Leaf biochemical adjustments in two Mediterranean resprouter species facing enhanced UV levels and reduced water availability before and after aerial biomass removal.

Effects of supplemented UV radiation and diminished water supply on the leaf concentrations of phenols and antioxidants of two Mediterranean resprouter species, Arbutus unedo and Quercus suber, were assessed before and after entire aerial biomass removal. Potted seedlings of both species were grown outdoors for 8 months with enhanced UV-A + UV-B, enhanced UV-A or ambient UV, in combination with two watering conditions (field capacity or watering reduction). After this period, all aerial biomass was removed and new shoots (resprouts) developed for a further 8 months under the two treatments. In general, the investment in leaf phenols was substantially greater in A. unedo than in Q. suber, while Q. suber allocated more resources to non-phenolic antioxidants (ascorbate and glutathione). In response to enhanced UV-B radiation, Q. suber leaves rose their UV-screening capacity mainly via accumulation of kaempferols, accompanied by an increased concentration of rutins, being these effects exacerbated under low-watering conditions. Conversely, A. unedo leaves responded to UV-B radiation reinforcing the antioxidant machinery by increasing the overall amount of flavonols (especially quercetins) in seedlings, and of ascorbate and glutathione, along with catalase activity, in resprouts. Nevertheless, UV effects on the amount/activity of non-phenolic antioxidants of A. unedo resprouts were modulated by water supply. Indeed, the highest concentration of glutathione was found under the combination of enhanced UV-B radiation and reduced watering, suggesting an enlargement of the antioxidant response in A. unedo resprouts. Different biochemical responses to enhanced UV and drier conditions in seedlings and resprouts of these two species might modulate their competitive interactions in the near future.

Vitamin A, retinol binding protein and lipids in type 1 diabetes mellitus.

OBJECTIVE: A case-control study was conducted to evaluate the effects of type 1 diabetes mellitus (IDDM) on plasma levels of vitamin A (retinol) and serum levels of retinol-binding protein (RBP) and their relationship with the atherogenic indicators. SUBJECTS: A total of 47 randomised IDDM children were recruited from those treated at the Endocrinology Unit of the University Hospital of Granada (Spain). They were matched for age and sex with 16 healthy children. METHODS: The following parameters were measured in all patients: serum concentrations of total cholesterol, triglycerides, high (HDL, spectrophotometry), very low (VLDL) and low (LDL) density lipoprotein cholesterol (Friedewald's formula); serum levels of RBP (kinetic nephelometry); plasma vitamin A and glycosilated haemoglobin (HbA1c; high performance chromatography). RESULTS: Higher RBP concentrations in IDDM children (P=0.05), lower retinol levels (P=0.05) and lower vitamin A/cholesterol ratio (P=0.02) than in the control group were found; no differences in the atherogenic indicators were observed. There was a correlation between RBP and vitamin A (P=0.0001). Relationships between retinol, RBP and atherogenic indicators were demonstrated in the IDDM group (A-LDLc/HDLc (P=0.01); A-(VLDL+LDL)c/HDLc (P=0.007); RBP-LDLc/HDLc (P=0.05); RBP-(VLDL+LDL)c/HDLc (P=0.02)), and an inverse relationship was found between the vitamin A/TG ratio and HbA1c (P=0.004). The children with HbA1c>8% showed increased atherogenic indicators and lower vitamin A/CHOL and vitamin A/TG ratios than those with good control of the illness. CONCLUSIONS: The IDDM children with poor metabolic control face a higher atherogenic risk and vitamin A 'relative deficiency' risk than those with good metabolic control of their illness. Relationships between retinol and RBP with atherogenic indicators were found. The results suggest that vitamin A therapeutic supplements in IDDM children may reduce or prevent atherogenic risk.

Analysis of organochlorine pesticides in human milk: preliminary results.

In the face of evidence of human milk contamination by organochlorine pesticides, an analysis was performed on samples of milk obtained from healthy lactating women in the provinces of Granada and Almeria in Southern Spain. The samples were obtained by the Neonate Section of the Department of Pediatrics of Granada University Hospital (Neonatology Division) and by the Neonatal Service of Poniente Hospital in El Ejido, Almería. A liquid-liquid extraction procedure was performed. The cleaning of the sample before gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) used silica Sep-Pak. Among other pesticides, aldrin, dieldrin, DDT and its metabolites, lindane, methoxychlor and endosulfan were identified. The presence of these products was confirmed by mass spectrometry. The identification and quantification of these organochlorine molecules is important because they have estrogenic effects.

Bimetallic catalysts for continuous catalytic wet air oxidation of phenol.

