Chitosan as a Tool for Sustainable Development: A Mini Review

New developments require innovative ecofriendly materials defined by their biocompatibility, biodegradability, and versatility. For that reason, the scientific society is focused on biopolymers such as chitosan, which is the second most abundant in the world after cellulose. These new materials should show good properties in terms of sustainability, circularity, and energy consumption during industrial applications. The idea is to replace traditional raw materials with new ecofriendly materials which contribute to keeping a high production rate but also reducing its environmental impact and the costs. The chitosan shows interesting and unique properties, thus it can be used for different purposes which contributes to the design and development of sustainable novel materials. This helps in promoting sustainability through the use of chitosan and diverse materials based on it. For example, it is a good sustainable alternative for food packaging or it can be used for sustainable agriculture. The chitosan can also reduce the pollution of other industrial processes such as paper production. This mini review collects some of the most important advances for the sustainable use of chitosan for promoting circular economy. Hence, the present review focuses on different aspects of chitosan from its synthesis to multiple applications.Author wants to thank the Erasmus+ KA107 scholarship

Oral administration of the KATP channel opener diazoxide ameliorates disease progression in a murine model of multiple sclerosis

Background Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is an acquired inflammatory demyelinating disorder of the central nervous system (CNS) and is the leading cause of nontraumatic disability among young adults. Activated microglial cells are important effectors of demyelination and neurodegeneration, by secreting cytokines and others neurotoxic agents. Previous studies have demonstrated that microglia expresses ATP-sensitive potassium (KATP) channels and its pharmacological activation can provide neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory effects. In this study, we have examined the effect of oral administration of KATP channel opener diazoxide on induced experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a mouse model of MS. Methods Anti-inflammatory effects of diazoxide were studied on lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and interferon gamma (IFNy)-activated microglial cells. EAE was induced in C57BL/6J mice by immunization with myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein peptide (MOG35-55). Mice were orally treated daily with diazoxide or vehicle for 15 days from the day of EAE symptom onset. Treatment starting at the same time as immunization was also assayed. Clinical signs of EAE were monitored and histological studies were performed to analyze tissue damage, demyelination, glial reactivity, axonal loss, neuronal preservation and lymphocyte infiltration. Results Diazoxide inhibited in vitro nitric oxide (NO), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-¿) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) production and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression by activated microglia without affecting cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression and phagocytosis. Oral treatment of mice with diazoxide ameliorated EAE clinical signs but did not prevent disease. Histological analysis demonstrated that diazoxide elicited a significant reduction in myelin and axonal loss accompanied by a decrease in glial activation and neuronal damage. Diazoxide did not affect the number of infiltrating lymphocytes positive for CD3 and CD20 in the spinal cord. Conclusion Taken together, these results demonstrate novel actions of diazoxide as an anti-inflammatory agent, which might contribute to its beneficial effects on EAE through neuroprotection. Treatment with this widely used and well-tolerated drug may be a useful therapeutic intervention in ameliorating MS disease

The 2011 October Draconids outburst. I. Orbital elements, meteoroid fluxes and 21P/Giacobini-Zinner delivered mass to Earth

On October 8th, 2011 the Earth crossed the dust trails left by comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner during its XIX and XX century perihelion approaches with the comet being close to perihelion. The geometric circumstances of that encounter were thus favorable to produce a meteor storm, but the trails were much older than in the 1933 and 1946 historical encounters. As a consequence the 2011 October Draconid display exhibited several activity peaks with Zenithal Hourly Rates of about 400 meteors per hour. In fact, if the display had been not forecasted, it could have passed almost unnoticed as was strongly attenuated for visual observers due to the Moon. This suggests that most meteor storms of a similar nature could have passed historically unnoticed under unfavorable weather and Moon observing conditions. The possibility of obtaining information on the physical properties of cometary meteoroids penetrating the atmosphere under low-geocentric velocity encounter circumstances motivated us to set up a special observing campaign. Added to the Spanish Fireball Network wide-field all-sky and CCD video monitoring, other high-sensitivity 1/2" black and white CCD video cameras were attached to modified medium-field lenses for obtaining high resolution orbital information. The trajectory, radiant, and orbital data of 16 October Draconid meteors observed at multiple stations are presented. The results show that the meteors appeared from a geocentric radiant located at R.A.=263.0+-0.4 deg. and Dec.=+55.3+-0.3 deg. that is in close agreement with the radiant predicted for the 1873-1894 and the 1900 dust trails. The estimated mass of material from 21P/Giacobini-Zinner delivered to Earth during the six-hours outburst was around 950+-150 kg.Comment: Manuscript in press in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, submitted to MNRAS on November 16th, 2012 Accepted for publication in MNRAS on April 28th, 2013 Manuscript Pages: 21 Tables: 8 Figures: 4 Manuscript associated: "The 2011 October Draconids outburst. II. Meteoroid chemical abundances from fireball spectroscopy" by J.M. Madiedo is also in press in the same journa

