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1.
Nanomaterials (Basel) ; 14(1)2024 Jan 02.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38202561

ABSTRACT

The study, synthesis, and application of nanomaterials in medicine have grown exponentially in recent years. An example of this is the understanding of how nanomaterials activate or regulate the immune system, particularly macrophages. In this work, nanoparticles were synthesized using Rumex hymenosepalus as a reducing agent (AgRhNPs). According to thermogravimetric analysis, the metal content of nanoparticles is 55.5% by weight. The size of the particles ranges from 5-26 nm, with an average of 11 nm, and they possess an fcc crystalline structure. The presence of extract molecules on the nanomaterial was confirmed by UV-Vis and FTIR. It was found by UPLC-qTOF that the most abundant compounds in Rh extract are flavonols, flavones, isoflavones, chalcones, and anthocyanidins. The viability and apoptosis of the THP-1 cell line were evaluated for AgRhNPs, commercial nanoparticles (AgCNPs), and Rh extract. The results indicate a minimal cytotoxic and apoptotic effect at a concentration of 12.5 µg/mL for both nanoparticles and 25 µg/mL for Rh extract. The interaction of the THP-1 cell line and treatments was used to evaluate the polarization of monocyte subsets in conjunction with an evaluation of CCR2, Tie-2, and Arg-1 expression. The AgRhNPs nanoparticles and Rh extract neither exhibited cytotoxicity in the THP-1 monocyte cell line. Additionally, the treatments mentioned above exhibited anti-inflammatory effects by maintaining the classical monocyte phenotype CD14++CD16, reducing pro-inflammatory interleukin IL-6 production, and increasing IL-4 production.

2.
J Reprod Infant Psychol ; 40(3): 242-253, 2022 07.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-33327777

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Due to an absence of maternal stress being measured in routine prenatal care by clinicians, prenatal stress has become a serious problem which is associated with poorer obstetric outcomes, as well as worse maternal and infant health. For that reason, the aim of this study was the translation, validation and adaptation of Prenatal Distress Questionnaire Revised (NuPDQ) in a Spanish sample. METHODS: Three-hundred and seventy-one pregnant women were assessed using the NuPDQ, the Prenatal Distress Questionnaire, Perceived Stress Scale and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale. The NuPDQ was translated into Spanish by the backtranslation method and administered to participants. RESULTS: A confirmatory factor analysis revealed the established unidimensional structure to be a poor fit to data with the Spanish version. An exploratory factor analysis suggested a five-factor structure with 14 items. The instrument had good reliability, convergent and discriminant validity psychometric properties. CONCLUSIONS: The five-factor 14-item NuPDQ is useful to assess pregnancy-specific stress in Spanish pregnant women. It may be appropriate to use this instrument in order to identify pregnant women with high pregnancy-specific stress to try to prevent negative consequences derived from those high levels.


Subject(s)
Translations , Factor Analysis, Statistical , Female , Humans , Infant , Pregnancy , Psychometrics , Reproducibility of Results , Surveys and Questionnaires
3.
Biomed Pharmacother ; 143: 112072, 2021 Nov.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-34464747

