Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a common ocular disease characterized by the de-generation of the central area of the retina in elderly population. Progression and response to treatment is influenced by genetic and non-genetic factors. Proteomics is a powerful tool to study, at the molecular level, the mechanisms underlaying the progression of the diseases, to identify new therapeutical targets and to establish biomarkers to monitor progression and treatment ef-fectiveness. In this work we pursue to systematically review the use of proteomic-based ap-proaches for the study of the molecular mechanisms underlying the development of AMD, as well as the progression of the disease and the on-treatment patient monitoring. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) reporting guidelines were followed. Proteomic approaches have identified key players on the onset of the disease, such as proteins involved in lipid metabolism and oxidative stress, but also in the progression to advanced stages, including factors related to extracellular matrix integrity and angiogenesis. Although an-ti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF)-based therapy has been crucial in the treatment of neovascular AMD it is necessary to get deeper into the underlying disease mechanisms to move forward to next-generation therapies of the later-stage forms of this multifactorial disease.

The effect of sonication on the molecular characteristics of poliacrylic acid (Carbopol® Ultrez 10) and its rheological behavior in aqueous dispersions and microgels containing 0.25 wt. % of the polymer was analyzed in this work by rheometry, weight-average molecular weight (Mw) measurements via static light scattering (SLS), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and confocal microscopy. For this, the precursor dispersion and the microgels were sonicated in a commercial ultrasound bath at constant power and different times. We observed a softening of the microgel microstructure consisting of a systematic decrease in its shear modulus, yield stress and viscosity with increasing sonication time, while their overall Herschel-Bulkley (H-B) behavior was preserved. SLS measurements evidenced a reduction of Mw of polyacrylic acid with sonication time. Separately, FTIR measurements indicate that sonication produces scission in the C-C links of the Carbopol® backbone, which results in chains with the same chemistry but lower molecular weight. Finally, confocal microscopy measurements revealed a concomitant diminution of the size of the microsponge domains with sonication time, which is reflected in a softer microstructure resulting from reduction of the molecular weight of polyacrylic acid. The present results indicate that both the microstructure and the rheological behavior of Carbopol® microgels, in particular, and complex fluids in general, may be manipulated or tailored by high-power ultrasonication.

Some evidence suggests that personality types are a useful construct to understand stress and coping. However, further research is needed, especially on academic stress. Our aim was to explore how personality types and gender relate to coping strategies for academic stress and perceived coping efficacy. A total of 810 university psychology students completed the NEO-FFI Inventory and the Coping Strategies Inventory. Post-hoc tests for MANOVA and ANOVA were performed, where personality types and gender were treated as predictors and use of coping strategies and perceived coping efficacy as criteria. Finally, a one-way ANOVA followed by post hoc comparisons was performed to analyse the associations between personality types and perceived coping efficacy. Those with personality types combining low neuroticism with high conscientiousness chose the most adaptive coping strategies and showed the highest levels of perceived coping efficacy, while those whose personality types combined high neuroticism with low conscientiousness opted for maladaptive coping strategies and presented the lowest level of perceived coping efficacy. As for gender, women chose emotional expression more frequently. The personality type classification provided useful information on individual differences in coping with academic stress, which can help guide specific strategies to manage it.

Infant obesity has become one of the most serious global health challenges of our time. The combined prevalence of overweight and obesity has rapidly increased worldwide during the last two decades, especially in some developing countries where obesity is reaching levels on a par with some industrialized countries, or even higher. This fast growth has occurred especially in countries in the midst of rapid social-economic transitions. Most international comparisons focus on the adult population while analyses focusing on the child population are more limited. Using the methodology developed by Phillips and Sul [1], this paper studies the worldwide evolution of infant body mass index (BMI), overweight and obesity prevalence for a large sample of countries during the period 1975-2016. Our results indicate that the figures for BMI or the prevalence of obesity in different countries do not converge, while the opposite is the case for overweight prevalence in children. Furthermore, there is a non-linear relationship between obesity and income or human capital, indicating that low and middle-income countries require a strong initiative for health policies targeting obesity prevention.

Background: The passage through university, as a complex experience, can heighten personal susceptibility to eating disorders. The objective of this research is to determine how gender, age, year of course, and center or faculty can influence the risk of an eating disorder among university students. Method: A transversal and descriptive study with a probabilistic sample of 516 Spanish students from 26 university degrees is performed, by administering the Inventory Eating Disorder-Reference criterion (EDI-3-RF) to the students. Results: It was found that the female students enrolled in second-year grades presented a greater obsession with thinness and body dissatisfaction, that the male students did more physical exercise to control their weight, and that those under 20 years and the students from both the Health and Law Faculties presented greater bulimic behavior. Conclusions: It is necessary to implement preventive measures adapted to the university students.

'Cv 'Doña María' table grape is a high-quality table grape variety included in the Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) of the European Union "The bagged grape of the Vinalopó." The PDO stipulates that grape clusters must be protected with paper bags from inclement weather and insects, which helps enhance the final grape quality. However, 'Doña María' is a variety prone to high shattering in the late stages of ripening on the vine and during postharvest. Inorganic calcium treatments are one of the most commonly used tools to reduce this disorder, but the translocation of this mineral from veraison onward has been questioned. In this study, five applications were performed, from veraison to harvest, using sorbitol-chelated calcium (0.7 % + 1.0 %), Ca(NO3)2 (Ca) at 0.7% and sorbitol at 1%. It was observed that bagged grapes (not wetted with the solutions) only increased the concentration of total and bound calcium when treated with Sorbitol-Ca. This resulted in reduced berry drop during cultivation and postharvest and improved fruit firmness. Additionally, it reduced grape metabolism indicators such as respiration rate, weight loss, malic acid degradation, prevented abscisic acid (ABA) and malondialdehyde (MDA) accumulation, and favored the accumulation of secondary metabolites such as total polyphenols, increased antioxidant activity, and sugar content. The application of sorbitol-chelated calcium is an effective and safe tool that enhances fruit quality and prevents losses due to shattering during postharvest.

Metabolic syndrome is a growing global health problem. Evidence suggests that diets rich in phytochemical-containing herbs and spices can contribute to reduced risk of chronic disease. This review assesses the scope of evidence supporting the use of herbs and spices in the diet for prevention or treatment of metabolic syndrome and associated health conditions. A search of PubMed and Scopus databases was carried out to assess the available clinical or cohort evidence for culinary doses of commonly used herbs and spices. Trials that were measuring health factors related to metabolic disorders or the health of individuals with metabolic syndrome or associated diseases were included. Out of a total of 1742 papers identified, there were 146 relevant studies on black pepper, chilli, cardamom, cinnamon, coriander, cumin, fennel, fenugreek, garlic, ginger, Nigella seed, rosemary, sage and turmeric. No relevant research was found for cloves, mint, oregano, parsley or thyme. Cinnamon, fenugreek and ginger were the herbs/spices with the most published trials on them and showed promise for glycaemic control. Cardamom appears to have potential to reduce inflammatory markers, and cinnamon, ginger and turmeric for blood lipids. Patients with type 2 diabetes were the population most likely to be included in studies, but the preventative benefits of herbs/spices in healthy populations were also investigated, particularly for chilli, ginger and cinnamon. There is evidence for the beneficial effect of culinary doses of many common herbs/spices in the prevention and treatment of metabolic syndrome and associated disorders.

The use of biolubricants as an alternative for petroleum-based products has played an important role in the last decade. Thus, due to the encouragement of global policies, which mainly support green chemistry and circular economy, there has been an increasing interest in bio-based products, including biolubricants, from scientific and industrial points of view. Due to the different applications of biolubricants for a wide range of practical uses, the raw materials, production, and characteristics might vary, making this field a continuously changing subject of study by researchers. The aim of this research work was to focus on biolubricant production from vegetable oil crops in a bio-refinery perspective, paying attention to the main raw materials used, the corresponding production methods (with special focus on double transesterification), the role of catalysts and techno-economic studies. Thus, the main factors affecting quality parameters such as viscosity or oxidative stability have been covered, including catalyst addition, reaction temperature or the use of raw materials, reagents or additives were also analyzed. The latest research trends were included, updating previous studies about this matter, considering current conclusions and future research.

DNA damage response (DDR) pathways in keto-enol genotoxicity have not been characterized, and few studies have reported genotoxic effects in non-target organisms. The present study shows that concentrations of 11.2, 22.4, 37.3 mg/L of Movento® 240SC and 12.3, 24.6, 41.1 mg/L of Envidor® 240SC for 72 h oral exposure induced DSBs by significantly increasing the percentage of γH2AV expression in regions 2b and 3 from the germarium of wildtype females of Drosophila melanogaster Oregon R, compared to the control group (0.0 mg/L of insecticides), by confocal immunofluorescence microscopy. The comparison between both insecticides’ revels that only the Envidor® 240SC induces concentration-dependent DNA damage, as well as structural changes in the germarium. We determined that the DDR induced by Movento® 240SC depends on the activation of the ATMtefu, Chk1grp and Chk2lok kinases by significantly increasing the percentage of expression of γH2AX in regions 2b and 3 of the germarium, and that ATRmei-29D and p53dp53 kinases only respond at the highest concentration of 37.3 mg/L of Movento® 240SC. With the Envidor® 240SC insecticide, we determined that the DDR depends on the activation of the ATRmei-29D/Chk1grp and ATMtefu/Chk2lok kinases, and p53dp53 by significantly increasing the percentage of expression of γH2AX in the germarium.