Catalytic wet oxidation has proved to be effective at eliminating hazardous organic compounds, such as phenol, from waste waters. However, the lack of active long-life oxidation catalysts which can perform in aqueous phase is its main drawback. This study explores the ability of bimetallic supported catalysts to oxidize aqueous phenol solutions using air as oxidant. Combinations of 2% of CoO, Fe2O3, MnO or ZnO with 10% CuO were supported on gamma-alumina by pore filling, calcined and later tested. The oxidation was carried out in a packed bed reactor operating in trickle flow regime at 140 degrees C and 900 kPa of oxygen partial pressure. Lifetime tests were conducted for 8 days. The pH of the feed solution was also varied. The results show that all the catalysts tested undergo severe deactivation during the first 2 days of operation. Later, the catalysts present steady activity until the end of the test. The highest residual phenol conversion was obtained for the ZnO-CuO, which was significantly higher than that obtained with the 10% CuO catalyst used as reference. The catalyst deactivation is related to the dissolution of the metal oxides from the catalyst surface due to the acidic reaction conditions. Generally, the performance of the catalysts was better when the pH of the feed solution was increased.

Some current controversies on nutritional requirements of full-term and pre-term newborn infants.

Many controversial topics have still to be resolved regarding the nutritional requirements of the newborn, and in particular of the pre-term infant. The term 'controversy' bears the connotation of prolonged dispute and such a situation has arisen for various reasons: (a) from inadequate research methodologies; (b) from the misinterpretation of, or bias within, the results of studies undertaken; (c) from not taking into account the multifactorial etiology of physiopathological situations or illnesses suffered by suckling neonates and newborn infants. Nevertheless, controversy as such is not always a negative factor, as investigation and discussion enable advances in therapeutic methods.

Evaluation of carnitine nutritional status in full-term newborn infants.

Carnitine supplements may be advisable not only in premature but also in artificially-fed full-term babies. The acyl-carnitine/free carnitine (AC/FC) and FC/total carnitine (FC/TC) ratios have been considered markers of "carnitine insufficiency" and "carnitine deficiency", respectively. Values of AC/FC>0.40 are considered abnormal and mean that FC has a low bioavailability to the cells and so reflects a "carnitine insufficiency". Values of FC/TC<0.7 indicate "carnitine deficiency". We analyze the validity of such ratios and the limits for them in three groups of full-term neonates (n=66): 22 breast-fed (BF), 22 with formula (F); and 22 fed with carnitine-supplemented formula. Several studies have shown the need to give supplements of carnitine to the neonate because of its "essentiality", but no one has demonstrated the adequate dosages. We therefore propose to establish new limit levels for these ratios to control carnitine nutritional status in neonates, based on the control of percentile ranges for normal BF infants (in this study: 97th percentile of AC/FC>0.83; 3rd percentile of FC/TC<0.54) and on evaluating the needs of neonates and dosages required to supplement F. The supplement of 2.2 mg of L-carnitine/100 ml in the cow's milk formula used in the present study produces a similar biochemical pattern of plasma carnitine and ACs to that observed in BF infants, together with a lower risk of developing "carnitine deficiency" or "carnitine insufficiency" than those babies fed with nonenriched F. Considering that human milk is the best source of nutrition for full-term infants, the limit established for AC/FC and FC/TC ratios at other ages of life seems to be "inadequate" for neonates.

Utility of high doses of melatonin as adjunctive anticonvulsant therapy in a child with severe myoclonic epilepsy: two years' experience.

Recent data indicate that melatonin inhibits brain glutamate receptors and nitric oxide production, thus suggesting that it may exert a neuroprotective and antiexcitotoxic effect. Melatonin has been seen to prevent seizures in several animal models and to decrease epileptic manifestations in humans. The lack of response to conventional anticonvulsants in an epileptic child led us to use melatonin in this case. A female child who began to have convulsive seizures at the age of 1.5 months and was diagnosed as having severe myoclonic epilepsy was unsuccessfully treated with different combinations of anticonvulsants, including valproic acid, phenobarbital, clonazepam, vigabatrin, lamotrigin, and clobazam. Melatonin was thus added to the treatment. Imaging studies (CT, SPECT, and MNR), EEG recordings, blood biochemical, and hematological analyses, including measures of the circadian rhythm of melatonin, were made. The child was initially treated with various anticonvulsants. Severe neurological and psychomotor deterioration combined with increased seizure activity showed a lack of response to the treatment. At the age of 29 mon the patient was in a pre-comatose stage at which time melatonin was added to treatment. After 1 month of melatonin plus phenobarbital therapy and for a year thereafter, the child's seizures were under control. On reducing the melatonin dose after this time, however, seizures resumed and the patient's condition was re-stabilized after restoring melatonin. Prior to our attempts to reduce melatonin, all analyses, including EEG recordings and SPECT, were normal. As far as the results of neurological examination are concerned, only mild hypotony without focalization remained. Changes in the therapeutic schedules during the second year of melatonin treatment, including the withdrawal of phenobarbital, did not result in the same degree of seizure control, although progressively the child became satisfactorily controlled. At the present moment the child continues to have mild hypotony and shows attention disorder and irritability. Melatonin has proven to be useful as adjunctive therapy in the clinical control of this case of severe infantile myoclonic epilepsy. The results suggest that melatonin may have a useful role in mechanisms of neuroprotection and also indicate its use in other cases of untreatable epilepsy. Further studies using more patients and placebo-treatment would be beneficial in understanding the potential use of melatonin as a co-therapy in some cases of seizures.

