Validation of a method for cylindrospermopsin determination in vegetables: Application to real samples such as lettuce (lactuca sativa l.)

Reports on the occurrence of the cyanobacterial toxin cylindrospermopsin (CYN) have increased worldwide because of CYN toxic effects in humans and animals. If contaminated waters are used for plant irrigation, these could represent a possible CYN exposure route for humans. For the first time, a method employing solid phase extraction and quantification by ultra-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) of CYN was optimized in vegetables matrices such as lettuce (Lactuca sativa). The validated method showed a linear range, from 5 to 500 ng CYN g−1 of fresh weight (f.w.), and detection and quantitation limits (LOD and LOQ) of 0.22 and 0.42 ng CYN g−1 f.w., respectively. The mean recoveries ranged between 85 and 104%, and the intermediate precision from 12.7 to 14.7%. The method showed to be robust for the three different variables tested. Moreover, it was successfully applied to quantify CYN in edible lettuce leaves exposed to CYN-contaminated water (10 µg L−1), showing that the tolerable daily intake (TDI) in the case of CYN could be exceeded in elderly high consumers. The validated method showed good results in terms of sensitivity, precision, accuracy, and robustness for CYN determination in leaf vegetables such as lettuce. More studies are needed in order to prevent the risks associated with the consumption of CYN-contaminated vegetables. © 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.Acknowledgments: The authors would like to acknowledge the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad of Spain (AGL2015-64558-R, MINECO/FEDER, UE) for its financial support and the FCT Project UID/Multi/04423/2013. The authors also gratefully acknowledge the Spanish Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad for the grant FPI (BES-2016-078773) awarded to Leticia Díez-Quijada Jiménez. A. Campos work was supported by a postdoctoral grant (SFRH/BPD/103683/2014) from FCT

Potential use of chemoprotectants against the toxic effects of cyanotoxins: A review

Cyanobacterial toxins, particularly microcystins (MCs) and cylindrospermopsin (CYN), are responsible for toxic effects in humans and wildlife. In order to counteract or prevent their toxicity, various strategies have been followed, such as the potential application of chemoprotectants. A review of the main substances evaluated for this aim, as well as the doses and their influence on cyanotoxin-induced toxicity, has been performed. A search of the literature shows that research on MCs is much more abundant than research on CYN. Among chemoprotectants, antioxidant compounds are the most extensively studied, probably because it is well known that oxidative stress is one of the toxic mechanisms common to both toxins. In this group, vitamin E seems to have the strongest protectant effect for both cyanotoxins. Transport inhibitors have also been studied in the case of MCs, as CYN cellular uptake is not yet fully elucidated. Further research is needed because systematic studies are lacking. Moreover, more realistic exposure scenarios, including cyanotoxin mixtures and the concomitant use of chemoprotectants, should be considered. © 2017 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.This work was supported by the the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad of Spain (AGL2015-64558-R, MINECO/FEDER, UE), by the FCT Project—UID/Multi/04423/2013, and by the Structured Program of R&D&I INNOVMAR—Innovation and Sustainability in the Management and Exploitation of Marine Resources (reference NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000035, Research Line NOVELMAR), funded by the Northern Regional Operational Program (NORTE2020) through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). Alexandre Campos work is supported by a post-doctoral grant (SFRH/BPD/103683/2014) from Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Lisbon, Portugal)

New Method for Simultaneous Determination of Microcystins and Cylindrospermopsin in Vegetable Matrices by SPE-UPLC-MS/MS

Cyanotoxins are a large group of noxious metabolites with different chemical structure and mechanisms of action, with a worldwide distribution, producing effects in animals, humans, and crop plants. When cyanotoxin-contaminated waters are used for the irrigation of edible vegetables, humans can be in contact with these toxins through the food chain. In this work, a method for the simultaneous detection of Microcystin-LR (MC-LR), Microcystin-RR (MC-RR), Microcystin-YR (MC-YR), and Cylindrospermopsin (CYN) in lettuce has been optimized and validated, using a dual solid phase extraction (SPE) system for toxin extraction and ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) for analysis. Results showed linear ranges (5⁻50 ng g-1 f.w.), low values for limit of detection (LOD) (0.06⁻0.42 ng g-1 f.w.), and limit of quantification (LOQ) (0.16⁻0.91 ng g-1 f.w.), acceptable recoveries (41⁻93%), and %RSDIP values for the four toxins. The method proved to be robust for the three variables tested. Finally, it was successfully applied to detect these cyanotoxins in edible vegetables exposed to cyanobacterial extracts under laboratory conditions, and it could be useful for monitoring these toxins in edible vegetables for better exposure estimation in terms of risk assessment.Funding: This research was funded by the SPANISH MINISTERIO DE ECONOMÍA Y COMPETITIVIDAD (AGL2015-64558-R, MINECO/FEDER, UE); by the FPI grant number BES-2016-078773 awarded to Leticia Díez-Quijada Jiménez; by the FCT project UID/Multi/04423/2013, and the post-doctoral grant (SFRH/BPD/103683/2014) from FCT awarded to Alexandre Campos. Acknowledgments: Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad for the project AGL2015-64558-R, MINECO/FEDER, UE, and for the grant FPI (BES-2016-078773) awarded to Leticia Díez-Quijada Jiménez. CIIMAR members acknowledge FCT project UID/Multi/04423/2013 and the post-doctoral grant (SFRH/BPD/103683/2014) from FCT awarded to Alexandre Campos

