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Financiado para publicación en acceso aberto: Universidade da Coruña/CISUG [Abstract] To promote a circular economy and sustainable development, the possibility of using a lignin-rich industrial byproduct as a partial substitute for asphalt emulsions in road pavements is analysed. A half-warm mix reclaimed asphalt (HWMRA)-type AC 16 surf S, manufactured with 100% reclaimed asphalt pavement, is selected. Substitution percentages of 0% (control mixture), 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% are employed. The microstructure of the blend of the byproduct and asphalt emulsion is observed using scanning electron microscopy. The water resistance of the mixture is investigated using indirect tensile tests, as well as its volumetric properties. The stiffness, thermal susceptibility by indirect tensile tests, and resistance to permanent deformation by confined uniaxial compression tests and Hamburg wheel tracking tests are also studied. The optimum percentage of byproduct substitution is 5%, resulting in an enhanced HWMRA with a slightly better water resistance, higher resistance to permanent deformation at low and medium environmental temperatures, and higher indirect tensile strength and stiffness than those of the control mix. This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities through the project PID2019-110985RB-I00 (“Programa Estatal de Generación de Conocimiento y Fortalecimiento Científico y Tecnológico del Sistema de I + D + i y en el marco del Programa Estatal de I + D + i Orientada a los Retos de la Sociedad, del Plan Estatal de Investigación Científica y Técnica y de Innovación 2017-2020”)

Deficiencies in current embryo culture media likely contribute to the poor blastocyst development rates and pregnancy retention rates for in vitro produced (IVP) bovine embryos. Of special concern is the lack of micronutrients in these media formulations. One micronutrient of interest is zinc, an essential trace element involved with various enzyme and transcription factor activities. The objective of this work was to describe whether zinc sulfate supplementation during in vitro embryo culture affects bovine embryo development and blastomere numbers. Either 0, 2, 20, or 40 µM zinc sulfate was supplemented to presumptive zygotes cultured in synthetic oviductal fluid containing AAs and bovine serum albumin for 8 d. None of the treatments affected cleavage rates. Percentage of blastocysts on days 7 and 8 postfertilization was not affected by supplementing 2 or 20 µM zinc but were reduced (P < 0.05) with 40 µM zinc. In blastocysts harvested on day 8, inner cell mass (ICM) and total cell number were increased (P < 0.05) with 2 µM zinc supplementation but not with the other zinc concentrations. Numbers of trophectoderm cells were not affected by zinc treatment. In conclusion, supplementing zinc during bovine embryo culture did not impact blastocyst development but improved ICM cell numbers. This improvement in ICM cell number may have implications for improved pregnancy retention rates after IVP embryo transfer as smaller ICM sizes are associated with poor pregnancy success in cattle.

Aim: The following work aims to investigate the putative correlation between early trauma and cognitive functions, as well as psychotic symptoms and cognitive functions, in individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia. Methods: A quantitative assessment was performed with 20 individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia according to the 5th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-5) criteria and who were in ongoing outpatient treatment in Psychosocial Care Centres in Brazil. Clinical measurements comprised a semistructured clinical interview, a screening questionnaire for common mental disorders, the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), and the Early Trauma Inventory Self-Report-Short Form (ETISR-SF). Cognitive assessment included Beta III test, Concentrated Attention (CA) test, Color Trails Test (CTT), and Visual Face Memory (VFM) test. Results: Age-adjusted analysis showed a negative correlation between early trauma and visual memory performance (r = -0.585, p = 0.007) and negative symptoms and attention performance (r = -0.715, p = 0.000). Conclusion: Although a cause-effect relationship cannot be firmly stated, an association between early trauma experience and cognitive impairment such as visual memory, as well as a relationship between negative symptoms and attention domains, is suggested by our preliminary findings. Future studies with larger sample sizes and prospective design will clarify the long-term effects of early exposure to trauma and its clinical meaning in terms of developing psychotic-related illness.

Background and purpose We assessed the prevalence and magnitude of neuropsychiatric adverse events (NPAEs) associated with antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) among patients with brain tumour-related epilepsy (BTRE). Methods This observational, prospective, multicentre study enrolled 259 patients with BTRE after neurosurgery. All patients received AED monotherapy. Efficacy was assessed through clinical diaries, whereas NPAEs were collected using the Neuropsychiatric Inventory Test-12 questionnaire at baseline and after 5 months. Results Tumour localization in the frontal lobe was associated with a higher prevalence of NPAEs (odds ratio, 7.73; P < 0.001). Independent of tumour localization, levetiracetam (LVT) treatment was associated with higher prevalence and magnitude of NPAEs (odds ratio, 7.94; P < 0.01) compared with other AEDs. Patients with oligodendroglioma reported more NPAEs than patients with other tumour types. NPAEs were not influenced by chemotherapy, radiotherapy or steroid treatment. Evaluating non-neurobehavioural adverse events of AEDs, no significant differences were found among AEDs, although patients treated with old AEDs had a higher prevalence of adverse events than those treated with new AEDs. Conclusions Both tumour localization in the frontal lobe and LVT treatment are associated with a higher risk of NPAEs in patients with BTRE. LVT is regarded as a first-line option in patients with BTRE because of easy titration and few significant drug-to-drug interactions. Thus, as NPAEs lead to poor compliance and a high dropout rate, clinicians need to accurately monitor NPAEs after AED prescription, especially in patients with frontal lobe tumours receiving LVT.

