Optimization of thin film-microextraction (TF-SPME) method in order to determine musts volatile compounds.

It is well known that grape aromatic composition is directly correlated to the final wine quality. To determine this composition, a previous stage of selective extraction is necessary, since the aromatic compounds are found in very low concentrations in the grapes. Therefore, in this work, the thin film microextraction technique (TF-SPME) was optimized, for first time, with the aim to analyze the volatile composition of the grape musts. The results obtained with the two commercially available absorbent materials for TF-SPME, polydimethylsiloxane/carboxene (PDMS/CAR) and PDMS/divinylbenzene (PDMS/DVB), were optimized and compared. To carry out the optimization, a randomized factorial design was performed combining the following factors and levels: extraction mode (headspace (HS), or direct immersion (DI)), stirring speed (500 and 1000 rpm), extraction time (1, 3 and 6 h), and extraction temperature (20, 40 and 60 °C). After performing a principal component analysis (PCA) and an analysis of variance (ANOVA) multifactorial, it was concluded that the best conditions for TF-SPME with PDMS/CAR were: direct immersion (DI), 500 rpm, 6 h, and 20 °C, while for TF-SPME with PDMS/DVB no conditions were found that maximized the extraction of most compounds, therefore compromise conditions were chosen: headspace (HS), 500 rpm, 6 h, and 40 °C. Finally, the comparison between the results obtained with both absorbents indicated that the absorbent that extracted better the volatile compounds from the musts with the TF-SPME technique, was PDMS/CAR, under the conditions: direct immersion (DI), 500 rpm, 6 h, and 20 °C.

Maternal anxiety following delivery, early infant temperament and mother's confidence in caregiving

A mother’s emotional state is a well-known environmental factor that relates to the development of infant temperament. However, some relevant issues have not yet been fully explored. The current study examines the influence of determined maternal, contextual and perinatal variables on infant temperament and the mother’s confidence in caregiving during the first weeks of life. A prospective study was carried out in three-hundred and seventeen newborns and their mothers. Perinatal and socio-demographic variables were recorded. The mother’s anxiety and mood were measured in the first days after childbirth and again at 8 weeks. Infant temperament and the mother’s confidence in caregiving were measured at 8 weeks. A mother’s postpartum anxiety following delivery was the best predictor for most of the variables of infant temperament, including infant irritability (p = .001), and other child variables like infant sleep (p = .0003) and nursing difficulty (p = .001). Contextual-family variables, such as the number of people at home (p = .0024) and whether they were primiparous (p = .001), were the best predictors for a mother's confidence in caregiving. Support was found for an early effect of maternal anxiety on infant temperament. The results have clinical implications for postnatal psychological interventions (AU)

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Maternal anxiety following delivery, early infant temperament and mother's confidence in caregiving.

A mother's emotional state is a well-known environmental factor that relates to the development of infant temperament. However, some relevant issues have not yet been fully explored. The current study examines the influence of determined maternal, contextual and perinatal variables on infant temperament and the mother's confidence in caregiving during the first weeks of life. A prospective study was carried out in three-hundred and seventeen newborns and their mothers. Perinatal and socio-demographic variables were recorded. The mother's anxiety and mood were measured in the first days after childbirth and again at 8 weeks. Infant temperament and the mother's confidence in caregiving were measured at 8 weeks. A mother's postpartum anxiety following delivery was the best predictor for most of the variables of infant temperament, including infant irritability (p = .001), and other child variables like infant sleep (p = .0003) and nursing difficulty (p = .001). Contextual-family variables, such as the number of people at home (p = .0024) and whether they were primiparous (p = .001), were the best predictors for a mother's confidence in caregiving. Support was found for an early effect of maternal anxiety on infant temperament. The results have clinical implications for postnatal psychological interventions.

Adaptación española del EAS Temperament Survey para la evaluación del temperamento infantil / Spanish adaptation of the EAS Temperament Survey for the assessment of child temperament

Es fundamental un mayor conocimiento del temperamento infantil puesto que puede predecir el desarrollo de psicopatología posterior. Los cuestionarios adaptados a población infantil española cubren un rango de edad limitado. La escala más utilizada para estudios de genética del temperamento infantil es la Emotionality Activity and Sociability Temperament Survey (EAS). El principal objetivo de este estudio es realizar la versión española del EAS y comprobar sus propiedades psicométricas. Se administró la versión española del cuestionario a una muestra de 229 madres y sus hijos a los 18 y 42 meses. Se ha encontrado una fiabilidad comparable a la obtenida en población de la misma edad. Los resultados sugieren una medida del temperamento basada en tres factores (AU)

Better understanding of child temperament is essential, as it may predict subsequent development of psychopathology. Questionnaires which have been adapted to Spanish population include a rather restricted age range. The Emotionality Sociability and Activity (EAS) Temperament Survey has been widely used in child temperament genetic research. A Spanish version of the scale was administered to a sample of 229 mothers and to their children at 18 and 42 months of age. Its psychometric features were examined. Results showed accuracy indices akin to that obtained in prior studies. Findings suggest a three-factor structure for the assessment of temperament (AU)

[Spanish adaptation of the EAS Temperament Survey for the assessment of child temperament]. / Adaptación española del EAS Temperament Survey para la evaluación del temperamento infantil.