Does Size Matters? Relationships among Social Dominance and Some Morphometric Traits upon Out-of-Season Reproductive Outcomes in Anestrus Dairy Goats Treated with P4 + eCG

The possible role of the social rank (R) (i.e., low-LSR, middle-MSR, or high-HSR) in anestrus goats exposed to a P4 + eCG (D) (i.e., 100 or 350 IU) estrus induction protocol (EIP) was evaluated. Goats (Alpine-Saanen-Nubian × Criollo; n = 70; 25° North) managed under stall-fed conditions were all ultrasound evaluated to confirm anestrous status, while the social rank was determined 30 d prior to the EIP. The response variables included estrus induction (EI, %), duration of estrus (DUR, h), ovulation rate (OR, n), live weight (LW, kg), thoracic perimeter (TP, cm), thoracic diameter (TD, cm), body length (BL, cm), height at withers (HW, cm), beard length (BEA, cm), compactness index (COM, cm), and anamorphosis index (ANA, cm), as affected by R, D, and the R × D interaction were evaluated, while the correlation coefficients among reproductive and morphometric variables were quantified. An R × D interaction (p 0.05) with any response variable, either reproductive or morphometric. As expected, LW had high correlation coefficients (p < 0.01) with TP (0.86), TD (0.88), BL (0.82), HW (0.75), BEA (0.51), COM (0.97), and ANA (0.75). In general, the morphometric variables as a whole demonstrated important correlation coefficients among them (p < 0.01), ranging from 0.38 up to 0.84. To estimate the importance of the morphometric differences between social rank upon estrus induction, a principal component (PC) analysis was performed based on the correlation matrix derived from the corporal measurements. The PC1 and PC2 explained 70.3% and 17.6% of the morphometric variation, respectively. The PC1 was a measure of the goat size (i.e., small, medium, large) and its association with estrus occurrence was evaluated using a logistic regression model; the bigger the goat, the increased probability of being in estrus, by up to five times compared to small goats. Our results confirm that the higher social ranked, larger goats amalgamated some fundamental factors to be successful: aggressiveness, primacy to food access, augmented live weight, and corporal size; all of these were able to modulate out-of-season reproductive success in crossbred dairy goats subjected to an estrus induction protocol and managed under stall-fed conditions in Northern Mexico

El uso de una escape room como recurso docente en la Facultad de Farmacia

[EN] Escape Rooms are educational resources that are being used by many educators, fostering elements of collaboration that help in social skills development. In this study, a multidisciplinary Escape Room has been developed as an educational tool in order to improve students learning and prepare them for the future of professional practice. 145 students and 12 professors belonging to 8 different areas of knowledge from the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Seville participated in this activity. Through this innovation, a student-teacher feedback has been created, improving their relationship and learning from each other. The results obtained through satisfaction surveys show the great acceptance that the escape room had among the students, being the study valued with an overall score of 4.83/5. Although 93% of the students considered the activity of high/very high difficulty, 100% of them emphasize that this tool encourages teamwork and 86.9% consider that it reinforces knowledge. This study has awakened students motivation and interest in the subjects involved, strengthening learning and knowledge of the fundamental concepts acquired, and promoting teamwork and problem solving.[ES] Las Escape Rooms son un tipo de recurso que está siendo utilizado por muchos educadores, propiciando elementos de colaboración que ayudan a desarrollar habilidades sociales. En este estudio se ha desarrollado una Escape Room multidisciplinar como herramienta educativa con el fin de mejorar el aprendizaje de los estudiantes y prepararlos para el futuro de la práctica profesional. Participaron 145 alumnos y 12 profesores adscritos a 8 áreas de conocimiento distintas de la Facultad de Farmacia de la Universidad de Sevilla. Mediante esta innovación se ha producido una retroalimentación alumno-profesor, mejorando su relación y aprendiendo mutuamente. Los resultados obtenidos mediante encuestas de satisfacción muestran la gran aceptación que ha tenido la Escape Room entre los alumnos, siendo el estudio valorado con una puntuación general de 4,83/5. A pesar de que el 93% de los alumnos consideró la actividad de alta/muy alta dificultad, el 100% de los mismos destacan que esta herramienta fomenta el trabajo en equipo y el 86,9% considera que refuerza los conocimientos. Este estudio ha despertado en los alumnos la motivación e interés por las asignaturas implicadas, fortaleciendo el aprendizaje y conocimiento de los conceptos fundamentales adquiridos, y propiciando el trabajo en equipo y la resolución de problemas.Gutiérrez Praena, D.; Rios -Reina, R.; Ruiz, R.; Talero, E.; Callejón, R.; Callejón, RM.; Casas, M.... (2019). El uso de una escape room como recurso docente en la Facultad de Farmacia. En IN-RED 2019. V Congreso de Innovación Educativa y Docencia en Red. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 1145-1155. https://doi.org/10.4995/INRED2019.2019.10356OCS1145115