One of the main challenges in caffeine research is a real understanding of the mechanism of action behind the psychostimulant effects of caffeine. Caffeine is a non-selective adenosine receptor antagonist, and for about three decades, it has been established that, in the brain, caffeine targets mainly adenosine A1 and A2A receptors. The same as classical psychostimulants, caffeine produces motor-activating, reinforcing, and arousing effects. The psychostimulant effects of caffeine seem to depend on its ability to counteract multiple effects of adenosine in the central ascending neurotransmitter systems.Motor and reinforcing effects seem to depend mostly on the ability of caffeine to release preand postsynaptic brakes that adenosine imposes on the ascending dopaminergic system. Arousing effects of caffeine seem to depend on the blockade of multiple inhibitory mechanisms that adenosine, as an endogenous sleep-promoting substance, exerts on the multiply interconnected ascending arousal systems. Those mechanisms include a direct A1 receptor-mediated modulation of the corticopetal basal forebrain system and an indirect A2A receptor-mediated modulation of the hypothalamic histaminergic and orexinergic systems. We are therefore starting to understand the mechanisms responsible for at least the acute psychostimulant effects of caffeine. However, we know very little about some intriguing temporal properties of the psycostimulant effects of caffeine, such as the well-known fast development of tolerance upon repeated exposure. We also understand very little about the mechanisms behind the use of caffeine combined with other psychostimulants and the recent growing consumption of combined alcoholand caffeine-containing drinks. In addition to pharmacokinetic mechanisms, we need to establish which pharmacodynamic changes, such as modifications in the expression and function of adenosine receptors, develop after combined or chronic caffeine consumption. The study of the mechanisms behind the motor-activating properties of caffeine led to the discovery of adenosine receptor heteromers. Although initially considered as just a provider of tight receptor interactions, receptor heteromer has been recently defined as ‘‘a macromolecular complex composed of at least two (functional) receptor units with biochemical properties that are demonstrably different from those of its individual components.’’ This conceptual switch implies that adenosine receptor heteromers should be considered as the real targets of caffeine. So far, those include adenosine-dopamine, adenosine-cannabinoid, and adenosineglutamate receptor heteromers. Very likely, the study of the biochemical characteristics of the adenosine receptor heteromers and their specific neuronal expression during caffeine exposure will advance our understanding about the intriguing pharmacological properties of caffeine.

Our aim was to observe the induction of anxiety symptoms and panic attacks by a caffeine challenge test in panic disorder (PD) patients (DSM-IV) and their healthy first-degree relatives. We randomly selected 25 PD patients, 27 healthy first-degree relatives of probands with PD, and 22 healthy volunteers with no family history of PD. In a randomized double-blind experiment performed over two occasions 7 days apart, 480 mg caffeine and a caffeine-free solution were administered in a coffee form. Using specific panic attack criteria, 52.0% (n=13) PD patients, 40.7% (n=11) first-degree relatives (chi2=1.81, df=1, P=0.179), and none of the control subjects had a panic attack after the test (chi2=51.7, df=2, P

In the last years an increasing number of secondary tumors occurring many years after the discontinuation of treatment for ALL have been reported. Most frequently these tumors are localized in the brain and thyroid. Etiopathogenic factors remain unknown. Genetic predisposition and chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy previously administered are considered the most important issues. Cranial irradiation (CI) could play a major role in the development of brain tumors. In this paper the Italian experience in children with ALL is reported. Overall 12 solid tumors were observed in a population of 2080 children affected by ALL who discontinued any treatments within 12.31.1988. The data were obtained from the AIEOP-Off Therapy Registry, founded in 1980. Nine out of twelve were brain tumors and occurred between 3 and 10 years following cranial irradiation (24 Gy and/or 18 Gy). Six were Astrocytomas, two were Glioblastomas multiforme and 1 was an Oligodendroglioma. Only one child is still alive. The site of the tumor will be discussed. Further investigations should clarify: a)the risk of second neoplasms to the brain after ALL treatment within different treatment protocols with and without irradiation and b) the role of other factors (genetic predisposition, chemotherapy.........).

Teicoplanin is a glycopeptide antibiotic. The principle pharmacodynamic parameter is time dependency.

A simple method is proposed for extracting essential spectral information in high intensity photon burst experiments. The method is based on comparing the absorbed radiation dose in NaI and plastic scintillators. The specific problem of 5–10 MeV bremsstrahlung radiation is addressed here.

Myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG), a minor myelin component, is an important central-nervous system-specific target autoantigen for primary demyelination in autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS). It has been described that glycosylation of a MOG peptide epitope improved the detection of specific autoantibodies in sera of MS patients [1]. We have recently found that the specific antibody recognition of this peptide is most likely driven by direct interactions of the antibody binding site with the Asn-linked sugar moiety and then stabilized by putative specific peptide-antibody interactions [2]. We have subsequently prepared and characterized a new 21-mer MOG derived glycopeptide N7 (H-Thr-Pro-Arg-Val-Glu-Arg-Asn(Glc)-Gly-His-Ser-Val-Phe-Leu-Ala-Pro-Tyr-Gly-Trp-Met-Val-Lys-OH — 1) showing enhanced affinity for MS autoantibodies in ELISA experiments compared to the native N-glycosylated MOG peptide epitope Asn31(Glc)hMOG(30–50). Thus, the peptide (1) is a synthetic antigen able to detect pathogenic demyelinating autoantibodies in MS patients and, most importantly, it can be used as a template for the design of a new generation of drugs capable of specific blockage of circulating autoantibodies in patients affected by MS. In view of this goal, we describe here a conformational analysis of this peptide, and of its unglycosylated and inactive counterpart (H-Thr-Pro-Arg-Val-Glu-Arg-Asn-Gly-His-Ser-Val-Phe-Leu-Ala-Pro-Tyr-Gly-Trp-Met-Val-Lys-OH — 2).