Cocoa flavonoid-enriched diet modulates systemic and intestinal immunoglobulin synthesis in adult Lewis rats

Previous studies have reported that a diet containing 10% cocoa, a rich source of flavonoids, has immunomodulatory effects on rats and, among others effects, is able to attenuate the immunoglobulin (Ig) synthesis in both systemic and intestinal compartments. The purpose of the present study was focused on investigating whether these effects were attributed exclusively to the flavonoid content or to other compounds present in cocoa. To this end, eight-week-old Lewis rats were fed, for two weeks, either a standard diet or three isoenergetic diets containing increasing proportions of cocoa flavonoids from different sources: one with 0.2% polyphenols from conventional defatted cocoa, and two others with 0.4% and 0.8% polyphenols, respectively, from non-fermented cocoa. Diet intake and body weight were monitored and fecal samples were obtained throughout the study to determine fecal pH, IgA, bacteria proportions, and IgA-coated bacteria. Moreover, IgG and IgM concentrations in serum samples collected during the study were quantified. At the end of the dietary intervention no clear changes of serum IgG or IgM concentrations were quantified, showing few effects of cocoa polyphenol diets at the systemic level. However, in the intestine, all cocoa polyphenol-enriched diets attenuated the age-related increase of both fecal IgA and IgA-coated bacteria, as well as the proportion of bacteria in feces. As these effects were not dependent on the dose of polyphenol present in the diets, other compounds and/or the precise polyphenol composition present in cocoa raw material used for the diets could be key factors in this effect.

Applications of optically active metallacycles: new useful materials for the determination of the enantiomeric excess of Lewis bases and as resolving agents for monodentate phosphines

Es descriu la s��ntesi de nous compostos ciclopal��ladats derivats d'imines i amines prim��ries, ��pticament actius, aix�� com les seves aplicacions per a la determinaci�� de l'exc��s enantiom��ric i per a la resoluci�� de bases de Lewis. Tamb�� es comenta la s��ntesi i resoluci�� de noves fosfines P-quirals, aix�� com la seva aplicaci�� a processos de cat��lisi asim��trica. A m��s, es descriu la preparaci�� d'algunes fosfines secund��ries quirals i s'estudia la seva estabilitat configuracional.

M��s noticies a l'entorn del per��ode americ�� de Josep Pijoan Soteras (1881-1963)

[cat]El coneixement de la traject��ria dels catalans exiliats, com ��s el cas de Josep Pijoan Soteras, Francesc Camb�� Batlle i Josep Gudiol Ricart, entre altres, ��s fascinant perqu�� permet comprendre i valorar el seu itinerari personal, alhora que projecta un dram��tic resplendor sobre la cultura catalana de l"��poca. En aquest article es plantegen dues q��estions. La primera se centra en Pijoan com a agent d"art, aspecte molt poc conegut fi ns ara; mentre que en la segona part tracta de Pijoan com a escriptor d"art i la problem��tica que es va produir amb motiu de la seva intervenci�� en el llibre Les pintures rom��niques de Catalunya dins la ��Monumenta Cataloniae��, col��lecci�� patrocinada per Francesc Camb��. [eng]Knowledge of the pathways of Catalan exiles -as in the case of Jose Pijoan Soteras, Francesc Camb�� Batlle and Jose Gudiol Ricart, among others- is fascinating because it permits understanding and evaluation of their personal itineraires while at the same time casting a dramatic light on Catalan culture of the epoch. In this article two questions are presented: the first is centered on Pijoan as an art dealer, an aspect very little known until now, while the second deals with Pijoan as a writer on art and the problems raised by his participation in the book on Romanesque painters of Catalonia in the ��Monumenta Cataloniae��, the collection of whitch Francesc Camb�� was patron.

La poblaci��n infantil de Barcelona (1898-1961): una evaluaci��n de su estado nutricional a partir de estad��sticas antropom��tricas