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: It has been shown that the antidiabetic drug metformin protects hepatocytes against toxicity by various stressors. Chronic or excessive consumption of diclofenac (DF) - a pain-relieving drug, leads to drug-induced liver injury via a mechanism involving mitochondrial damage and ultimately apoptotic death of hepatocytes. However, whether metformin protects against DF-induced toxicity is unknown. Recently, it was also shown that cAMP elevation is protective against DF-induced apoptotic death in hepatocytes, a protective effect primarily involving the downstream cAMP effector EPAC and preservation of mitochondrial function. This study therefore aimed at investigating whether metformin protects against DF-induced toxicity via cAMP-EPACs. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH: Primary rat hepatocytes were exposed to 400 µmol/L DF. CE3F4 or ESI-O5 were used as EPAC-1 or 2 inhibitors respectively. Apoptosis was measured by caspase-3 activity and necrosis by Sytox green staining. Seahorse X96 assay was used to determine mitochondrial function. Mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) production was measured using MitoSox, mitochondrial MnSOD expression was determined by immunostaining and mitochondrial morphology (fusion and fission ratio) by 3D refractive index imaging. KEY RESULTS: Metformin (1 mmol/L) was protective against DF-induced apoptosis in hepatocytes. This protective effect was EPAC-dependent (mainly EPAC-2). Metformin restored mitochondrial morphology in an EPAC-independent manner. DF-induced mitochondrial dysfunction which was demonstrated by decreased oxygen consumption rate, an increased ROS production and a reduced MnSOD level, were all reversed by metformin in an EPAC-dependent manner. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS: Metformin protects hepatocytes against DF-induced toxicity via cAMP-dependent EPAC-2.


Subject(s)
Antioxidants/pharmacology , Apoptosis/drug effects , Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury/prevention & control , Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors/toxicity , Diclofenac/toxicity , Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factors/metabolism , Hepatocytes/drug effects , Metformin/pharmacology , Mitochondria, Liver/drug effects , Animals , Caspase 3/metabolism , Cells, Cultured , Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury/metabolism , Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury/pathology , Cyclic AMP/metabolism , Hepatocytes/metabolism , Hepatocytes/pathology , Male , Mitochondria, Liver/metabolism , Mitochondria, Liver/pathology , Oxidative Stress/drug effects , Primary Cell Culture , Rats, Wistar , Reactive Oxygen Species/metabolism , Signal Transduction
4.
Cell Biol Int ; 44(3): 918-923, 2020 Mar.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-31814220

ABSTRACT

Peroxisomicine A1 (PA1) is a potential antineoplastic agent with high and selective toxicity toward peroxisomes of tumor cells. Pexophagy is a selective autophagy process that degrades damaged peroxisomes; this process has been studied mainly in methylotrophic yeasts. There are two main modes of pexophagy in yeast: macropexophagy and micropexophagy. Previous studies showed that peroxisomes damaged by a prolonged exposition to PA1 are eliminated by macropexophagy. In this work, Candida boidinii was grown in methanol-containing media, and PA1 was added to the cultures at 2 µg/mL after they reached the mid-exponential growth phase. Samples were taken at 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 min after the addition of PA1 and processed for ultrastructural analysis. Typical morphological characteristics of micropexophagy were observed: the direct engulfment of peroxisomes by the vacuolar membrane and the presence of the micropexophagic membrane apparatus (MIPA), which mediates the fusion between the opposing tips of the vacuole to complete sequestration of peroxisomes from the cytosol. In conclusion, here we report that, in addition to macropexophagy, peroxisomes damaged by PA1 can be eliminated by micropexophagy. This information is useful to deepen the knowledge of the mechanism of action of PA1 and of that of pexophagy per se.


Subject(s)
Anthracenes/pharmacology , Antineoplastic Agents/pharmacology , Candida/drug effects , Macroautophagy/drug effects , Microautophagy/drug effects , Peroxisomes/drug effects , Fungal Proteins/metabolism
5.
Anticancer Drugs ; 31(3): 251-259, 2020 03.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-31764012