There is a restricted knowledge about the potential impact of the use of different wood species on color and anthocyanin changes during the red wine aging process. This lack of knowledge is even greater when no oak wood species are used. Thus, the aim of this study was to carry out a comparative analysis of the impact of wood chip extracts from oak, acacia and cherry species on the chromatic characteristics and anthocyanins changes by the use of model wine solutions. In this context, several methodologies were used to quantified, color and anthocyanins changes during the aging time studied. The results indicated that the contact between wood chip extracts and grape skin isolated anthocyanin extracts induced a decrease of color intensity, particularly red color, and also the anthocyanin content in the different experimental model wine solutions studied. All chromatic modifications are potentially detected by human eyes because ΔE values were much higher than 3 CIELab units. These tendencies seems to be independent of the wood species used, but more pronounced for higher contact time between wood chip extracts and anthocyanins. The obtained results may contribute to a better understanding of the chromatic changes of red wines when aged in contact with different wood chips species.

The objective of this work was to analyze the potential of Rhizophora mangle as a bioindicator of seven heavy metals, Fe, Cu, Zn, Mn, Ni, Cr, and Cd, in the mangrove sediments of the Navachiste lagoon complex (NAV). The concentration of trace metals (TM) in sediments and tis-sues (leaf, stembark, and root of R. mangle) were determined by digestion with nitric acid (HNO3), whereas the metal absorbance was measured by atomic absorption spectrophotometry with an air-acetylene flame. The enrichment factor, the bioavailable fraction, the seasonal varia-tion of heavy metal concentrations and their correlation with those determined in R. mangle tissues were assessed. Metal concentrations found in sediments were as following: Fe>Mn>Zn>Cr>Ni>Cu>Cd, and for tissues: Mn>Fe>Zn>Cu>Cr>Ni>Cd, and regarding the roots, the findings were as following: Fe>Mn>Zn>Cu>Cr>Ni>Cd. The highest trace metal concentra-tions were correlated with silt, clay, and organic matter in sediments with basic pH. The highest salinities were found adjacent to R. mangle trees. Of all the trace metals analyzed, there was only a positive linear regression between the bioavailability of Mn in the sediment with the concen-tration of Mn in leaf tissue consistently throughout the year. The Cu bioavailability in the sedi-ment showed similar positive linear regressions except for winter, where it did not show this pattern. These results suggest that the concentrations of Mn and Cu in the R. mangle leaf could be a potential bioindicator of environmental exposure to anthropogenic sources of contamination by these trace metals in sediments

In this study we assessed the electrical and optical behavior of semiconductor hybrid films fabricate from octaethyl-21H,23H-porphine copper (CuP), embedded in polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), and polystyrene (PS). The hybrid films were characterized structurally and morphologically by means of Infrared spectroscopy (IR), atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Subsequently, the PMMA:CuP and PS:CuP hybrid films were evaluated optically by UV-vis spectroscopy, as well as electrically, with the four-point collinear method. Hybrid films present a homogeneous and low roughness morphology, besides; the PS matrix allows the crystallization of the porphin, while the PMMA promotes the amorphous structure in CuP. The polymeric matrix also has an effect on the optical behavior of the films, since the smallest optical gap (2.16 eV) and onset gap (1.89 eV) and the highest transparency are obtained in the film with a PMMA matrix. Finally, the electrical behavior in hybrid films is also affected by the matrix: the largest amount of current carried is around 0.01 A for PS:CuP film, while for PMMA:CuP film it is 0.0015 A. Thanks to the above properties, hybrid films are promising candidates for use in optoelectronic devices.

The value of landscape, as part of collective heritage, can be acquired by GIS due to the multilayer approach of the spatial configuration. Proficiency in geospatial technologies in order to collect, process, analyze, interpret, visualize and communicate geographic information is being increased by undergraduate and graduate students, but in particular by those who are training to become geography teachers at secondary education. This training can be carried out through personalized learning and distance learning methodology. Personalized GIS education aims to integrate students and enhance their understanding of landscape. Some teaching experiences are shown whereby opportunities offered by WebGIS will be described, through quantitative tools and techniques that will allow this modality of learning and improve its effectiveness. Results of this research show that students, through geospatial technologies, learn landscape as a diversity of elements but also the complexity of physical and human factors involved. Several conclusions will be highlighted: i) the contribution of geospatial training to education for sustainable development; ii) spatial analysis as a mean of skills acquisition about measures for landscape conservation; iii) expanding and applying acquired knowledge to other geographic spaces and different landscapes.

The management of a cultural change in higher education is becoming necessary and unavoidable: changes in teaching, changes in research and changes in governance. Digital transformation is an essential part of many countries’ modernisation agendas. The aim of this non-experimental, descriptive, survey-based study was to explore the perceptions of university students toward the digital transformation that took place in university teaching as a consequence of COVID-19. The specific objectives proposed were to: a) analyse the perceptions of students toward digital transformation in university teaching; b) determine the valuation of students about the digital transformation that occurred in university teaching as a result of COVID-19; and c) explore the resources (hardware-software), professional collaboration, digital pedagogy and student empowerment (motivation) with respect to digital education and the recent changes in university teaching due to the pandemic. The results show that a large number of items are positively correlated. In conclusion, further research should delve into motivation, collaboration, reflective experience sharing, self-learning and initiatives that promote the development of competences in future teachers.

Obstetric Violence refers to dehumanized or derogative treatment of women in their pregnancy, childbirth or postpartum periods and may be manifested through the attitudes of health professionals or the performance of unjustified or outdated practices without maternal consent. Currently, there is no tool validated in Spain to measure women’s perception of obstetric violence. The objective of this study was to carry out the cultural adaption and validation of an existing 14-item Obstetric Violence Scale to the Spanish context, and to evaluate its psychometric properties. The research was conducted in two phases: first, a methodological study designed to evaluate content validity, through assessments by 8 experts (calculating the Aiken V coefficient) and face validity in a sample of 20 women; second, a cross-sectional study to evaluate construct validity (through confirmatory factor analysis and Rasch analysis), divergent validity against a scale of birth satisfaction, known groups validity and reliability. In Phase 1, Aiken V values higher than 0.71 were obtained for all items. Phase 2 was conducted on a sample of 256 women and the fit values for the unidimensional model were RMSEA: 0.070 [95%CI: 0.059-0.105] and GFI: 0.982 [95%CI: 0.823-0.990]. The Rasch analysis indicated poor performance of item 2, which was removed. The Omega and Cronbach's Alpha coefficients were 0.863 and 0.860, respectively. A final 13-item version of the Obstetric Violence scale was produced, with total score ranging from 0 (no obstetric violence perception) to 52 (maximum obstetric violence perception). The Obstetric Violence Scale is a reliable and useful tool to measure women's perception of obstetric violence.

Studies involving vortex in hybrid superconducting devices and their interaction with different components inside the sample are an important issue to reach higher values of their critical parameters in superconducting materials. The vortex distribution on each side of sample with different fundamental parameters, such as temperature T, penetration depth λ, coherence length ξ, electron mass m and the order parameter Ψ, may help to improve the superconducting properties. Thus, in this work, we used the modified Ginzburg-Landau theory to investigate hybrid superconductor (HS), but also to provide a highly tunable and adjustable theoretical tool to theoretically explain the experimental results involving HS, in order to study the vortex behaviour in superconductors of mesoscopic dimensions with extremely differences among their fundamentals parameters. Therefore, we evaluated the influence of HS on vortex configuration and their effects in the field-dependent magnetization. The results show that the during the increment of applied magnetic field H the diamagnetic response of HS, Meissner effect, include additional jumps of magnetization while diamagnetism continues its increase in the sample. In addition, the differences among parameters, create an interface between both components, two different magnitudes of supercurrent and vortex sizes producing a lower degradation of local superconductivity, which increase the upper critical field. On the other hand, this type HS with differences of parameters on both sides can be used to control the vortex movement in the selected superconducting region sample with more accuracy.

The implementation of sustainable practices, such as the use of renewable sources and efficient technologies, is crucial for reducing climate change. Energy efficiency is highly important on a global scale due to its relationship with climate change, aiming to minimize environmental impact. In Spain, renewable energy policies have increased self-sufficiency and reduced the use of fossil fuels. Optimizing energy consumption in residences, buildings, and industries is essential for improving efficiency. This was taken into consideration for conducting this study, focusing on the residential sector. The desire to understand the level of energy efficiency in Extremadura drove this project, which focuses on collecting and analyzing data on a set of homes located in the au-tonomous community of Extremadura, with the purpose of evaluating their energy efficiency. To achieve this, a computer tool will be employed to provide a detailed view of the different levels of energy efficiency present in the community. In addition to data collection and analysis, research will be conducted to identify areas for improvement. This will allow proposing a series of specific measures that users can implement to optimize energy efficiency in their homes, adapting them to the particular characteristics of each residence.

