Minería de datos para el análisis de los antecedentes familiares de la conducta suicida : hacia una definición del endofenotipo

El suicidio es uno de los temas clínicos más importantes en la psiquiatría actual, ya que es una causa importante de mortalidad y años de vida perdidos en individuos jóvenes. Dentro de la investigación genética, el estudio se inspira en el concepto de endofenotipo, como búsqueda de la base biológica de las enfermedades de acuerdo a subgrupos clínicos. Así se recluta una muestra de 534 pacientes con intentos de suicidio, procedentes de la urgencia de un hospital general. Se analizan tres grupos de pacientes con antecedentes familiares de intentos de suicidio, de suicidio consumado y de ambos, y se comparan con suicidas sin antecedentes en la familia. Se aplicaron técnicas de estadística univariante como chi cuadrado y el test de fisher y de análisis multivariante con regresión logística. También se analizaron los resultados con técnicas de minería de datos (métodos filter y wrapper). Se concluye, a la vista de los resultados estadísticamente significativos que existe un endofenotipo en relación con la historia familiar de suicidio que está relacionado con el tratamiento (especialmente estabilizadores del ánimo) y es independiente de la enfermedad mental en la familia. Otras variables clínicas que se utilizan para evaluar el riesgo también resultan significativas en algunos de los grupos. El significado de estas variables así como su replicación necesitan de estudios posteriores y con mayores muestras. Las técnicas de minería de datos resultan útiles y fiables y resaltan el consumo de alcohol en el intento en relación con los antecedentes familiares de suicidio

Minería de datos para el análisis de los antecedentes familiares de la conducta suicida : hacia una definición del endofenotipo

El suicidio es uno de los temas clínicos más importantes en la psiquiatría actual, ya que es una causa importante de mortalidad y años de vida perdidos en individuos jóvenes. Dentro de la investigación genética, el estudio se inspira en el concepto de endofenotipo, como búsqueda de la base biológica de las enfermedades de acuerdo a subgrupos clínicos. Así se recluta una muestra de 534 pacientes con intentos de suicidio, procedentes de la urgencia de un hospital general. Se analizan tres grupos de pacientes con antecedentes familiares de intentos de suicidio, de suicidio consumado y de ambos, y se comparan con suicidas sin antecedentes en la familia. Se aplicaron técnicas de estadística univariante como chi cuadrado y el test de fisher y de análisis multivariante con regresión logística. También se analizaron los resultados con técnicas de minería de datos (métodos filter y wrapper). Se concluye, a la vista de los resultados estadísticamente significativos que existe un endofenotipo en relación con la historia familiar de suicidio que está relacionado con el tratamiento (especialmente estabilizadores del ánimo) y es independiente de la enfermedad mental en la familia. Otras variables clínicas que se utilizan para evaluar el riesgo también resultan significativas en algunos de los grupos. El significado de estas variables así como su replicación necesitan de estudios posteriores y con mayores muestras. Las técnicas de minería de datos resultan útiles y fiables y resaltan el consumo de alcohol en el intento en relación con los antecedentes familiares de suicidio

Wine pomace product modulates oxidative stress and microbiota in obesity high-fat diet-fed rats

Obesity is associated with inflammation and oxidative stress. Bioactive compounds can decrease obesity-related disorders by their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory actions. Wistar rats were fed with a high-fat diet during 14 weeks and received 100 mg of wine pomace product (WP)/kg body weight, from the 1st week or from the 7th week and standard diet fed rats were included. Food intake, body weight, blood pressure and plasma glucose, cholesterol and triglyceride were weekly measured. Antioxidant and lipid liver status, fat, adipocyte size, plasma interleukins and microbiota were also determined at 14th week. The results showed a significant reduction of body weight and abdominal fat area, lower blood glucose, decreased liver weight and lipids deposition with increased antioxidant status, lower adipocyte size and increased Lactobacillus spp./Bacteroides spp. ratio. Therefore, wine pomace product reduced obesity-related disorders by amelioration of inflammation and oxidative stress and by microbiota regulation suggesting potential preventive clinical benefits

Gold nanodoughnut as an outstanding nanoheater for photothermal applications

Photoinduced hyperthermia is a cancer therapy technique that induces death to cancerous cells via heat generated by plasmonic nanoparticles. While previous studies have shown that some nanoparticles can be effective at killing cancer cells under certain conditions, there is still a necessity (or the need) to improve its heating efficiency. In this work, we perform a detailed theoretical study comparing the thermoplasmonic response of the most effective nanoparticle geometries up to now with a doughnut-shaped nanoparticle. We numerically demonstrate that the latter exhibits a superior tunable photothermal response in practical illumination conditions (unpolarized light). Furthermore, we show that nanoparticle heating in fluidic environments, i.e., nanoparticles undergoing Brownian rotations, strongly depends on the particle orientation with respect to the illumination source. We conclude that nanodoughnuts are the best nanoheaters in our set of structures, with an average temperature increment 40% higher than the second best nanoheater (nanodisk). Furthermore, nanodoughnuts feature a weak dependence on orientation, being therefore ideal candidates for photothermal therapy applications. Finally, we present a designing guide, covering a wide range of toroid designs, which can help on its experimental implementation.Acknowledgments. Authors would like to thank A. Franco and C. R. Crick for the interesting discussions. We gratefully acknowledge financial support from Spanish national project (No. PGC2018-096649-B-I), the UK Leverhulme Turst (Grant No. RPG-2018-384), UK-EPSRC (EP/J003859/1) and Imperial College Europeans Partner Fund grant. J. G-C. thanks the Ministry of science of Spain for his FPI grant. G. S. thanks the Ministry of education for his collaboration grant and P.A. acknowledges funding for a Ramon y Cajal Fellowship (Grant No. RYC-2016-20831)

