Metabolic risk score indexes validation in overweight healthy people

The constellation of adverse cardiovascular disease (CVD) and metabolic risk factors, including elevated abdominal obesity, blood pressure (BP), glucose, and triglycerides (TG) and lowered high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), has been termed the metabolic syndrome (MetSyn) [1]. A number of different definitions have been developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) [2], the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (ATP III) [3], the European Group for the Study of Insulin Resistance (EGIR) [4] and, most recently, the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) [5]. Since there is no universal definition of the Metabolic Syndrome, several authors have derived different risk scores to represent the clustering of its components [6-11]

Dissecting the microglial response in transgenic models of amyloidogenesis and tauopathy

Amyloid-beta (Abeta) peptide deposits and hyperphosphorylated tau protein (phospho-tau) accumulate in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) brains. These abnormal protein aggregates leads to glial activation, synaptic dysfunction, neuronal loss and cognitive decline. While microglial response has mostly been analyzed in relation to Abeta accumulation, little is still known about inflammatory processes associated with tau pathology. Microglial reactivity and defective glial responses have been involved in these proteinopathies. Our aim is to clarify the effects of Abeta and tau separately, in order to improve the comprehension of their differential contribution to neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration. We compared the progression of these processes in an amyloidogenic AD model (APPSL/PS1M146L) and two different models of tauopathy (ThyTau22 and hP301S) from 2 to 18 months of age. Accumulation of aggregated proteins was assessed using specific anti- Abeta and phospho-tau antibodies. Inflammatory response was studied using a battery of microglial markers (Iba1, CD45, CD68, Trem2 and Gal-3). In the hippocampus of these models, Tau and Abeta pathologies initiated as early as 2 months of age and increased progressively with aging. Neuritic plaques induced a strong microglial activation associated to plaques in APP/PS1 mice. Interestingly, inflammatory markers and microglial reactivity were barely increased in the hippocampus of ThyTau mice in contrast to not only APP/PS1, but also to P301S mice, which displayed a prominent microglial response. Deciphering the specific effects of Abeta, tau and their different toxic species, would indeed enable the development of novel therapeutic strategies and drugs targeting neuroinflammatory pathways related to these proteinopathies.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de excelencia Andalucía-Tech. Supported by PI18/01557 (AG) and PI18/01556 (JV) grants from ISCiii of Spain co-financed by FEDER funds from European Union, and by grant PPIT.UMA.B1.2017/26 (RS-V)

Gravity or turbulence? -III. Evidence of pure thermal Jeans fragmentation at ~0.1 pc scale

We combine previously published interferometric and single-dish data of relatively nearby massive dense cores that are actively forming stars to test whether their `fragmentation level' is controlled by turbulent or thermal support. We find no clear correlation between the fragmentation level and velocity dispersion, nor between the observed number of fragments and the number of fragments expected when the gravitationally unstable mass is calculated including various prescriptions for `turbulent support'. On the other hand, the best correlation is found for the case of pure thermal Jeans fragmentation, for which we infer a core formation efficiency around 13 per cent, consistent with previous works. We conclude that the dominant factor determining the fragmentation level of star-forming massive dense cores at 0.1 pc scale seems to be thermal Jeans fragmentation.Comment: accepted in MNRA

Isotherms and isosteric heat of sorption of two varieties of Peruvian quinoa

The isosteric heats of sorption of two varieties of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) grain were determined by the static gravimetric method at four temperatures (40, 50, 60 and 70 °C) and in relative humidity environments provided by six saturated salt solutions. Six mathematical equations were used to model the experimental data: GAB, Oswin, Henderson, Peleg, Smith and Halsey. The isosteric heat of sorption was determined using the parameters of the GAB model. All the equations were shown to be appropriate by the coefficients of determination (R2) and the mean absolute error (MA%E). The influence of temperature was observed because the adsorption of water by the grains was lower at higher temperatures. The equilibrium moisture contents for security of storage, for long periods of time at water activity lower than 0.65, were 12 - 13%. The effect of temperature on the parameters of the GAB model was analysed using the exponential Arrhenius equation. The isosteric heats of sorption were determined by applying the Clausius-Clapeyron equation as a function of humidity. The isosteric heat at 5% moisture for grains of the Blanca de Juli variety was 3663 kJ/kg and for the Pasankalla variety it was 3393 kJ/kg. The experimental data for isosteric heat as a function of humidity were satisfactorily modelled using three mathematical equations.The isosteric heats of sorption of two varieties of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) grain were determined by the static gravimetric method at four temperatures (40, 50, 60 and 70 °C) and in relative humidity environments provided by six saturated salt solutions. Six mathematical equations were used to model the experimental data:  GAB, Oswin, Henderson, Peleg, Smith and Halsey. The isosteric heat of sorption was determined using the parameters of the GAB model. All the equations were shown to be appropriate by the coefficients of determination (R2) and the mean absolute error (MA%E). The influence of temperature was observed because the adsorption of water by the grains was lower at higher temperatures. The equilibrium moisture contents for security of storage, for long periods of time at water activity lower than 0.65, were 12 - 13%. The effect of temperature on the parameters of the GAB model was analysed using the exponential Arrhenius equation. The isosteric heats of sorption were determined by applying the Clausius-Clapeyron equation as a function of humidity. The isosteric heat at 5% moisture for grains of the Blanca de Juli variety was 3663 kJ/kg and for the Pasankalla variety it was 3393 kJ/kg. The experimental data for isosteric heat as a function of humidity were satisfactorily modelled using three mathematical equations

Is the Parkland grading scale related to surgical difficulty in laparoscopic cholecystectomy?

