Biophysical effects of a natural peloid on normal skin.

A protocol study was designed to examine cutaneous behavior after continuous application of a peloid in the dry mineral residue of Lanjarón-Capuchina natural mineral water. This study aims to analyze the biomechanical behavior of normal skin using various non-invasive bioengineering techniques after the application of this peloid. We determine the effects of its application for 3 months on 38 healthy volunteers (41.4 ± 5.9 years, range 32-58) without a previous history of skin diseases by courtmetry, sebumetry, pH-metry, reviscometry, and tewametry. It was shown that the production of cutaneous sebum is significantly reduced by 6%, trans epidermal skin loss (TEWL) by 21%, skin fatigue by 30%, elasticity increased by 19%, firmness by 5%, and a skin redensification by 6% was obtained under these experimental conditions. Disparate and non-significant results were obtained concerning pH and viscoelasticity. Continuous skin care with the Lanjarón-Capuchina natural peloid modifies skin behavior, normalizing sebaceous secretion, favoring the biomechanical properties of the skin and the skin barrier function without modifying skin homeostasis.

The Effects of One-Anastomosis Gastric Bypass on Glucose Metabolism in Goto-Kakizaki Rats.

BACKGROUND: The improvement in glucose metabolism after bariatric surgery is well established. The aim of this study was to investigate the hormones and glycemic control in diabetes after a one-anastomosis gastric bypass (OAGB) variant in an animal model of non-obese type 2 diabetes mellitus. METHODS: Thirty-six Goto-Kakizaki rats were randomly assigned to undergo one of the following procedures: OAGB (18 rats) or sham intervention (18 rats). Each group was subdivided into three additional groups according to the time of surgery (early-12 weeks; intermediate-16 weeks; and late-20 weeks). Weight, fasting glycemia, glucose tolerance test (OGTT), and hormone levels (glucagon, insulin, glucagon-like peptide-1 [GLP-1], and glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide [GIP]) were measured. RESULTS: All rats maintained their weight. The OGTT showed a significant improvement in glycemic levels in rats with OAGB in all time groups (p < 0.002, for all groups at 60 min). Insulin levels decreased significantly in all animals with OAGB, but glucagon levels increased (glucagon paradoxical response). GLP-1 and GIP increased in rats with OAGB at all times, but was only statistically significant in the early surgery group of GLP-1 (p < 0.005). CONCLUSION: OAGB in a non-obese diabetic rat model improves glycemic control, with a significant decrease in glucose and insulin levels. This reduction without weight loss suggests a surgically induced enhancement of pancreatic function. It appears that this improvement occurs, although the GLP-1 levels were significantly increased only in the early stages. The paradoxical response of glucagon should be further evaluated.

Módulo de capacitación en hipertensión y embarazo / Training module hypertension and pregnancy

Las causas de mortalidad materna en Latino América y el Caribe estan lideradas por los trastornos hipertensivos del embarazo, en donde una de cada 4 muertes maternas es por esta patología. En términos generales podemos discutir 5 grandes razones para explicar nuestras altas tasas de muerte materna...

Intraperitoneal administration of 340 kDa human plasma butyrylcholinesterase increases the level of the enzyme in the cerebrospinal fluid of rats.

Human butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) is being developed as a new therapeutic for protection against the toxicity of organophosphorus agents and cocaine. The purified BuChE consists predominantly of 340 kDa tetramers and contains less than 5% monomers and dimers. Our goal was to determine whether BuChE crosses the blood-cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) barrier. Rats were injected intraperitoneally with 1mg of purified human BuChE. Plasma BuChE activity increased nearly 400-fold, while BuChE activity in the CSF increased three-fold. Sucrose density centrifugation showed that the human BuChE molecule in the rat CSF was a tetramer. Immunoprecipitation confirmed the identity of the CSF BuChE as human BuChE. The lower amount of human BuChE in the CSF (0.04%) than of smaller proteins (0.1-1%), with respect to their levels in plasma, supports the idea that passage through the blood-CSF barrier depends on molecular size. BuChE in the CSF could serve to protect the brain from the neurotoxicity of organophosphorus pesticides and cocaine.

Extractable soil heavy metals following the cessation of biosolids application to agricultural soil.

Changes in soil heavy metal extractability following the cessation of biosolids applications were studied in a long-term field experiment. Two anaerobically digested biosolids from wastewater treatment plants in Madrid (Sur and Viveros) were applied to cropland from 1983 to 1990. Soil samples were collected in the 1st, 5th and 9th year after the last biosolids application. Soil pH did not vary significantly after biosolids applications. Organic matter and total heavy metals (Zn, Pb, Cd, Ni, Cr and Cu) concentrations initially increased but then declined over time, mostly after the first 5 years following biosolids application. Metal extracted with DPTA increased in Sur treatments during the 1st year and diminished thereafter. However, in Viveros treatments, heavy metals extracted increased during the 1st year, declined in 1995, and showed a slight increase in 1999. These changes in heavy metal extractability were widely observed in the percentage of extractable metal recovery (EMR). The differences observed in the pattern of the two sources of biosolids applied could be due to the different rates of decomposition of their organic matter.