ABSTRACT

The objective of this study was to analyze the antitumor activity of a hydrogel loaded with lipophilic bismuth nanoparticles on human cervical, prostate, and colon cancer cell lines. The effect of lipophilic bismuth nanoparticles on the viability of cancer cell lines (HeLa, DU145, and HCT-116) and non-cancer lung fibroblasts (HLF; LL 47[MaDo]) was determined with the MTT cell viability assay and compared with known antineoplastic drugs. The biocompatibility at an organismal level was verified in a murine model by histological examination. A lipophilic bismuth nanoparticle hydrogel at 50 µM time-dependently inhibited the growth of the three cancer cell lines, in a time-dependent way. A 1-hour exposure to 250 µM lipophilic bismuth nanoparticle hydrogel, inhibited the growth of the three cancer cell lines. The in-vitro efficacy of lipophilic bismuth nanoparticle was similar to the one of docetaxel and cisplatin, but without inhibiting the growth of non-cancer control cells. Histology confirmed the biocompatibility of lipophilic bismuth nanoparticles as there were no signs of cytotoxicity or tissue damage in any of the evaluated organs (kidney, liver, brain, cerebellum, heart, and jejunum). In conclusion, a lipophilic bismuth nanoparticle hydrogel is an innovative, low-cost alternative for the topical treatment of cervicouterine, prostate, and colon human cancers.


Subject(s)
Antineoplastic Agents/pharmacology , Bismuth/pharmacology , Colonic Neoplasms/drug therapy , Nanoparticles/chemistry , Prostatic Neoplasms/drug therapy , Uterine Cervical Neoplasms/drug therapy , Animals , Bismuth/chemistry , Cell Line, Tumor , Colonic Neoplasms/pathology , Female , HeLa Cells , Humans , Hydrogels/chemistry , Male , Mice , Mice, Inbred BALB C , Prostatic Neoplasms/pathology , Uterine Cervical Neoplasms/pathology
6.
J Biophotonics ; 12(9): e201900030, 2019 09.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-31081235

ABSTRACT

In this work, we report the use of refractive index (RI) tomography for quantitative analysis of unstained DH82 cell line infected with Leishmania infantum. The cell RI is reconstructed by using a modality of optical diffraction tomography technique that employs partially coherent illumination, thus enabling inherent compatibility with conventional wide-field microscopes. The experimental results demonstrate that the cell dry mass concentration (DMC) obtained from the RI allows for reliable detection and quantitative characterization of the infection and its temporal evolution. The RI provides important insight for studying morphological changes, particularly membrane blebbing linked to an apoptosis (cell death) process induced by the disease. Moreover, the results evidence that infected DH82 cells exhibit a higher DMC than healthy samples. These findings open up promising perspectives for clinical diagnosis of Leishmania.


Subject(s)
Leishmania infantum , Refractometry , Tomography, Optical Coherence , Animals , Apoptosis , Cell Line , Contrast Media , Dogs , Imaging, Three-Dimensional , Leishmaniasis/diagnostic imaging , Leishmaniasis/microbiology , Macrophages/microbiology , Normal Distribution
7.
Case Rep Cardiol ; 2019: 7828909, 2019.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-30891317

ABSTRACT

A ventricular aneurysm entails well-known risks for the patient such as heart failure, potentially lethal arrhythmias, and systemic embolic phenomena. The submitral or posterolateral ventricular aneurysm is a very rare variety, usually of congenital etiology, which may also have other causes, including ischemic heart disease. The present case is about a 76-year-old male with the antecedent of an acute myocardial infarction 3 years ago. He presented with intermittent, brief, and self-limiting episodes of severe dyspnea, intense desperation, and accelerated palpitations, with a nonspecific electrocardiogram. An echocardiography revealed a large submitral aneurysm, with a good clinical response to the specific treatment of heart failure, antiarrhythmics, and oral anticoagulation therapy. We analyze the implications of an aneurysm in the context of an ischemic etiology, with special attention to the limitations of the electrocardiogram in the diagnosis of occlusions of the circumflex artery that irrigates the posterolateral region of the heart. We suspect that a greater number of patients with a culprit circumflex artery could receive appropriate coronary interventionism or thrombolysis if decision-making in the emergency room would not depend mainly on the electrocardiogram. Better stratification tools are needed to prevent late complications of infarction, such as those observed in this patient.

