Selenized Chickpea Sprouts Hydrolysates as a Potential Anti-Aging Ingredient

Skin aging represents a health and aesthetic problem that could result in infections and skin diseases. Bioactive peptides can potentially be used in skin aging regulation. Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) selenoproteins were obtained from germination with 2 mg Na₂SeO₃/100 g of seeds for 2 days. Alcalase, pepsin, and trypsin were used as hydrolyzers, and a membrane < 10 kDa was used to fractionate the hydrolysate. Se content, antioxidant capacity, elastase and collagen inhibition, functional stability, and preventative capacity were analyzed. Significant increases in Se content were found in germinated chickpea flour and protein related to the control. An increase of 38% in protein was observed in the selenized flour related to the control. A band (600-550 cm^-1) observed in the selenized hydrolysates suggested the insertion of Se into the protein. Hydrolysates from pepsin and trypsin had the highest antioxidant potential. Se enhanced the stability of total protein and protein hydrolysates through time and increased their antioxidant capacity. Hydrolysates > 10 kDa had higher elastase and collagenase inhibition than the total protein and hydrolysates < 10 kDa. Protein hydrolysates < 10 kDa 6 h before UVA radiation had the highest inhibition of collagen degradation. Selenized protein hydrolysates showed promising antioxidant effects that could be related to skin anti-aging effects.

Challenges and Strategies for Topical and Transdermal Delivery of Bioactive Peptides

Bioactive peptides have gained the attention and interest of researchers and the industry for their therapeutic effects and high specificity, thus reducing the risks of side effects and making them an attractive alternatives in developing new biopharmaceuticals or cosmeceuticals. Nevertheless, their incorporation into formulations and administration presents challenges such as low stability under different storage conditions and gastrointestinal degradation after oral delivery. Likewise, the parenteral route is an invasive method that is painful and therefore reduces patient compliance. Topical delivery of bioactive peptides is a painless noninvasive alternative to reduce peptide degradation, exert local effects in the applied area, and improve patient compliance. In this review, we discuss the physicochemical properties of peptides and the mechanisms involved in their degradation. In addition, the most important aspects of skin structure and skin permeation routes, and the requirements for topical and transdermal drug delivery are also discussed in this article. Finally, nanocarrier development advances for the topical delivery of peptides (water-in-oil-in-water emulsions, microemulsions, nanoparticles, solid lipid nanoparticles, liposomes, niosomes, and microneedles) and other strategies, such as metal complexation, cell-penetrating peptides, and synthetic modification, are also reviewed. All these topics consider the perspective of their effect to improve skin permeability to peptides and their stability over time during storage.

Reuse of the digestate obtained from the biomethanization of olive mill solid waste (OMSW) as soil amendment or fertilizer for the cultivation of forage grass (Lolium rigidum var. Wimmera)

The principal by-product from the two-phase olive oil production process is olive mill solid waste (OMSW). It is a highly-pollutant by-product, not only because of its characteristics, but also because of the considerable volume of OMSW which is generated, amounting to 2 to 4 million tons per year in Spain. The anaerobic digestion of this by-product is a well-studied process, and results in the generation of biogas, methane and carbon dioxide mainly of high calorific values (20-25 MJ m^-3), and an effluent or digestate. The digestate of this by-product has never been characterized. This study presents an informative view on how the composition of OMSW digestate shows promising implications as a soil amendment or fertilizer due to the quality of the biomass from Lolium rigidum, a useful grass specie for the production of forage. Three OMSW digestate alternative applications or treatments were investigated: the digestate and the solid fraction of the digestate for a nutrient-poor soil amendment and the liquid fraction of the digestate as fertilizer. The results confirm that all the OMSW digestate treatments studied presented suitable characteristics for agricultural use, and showed an optimal Carbon/Nitrogen ratio with adequate values for heavy metals which are below the limits established by the Spanish and European legislation in the absence of pathogens. However, fertirrigation was the treatment that provided Lolium rigidum with the best characteristics, improving its shoot biomass, photosynthetic rate and nutritional content.

Green synthesis of starch-capped Cu2O nanocubes and their application in the direct electrochemical detection of glucose

Glucose determination is an essential procedure in different fields, used in clinical analysis for the prevention and monitoring of diabetes. In this work, modified carbon paste electrodes with Cu₂O nanocubes (Cu₂O NCs) were developed to test electrochemical glucose detection. The synthesis of the Cu₂O NCs was achieved by a green method using starch as the capping agent, obtaining cubic-like morphologies and particle sizes from 227 to 123 nm with increasing amounts of the capping agent, as corroborated by electron microscopy analysis. Their crystalline structure and purity were determined by X-ray diffraction. The capability of starch as a capping agent was verified by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, in which the presence of functional groups of this biopolymer in the Cu₂O NCs were identified. The electrochemical response to glucose oxidation was determined by cyclic voltammetry, obtaining a linear response of the electrical current as a function of glucose concentration in the range 100–700 μM, with sensitivities from 85.6 to 238.8 μA mM⁻¹ cm⁻², depending on the amount of starch used in the synthesis of the Cu₂O NCs.