Salting influences microbial growth, enzymatic activity and biochemical reactions during ripening, thus contributing to the final quality of cheese. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of different salting methods (dry salting at 12, 24 and 48 h; in brine; and curd salting) on the chemical (moisture and salt content), physico-chemical (pH, titratable acidity and water activity) and sensory (texture profile analysis, colour and sensory attributes) characteristics of an industrial blue vein cheese. Dry salted cheeses had lower moisture content and water activity, and higher salt/moisture content and acidity than those salted in brine and curd. Dry-salted cheeses were also characterised by higher values for hardness, fracturability and instrumental gumminess. Dry-salted cheeses showed differences only in the red/green colour component (a*), with the curd-salted cheeses being less greenish. All cheeses scored high (around 7) in the tasters' overall impression, with the dry-salted cheeses at 12 and 24 h showing optimal growth and even distribution of mould, as well as better flavour and texture.

We conducted this systematic review with the objective to understand the efficacy and safety of proton pump inhibitors [PPIs] in the pediatric population. We have used PubMed to identify randomized controlled trials [RCTs] published between 1st June 2010 and 30th June 2023, in patients from birth to 18 years old, with gastroesophageal reflux disease [GERD], who received treatment with any PPI. The literature yielded 76 articles and 13 met inclusion criteria. For infants, PPIs were equal to placebo in reducing GERD symptoms in 4 articles. In 1, the number of GER episodes and esophageal acid exposure were lower in infants who received PPIs and left lateral position, but there was no significant improvement in symptoms. In another publication, the combination of PPIs and feeding modifications [FM] was not more effective than PPIs alone. For children and adolescents, PPIs were effective in improving symptoms and achieving mucosal and histological healing, which was subsequently maintained. To conclude, PPIs are not effective to reduce symptoms related to GERD in infants, but are effective in older children, along with histological remission. Generally, PPIs are well tolerated, but it is important to not forget the possible adverse events [AE], especially if they are used for a long time.

A single paragraph of about 200 words maximum. For research articles, abstracts should give a pertinent overview of the work. We strongly encourage authors to use the following style of structured abstracts, but without headings: (1) Background: Place the question addressed in a broad context and highlight the purpose of the study; (2) Methods: briefly describe the main methods or treatments applied; (3) Results: summarize the article's main findings; (4) Conclu-sions: indicate the main conclusions or interpretations. The abstract should be an objective rep-resentation of the article and it must not contain results that are not presented and substantiated in the main text and should not exaggerate the main conclusions.

A 52-y/o asymptomatic male with history of hypertension, was referred to our Heart Failure Clinic due to report of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, TTE with an increased end-diastolic thick-ness (basal inferoseptal of 23 mm, and basal anteroseptal of 21 mm). CMR demonstrated late gadolinium enhancement at the septum, anterior, inferolateral, and inferior walls with a mid-myocardial distribution, T1 mapping which reported an average T1 of 929 ms. A next-generation sequencing panel was requested. Results demonstrated hemizygosis, in the ga-lactosidase alpha gene, consistent with Fabry Disease. The replacement of the enzyme was start-ed. Extended familial genetic counseling and testing were done.

Agriculture is the main driver of depletion resources worldwide, and its duty is to ensure food security within a rapidly increasing demographic and urbanization, so it is important to transition to sustainable production systems. Vertical crops (VCs) can reduce the pressure on conventional agriculture because they save water and nutrients and increase crop yield. Therefore, this study aimed to validate a proposed predictive model (PM) to simulate water and nutrient uptake in vertical crops under greenhouse conditions. Based on the Penman-Monteith equation, PM estimates transpiration, while nutrient uptake was estimated using the Carmassi-Sonneveld submodel. PM was experimentally evaluated for vertically grown lettuce under Mediterranean greenhouse conditions, during spring 2023. The irrigation technique was a closed-loop fertigation circuit. The experimental consisted of testing two densities (50 and 80 plants·m-2), where each unit of the experiment unit was divided into three heights (low, medium, and upper). It performed ANOVA with a value of p < 0.05 and R2 to assess PM performance. The results suggest a high degree of PM, since R2 ranged from 0.7 to 0.9 for the uptake of water and nutrients. Both densities had a yield between 17-20 times higher than conventional lettuce production and significant savings in water, between 85-88%. In this sense, PM has great potential to intelligently manage VC fertigation, saving water and nutrients, which represents an advance towards reaching SDG 6 and SDG 12, within the 2030 Agenda.

In Spain, the National Health System, of a public nature, provides care to Spaniards and other residents in Spain. It is a system adapted to the State of Autonomies, decentralized. Each Auton-omous Community has legislative capacity in its organization and management. We studied the agreement of private hospitals by the public system in La Rioja, an Autonomous Community of Spain located in the North of the Iberian Peninsula. Documentary sources from the General archives of La Rioja, the Institute of Riojan Studies, municipal funds (Logroño, Haro, Calahorra), and in-formation from catalogs and censuses of hospitals from the Ministry of Health, National Institute of Statistics, and Institute of Statistics of La Rioja have been reviewed. The hospital model of La Rioja is characterized by a predominance of public beds over private ones, although there is a growing trend in the number of private beds from 2013 onwards, due to the incorporation of two conva-lescent socio-health hospitals. A characteristic element of La Rioja has been the promotion of pub-lic-private collaboration, conceived as a strategic alliance. Regarding agreements, in La Rioja there has been a specialization in the socio-health space, whose formulas have been the management service contract and the concession of work. The development of the Health System in La Rioja, 1986-2019, has been determined by the presence of a mixed public-private hospital system and a progressively lower dependence on specialized hospitals from other Autonomous Communities.

Bacterial endophytes (120) were isolated from six halophytes (Distichlis spicata, Cynodon dactylon, Eragrostis obtusiflora, Suaeda torreyana, Kochia scoparia, and Baccharis salicifolia). These halophiles were molecularly identified and characterized with or without NaCl conditions. Characterization was based on tests such as indole acetic acid (IAA), exopolysaccharides (EPS), and siderophores (SID) production; solubilization of phosphate (P), potassium (K), zinc (Zn), and manganese (Mn); mineralization of phytate; enzymatic activity (acid and alkaline phosphatase, phytases, xylanases, and chitinases) and mineralization/solubilization mechanisms involved (organic acids and sugars). Eleven halophiles (tolerated NaCl 2.5 M) were identified as Oceanobacillus sp. (1), Bacillus sp. (2), Nesterenkonia sp. (3), Bacillus velezensis (4), Halobacillus sp. (5), Oceanobacillus sp. (6), B. velezensis (7) Halomonas sp. (8), B. pumilus (9), Pseudomonas sp. (10) and Oceanobacillus sp. (11). Biochemical responses of nutrient solubilization and enzymatic activity varied between bacteria and the presence of NaCl. Organic acids were involved in P-mineralization and nutrient solubilization. Tartaric acid was common in the solubilization of P, Zn, and K. Maleic and vanillic acid were only detected in Zn and K solubilization, respectively. Moreover, sugars appeared to be involved in the solubilization of nutrients; fructose was detected in solubilization tests. Therefore, these bacteria should be tested as a consortium to mitigate saline stress in glycophytes under a global climate change scheme that threatens to exacerbate soil salinity.

Western countries are experiencing an increasing aging population, resulting in heightened disability and mobility issues. This trend is expected to escalate in the coming decades. Therefore, ensuring adequate accessibility in collective residential housing –where individuals spend much of their daily lives– is of paramount importance. This paper presents a case study focused on the accessibility of building entrances in collective residential housing in Southeast Spain, specifically in the Region of Murcia. In this region, 9.8% of the population has disabilities, and 15.75% were over 64 years old in 2020. The study began by compiling the relevant national and regional accessibility regulations for existing buildings. Subsequently, extensive fieldwork was conducted, analyzing 150 collective residential housing buildings. Based on this analysis, a set of recommendations to enhance accessibility was formulated for buildings not complying with the regulations. The results are presented and discussed in detail. The most frequent recommendation was the construction of accessible ramps, identified as the primary solution in over 40% of cases, either alone or in conjunction with other measures. In 54% of the cases, multiple interventions were necessary to achieve effective accessibility adaptation. The findings of this study could inform the development of public policies aimed at improving accessibility conditions in urban areas.