8.
J Reprod Infant Psychol ; 37(5): 480-498, 2019 11.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-30810358

ABSTRACT

Objective: To compare stress levels throughout pregnancy in women who had conceived using assisted reproductive technology (ART) and women who had conceived naturally and somatometric values for infants. Background: Pregnant women who have received ART are exposed to high levels of stress. Methods: Ninety-one women attending a prenatal appointment at a Health Centre (Granada, Spain), and their 91 newborns participated in this study: 69 women conceiving naturally and 22 conceiving using ART. Assessment consisted of measuring hair cortisol levels, the Prenatal Distress Questionnaire, the Perceived Stress Scale and the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised. Results: Women conceiving using ART had higher cortisol levels in the first trimester than women who conceived naturally. In the third trimester, women who used ART reported higher levels of perceived stress than those who had conceived naturally. Maternal cortisol levels in the first trimester explained 32% of the variance in neonatal head circumference in the group of women who had conceived using ART. Conclusions: Women who had conceived using ART showed higher levels of cortisol in the first trimester and higher levels of perceived stress in the third trimester than women who had conceived naturally, rendering them more vulnerable to adverse outcomes. Maternal cortisol predicted the infants' development.


Subject(s)
Hair/chemistry , Hydrocortisone/analysis , Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects/physiopathology , Reproductive Techniques, Assisted/adverse effects , Stress, Psychological/physiopathology , Adult , Child Development , Female , Humans , Infant, Newborn , Male , Pregnancy , Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects/etiology , Reproductive Techniques, Assisted/psychology , Stress, Psychological/etiology , Young Adult
9.
Opt Lett ; 43(19): 4699-4702, 2018 Oct 01.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-30272718

ABSTRACT

Optical diffraction tomography based on partially coherent illumination (PC-ODT) is a quantitative label-free imaging technique that allows reconstructing of the object's 3D refractive index from measured through-focus intensity images. PC illumination provides advantages such as speckle noise-free imaging and inherent compatibility with conventional wide-field microscopes. Here we experimentally demonstrate that a proper design of the PC illumination, different from the familiar bright-field one, and the use of more realistic optical transfer functions (OTFs) have crucial importance in PC-ODT to significantly increase the accuracy in 3D refractive index reconstruction. While realistic OTFs properly account for the real experimental illumination conditions, the proposed PC illumination design allows for gathering the object spatial-frequency content attenuated when bright-field illumination is used.

10.
Mar Pollut Bull ; 135: 607-616, 2018 Oct.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-30301079

ABSTRACT

This is the first comprehensive study on the input, occurrence, and distribution of artificial sweeteners (ASs) in coastal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and their receiving coastal waters. Acesulfame (ACE), aspartame (ASP), cyclamate (CYC), saccharine (SAC), and sucralose (SUC) were monitored for 6 months in Cadiz Bay (SW Spain). ASP was always detected at <0.1 µg L-1 and removal efficiencies were >90% for SAC and CYC. Higher ACE removal efficiencies were observed during warmer months. Persistence of ACE and SUC was observed in both WWTPs and their receiving coastal surface waters, where values up to 0.6 and 3 µg L-1 were measured, respectively. The highest concentrations were measured in a sewage-impacted estuary located in the north of the bay, where conservative behavior was confirmed. The source specificity and recalcitrance of ACE and SUC make them suitable for being used as sewage-pollution markers in coastal environments.


Subject(s)
Sweetening Agents/analysis , Wastewater/analysis , Water Pollutants, Chemical/analysis , Aspartame/analysis , Bays , Environmental Monitoring , Sewage , Spain , Spatio-Temporal Analysis , Sucrose/analogs & derivatives , Sucrose/analysis , Waste Disposal, Fluid
11.
Appl Opt ; 57(1): A205-A214, 2018 Jan 01.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-29328147

