Search

The dialectical relationship between ecosystems and society is complex; therefore, holistic approaches are required to address this complexity. This view also stands out in the ecosystem services valuation field, where different scholars and global platforms have drawn attention to the need to incorporate plural valuation initiatives at decision-making. In this sense, through a comprehensive design, we conducted a multi-layered valuation of ecosystem services, and we highlighted multiple values in two areas of the province of Caldas, Colombia. We proposed a three-phase valuation process called

In this study, we investigated the acute oral toxicity, brine shrimp lethality, and the antilymphoma activity of geranylgeraniol and the ethanolic and petroleum ether extracts of Annona macroprophyllata Donn. Sm., Annonaceae, leaves. Leaves were extracted by maceration with ethanol or petroleum ether. In acute oral toxicity analysis, the ethanolic extract had a LD50 of 1587 mg/kg, while the petroleum ether extract had an LD50 of > 3000 mg/kg. This indicated that the petroleum ether extract may be less harmful than the ethanolic extract. Furthermore, the petroleum ether extract showed low acute toxicity (category 5), significant brine shrimp lethality, and a high antilymphoma activity. Therefore, petroleum ether extract was purified by preparative thin layer chromatography to yield geranylgeraniol. The results showed that geranylgeraniol (LC50 = 1.00 μg/ml) was more potent than methotrexate (LC50 24.66 μg/ml), a known chemotherapy drug. Additionally, geranylgeraniol showed high antilymphoma activity in Balb/c mice injected intraperitoneally with 1 × 106 U-937 of human leukemic monocyte lymphoma cells, resulting in 50% effective inhibitory concentration (EC50) values of 4.38 mg/kg and 3.66 mg/kg for male and female mice, respectively. The antilymphoma activity of geranylgeraniol was similar to that of methotrexate (EC50 = 1.07 mg/kg and 1.33 mg/kg, respectively). These findings suggest that geranylgeraniol may serve as a potential natural compound for the treatment of lymphoma.

Fil: Garcia, Rodrigo Damian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnologico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Medicina y Biologia Experimental de Cuyo; Argentina

Variations in gut microbiota composition and diversity have been associated with childhood adiposity, although most studies describing this have been cross-sectional in nature. Our objective was to evaluate associations between body weight and the gut microbiota over time in obese preschool-age children.Obese, preschool-age, Hispanic children provided stool samples at baseline and following a 6-month behavioral intervention. Normal-weight (NW) children also provided stool samples. Stool microbial community composition was characterized using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Estimates of within-sample diversity were calculated on operational taxonomic unit (OTU) count data, and the Firmicutes:Bacteroidetes (F:B) ratio was determined on per-sample basis. Estimates of between-sample diversity were generated using the weighted Unifrac metric, differential abundances were evaluated using Wilcoxon rank-sum tests, and associations of microbiome features with clinical data were quantified using Spearman rank correlations.For the 30 obese children sampled preintervention and postintervention, a decrease in body mass index (BMI) z-score from 2.55 to 2.34 (p = 0.004, paired t-test) was observed. Bacteroides massiliensis was significantly enriched in obese children, while B. plebius was significantly enriched in NW controls. We identified significant correlations between multiple Bacteroides-like OTUs and BMI z-score, but neither F:B ratios nor OTU-level abundances were altered in conjunction with weight change in the obese children. Rather, highly individualized OTU-level responses were observed.Although differences exist between the gut microbiota of obese and NW children, we detected highly individualized responses of the gut microbiota of obese children over time and following weight loss.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) such as ischemic heart disease (IHD), stroke, and peripheral artery disease (PAS) are the leading cause of mortality and morbidity around the world: about 30% of global deaths and 10% of global disease burden a year are due to CVDs.In this chapter, we will analyze the classic concepts of vascular remodeling, to later expand the concepts and physiopathological mechanisms of vascular inflammation. The role of immunomodulation from IL-6R alpha and the JAK / STAT3 intracellular cascade, as an activator of vascular remodeling mechanisms. In addition, the role of new drugs such as LCZ696 and immunomodulators involved in the local inflammatory response will also be analyzed.The concept of remodeling and vascular inflammation, which a decade ago was only important at the level of basic research, step by step has proved crucial in the appearance of atherosclerosis, called subclinical atherosclerosis. Much progress has been made in the treatment and discovery of pathophysiological mechanisms, rest improve the studies of deterrence and its correlation with the reduction of cardiovascular risk, this is perhaps, the decade in which we can advance in this. Fil: Renna, Nicolas Federico. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Medicina y Biología Experimental de Cuyo; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas; Argentina Fil: García, Rodrigo Damián. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Medicina y Biología Experimental de Cuyo; Argentina Fil: Ramírez, Jésica. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas; Argentina Fil: Miatello, Roberto Miguel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Medicina y Biología Experimental de Cuyo; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas; Argentina