In the present study the synthesis of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) loaded with methotrexate (MTX) has been carried out in order to obtain controlled size and monodispersed nanocarriers, around 20nm. Characterization study shows metallic AuNPs with MTX polydispersed on the surface. MTX is linked by a replacement of citrate by the MTX carboxyl group. The drug release profiles showed faster MTX release when it is conjugated, which leads to the best control of plasma concentration. Also, the enhanced release observed at pH 5 could take advantage of the pH gradients that exist in tumor microenvironments to achieve high local drug concentrations. AuNPs-MTX conjugates were tested by flow cytometry against lung (A-549) and colon (HTC-116) cancer cell lines. Results for A-549 showed a lighter dose-response effect than for colon cancer ones. This could be related to the presence of folate receptors in line HTC-116 on the contrary than line A-549, supporting the specific uptake of folate-conjugated AuNPs-MTX by folate receptor positive tumor cells. Conjugates exhibited considerably higher cytotoxic effects compared with the effects of equal doses of free MTX. Anexin V-PI test sustain as cell death mechanism apoptosis, which is normally disabled in cancer cells.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by poor social interaction and communication, as well as restricted and stereotyped interests. Due of the high prevalence of gastrointestinal disorders in individuals with ASD, researchers have investigated the gut microbiota as a potential contributor to its aetiology. The relationship between the microbiome, gut, and brain (microbiome-gut-brain axis) has been acknowledged as a key factor in modulating brain function and social behaviour, but its connection to the aetiology of ASD is not well understood. Recently, there has been increasing attention on the relationship between the immune system, gastrointestinal disorders, and neurological issues in ASD, particularly in relation to the loss of specific species or a decrease in microbial diversity. It focuses on how gut microbiota dysbiosis can affect gut permeability, immune function, and microbiota metabolites in ASD. Although a very complete study suggests that dysbiosis is a consequence of the disease and that it has practically no effect on autistic manifestations. This is a review of the relationship between the immune system, microbial diversity, and the microbiome-gut-brain axis in the development of autistic symptoms severity and, a proposal of a novel role of gut microbiome in ASD, where dysbiosis is a consequence of ASD-related behaviour and where dysbiosis in turn accentuates the autistic manifestations of the patients via microbiome-gut-brain axis in a feedback circuit.

Anticipating and planning for the urgent response to large-scale disasters is critical to increase the probability of survival in these events. These incidents present various challenges that complicate the response, such as unfavorable weather conditions, difficulties in accessing affected areas, and the geographical spread of the victims. Furthermore, local socioeconomic factors such as insufficient prevention education, limited disaster assets, and inadequate coordination between public and private emergency services may complicate these situations. In large-scale emergencies, multiple hotspots are usually observed, which requires efforts to coordinate the strategic allocation of human and material resources in different geographical areas. Therefore, the precise management of these resources based on the specific needs of each area becomes fundamental. To address these complexities, this paper proposes a methodology that models these scenarios as an optimization problem, focusing on the location and allocation of resources in mass casualty incidents. The proposed case study is Mexico City in a post-earthquake scenario, using voluntary geographic information, open government data, and historical data from the September 19, 2017 earthquake. Additionally, it is assumed that the resources that require optimal location and allocation are ambulances, which focus on medical issues that affect the survival of victims. The designed solution involves the use of a metaheuristic optimization technique, along with a parameter tuning technique, to find configurations that perform at different instances of the problem, i.e., different hypothetical scenarios that can be used as a reference for future possible situations. Finally, the objective is to present the different solutions graphically, accompanied by relevant information to facilitate the decision-making process of the authorities responsible for the practical implementation of these solutions.

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) and periodontitis are two chronic diseases that are interconnected. The coexistence of these conditions leads to increased severity of periodontitis and challenges in controlling blood glucose levels in diabetic patients. Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate both the influence of periodontal disease and its treatment in patients with DM in terms of a reduction in glycosylated hemoglobin levels at 3 and 6 months after treatment. Methods: A sequential, nonprobabilistic, controlled, prospective and longitudinal case−control study was carried out at the University Dental Clinic of the Morales Meseguer Hospital in Murcia, Spain. Thirty diabetic patients were divided into two groups: patients with periodontitis (test group) and patients without periodontitis (control group). The periodontal and endocrine-metabolic variables were measured at baseline and at 3 and 6 months after periodontal treatment for both groups. Results: Statistically significant differences were found at 3 and 6 months after periodontal treatment with respect to HbA1c levels in the group of periodontal patients. However, these differences were not observed in the control group. Conclusion: The presence of periodontal disease increased HbA1c levels in patients with DM. Nonsurgical periodontal treatment significantly decreased the degree of periodontal inflammation and the HbA1c level at 3 and 6 months after treatment.

Cleidocranial dysplasia (CCD) is an autosomal dominant skeletal dysplasia characterized by persistent open skull sutures whit bulging calvaria, hypoplasia or aplasia of clavicles permitting abnormal opposition of the shoulders, wide public symphysis, short middle phalanx of the fifth fingers and vertebral, craniofacial and dental anomalies. It is a rare disease, with a prevalence of 1-9/1,000,000, high penetrance, and variable expression. The responsible gene of CCD is the runt-related transcription factor 2 gene (RUNX2). We characterize the clinical, genetic and bioinformatic results of four CCD cases. Two Mexican familial with 6 affected members, 9 asymptomatic individuals, and two sporadic cases with CCD, as well as 100 healthy controls. Genomic DNA analyses of the RUNX2 gene was performed for Sanger sequencing. Bioinformatics tools, used to predict the function, stability, and structural changes of the mutated RUNX2 proteins. Three novel heterozygous mutations (c.651_652del; c.538_539delinsCA; c.662T>A) and a previously reported mutation (c.674G>A) were detected. In silico analysis showed that all mutations had functional, stability, and structural alterations in RUNX2 protein. Our results show novel mutations that enrich the pool of RUNX2 gene mutations with CCD. In addition, one patient presented clinical data not previously reported that could represent an expanded phenotype of sever expression.

Coxiella burnetii (Derrick) Philip, the causative agent of Q fever, is mainly transmitted by aerosols, but ticks can also be a source of infection. Transstadial and transovarical transmission of C. burnetii by Hyalomma lusitanicum (Koch) has been suggested. There is a close relationship between this tick species, wild animals and C. burnetii but the transmission in a natural environment has not been demonstrated. In this study, we collected 80 engorged nymphs of H. lusitanicum from red deer and wild rabbits. They molt to adults under laboratory conditions and we feed them artificially through silicone membranes after a preconditioning period. C. burnetii DNA was tested in ticks, blood and feces samples using real-time PCR. The pathogen was found in 36.25% of fed adults demonstrating that transstadial transmission from nymph to adult occurs in nature. The presence of DNA in the 60% of blood samples confirms that adults transmit the bacteria during feeding. Further studied are needed about co-feeding and other possible transmission routes to define the role of this tick species in the cycle of C. burnetii.

Polyurethanes are materials with a strong structure-property relationship. The goal of this research was to study the effect of a polyol blend composition of polyurethanes on its properties using a mixture design and setting mathematic models for each property. Water absorption, hydrolytic degradation, contact angle, tensile stretch, hardness and modulus were studied. Additionally, Thermal stability was studied by thermogravimetric analysis. Area under the curve was used to evaluate the effect of polyol blend composition on thermal stability and kinetics of water absorption and hydrolytic degradation. Least squares were used to calculate the regression coefficients. Models for the properties were significant, and lack of fit was not (P<0.05). Fit statistics suggest both good fitting and prediction. Water absorption, hydrolytic degradation and contact angle were mediated by the hydrophilic nature of the polyols. Tensile strength, modulus and hardness could be regulated by the molecular weight and hydroxyl index of the polyols. Regression of DTG curves from thermal analysis showed improvement of thermal stability with the increase of PCL and PE. An ANOVA test of the model terms demonstrated that three component effects on bulk properties like water absorption, hydrolytic degradation, hardness, tensile strength and modulus, and the PEG*PCL interaction with the contact angle, which is a surface property. Mixture design application allowed for an understanding of the structure-property relationship through mathematic models.

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate whether genetic variations in the OPRD1 gene affect psychopathological symptoms and personality dimensions in eating disorders (ED) patients and/or contribute to ED risk. Methods: The study involved 221 female patients with anorexia nervosa (AN), 88 with bulimia nervosa (BN) and 396 controls. Sixteen tag-SNPs in OPRD1 were identified. Psychometric evalu-ations were conducted using the Symptom Checklist 90 Revised (SCL-90R) and the Eating Dis-orders Inventory Test-2 (EDI-2). P-values obtained by regression models were corrected for mul-tiple testing by the FDR method. Results: In AN patients, genotypes rs204077TT and rs169450TT were linked to lower BMI values (FDR-q=0.035 and 0.017, respectively), as was rs2234918 in a log-additive model (BMI: 18.0±0.28, 17.22±0.18 and 16.59±0.39 for TT, TC and CC carriers, FDR-q=0.012). Additionally, AN patients carrying the rs72665504AA genotype had higher scores in Interpersonal distrust (FDR-q=0.030), whilst BN carriers of rs513269TT and rs2873795TT showed lower scores in Ineffectiveness (FDR-q=0.041 and FDR-q=0.021). In the AN group, BMI correlated with variability in a distal haplotype (rs508448/rs204077/rs223491, FDR-q=0.028), which was also associated with the global PST index of SCL-90R (FDR-q=0.048). Associations were more noticeable in BN patients; again, the distal region of the gene was linked to EDI-2 total scores (FDR-q=0.004-0.048 for the four last haplotypes) and two global SCL-90R indices (GSI: FDR-q=0.011 and PSDI: FDR-q=0.003 for the last s204077/rs2234918/rs169450 combination). No associations with ED risk were observed. Conclusions: Genetic variation in the OPRD1 gene, particularly in its distal region, is associated with BMI and psychopathological comorbidities in ED patients.

