Carbohydrates and the Brain: Roles and Impact

Even if its size is fairly small (about 2% of body weight), the brain consumes around 20% of the total body energy. Whereas organs such as muscles and liver may use several sources of energy, under physiological conditions, the brain mainly depends on glucose for its energy needs. This involves the need for blood glucose level to be tightly regulated. Thus, in addition to its fueling role, glucose plays a role as signaling molecule informing the brain of any slight change in blood level to ensure glucose homeostasis. In this chapter, we will describe the fueling and sensing properties of glucose and other carbohydrates on the brain and present some physiological brain functions impacted by these sugars. We will also highlight the scientific questions that need to be answered in order to better understand the impact of sugars on the brain

Indice de costos del servicio de ambulancias. Elaboración de un índice de precios para una actividad específica del sector salud

En las últimas décadas se han observado en todo el mundo aumentos sostenidos en los costos de atención de la salud. En Argentina desde 2003 en adelante se ha generado un creciente defasaje entre ingresos y egresos de los prestadores de estos servicios, caracterizado por una marcada propensión al incremento en los precios de los bienes e insumos necesarios para la atención de la salud y por el atraso en las fuentes de ingresos de los profesionales médicos y las organizaciones sanitarias. Además existe una seria dificultad en la sistematización, el seguimiento y el análisis continuo de esas tendencias y sólo se halló un antecedente muy reciente. La elaboración de un instrumento que permita reflejar a través del tiempo la evolución de los costos de la atención de la salud constituye un avance para el sector salud y para la sociedad en su conjunto. El objetivo de este trabajo es construir un indicador que permita medir y analizar en forma continua la evolución de los precios de los bienes e insumos necesarios para un servicio particular: el traslado de pacientes. El relevamiento de la estructura de los principales insumos de la producción de este servicio en particular y el posterior seguimiento de la evolución de sus precios permitieron la elaboración de un índice de costos -o de precios de insumos- aplicado a una actividad económica en particular: el servicio de ambulancias. Así surge el Índice de Costos del Servicio de Ambulancias (ICSA), base enero 2007 = 100. El ICSA reveló que en el período enero de 2007 a diciembre de 2008 los costos más importantes de la producción del servicio de ambulancias se incrementaron el 58%. Este índice específico resulta un mejor indicador de la evolución de los precios de los insumos de esta actividad en relación con los índices más generales comúnmente (mal) usados como el IPC o el SIPIM. Análogamente, no podría empelarse el ICSA para monitorear cambios en otros rubros distintos del servicio de ambulancias.Fil: Nuñez Fioramonti, Gustavo Christian. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Sociales; Argentina

Improvement of mouth functional disability in systemic sclerosis patients over one year in a trial of fat transplantation versus adipose-derived stromal cells

Background. Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a multisystem disease characterized by cutaneous and visceral fibrosis. Face and mouth changes include telangiectasia, sicca syndrome, and thinning and reduction of mouth width (microcheilia) and opening (microstomia). We applied autologous fat transplantation compared with autologous adipose-derived stromal cells (ADSCs) injection to evaluate the clinical improvement of mouth opening. Methods. From February to May 2013 ten consecutive SSc patients were enrolled from the outpatient clinic of Plastic Surgery Department of Sapienza University of Rome. Patients were divided into two groups as follows: 5 patients were treated with fat transplantation and 5 patients received infiltration of ADSCs produced by cell factory of our institution. To value mouth opening, we use the Italian version of Mouth Handicap in Systemic Sclerosis Scale (IvMHISS). Mouth opening was assessed in centimetres (Maximal Mouth Opening, MMO). In order to evaluate compliance and physician and patient satisfaction, we employed a Questionnaire of Satisfaction and the Visual Analogic Scale (VAS) performed before starting study and 1 year after the last treatment. Results and Conclusion. We noticed that both procedures obtained significant results but neither one emerged as a first-choice technique. The present clinical experimentation should be regarded as a starting point for further experimental research and clinical trials

AMPK in the central nervous system: physiological roles and pathological implications

5′ AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is considered the master metabolic regulator in all eukaryotes, as it maintains cellular energy homeostasis in a variety of tissues, including the brain. In humans, alterations in AMPK activity can lead to a wide spectrum of metabolic disorders. The relevance of this protein kinase in the pathogenesis of diabetes and metabolic syndrome is now well established. On the contrary, correlations between AMPK and brain physiopathology are still poorly characterized. The aim of this review is to summarize and discuss the current knowledge about the prospective involvement of AMPK in the onset and the progression of different neurological diseases

Conclusion - building regions from below : has the time come for regionalism 2.0?

