Peel flour of Passiflora edulis Var. Flavicarpa supplementation prevents the insulin resistance and hepatic steatosis induced by low-fructose-diet in young rats.

The increase in fructose consumption in the last decades has an important correlation with the growth of overweight population. Fructose is a monosaccharide found in fruits, vegetables and honey, however, it is widely used in processed food and beverages such as sweeteners. This monosaccharide is metabolized in the liver, so it can produce glucose, lactate, triglycerides, free fatty acids and uric acid, which are responsible for negative effects on the liver and extrahepatic tissues. One effect of the high consumption of fructose is the resistance to Insulin, which appears to be an important issue in the development of metabolic abnormalities observed in animals that were subjected to a high fructose diet. The population and, consequently, the market search for natural sources to manage metabolic abnormalities is increasing, but, adequate scientific proof still is necessary. The Passiflora edulis peel flour (PEPF) is a byproduct of the juice industry, and, represents an important source of fiber and bioactive compounds. The present study investigates the PEPF supplementation (30%) effects on insulin sensitivity, adiposity and metabolic parameters in young rats that were given beverages enriched with 10% of fructose for 8 weeks. Fructose intake induced insulin resistance, increased serum triglycerides levels, growth of fat deposits in the liver and widening of the diameter of adipocytes. In contrast, the group that received PEPF did not present such abnormalities, which could be related to the presence of fiber or bioactive compounds (phenolics compounds, e.g., caffeic acid and isoorientin) in its composition, as identified by analytical methods. Thus, for the first time, it has been demonstrated that PEPF supplementation prevents insulin resistance and hepatic steatosis induced by low-fructose-diet in young rats.

From laboratory to pilot plant E. coli fed-batch cultures: optimizing the cellular environment for protein maximization.

For recombinant protein production in E. coli fed-batch cultures, post-induction conditions have great influence in the quantity and quality of the product. The present paper covers the effect of different factors affecting the cellular environment in recombinant aldolase (rhamnulose-1-phosphate aldolase, RhuA) production. An operational mode employing an exponential addition profile for constant specific growth rate has been analyzed, in order to understand and define possible modifications with influence on post-induction cellular behavior. A constant addition profile has been demonstrated to render higher specific aldolase production than the exponential addition profile, probably due to a more constant environment for the cells. On the other hand, amino acid (leucine) supplementation has proven to increase protein quality in terms of activity units (U) per unit mass of RhuA (U mg(-1) RhuA), alleviating metabolic overload. Based on the above, a production process was set up and scaled up to pilot plant. Resulting production was double that of a standard laboratory operation, 45,000 U L(-1), and almost all the protein retained the 6xHis-tag with the highest quality, 11.3 U mg(-1) RhuA.

Respiratory signaling of locus coeruleus neurons during hypercapnic acidosis in the bullfrog, Lithobates catesbeianus.

The locus coeruleus (LC) in the brainstem senses alterations in CO(2)/pH and influences ventilatory adjustments that restore blood gas values to starting levels in bullfrogs (Lithobates catesbeianus). We hypothesized that neurons of the bullfrog LC are sensitive to changes in CO(2)/pH and that chemosensitive responses are intrinsic to individual neurons. In addition, we hypothesized putative respiratory control neurons of the bullfrog LC would be stimulated by hypercapnic acidosis within physiological ranges of P(CO(2))/pH. 84% of LC neurons depolarized and increased firing rates during exposure to hypercapnic acidosis (HA). A pH dose response curve shows LC neurons from bullfrogs increase firing rates during physiologically relevant CO(2)/pH changes. With chemical synapses blocked, half of chemosensitive neurons lost sensitivity to HA; however, gap junction blockade did not alter chemosensitive responses. Intrinsically chemosensitive neurons increased input resistance during HA. These data demonstrate that majority of neurons within the bullfrog LC elicit robust firing responses during physiological ΔCO(2)/pH, likely enabling adjustment of acid-base balance through breathing.

Ideas sobrevaloradas: cuestiones psicopatológicas / Overvalued ideas: psychopathologic issues

Se revisa críticamente la posición atribuida en los últimos años a las ideas sobrevaloradas entre el delirio y la obsesión, y que deriva de la reducción del constructo mismo a una de sus características, el insight. A través de un caso con ideas dismorfofóbicas se plantearán las dificultades para delimitarlo y diferenciarlo del delirio y se esbozarán distintas aproximaciones psicopatológicas que permitan reconstruir el caso de modo distinto (AU)

The position attributed in recent years to overvalued ideas between delusion and obsession and that are derived from the reduction of the construct per se to one of its characteristics, that is, insight, has undergone a critical review. Using a case with dysmorphophobic ideas, the difficulties to define it and differentiate it from delusionare proposed and different psychopathological approaches are outlined that make it possible to reconstruct the case differently (AU)

Overvalued ideas: psychopathologic issues.