ABSTRACT

Quantitative label-free imaging is an important tool for the study of living microorganisms that, during the last decade, has attracted wide attention from the optical community. Optical diffraction tomography (ODT) is probably the most relevant technique for quantitative label-free 3D imaging applied in wide-field microscopy in the visible range. The ODT is usually performed using spatially coherent light illumination and specially designed holographic microscopes. Nevertheless, the ODT is also compatible with partially coherent illumination and can be realized in conventional wide-field microscopes by applying refocusing techniques, as it has been recently demonstrated. Here, we compare these two ODT modalities, underlining their pros and cons and discussing the optical setups for their implementation. In particular, we pay special attention to a system that is compatible with a conventional wide-field microscope that can be used for both ODT modalities. It consists of two easily attachable modules: the first for sample illumination engineering based on digital light processing technology; the other for focus scanning by using an electrically driven tunable lens. This hardware allows for a programmable selection of the wavelength and the illumination design, and provides fast data acquisition as well. Its performance is experimentally demonstrated in the case of ODT with partially coherent illumination providing speckle-free 3D quantitative imaging.


Subject(s)
Algorithms , Imaging, Three-Dimensional/methods , Lighting , Tomography, Optical/methods , Microscopy/methods
12.
J Appl Biomater Funct Mater ; 16(1): 42-46, 2018 Jan.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-29048704

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Glass ionomer cements (GICs) are widely used in dentistry because of their remineralizing and cariostatic potential induced by fluoride. In vitro studies have reported cell toxicity triggered by GICs; however, the influence of hydroxyapatite (HAp) must be considered. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of HAp in decreasing the cytotoxicity of the GIC 3M Vitrebond in vitro. METHODS: Samples of 3M Vitrebond (powder, liquid and light-cured) were incubated in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium-Ham's F12 (DMEM-F12) for 24 hours at 37°C. Subsequently, the light-cured medium was treated with 100 mg/mL of HAp overnight. Toxicity of conditioned media diluted 1:2, 1:4, 1:8 and 1:20 was analyzed on human gingival fibroblasts (HGFs) using light microscopy and the fluorometric microculture cytotoxicity assay. The amounts of calcium fluoride (CaF2) were determined by the alizarin red S method. RESULTS: The exposure of HGFs to light-cured induced cell death and morphological changes such as chromatin condensation, pyknotic nuclei and cytoplasmic modifications. Exposure to light-cured treated with HAp, significantly increased cell viability leading to mostly spindle-shaped cells (p<0.001). The concentration of CaF2 released by the light-cured was 200 ppm, although, in the light-cured/HAp conditioned medium, this quantity decreased to 88 ppm (p<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that HAp plays a protective role, decreasing the cytotoxic effect of 3M Vitrebond induced by CaF2.


Subject(s)
Calcium Fluoride , Durapatite , Glass Ionomer Cements , Calcium Fluoride/chemistry , Calcium Fluoride/pharmacokinetics , Calcium Fluoride/pharmacology , Cell Death/drug effects , Cell Line , Durapatite/chemistry , Durapatite/pharmacokinetics , Durapatite/pharmacology , Glass Ionomer Cements/adverse effects , Glass Ionomer Cements/pharmacokinetics , Glass Ionomer Cements/pharmacology , Humans
13.
Opt Express ; 25(14): 15699-15712, 2017 Jul 10.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-28789083

ABSTRACT

Crucial benefits provided by partially coherent light microscopy such as improved spatial resolution, optical sectioning and speckle-noise suppression are exploited here to achieve 3D quantitative imaging: reconstruction of the object refractive index (RI). We present a partially coherent optical diffraction tomography technique (PC-ODT) that can be easily implemented in commercially available bright-field microscopes. We show that the high numerical apertures of the objective and condenser lenses, together with optical refocusing, are main issues for achieving fast and successful 3D RI reconstruction of weak objects. In particular, the optical refocusing is performed by a high-speed focus tunable lens mounted in front of the digital camera enabling compatibility with commercial microscopes. The technique is experimentally demonstrated on different examples: diatom cells (biosilica shells), polystyrene micro-spheres and blood cells. The results confirm the straightforward 3D-RI reconstruction of the samples providing valuable quantitative information for their analysis. Thus, the PC-ODT can be considered as an efficient and affordable alternative to coherent ODT which requires specially designed holographic microscopes.

