Nanofiltration separation of polyvalent and monovalent anions in desalination brines

This work, as part of a global membrane process for the recovery of alkali and acids from reverse osmosis (RO) desalination brines, focuses on the nanofiltration (NF) separation of polyvalent and monovalent anions, more specifically sulfate and chloride. This pretreatment stage plays a key role in the whole recovery process. Working with model brines simulating the concentration of RO concentrates, 0.2–1.2 M chloride concentration and 0.1 M sulfate concentration, the experimental performance and modeling of the NF separation is reported. The study has been carried out with the NF270 (Dow Filmtec) membrane. The effect of operating pressure (500–2000 kPa), ionic strength (0.4–1.3 M) and chloride initial concentration (0.2–1.2 M) on the membrane separation capacity has been investigated. Finally, the Donnan Steric Pore Model (DSPM) together with experimentally determined parameters, effective pore radius (rp), thickness of the membrane effective layer (d) and effective membrane charge density (Xd), was proved accurate enough to satisfactorily describe the experimental results. In this work we provide for the first time the analysis of partitioning effects and transport mechanism in the NF separation of sulfate and chloride anions in concentrations that simulate those found in RO desalination brines.This work has been financially supported by projects CTQ2008-0690, ENE2010-15585 and CTM2011-23912 (co-financed by ERDF Funds).The authors would like to acknowledge SADYT, S.A. for providing assistance for this work

Protective Effects of a Rhodiola Crenulata Extract and Salidroside on Hippocampal Neurogenesis against Streptozotocin-Induced Neural Injury in the Rat

Previously we have demonstrated that a Rhodiola crenulata extract (RCE), containing a potent antioxidant salidroside, promotes neurogenesis in the hippocampus of depressive rats. The current study was designed to further investigate the protective effect of the RCE on neurogenesis in a rat model of Alzheimer's disease (AD) induced by an intracerebroventricular injection of streptozotocin (STZ), and to determine whether this neuroprotective effect is induced by the antioxidative activity of salidroside. Our results showed that pretreatment with the RCE significantly improved the impaired neurogenesis and simultaneously reduced the oxidative stress in the hippocampus of AD rats. In vitro studies revealed that (1) exposure of neural stem cells (NSCs) from the hippocampus to STZ strikingly increased intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, induced cell death and perturbed cell proliferation and differentiation, (2) hydrogen peroxide induced similar cellular activities as STZ, (3) pre-incubation of STZ-treated NSCs with catalase, an antioxidant, suppressed all these cellular activities induced by STZ, and (4) likewise, pre-incubation of STZ-treated NSCs with salidroside, also an antioxidant, suppressed all these activities as catalase: reduction of ROS levels and NSC death with simultaneous increases in proliferation and differentiation. Our findings indicated that the RCE improved the impaired hippocampal neurogenesis in the rat model of AD through protecting NSCs by its main ingredient salidroside which scavenged intracellular ROS

Ellagic Acid Derivatives from Rubus ulmifolius Inhibit Staphylococcus aureus Biofilm Formation and Improve Response to Antibiotics

Biofilms contribute to the pathogenesis of many forms of Staphylococcus aureus infection. Treatment of these infections is complicated by intrinsic resistance to conventional antibiotics, thus creating an urgent need for strategies that can be used for the prevention and treatment of biofilm-associated infections.This study demonstrates that a botanical natural product composition (220D-F2) rich in ellagic acid and its derivatives can limit S. aureus biofilm formation to a degree that can be correlated with increased antibiotic susceptibility. The source of this composition is Rubus ulmifolius Schott. (Rosaceae), a plant used in complementary and alternative medicine in southern Italy for the treatment of skin and soft tissue infections. All S. aureus clonal lineages tested exhibited a reduced capacity to form a biofilm at 220D-F2 concentrations ranging from 50-200 µg/mL, which were well below the concentrations required to limit bacterial growth (530-1040 µg/mL). This limitation was therapeutically relevant in that inclusion of 220D-F2 resulted in enhanced susceptibility to the functionally-distinct antibiotics daptomycin, clindamycin and oxacillin. Testing with kidney and liver cell lines also demonstrated a lack of host cell cytotoxicity at concentrations of 220D-F2 required to achieve these effects.These results demonstrate that extract 220D-F2 from the root of Rubus ulmifolius can be used to inhibit S. aureus biofilm formation to a degree that can be correlated with increased antibiotic susceptibility without toxic effects on normal mammalian cells. Hence, 220D-F2 is a strong candidate for development as a botanical drug for use in the prevention and treatment of S. aureus biofilm-associated infections