The position attributed in recent years to overvalued ideas between delusion and obsession and that are derived from the reduction of the construct per se to one of its characteristics, that is, insight, has undergone a critical review. Using a case with dysmorphophobic ideas, the difficulties to define it and differentiate it from delusion are proposed and different psychopathological approaches are outlined that make it possible to reconstruct the case differently.

Meningioangiomatosis: clinical-radiological features and surgical outcome.

Meningioangiomatosis (MA) is a rare, benign neoplastic disorder involving the cortex and leptomeninges, the sporadic form, commonly presents as refractory localization-related epilepsy, but could be asymptomatic especially in older patients. The imaging features may be entirely non-specific. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) erroneously suggests meningioma, lowgrade tumour or vascular malformations. The pathological findings are characterised by proliferation of meningothelial cells and leptomeningeal vessels and calcifications within the mass. Macroscopically there is dense thickening in the underlying cortex, often in a sharply defined area. In this article we report 3 cases of MA, neither of whom had a familiary history or stigmata of Neurofibromatosis (NF). We discuss and place particular emphasis on the clinical presentation and diagnosis imaging, as well as on the outcome. We also review the literature concerning about the aetiology, pathology findings and imaging features of MA.

Meningioangiomatosis: clinical-radiological features and surgical outcome

Meningioangiomatosis (MA) is a rare, benign neoplastic disorder involving the cortex and leptomeninges, the sporadic form, commonly presents as refractory localization-related epilepsy, but could be a symptomatic especially in older patients. The imaging features may be entirely non-specific. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) erroneously suggests meningioma, low gradetumour or vascular malformations. The pathological findings are characterised by proliferation of meningothelial cells and leptomeningeal vessels and calcifications within the mass. Macroscopically there is dense thickening in the underlying cortex, often in a sharply defined area. In this article we report 3 cases of MA, neither of whom had a familiary history or stigmat a of Neurofibromatosis(NF). We discuss and place particular emphasis on the clinical presentation and diagnosis imaging, as well as on the outcome. We also review the literature concerning about the aetiology, pathology findings and imaging features of MA (AU)

La meningioangiomatosis (MA) es un proceso neoplásicobenigno raro, que envuelve el córtex y leptomeninges,en su forma esporádica comúnmente se presenta con epilepsia refractaria, en relación a su localización, pero puede ser asintomática, especialmente en adultos mayores. Las características de imagen pueden ser totalmente inespecíficas. Las imágenes de resonancia magnética erróneamente sugieren la presencia de un meningioma, tumores de bajo grado, o malformaciones vasculares. Los hallazgos patológicos se caracterizan por la proliferación de células meningoteliales, vasos leptomeningeos y calcificaciones dentro del tumor. Macroscópicamente se observa un denso engrosamiento en el córtex adyacente, generalmente con un área claramente definida. En este articulo, se describen 3 casos de MA, ninguno de ellos presentaba historia familiar o estigmas de neurofibromatosis (NF). Nosotros realizamos la discusión, haciendo particular énfasis en la presentación clínica y diagnóstico por imágenes, así como en el pronóstico (AU)

Concept of representation and mental symptoms. The case of theory of mind.

BACKGROUND: Most current theories explaining theory of mind (ToM) rely on the concept of 'representation', as it is usually employed in cognitive science, and is thus affected by its epistemic shortcoming, namely its incapacity to use 'sub-signifier' level information. This shortcoming is responsible for the lack of specificity of ToM deficits, which are now found in very different syndromes, from schizophrenia to bipolar disorder or borderline personality disorder, in spite of its original formulation being restricted to childhood autism. METHOD: Representation, its shortcomings and the way they may affect clinical/research programs undergo a conceptual analysis, which shows how representational-founded semiology leave out information that is essential for symptom specificity and correct symptom assessment. Schizophrenic autism, delusional perception and axial syndromes are studied as examples of both the difficulties that have arisen and possible ways of dealing with them. RESULTS: Transfers of properties between different meanings of 'representation' together with a systematic ambiguity in the use of 'representation' are proposed as the main ways for representational approaches to assure stability to their proposals in spite of the violence exerted on clinical phenomena. CONCLUSIONS: It is exposed how systematic ambiguity and epistemic shortcomings both affect Leslie's formulation of ToM and, further, the importance of these characteristics of the concept of 'representation' for general issues in psychiatric semiology.

