Exponential energy decay of solutions for a system of viscoelastic wave equations of Kirchhoff type with strong damping

The initial boundary value problem for a system of viscoelastic wave equations of Kirchhoff type with strong damping is considered. We prove that, under suitable assumptions on relaxation functions and certain initial data, the decay rate of the solutions energy is exponential

Cytotoxicity of the mycotoxins deoxynivalenol and ochratoxin A on Caco-2 cell line in presence of resveratrol

Exposure to mycotoxins through dietary food intake involves a highly complex scenario where co-contamination of different mycotoxins has been frequently demonstrated. On the other hand, the effect of the interaction of mycotoxins with other generally considered beneficial food components, as the antioxidants, has been scarcely studied. The main goal of the present work was to assess the cytotoxic effects on Caco-2 cells of the mycotoxins deoxynivalenol (DON) and ochratoxin A (OTA), alone or combined, and to explore potential protective effects of resveratrol (RES), an antioxidant frequently found in wine. In parallel, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production has also been studied as a first approach to understand the underlying mechanism of cytotoxicity. Results indicate a higher toxic effect of the mycotoxins when they are co-exposed. This increase in cytotoxicity was not accompanied by an increase in ROS production. The co-exposure of OTA or DON with RES did not result in a decrease in cytotoxicity; on the contrary, it resulted in increased cytotoxicity not associated with an increase in ROS production.The authors are grateful to the CYTED Action 109AC0371, to the INIA project (RTA 2012-00053-00-00) as well as the Spanish (Project AGL2011-24862) and Catalonian (XaRTA-Reference Network on Food Technology) Governments for their financial support. C.A. González-Arias thanks the Secretaria de Universitats i Recerca del Departament de Economia i Coneixement of the Generalitat de Catalunya for the pre-doctoral grant

Functional and molecular characterization of inherited platelet disorders in the Iberian Peninsula: results from a collaborative study

BACKGROUND: The diagnostic evaluation of inherited platelet disorders (IPDs) is complicated and time-consuming, resulting in a relevant number of undiagnosed and incorrectly classified patients. In order to evaluate the spectrum of IPDs in individuals with clinical suspicion of these disorders, and to provide a diagnostic tool to centers not having access to specific platelets studies, we established the project "Functional and Molecular Characterization of Patients with Inherited Platelet Disorders" under the scientific sponsorship of the Spanish Society of Thrombosis and Haemostasis. PATIENTS/METHODS: Subjects were patients from a prospective cohort of individuals referred for clinical suspicion of IPDs as well as healthy controls. Functional studies included light transmission aggregation, flow cytometry, and when indicated, Western-blot analysis of platelet glycoproteins, and clot retraction analysis. Genetic analysis was mainly performed by sequencing of coding regions and proximal regulatory regions of the genes of interest. RESULTS: Of the 70 cases referred for study, we functionally and molecularly characterized 12 patients with Glanzmann Thrombasthenia, 8 patients with Bernard Soulier syndrome, and 8 with other forms of IPDs. Twelve novel mutations were identified among these patients. The systematic study of patients revealed that almost one-third of patients had been previously misdiagnosed. CONCLUSIONS: Our study provides a global picture of the current limitations and access to the diagnosis of IPDs, identifies and confirms new genetic variants that cause these disorders, and emphasizes the need of creating reference centers that can help health care providers in the recognition of these defects

Essential oils as phytochemical nematodicides with activity against plant parasitic nematodes

Synthetic pesticides used against plant parasitic nematodes (PPNs) have been discontinued due to serious environmental and public health concerns. Essential oils (EOs) are promising alternatives given they are easily accessible, show high biological activities, have low environmental impacts, and are subjected to less strict regulatory approval mechanismsWe reviewed the chemical composition of EOs with direct biological activity against the root-knot nematodes (RKNs), plant cyst nematodes (PCNs), and the pinewood nematode (PWN). The compositions (≥10%) of the top 10 most active EOs were compared