14.
Sensors (Basel) ; 17(4)2017 Apr 20.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-28425926

ABSTRACT

We present the estimation of a likelihood map for the location of the source of a chemical plume dispersed under atmospheric turbulence under uniform wind conditions. The main contribution of this work is to extend previous proposals based on Bayesian inference with binary detections to the use of concentration information while at the same time being robust against the presence of background chemical noise. For that, the algorithm builds a background model with robust statistics measurements to assess the posterior probability that a given chemical concentration reading comes from the background or from a source emitting at a distance with a specific release rate. In addition, our algorithm allows multiple mobile gas sensors to be used. Ten realistic simulations and ten real data experiments are used for evaluation purposes. For the simulations, we have supposed that sensors are mounted on cars which do not have among its main tasks navigating toward the source. To collect the real dataset, a special arena with induced wind is built, and an autonomous vehicle equipped with several sensors, including a photo ionization detector (PID) for sensing chemical concentration, is used. Simulation results show that our algorithm, provides a better estimation of the source location even for a low background level that benefits the performance of binary version. The improvement is clear for the synthetic data while for real data the estimation is only slightly better, probably because our exploration arena is not able to provide uniform wind conditions. Finally, an estimation of the computational cost of the algorithmic proposal is presented.

15.
Biomed Opt Express ; 8(12): 5507-5517, 2017 Dec 01.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-29296484

ABSTRACT

The refractive index (RI) is an important optical characteristic that is often exploited in label-free microscopy for analysis of biological objects. A technique for 3D RI reconstruction of living cells has to be fast enough to capture the cell dynamics and preferably needs to be compatible with standard wide-field microscopes. To solve this challenging problem, we present a technique that provides fast measurement and processing of data required for real-time 3D visualization of the object RI. Specifically, the 3D RI is reconstructed from the measurement of bright-field intensity images, axially scanned by a high-speed focus tunable lens mounted in front of a sCMOS camera, by using a direct deconvolution approach designed for partially coherent light microscopy in the non-paraxial regime. Both the measurement system and the partially coherent illumination, that provides optical sectioning and speckle-noise suppression, enable compatibility with wide-field microscopes resulting in a competitive and affordable alternative to the current holographic laser microscopes. Our experimental demonstrations show video-rate 3D RI visualization of living bacteria both freely swimming and optically manipulated by using freestyle laser traps allowing for their trapping and transport along 3D trajectories. These results prove that is possible to conduct simultaneous 4D label-free quantitative imaging and optical manipulation of living cells, which is promising for the study of the cell biophysics and biology.

16.
Sci Total Environ ; 544: 118-24, 2016 Feb 15.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-26657255

ABSTRACT

This research is focused on alcohol polyethoxylates (AEOs), nonionic surfactants used in a wide variety of products such as household cleaners and detergents. Our main objective in this work was to study the anaerobic degradation of these compounds and their main aerobic degradation products and precursors (polyethylene glycols, PEGs, which are also used for many other applications) in marine sediments, providing the first data available on this topic. First, we observed that average AEO sediment-water partition coefficients (Kd) increased towards those homologs having longer alkyl chains (from 257 L/kg for C12 to 5772 L/kg for C18),which were less susceptible to undergo biodegradation. Overall, AEO and PEG removal percentages reached up to 99.7 and 93%, respectively, after 169 days of incubation using anaerobic conditions in sediments ([O2] = 0 ppm, Eh = -170 to -380 mV and T = 30 °C). Average half-life was estimated to be in a range from 10 to 15 days for AEO homologs (C12AEO8-C18AEO8), and 18 days for PEGEO8.Methanogenic activity proved to be intense during the experiment, confirming the occurrence of anaerobic conditions. This is the first study showing that AEOs and PEGs can be degraded in absence of oxygen in marine sediments, so this new information should be taken into account for future environmental risk assessments on these chemicals.