In a changing world ridden with crises and characterised by a general redistribution of power, regional organisations need to reinvent themselves. Equally, the study of regionalism has to reject its traditional Eurocentrism to embrace new conceptual categories in order to describe more effectively the variety of regional processes across the world. Against this background, this article looks at the European project and its current crisis before discussing other regional ‘experiments’ in Africa, Asia and Latin America, which rest on different principles but also manifest considerable shortcomings. The analysis points to the need to look at regionalism with a critical eye, emphasizing the undeniably important achievements but also the hidden threats that a certain model of regional integration (for instance, the classical top-down elite-driven process adopted by the EU founding fathers) can pose to the sustainability of regional cohesion and the adaptability of this model to other areas of the worldhttp://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rspe20hb2017Political Science

South Africa’s perceptions of the EU in energy governance : a partner in decline?

The European Union (EU) and South Africa have a longstanding relationship, which includes political and economic partnerships, thus providing a critical test case for norms diffusion. In the past few years, however, this relationship has changed and new powers have come into the picture, especially Brazil, China, India and Russia (BRIC), affording new opportunities for agency to South Africa in dealing with norms emanating from Europe. The field of energy governance, with its crucial impact on both climate change and sustainable development, is likely to become a critical terrain of policy cooperation in the near future. This article discusses pioneering research on how South Africa perceives the EU’s role in energy governance against the backdrop of the growing influence of the BRICs. It reviews media images and uses them as a proxy of public discourse in South Africa. Our data shows that while the EU is a critical partner for South Africa, its public image in the country is in decline in the field of energy governance, with growing relevance occupied by the BRICs countries.http://www.springer.com/political+science/journal/412952017-12-31hb2016Political Science

The world's most powerful number : an assessment of 80 years of GDP ideology

The world‟s most powerful number, the gross domestic product (GDP), was invented exactly 80 years ago.1 It was indeed in 1934 that a young economist by the name of Simon Kuznets (who would later on receive a Nobel Prize for this) presented his first report on the design of national income accounts to the US congress.2 Those were the hard times of the Great Depression and governments were desperately seeking some type of indicator to gauge if and how the economy was recovering. GDP did exactly that: it conflated the amount of spending for goods and services into one single number, which would go up in good times and down in bad times. A few years later, the Second World War, with its massive need for a top-down command over economic activities, sealed the close relationship between GDP and politics. Indeed, the availability of regular and detailed statistics on the strengths and weaknesses of the economy helped the American government outpace its enemies in terms of munitions‟ production. More importantly, it allowed for the conversion of the civilian economy into a war machine without hampering internal consumption, which turned out to be a major advantage in generating revenues for the war (thus avoiding bottlenecks such as those experienced by Hitler‟s war economy) and propelling large-scale consumption in the post-war period.http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1467-8322hb201

Hacia el uso autónomo y estratégico de los conocimientos adquiridos: del saber decir al saber hacer en la enseñanza de la Economía del Sector Público. Una secuencia de clases destinadas al aprendizaje constructivo

Los Planes de Estudio vigentes en la FCEyS-UNMDP enuncian que la formación universitaria debe propender a desarrollar la solidaridad y el compromiso, la actitud reflexiva y la crítica racional. La descripción de los perfiles profesionales sostiene que los graduados deben ser capaces de participar en el nivel político de la definición de objetivos socioeconómicos, aunque ello no se observa en la práctica, puesto que los egresados suelen no poseer los instrumentos y herramientas necesarios a tal fin. En este punto, identificamos una tensión entre la teoría enseñada y la práctica implementada. El trabajo describe una secuencia de clases propuesta para la cursada 2013 de la asignatura "Administración del Estado y Políticas Públicas" de la FCEyS-UNMDP, describiendo en profundidad las estrategias de enseñanza y actividades desarrolladas. La secuencia constituye un aporte hacia el aprendizaje constructivo que retroalimentó el Plan de Trabajo Docente 2014 de la asignatura, a fines de avanzar en la consolidación del trabajo grupal -presencial y fuera del aula- mediante el uso de herramientas colaborativas que fortalecen la expresión de las opiniones, el debate y la argumentación, en la convicción de que nuestra labor permite la formación de ciudadanos y profesionales que tienen y tendrán responsabilidades sociales y cívicas.Fil: Franco, N. Graciela. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Sociales; Argentina.Fil: Lacaze, María Victoria. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Sociales; Argentina.Fil: Nuñez Fioramonti, Gustavo Christian. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Sociales; Argentina