PP2A ligand ITH12246 protects against memory impairment and focal cerebral ischemia in mice

ITH12246 (ethyl 5-amino-2-methyl-6,7,8,9-tetrahydrobenzo[b][1,8] naphthyridine-3-carboxylate) is a 1,8-naphthyridine described to feature an interesting neuroprotective profile in in vitro models of Alzheimer's disease. These effects were proposed to be due in part to a regulatory action on protein phosphatase 2A inhibition, as it prevented binding of its inhibitor okadaic acid. We decided to investigate the pharmacological properties of ITH12246, evaluating its ability to counteract the memory impairment evoked by scopolamine, a muscarinic antagonist described to promote memory loss, as well as to reduce the infarct volume in mice suffering phototrombosis. Prior to conducting these experiments, we confirmed its in vitro neuroprotective activity against both oxidative stress and Ca2+ overload-derived excitotoxicity, using SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells and rat hippocampal slices. Using a predictive model of blood-brain barrier crossing, it seems that the passage of ITH12246 is not hindered. Its potential hepatotoxicity was observed only at very high concentrations, from 0.1 mM. ITH12246, at the concentration of 10 mg/kg i.p., was able to improve the memory index of mice treated with scopolamine, from 0.22 to 0.35, in a similar fashion to the well-known Alzheimer's disease drug galantamine 2.5 mg/kg. On the other hand, ITH12246, at the concentration of 2.5 mg/kg, reduced the phototrombosis-triggered infarct volume by 67%. In the same experimental conditions, 15 mg/kg melatonin, used as control standard, reduced the infarct volume by 30%. All of these findings allow us to consider ITH12246 as a new potential drug for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, which would act as a multifactorial neuroprotectant.Peer Reviewe

Probióticos

Los llamados alimentos funcionales son aquellos que, además de aportar los nutrientes recomendados, ejercen efectos beneficiosos sobre una o más funciones del organismo, fomentando la salud y reduciendo el riesgo de enfermedad. Los probióticos constituyen un subgrupo importante dentro de los alimentos funcionales con un gran atractivo comercial, por lo que es importante definir con claridad cuáles son los efectos beneficiosos que pueden ejercer sobre la salud. Ciertas bacterias colónicas producen ácidos grasos de cadena corta y ácido láctico como productos de la fermentación de carbohidratos, que disminuyen el pH del medio creando un microambiente donde las bacterias potencialmente patógenas no pueden crecer. Además, producen bacteriocinas, que actúan como antibióticos e inhiben el crecimiento de bacterias patógenas. Actualmente, los probióticos han demostrado ser útiles y beneficiosos en el tratamiento de diarrea aguda infecciosa en niños y adultos, en la prevención de la diarrea asociada a antibióticos, en enfermedades inflamatorias intestinales, en la mejora de los síntomas debidos a la mala digestión de la lactosa y de algunos síntomas del síndrome del colon irritable y en la prevención de la enterocolitis necrotizante en recién nacidos pre-término. También hay otras propiedades asociadas a este tipo de alimentos que necesitan más estudios que avalen su eficacia. Por tanto, los probióticos constituyen una importante fuente de salud, al garantizar un equilibrio a nivel de nuestra microflora endógena, fortaleciéndonos el sistema inmune y mejorando las funciones anatomofisiológicas del organismo. Además, tenemos que tener en cuenta que la investigación probiótica en la intersección de la gastroenterología con la inmunología y la microbiología es muy dinámica en los últimos años, tanto en la investigación básica como clínica y que el conocimiento de los mecanismos moleculares que conducen a la eficacia de los probióticos, estimulará la creación de nuevos alimentos con propiedades beneficiosas para la salud

Detección del riesgo de desnutrición en ancianos no institucionalizados Detection of hyponutrition risk in non-institutionalised elderly

