Revaluation of underutilized lemon fruits of southeastern Spain as a potential source of bioactive compounds and to be used in creative cuisine

In the present research colour, weight, morphological parameters and total antioxidant activity (TAA) of the edible tissues of three underutilised cultivars of lemon fruits was quantified. In addition, other fruit quality properties, such as organics acids and sugars concentrations in the lemon juices were analysed. Also, the evaluation of organoleptic attributes, such as sweetness, aroma, firmness, lack of bitterness, overall impression and notable feature of fruits was performed by a sensory panel. Results show significant differences on the analysed parameters among lemon cultivars. The relative proportion of each fruit tissue was similar for the three cultivars. 'Fino' and 'Sanguino' lemons showed the highest TAA, while the most appreciated by consumers according to the sensory panel results was 'Sanguino' lemon which could be due to their original colour. These traditional cultivars of lemon fruits could be used as ingredients in creative cuisine due to their attractive properties providing also nutritional and antioxidant compounds

Some aspects of the venom proteome of the Colubridae snake Philodryas olfersii revealed from a Duvernoy’s (venom) gland transcriptome

AbstractWe investigated the putative toxins of Philodryas olfersii (Colubridae), a representative of a family of snakes neglected in venom studies despite their growing medical importance. Transcriptomic data of the venom gland complemented by proteomic analysis of the gland secretion revealed the presence of major toxin classes from the Viperidae family, including serine proteases, metalloproteases, C-type lectins, Crisps, and a C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP). Interestingly, the phylogenetic analysis of the CNP precursor showed it as a linker between two related precursors found in Viperidae and Elapidae snakes. We suggest that these precursors constitute a monophyletic group derived from the vertebrate CNPs

Enzymatic extraction of hydroxycinnamic acids from coffee pulp

Ferulic, caffeic, p-coumaric and chlorogenic acids are classified as hydroxycinnamic acids, presenting anticarcinogenic, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. In this work, enzymatic extraction has been studied in order to extract high value-added products like hydroxycinnamic acids from coffee pulp. A commercial pectinase and enzyme extract produced by Rhizomucor pusillus strain 23aIV in solid-state fermentation using olive oil or coffee pulp (CP) as an inducer of the feruloyl esterase activity were evaluated separately and mixed. The total content (covalently linked and free) of ferulic, caffeic, p-coumaric and chlorogenic acids was 5276 mg per kg of coffee pulp. Distribution was as follows (in %): chlorogenic acid 58.7, caffeic acid 37.6, ferulic acid 2.1 and p-coumaric acid 1.5. Most of the hydroxycinnamic acids were covalently bound to the cell wall (in %): p-coumaric acid 97.2, caffeic acid 94.4, chlorogenic acid 76.9 and ferulic acid 73.4. The content of covalently linked hydroxycinnamic acid was used to calculate the enzyme extraction yield. The maximum carbon dioxide rate for the solid-state fermentation using olive oil as an inducer was higher and it was reached in a short cultivation time. Nevertheless, the feruloyl esterase (FAE) activity (units per mg of protein) obtained in the fermentation using CP as an inducer was 31.8 % higher in comparison with that obtained in the fermentation using olive oil as the inducer. To our knowledge, this is the first report indicating the composition of both esterified and free ferulic, caffeic, p-coumaric and chlorogenic acids in coffee pulp. The highest yield of extraction of hydroxycinnamic acids was obtained by mixing the produced enzyme extract using coffee pulp as an inducer and a commercial pectinase. Extraction yields were as follows (in %): chlorogenic acid 54.4, ferulic acid 19.8, p-coumaric acid 7.2 and caffeic acid 2.3. An important increase in the added value of coffee pulp was mainly due to the extraction of chlorogenic acid

Elche dates (phoenix dactylifera l.) responses to different post-harvest exogenous treatment