Background: Acute cholecystitis is one of the most frequent surgical pathologies, accounting for 6-11% of patients with symptomatic gallstone disease. The gold-standard treatment for this disease is laparoscopic cholecystectomy because the minimally invasive surgery significantly benefits the patient in terms of less pain and early recovery. The Parkland grading scale (PGS) is a grading system based solely on intraoperative images, which stratifies gallbladder inflammation in five degrees based on anatomy and gallbladder inflammation. This grading system is useful and helps predict the outcome of the surgery.Methods: This study correlated the PGS with surgical difficulty based on factors such as open conversion and subtotal cholecystectomy. We included 105 patients in this study who, over a seven-month period, underwent a laparoscopic cholecystectomy and were graded by the PGS.Results: We enrolled a total of 105 patients in our study, in which 74 patients were female and 31 were male. Of the 105 patients, 94 had a laparoscopic cholecystectomy, 3 underwent an open conversion (meaning the conversion rate was 2.9%), and 8 had a subtotal cholecystectomy (a rate of 7.6%).Conclusions: The PGS is an easy and applicable grading scale for surgeons, and its application could help predict the complexity of gallbladder surgery and the outcomes of each patient. However, additional high-quality studies are needed to asses and validate this scale in patients with acute cholecystitis and determine its predictive value. We should also adjust this study depending on the surgeons’ level of expertise.

Alternativas al Trabajo Fin de Master: el juego de empresas. Proyecto de Innovación y Mejora de la Calidad Docente Convocatoria 2014. Nº 279

El business game o juego de empresas es una actividad que cumple los objetivos que se señalan para un Trabajo Fin de Master y que, en opinión del grupo de trabajo de este proyecto, aporta más valor formativo para el alumno que un TFM convencional y a facilitar la finalización de la titulación dentro del curso académico

Hepatocellular carcinoma risk-stratification based on ASGR1 in circulating epithelial cells for cancer interception

Purpose: Lack of diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers in hepatocellular carcinoma impedes stratifying patients based on their risk of developing cancer. The aim of this study was to evaluate phenotypic and genetic heterogeneity of circulating epithelial cells (CECs) based on asialoglycoprotein receptor 1 (ASGR1) and miR-122-5p expression as potential diagnostic and prognostic tools in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and liver cirrhosis (LC). Methods: Peripheral blood samples were extracted from LC and HCC patients at different disease stages. CECs were isolated using positive immunomagnetic selection. Genetic and phenotypic characterization was validated by double immunocytochemistry for cytokeratin (CK) and ASGR1 or by in situ hybridization with miR-122-5p and CECs were visualized by confocal microscopy. Results: The presence of CECs increased HCC risk by 2.58-fold, however, this was only significant for patients with previous LC (p = 0.028) and not for those without prior LC (p = 0.23). Furthermore, the number of CECs lacking ASGR1 expression correlated significantly with HCC incidence and absence of miR-122-5p expression (p = 0.014; r = 0.23). Finally, overall survival was significantly greater for patients at earlier cancer stages (p = 0.018), but this difference was only maintained in the group with the presence of CECs (p = 0.021) whereas progression-free survival was influenced by the absence of ASGR1 expression. Conclusion: Identification and characterization of CECs by ASGR1 and/or miR- 122-5p expression may be used as a risk-stratification tool in LC patients, as it was shown to be an independent prognostic and risk-stratification marker in LC and early disease stage HCC patients

Galanin N-Terminal fragment (1-15) enhances the antidepressant effects of the 5-HT1A receptor agonist 8-OH-DPAT in the Forced Swimming Test.

Galanin and Galanin (1-15) [GAL(1-15)] are implicated in anxiety- and depression related behaviors. Moreover, Galanin modulates 5-HT1A receptor (5-HT1AR) function at autorreceptor and postsynaptic level in the brain. In this study, we have analysed the ability of GAL(1-15) to modulate the effects of the 8-OH-DPAT agonist in the Forced Swimming Test (FST). Groups of rats were assessed in the FST. In the first set of experiments, to evaluate the interactions of 8-OH-DPAT and GAL(1-15), rats received subcutaneously (s.c) the effective doses of 8-OH-DPAT (0.25mg/Kg) 60min before the test and intracerebroventricularly (icv) GAL(1-15)1nmol 15min before the tests alone or in combination. In the second set of experiments, groups of rats received s.c. 8-OH-DPAT (0.125mg/Kg), icv GAL(1-15) 1nmol and icv the GALR2 antagonist M871 3 nmol alone or in combination. The locomotor activity was analysed in the open field test. GAL(1-15) 1nmol enhanced the antidepressant-like effects mediated by the effective dose of the 8-OH-DPAT. GAL(1-15) significantly decreased the immobility (p<0.05) and climbing (p<0.05) and increased the swimming (p<0.01) behaviour induced by an effective dose of 8-OH-DPAT (0.25mg/Kg) in FST. Moreover, after coadministration of GAL(1-15) and threshold dose of 8-OH-DPAT (0.125mg/Kg) a significant decreased appeared in immobility (p<0.01) and climbing (p<0.01) and increased the swimming behavior (p<0.001) vs 8-OH-DPAT group. Moreover, M871 blocked completely this interaction. These results indicate that GAL(1-15) enhances the antidepressant effects induced by 8-OH-DPAT in the FST. These findings may give the basis for the development of novel therapeutic drugs. This study was supported by Junta de Andalucía CVI6476.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. This study was supported by Junta de Andalucía CVI6476