Biochemical Characterization of a Trypanosomatid Isolated from the Plant Amaranthus retroflexus

A protozoan flagelate has recently been isolated from Amaranthus retroflexus. This plant grows near economically important crops in southeastern Spain, which are known to be parasitized by Phytomonas spp. The present study focuses on the characterization of the energy metabolism of this new isolate. These flagellates utilize glucose efficiently as their primary energy source, although they are unable to completely degrade it. They excrete ethanol, acetate, glycine, and succinate in lower amount, as well as ammonium. The presence of glycosomes was indicated by the early enzymes of the glycolytic pathway, one enzyme of the glycerol pathway (glycerol kinase), and malate dehydrogenase. No evidence of a fully functional citric-acid cycle was found. In the absence of catalase activity, these flagellates showed significant superoxide dismutase activity located in the glycosomal and cytosolic fractions. These trypanosomes, despite being morphologically and metabolically similar to other Phytomonas isolated from the same area, showed significant differences, suggesting that they are phylogenetically different species

Diagnosis of multiple sclerosis using optical coherence tomography supported by artificial intelligence

Background: Current procedures for diagnosing multiple sclerosis (MS) present a series of limitations, making it critically important to identify new biomarkers. The aim of the study was to identify new biomarkers for the early diagnosis of MS using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (OCT) and artificial intelligence. Methods: Spectral domain OCT was performed on 79 patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) (disease duration ≤ 2 years, no history of optic neuritis) and on 69 age-matched healthy controls using the posterior pole protocol that incorporates the anatomic Positioning System. Median retinal thickness values in both eyes and inter-eye difference in healthy controls and patients were evaluated by area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curve analysis in the foveal, parafoveal and perifoveal areas and in the overall area spanned by the three rings. The structures with the greatest discriminant capacity — retinal thickness and inter-eye difference — were used as inputs to a convolutional neural network to assess the diagnostic capability. Results: Analysis of retinal thickness and inter-eye difference in RRMS patients revealed that greatest alteration occurred in the ganglion cell (GCL), inner plexiform (IPL), and inner retinal (IRL) layers. By using the average thickness of the GCL (AUROC = 0.82) and the inter-eye difference in the IPL (AUROC = 0.71) as inputs to a two-layer convolutional neural network, automatic diagnosis attained accuracy = 0.87, sensitivity = 0.82, and specificity = 0.92. Conclusion: This study adds weight to the argument that neuroretinal structure analysis could be incorporated into the diagnostic criteria for MS

Association of Motivational Climate With Addictive Behaviors Depending on Type of Sport in University Students: Structural Equation Analysis

This research study aims at contrasting a structural model of the associations between the alcohol consumption, tobacco dependence, and the problematic use of video games with motivational climate toward sport depending on the category of sports practiced in a sample of Physical Education university students. The sample consisted of 775 university students from the Autonomous Community of Andalusia (Spain), aged between 21 and 35 (22.22 ± 3.76) years. The instruments used were the Perceived Motivational Climate in Sport Questionnaire (PMCSQ-2), the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), the Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND), and the Questionnaire of Experiences Related to Video Games (QERV) questionnaires. A path model that fitted properly in the multigroup analysis for both categories of sports was used, χ2 = 19.843; gl = 8; p = .011; comparative fit index (CFI) = 0.911; normed fit index (NFI) = 0.903; incremental fit index (IFI) = 0.912; root mean square error approximation (RMSEA) = 0.085. An inverse association was shown between task climate and tobacco consumption in individual sports, being weaker in collective sports. This association is not significant for collective sports, but it is for individual sports for ego climate. However, a positive association was found between ego climate and the use of video games in individual sports, not being significant in the case of collective sports. The importance of promoting motivational climates oriented toward tasks that are based on the practice of collective sports is established, because they could act as protective factors against the development of addictive behavior in university students.This research study has been supported by the Education Innovation Project PID 16-45, named “Implementation of digital resources in the classroom for the development of psychosocial and motivational factors in students of the degree in Primary Education with the speciality in Physical Education,” funded by the University of Granada. Education Innovation Project PIBD Advanced 470, named “Program of teaching intervention in students of the degree in primary education and early childhood education through the use of new technologies for the improvement of the psychosocial factors of the students,” funded by the University of Granada. Project I+D+I “DISPERSA,” with code number TIN2015-67149-C3-R, named “Design of Pervasive Games Based on Learning Experiences Sensitive to Context” funded by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness. Precompetitive Research Projects for Young Researchers (PPJI_B-05); Self-plan Research of the University of Granada

Cell therapy for spinal cord injury with Olfactory Ensheathing Glia Cells (OECs)

