01094, PRE2018-085673, FPU20/00908, POSTDOC_ 21_00222. II Plan Propio de Investigación, Transferencia y Divulgación Científica de la Universidad de Málaga.Cocaine abuse is a health and social problem worldwide. Treatment seeking for cocaine use disorder is on the rise, and relapse prevention remains as a primary goal. Interventions based on extinction of cocaine-related associative memories are promising but so far have not been successful. In this sense, further research is needed to elucidate the neurobiological substrates of extinction learning. Here, we aimed to study the neural circuitry involved in extinction of cocaine-context associations in the Conditioned Place Preference (CPP) model. Adult C57BL/6J mice received habituation to the CPP apparatus followed by conditioning with increasing doses of cocaine (2, 4, 8 and 16 mg/kg/day). After testing for CPP acquisition, a group of mice was submitted to four sessions of forced extinction (CPP+EXT, n = 9) while another group was maintained at home-cage (CPP+ACQ, n = 6). Then, both conditions were retested for cocaine-CPP. Ninety minutes later, animals were perfused, and brains collected. Next, we analysed by immunohistochemistry the expression of c-Fos in a variety of addiction-related structures including the medial prefrontal cortex (prelimbic, infralimbic), the striatum (nucleus accumbens, caudate-putamen), the basolateral amygdala and the hippocampus. Our results indicated that both groups acquired cocaine-CPP, but only the CPP+EXT condition ceased to show preference for the cocaine-paired compartment during the CPP retest. Importantly, the CPP+EXT mice showed increased c-Fos expression in the infralimbic cortex (IL), and the hippocampal CA1-subiculum during the CPP retest, with no changes in the other brain areas examined. Multivariate analyses revealed a relationship between IL and CA1-subiculum activity and CPP extinction. This suggest that such structures are functionally involved in retrieval of extinction memory for cocaine-context associations, thus standing out as potential therapeutic targets.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Perfect body (1997): eating disorders among elite athletes, risk factors and symptomatology

Nowadays, society and the mass media have made physical profiles fashionable that are difficult to emulate, causing a significant percentage of the population to develop different types of eating disorders. This is a more frequent issue among the female population and exerts particular pressure on elite athletes, where weight is a significant factor in performance (gymnasts, dancers...). Consequently, this research aims to identify the risk factors and symptomatology of eating disorders among elite athletes highlighted in the film “Perfect Body” (1997), by performing a bibliographic review. The film explores risk factors such as colleagues with eating disorders, weight-obsessed coaches or poor body image. Likewise, it identifies symptoms such as vomiting, a disproportionate increase in exercise or fatigue. The film "Perfect Body" (1997) gives a simple, real-life, visual glimpse of the risk factors and symptoms for high performance gymnasts and, therefore, the film is highly recommended to address this issue.En la sociedad actual se han puesto de moda unos perfiles físicos difíciles de seguir, lo que está generando que un porcentaje de la población desarrolle diferentes trastornos alimentarios con el objetivo de conseguir dicho canon de belleza. Este problema afecta con más frecuencia a la población femenina y, en especial, ejerce presión en deportistas de élite, donde el peso es un factor relevante para conseguir un buen rendimiento. Por ello el objetivo de este trabajo ha sido identificar los factores de riesgo y la sintomatología de los trastornos de la conducta alimentaria en deportistas de élite reflejados en la película “Perfect Body” (1997). En la película pueden observarse factores de riesgo como, compañeras con trastornos de la conducta alimentaria, un entrenador obsesionado con el peso o la insatisfacción corporal. Asimismo, se identifican síntomas como vómitos, aumento del ejercicio de manera desproporcionada o cansancio. El análisis realizado lleva a la conclusión de que La película “Perfect body” (1997) muestra de una manera real, sencilla y visual los factores de riesgo y síntomas que sufren las gimnastas de alto rendimiento con un trastorno de conducta alimentaria, lo que hace de ella una película muy recomendable para abordar esta temática

Perfect body (1997): eating disorders among elite athletes, risk factors and symptomatology

Nowadays, society and the mass media have made physical profiles fashionable that are difficult to emulate, causing a significant percentage of the population to develop different types of eating disorders. This is a more frequent issue among the female population and exerts particular pressure on elite athletes, where weight is a significant factor in performance (gymnasts, dancers...). Consequently, this research aims to identify the risk factors and symptomatology of eating disorders among elite athletes highlighted in the film “Perfect Body” (1997), by performing a bibliographic review. The film explores risk factors such as colleagues with eating disorders, weight-obsessed coaches or poor body image. Likewise, it identifies symptoms such as vomiting, a disproportionate increase in exercise or fatigue. The film "Perfect Body" (1997) gives a simple, real-life, visual glimpse of the risk factors and symptoms for high performance gymnasts and, therefore, the film is highly recommended to address this issue.</p

La gestión del trabajo educativo en las unidades docentes del municipio Los Palacios

El proceso de gestión del trabajo educativo en las unidades docentes de la Universidad de Pinar del Río (UPR) integrada, toma como punto de referencia, las necesidades de superación de los profesores-tutores para el desempeño de sus funciones en el proceso de formación de los estudiantes en formación de carreras pedagógicas. Este proceso se ha caracterizado por la carencia de un carácter coordinado y sistémico, que permita articular el objeto de dicho proceso, sustentado mediante un programa de superación, el cual constituye uno de los productos de la investigación. Se concibe este curso de posgrado para preparar a los profesores-tutores que presentan limitaciones para gestionar a partir del trabajo metodológico la estrategia de trabajo educativo en el colectivo del grado escolar donde se encuentran insertados dichos estudiantes, constituye la célula básica de dicha gestión, concibiendo los procesos sustantivos desde una perspectiva curricular y extracurricular para lograr con eficiencia su formación general integral en el contexto en que se desenvuelve