A new three-dimensional culture of human keratinocytes: optimization of differentiation.

Many attempts have been made to obtain reconstructed human epidermis comprised of keratinocytes and extracellular-matrix constituents (essentially collagen) in the presence or absence of fibroblasts. A simple model of cultured human keratinocytes, grown at the air-liquid interface of a noncoated artificial membrane, has been developed. This culture system offers many advantages: easy control of environmental factors and routine examination using optical or electronic microscopy, immunohistochemistry and indirect immunofluorescence techniques. This model enables the analysis of well-known differentiation markers and also integrins, a family of cell-surface molecules involved in cell-cell and cell-extracellular matrix interactions, whose receptors are expressed on all basal keratinocytes. In our culture system, the expression of the different integrin subunits (alpha 2, alpha 3, alpha 5, alpha 6, beta 1) was studied as a function of the differentiation state in two different media (K-SFM or DMEM/Ham's F12) supplemented with 5% fetal calf serum and adjusted to 1.5 mmol/L calcium. The most significant data are the preponderant expression of the alpha 2 and alpha 3 subunits in the basal and suprabasal layers, with membrane expression differing according to the culture medium; terminal differentiation was obtained in DMEM/Ham's F12. The use of membrane inserts represents a significant technological advance in culturing keratinocytes and is an easy-to-handle and valid model for determining the influence of physiological or pharmacological factors on cell proliferation or differentiation.

[Telephone-based evaluation of changes in alcohol consumption habits after a population-based campaign]. / Evaluación telefónica de los cambios de hábito de consumo de alcohol después de una campaña poblacional.

OBJECTIVE: To find the changes of habit in alcohol consumption after a campaign aimed at the general population. DESIGN: A pilot community study with an evaluation of the results after a phone survey three months later. PARTICIPANTS: A simple random sample of subjects from the village of Viladrau (Girona). INTERVENTIONS: These mainly consisted of composing a form for the subjects to calculate their own weekly alcohol consumption, which included the consumption recommendations from the Primary Care preventive measures Programme of the SEMF&C and was distributed to the entire population at the same time as an information talk. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The telephone survey contained 12 items and covered 103 people: 49 men and 54 women with an average age of 46.09 (SD 17.5). The campaign did not lead any of the children to modify their habits. CONCLUSIONS: We coincided with other authors in that supplying anonymous, direct and participative information in the form of written material on the consumption of alcoholic drinks can be an effective intervention among the general population in the case of adults. We believe that the telephone in our rural environment is a good surveying technique, given the high percentage of those who took part.

Light deprivation increases plasma levels of melatonin during the first 72 h of life in human infants.

The development of rhythmic melatonin secretion in full-term neonates seems to occur at about 12 weeks of age, but activity of the pineal gland from 1 to 12 weeks of age is not well documented. To determine whether the pineal gland actively secretes melatonin and reacts to photoperiodic information during this period, we analyzed 45 full-term infants exposed to continuous artificial light during 24, 48 and 72 h after birth for treatment of hyperbilirubinemia. During this light treatment, the eyes of the neonates were completely covered to avoid damage, thus the infants were under continuous light deprivation. Phototherapy significantly decreased plasma bilirubin during treatment. With regard to pineal gland activity, the shortest period of light deprivation tested, 24 h, significantly increased plasma melatonin levels from 152.66 +/- 11.57 to 244.86 +/- 19.49 ng/l (mean +/- SEM; p < 0.001). The other periods tested, 48 and 72 h of light deprivation, led to similar percentages of melatonin stimulation. These results suggest that the pineal gland of neonates, before displaying rhythmic metabolic activity, is sensitive to changes in environmental illumination, indicating maturity of some features of suprachiasmatic nuclei function.

[Serum vitamin E in well-nourished and malnourished infants]. / Vitamina E sérica en lactantes eutróficos y malnutridos.

Vitamin E (tocopherol) concentrations in blood plasma were determined in 48 infants and correlated with their nutritional status. Infants were divided into two groups as following: group I (n : 12) estimated well-nourished, and group II (n : 36) appreciated undernourished. Clinical nutritional status was evaluated according to their weight, height and skinfold thickness of triceps percentiles. Plasma vitamin E levels were analysed by a modification of the spectrophotometric micro-technique of Fabiank et al. (using 0.2 ml of plasma). There was difference in serum tocopherol levels between two groups: 1.21 (0.21) mg/dl: mean (+/- SEM) in group I in front of 1.84 (0.18) mg/dl in group II (0.10 greater than p greater than 0.05). On the other hand, vitamin E concentrations were correlated with the skinfold thickness of triceps percentiles by a logarithm curve: y = 2.25-0.31 1n X (r: 0.35, p less than 0.02). Probably, serum vitamin E levels do not reflect the tissue store status in undernourished infants without malabsorption.