A Voxel-based analysis of FDG-PET in traumatic brain injury: regional metabolism and relationship between the thalamus and cortical areas

[EN] The objective was to study the correlations and the differences in glucose metabolism between the thalamus and cortical structures in a sample of severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients with different neurological outcomes. We studied 49 patients who had suffered a severe TBI and 10 healthy control subjects using 18Ffluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (18F-FDG-PET). The patients were divided into three groups: a vegetative or minimally-conscious state (MCS&VS) group (n = 17), which included patients who were in a vegetative or a minimally conscious state; an In-post-traumatic amnesia (In-PTA) group (n = 12), which included patients in PTA; and an Out-PTA group (n = 20), which included patients who had recovered from PTA. SPM5 software was used to determine the metabolic differences between the groups. FDG-PET images were normalized and four regions of interest were generated around the thalamus, precuneus, and the frontal and temporal lobes. The groups were parameterized using Student's t-test. Principal component analysis was used to obtain an intensity-estimated-value per subject to correlate the function between the structures. Differences in glucose metabolism in all structures were related to the neurological outcome, and the most severe patients showed the most severe hypometabolism. We also found a significant correlation between the cortico-thalamocortical metabolism in all groups. Voxel-based analysis suggests a functional correlation between these four areas, and decreased metabolism was associated with less favorable outcomes. Higher levels of activation of the cortico-cortical connections appear to be related to better neurological condition. Differences in the thalamocortical correlations between patients and controls may be related to traumatic dysfunction due to focal or diffuse lesions.A preliminary version of the manuscript presented here has obtained the 2nd award of IV Convocatoria de los Premios de Investigacio´n en Medicina del Colegio de Me´dicos de Valladolid (IV edition of the Medical Research Award of the Offi- cial College of Physicians of Valladolid).Garcia Panach, J.; Lull Noguera, N.; Lull Noguera, JJ.; Ferri Domínguez, J.; Martínez, C.; Sopena, P.; Robles Viejo, M.... (2011). A Voxel-based analysis of FDG-PET in traumatic brain injury: regional metabolism and relationship between the thalamus and cortical areas. Journal of Neurotrauma. 28(9):1707-1717. doi:10.1089/neu.2011.1851S1707171728

Rheological Behaviour of an Insoluble Lemon Fibre as Affected by Stirring, Temperature, Time and Storage