Subject(s)
Geologic Sediments/chemistry , Polyethylene Glycols/metabolism , Surface-Active Agents/metabolism , Water Pollutants, Chemical/metabolism , Anaerobiosis , Biodegradation, Environmental , Geologic Sediments/microbiology , Polyethylene Glycols/analysis , Seawater/chemistry , Seawater/microbiology , Surface-Active Agents/analysis , Water Pollutants, Chemical/analysis
17.
Sci Total Environ ; 503-504: 87-96, 2015 Jan 15.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-25046983

ABSTRACT

In this work we have monitored the seasonal inputs, occurrence and distribution of the world's most widely used surfactants (linear alkylbenzene sulfonates, LAS, nonylphenol polyethoxylates, NPEOs, and alcohol polyethoxylates, AEOs) in Mar Menor lagoon (SE Spain) and its main tributary (El Albujón) for the first time. Concentration of target compounds was determined in both surface waters and sediments after solid phase extraction and pressurized liquid extraction, respectively, followed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). There were significant differences in surfactant fluxes from El Albujón towards Mar Menor depending on the season and the day of the week, with maximum estimated annual inputs being detected for LAS (406 kg) and their metabolites, sulfophenyl carboxylic acids (482 kg). Average concentrations of surfactants in the lagoon were between 44 and 1665 µg/kg in sediment, and between 0.3 and 63 µg/L in water. These levels were significantly higher for samples collected near the shore than for those measured inside the lagoon itself. Overall, the occurrence and distribution of surfactants in the system could be explained due to a combination of different sources (surface and groundwater inputs, treated and untreated wastewater effluents, towns, ports, etc.) and simultaneous in-situ physicochemical and biological processes, with an special emphasis on degradation during warmer months.


Subject(s)
Sewage/analysis , Surface-Active Agents/analysis , Water Pollutants, Chemical/analysis , Geologic Sediments/chemistry , Groundwater/chemistry , Mediterranean Sea , Seasons , Sewage/statistics & numerical data , Spain , Waste Disposal, Fluid
18.
Sci Total Environ ; 490: 671-8, 2014 Aug 15.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-24887194

ABSTRACT

Nowadays, alcohol ethoxylates (AEOs) constitute the most important group of non-ionic surfactants, used in a wide range of applications such as household cleaners and detergents. Significant amounts of these compounds and their degradation products (polyethylene glycols, PEGs, which are also used for many other applications) reach aquatic environments, and are eliminated from the water column by degradation and sorption processes. This work deals with the environmental distribution of AEOs and PEGs in the Long Island Sound Estuary, a setting impacted by sewage discharges from New York City (NYC). The distribution of target compounds in seawater was influenced by tides, consistent with salinity differences, and concentrations in suspended solid samples ranged from 1.5 to 20.5 µg/g. The more hydrophobic AEOs were mostly attached to the particulate matter whereas the more polar PEGs were predominant in the dissolved form. Later, the sorption of these chemicals was characterized in the laboratory. Experimental and environmental sorption coefficients for AEOs and PEGs showed average values from 3607 to 164,994 L/kg and from 74 to 32,862 L/kg, respectively. The sorption data were fitted to a Freundlich isotherm model with parameters n and log KF between 0.8-1.2 and 1.46-4.39 L/kg, respectively. AEO and PEG sorptions on marine sediment were also found to be mostly not affected by changes in salinity.


Subject(s)
Alcohols/chemistry , Polyethylene Glycols/analysis , Water Pollutants, Chemical/analysis , Geologic Sediments/chemistry , New York City , Polyethylene Glycols/chemistry , Seawater/chemistry , Surface-Active Agents/analysis , Surface-Active Agents/chemistry , Waste Disposal, Fluid , Wastewater , Water Pollutants, Chemical/chemistry
19.
Nat Methods ; 10(12): 1169-76, 2013 Dec.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-24296474

ABSTRACT

Biological networks can be used to functionally annotate genes on the basis of interaction-profile similarities. Metrics known as association indices can be used to quantify interaction-profile similarity. We provide an overview of commonly used association indices, including the Jaccard index and the Pearson correlation coefficient, and compare their performance in different types of analyses of biological networks. We introduce the Guide for Association Index for Networks (GAIN), a web tool for calculating and comparing interaction-profile similarities and defining modules of genes with similar profiles.


