Role of minor determinants of amoxicillin in the diagnosis of immediate allergic reactions to amoxicillin.

Política de acceso abierto tomada de: https://v2.sherpa.ac.uk/id/publication/3704Background: Skin testing of subjects with immediate hypersensitivity to amoxicillin is performed using major and minor determinants of benzylpenicillin plus amoxicillin. However, sensitivity is not optimal, and other determinants need to be considered. We assessed the sensitivity of stable, well-characterized minor determinants of amoxicillin in subjects with immediate allergic reactions to amoxicillin to improve skin test sensitivity. Methods: Amoxicillin, amoxicilloic acid, and diketopiperazine were prepared and characterized by reverse-phase HPLC, tested in vivo by skin testing and in vitro by basophil activation test and RAST inhibition assay. Results: Patients with immediate hypersensitivity to amoxicillin were selected: Group A (n = 32), skin test positive just to amoxicillin; Group B (n = 19), skin test positive to benzylpenicillin determinants; Group C (n = 10), skin test negative and amoxicillin drug provocation test positive. In Group A, 27 subjects (81.8%) were skin test positive to amoxicillin, ten (30.3%) to amoxicilloic acid, two (6.1%) to diketopiperacine, and six (18.2%) negative. In Group B, nine (50%) were positive to amoxicillin, eight (42.1%) to amoxicilloic acid, none to diketopiperacine, and nine (50%) negative. In Group C, skin tests were negative. BAT was positive to amoxicillin in 26 patients (50.9%), to amoxicilloic acid in 15 (29.1%), and diketopiperazine in four (7.8%). RAST inhibition studies showed > 50% inhibition in all sera, with the highest concentration of amoxicillin and amoxicilloic acid. Conclusions: The combination of minor determinants of amoxicillin, amoxicilloic acid, and diketopiperazine seems to be of no greater value than the use of amoxicillin alone. Further efforts are needed to find new structures to improve sensitivity in the diagnosis of immediate hypersensitivity to betalactams

Recent Development in Optical Fiber Biosensors

Remarkable developments can be seen in the field of optical fibre biosensors in the last decade. More sensors for specific analytes have been reported, novel sensing chemistries or transduction principles have been introduced, and applications in various analytical fields have been realised. This review consists of papers mainly reported in the last decade and presents about applications of optical fiber biosensors. Discussions on the trends in optical fiber biosensor applications in real samples are enumerated

Cation template assisted oligoethylene glycol desymmetrization by intramolecular Cannizzaro reaction of topologically remote aldehydes.

Política de acceso abierto tomada de: https://v2.sherpa.ac.uk/id/publication/15869Oligoethylene glycol chains containing 2–5 ethylene glycol units, and possessing a benzyl alcohol and a benzoic acid end groups, can be quantitatively obtained by intramolecular Cannizzaro reaction of the corresponding remote benzaldehyde end groups. The process is quite effective if a complex with an appropriate cation is formed to allow the two aldehyde groups to be spatially confined near enough each other for the intramolecular redox process

New Approaches in the Manufacture of Biomaterials for Betalactam Allergic Diagnose

Betalactams are the most widely utilized drugs against infections but are the primary cause of allergic reactions to antibiotic drugs. REF1 An accurate diagnosis of these allergic reactions to betalactams is crucial to avoid the use of unnecessary alternative antibiotics that may reduce efficacy, lead to prolonged treatments, have a higher toxicity or induce bacterial resistance. The most consensual approach to diagnose betalactam allergy are in vivo tests. However, they are not risky free, require experienced personnel and are both time-consuming and expensive for health-care systems, being so in vitro test more appropriate or complementary to the in vivo tests. In vitro tests are not still widely used on account of their low sensitivity. Current efforts are in progress to improve these assays, thus allowing for better diagnosis of allergic responses within patients. REF 2 We report progress in the preparation of new functional materials for in vitro allergic diagnosis testing. In particular, the application of new approaches employing orthogonally functionalised fluorescent dyes based upon 4-amino-1,8 naphthalimide joined with the multivalence of polyamide dendrimers. REF 3 The in vitro diagnosis capabilities of these functional materials was verified by testing on patient sera samples, with results demonstrating their potential for application within the healthcare industry. Acknowledgments: The present study has been supported by MINECO CTQ2016-75870P; by Andalusian Regional Ministry Health (grants: PI-0250-2016); by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and “Plan Propio Universidad de Málaga” (UMA-Andalucía-TECH).Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Dendrimer-Modified Solid Supports: Nanostructured Materials with Potential Drug Allergy Diagnostic Applications