The clinical application of Phentolamine Mesylate (PM) as an anaesthetic reversal agent has been documented in paediatric patients and in conservative dentistry, but no studies have been found in implant surgery. A prospective randomised study was conducted in 60 patients eligible for mandibular implant treatment, randomly divided between the Control Group (CG) and Experimental Group (EG), who were administered PM. Haemodynamic changes, adverse effects and patient satisfaction were assessed. No statistically significant differences in haemodynamic changes and postoperative pain were found between CG and EG (p&lt;0.05), except for Systolic Blood Pressure (SBP) which increased slightly in EG, without posing a risk to the patient. There were no differences in the presence of adverse effects between the two groups, except in the CG which presented greater difficulty in chewing and biting (p&lt;0.05) and the EG with greater pain in the injection area (p=0.043). 83.3% of the EG patients would request PM again for future dental treatment. The use of PM offers an alternative in implant surgery, without increasing the risks and increasing the patient's quality of life.

Arsenic is highly toxic, affecting millions of people in many regions of the world. That is why developing economic and efficient technologies is imperative to eliminate it. Sorption techniques are attractive as efficient and inexpensive sorbents can be used. Chitosan is an abundant, naturally occurring, biodegradable, low-cost biopolymer that can be combined with metal oxide to enhance its removability. This work aimed to synthesize a new chitosan-magnetite-based sorbent for arsenic removal. The synthesized sorbent does not present pores, and by FT-IR, functional groups of the chitosan and the presence of As(V) in the sorbent treated with arsenic were identified. The synthesized magnetite was characterized by XRD spectroscopy. Application of the Composite Central Design model showed that 0.22 g of the sorbent at pH 6.0 could remove 27.6% of As(V). Kinetic data, fitted with the pseudo-first and second-order models, indicated an ion exchange sorption and activation energy of 28.1-31.4 kJ mol-1. The isotherms were fitted with the Langmuir model, indicating a favourable monolayer adsorption with high affinity. The sorption energy, calculated by Dubinin-Radushkevich, 9.60-8.80 kJ mol-1, confirms a sorption mechanism mediated by ion exchange. The thermodynamic parameters of the process were ΔG°(-21.7/-19.7 kJ mol-1), ΔH°(16.7 kJ mol-1) and ΔS°(123.3 J mol-1 K-1).

Given the high number of vehicle-crash victims, it has been established as a priority to reduce this figure in the transportation sector. For this reason, many of the recent researches are focused on including control systems in existing vehicles, to improve their stability, comfort and handling. These systems need to know in every moment the behavior of the vehicle (state variables), among others, when the different maneuvers are performed, to actuate by means of the systems in the vehicle (brakes, steering, suspension) and, in this way, to achieve a good behavior. The main problem arises from the lack of ability to directly capture several required dynamic vehicle variables, such as roll angle, from low-cost sensors. Previous studies demonstrate that low-cost sensors can provide data in real-time with the required precision and reliability. Even more, other research works indicate that neural networks are efficient mechanisms to estimate roll angle. Nevertheless, it is necessary to assess that the fusion of data coming from low-cost devices and estimations provided by neural networks can fulfill the reliability and appropriateness requirements for using these technologies to improve overall safety in production vehicles. Because of the increasing of computing power, the reduction of consumption and electric devices size, along with the high variety of communication technologies and networking protocols using Internet have yield to Internet of Things (IoT) development. In order to address this issue, this study has two main goals: 1) Determine the appropriateness and performance of neural networks embedded in low-cost sensors kits to estimate roll angle required to evaluate rollover risk situations. 2) Compare the low-cost control unit devices (Intel Edison and Raspberry Pi 3 Model B), to provide the roll angle estimation with this artificial neural network-based approach. To fulfil these objectives an experimental environment has been set up composed of a van with two set of low-cost kits, one including a Raspberry Pi 3 Model B, low cost Inertial Measurement Unit (BNO055 - 37€) and GPS (Mtk3339 - 53€) and the other having an Intel Edison System on Chip linked to a SparkFun 9 Degrees of Freedom module. This experimental environment will be tested in different maneuvers for comparison purposes. Neural networks embedded in low-cost sensor kits provide roll angle estimations very approximated to real values. Even more, Intel Edison and Raspberry Pi 3 Model B have enough computing capabilities to successfully run roll angle estimation based on neural networks to determine rollover risks situation fulfilling real-time operation restrictions stated for this problem.

In the same manner that there are several statements of the second law of thermodynamics but all of them are equivalent, it is possible that most of the entropic methods applied to the nervous system and brain in particular share a similar outcome, or essence, that helps understand some aspects of the fundamentals of basic neurodynamics. In this short review focused on certain aspects of the entropic metrics some results are examined that indicate the fundamental importance of the natural tendency towards a maximal energy distribution for healthy brain activity and thus cognition to emerge.

UNESCO highlights socio-emotional, cognitive, and behavioral learning as critical for advancing sustainability. As major events, sports generate significant social, economic, and environmental impacts. This study analyzed how academic background, gender, age, sport type, and modality influenced elite Colombian Olympic and Paralympic athletes' socio-emotional competencies. Methods: Colombian elite athletes who were members of the “Support to the Excellence Coldeportes Athlete” participated in the study. The total population studied included 334 Colombian elite athletes: mean age 27.10 ± 6.57 years old with 13.66 ± 6.37 years practicing his/her sports modality. The socio-emotional competencies of the participants were assessed using the Socio-emotional Competencies Scale (SECS). Results: Men scored higher in interpersonal regulation, self-awareness, conflict resolution, and emotional regulation. Younger athletes (≤25 years) had higher self-consciousness. Individual versus team sports did not differ. Paralympians showed higher motivation, self-awareness, teamwork, and emotional regulation. University educated athletes scored higher in motivation, self-awareness, teamwork, and empathy. All competencies positively correlated. Conclusion: Individualized interventions targeting improved socio-emotional performance are vital for sustainability and should account for differences across gender, age, education, and disability status.

Fortified human milk is the first choice for preterm infants. Although individualized fortification is recommended, the optimal method for this population remains uncertain. We conducted a comparative study assessing the growth effects of adjusted (AF) and targeted fortification (TF) in extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants. This single-center, randomized, controlled clinical trial was conducted at a tertiary neonatal unit in Spain. Eligible participants were premature infants with a birthweight <1000g exclusively fed with human milk. A total of 38 patients were enrolled, 15 of them randomised to AF group and 23 to TF group. AF was based on BUN concentration and TF on human milk analysis. The primary outcome was weight gain velocity (g/kg/day).No significant differences were found in weight gain velocity at 28 days, at 36 weeks of postmenstrual age, at discharge nor during intervention. Protein intake was significantly higher in AF group (5.02 g/kg/day vs 4.48 g/kg/day, p= 0.001). No differences were found in lipids, carbohydrates and energy intake; neither in weight z score change between the different time points; nor in length and head circumference growth. Both AF and TF are comparable methods of fortification and provide appropriate growth rate in ELBW infants.

Pandemic scenario has significantly changed several factors of life, including teaching, and learning at university. The development of suitable teaching materials to support university studies is mandatory to overcome distance learning difficulties and improve traditional teaching methodologies. This work explains a novel method for the preparation of teaching materials for medical sciences, but also plausible for other learning fields. An encephalon was extracted and prepared by using this methodology for teaching purposes. More than 200 students evaluated several factors of the material prepared this way, indicating a better understanding (up to 80%) of theoretical contents related to this human section, together with a high usability and good physical appearance

Machine Learning techniques can be used to identify whether deficits in cognitive functions contribute to antisocial and aggressive behavior. This paper initially presents the results of tests conducted on delinquent and non-delinquent youths to assess their cognitive functions. The dataset extracted from these assessments, consisting of 37 predictor variables and one target. was used to train three algorithms that aim to predict whether the data corresponds to that of a young offender or a non-offending youth. Prior to this, statistical tests were conducted on the data to identify characteristics that exhibited significant differences in order to select the most relevant features and optimize the prediction results. Additionally, other feature selection methods, such as Boruta, RFE, and Filter, were applied, and their effects on the accuracy of each of the three machine learning models used (SVM, RF, and KNN) were compared. 80% of the data were utilized for training, while the remaining 20% were used for validation. The best result was achieved by the K-NN model trained with 19 features selected by the Boruta method, followed by the SVM model trained with 24 features selected by the filter method.

The reaction of arylidene-α-amino esters with electrophilic alkenes to yield the Michael type addition compounds is optimized using several phosphines as organocatalysts. The transformation is very complicated due to the generation of several final compounds, including those derived from the 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions. For this reason, the selection of the reaction conditions is a very complex task and the slow addition of the acrylic system is very important to complete the reaction. The study of the variation of the structural components of the starting imino ester is performed as well as the expansion of other electron-poor alkenes. The crude products have a purity higher than 90% in most cases without any purification. A plausible mechanism is detailed based on the bibliography and the experimental results. The synthesis of pyroglutamate entities, after reduction of the imino group and cyclization, is performed in high yields. In addition, the hydrolysis of the imino group, under acidic media, represents a direct access to glutamate surrogates.