Wine pomace product ameliorates hypertensive and diabetic aorta vascular remodeling through antioxidant and anti-inflammatory actions

Vascular remodeling in hypertension and diabetes is characterized by a low-grade inflammation of the arterial wall and enhanced oxidative stress. Wine pomace products attenuate hyperglycemia and hypertension through reduction of oxidative stress and inflammation by their polyphenol composition. The aim of the study was to assess the influence of the wine pomace product (WP) on morphometric parameters of the arterial wall in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) and streptozotocin-diabetic rats (STZ). Oxidative stress was also evaluated by determination of radical oxygen species (ROS) and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) activation in thoracic aortas. Wine pomace reduces wall aortic thickness, cross sectional area and wall/lumen ratio, and decreases ROS and increases eNOS activation. In summary, the supplementation of hypertensive or diabetic rats with the wine pomace product exhibits a protective role against the endothelial dysfunction and vascular remodeling.Autonomous Government of Castilla y León (Research project BU282U1

Dynamic reflective color pixels based on molybdenum oxide

Active materials which show phase transitions, usually known as Phase Change Materials (PCM), have paved the way to a new generation of reconfigurable plasmonic platforms. Tunable color devices have experienced a great development in the recent years. In particular, reflective color filters can take advantage from sunlight to select and reflect a specific resonant wavelength in the visible spectrum range. Reflective displays are usually structural color filters based on asymmetric Fabry-Perot cavities (AFPCs). For a fixed geometry, most of AFPCs filters generate static color, limiting their potential as tunable color devices. Dynamic color is achieved by introducing an active layer whose optical properties can be modulated by an external stimuli. In this paper, we propose AFPCs based on molybdenum oxide (MoOx, 2<x<3) to achieve switchable on/off color reflective pixels. On and off states of the pixels are controlled through the stoichiometry of the MoOx layer.This work has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement (No 899598 – PHEMTRONICS)

Wine pomace product inhibit listeria monocytogenes invasion of intestinal cell lines Caco-2 and SW-480

Red wine pomace products (WPP) have antimicrobial activities against human pathogens, and it was suggested that they have a probable anti-Listeria effect. This manuscript evaluates the intestinal cell monolayer invasive capacity of Listeria monocytogenes strains obtained from human, salmon, cheese, and L. innocua treated with two WPP (WPP-N and WPP-C) of different polyphenol contents using Caco-2 and SW480 cells. The invasion was dependent of the cell line, being higher in the SW480 than in the Caco-2 cell line. Human and salmon L. monocytogenes strains caused cell invasion in both cell lines, while cheese and L. innocua did not cause an invasion. The phenolic contents of WPP-N are characterized by high levels of anthocyanin and stilbenes and WPP-C by a high content of phenolic acids. The inhibitory effect of the WPPs was dependent of the strain and of the degree of differentiation of the intestinal cells line. The inhibition of Listeria invasion by WPPs in the SW480 cell line, especially with WPP-C, were higher than the Caco-2 cell line inhibited mainly by WPP-N. This effect is associated with the WPPs’ ability to protect the integrity of the intestinal barrier by modification of the cell–cell junction protein expression. The gene expression of E-cadherin and occludin are involved in the L. monocytogenes invasion of both the Caco-2 and SW480 cell lines, while the gene expression of claudin is only involved in the invasion of SW480. These findings suggest that WPPs have an inhibitory L. monocytogenes invasion effect in gastrointestinal cells lines.Autonomous Government of Castilla y León (Researchproject BU056U16

Chronological age interacts with the circadian melatonin receptor 1b gene variation, determining fasting glucose concentrations in mediterranean populations. Additional analyses on type-2 diabetes risk