Starch-capped Cu₂O nanocubes were used as an active electrochemical element to directly detect glucose.

Assessment of Alimentación Normal con Ajuste de Insulina (ANAIS), a Spanish version of the DAFNE programme, in people with Type 1 diabetes: a randomized controlled parallel trial

AIM

To evaluate the effects of Alimentación Normal con Ajuste de Insulina (ANAIS), a group-based, therapeutic education programme for Type 1 diabetes based on a flexible insulin regimen adjusted to the individual's food intake.

METHODS

Participants with Type 1 diabetes and HbA_1c levels of 53-86 mmol/mol (7-10%) were recruited from outpatient clinics at a tertiary care centre. They were randomized (using opaque, sealed envelopes, with a 2:1 treatment allocation ratio) to attend the training course immediately (immediate ANAIS; intervention group) or a year later (delayed ANAIS; control group). The main outcome was HbA_1c level at 1 year. Secondary outcomes included lipid levels, weight, hypoglycaemic events, insulin dose, treatment satisfaction, self-perceived dietary freedom, quality of life and participant-defined goals.

RESULTS

A total of 48 participants were assigned to the intervention group and 32 to the control group. Twelve months after completing the training, adjusted HbA_1c was not significantly different in the intervention group [64 ± 1.3 vs 68 ± 1.6 mmol/mol (8.0 ±0.1% vs 8.4 ±0.1%); P=0.081]. Treatment satisfaction was significantly higher in the intervention group, but no differences were found in hypoglycaemic events, weight, insulin dose or changes in dietary freedom. At 1 year after the intervention, 72% of the participants (vs 33% in the control group; P=0.046) reported exceeding their expectations regarding achievement of their main personal goal.

CONCLUSION

Promoting dietary freedom and empowering people with Type 1 diabetes through structured education programmes, such as ANAIS, improves treatment satisfaction and self-defined goals. No significant improvement in HbA_1c level was achieved.

Suitability of olive oil washing water as an electron donor in a feed batch operating bio-electrochemical system

Olive oil washing water derived from the two-phase manufacturing process was assessed as an electron donor in a bio-electrochemical system (BES) operating at 35 ºC. Start-up was carried out by using acetate as a substrate for the BES, reaching a potential of around +680 mV. After day 54, BES was fed with olive oil washing water. The degradation of olive oil washing water in the BES generated a maximum voltage potential of around +520 mV and a Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) removal efficiency of 41%. However, subsequent loads produced a decrease in the COD removal, while current and power density diminished greatly. The deterioration of these parameters could be a consequence of the accumulation of recalcitrant or inhibitory compounds, such as phenols. These results demonstrated that the use of olive oil washing water as an electron donor in a BES is feasible, although it has to be further investigated in order to make it more suitable for a real application.

[Behavior of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia in pregnant adolescents and its persistence after an obstetric event]

OBJECTIVE

To observe the behavior of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia in pregnant adolescents and the persistence before the delivery.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A cross-sectional study including 47 pregnant adolescents with NIC-positive results diagnosed by colposcopy during pregnancy with subsequent evaluation before the delivery. Nonrandom sampling of consecutive cases. Descriptive statistics with central and dispersal measures.

RESULTS

In total, 156 pregnant adolescents were studied, of which 30% (n = 47) had positive results to NIC with subsequent evaluation. Ages 18 ± 1.5 years, primiparous 77%, sexual activity initiation 15.6 ± 1.6 years old, sexual partners 1 (1-6), smoking and alcoholism 21%. At the beginning of pregnancy, 98% had NIC I results and 2% had NIC II by colposcopy. After delivery, 13% had normal results and 87% remained in NIC I.

CONCLUSION

The findings suggest that in pregnant adolescents there exists a natural dysplasia history as in pregnant women. Most of the lesions are NIC I and don't modify the evolution, with some regressing after the delivery.

[New technologies: support opportunities for network research]

The consolidation of a support area for network research, which promotes collaborative research, training and the dissemination of knowledge through the use of ICTs, requires the organization of a work methodology to share and exchange resources in a specific network that is already running. The establishment of communication mechanisms between researchers from different groups will be necessary along with the introduction of the ICTs in the teaching and advanced environments of research training, different inventories of the research resources that are available for exchanges and shared use between groups and laboratories, and finally, a shared scientific documentation system with the appropriate maintenance of the previously listed tools. Large administrative structures and detailed plans are not needed to comply with all of the above functions. The availability of effective tools, however, to combine efforts and search for resources in all of these areas is needed, with the agility and flexibility that allow us to currently use new communication and information technologies. The results of this research support area should lead to an increase in the efficacy and quality of the network by increasing the flow of information and the inter-group collaboration in teaching, research and professional development, along with the transfer and dissemination of research results.