Better understanding of child temperament is essential, as it may predict subsequent development of psychopathology. Questionnaires which have been adapted to Spanish population include a rather restricted age range. The Emotionality Sociability and Activity (EAS) Temperament Survey has been widely used in child temperament genetic research. A Spanish version of the scale was administered to a sample of 229 mothers and to their children at 18 and 42 months of age. Its psychometric features were examined. Results showed accuracy indices akin to that obtained in prior studies. Findings suggest a three-factor structure for the assessment of temperament.

Gene-environment interaction of child temperament.

OBJECTIVE: The aims of this study were to review studies on the molecular genetics of child temperament and prospectively analyze infant temperament as a function of the interaction between infant and mother: 5-HTT, DRD4, and MAO-A functional polymorphisms and the mother's emotional state. METHOD: A prospective study of 317 newborns and their mothers was performed. Infant temperament and the mother's anxiety and confidence in caregiving were evaluated at 8 and 32 weeks after childbirth using the Mother and Baby Scale. The mother's emotional state was evaluated using the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. These variables were correlated with 5-HTTLPR and Stin2 variants in the 5-HTT gene and the DRD4 variable number tandem repeats Exon 3 and MAO-A variable number tandem repeats genotypes of both the infants and their mothers. RESULTS: The irritability scores of infants with the 5-HTTLPR s allele showed a linear relationship with their mothers' anxiety of caregiving at 8 (p = .011) and 32 weeks (p = .001), whereas the irritability of infants carrying the HTTLPR ll genotype was independent of their mothers' anxiety. CONCLUSIONS: The review of the literature in this field and the results of this study support that the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism moderates the influence of the mother's anxiety on infant irritability.

Thyroid function 48h after delivery as a marker for subsequent postpartum depression.

Physiological changes during gestation and after delivery are associated with postpartum thyroid dysfunction, which is due to thyroid autoimmunity in some cases. Postpartum thyroid dysfunction, in turn, has been associated with postpartum depression (PPD). The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether thyroid function immediately after delivery can predict postpartum depression at 8 weeks and 32 weeks after delivery. This study examined 1053 postpartum Spanish women without a previous history of depression. We evaluated depressive symptoms at 48h, 8 weeks and 32 weeks postpartum and used a diagnostic interview to confirm major depression for all probable cases. Free thyroxin (fT4), thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), thyroid peroxidase antibodies (TPOAb) and C-reactive protein (CRP) were assayed at 48h postpartum. Binary and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to determine independent risk factors for PPD. Although 152 women (14.4%) had high TPOAb (>27IU/mL) and slightly elevated TSH concentrations with normal fT4, we did not find any association between thyroid function and PPD. This thyroid dysfunction was not associated with CRP concentrations that were outside of the normal range (>3mg/L). We conclude that thyroid function at 48h after delivery does not predict PPD susceptibility.

Glucosamine sulfate effect on the degenerated patellar cartilage: preliminary findings by pharmacokinetic magnetic resonance modeling.

Normal and degenerated cartilages have different magnetic resonance (MR) capillary permeability (K(trans)) and interstitial interchangeable volume (v(e)). Our hypothesis was that glucosamine sulfate treatment modifies these neovascularity abnormalities in osteoarthritis. Sixteen patients with patella degeneration, randomly distributed into glucosamine or control groups, underwent two 1.5-Tesla dynamic contrast-enhanced MR imaging studies (treatment initiation and after 6 months). The pain visual analog scale (VAS) and American Knee Society (AKS) score were used. A two-compartment pharmacokinetic model was used. Percentages of variations (postreatment-pretreatment/pretreatment) were compared (t-test for independent data). In the glucosamine group, pain and functional outcomes statistically improved (VAS: 7.3 +/- 1.1 to 3.6 +/- 1.3, p < 0.001; AKS: 18.6 +/- 6.9 to 42.9 +/- 2.7, p < 0.01). Glucosamine significantly increased K(trans) at 6 months (-54.4 +/- 21.2% vs 126.7 +/- 56.9%, p < 0.001, control vs glucosamine). In conclusion, glucosamine sulfate decreases pain while improving functional outcome in patients with cartilage degeneration. Glucosamine sulfate increases K(trans), allowing its proposal as a surrogate imaging biomarker after 6 months of treatment.

Reduced expression of NO-sensitive guanylyl cyclase in reactive astrocytes of Alzheimer disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, and multiple sclerosis brains.

In Alzheimer's disease (AD) brains increased NO synthase (NOS) expression is found in reactive astrocytes surrounding amyloid plaques. We have recently shown that treatment with beta-amyloid peptides or IL-1beta down-regulates NO-sensitive soluble guanylyl cyclase (sGC) in cultured astrocytes and in adult rat brain. In this work, we have examined sGC activity and expression in postmortem brain tissue of AD patients and matched controls. No significant alteration was observed in basal or NO-stimulated sGC activity, nor in sGC beta1 and alpha1 subunit levels in cortical extracts of AD brains. Immunohistochemistry showed intense and widespread labeling of sGC beta1 in cortical and hippocampal neurons and white matter fibrillar astrocytes, while grey matter astrocytes were faintly stained. In AD, expression of sGC in neurons and fibrillar astrocytes is not altered but is markedly reduced in reactive astrocytes surrounding amyloid plaques. Immunostaining for sGC beta1 was also lacking in reactive astrocytes in cortex and subcortical white matter in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease brains and in subacute and chronic plaques in multiple sclerosis (MS) brains. Thus, induction of astrocyte reactivity is associated with decreased capacity to generate cGMP in response to NO both in vitro and in vivo. This effect may be related to the development of the astroglial inflammatory response.