First ultrastructural data on the human tapeworm Taenia asiatica eggs by scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM, TEM)

Galá,n-Puchades, M. Teresa,Yang, Yichao,Marcilla, Antonio,Choe, Seongjun,Park, Hansol,Osuna, Antonio,Eom, Keeseon S. Springer-Verlag 2016 Parasitology research Vol.115 No.9

<P>Humans are definitive hosts of three species of the Taenia genus, namely Taenia solium, Taenia saginata and Taenia asiatica. The relative novelty of the latter explains the lack of knowledge concerning certain relevant aspects related to this parasite, such as its definite geographical distribution and whether its eggs can infect humans or not. So far, only the eggs of T. solium are known to be infective for humans, producing cysticercosis. Although eggs contain the infective stage, the oncosphere, there is a lack of research on the ultrastructure of eggs of human taeniids. We show, for the first time, the ultrastructure of eggs of T. asiatica by means of SEM and TEM analyses. We detected all the envelopes, namely the egg shell, vitelline layer, outer embryophoric membrane, embryophore, granular layer, basal membrane, oncospheral membrane and oncospheral tegument. Hooks surrounded by myofibrils and glycogen-like particles, the two types of secretory granules of the penetration glands, as well as several nuclei and mitochondria were also revealed in the oncospheres. In addition to the already known structures in eggs from other Taenia species, the presence of two types of small vesicles is described herein, possibly corresponding to exosomes and ectosomes because of their shape and size, which could participate in the host/parasite intercellular communication.</P>

From Media to Transmedia: Transforming Teaching and Learning Strategies in a Digital Culture

Lorenzo Galés, Neus 영상영어교육학회 2019 영상영어교육 (STEM journal) Vol.20 No.4

During the last century, education through media has evolved and generalized both in formal and informal learning contexts. Using films in the classroom helped minimize the differences between academic studies, guided education, and self-access (learner’s autonomous access to content). Today, teaching through media implies using new technologies such as mobile apps, video games, autonomous learning platforms or social media in the classroom. Educators will find new challenges and opportunities if they manage this transmedia universe in their professional development. Transmedia activities are connected to developing multi-literacies in a collective digital culture, active citizenship in a sustainable world, and ethical awareness for community building. Traditional individual language-learning skills (speaking, reading, listening, writing) are usually seen as the basics of communication, but academic research shows that transliteracy, inter-comprehension and plurilingual skills are needed for cultural awareness, social interaction and global communicative competence (including abilities such as debating, mediating, coaching, coding and decoding). Evolving from educational media to transmedia requires changing teaching attitudes and adopting specific approaches, techniques and tools to generate much more interactive activity, integrated tasks and integrative projects. In this communicational ecosystem, researchers explore new tools and strategies to illustrate learning processes, teachers discover different approaches methodologies, and students learn to participate in their own learning process.

Sex differences in QEEG in adolescents with conduct disorder and psychopathic traits

Ana Calzada-Reyes,Alfredo Alvarez-Amador,Lidice Galán-García,Mitchell Valdés-Sosa 대한임상신경생리학회 2019 Annals of Clinical Neurophysiology Vol.21 No.1

Background: Sex influences is important to understand behavioral manifestations in a large number of neuropsychiatric disorders. We found electrophysiological differences specifically related to the influence of sex on psychopathic traits. Methods: The resting electroencephalography (EEG) activity and low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography (LORETA) for the EEG spectral bands were evaluated in 38 teenagers with conduct disorder (CD). The 25 male and 13 female subjects had psychopathic traits as diagnosed using the Antisocial Process Screening Device. All of the included adolescents were assessed using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR) criteria. The visually inspected EEG characteristics and the use of frequency- domain quantitative analysis techniques are described. Results: Quantitative EEG (QEEG) analysis showed that the slow-wave activities in the right frontal and left central regions were higher and the alpha-band powers in the left central and bitemporal regions were lower in the male than the female psychopathic traits group. The current source density showed increases in paralimbic areas at 2.73 Hz and decreases in the frontoparietal area at 9.37 Hz in male psychopathics relative to female psychopathics. Conclusions: These findings indicate that QEEG analysis and techniques of source localization can reveal sex differences in brain electrical activity between teenagers with CD and psychopathic traits that are not obvious in visual inspections.