The addition of flaxseed and amaranth on the physicochemical, functional and microstructural changes of instant-extruded cereals was evaluated. Six different mixtures were made with additions of amaranth (30%–50%) and flaxseed (10% and 15%) using maize grits and minor additives as supplementary ingredients and then extruded in a twin-screw extruder. The extrudates evaluated, had insoluble and soluble fiber contents increased with the proportion of amaranth and flaxseed. The mixture 4 (higher flaxseed content) presented highest soluble fiber percentage (1.9%). Extruded cereals had the lowest viscosity (<99.5 cp) and highest hardness values (5.2 N) whereas the dietary fiber content was highest. Fiber content increase, resulted in a higher water solubility index (WSI) (0.5) and decrease the water absorption index (WAI) (2.5). Amaranth and flaxseed incorporation increased crystallinity, resulting in a larger, and more compact laminar structure. Amaranth and flaxseed addition resulted in extruded cereals with acceptable physicochemical and functional properties.

1) This study describes the good evolution of a 6-year-old girl genetically diagnosed with Rett syndrome (RTT), after having been treated with IGF-1, MT (MT), blackcurrant extracts (BC), and rehabilitation during 6 months. 2) The patient stopped her normal development from the first year of age. The patient showed low weight and height and met the main criteria for typical RTT. Curiously, there was pubic hair (Tanner II), very high plasma testosterone, despite low gonadotropins. No adrenal enzymatic deficits existed, and ultrasound abdominal studies were normal. Treatment consisted in IGF-1 (0.04 mg/kg/day, 5/week, sc) during 3-months and then 15-days resting, MT (50 mg/day, orally, uninterruptedly) and neurorehabilitation. The new blood tests were absolutely normal and the pubic hair disappeared. Then, a new treatment with IGF-1, MT, and BC started for another 3 months. After it, pubic Tanner stage increased to III, without a known cause. 3) The treatment followed led to clear improvements in most of the initial impairments, perhaps because of the effect of IGF-I, the antioxidant effects of MT and BC, and the increase in cyclic-glycine-proline (cGP) after BC administration. 4) A continuous treatment with IGF-1, MT and BC may recover most of the neurologic disabilities that occur in RTT.

A valorization process of spent coffee grounds (SCG) was studied. Thus, a two-stage process, a stage of extraction of the polyphenols and a stage of obtaining activated carbon (AC) by a carbonization process, was performed. The extraction was carried out with a hydro-alcoholic solution in a pressure reactor, modifying time and temperature. To optimize the extraction of polyphenols, a two-level factorial design with three replications at the central values was used. The best results were obtained by performing the extraction at 80 °C during 30 min, using a mixture of EtOH:H2O 1:1 (v/v) as extraction solution. Caffeine and chlorogenic acid were the most abundant compounds in the analyzed extracts, ranging from 0.09 to 4.8 mg∙g^-1 and 0.06 to 9.7 mg∙g^-1, respectively. The precursor obtained in the extraction stage were transformed into AC. An experimental design was realized in order to analyze the influence of different variables in the AC obtained process (reaction time and amount of potassium hydroxide used). Actived carbons with BET specific surface (SBET) comprised between 1600 m^2∙g^-1 and 2330 m²∙g^-1 had a microporous surface. Under the optimum conditions, the obtained AC presented a maximum adsorption capacity of methylene blue (qm) between 411 mg∙g^-1 and 813 mg∙g^-1.

We explored the hypothesis that progesterone direct effect on Trichinella spiralis might be mediated indeed by a new steroid-binding parasite protein. Our first results showed that Progesterone decreases the parasite molting rate. We amplify, isolated, cloned and sequenced the PGRMC2 sequence using specific primers from known species. Furthermore, we expressed the protein and developed an antibody to performance immunofluorescent confocal microscopy, where detected that parasite cells showed expression of a P4-binding protein exclusively located at the oocyte and the parasite´s cuticle. Presence of the PGRMC2 protein in these cells was also confirmed by western blot and flow cytometry. Molecular modeling studies accompanied by computer docking using the sequenced protein showed that PGRMC2 is potentially able to bind steroid hormones such as progesterone, estradiol, testosterone, and dihydrodrotestosterone with different affinities. Phylogenetic analysis and sequence alignment clearly demonstrated that Trichinella spiralis PGRMC2 is related to a steroid-binding protein of another platyhelminths. Progesterone may probably act upon Trichinella spiralis oocytes probably by binding to PGRMC2. This research has implications in the field of host-parasite co-evolution as well as the sex-associated susceptibility to this infection. In a more practical matter, present results may contribute to the molecular design of new drugs with anti-parasite actions.

In this paper, we present a method for estimating GPS signals from visual information captured by a monocular camera mounted on a fixed-wing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. The main challenge in visual odometry from aerial images is the computation of scale due to irregularities in the elevation of the terrain. That is, it is not possible to accurately convert from pixels in the image to meters in space, and the error accumulates. The contribution of this work is to reduce the accumulated error by comparing the images from the camera with satellite images. The algorithm has been tested in real-time experiments, and the results show that it is possible to eliminate the accumulated error using satellite images.

Background: Electrical conductivity of trabecular bone at 100 kHz was recently reported as a good predictor of bone volume fraction. However, to quantify its relationship with the free water (or physiological solution) content and between the conductivities of its constituents, is still unclear. Methods: In this contribution, in silico models inspired by microCT images of trabecular bovine samples were used to build realistic geometries. Finite Element Method was applied to solve the electrical problem and to robustly fit the conductivity of the constituents with literature data. The obtained effective electrical conductivity was compared to Bruggeman three media mixture model: physiological solution, bone marrow and bone matrix. Results: The values for physiological solution plus bone marrow and bone matrix that captured better the bone volume fraction in the two media Finite Element model were: σps+bm = 298.4 mS/m and σb = 21.0 mS/m, respectively. Additionally, relative good results were obtained by a three media Bruggeman mixture model with σbm= 103 mS/m, σb= 21.0 mS/m, and σps= 1200 mS/m. Simple linear relationships between the proportions of constituents depending on bone volume fraction were tested. Degree of anisotropy and fractal dimension do not show detectable changes in effective conductivity. Conclusions: These results provided some useful findings for simulation purposes: first, a higher value of electrical conductivity of bone marrow has to be used in order to obtain similar values to those experimental published data. Second, anisotropy is not detectable by conductivity measurements for small trabecular samples (cube 5 mm). Finally, the simulations presented here showed a relatively good fitting of the mixture Bruggeman model which potentially would allow both, accounting for the free water content and re-scaling the model for whole bone electrical simulations.

Divergences have become a very useful tool for measuring similarity (or dissimilarity) between probability distributions. Depending on the field of application a more appropriate measure may be necessary. In this paper we introduce a family of divergences we call gamma-divergences. They are based on the convexity property of the functions that generate them. We demonstrate that these divergences verify all the usually required properties, and we extend them to weighted probability distribution. We investigate their properties in the context of kernel theory. Finally, we apply our findings to the analysis of simulated and real time series.

This article presents a unique set of voltage and current data from a public building and acquired using a hybrid measurement solution that combines Python and Grafana. The transversal purpose consists of contributing to the community with a vision of the quality of the supply more oriented to the monitoring of the state of the network, providing a more realistic vision, which allows a better understanding, and the adoption of the best decisions to achieve the efficient energy management and thus optimize the operation and maintenance of power systems. The work focuses on higher order statistical estimators that, combined with exploratory data analysis techniques, improve the characterization of the shape of the stress signal. These techniques and data, together with the acquisition and monitoring system, present a unique combination in the line of low-cost measurement solutions. It also incorporates the underlying benefit of the contribution to industrial benchmarking. The paper also includes a computational comparison between Python and LabVIEW to elicit the performance of the measurement solution.

Boron (B) toxicity is an important stress that negatively affects maize yield and quality production. The excessive B content in agricultural lands is a growing problem due to the increase in arid and semi-arid areas because of climate change. Recently, two Peruvian maize landraces, Sama and Pachía, were physiologically characterized based on their tolerance to B toxicity, the former being more tolerant to B excess than Pachía. However, many aspects regarding the molecular mechanisms of these two maize landraces against B toxicity are still unknown. In this study, a leaf proteomic analysis of Sama and Pachía was performed. Out of a total of 2793 proteins identified only 303 proteins were differentially accumulated. Functional analysis indicated that many of these proteins are involved in transcription and translation processes, amino acids metabolism, photosynthesis, carbohydrate metabolism, protein degradation, and protein stabilization and folding. Compared to Sama, Pachía had a higher number of differentially expressed proteins related to protein degradation, and transcription and translation processes under B toxicity conditions, which might reflect the greater protein damage caused by B toxicity in Pachía. Our results suggest that higher tolerance to B toxicity of Sama can be attributed to more stable photosynthesis that would avoid damage caused by stromal over-reduction under this stress condition.