Origen y destino de la teoría de la mente: su afectación en trastornos distintos del espectro autista / Evolution of the theory of mind: its involvement in distinct autistic spectrum disorders

La disfunción de la habilidad para adscribir estados mentales a otros, esto es, la posesión de una teoría de la mente, ha sido propuesta por Frith como condición necesaria, suficiente y específica de la esquizofrenia. Este artículo revisa los datos a favor y en contra de tal asunción, teniendo en cuenta su relación hipotética con otras variables cognitivas, si la falta de una teoría de la mente es un marcador de rasgo o de estado y si su rol causal implica el trastorno psicótico básico o sólo algunos síntomas psicóticos. Igualmente se considera si los recientes hallazgos de disfunción de la teoría de la mente en el trastorno bipolar y en la demencia frontotemporal podrían modificar las asunciones teóricas básicas sobre la teoría de la mente, la esquizofrenia y los trastornos relacionados

Malfunction of the ability to ascribe mental states to others, that is, possession of a Theory of Mind (ToM), was proposed by CD Frith as a necessary, sufficient and specific condition of schizophrenia. The present article reviews the evidence for and against this assumption, bearing in mind its putative relationship with other cognitive variables, whether the lack of a ToM is trait marker or rather a state marker and whether its causal role involves the underlying psychotic disorder or only some psychotic symptoms. Equally, whether the recent findings of ToM dysfunction in bipolar disorder and frontotemporal dementia could modify basic theoretical assumptions about ToM, schizophrenia and related conditions is also discussed

Effects of ageing on allocentric and egocentric spatial strategies in the Wistar rat.

This study was designed to assess the effect of ageing on spatial (allocentric and egocentric) strategies in rats. Two different tasks were designed for this purpose: one involving Morris' circular pool (distal extramaze cues) and another using the T water maze (egocentric cues). In the first task, the aged rats showed some difficulty in acquiring allocentric spatial learning skills. After increasing the number of trials in this task, there was no significant improvement in the performance of the aged group of rats compared to the adult group. However, in the second spatial task (using egocentric cues), both age groups gave a similar performance. Therefore, the effect of ageing on spatial learning depends on the strategy required to acquire this learning.

[Behavior disorder of the REM sleep in 2 documented cases with polysomnography]. / Trastorno conductual del sueño REM en dos casos documentados con polisomnografía.

We report a 69 years old male with a parkinsonian syndrome and a 50 years old female without neurological problems who showed violent behavior during REM sleep. Polysomnography showed that both bad tonic or phasic muscular activity during REM sleep and a REM sleep behavior disorder was diagnosed. Clonazepam was used in both, with good clinical response. This condition is frequently unrecognized and confused with nightmares, nocturnal delirium or other parasomnias.

Reaction engineering for consecutive enzymatic reactions in peptide synthesis: application to the synthesis of a pentapeptide.

A single-pot enzymatic synthesis of Z-CCK5 (4-8) is presented in this work, employing Z-Gly-Trp-OBzl as acyl donor, under kinetic control. The first goal of the work is the development of a synthetic strategy allowing the use of the same medium for two reactions catalyzed by immobilized alpha-chymotrypsin, discriminating between simultaneous and consecutive addition systems. The second goal is the maximization of the pentapeptide yield as a function of the molar excess of both nucleophiles employed. A maximum yield of 36% was obtained, and the addition strategy as well as the optimal initial concentrations of substrates have been determined.

Influence of phosphate on rhamnose-containing exopolysaccharide rheology and production by Klebsiella I-714.

Physiological conditions enhancing rhamnose-containing polysaccharide synthesis by Klebsiella I-714 were studied in batch culture (0.3-l and 2-l bioreactors). The four carbon sources tested, sucrose, sorbitol, Neosorb and Cerelose, allowed exopolysaccharide production. Larger amounts of polymer were produced when high carbon/nitrogen ratios and complex nitrogen sources were used. Exopolysaccharide synthesis was greatest at 30 degrees C, which was a suboptimal growth temperature. A reduction in the phosphate content of the medium enhanced rhamnose-containing polysaccharide production. When the initial carbon source concentration was augmented, byproducts other than exopolysaccharide were formed. Rhamnose-containing polysaccharide rheology can be modulated by changing the phosphate content of the medium.

Enzymatic condensation of cholecystokinin CCK-8 (4-6) and CCK-8 (7-8) peptide fragments in organic media.