[SPA] Los dátiles recolectados en el palmeral de Elche, el más grande de Europa, se encarecen por 3 razones básicamente: 1-como la reproducción tradicionalmente ha sido por semillas, existe una gran variabilidad y por tanto poca homogeneidad del producto. 2-Como la maduración de los dátiles es muy heterogénea dentro de un racimo, son necesarias varias recolecciones para obtener todos los dátiles de una palmera. 3- Como maduran en otoño, hay riesgo de lluvias, lo que ocasiona grandes pérdidas de dátiles. Por estas razones, se han estudiado dátiles que pertenecen a palmeras de 3 huertos denominados Caqui, Los Olmos y Los Cherros. El objetivo de este trabajo ha sido estudiar la efectividad de los tratamientos con ácido acético, congelación o vaporización de dátiles en estado khalal, para acelerar su maduración artificialmente y poder recolectar los dátiles por racimos enteros y antes de las lluvias, lo que aumentaría la producción de dátiles y a menor coste, a la vez que aumentaría la época en la que podrían salir al mercado. Para ello se han estudiado en los dátiles antes y después del tratamiento, el peso, para estudiar las posibles pérdidas debidas a los tratamientos, la firmeza, los sólidos solubles totales, acidez, índice de madurez y el color externo, así como un test organoléptico. Los resultados indican que los dátiles pertenecientes a los huertos Caqui y Los Olmos han madurado con buena calidad organoléptica al ser tratados con ácido acético y al congelamiento, pero no se ha conseguido dátiles de calidad por el método de vaporización en ningún tipo de dátil. Sin embargo, los dátiles de Los Cherros no han madurado con buen estado organoléptico con ningún tratamiento. [ENG] Dates harvested from Elche grove, the biggest within Europe, became expensive due to three reasons: 1- Plant reproduction has been traditionally through seeds, therefore products present a high variability, 2- Date ripening within a cluster is heterogeneous, therefore several harvests are needed to obtain all the fruits form a palm tree, 3- Ripening occurs during autumn, when rain can cause lose of yield. Date fruits from different palm trees belonging to 3 orchards, Caqui, Los Olmos and Los Cherros have been studied. The aim off the present work has been to study the effectiveness of three ripening treatments during khalal stage: acetic acid, freezing and vaporization, to accelerate ripening artificially. This will allow us to collect all dates from a cluster at the same time and before the rains, which would increase date yield, at a lower cost, and also would increase the marketing period. Different parameters have been measured in date fruits before and after the treatments, as: fresh weight, firmness, total soluble solids, acidity, ripening index, external colour and also an organoleptic test was carried out. Results indicated that dates from Caqui and Los Olmos orchards have ripen with a good organoleptic quality when treated with acetic acid and freezing treatment, but not quality dates were obtained with vaporization treatment. Dates fruits from Los Cherros orchard did not present a good sensorial analysis under any of the ripening treatments.Agradecemos a la empresa Viveros Huerto del Cura S.A. la donación del material vegetal, sin el cual no se hubiera podido realizar este trabajo

Rapid purification of serine proteinases from Bothrops alternatus and Bothrops moojeni venoms

AbstractEnvenomation by Bothrops species results, among other symptoms, in hemostatic disturbances. These changes can be ascribed to the presence of enzymes, primarily serine proteinases some of which are structurally similar to thrombin and specifically cleave fibrinogen releasing fibrinopeptides. A rapid, three-step, chromatographic procedure was developed to routinely purify serine proteinases from the venoms of Bothrops alternatus and Bothrops moojeni. The serine proteinase from B. alternatus displays an apparent molecular mass of ∼32 kDa whereas the two closely related serine proteinases from B. moojeni display apparent molecular masses of ∼32 kDa and ∼35 kDa in SDS–PAGE gels. The partial sequences indicated that these enzymes share high identity with serine proteinases from the venoms of other Bothrops species. These proteins coagulate plasma and possess fibrinogenolytic activity but lack fibrinolytic activity

Agresiones externas hacia los profesionales del Servicio Aragonés de Salud en los servicios de Atención Primaria y Especializada durante el año 2018

