Plantas del género bambusa: importancia y aplicaciones en la industria farmacéutica, cosmética y alimentaria / Plants of the genus bambusa: importance and application in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic and food industry

Las plantas del género Bambusa han enriquecido nuestra vida en múltiples maneras. Sus brotes comestibles presentan características sensoriales especiales para la cultura oriental, y sus hojas son materia prima para numerosos productos como alimentos, medicamentos y cosméticos. Algunos compuestos aislados de las hojas de bambú presentan alta actividad antioxidante y baja toxicidad, por lo cual se utilizan actualmente como aditivos en la producción de alimentos funcionales. En nuestra cultura sus tallos, usados en el pasado para hacer andamios, siguen siendo utilizados en construcción, en muebles y manualidades. Cuando el bambú se carboniza a altas temperaturas, se convierte en un tipo de carbón altamente poroso, que puede desodorizar, desinfectar, purificar, absorber la humedad, e inclusive bloquear las ondas electromagnéticas. Las fábricas japonesas comenzaron a producir el carbón de bambú hace más de una década. En el proceso de carbonización, también se obtiene otro producto secundario, el vinagre de bambú, que contiene compuestos con actividad desinfectante, antioxidante y estimulante del crecimiento foliar. En este artículo se presenta una documentación de los usos y las perspectivas de obtención de productos de alto valor agregado, con aplicaciones farmacéuticas, cosméticas y alimentarias, obtenidos de la transformación de bambúes, así como del valor económico y comercial de las plantas del género Bambusa, especialmente de la Guadua angustifolia kunth en Colombia.

Direct genetic, maternal genetic, and heterozygosity effects on weaning weight in a Colombian multibreed beef cattle population.

The (co)variance components of BW at weaning (WW) were estimated for a Colombian multibreed beef cattle population. A single-trait animal model was used. The model included the fixed effect of contemporary group (sex, season, and year), and covariates including age of calf at weaning, age of cow, individual and maternal heterozygosity proportions, and breed percentage. Direct genetic, maternal genetic, permanent environmental, and residual effects were included as random effects. Direct, maternal, and total heritabilities were 0.23 +/- 0.047, 0.15 +/- 0.041, and 0.19, respectively. The genetic correlation between direct and maternal effects was -0.42 +/- 0.131, indicating that there may be antagonism among genes for growth and genes for maternal ability, which in turn suggests that improving WW by direct and maternal EPD may be difficult. A greater value for the direct heterosis effect compared with the maternal heterosis effect was found. Furthermore, the greater the proportion of Angus, Romosinuano, and Blanco Orejinegro breeds, the less the WW.

[Prevalence of mild cognitive impairment, amnestic-type, in a Colombian population]. / Prevalencia de deterioro cognitivo leve de tipo amnésico en una población colombiana.

INTRODUCTION: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a clinical syndrome that presents with memory disorders, normal general cognition, and no compromise of activities of daily living or dementia. Its diagnosis has important clinical implications, since it behaves as a possible predictor of cognitive disorders that would suggest the onset of dementia. Amnestic-type MCI is considered to be a stage prior to Alzheimer-type dementia. The prevalence of MCI varies from 1-29% and the existence of this diagnosis implies a risk of presenting dementia at 12% per year. AIM: To establish the prevalence of amnestic-type MCI in a group of persons over the age of 50 years from the Valle de Aburra. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The sample was made up of 848 participants of both genders, over 50 years old, who lived in the metropolitan area of Medellin and had different socioeconomic and educational levels. Amnestic MCI was diagnosed according to the criteria proposed by the American Academy of Neurology. RESULTS: Prevalence of amnestic MCI was 9.7%, and was more predominant in males (p = 0.01) than in females. The prevalence was significantly lower in the group with more than 12 years of schooling (p < 0.05), and no significant differences in the prevalence were found in relation to age or economic status. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of amnestic MCI, 9.7%, found in our study is within the range reported by other researchers.

[Validity and reliability of the CERAD-Col neuropsychological battery]. / Validez y fiabilidad de la batería neuropsicológica CERAD-Col.

INTRODUCTION: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an important public health problem due to its disabling character and high individual, familial and social costs. The CERAD neuropsychological battery has been widely used for evaluation and diagnosis of the cognitive deficit associated with AD. This instrument has been adapted to the Colombian culture (CERAD-Col) for the Neurosciences Group. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A study was carried out to establish the validity and reliability of the CERAD-Col in Colombian, Spanish-speaking individuals aged 50 years or more. It included 151 controls and 151 AD patients. Controls were selected from a convenience sample of 848 adults aged 50 years or more. The construct validity was determined in three ways: 1) factorial analysis; 2) correlation with the functional scales FAST and GDS (convergent-type validity) and, 3) comparison between the two groups. Internal consistency was determined by means of Cronbach's alpha coefficient. RESULTS: Three factors -memory, language and praxis- explained 88% of the total variance. Moderate but statistically significant correlations were found between neuropsychological tests and functional scales. Internal consistency and test-retest reproducibility were high. The AD group exhibited significantly lower scores (p < 0.05) than the control one. CONCLUSION: CERAD-Col is valid and reliable for the diagnosis of AD in Colombian Spanish-speaking population aged 50 years or more.