It is well known that working PV plants show several maintenance needs due to wiring and modules degradation, mismatches, dust and PV cells defects and faults. There are a wide range of studies that show the theoretical and some laboratory tests of how these circumstances may affect the PV production. Thus, it results mandatory to evaluate the whole PV plant performance and, then, it’s payback time, profitability and environmental impact or carbon footprint. However, very few studies include a systematic procedure to quantify and supervise the real degradation effects and faults impacts on the field. In this paper, the authors first conduct a brief review of the most frequent PV faults and degradation that can be found on real conditions operative PV Plants. Then, they propose and develop an innovative Geographic Information System application to locate and supervise them. The designed tool has been applied to either a large PV plant of 108 kWp and a small PV plant of just 9 kWp installed on a home rooftop. For the large PV plant, 24 strings of PV modules have been modelized and introduced into the GIS application and every module in the power plant has been studied including voltage, current, power, series and parallel resistance, fill factor, normalized PV curve to STC, thermography and visual analysis. For the small PV installation 3 strings of PV panels have been studied identically. It must be noticed that PV modules in this case include power optimizers. The precision of the study allows the researchers to locate and supervise up to a third part of every PV cell in the system, which are adequately georreferenciated. The developed tool allows both the researchers and the investors to increase control on the PV plant performance and conducts to a better planification of maintenance actuations and to evaluate several PV modules replacement strategies in a preventive maintenance programme. Found PV faults include hot spots, snail tracks, EVA discoloration, PV cells fractures, busbars discoloration, bubbles and Si discoloration.

In the clinical electrophysiologic practice, the reading and comparing electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings some times is insufficient and take to much time. That is why in the last years it has begun to introduce new methods of EEG analysis, that give a better and faster understanding of the EEG dynamics and allow a rapid intervention in the patient's treatment. Tools coming from the information theory or nonlinear system as an entropy and complexity have been shown to be a very good alternative to address this problem. In this work we introduce a novel method -the permutation Lempel-ziv complexity vs permutation entropy map. This method was applied to EEG of two patients with specific diagnosed pathologies during respective follow up processes of pharmacological changes in order to detect changes that are not evident with the usual inspection method. Our results show that the proposed method are useful for observing an evolutionary retrospective clinical effects of pharmacological interventions in both patients, and from these, to follow the clinical response to the proposed treatment.

Measuring the non-pathogenic Torque Teno Virus (TTV) load allows assessing the net immunosuppressive state after kidney transplantation (KTx). Currently, it is not known how exposure to maintenance immunosuppression affects TTV load. We hypothesized that TTV load is associated with the exposure to mycophenolic acid (MPA) and tacrolimus. We performed a prospective study including 54 consecutive KTx. Blood TTV load was measured by an in-house PCR at months 1 and 3. Together with doses and trough blood levels of tacrolimus and MPA, we calculate the coefficient of variability (CV), time in therapeutic range (TTR) and concentration/dose ratio (C/D) of tacrolimus, and the MPA-area under the curve (AUC-MPA) at the third month. TTV load at the first and third month discriminated those patients at risk of developing opportunistic infections between months 1 and 3 (AUC-ROC 0.723, 95%CI 0.559-0.905, p = 0.023) and between months 3 to 6 (AUC-ROC 0.778, 95%CI 0.599-0.957, p = 0.028), respectively, but not those at risk of acute rejection. TTV load did not relate to mean tacrolimus blood level, CV, TTR, C/D and AUC-MPA. To conclude, although TTV is a useful marker of net immunosuppressive status after KTx, it is not related to exposure to maintenance immunosuppression.

Background: Among the cognitive markers of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), semantic and phonemic verbal fluency tasks seem to be an early indicator of deterioration. The aims of this study are 1) to evaluate both types of Verbal Fluency in the early stages of AD in order to know which of them deteriorates earlier and, 2) to investigate if Verbal Fluency Tasks can help to differentiate between patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) who will progress to AD two years later (progresses) and those who do not (non-progresses). Method: A Verbal Fluency Task was administered to 25 patients with MCI and their respective control subjects. All patients underwent a neuropsychological evaluation twice in order to follow up their global cognitive status. The second time, 8 of them converted to AD. Results: On the one hand, Phonemic Verbal Fluency deteriorates earlier than Semantic Verbal Fluency in MCI patients; on the second hand, although we found statistically significant differences between patients with MCI and AD in both type of fluency tasks, they were not found when comparing the performance of progresses and non-progresses. Conclusion: These results point to a greater impairment in Phonemic Verbal Fluency in MCI patients and its potential predictive capacity to predict conversion to AD.

Under one-health perspective and the worldwide antimicrobial resistance concern, we investigate extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli (ExPEC), uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC), and multidrug resistant (MDR) E. coli from 197 isolates recovered from healthy dogs in Spain between 2013 and 2017. Ninety-one (46.2%) isolates were classified as ExPEC and/or UPEC including 50 clones, among which (i) four clones were dominant (B2-CH14-180-ST127, B2-CH52-14-ST141, B2-CH103-9-ST372 and F-CH4-58-ST64815) and (ii) 15 had been shown to be displayed by previously published isolates causing extraintestinal infections in humans. Twenty-eight (14.2%) isolates were classified as MDR, associated with B1, D and E phylogroups and included 24 clones, of which eight had also been identified among human isolates causing infections. We selected 23 ST372 strains, 21 healthy dogs faecal isolates and two human clinical isolates for whole genome sequencing and built a SNP-tree with these 23 genomes and 174 genomes (128 from canine strains and 46 from human strains) obtained from public databases. The analysis of these 197 genomes allowed to identify six clusters. Cluster 1 comprised 74.6% of the strain genomes that were mostly composed of canine strain genomes (P &lt; 0.00001). Clusters 4 and 6 also included canine strain genomes, while clusters 2, 3 and 5 were significantly associated with human strain genomes. All these findings suggest that dogs are reservoirs of ExPEC, UPEC and MDR E. coli isolates with zoonotic potential.

Pregnant women have been considered a high-risk group for SARS-CoV-2 infection; the impact of the disease on the health of a mother and her child is still being studied. The emotional impact of the pandemic on pregnant women has been extensively studied. Emotional distress is proposed as a perspective to explain the emotional manifestations of women during this stage as something common rather than pathological. The objective of this study was to know the emotional experience of women who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 towards the end of their pregnancy, during the first and second waves of COVID in Mexico. A qualitative study was carried out: 18 pregnant women with COVID were interviewed. A thematic analysis of the data was performed, resulting in three main themes and 14 subthemes. The COVID-infected mothers-to-be experienced mild to moderate emotional distress. It was more intense for those with comorbidities. This distress was aggravated during obstetrical complications and comorbidities, as well as during COVID and postpartum. The emotional distress was appeased by both the perception of medical care and social support. The emotional distress of pregnant women with COVID requires emotional accompaniment to reduce its impact.

There is a pressing need for more precise biomarkers of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Plasma samples from 820 subjects [231 with CKD, 325 with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) and 264 controls] were analyzed by LC-MS/MS to determine a metabolic profile of 28 aminoacids (AA) and biogenic amines to test their value as markers of CKD risk and progression. The Kynurenine/Tryptophan ratio showed the strongest correlation with estimated glomerular filtration rate values (coefficient=-0.731, P&lt;0.0001). Models created with Orthogonal Partial Least Squares-Discriminant Analysis (OPLS-DA) containing the metabolic signature showed high goodness of fit and predictability for controls/CKD (R2X:0.73;R2Y:0.92;Q2:0.92) and lower for CDK/ESKD (R2X:0.56;R2Y:0.59;Q2:0.55). Based on generated VIP scores, the most relevant markers for segregating samples into control/CKD or CKD/ESKD groups were citrulline (1.67) and tryptophan (1.59), respectively. ROC analysis showed that the addition of the metabolic profile to a model including CKD classic risk factors improved AUC from 86.7% (83.6-89.9) to 100% (100-100) for CKD risk (P&lt;0.0001), and from 63.0% (58.2-67.8) to 96.5% (95.3-97.8) for the risk of progression from CKD to ESKD (P&lt;0.0001). Plasma concentrations of AA and related amines may be useful as diagnostic biomarkers of kidney disease, both for CKD risk and for progression of CKD patients to ESKD.

Beta-lactam resistant bacteria, commonly resident in tertiary hospitals, have emerged as a worldwide health problem because of ready-to-eat vegetable intake. We aimed to characterize the genes providing resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics in Enterobacteriaceae, isolated from five commercial salad brands for human consumption in Mexico City. 25 samples were collected, grow in blood agar plates, the bacteria were biochemistry identified and antimicrobial susceptibility testing was done, the carried family genes were identified by endpoint PCR and the specific genes were confirmed with WGS by NGS. 12 positive cultures were identified and their microbiological distribution was as follows, 8.3% for Enterobacter aerogene (n=1), 8.3% for Serratia fonricola (n=1), 16.7% for Serratia marcesens (n=2), 16.7% for Klebsiella pneumoniae (n=2), and 50% (n=6) for Enterobacter cloacae. The endpoint PCR results showed 11 colonies positive for blaBIL (91.7%), 11 for blaSHV (91.7%), 11 for blaCTX (97.7%), 12 for blaDHA (100%),4 for blaVIM (33.3%), 2 for blaOXA (16.7%), 2 for blaIMP (16.7%), 1 for blaKPC (8.3%) and 1 for blaTEM (8.3%) gene, all samples were negative blaROB, blaCMY, blaP, blaCFX and blaLAP gene. The sequencing analysis revels a specific genotypes for Enterobacter cloacae (blaSHV-12, blaCTX-M-15, blaDHA-1, blaKPC-2); Serratia marcescens (blaSHV-1, blaCTX-M-3, blaDHA-1, blaVIM-2); Klebsiella pneumoniae (blaSHV-12, blaCTX-M-15, blaDHA-1); Serratia fonticola (blaSHV-12, blaVIM-1, blaDHA-1) and Enterobacter aerogene (blaSHV-1, blaCTX-M-1, blaDHA-1, blaVIM-2, blaOXA-9). Our results indicate that beta-lactam resistant bacteria have acquired integrons with a different number of genes that providing panresistance to beta-lactam antibiotics, including penicillins, oxacillins, cefalosporins, monobactams, carbapenems and imipenems.