A Finite Element-Based Methodology for the Thermo-mechanical Analysis of Early Age Behavior in Concrete Structures

H. Cifuentes,F. Montero-Chacón,J. Galán,J. Cabezas,A. Martínez-De la Concha 한국콘크리트학회 2019 International Journal of Concrete Structures and M Vol.13 No.6

This paper presents a general procedure based on fracture mechanics models in order to analyze the level of crack-ing and structural safety in reinforced concrete elements at early ages, depending on the stripping time. Our proce-dure involves the development of a thermo-mechanical numerical model based on the finite element method that accounts for the change in the mechanical properties of concrete with time. Moreover, fracture mechanisms are analyzed by means of a material damage model, which is characterized via specific experimental results obtained for standard specimens and notched beams under three-point bending testing. The loading conditions are both thermal and mechanical, and are obtained from the hydration process for a given concrete dosage. The presented methodol-ogy allows for the determination of the optimal stripping time, whereas it helps assessing the analysis of the cracking and the stress states of the elements under consideration. A practical application, namely the analysis of a retaining wall, is used to validate our methodology, showing its suitability in engineering practice.

Bioactive Properties of Tynanthus panurensis (Bureau) Sanwith Bark Extract, the Amazonian “Clavo Huasca”

Lidia Morales,Nuria Acero,Antonio Galán,Carmen Perez-García,Luis Fernando Alguacil,Dolores Muñoz-Mingarro 한국식품영양과학회 2011 Journal of medicinal food Vol.14 No.9

Tynanthus panurensis (Bureau) Sanwith (Bignoniaceae) is a liana vine used in traditional Amazonian medicine as a tonic and energizer as well as a treatment for rheumatism. These traditional indications prompted this study of the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of T. panurensis bark extract (ETP). Phytochemical analysis of ETP showed the presence of saponins and a high concentration of phenols and flavonoids. A battery of in vitro tests revealed that the extract has free radical–scavenging antioxidant properties and reduces microsomal lipid peroxidation, uric acid synthesis, and tumor necrosis factor-α production. The anti-inflammatory properties of ETP were further confirmed in vivo in a rat carrageenan edema model, in which the extract exhibited a potent activity. These results support the idea that T. panurensis bark extract could be beneficial for treating inflammation and are in agreement with one of the main traditional uses of this plant.

새우젓으로부터 혈전과 chitin 분해능을 지닌 균주 Bacillus licheniformis SC082의 분리 및 특성

조은경(Eun Kyung Cho),정유정(Yu Jung Jung),갈상완(Sang-Wan Gal),최영주(Young Ju Choi) 한국생명과학회 2009 생명과학회지 Vol.19 No.10

전통발효식품인 새우젓으로부터 혈전과 chitin 분해력이 우수한 균을 분리하였으며 16S rRNA 염기서열 분석으로 B. licheniformis와 가장 유사한 균주임을 확인하였다. 이 균주를 B. licheniformis SC082로 명명하였고, 최적 생육조건은 37℃, pH 7.0, 염 농도 6%로 확인되었다. 이 균주의 기질특이성을 조사한 결과, 우수한 혈전분해력을 나타냈으며 1% 농도의 colloidal chitin의 첨가에 의하여 chitinase 활성이 증가됨을 관찰할 수 있었다. 또한 지질 분해능은 없었고 약한 skim milk 분해력을 가지고 있었다. SDS-PAGE와 zymogram 분석 결과, 이 균은 혈전분해효소 isozyme과 chitinase isozyme을 생성하는 균주로 확인되었다. 그 대략적인 분자량은 각각 22.0, 66.0, 72.0 kDa과 55.0, 62.0 kDa이었다. B. licheniformis SC082 균주가 생성하는 혈전분해효소는 pH 9.0 그리고 50℃까지 안정하게 유지되었고, 이와 더불어, chitinase 활성은 pH 5, 45℃일 때 높게 나타났다. B. licheniformis SC082 균주의 DPPH 전자공여능법에 의한 항산화력은 농도의 증가에 따라 상승되었는데 20 ㎍의 균상등액에 대한 항산화력은 약 31%으로 나타났다. Shrimp Jeot-Gal is a popular traditional Korean fermented seafood and has been used for seasoning. We isolated a bacterium showing strong extra-cellular fibrinolysis and chitinase activity from shrimp Jeot-Gal and the strain was designated SC082. SC082 was identified as Bacillus licheniformis by 16S rRNA sequence homology search. B. licheniformis SC082 exhibited optimum temperature, pH, and salt concentration at 37℃, pH 7.0, and 6%, respectively. Substrate specificity of the culture supernatant from B. licheniformis SC082 was detected in fibrin, skim milk, and chitin plate. The fibrinolytic activity was highly maintained up to 50℃ at a pH of 7.0 for 3 hr and was stable up to pH 9.0 at 37℃ for 3 hr. The chitinase activity was remarkably induced by addition of 1.0% colloidal chitin and the pH and temperature optima of the enzyme were 5.0 and 45℃, respectively. In sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and zymogram analysis, this strain produced three fibrinolytic isozymes and two chitinase isozymes. The approximate molecular weights of the putative fibrinolytic enzymes were 23.0, 62.0, and 72.0 kDa and those of the chitinases were 62.0 and 55.0 kDa, respectively. The antioxidant activity of SC082 was also measured by using 2,2-diphenyl-l-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) free radical. The DPPH radical scavenging was slightly increased in a dose-dependent manner.

