Diet supplementation with donkey milk upregulates liver mitochondrial uncoupling,reduces energy efficiency and improves antioxidant and antiinflammatory defences in rats

Dietary PUFA, mainly those of the n‐3 family, are known to play essential roles in the maintenance of energy balance and in the reduction of body fat deposition through the upregulation of mitochondrial uncoupling that is the main source of reactive oxygen species. We hypothesized that rat supplementation with raw donkey's milk (DM), characterized by low‐fat content and higher n3:n6 ratio, may affect energy balance, lipid metabolism, and prooxidant status as compared to animals treated with cow's milk. In the present study, the effects of drinking raw DM (for 4 weeks) on energy balance, lipid metabolism, antiinflammatory, and antioxidant/detoxifying defences was compared to that produced by rat intake of an iso‐energetic amount of raw cow's milk. The hypolipidemic effect produced by DM paralleled with the enhanced mitochondrial activity/proton leakage and with the increased activity or expression of mitochondrial markers namely, carnitine palmitoyl transferase and uncoupling protein 2. The association of decreased energy efficiency with reduced proinflammatory signs (TNF‐α and LPS levels) with the significant increase antioxidant (total thiols) and detoxifying enzyme activities (glutathione‐S‐transferase NADH quinone oxidoreductase) in DM‐treated animals, indicated that beneficial effects were attributable, at least in part, to the activation of nuclear factor 2 erythroid‐related factor 2 pathway.     

Preparation and characterization of β‐cyclodextrin‐linked chitosan microparticles

Hydrophobically modified chitosan containing β‐cyclodextrin (CD) units was synthesized by using tosylated β‐CD. The final product was characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, elemental analysis and TGA, and rheometry. The polymer bearing β‐CD moieties was used to obtain crosslinked microparticles by spray‐drying which could then be used in a controlled release system for drugs. FTIR confirmed the formation of an amide linkage between cyclodextrin and chitosan. As fluorescence spectroscopy demonstrated, hydrophobic microenvironments were formed by chitosan bearing cyclodextrin in solution at lower concentrations than for chitosan. Rheometry and FTIR showed the crosslinking of the new polymer using genipin, a molecule of natural origin. Microspheres (MS) obtained by spray‐drying showed narrow size distribution when β‐CD was grafted onto chitosan and ξ‐potential of MS was slightly lower although it remained positive. In conclusion, β‐CD linked chitosan polymer can be considered as a very promising controlled drug delivery system for drugs. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012     

Immediate water quality assessment in shrimp culture using fuzzy inference systems

The continuous monitoring of physical, chemical and biological parameters in shrimp culture is an important activity for detecting potential crisis that can be harmful for the organisms. Water quality can be assessed through toxicological tests evaluated directly from water quality parameters involved in the ecosystem; these tests provide an indicator about the water quality. The aim of this study is to develop a fuzzy inference system based on a reasoning process, which involves aquaculture criteria established by official organizations and researchers for assessing water quality by analyzing the main factors that affect a shrimp ecosystem. We propose to organize the water quality parameters in groups according to their importance; these groups are defined as daily, weekly and by request monitoring. Additionally, we introduce an analytic hierarchy process to define priorities for more critical water quality parameters and groups. The proposed system analyzes the most important parameters in shrimp culture, detects potential negative situations and provides a new water quality index (WQI), which describes the general status of the water quality as excellent, good, regular and poor. The Canadian water quality and other well-known hydrological indices are used to compare the water quality parameters of the shrimp water farm. Results show that WQI index has a better performance than other indices giving a more accurate assessment because the proposed fuzzy inference system integrates all environmental behaviors giving as result a complete score. This fuzzy inference system emerges as an appropriated tool for assessing site performance, providing assistance to improve production through contingency actions in polluted ponds.     

Preliminary Characterization of Novel Extra-cellular Lipase from Penicillium crustosum Under Solid-State Fermentation and its Potential Application for Triglycerides Hydrolysis

Current studies about lipase production involve the use of agro-industrial residues and newly isolated microorganisms aimed at increasing economic attractiveness of the process. Based on these aspects, the main objective of this work is to perform the partial characterization of enzymatic extracts produced by a newly isolated Penicillium crustosum in solid-state fermentation. Lipase extract presented optimal temperature and pH of 37?°C and 9?C10, respectively. The concentrated enzymatic extract showed more stability at 25?°C and pH?7. The enzymes kept 100% of their enzymatic activity until 60?days of storage at 4 and ?10?°C. The stability under calcium salts indicated that the hydrolytic activity presented decay with the increase of calcium concentration. The specificity under several substrates indicated good enzyme activities in triglycerides from C4 to C18.     