Objetivo: El riesgo que tiene el personal sanitario de sufrir una agresión en el lugar de trabajo no es homogéneo. Factores como la categoría profesional, el nivel asistencial o el servicio modulan su probabilidad. El objetivo del presente trabajo fue analizar las agresiones registradas por los profesionales del Servicio Aragonés de Salud, comparando las características de aquellas que sucedieron en Atención Primaria con las que tuvieron lugar en Atención Especializada durante el año 2018. Metodos: Se realizó un estudio descriptivo transversal, llevado a cabo a través de la información disponible en la base de datos del registro de agresiones aragonés durante el año 2018. Las variables del estudio incluyeron características sociodemográficas de las personas agredidas, tipo de agresión, nivel de asistencia y baja laboral. Se calcularon frecuencias y porcentajes para las variables cualitativas, y media y desviación típica para las cuantitativas. La relación entre las variables se realizó mediante las pruebas de Mann-Whitney y Chi-Cuadrado. Resultados: Se registraron 236 agresiones, de las que el 75, 4% tuvieron lugar en Atención Especializada. La edad media se situó en 45 años. Los médicos fueron más agredidos en Atención Primaria, mientras que el personal de enfermería lo fue más en especializada. En primaria se produjeron más agresiones verbales, mientras que en especializada se registraron más agresiones físicas. Conclusiones: La violencia laboral que sufren los profesionales sanitarios varía en función del nivel asistencial, donde se observa una mayor incidencia de agresiones en Atención Especializada. Es necesario establecer mejoras en el registro de agresiones de Aragón, para perfeccionar la prevención y seguridad de los trabajadores. Objective: The risk that health personnel have of being assaulted in the workplace is not homogeneous. Factors such as professional category, level of care or service, modulate their probability. The objective of this work was to analyze the aggressions registered by the Servicio Aragonés de Salud professionals, comparing the characteristics of those that occurred in primary care with those that took place in specialized care during 2018. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was made, carried out using the information available in the Aragon aggression registry database, during the year 2018. The study variables included sociodemographic characteristics of the people attacked, type of aggression, level of assistance and sick leave. Frequencies and percentages were calculated for the qualitative variables and mean and standard deviation for the quantitative ones; the relationship between the variables was made using the Mann-Whitney and Chi-Square tests. Results: 236 assaults were registered, of which 75.4% took place in AE. The average age was 45 years. Doctors were more attacked in primary care, while nursing staff was more attacked in specialized care. In primary there were more verbal attacks, while in specialized there were more physical attacks. Conclusions: Occupational violence suffered by health professionals change depending on the level of care, where a higher incidence of assaults is observed in specialized care. It is necessary to establish improvements in the registry of aggressions in Aragón, to improve the prevention and safety of workers

Efficacy and efficiency of a new therapeutic approach based on activity-oriented proprioceptive antiedema therapy (TAPA) for edema reduction and improved occupational performance in the rehabilitation of breast cancer-related arm lymphedema in women: a controlled, randomized clinical trial

Background: Breast cancer (BC) is a major public health issue. More than one out of five women treated for breast cancer will develop lymphedema in an upper extremity. Current evidence advocates transdisciplinary oncological rehabilitation. Therefore, research in this area is necessary since limited consensus having been reached with regard to the basic essential components of this rehabilitation. Consensus has, however, been reached on the use of decongestive lymphedema therapy (DLT), but due to a lack of tests, the necessary dosages are unknown and its level is moderately strong. This study attempts to verify both the efficacy of activity-oriented proprioceptive antiedema therapy (TAPA), as compared to conventional treatments such as DLT or Complex Physical Therapy (CPT), as well as its efficiency in terms of cost-effectiveness, for patients affected by breast cancer-related arm lymphedema. Methods: Controlled, randomized clinical trial with dual stratification, two parallel arms, longitudinal and single blind. 64 women with breast cancer-related arm lymphedema will take part in the study. The experimental group intervention will be the same for stage I and II, and will consist of neuro-dynamic exercises oriented to the activity, proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation activities and proprioceptive anti-edema bandaging. The control group intervention, depending on the stage, will consist of preventive measures, skin care and exercise-prescribed training in the lymphedema workshop as well as compression garments (Stage I) or conservative Complex Decongestive Therapy treatment (skin care, multi-layer bandaging, manual lymphatic drainage and massage therapy) (Stage II). Results: Sociodemographic and clinical variables will be collected for the measurement of edema volume and ADL performance. Statistical analysis will be performed on intent to treat. Discussion: It has been recommended that patient training be added to DLT, as well as a re-designing of patient lifestyles and the promotion of health-related aspects. In addition, clinical trials should be undertaken to assess neural mobilization techniques and proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation should be included in the therapy. Cohesive bandaging will also be performed as an early form of pressotherapy. The proposed study combines all of these aspects in order to increased comfort and promote the participation of individuals with lymphedema in everyday situations. Limitations: The authors have proposed the assessment of the experimental treatment for stages I and II. One possible limitation is the lack of awareness of whether or not this treatment would be effective for other stages as well as the concern for proper hand cleansing during use of bandages, given the current COVID-19 pandemic situation. Trial registration: This trial was registered in ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03762044). Date of registration: 23 November 2018. Prospectively Registered