The kinetically controlled condensation reaction of Z-Gly-Trp-Met-OR(1) (R(1): Et, Al, Cam) and H-Asp-(OR(2))-Phe-NH(2) (R(2): H, Bu(t)) catalyzed by alpha-chymotrypsin deposited onto polyamide in organic media was studied. The effect of the drying process of the enzyme-support preparation, substrate concentrations, reaction medium, acyl donor, and nucleophile structure on both enzymatic activity and pentapeptide yield was investigated. The immobilized preparation directly equilibrated at a(w) = 0.113, gave higher enzymatic activities than dried with vacuum first, and then equilibrated at a(w) = 0.113. The addition of triethylamine to the reaction medium increased dramatically the enzymatic activity. However, the pentapeptide yield was affected neither by the drying procedure nor by the addition of triethylamine. The donor ester Z-Gly-Trp-Met-OAl gave initial reaction rates 2.6 times higher than the conventional ethyl ester derivative but rendered similar yields. The best results were obtained using Z-Gly-Trp-Met-OCam as acyl-donor ester; 80% yield and initial reaction rates 4 times higher than the ethyl ester derivative. In all cases, acetonitrile containing Tris-HCl 50 mM pH 9 buffer (0.5% v/v) and triethylamine (0.5% v/v) was found to be the best reaction system. Under these conditions, it was possible to use the nucleophile H-Asp-Phe-NH(2) with beta-unprotected aspartic acid residue. In this case, 50% yield was obtained, but economic considerations could lead to select it as nucleophile. Finally, the fragment condensation reaction was carried out at gram scale, obtaining a 39% yield which included the reaction, removal of protecting groups and purification steps. (c) 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Biotechnol Bioeng 56: 456-463, 1997.

Enzymatic synthesis of a CCK-8 tripeptide fragment in organic media.

The enzymatic synthesis of the tripeptide derivative Z-Gly-Trp-Met-OEt is reported. This tripeptide is a fragment of the cholecystokinin C-terminal octapeptide CCK-8. Studies on the alpha-chymotrypsin catalyzed coupling reaction between Z-Gly-Trp-R(1) and Met-R(2) have focused on low water content media, using deposited enzyme on inert supports such as Celite and polyamide. The effect of additives (polar organic solvents), the acyl-donor ester structure, the C-alpha protecting group of the nucleophile, enzyme loading, and substrate concentration were tested. The best reaction medium found was acetonitrile containing buffer (0.5%, v/v) and triethylamine (0.5%, v/v) using the enzyme deposited on Celite as catalyst (8 mg of alpha-chymotrypsin/g of Celite). A reaction yield of 81% was obtained with Z-Gly-Trp-OCam as acyl donor, at an initial concentration of 80 mM. The tripeptide synthesis was scaled up to the production of 2 g of pure tripeptide with an overall yield of 71%, including reaction and purification steps.

Three-dimensional biomechanical properties of the human cervical spine in vitro. I. Analysis of normal motion.

Our aim was to determine the biomechanical properties of the normal human cervical spine under physiological static loads. The three-dimensional displacements under three pure moments: flexion-extension, left-right lateral bending and left-right axial torsion--were measured in 56 intact functional spinal units (FSUs) taken from between C2 and C7 in 29 human cadavers. For each mode of loading, load-displacement curves were plotted. Then we calculated each neutral zone, range of motion, neutral zone ratio, ratio of coupled motion, limit moment and secant stiffness. The effects of intervertebral disc degeneration and the disc level were also taken into account by the analysis of variance. Our results adequately demonstrated both the non-linearity of load-displacement curves and the neutral zone of the cervical spine in three-dimensional space. At the same time, we found statistically that the stiffness in the three planes are significantly different, as are the stiffnesses in lateral bending of successive different FSUs. However, significant differences of stiffness in different states of disc degeneration were only found in right lateral bending. There were significant differences between levels in ratio of coupled motion under both lateral bending and axial torsion. The loading cycle conditions and the biomechanical responses of principal motion of C1-2 are also reported.

Three-dimensional biomechanical properties of the human cervical spine in vitro. II. Analysis of instability after ligamentous injuries.

We wanted to determine the biomechanical properties of the human cervical spine with ligamentous injuries. The three-dimensional displacements under four pure moments--flexion, extension, left-right lateral bending and left-right axial torsion--were measured in 18 functional spinal units (FSUs) taken from 9 human cadaveric cervical spines. The experimentation was first performed with intact FSUs, then a series of ligamentous injuries were artificially created. The same measurements for the same FSUs were repeated after each step of ligamentous injury. For each mode of loading and each step of injury, three-dimensional load-displacement curves were plotted. From these curves, we calculated the following parameters for the principal motion: the neutral zone, the range of motion and the flexibility coefficients. A statistical analysis of these parameters was performed between intact FSUs and different ligamentous injury situations. The analysis of ligamentous injuries shows the consequences of different ligamentous injuries and will help us to assess certain assumptions about clinical stability.

Production of 5'-ribonucleotides by enzymatic hydrolysis of RNA.

Study of optimal operational conditions for RNA enzymatic hydrolysis to obtain 5'-ribonucleotides has been carried out. RNA from brewer's yeasts, obtained by ammonium extraction, was hydrolysed by a partially purified 5'-phosphodiesterase from barley rootlets. Temperature of 60 degrees C and pH 7 have been determined as the best operational conditions. Low RNA initial concentration (approximately 0.1%) and reaction time (approximately 1 h) have been identified as necessary to obtain a good yield of 5'-ribonucleotides.