Antecedentes y Objetivo: Una alimentación inadecuada en ancianos incrementa la vulnerabilidad del sistema inmunológico, aumenta el riesgo de infecciones, también produce atrofia muscular, niveles altos de azúcar o grasas en sangre, debilidad,apatía, mayor riesgo de fracturas óseas y menor respuesta a la medicación. Los cambios fisiológicos y patológicos asociados al envejecimiento determinan modificaciones de los hábitos de consumo alimentario y del aprovechamiento orgánico de los nutrientes. La principal consecuencia de todo ello es un aumento en la frecuencia de individuos con malnutrición global o específica para algún nutriente concreto. El objetivo de este trabajo es detectar el porcentaje de ancianos no institucionalizados en Murcia con riesgo de malnutrición para poder intervenir de forma preventiva sobre ellos. Material y métodos: La muestra poblacional del estudio está constituida por 360 ancianos de ambos sexos, no institucionalizados y residentes en Murcia.La detección del riesgo de desnutrición se basa en la realización de un test a cada anciano con 9 preguntas asociadas con el riesgo nutricional, que es un método de screening nutricional validado, con un valor predictivo positivo del 95% y un valor predictivo negativo del 81%. Además en cada anciano se valoraron otros factores que pudieran afectar al riesgo de desnutrición (IMC, sexo, edad,personas con las que convive, estado civil, nivel de instrucción y patologías). El análisis estadístico se realiza con el programa informático SPSS, v. 12.0,utilizando la T-Student para comparar variables independientes que siguen una distribución normal y la Correlación de Pearson cuando se pretende analizar el grado de correlación entre variables. Resultados: La muestra poblacional está constituida por ancianos de 73,5 &plusmn; 0,5 años (media &plusmn; SEM), con un IMC de 27,5 &plusmn; 0,3 (Kg/m²), de los cuales un 41% son varones y un 59% mujeres. El 46% tienen estudios primarios incompletos y sólo el 11% son universitarios. El 75% de los ancianos viven acompañados (con su cónyuge u otros familiares) y el 22% viven solos. El 60% están casados y el 31% son viudos. Entre las patologías asociadas al envejecimiento se observa una mayor incidencia de diabetes (21%) y enfermedades cardiovasculares (21%) como demuestran los altos niveles de colesterol (32%) y la elevada incidencia de hipertensión (HTA) (42%). El 7% ha perdido peso involuntariamente en los últimos 3 meses y el 11% se encuentran más delgados, el 14% presenta dificultad para comer. El 17% de los ancianos analizados presenta un riesgo probable de malnutrición, con un 3% de ancianos malnutridos. Al analizar las diferencias entre sexos, se observa un mayor porcentaje de mujeres que presentan HTA respecto a los varones (p Background and objective: an inadequate food intake in the elderly increases immunological system vulnerability, the risk for infections, and it also leads to muscle atrophy, high sugar and fat plasma levels, fatigue, apathy, greater risk for bone fractures, and lower response to medication. Physiological and pathological changes related to aging bring about changes in dietary habits and organ body use of nutrients. The main consequence is an increase in the prevalence of individuals with global or nutrient-specific hyponutrition. The aim of this work was to detect the percentage of non-instituti nalised malnourished elderly patients from Murcia with hyponutrition risk, in order to being able of preventively act on them. Material and methods: 360 elderly patients of both genders, non-institutionalised and residing in Murcia compose the population sample. Hyponutrition risk detection is based on performance of a test to each patient with nine questions relating to nutritional risk, which is a validated nutritional screening method, with a 95% positive predictive value and 81% negative predictive value. Besides, other factors that may affect hyponutrition risk were assessed in each patient (BMI, gender, age, persons living with him/her, marital status, educational level, and other conditions). Statistical analysis is done with the SPSS package, v. 12.0, using the Student's t test for comparison of independent variables with a normal distribution and Pearson's correlation to analyse the correlation level between variables. Results: The population sample is composed by elder people aged 73.5 &plusmn; 0.5 years (mean &plusmn; SEM), with a BMI of 27.5 &plusmn; 0.3 (Kg/m²), of which 41% are males and 59% females. Forty-six percent have incomplete primary education, and only 11% have university education. Seventy-five percent of these elder people live with somebody (with their spouse or other relatives), and 22% live alone. Sixty-percent are married, and 31% are widow. About age-related pathologies, we observe higher prevalence of diabetes (21%) and cardiovascular diseases, (21%), high cholesterol levels (32%), and high prevalence of arterial hypertension (42%). Seven percent have involuntarily lost weight for the last 3 months, and 11% find themselves thinner, 14% have difficulty eating. Seventeen percent of the studied elder people have a likely risk for malnutrition, with 3% of malnourished patients. When analysing gender differences we observe a greater percentage of women with arterial hypertension, as compared to men (p < 0.05) whereas men diagnosed with COPD outnumber women with COPD (p < 0.05). Significant differences (p < 0.05) are seen in malnutrition risk by gender, being higher in females as compared to men.BMI and malnutrition risk are negatively correlated (p < 0.01). A direct correlation is seen between the patient's age and his/her malnutrition risk (p < 0.05). Conclusions: In Murcia 17% of analysed elderly people have a likely risk for malnutrition and 2% are malnourished. This malnutrition refers to deficient nutrition, so for these results suggest the need to perform: 1º) further studies to determine qualitatively and quantitatively nutritional deficits. 2º) A nutritional intervention in this population to prevent deficient states associated to the development of several pathologies