En los ejercicios de evaluaci��n de la denominada ���penalizaci��n urbana���, la mortalidad infantil y juvenil suele ser uno o de los indicadores m��s habituales. Disponer de indicadores relativos a sus condiciones de salud es m��s dif��cil. Una opci��n son los datos antropom��tricos. Este tipo de informaci��n abunda para las poblaciones adultas ���especialmente las masculinas enroladas en los ej��rcitos- pero es m��s escasa para las infantiles. El prop��sito de este trabajo es contribuir al conocimiento de las condiciones de salud de este grupo de la poblaci��n barcelonesa durante algo m��s de la primera mitad del siglo XX, a partir del estudio de un conjunto de 9 estad��sticas antropom��tricas publicadas entre 1900 y 1961. A trav��s de una reconstrucci��n estad��stica, mediante el empleo de las Tablas de Crecimiento de la poblaci��n infantil espa��ola elaboradas por M. Hern��ndez, E S��nchez y B.Sobradillo en 1995, se han estandarizado las tallas y comparado los Indices de Masa Corporal calculados a partir de las medidas publicadas. Los principales resultados son: a) La presencia de diferentes pautas en las trayectorias seculares de crecimiento de ni��os y ni��as. El crecimiento de las tallas entre los ni��os fue de 1,09 cm por decenio entre 1898 y 1945 y de 1,40 entre 1945 y 1961. Mientras que en el caso de las ni��as entre 1898 y 1945 fue de 0,14 cm por decenio para aumentar a 2,18 entre 1945 y 1981. b) Las diferencias sociales en los indicadores antropom��tricos persisten a lo largo del periodo estudiado c) Los porcentajes de poblaci��n infantil con probable malnutrici��n se situaron en torno al 24 por ciento para las generaciones nacidas entre 1885 y 1940, para ir descendiendo de forma irreversible en las nacidas a partir de 1950. De este modo en la d��cada a��os setenta del siglo XX no parece existir evidencia de tal estado en la poblaci��n infantil barcelonesa.

Modulating the electronic structure of amino acids: interaction of model lewis acids with anthranilic acid

On the basis of theoretical B3LYP calculations, Y����ez and co-workers (J. Chem. Theory Comput. 2012, 8, 2293) illustrated that beryllium ions are capable of significantly modulating (changing) the electronic structures of imidazole. In this computational organic chemistry study, the interaction of this β-amino acid and five model Lewis acids (BeF1+, Be2+, AlF2(1+), AlF2+, and Al3+) were investigated. Several aspects were addressed: natural bond orbitals, including second order perturbation analysis of intra-molecular charge delocalization and the natural population analysis atomic charges; molecular geometries; selected infrared stretching frequencies (C-N, C-O, and N-H), and selected ��H-NMR chemical shifts. The data illustrate that this interaction can weaken the H-O bond and goes beyond strengthening the intra-molecular hydrogen bond (N...H-O) to cause a spontaneous transfer of the proton to the nitrogen atom in five cases generating zwitterion structures. Many new features are observed. Most importantly, the zwitterion structures include a stabilizing hydrogen bond (N-H...O) that varies in relative strength according to the Lewis acid. These findings explain the experimental observations of α-amino acids (for example: J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2001, 123, 3577) and are the first reported fundamental electronic structure characterization of β-amino acids in zwitterion form.

Modulation of fibronectin expression in the central nervous system of Lewis rats with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis

Fibronectin (FN), a large family of plasma and extracellular matrix (ECM) glycoproteins, plays an important role in leukocyte migration. In normal central nervous system (CNS), a fine and delicate mesh of FN is virtually restricted to the basal membrane of cerebral blood vessels and to the glial limitans externa. Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), an inflammatory CNS demyelinating disease, was induced in Lewis rats with a spinal cord homogenate. During the preclinical phase and the onset of the disease, marked immunolabelling was observed on the endothelial luminal surface and basal lamina of spinal cord and brainstem microvasculature. In the paralytic phase, a discrete labelling was evident in blood vessels of spinal cord and brainstem associated or not with an inflammatory infiltrate. Conversely, intense immunolabelling was present in cerebral and cerebellar blood vessels, which were still free from inflammatory cuffs. Shortly after clinical recovery minimal labelling was observed in a few blood vessels. Brainstem and spinal cord returned to normal, but numerous inflammatory foci and demyelination were still evident near the ventricle walls, in the cerebral cortex and in the cerebellum. Intense expression of FN in brain vessels ascending from the spinal cord towards the encephalon preceded the appearance of inflammatory cells but faded away after the establishment of the inflammatory cuff. These results indicate an important role for FN in the pathogenesis of CNS inflammatory demyelinating events occurring during EAE.

Karta o��fver Kung Karls Land uppra��ttad under 1898 a��rs svenska polarexpedition

Kartta kuuluu A. E. Nordenskio��ldin kokoelmaan

Karta o��fver Van Mijens Bay och Belsund uppra��ttad under 1898 a��rs svenska polarexpedition under A.G. Nathorst

Kartta kuuluu A. E. Nordenskio��ldin kokoelmaan

[Topografic��eskaa�� karta 1:42000]. XV-51, XV-52, XIV-51, XIV-52, Vyborgsk. gub., A��skis" ue��zda / snimal" Nikandrov" i rekognoscir. Bykov", c��ertil" Kremp".

[1:42000].