Concentration Effect over Thermoresponse Derived from Organometallic Compounds of Functionalized Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-dopamine Methacrylamide)

The functionalization of smart polymers is opening a new perspective in catalysis, drug carriers and biosensors, due to the fact that they can modulate the response regarding conventional devices. This smart response could be affected by the presence of organometallic complexes in terms of interactions which could affect the physical chemical properties. In this sense, the thermoresponsive behavior of copolymers based on N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) could be affected due to the presence of hydrophobic groups and concentration effect. In this work, the functionalization of a copolymer based on NIPAM and dopamine methacrylamide with different amounts of bis(cyclopentadienyl)titanium (IV) dichloride was carried out. The resulting materials were characterized, showing a clear idea about the mechanism of functionalization through FTIR spectroscopy. The thermoresponsive behavior was also studied for various polymeric solutions in water by UV–vis spectroscopy and calorimetry. The hydrophobic interactions promoted by the organometallic complex could affect the transition associated with the lower critical solution temperature (LCST), specifically, the segments composed by pure NIPAM. That fact would explain the reduction of the width of the LCST-transition, contrary to what could be expected. In addition, the hydrophobicity was tested by the contact angle and also DNA interactions.The authors want to thank the funding obtained from Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (MCIU), Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI) and Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER, UE) through the project: PGC2018-095364-B-I00

The impact of neos and their fragments recorded from the ground : ongoing research lines of the spanish fireball network

A continuous monitoring of the night sky all over Spain will be completed in 2009. This involves the recording over a very large surface area of 500,000 km2, but new CCD and video cameras operated by the Spanish Meteor and Fireball Network (SPMN) allows this target to be achieved. Through the use of these new techniques the SPMN can obtain new information regarding the dynamical processes that deliver meteorites to the Earth. It transpires that the main asteroid belt is not the only source of these fireballs, Near Earth Objects (NEOs) and Jupiter Family Comets (JFCs) may also play a role. To obtain more information in this regard, new efforts are needed to compare the orbits of large meteoroids reaching the Earth with those of the members of NEO and JFC populations. By numerically integrating their orbits back in time it may be possible to identify meteoroids delivered by other mechanisms like such as catastrophic disruptions or collisions

Genetic parameter estimations of new traits of morphological quality on gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) by using IMAFISH_ML software

© 2021 The Authors.In this study, a total of 18 novel productive traits, three related to carcass [cNiT] and fifteen related to morphometric [mNiT]), were measured in gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) using Non-invasive Technologies (NiT) as implemented in IMAFISH_ML (MatLab script). Their potential to be used in industrial breeding programs were evaluated in 2348 offspring reared under different production systems (estuarine ponds, oceanic cage, inland tank) at harvest. All animals were photographed, and digitally measured and main genetic parameters were estimated. Heritability for growth traits was medium (0.25–0.37) whereas for NiT traits medium-high (0.24–0.61). In general, genetic correlations between mNiT, cNiT and growth and traits were high and positive. Image analysis artifacts such as fin unfold or shades, that may interfere in the precision of some digital measurements, were discarded as a major bias factor since heritability of NiT traits after correcting them were no significantly different from original ones. Indirect selection of growth traits through NiT traits produced a better predicted response than directly measuring Body Weight (13–23%), demonstrating that this methodological approach is highly cost-effective in terms of accuracy and data processing time.This study was funded from the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) by Ministerio de Agricultura y Pesca, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente (MAPAMA), framed in PROGENSA-II III project (Mejora de la Competitividad del Sector de la Dorada a Través de la Selección Genética, programa JACUMAR)

2016 ESC Position Paper on cancer treatments and cardiovascular toxicity developed under the auspices of the ESC Committee for Practice Guidelines: The Task Force for cancer treatments and cardiovascular toxicity of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC)

Peer reviewe

Genetic parameter estimations of new traits of morphological quality on gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) by using IMAFISH_ML software

In this study, a total of 18 novel productive traits, three related to carcass [cNiT] and fifteen related to morphometric [mNiT]), were measured in gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) using Non-invasive Technologies (NiT) as implemented in IMAFISH_ML (MatLab script). Their potential to be used in industrial breeding programs were evaluated in 2348 offspring reared under different production systems (estuarine ponds, oceanic cage, inland tank) at harvest. All animals were photographed, and digitally measured and main genetic parameters were estimated. Heritability for growth traits was medium (0.25–0.37) whereas for NiT traits medium-high (0.24–0.61). In general, genetic correlations between mNiT, cNiT and growth and traits were high and positive. Image analysis artifacts such as fin unfold or shades, that may interfere in the precision of some digital measurements, were discarded as a major bias factor since heritability of NiT traits after correcting them were no significantly different from original ones. Indirect selection of growth traits through NiT traits produced a better predicted response than directly measuring Body Weight (13–23%), demonstrating that this methodological approach is highly cost-effective in terms of accuracy and data processing time.Versión del edito