The final publication is available at link.springer.comIn this work, the effect the preparation method (two different stirring systems at two temperatures and times), fibre concentration (between 2% and 3%), temperature (between 10 °C and 50 °C) and storage time (between 24 h and 50 days at 5 °C) had on the flow properties of a suspension of dietary lemon fibre prepared with a 45° Brix sucrose solution were evaluated. This information will be helpful in order to discover the best possibilities of using fibre to increase the viscosity of certain kinds of products, depending on the processing, storage and consumption conditions. The obtained results indicate that all the aspects which contribute to increase component solubilisation and the interaction of the insoluble fraction with the aqueous phase when preparing the suspension, such as a decrease in particle size, a rise in temperature or a longer homogenization time, entail a higher apparent viscosity. Moreover, favoring the solubilisation in the preparation process leads to a more stable rheological behaviour of the suspension during storage. As expected, the apparent viscosity of suspensions was dependent on the shear rate, concentration and temperature. A thixotropic behaviour of fibre suspension was only observed at a very low shear rate (5 s -1). © 2010 Springer Science + Business Media, LLC.Córdoba Sequeira, A.; Camacho Vidal, MM.; Martínez Navarrete, N. (2012). Rheological Behaviour of an Insoluble Lemon Fibre as Affected by Stirring, Temperature, Time and Storage. Food and Bioprocess Technology. 5(3):1083-1092. doi:10.1007/s11947-010-0478-2S1083109253Akdogan, H., & McHugh, T.-H. (2000). Flow characterization of peach products during extrusion. Food Engineering and Physical Properties, 65(3), 471–475.Alonso, M.-L., Larrodé, O., & Zapico, J. (1995). Rheological behaviour of infant foods. Journal of Texture Studies, 26, 193–202.Duran, L., & Costell, E. (1982). Rheology of apricot puree: Characterization of flow. Journal of Texture Studies, 13, 43–58.Flint O (1996) Microscopía de los alimentos. Manual de métodos prácticos utilizando la miscroscopía óptica. Ed. Acribia S-A, Zaragoza, 28, 108–111Grigelmo-Miguel, N., Gorinstein, S., & Martín-Belloso, O. (1999a). Characterisation of peach dietary fiber concentrate as food ingredient. Food Chemistry, 65, 175–181.Grigelmo-Miguel, N., Ibarz-Ribas, A., & Martín-Belloso, O. (1999b). Rheology of peach dietary fibre suspensions. Journal of Food Engineering, 39, 91–99.Guerrero S-N & Alzamora S-M. (1998). Effect of pH, temperature and glucose addition on flow behaviour of fruit purées: II. Peach, papaya and mango purées. Journal of Food Engineering, 37, 77–101.Guillon, F., & Champ, M. (2000). Structural and physical properties of dietary fibres, and consequences of processing on human physiology. Food Research International, 33, 233–245.Hahn, S.-J., Ree, T., & Eyring, G.-H. (1959). Flow mechanism of thixotropic substances. Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research, 51, 856–857.Jongaroontaprangsee, S., Tritrong, W., & Chokanaporn, W. (2007). Effects of drying temperature and particle size on hydration properties of dietary fiber powder from lime and cabbage by-products. International Journal of Food Properties, 10, 887–897.Lario, Y., Sendra, E., Garcıa-Perez, J., Fuentes, C., Sayas-Barbera, E., Fernández-López, J., et al. (2004). Preparation of high dietary fiber powder from lemon juice by-products. Innovation of Food Science Emerging Technologies, 5, 113–117.Mahmoud M-I & Fugitt M (1996) Rheological properties of a calorically dense nutritional supplement as a function of nitrogen source and dietary fiber. In: IFT Annual Meeting. Book of Abstracts. 80A-26, 183Mizrahi, S. (1979). A review of the physicochemical approach to the analysis of the structural viscosity of fluid fruit products. Journal of Texture Studies, 10, 67–82.Paredes, M.-D.-C., Rao, M.-A., & Bourne, M.-C. (1998). Rheological characterization of salad dressings: 1. Steady shear, thixotropy and effect of temperature. Journal of Texture Studies, 19, 247–258.Raghavendra, S.-N., Ramachandra Swamy, S.-R., Rastogi, N.-K., Raghavarao, K.-S.-M.-S., Kumar, S., & Tharanathan, R.-N. (2006). Grinding characteristics and hydration properties of coconut residue: A source of dietary fiber. Journal of Food Engineering, 72, 281–286.Sakata, T., & Saito, M. (2007). Insoluble dietary fiber of wheat bran increased viscosity of pig whole cecal contents in vitro. Journal of Nutrition Science and Vitaminology, 53(4), 380–381.Saldaña, S., Martínez-Navarrete, N., & Chiralt, A. (2000). Caracterización Reológica de Alimentos de alta viscosidad. In P. Fito, A. Chiralt, A. Andrés, & N. Martínez-Navarrete (Eds.), Series de Ciencia e Ingeniería de Alimentos. Investigación del postgrado del IAD-DTA. Vol I (p. 383). Valencia: Editorial de la Universidad Politécnica de Valencia.Sangnark, A., & Noomhorm, A. (2003). Effect of particle sizes on functional properties of dietary fibre prepared from sugarcane bagasse. Food Chemistry, 80(2), 221–229

Phage inducible islands in the gram-positive cocci

The SaPIs are a cohesive subfamily of extremely common phage-inducible chromosomal islands (PICIs) that reside quiescently at specific att sites in the staphylococcal chromosome and are induced by helper phages to excise and replicate. They are usually packaged in small capsids composed of phage virion proteins, giving rise to very high transfer frequencies, which they enhance by interfering with helper phage reproduction. As the SaPIs represent a highly successful biological strategy, with many natural Staphylococcus aureus strains containing two or more, we assumed that similar elements would be widespread in the Gram-positive cocci. On the basis of resemblance to the paradigmatic SaPI genome, we have readily identified large cohesive families of similar elements in the lactococci and pneumococci/streptococci plus a few such elements in Enterococcus faecalis. Based on extensive ortholog analyses, we found that the PICI elements in the four different genera all represent distinct but parallel lineages, suggesting that they represent convergent evolution towards a highly successful lifestyle. We have characterized in depth the enterococcal element, EfCIV583, and have shown that it very closely resembles the SaPIs in functionality as well as in genome organization, setting the stage for expansion of the study of elements of this type. In summary, our findings greatly broaden the PICI family to include elements from at least three genera of cocci

The impact of physical, psychological, and sexual intimate partner violence on women's mental health: depressive symptoms, posttraumatic stress disorder, state anxiety, and suicide