Biological interactions between nematophagous fungi, Esteya spp., and the pinewood nematode, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus

The pinewood nematode (PWN), Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, is a quarantine organism in several countries and the causal agent of pine wilt disease (PWD), a serious threat to pine forests worldwide. PWD results from complex interactions between the nematode, its insect vector, Monochamus spp., and host plants (conifers), being the nematode the common element in this interaction. The PWN is considered the sixth most economically important plant-parasitic nematode. In Europe, this pest was first reported in Portugal in 1999, in maritime pine, Pinus pinaster. Due to its economic importance and worldwide distribution, an enormous amount of effort is devoted to research on B. xylophilus and PWD. Scenarios strongly suggest that climate change is likely going to cause a spread of PWD and outbreaks in areas free of the disease. The urgent need for sustainable management strategies has led to an increasing interest in antagonists capable of suppressing the PWN. Nematophagous fungi belonging to the Esteya genus are reported as natural enemies of the PWN and promising biocontrol agents. There are currently two described species: E. vermicola and E. floridanum, the first of which is capable of mimicking volatile organic compounds produced naturally by Pinus spp. in order to attract PWN. However, few studies have been carried out on the development of Esteya spp. inside pine trees, and none using maritime pine, the main and most affected species in Portuguese forests and its largest carbon reservoir. It is therefore crucial to understand the plant-nematode-fungus interactions between P. pinaster, B. xylophilus and Esteya spp. In this sense, biological interactions between these two antagonists, the PWN and P. pinaster were investigated, namely fungus-fungus, fungus-nematode and fungus-tree, as well as feeding trials and chemotaxis assays, to determine the attractive power of both fungal species. These results will enlighten us on the most promising species for biocontrol and help us devise new ways to manage PWD

The metabolic microenvironment of melanomas: prognostic value of MCT1 and MCT4

BRAF mutations are known drivers of melanoma development and, recently, were also described as players in the Warburg effect, while this reprogramming of energy metabolism has been identified as a possible strategy for treating melanoma patients. Therefore, the aim of this work was to evaluate the expression and prognostic value of a panel of glycolytic metabolism-related proteins in a series of melanomas. The immunohistochemical expression of MCT1, MCT4, GLUT1, and CAIX was evaluated in 356 patients presenting melanoma and 20 patients presenting benign nevi. Samples included 20 benign nevi, 282 primary melanomas, 117 lymph node and 54 distant metastases samples. BRAF mutation was observed in 29/92 (31.5%) melanoma patients and 17/20 (85%) benign nevi samples. NRAS mutation was observed in 4/36 (11.1%) melanoma patients and 1/19 (5.3%) benign nevi samples. MCT4 and GLUT1 expression was significantly increased in metastatic samples, and MCT1, MCT4 and GLUT1 were significantly associated with poor prognostic variables. Importantly, MCT1 and MCT4 were associated with shorter overall survival. In conclusion, the present study brings new insights on metabolic aspects of melanoma, paving the way for the development of new-targeted therapies.This work was supported by FAPESP grant to VLV (2012/04194-1) and CP (2015/25351-6). VMG received a doctoral fellowship (SFRH/BD/51997/2012) from Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (FCT) and ON. 2 SR&TD Integrated Program (NORTE-07-0124-FEDER-000017) co-funded by Programa Operacional Regional do Norte (ON.2- O Novo Norte), Quadro de Referencia Estrategico Nacional (QREN), through Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional (FEDER).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Estudio de la influencia de la automatización en el proyecto arquitectónico

Estudio de la influencia de la automatización en el proyecto arquitectónic

Functional characterisation and antimicrobial efficiency assessment of smart nanohydrogels containing natamycin incorporated into polysaccharide-based films