Prevalence and progression of chronic kidney disease after a liver transplant: a prospective, real-life, observational, two-year multicenter study

Introduction: chronic kidney disease is a frequent complication after liver transplantation. The use of calcineurin inhibitors is one of the causes of this complication. Current immunsuppression regimens that reduce the use of calcineurin inhibitors may be associated with an improved preservation of renal function. Objective: the study aimed to assess the evolution of renal function after liver transplantation in the current routine clinical practice. Methods: an observational, prospective, multicenter study in adult liver transplant recipients was performed. Two hundred and thirty patients with a good renal function before transplantation were assessed six months post-transplantation (baseline) and every six months until month 30. Results: at baseline, 32% of the patients had a reduction in the glomerular filtration rate below < 60 ml/min/1.73 m2. The mean glomerular filtration rate increased from 72.3 to 75.6 ml/min/1.73 m2 at baseline and month 30 respectively (p < 0.01). The mean serum creatinine levels (mg/dl) decreased from 1.13 to 1.09 (p < 0.01). The percentage of patients with stage 3 chronic kidney disease decreased from 31.7% to 26.4%, whereas the percentage of patients with stage 4 remained unchanged (0.4% at baseline and 0.5% at month 30). No patients progressed to end-stage kidney disease that required dialysis or renal transplantation. Conclusion: in the routine clinical practice, a moderate deterioration of renal function is frequent after liver transplantation. However, advanced chronic kidney disease is infrequent in patients with a good pre-transplant renal function

Activation of leukocyte rolling by the cysteine-rich domain and the hyper-variable region of HF3, a snake venom hemorrhagic metalloproteinase

AbstractThe functionality of the disintegrin-like/cysteine-rich domains of snake venom metalloproteinases (SVMPs) has been shown to reside in the cysteine-rich region, which can interact with VWA-containing proteins. Recently, the hyper-variable region (HVR) of the cysteine-rich domain was suggested to constitute a potential protein–protein adhesive interface. Here we show that recombinant proteins of HF3, a hemorrhagic P-III SVMP, containing the cysteine-rich domain (disintegrin-like/cysteine-rich and cysteine-rich proteins) but not the disintegrin-like protein were able to significantly increase leukocyte rolling in the microcirculation. Peptides from the HVR also promoted leukocyte rolling and this activity was inhibited by anti-alphaM/beta2 antibodies. These results show, for the first time, that the cysteine-rich domain and its HVR play a role in triggering pro-inflammatory effects mediated by integrins

¿Cómo han vivido los niños el confinamiento por el coronavirus?

Introducción: los niños muestran sentimientos y vivencias que no saben o no se atreven a expresar y que se pueden conocer a través de sus dibujos e imaginación. La Asociación Española de Pediatría de Atención Primaria (AEPap) se ha propuesto conocer cómo han vivido los niños el confinamiento. Material y métodos: se ha organizado un concurso en la página web Familia y Salud. Sujetos: niños o niñas de todo el territorio nacional con edades comprendidas entre los 3 y 16 años. Trabajos: dibujos, cuentos y vídeos breves. Resultados: hemos recibido 53 trabajos procedentes de diferentes comunidades autónomas y entregado cinco premios. Los elementos que más se repiten son: el coronavirus, figuras de niños dentro de las casas, el arco iris entre las nubes y los sanitarios. El aburrimiento, la tristeza de no poder ver a abuelos y amigos, la confianza en los sanitarios, la valoración positiva del cambio de vida en la familia, la mejora en la contaminación ambiental y el mensaje positivo de que todo va a salir bien son algunos de los temas expresados. Conclusiones: los resultados obtenidos en el presente estudio denotan optimismo en general, y permiten concluir que los dibujos, los relatos y los vídeos son herramientas útiles para analizar la percepción de esta población ante situaciones de riesgo. Además, destaca el interés de los pediatras de Atención Primaria por conocer cómo han vivido los niños el confinamiento a causa de la infección por coronavirus y crear la inquietud de que el dibujo infantil debe ser estudiado de manera rigurosa