Gene-age interactions have not been systematically investigated on metabolic phenotypes and this modulation will be key for a better understanding of the temporal regulation in nutrigenomics. Taking into account that aging is typically associated with both impairment of the circadian system and a decrease in melatonin secretion, we focused on the melatonin receptor 1B (MTNR1B)-rs10830963 C>G variant that has been associated with fasting glucose concentrations, gestational diabetes, and type-2 diabetes. Therefore, our main aim was to investigate whether the association between the MTNR1B-rs10830963 polymorphism and fasting glucose is age dependent. Our secondary aims were to analyze the polymorphism association with type-2 diabetes and explore the gene-pregnancies interactions on the later type-2 diabetes risk. Three Mediterranean cohorts (n = 2823) were analyzed. First, a cross-sectional study in the discovery cohort consisting of 1378 participants (aged 18 to 80 years; mean age 41 years) from the general population was carried out. To validate and extend the results, two replication cohorts consisting of elderly individuals were studied. In the discovery cohort, we observed a strong gene-age interaction (p = 0.001), determining fasting glucose in such a way that the increasing effect of the risk G-allele was much greater in young (p = 5.9 × 10−10) than in elderly participants (p = 0.805). Consistently, the association of the MTNR1B-rs10830963 polymorphism with fasting glucose concentrations in the two replication cohorts (mean age over 65 years) did not reach statistical significance (p > 0.05 for both). However, in the elderly cohorts, significant associations between the polymorphism and type-2 diabetes at baseline were found. Moreover, in one of the cohorts, we obtained a statistically significant interaction between the MTNR1B polymorphism and the number of pregnancies, retrospectively assessed, on the type-2 diabetes risk. In conclusion, the association of the MTNR1B-rs10830963 polymorphism with fasting glucose is age-dependent, having a greater effect in younger people. However, in elderly subjects, associations of the polymorphism with type-2 diabetes were observed and our exploratory analysis suggested a modulatory effect of the number of past pregnancies on the future type-2 diabetes genetic risk

The UV plasmonic behavior of distorted rhodium nanocubes

For applications of surface-enhanced spectroscopy and photocatalysis, the ultraviolet (UV) plasmonic behavior and charge distribution within rhodium nanocubes is explored by a detailed numerical analysis. The strongest plasmonic hot-spots and charge concentrations are located at the corners and edges of the nanocubes, exactly where they are the most spectroscopically and catalytically active. Because intense catalytic activity at corners and edges will reshape these nanoparticles, distortions of the cubical shape, including surface concavity, surface convexity, and rounded corners and edges, are also explored to quantify how significantly these distortions deteriorate their plasmonic and photocatalytic properties. The fact that the highest fields and highest carrier concentrations occur in the corners and edges of Rh nanocubes (NCs) confirms their tremendous potential for plasmon-enhanced spectroscopy and catalysis. It is shown that this opportunity is fortuitously enhanced by the fact that even higher field and charge concentrations reside at the interface between the metal nanoparticle and a dielectric or semiconductor support, precisely where the most chemically active sites are located.This research has been supported by MICINN (Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, project FIS2013-45854-P). Research was sponsored by the Army Research Laboratory and was accomplished under Cooperative Agreement Number W911NF-17-2-0023. Y.G. wants to thank the University of Cantabria for her FPU (formación del profesorado universitario) gran

Chronological Age Interacts with the Circadian Melatonin Receptor 1B Gene Variation, Determining Fasting Glucose Concentrations in Mediterranean Populations. Additional Analyses on Type-2 Diabetes Risk

Gene-age interactions have not been systematically investigated on metabolic phenotypes and this modulation will be key for a better understanding of the temporal regulation in nutrigenomics. Taking into account that aging is typically associated with both impairment of the circadian system and a decrease in melatonin secretion, we focused on the melatonin receptor 1B (MTNR1B)-rs10830963 C>G variant that has been associated with fasting glucose concentrations, gestational diabetes, and type-2 diabetes. Therefore, our main aim was to investigate whether the association between the MTNR1B-rs10830963 polymorphism and fasting glucose is age dependent. Our secondary aims were to analyze the polymorphism association with type-2 diabetes and explore the gene-pregnancies interactions on the later type-2 diabetes risk. Three Mediterranean cohorts (n = 2823) were analyzed. First, a cross-sectional study in the discovery cohort consisting of 1378 participants (aged 18 to 80 years; mean age 41 years) from the general population was carried out. To validate and extend the results, two replication cohorts consisting of elderly individuals were studied. In the discovery cohort, we observed a strong gene-age interaction (p = 0.001), determining fasting glucose in such a way that the increasing effect of the risk G-allele was much greater in young (p = 5.9 × 10-10) than in elderly participants (p = 0.805). Consistently, the association of the MTNR1B-rs10830963 polymorphism with fasting glucose concentrations in the two replication cohorts (mean age over 65 years) did not reach statistical significance (p > 0.05 for both). However, in the elderly cohorts, significant associations between the polymorphism and type-2 diabetes at baseline were found. Moreover, in one of the cohorts, we obtained a statistically significant interaction between the MTNR1B polymorphism and the number of pregnancies, retrospectively assessed, on the type-2 diabetes risk. In conclusion, the association of the MTNR1B-rs10830963 polymorphism with fasting glucose is age-dependent, having a greater effect in younger people. However, in elderly subjects, associations of the polymorphism with type-2 diabetes were observed and our exploratory analysis suggested a modulatory effect of the number of past pregnancies on the future type-2 diabetes genetic risk