[Monitoring cognitive characteristics in a population with hereditary cerebrovascular disease (CADASIL) in Colombia]. / Seguimiento de las características cognitivas en una población con enfermedad cerebrovascular hereditaria (CADASIL) en Colombia.

INTRODUCTION: Cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL) is a hereditary disease that affects small vessels and presents with vascular episodes, neuropsychiatric disorders, migraine and cognitive impairment. The cognitive disorder varies according to the time elapsed since onset. It is a condition with a subcortical origin related to executive dysfunction, slowing, attention-related disorders and memory disorders. AIM: To define the cognitive characteristics in two neuropsychological evaluations of carriers of Notch3 gene mutations as compared to non-carriers belonging to Colombian families with CADASIL. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The study followed a longitudinal, retrospective design with 140 participants, including both carriers and non-carriers of the mutation. Cognitive performance was analysed by comparing the first and the last neuropsychological evaluation carried out on each subject at a four-year interval. RESULTS: There were statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) between the two groups in the last evaluation, but only in some tests. Carriers and non-carriers did not display any significant changes between the first and the last evaluation. CONCLUSIONS: No differences were found between both groups in the two evaluations. Cognitive impairment is not observed with the passage of time in carriers, probably owing to the fact that most of them were young, asymptomatic subjects. We believe that four years' follow-up is not enough time to observe a significant progression in the alterations affecting the cognitive functions in carriers of mutations in the Notch3 gene, which causes CADASIL. We also consider that more sensitive cognitive tools are needed to perform the neuropsychological evaluation.

[A description of semantic memory performance in a sample of the Antioquian population]. / Descripción del desempeño en memoria semántica en una muestra de la población antioqueña.

INTRODUCTION: Available treatments for Alzheimer disease allow that early diagnosis become an important issue, because treatment only are useful during the earliest stage, especially during the mild cognitive impairment (MCI), when the most of the cognitive function is preserved. AIM: To observe the performance on a shortened version of a Semantic Cue Recall Memory Test (SCRMT) from a group of adult aged over 50 years old, living in Medellin city and with dementia of Alzheimer type (DAT). SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The sample was constituted by 30 patients with DAT, 30 with MCI, and 59 healthy controls, which were matched by socio economic strata and school achievement. The SCRMT was administered to the sample. For the analyses two groups of age (50-69 and over 70 years) were conformed. RESULTS: Comparisons statistically significant differences between the groups (p < 0.05). The scores were not significant affected by age. A combination of low scores with the presence of intrusions on the free, immediate cue, and delay cue recalls suggested the diagnosis of DAT, which allow recommending a complete neuropsychological assessment. Statistically significant differences were preserved when the groups were divided by age. The effect of the gender could not determine because the small size of the male sample. CONCLUSION: The shortened version of the SCMRT would appear be useful for the DAT diagnosis.

Obtención de la enzima ligninoperxodidasa por fermentación en estado sólido del PHANEROCHAETE CRYSOSPORIUM sobre capacho y tusa de maíz / Solid state fermentation with PHANEROCHAETE CHRYSOSPORIUM on cornhusk and cocncob to produce ligninoperoxidase

Con el fin de optimizar las condiciones para obtener la enzima ligninoperoxidasa -LiP-, se evalúa por medio de la fermentación en fase sólida (FES), la utilización de capacho sólo y de la mezcla capacho y tusa de maíz, como soporte y como sustrato para el crecimiento del Phanerocahete chrysosporium. Se estudian tres sistemas de inoculación del microorganismo y se determina en ellos el cambio del porcentaje de humedad (bajo las mismas condiciones de humedad relativa) y la actividad de la LiP durante el tiempo de fermentación. Los resultados muestran que el Phanerochaete chysosporium encuentra en éstos sustratos (capacho y tusa de maíz) una fuente de carbono y nitrógeno que requiere para su metabolismo, ya que éstos no fueron suministrados de ninguna otra manera. De los sistemas estudiados, con el que se se obtuvo mayor actividad de la LiP en el menor tiempo, es en el que se añaden las esporas en un medio líquido basal con una humedad inicial del 70 por cietno, indicando que el metabolismo primario del hongo cesa rápidamente en éstas condiciones. Este sistema favorece por lo tanto el metabolismo secundario y una mayor producción