The potential application of polysaccharide-based films containing smart nanohydrogels for the controlled release of food preservatives is demonstrated here. Smart active packaging is the most promising alternative to traditional packaging as it provides a controlled antimicrobial effect, which allows reducing the amount of preservatives in the food bulk, releasing them only on demand. This work evaluates the usefulness of smart thermosensitive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPA) nanohydrogels with or without acrylic acid (AA) incorporated into polysaccharide-based films (GA) to transport natamycin and release it as a response to environmental triggers. Release kinetics in liquid medium from GA films containing PNIPA/AA nanohydrogels (GA-PNIPA(5) and GA-PNIPA-20AA(5)) presented a characteristic feature regarding the films without nanohydrogels that was the appearance of a lag time in natamycin release, able to reach values of around 35 h. Another important feature of natamycin release kinetics was the fact that the release from GA-PNIPA/AA films only occurred when temperature was increased, so that the natamycin release was restricted to when there is a risk of growth of microorganisms that cause food spoilage or the development of pathogenic microorganisms. Additionally, it could be observed that the relative fraction of natamycin released from GA-PNIPA/AA films was significantly (p<0.05) higher than that released from GA films loaded with the same amount of free natamycin. It can be hypothesised that the encapsulation of natamycin into nanohydrogels helped it to be released from GA films, creating reservoirs of natamycin into the films and, therefore, facilitating its diffusion through the film matrix when the nanohydrogel collapses. In a solid medium, the low water availability limited natamycin release from GA-PNIPA/AA films restricting the on/off release mechanism of PNIPA/AA nanohydrogels and favouring the hydrophobic interactions between natamycin and polymer chains at high temperatures. Despite the low natamycin release in solid media, antimicrobial efficiency of GA-PNIPA(5) films containing natamycin in acidified agar plates was higher than that obtained with GA films without natamycin and GA films with free natamycin, probably due to the protecting effect against degradation when natamycin was included in the nanohydrogels, allowing its release only when the temperature increased.Clara Fucinos and Miguel A. Cerqueira are recipients of a fellowship (SFRH/BPD/87910/2012 and SFRH/BPD/72753/2010, respectively) from the Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia (FCT, POPH-QREN, and FSE Portugal). The authors thank the FCT Strategic Project PEst-OE/EQB/LA0023/2013 and the project "BioInd - Biotechnology and Bioengineering for improved Industrial and Agro-Food processes", Ref. NORTE-07-0124-FEDER-000028 co-funded by the Programa Operacional Regional do Norte (ON.2 - O Novo Norte), QREN, FEDER and the project from the "Ministerio de Educacion y Ciencia" (Spain) "Nanohidrogeles inteligentes sensibles a cambios de pH y Temperatura: Diseno, sintesis y aplicacion en terapia del cancer y el envasado activo de alimentos", Ref. MAT2010-21509-C03-01

Changes in catastrophizing and kinesiophobia are predictive of changes in disability and pain after treatment in patients with anterior knee pain

Purpose. The purpose of the study was to investigate if changes in psychological variables are related to the outcome in pain and disability in patients with chronic anterior knee pain. Methods. A longitudinal observational study on 47 patients with chronic anterior knee pain was performed in a secondary healthcare setting. Pain was measured with the visual analogue scale and disability with the Lysholm scale. The psychological variables, such as anxiety, depression, pain coping strategies, catastrophizing and fear to movement beliefs, were studied by using self-administered questionnaires. Results. Among the pain coping strategies, only the catastrophizing subscale showed a significant reduction. Similarly, anxiety, depression and kinesiophobia were significantly reduced after treatment. Those patients who decreased the catastrophizing, kinesiophobia, anxiety and depression showed a greater improvement in pain and disability after a purely biomedical treatment. A multiple regression analysis revealed that changes in catastrophizing predicted the amount of improvement in pain severity and that changes in both catastrophizing and anxiety predicted changes in disability after treatment. Conclusion. What has been found suggests that clinical improvement in pain and disability is associated with a reduction in catastrophizing and kinesiophobia. Therefore, co-interventions to reduce catastrophizing thinking and kinesiophobia may enhance the results. Level of evidence. Prospective Cohort Study, Level I for prognosis