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Gómez RM, Sánchez MY, Portela-Lomba M, et al. Cell therapy for spinal cord injury with olfactoryensheathing glia cells (OECs). Glia. 2018;00:1–35 which has been published in final form at GLIA 13 January (2018) http://doi.org/10.1002/glia.23282. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.The prospects of achieving regeneration in the central nervous system (CNS) have changed, asmost recent findings indicate that several species, including humans, can produce neurons in adult-hood. Studies targeting this property may be considered as potential therapeutic strategies torespond to injury or the effects of demyelinating diseases in the CNS. While CNS trauma mayinterrupt the axonal tracts that connect neurons with their targets, some neurons remain alive, asseen in optic nerve and spinal cord (SC) injuries (SCIs). The devastating consequences of SCIs aredue to the immediate and significant disruption of the ascending and descending spinal pathways,which result in varying degrees of motor and sensory impairment. Recent therapeutic studies forSCI have focused on cell transplantation in animal models, using cells capable of inducing axonregeneration like Schwann cells (SchCs), astrocytes, genetically modified fibroblasts and olfactoryensheathing glia cells (OECs). Nevertheless, and despite the improvements in such cell-based ther-apeutic strategies, there is still little information regarding the mechanisms underlying the successof transplantation and regarding any secondary effects. Therefore, further studies are needed to clarify these issues. In this review, we highlight the properties of OECs that make them suitable toachieve neuroplasticity/neuroregeneration in SCI. OECs can interact with the glial scar, stimulateangiogenesis, axon outgrowth and remyelination, improving functional outcomes following lesion.Furthermore, we present evidence of the utility of cell therapy with OECs to treat SCI, both fromanimal models and clinical studies performed on SCI patients, providing promising results for future treatments

Sustainability indicator for the prevention of potential thermal interferences between groundwater heat pump systems in urban aquifers

The steady increase of geothermal systems using groundwater is compromising the renewability of the geothermal resources in shallow urban aquifers. To ensure sustainability, scientifically-based criteria are required to prevent potential thermal interferences between geothermal systems. In this work, a management indicator (balanced sustainability index, BSI) applicable to groundwater heat pump systems is defined to assign a quantitative value of sustainability to each system, based on their intrinsic potential to produce thermal interference. The BSI indicator relies on the net heat balance transferred to the terrain throughout the year and the maximum seasonal thermal load associated. To define this indicator, 75 heating-cooling scenarios based in 23 real systems were established to cover all possible different operational conditions. The scenarios were simulated in a standard numerical model, adopted as a reference framework, and thermal impacts were evaluated. Two polynomial regression models were used for the interpolation of thermal impacts, thus allowing the direct calculation of the sustainability indicator developed as a function of heating-cooling ratios and maximum seasonal thermal loads. The BSI indicator could provide authorities and technicians with scientifically-based criteria to establish geothermal monitoring programs, which are critical to maintain the implementation rates and renewability of these systems in the cities

Development of Fish Oil-Loaded Microcapsules Containing Whey Protein Hydrolysate as Film-Forming Material for Fortification of Low-Fat Mayonnaise

The authors are very grateful to Lis Berner for her skillful help with the PV and SVOP measurements of the microcapsules.The influence of the carbohydrate-based wall matrix (glucose syrup, GS, and maltodextrin, MD21) and the storage temperature (4 ◦C or 25 ◦C) on the oxidative stability of microencapsulated fish oil was studied. The microcapsules (ca. 13 wt% oil load) were produced by spray-drying emulsions stabilized with whey protein hydrolysate (WPH), achieving high encapsulation efficiencies (>97%). Both encapsulating materials showed an increase in the oxidation rate with the storage temperature. The GS-based microcapsules presented the highest oxidative stability regardless of the storage temperature with a peroxide value (PV) of 3.49 ± 0.25 meq O2/kg oil and a content of 1-penten-3-ol of 48.06 ± 9.57 ng/g oil after six weeks of storage at 4 ◦C. Moreover, low-fat mayonnaise enriched with GS-based microcapsules loaded with fish oil and containing WPH as a film-forming material (M-GS) presented higher oxidative stability after one month of storage when compared to low-fat mayonnaise enriched with either a 5 wt% fish oil-in-water emulsion stabilized with WPH or neat fish oil. This was attributed to a higher protective effect of the carbohydrate wall once the microcapsules were incorporated into the mayonnaise matrix.Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities CTQ2017-87076-R PRE2018-08486

Compatibilidad de variedades de cerezo húngaras sobre Adara y otros patrones Prunus

3 Págs. Contribución de los autores originalmente presentada, como comunicación,en el XIII Congreso Nacional de Ciencias Hortícolas (SECH 2012): “Convergencia de las Tecnologías Hortofrutícolas” (Almería, abril 2012)El presente trabajo tiene como objetivo determinar el grado de compatibilidad que presenta el ciruelo Adara y otros patrones Prunus para su utilización con variedades de cerezo húngaras. Entre las variedades estudiadas figuran: ‘Aida’, ‘Alex’, ‘Carmen’, ‘Kavics’, ‘Krupnoplodnaja’, ‘Rita’, ‘Sandor’ y ‘Vera’. El estudio se desarrolla sobre árboles injertados en viveros experimentales establecidos en la Estación Experimental de Aula Dei y fincas privadas comerciales. Para determinar los posibles casos de incompatibilidad del tipo ‘traslocada’ se realizaron observaciones visuales en campo durante el primer período vegetativo del árbol. Hasta la fecha no se han observado síntomas de incompatibilidad ‘traslocada’ para las combinaciones evaluadas. El diagnóstico de la incompatibilidad ‘localizada’ se realizará en años sucesivos mediante el examen macroscópico de las uniones de injerto y la determinación del grado de discontinuidad encontrado en corteza y madera.Este trabajo ha sido financiado por la acción integrada hispano-húngara del Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación español (MICINN) (proyecto HH2008-0012) y de la ‘National Innovation Office’ húngara (NIH) (proyecto ES-27/2008), así como por el proyecto AGL-2008-00283 cofinanciado por FEDER, y el Gobierno de Aragón (A44).Peer reviewe