Phase I clinical trial in healthy adults of a nasal vaccine candidate containing recombinant hepatitis B surface and core antigens

SummaryBackgroundThe nasal vaccine candidate (NASVAC), comprising hepatitis B virus (HBV) surface (HBsAg) and core antigens (HBcAg), has been shown to be highly immunogenic in animal models.MethodsA phase I double-blinded, placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial was carried out in 19 healthy male adults with no serologic markers of immunity/infection to HBV. This study was aimed at exploring the safety and immunogenic profile of nasal co-administration of both HBV recombinant antigens. The trial was performed according to Good Clinical Practice guidelines. Participants ranged in age from 18 to 45 years and were randomly allocated to receive a mixture of 50μg HBsAg and 50μg HBcAg or 0.9% physiologic saline solution, as a placebo, via nasal spray in a five-dose schedule at 0, 7, 15, 30, and 60 days. A total volume of 0.5ml was administered in two dosages of 125μl per nostril. Adverse events were actively recorded 1h, 6h, 12h, 24h, 48h, 72h, 7 days and 30 days after each dose. Anti-HBs and anti-HBc titers were evaluated using corresponding ELISA kits at days 30 and 90.ResultsThe vaccine candidate was safe and well tolerated. Adverse reactions included sneezing (34.1%), rhinorrhea (12.2%), nasal stuffiness (9.8%), palate itching (9.8%), headache (9.8%), and general malaise (7.3%). These reactions were all self-limiting and mild in intensity. No severe or unexpected events were recorded during the trial. The vaccine elicited anti-HBc seroconversion in 100% of subjects as early as day 30 of the immunization schedule, while a seroprotective anti-HBs titer (≥10IU/l) was at a maximum at day 90 (75%). All subjects in the placebo group remained seronegative during the trial.ConclusionThe HBsAg–HBcAg vaccine candidate was safe, well tolerated and immunogenic in this phase I study in healthy adults. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of safety and immunogenicity for a nasal vaccine candidate comprising HBV antigens

Enzymatic degradation of granular potato starch by Microbacterium aurum strain B8.A

Microbacterium aurum strain B8.A was isolated from the sludge of a potato starch-processing factory on the basis of its ability to use granular starch as carbon- and energy source. Extracellular enzymes hydrolyzing granular starch were detected in the growth medium of M. aurum B8.A, while the type strain M. aurum DSMZ 8600 produced very little amylase activity, and hence was unable to degrade granular starch. The strain B8.A extracellular enzyme fraction degraded wheat, tapioca and potato starch at 37 °C, well below the gelatinization temperature of these starches. Starch granules of potato were hydrolyzed more slowly than of wheat and tapioca, probably due to structural differences and/or surface area effects. Partial hydrolysis of starch granules by extracellular enzymes of strain B8.A resulted in large holes of irregular sizes in case of wheat and tapioca and many smaller pores of relatively homogeneous size in case of potato. The strain B8.A extracellular amylolytic system produced mainly maltotriose and maltose from both granular and soluble starch substrates; also, larger maltooligosaccharides were formed after growth of strain B8.A in rich medium. Zymogram analysis confirmed that a different set of amylolytic enzymes was present depending on the growth conditions of M. aurum B8.A. Some of these enzymes could be partly purified by binding to starch granules

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Utilización del ensayo del ácido 2-tiobarbitúrico (ATB) para evaluar el proceso autooxidativo en alimentos

In this overview several aspects concerning the application of 2-thiobarbituric acid (TBA) test for measuring oxidative rancidity in foods are described and discussed. Different factors like food processing, sample induced oxidation and preparation, applied methodologies and interferences, are considered. The application of the TBA test to some foods like meats, fish, eggs, milk and dairy products, cereals, infant-foods, animal fats and vegetable oils are described. Correlation between TBA index or TBA number and other oxidation indices (i.e. peroxide value) as well as sensory evaluation are also considered.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;En esta revisión científica se recogen diferentes aspectos de la aplicación del ensayo del ácido 2-tiobarbitúrico (ATB) a la medida del grado de autooxidación de alimentos lipídicos. Se consideran las diferentes formas de procesado del alimento, de inducción voluntaria a la autooxidación, de preparación de las muestras, técnicas empleadas y posibles interferencias. Se contempla el estudio y aplicación del método a muestras de carne, pescados, huevos, leche y derivados lácteos, cereales, productos dietéticos infantiles, grasas animales y aceites vegetales comestibles. Se hace referencia a la posible correlación con otros índices de oxidación ya establecidos, como el índice de peróxidos y otros, así como también la posible correlación favorable entre los valores del índice o número de ATB y la evaluación sensorial del proceso autooxidativo (grado o estado de rancidez)