Objective: This study aimed to determine the impact of lifetime physical, psychological, and sexual intimate male partner violence (IPV) on the mental health of women, after controlling for the contribution of lifetime victimization. The comorbidity of depressive symptoms and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and their relation to state anxiety and suicide were also assessed. Methods: Physically/psychologically (n 75) and psychologically abused women (n 55) were compared with nonabused control women (n 52). Information about sociodemographic characteristics, lifetime victimization, and mental health status (depressive and state anxiety symptoms, PTSD, and suicide) was obtained through face-to-face structured interviews. Results: Women exposed to physical/psychological and psychological IPV had a higher incidence and severity of depressive and anxiety symptoms, PTSD, and thoughts of suicide than control women, with no differences between the two abused groups. The concomitance of sexual violence was associated with a higher severity of depressive symptoms in both abused groups and a higher incidence of suicide attempts in the physically/psychologically abused group. The incidence of PTSD alone was very rare, and depressive symptoms were either alone or comorbid with PTSD. The severity of state anxiety was higher in abused women with depressive symptoms or comorbidity, as was the incidence of suicidal thoughts in the physically/psychologically abused group. Lifetime victimization was not a predictor of the deterioration of mental health in this study. Conclusions: These findings indicate that psychological IPV is as detrimental as physical IPV, with the exception of effects on suicidality, which emphasizes that psychological IPV should be considered a major type of violence by all professionals involved.Este es un artículo ampliamente citado internacionalmente respeto a violencia de pareja y consecuencias en la salud de las mujeres

Diacylglycerol is required for the formation of COPI vesicles in the Golgi-to-ER transport pathway

Diacylglycerol is necessary for trans-Golgi network (TGN) to cell surface transport, but its functional relevance in the early secretory pathway is unclear. Although depletion of diacylglycerol did not affect ER-to-Golgi transport, it led to a redistribution of the KDEL receptor to the Golgi, indicating that Golgi-to-ER transport was perturbed. Electron microscopy revealed an accumulation of COPI-coated membrane profiles close to the Golgi cisternae. Electron tomography showed that the majority of these membrane profiles originate from coated buds, indicating a block in membrane fission. Under these conditions the Golgi-associated pool of ARFGAP1 was reduced, but there was no effect on the binding of coatomer or the membrane fission protein CtBP3/BARS to the Golgi. The addition of 1,2-dioctanoyl-sn-glycerol or the diacylglycerol analogue phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate reversed the effects of endogenous diacylglycerol depletion. Our findings implicate diacylglycerol in the retrograde transport of proteins from Golgi to the ER and suggest that it plays a critical role at a late stage of COPI vesicle formation

Recovery Signals of Rhodoliths Beds since Bottom Trawling Ban in the SCI Menorca Channel (Western Mediterranean)

One of the objectives of the LIFE IP INTEMARES project is to assess the impact of bottom trawling on the vulnerable benthic habitats of the circalittoral bottoms of the Menorca Channel (western Mediterranean), designated a Site of Community Importance (SCI) within the Natura 2000 network. The present study compares the epibenthic communities of four areas, subjected to different bottom trawl fishing intensity levels. The assignment of fishing effort levels was based on the fishing effort distribution in the area calculated from Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) data and the existence of two Fishing Protected Zones in the Menorca Channel. Biological samples were collected from 39 beam trawl stations, sampled during a scientific survey on April 2019. We compare the diversity, composition, and density of the epibenthic flora and fauna, together with the rhodoliths coverage and the morphology of the main species of rhodoliths of four areas subjected to different levels of bottom trawl fishing effort, including one that has never been impacted by trawling. Our results have shown negative impacts of bottom trawling on rhodoliths beds and the first signals of their recovery in areas recently closed to this fishery, which indicate that this is an effective measure for the conservation of this habitat of special interest and must be included in the management plan required to declare the Menorca Channel as a Special Area of Conservation.En prens

Behavioral characterization of a mouse model overexpressing DSCR1/ RCAN1

DSCR1/ RCAN1 is a chromosome 21 gene found to be overexpressed in the brains of Down syndrome (DS) and postulated as a good candidate to contribute to mental disability. However, even though Rcan1 knockout mice have pronounced spatial learning and memory deficits, the possible deleterious effects of its overexpression in DS are not well understood. We have generated a transgenic mouse model overexpressing DSCR1/RCAN1 in the brain and analyzed the effect of RCAN1 overexpression on cognitive function. TgRCAN1 mice present a marked disruption of the learning process in a visuo-spatial learning task. However, no significant differences were observed in the performance of the memory phase of the test (removal session) nor in a step-down passive avoidance task, thus suggesting that once learning has been established, the animals are able to consolidate the information in the longer term