Subject(s)
Computational Biology/methods , Gene Regulatory Networks , Systems Biology/methods , Algorithms , Animals , Area Under Curve , Caenorhabditis elegans , Cluster Analysis , Gene Expression Profiling , Genotype , Humans , Internet , Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis , Phenotype , Promoter Regions, Genetic
20.
Rev. mex. cardiol ; 23(2): 64-71, abr.-jun. 2012. ilus, tab
Article in Spanish | LILACS-Express | LILACS | ID: lil-714436

ABSTRACT

Introducción: Hasta 60% de los casos tratados con intervención coronaria percutánea (ICP) o cirugía (CRVC) tienen enfermedad coronaria de múltiples vasos (ECMV). Objetivo: Comparar la evolución clínica de estos pacientes después de su comparativo, de una cohorte tratada por ECMV con CRVC o ICP más stents farmacoactivos o bioactivos entre enero de 2004 a julio de 2011. Se utilizó expediente clínico, consignando eventos cardiovasculares adversos. Resultados: Ingresaron 134 pacientes, predominando varones con enfermedad trivascular y angina estable con un seguimiento de 35.7 ± 20.4 meses. El grupo quirúrgico tuvo más dislipidemia (41.9 vs 36.7%), diabetes (59.5 vs 38.3%), hipertensión arterial (67.6 vs 60%), infarto del miocardio antiguo (37.8 vs 23.3%) y lesión tipo C en la arteria descendente anterior (63.9 vs 30.4%), p < 0.05 para todas. Los tratados con ICP tuvieron más necesidad de revascularización repetida (30.50 vs 2.73%) p < 0.01, recurrencia de angina (44 vs 20%), ergometrías positivas (39 vs 18%), hospitalizaciones (25 vs 9%) y deterioro funcional según la New York Heart Association III o IV (22 vs 11%), p < 0.05 para todos. Conclusión: En pacientes de un hospital comunitario con ECMV, la ICP presenta una recurrencia superior de isquemia y revascularización repetida comparada con la CRVC.


Introduction: 60% of the patients treated with coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) or percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) suffer from multivessel coronary artery disease. Objective: Our objective was to compare the clinical course of patients with this diagnosis after revascularization. Methods: We‚ consulted and compared the clinical records‚ of‚ a multivessel coronary artery disease cohort treated with either coronary artery bypass grafting or angioplasty with drug eluting stents or bioactive stents between January 2004 and July 2011, consigning adverse cardiovascular events. Results: 134 patients, mostly male, with‚ 3-vessel disease and stable angina, were followed up for‚ 35.7 ± 20.4 months. Dyslipidemia‚ (41.9 vs 36.7%),‚ diabetes mellitus type 2‚ (59.5 vs 38.3%), hypertension (67.6 vs 60%),‚ old myocardial infarction‚ (37.8 vs 23.3%) and type C lesion in left anterior descendent artery (63.9 vs 30.4%) were all more frequent in the surgery group (p < 0.05). On the other hand, the angioplasty treated patients needed more frequently revascularization (30.50 vs 2.73%; p < 0.01) and hospitalization (25 vs 9%) and had more often angina‚ (44 vs 20%), positive ergometry (39 vs 18%), and functional impairment type New York Heart Association III/IV‚ (22 vs 11%) (p < 0.05). Conclusion: In patients at a community hospital with multivessel coronary artery disease, PCI has a higher recurrence of ischemia and repeated revascularization compared to CABG.

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