An ionic polyacetylene from the non-catalyst polymerization of 2-ethynylpyridine using 1,6-dibromohexane: Synthesis and characterization

Gal, Yeong-Soon,Jin, Sung-Ho,Park, Jong Wook,Son, Tae-Kwan,Lim, Kwon Taek Informa UK (TaylorFrancis) 2016 Molecular Crystals and Liquid Crystals Vol.636 No.1

<P>An ionic polyacetylene was prepared via the non-catalyst polymerization of 2-ethynylpyridine using 1,6-dibromohexane. The polymerization proceeded in homogeneous manner to give a high yield of polymer (88%). The polymer structure was characterized by such instrumental methods as IR, NMR, and UV-visible spectroscopies to have the conjugated polymer backbone with the designed bromohexylpyridinium substituents. The absorption spectrum exhibits several absorption peaks such as 289, 330, 387, and 489nm and band gap was 2.44eV. The photoluminescence spectrum of polymer showed the maximum peak at 550nm. Overall redox current shape and values were very stable in the range of -1.5V to 1.5V under up to 50 cylcles. Oxidation and reduction were started at 0.35 and -0.6V.</P>

Synthesis of a Polyacetylene by Double Cyclopolymerization of Triyne Monomer and its Electro-optical and Electrochemical Properties

Gal, Yeong-Soon,Jin, Sung-Ho,Kim, Beomjin,Kim, Seungho,Park, Jongwook Informa UK (TaylorFrancis) 2013 MOLECULAR CRYSTALS AND LIQUID CRYSTALS - Vol.579 No.1

Synthesis and Characterization of Water-Soluble Ionic Conjugated Polyacetylene

Gal, Yeong-Soon,Jin, Sung-Ho,Park, Jong-Wook,Lim, Kwon-Taek,Kim, Sang Youl Informa UK (TaylorFrancis) 2010 Molecular Crystals and Liquid Crystals Vol.530 No.1

A conjugated polymer electrolyte for quasi-solid state dye-sensitized solar cell applications

Gal, Yeong-Soon,Jin, Sung-Ho,Shim, Sang-Yeon,Lim, Kwon Taek Informa UK (TaylorFrancis) 2016 Molecular Crystals and Liquid Crystals Vol.636 No.1

<P>A new conjugated ionic polymer was applied for DSSCs. Poly(2-ethynyl-N-methylpyridinium iodide) (PEMPI) was prepared by the non-catalyst polymerization of 2-ethynylpyridine using iodomethane without any additional initiator or catalyst. The polymerization proceeded homogeneously to give a high yield of polymer (87%). The photoluminescence peak was observed at 568nm corresponding to a photon energy of 2.19eV. Quasi-solid-state DSSCs with a SnO2:F/TiO2/D719 dye/solid-state electrolyte/Pt device was fabricated with PEMPI, which shows the maximum power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 6.01%.</P>