Maternal and perinatal outcomes after bariatric surgery: a spanish multicenter study

The final publication is avaliable at Springer Link[Abstract] Background. Bariatric surgery (BS) has become more frequent among women of child-bearing age. Data regarding the underlying maternal and perinatal risks are scarce. The objective of this nationwide study is to evaluate maternal and perinatal outcomes after BS. Methods. We performed a retrospective observational study of 168 pregnancies in 112 women who underwent BS in 10 tertiary hospitals in Spain over a 15-year period. Maternal and perinatal outcomes, including gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), pregnancy-associated hypertensive disorders (PAHD), pre-term birth cesarean deliveries, small and large for gestational age births (SGA, LGA), still births, and neonatal deaths, were evaluated. Results were further compared according to the type of BS performed: restrictive techniques (vertical-banded gastroplasty, sleeve gastrectomy, and gastric banding), Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB), and biliopancreatic diversion (BPD). Results. GDM occurred in five (3 %) pregnancies and there were no cases of PAHD. Women whose pregnancies occurred before 1 year after BS had a higher pre-gestational body mass index (BMI) than those who got pregnant 1 year after BS (34.6 ± 7.7 vs 30.4 ± 5.3 kg/m2, p = 0.007). In pregnancies occurring during the first year after BS, a higher rate of stillbirths was observed compared to pregnancies occurring after this period of time (35.5 vs 16.8 %, p = 0.03). Women who underwent BPD delivered a higher rate of SGA babies than women with RYGB or restrictive procedures (34.8, 12.7, and 8.3 %, respectively). Conclusions. Pregnancy should be scheduled at least 1 year after BS. Malabsorptive procedures are associated to a higher rate of SGA births

Early prediction of cardiac resynchronization therapy response by non-invasive electrocardiogram markers

[EN] Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) is an effective treatment for those patients with severe heart failure. Regrettably, there are about one third of CRT "non-responders", i.e. patients who have undergone this form of device therapy but do not respond to it, which adversely affects the utility and cost-effectiveness of CRT. In this paper, we assess the ability of a novel surface ECG marker to predict CRT response. We performed a retrospective exploratory study of the ECG previous to CRT implantation in 43 consecutive patients with ischemic (17) or non-ischemic (26) cardiomyopathy. We extracted the QRST complexes (consisting of the QRS complex, the S-T segment, and the T wave) and obtained a measure of their energy by means of spectral analysis. This ECG marker showed statistically significant lower values for non-responder patients and, joint with the duration of QRS complexes (the current gold-standard to predict CRT response), the following performances: 86% accuracy, 88% sensitivity, and 80% specificity. In this manner, the proposed ECG marker may help clinicians to predict positive response to CRT in a non-invasive way, in order to minimize unsuccessful procedures.This work was supported by MINECO under grants MTM2013-43540-P and MTM2016-76647-P.Ortigosa, N.; Pérez-Roselló, V.; Donoso, V.; Osca Asensi, J.; Martínez-Dolz, L.; Fernández Rosell, C.; Galbis Verdu, A. (2018). Early prediction of cardiac resynchronization therapy response by non-invasive electrocardiogram markers. Medical & Biological Engineering & Computing. 56(4):611-621. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11517-017-1711-1S611621564Boggiatto P, Fernández C, Galbis A (2009) A group representation related to the stockwell transform. 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Heart Rhythm 12(5):1071–1079Goldenberg I, Kutyifa V, Klein HU, Cannom DS, Brown MW et al (2014) Survival with cardiac-resynchronization therapy in mild heart failure. N Engl J Med 370:1694–1701He H, Bai Y, Garcia EA, Li S (2008) ADASYN: adaptive synthetic sampling approach for imbalanced learning. In: International joint conference on neural networks, pp 1322–1328Jacobsson J, Borgguist R, Reitan C, Ghafoori E, Chatterjee NA et al (2016) Usefulness of the sum absolute QRST integral to predict outcomes in patients receiving cardiac resynchronization therapy. J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol 118(3):389–395McMurray JJ (2010) Clinical practice. Systolic heart failure. N Engl J Med 3623:228–238Meyer CR, Keiser HN (1977) Electrocardiogram baseline noise estimation and removal using cubic splines and state-space computation techniques. Comput Biomed Res 10:459–470Ortigosa N, Giménez VM (2014) Raw data extraction from electrocardiograms with portable document format. 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J Am Coll Cardiol 53(6):483–490Yu CM, Hayes DL (2013) Cardiac resynchronization therapy: state of the art 2013. Eur Heart J 34:1396–140