Complex functional materials consisting of bioactive molecules immobilized on solid supports present potential applications in biosensoring. Advances in the fabrication of these surface materials are of growing interest for antibody-based diagnosis. This work exploits dendrimers as versatile nanostructures for templating sensor surfaces and the critical role of the immobilization protocol in the solid supports cellulose and zeolites, of organic and inorganic composition respectively. The fabrication and characterization, including the degree of functionalization and reproducibility, of different nanostructured materials are described. To validate the approach, the fabricated supports were further used as a solid phase for developing a radioimmunoassay to detect immunoglobulin E (IgE) specific to penicillin, the antibody involved in immediate allergy responses to this drug. The dendrimer-modified supports provide assays with significantly enhanced sensitivity, as well as increase the availability of biomolecules for specific interaction and minimize nonspecific adsorptions through appropriate functionalization protocols in each case. The manufacturing methodology involved the use of a long, flexible hydrophilic spacer in the cellulose materials, and a higher surface density of the immobilized dendrimers in the zeolite crystals. The ability of hybrid zeolite materials in such biosensing applications was evaluated for the first time. The assays were validated in human serum samples from patients allergic to penicillin and from non-allergic controls. The specificity and improved sensitivity of the dendrimer- modified supports make these strategies versatile for different bioactive molecules and could have significant implications for the quantification of a wide range of specific IgE antibodies and other biomolecules of diagnostic interest

La Geolocalización como Herramienta para Conocer a los Consumidores: El Caso de los Centros de Fitness

Actualmente las herramientas tecnológicas permiten un mayor conocimiento de los consumidores en las organizaciones deportivas. En concreto la geolocalización podría ayudar a los gestores a identificar cuál es el domicilio o lugar de trabajo de sus clientes. Por ello, el objetivo de este estudio fue conocer a qué distancia se encontraban los clientes de un centro de fitness y, analizar si existen o no diferencias significativas según género, edad y permanencia en relación a dicha distancia. La muestra la componen 1080 clientes (573 mujeres y 507 hombres) registrando datos de domicilio, género, edad, fecha de alta, y permanencia. Se utilizó el programa estadístico SPSS para realizar análisis descriptivo y de diferencias significativas. Entre los principales resultados, destaca que el género no es un factor relevante con respecto a la distancia. En relación a la edad, las personas mayores buscan la cercanía como principal requisito mientras los más jóvenes prefieren centrarse en otros aspectos. Finalmente en relación a la permanencia, no resultó un factor relevante sobre la distancia en ninguno de los tres grupos. Estos hallazgos indican la necesidad de que los gestores analicen la geolocalización de sus clientes con objeto de saber dónde están situados y poder establecer acciones concretas de marketing.Actualmente las herramientas tecnológicas permiten un mayor conocimiento de los consumidores en las organizaciones deportivas. En concreto la geolocalización podría ayudar a los gestores a identificar cuál es el domicilio o lugar de trabajo de sus clientes. Por ello, el objetivo de este estudio fue conocer a qué distancia se encontraban los clientes de un centro de fitness y, analizar si existían o no diferencias significativas según género, edad y permanencia en relación a dicha distancia. La muestra la componen 1080 clientes (573 mujeres y 507 hombres) registrando datos de domicilio, género, edad, fecha de alta, y permanencia. Se utilizó el programa estadístico SPSS para realizar análisis descriptivo y de diferencias significativas. Entre los principales resultados, destaca que el género no es un factor relevante con respecto a la distancia. En relación a la edad, las personas mayores buscan la cercanía como principal requisito mientras los más jóvenes prefieren centrarse en otros aspectos. Finalmente en relación a la permanencia, no resultó un factor relevante sobre la distancia en ninguno de los tres grupos. Estos hallazgos indican la necesidad de que los gestores analicen la geolocalización de sus clientes con objeto de saber dónde están situados y poder establecer acciones concretas de marketing

Fundamentos de electrónica analógica

La presente obra está dirigida a estudiantes de ingeniería, y trata de introducir al lector en los fundamentos de Ia electrónica analógica, analizando componentes básicos, como el diodo o distintos tipos de transistores, y estudiando configuraciones de amplificación multietapa y diferenciales. Dado el fuerte carácter introductorio que impregnan toda Ia obra, Ia teoría tiene un peso muy importante en Ia misma. Difícilmente se puede llevar a cabo el diseño o implementación de un circuito electrónico analógico si no se domina con claridad el funcionamiento de cada uno de los componentes. Estos cimientos teóricos son los que trata de afianzar este texto. Sin embargo, este carácter teórico no implica que el texto no sea de aplicación. Precisamente son estos conceptos teóricos los que dan a Ia obra su sentido práctico, que surge al proporcionar al lector métodos estructurados para el diseño y análisis de sistemas electrónicos analógicos básicos. Este carácter práctico se refuerza especialmente en los estudios de los amplificadores multietapa y diferencia

Accurate quantification of atherosclerotic plaque volume by 3D vascular ultrasound using the volumetric linear array method.