Anthocyanins and betalains as light-harvesting pigments for dye-sensitized solar cells

We present the photoelectrochemical properties of dye-sensitized solar cells using natural pigments containing betalains and anthocyanins as sensitizers. The dyes extracted from grape, mulberry, blackberry, red Sicilian orange, Sicilian prickly pear, eggplant and radicchio have shown a monochromatic incident photon to current efficiency (IPCE) ranging from 40% to 69%. Short circuit photocurrent densities (J_sc) up to 8.8 mA/cm², and open circuit voltage (V_oc) ranging from 316 to 419 mV, were obtained from these natural dyes under 100 mW/cm² (AM 1.5) simulated sunlight. The best solar conversion efficiency of 2.06% was achieved with Sicilian prickly pear fruits extract. The influence of pH and co-absorbers on natural sensitizers, were investigated and discussed.     

Single-ion-conducting nanocomposite polymer electrolytes based on PEG400 and anionic nanoparticles: Part 2. Electrical characterization

Molecular relaxation and polarization phenomena of twelve single-ion-conducting nanocomposite polymer electrolytes (nCPEs) are studied using Broadband Electrical Spectroscopy (BES). The electrolytes are obtained by combining PEG400 oligomers with increasing amounts of anionic nanofiller comprised of fluorinated-TiO₂ associated with Li⁺ cations (LiFT^®), resulting in [PEG400/(LiFT)_y] systems with 0 ≤ y ≤ 26.4. This new class of [PEG400/(LiFT)_y] electrolytes allows us to achieve a significant single-ion conductivity (1.1·10⁻⁵ S cm⁻¹ at 30 °C for n_Li/n_O = 0.113) without the addition of lithium salts. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest conductivity value reported for this class of electrolytes. This study, in conjunction with the results reported in Part 1, leads us to hypothesize a conduction mechanism in terms of two types of long-range charge-transfer processes. The first charge-transfer occurs at the interface between the filler nanoparticles and filler-PEG domains, while the second occurs through the PEG400 matrix with the assistance of polymer segmental motion. The measured Li⁺ transference numbers confirm that the studied materials are single-ion conductors.     

Electrochemical performance of reduced graphene oxide in Spiro‐(1, 1')‐bipyrrolidinium tetrafluoroborate electrolyte

This paper investigates the relationship between structure and electrochemical performance of reduced graphene oxide (RGO) prepared via heat treatment and chemical reduction method. Structure and morphology of RGO was characterized by means of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, X‐ray diffraction and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller. Electrochemical performance of RGO electrode supercapacitor was investigated in the organic electrolyte by cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge–discharge and electrochemical impedance. The results show heat treatment RGO has high graphitization degree, less surface oxygen‐containing groups, good charge–discharge efficiency and stable life cycle. The chemical reduced RGO has single‐graphene structure, high specific surface area, high specific capacitance and low internal resistance. The ascorbic acid reduction RGO exhibits good comprehensive electrochemical performance: Its specific capacitance was 220.7 F g^?1, internal resistance was 3.0 Ω and charge–discharge efficiency was 97.0% after 2000 cycles of charging/discharging tests. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Non-Intensive Care Unit Acquired Pneumonia: A New Clinical Entity?

Hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) is a frequent cause of nosocomial infections, responsible for great morbidity and mortality worldwide. The majority of studies on HAP have been conducted in patients hospitalized in the intensive care unit (ICU), as mechanical ventilation represents a major risk factor for nosocomial pneumonia and specifically for ventilator-associated pneumonia. However, epidemiological data seem to be different between patients acquiring HAP in the ICU vs. general wards, suggesting the importance of identifying non ICU-acquired pneumonia (NIAP) as a clinical distinct entity in terms of both etiology and management. Early detection of NIAP, along with an individualized management, is needed to reduce antibiotic use and side effects, bacterial resistance and mortality. The present article reviews the pathophysiology, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of NIAP.