Direct quantification of atherosclerotic plaque volume by three-dimensional vascular ultrasound (3DVUS) is more reproducible than 2DUS-based three-dimensional (2D/3D) techniques that generate pseudo-3D volumes from summed 2D plaque areas; however, its accuracy has not been reported. We aimed to determine 3DVUS accuracy for plaque volume measurement with special emphasis on small plaques (a hallmark of early atherosclerosis). The in vitro study consisted of nine phantoms of different volumes (small and medium-large) embedded at variable distances from the surface (superficial vs. >5 cm-depth) and comparison of 3DVUS data generated using a novel volumetric-linear array method with the real phantom volumes. The in vivo study was undertaken in a rabbit model of atherosclerosis in which 3DVUS and 2D/3D volume measurements were correlated against gold-standard histological measurements. In the in vitro setting, there was a strong correlation between 3DVUS measures and real phantom volume both for small (3.0-64.5 mm(3) size) and medium-large (91.1-965.5 mm(3) size) phantoms embedded superficially, with intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) of 0.99 and 0.98, respectively; conversely, when phantoms were placed at >5 cm, the correlation was only moderate (ICC = 0.67). In the in vivo setting there was strong correlation between 3DVUS-measured plaque volumes and the histological gold-standard (ICC = 0.99 [4.02-92.5 mm(3) size]). Conversely, the correlation between 2D/3D values and the histological gold standard (sum of plaque areas) was weaker (ICC = 0.87 [49-520 mm(2) size]), with large dispersion of the differences between measurements in Bland-Altman plots (mean error, 79.2 mm(2)). 3DVUS using the volumetric-linear array method accurately measures plaque volumes, including those of small plaques. Measurements are more accurate for superficial arterial territories than for deep territories.S

DIA-DB : a database and web server for the prediction of diabetes drugs

The DIA-DB is a web server for the prediction of diabetes drugs that uses two different and complementary approaches: (a) comparison by shape similarity against a curated database of approved antidiabetic drugs and experimental small molecules and (b) inverse virtual screening of the input molecules chosen by the users against a set of therapeutic protein targets identified as key elements in diabetes. As a proof of concept DIA-DB was successfully applied in an integral workflow for the identification of the antidiabetic chemical profile in a complex crude plant extract. To this end, we conducted the extraction and LC-MS based chemical profile analysis of Sclerocarya birrea and subsequently utilized this data as input for our server. The server is open to all users, registration is not necessary, and a detailed report with the results of the prediction is sent to the user by email once calculations are completed. This is a novel public domain database and web server specific for diabetes drugs and can be accessed online through http://bio-hpc.eu/software/dia-db/.http://pubs.acs.org/journal/jcics1/about.htmlhj2021BiochemistryGeneticsMicrobiology and Plant Patholog

Potential role of new molecular plasma signatures on cardiovascular risk stratification in asymptomatic individuals

The evaluation of cardiovascular (CV) risk is based on equations derived from epidemiological data in individuals beyond the limits of middle age such as the Framingham and SCORE risk assessments. Lifetime Risk calculator (QRisk®), estimates CV risk throughout a subjects' lifetime, allowing those. A more aggressive and earlier intervention to be identified and offered protection from the consequences of CV and renal disease. The search for molecular profiles in young people that allow a correct stratification of CV risk would be of great interest to adopt preventive therapeutic measures in individuals at high CV risk. To improve the selection of subjects susceptible to intervention with aged between 30-50 years, we have employed a multiple proteomic strategy to search for new markers of early CV disease or reported CV events and to evaluate their relationship with Lifetime Risk. Blood samples from 71 patients were classified into 3 groups according to their CV risk (healthy, with CV risk factors and with a previously reported CV event subjects) and they were analyzed using a high through quantitative proteomics approach. This strategy allowed three different proteomic signatures to be defined, two of which were related to CV stratification and the third one involved markers of organ damage.This work was supported by grants from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (PI070537, IF08/3667-1, PI11-02239, PI 14/01917, PI11/01401, PI11/02432, PI13/01873, PI13/01746, PI13/01581, PI14/01650, PI14/01841), PT13/0001/0013, PIE13/00051, PIE13/00045, CP09/00229, CP15/00129, IDC Salud (3371/002), the MutuaMadrileña Foundation, the SENEFRO Foundation and FONDOS FEDER (RD06/0014/1015, RD12/0042/0071). Sociedad Española de cardiología para la Investigación Básica 2017. Grant PRB3 (IPT17/0019 - ISCIII-SGEFI / ERDF. These results are in line with the Spanish initiative on the Human Proteome Project.S