Our purpose is to address the biological problem of finding foundations of the organization in the collective activity among cell networks in the nervous system, at the meso/macroscale, giving rise to cognition and consciousness. But in doing so, we encounter another problem related to the interpretation of methods to assess the neural interactions and organization of the neurodynamics, because thermodynamic notions, which have precise meaning only under specific conditions, have been widely employed in these studies. The consequence is that apparently contradictory results appear in the literature, but these contradictions diminish upon the considerations of the specific circumstances of each experiment. After clarifying some of these controversial points and surveying some experimental results, we propose that a necessary condition for cognition/consciousness to emerge is to have available enough energy, or cellular activity; and a sufficient condition is the multiplicity of configurations in which cell networks can communicate, resulting in non-uniform energy distribution, the generation and dissipation of energy gradients due to the constant activity. These ideas may reveal possible fundamental principles of brain organization and how healthy activity may derive to pathological states.

Background: To describe the effectiveness and safety of COVID-19 vaccine in a series of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods: Retrospective single-center study of RA patients, fulfilling the ACR 1987 or ACR/EULAR 2010 classification criteria, that received first COVID-19 vaccine between December 2020 and October 2021, had post-vaccination serology and subsequent follow-up of at least 6 months in a university hospital. Vaccine effectiveness was evaluated by the serological response and the incidence of post-vaccine COVID-19, and safety by the incidence of adverse events (AE) and RA flares. Adjusted logistic and linear multivariate regression analyses were carried out with Stata® to identify factors associated with vaccine response. Results: We included 118 patients with RA (87.2% women, age 65.4±11.6 years, evolution 12.0±9.6 years). 95.8% received complete vaccination schedule. Most patients (88.1%) developed adequate humoral immunogenicity, and the degree of serological response was significantly related to younger age and previous COVID-19 infection. After vaccination, 18.6% presented mild SARS-CoV-2 infection. Vaccine AE (19.5%) were mostly mild and inversely associated with age (OR 0.95). RA flares were anecdotal (1.7%) and inversely related to age (OR 0.95). Conclusion: Our results suggest that COVID-19 vaccine induces adequate humoral immunogenicity, with an acceptable safety profile in RA patients.

Background: In recent years, the integration of robotic systems into various aspects of daily life has become increasingly common. As these technologies continue to advance, ensuring user-friendly interfaces and seamless interactions becomes more essential. For social robots to genuinely provide lasting value to humans, a favourable user experience (UX) emerges as an essential prerequisite. Aim: This article aimed to evaluate the usability of the MINI robot, highlighting its strengths and areas for improvement based on user feedback and performance. Method: In a controlled lab setting, a mixed-method qualitative study was conducted with ten individuals aged 65 and above diagnosed with mild dementia (MD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Participants engaged in individual MINI robot interaction sessions, completing cognitive tasks as per written instructions. Video and audio recordings documented interactions, while post-session System Usability Scale (SUS) questionnaires quantified usability perception. Ethical guidelines were followed, ensuring informed consent, and the data underwent qualitative and quantitative analyses, contributing insights into the MINI robot's usability for this demographic. Results: The study addresses the ongoing challenges that tasks present, especially for MD individuals, emphasizing the importance of user support. Most tasks require both verbal and physical interactions, indicating that MD individuals face challenges when switching response methods within subtasks. These complexities originate from the selection and use of response methods, including difficulties with voice recognition, tablet touch, and tactile sensors. These challenges persist across tasks, with individuals with MD struggling to comprehend task instructions and provide correct answers and individuals with MCI struggling to use response devices, often due to the limitations of the robot's speech recognition. Technical shortcomings have been identified. The results of the System Usability Scale (SUS) indicate positive perceptions, although there are lower ratings for instructor assistance and pre-use learning. The average SUS score of 68.3 places device usability in the "good" category. Conclusion: Our study examines the usability of the MINI robot, revealing strengths in quick learning, simple system and operation, and integration of features while also highlighting areas for improvement. Careful design and modifications are essential for meaningful engagement with people with dementia. The robot could better benefit people with MD and MCI if clear, detailed instructions and instructor assistance are available.

ADHD, one of the most prevalent diseases during childhood, we still do not know its precisely origin, although oxidative/nitrosative stress and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis are suggested contributors. Methylphenidate, among others, is the main drug used in these patients, but its effects on relevant markers and structures remain unclear. This study, involving 59 patients diagnosed with ADHD according to DSM-5 criteria, aimed to assess changes in cortisol levels (using cortisol awakening response, CAR) and oxidative/nitrosative status with the treatment. Blood samples before and 3 months after treatment with methylphenidate were used to measure oxidative and inflammatory markers, and the endogenous antioxidant activity, while saliva samples tracked cortisol awakening response (CAR). The results show a treatment-related improvement in the redox profile, with the reduction of advanced oxidation protein products (AOPP), lipid peroxidation (LPO), and nitrite plus nitrate (NOx) levels, and the increase of the enzymatic activities of glutathione reductase (GRd) and catalase (CAT). Moreover, the area under the curve (AUC) of CAR increased significantly, indicating increased reactivity of the HPA axis. These result support by the first time the involvement of the endogenous antioxidant system in the pathophysiology of ADHD.

One of the biggest queries in cognitive sciences is the emergence of consciousness from matter. Modern neurobiological theories of consciousness propose that conscious experience is the result of interactions between large-scale neuronal networks in the brain, traditionally described within the realm of classical physics. Here, we propose a generalized connectionist framework in which the emergence of “conscious networks” is not exclusive of large brain areas, but can be identified in sub-cellular networks exhibiting non-trivial quantum phenomena. The essential feature of such networks is the existence of strong correlations in the system (classical or quantum coherence) and the presence of an optimal point at which the system’s complexity is maximized, expressed either by maximization of the information content in large scale functional networks or by achieving optimal efficiency through the quantum Goldilock effect.

Mexico shows a high prevalence of obesity in children and adolescents. Geographical location and cultural environment could play a role in the promotion of healthy lifestyles in terms of physical activity (PA), sedentary behavior (SB) and nutrition. The purpose of this study was to assess rural and urban differences in body composition (BC), physical fitness (PF), PA and nutritional status of adolescents from the state of Jalisco (Mexico). The study involved 469 students aged 13-17 years (55.0% girls) from 8 high schools. BC was analyzed by bioimpedance, and PF by standardized field tests. Objective measurements of PA and SB were taken in a subsample (n=240). Energy intake (EI) was calculated from two 24h recalls. Rural residents presented a higher prevalence of overweight, waist circumference, trunk fat mass, regional fat free mass and muscle handgrip strength (all p&lt;0.05, ηp2&lt;0.06). Cardiorespiratory fitness was similar among participants, whereas urban adolescents showed higher muscle power, speed-agility and flexibility scores (all p&lt;0.05, ηp2&lt;0.07). Overall lifestyle behavior in urban adolescents was more sedentary (p&lt;0.05, ηp2= 0.11). EI was similar in both locations. In conclusion, urban Mexican adolescents presented a generally higher sedentary behavior and better fitness and fatness profile than their rural peers.

This article proposes a measurement solution designed to monitor instantaneous frequency in power systems. It uses a data acquisition module and a GPS receiver for time stamping. A program in Python takes care of receiving the data, calculating the frequency, and finally transferring the measurement results to a database. The frequency is calculated with two different methods, which are compared in the article. The stored data is visualized using the Grafana platform, thus demonstrating its potential for comparing scientific data. The system as a whole constitutes an efficient low cost solution as a data acquisition system.

One of the challenges posed by renewable energies is the stabilization of parameters related to the quality of electrical energy. This study demonstrates the existence of a relationship between input blocks of hydropower and the variation of the fundamental frequency of the electricity grid. By mapping production data provided by Spanish Electric Network with frequency measured in the laboratory, it is shown that gradients of hydropower are correlated with frequency fluctuations for certain characteristic times. Considering hourly instances of energy input, the study compares two methods for calculating hydropower gradients (linear regression and pseudo-linear regression); and two methods for calculating local frequency extremes (the "specular inertia" method and analysis by comparison with the moving average), in order to corroborate the results.

Human milk fat is a concentrated source of energy and provides essential and long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids. According to previous experiments, human milk fat is partially lost during continuous enteral nutrition. However, these experiments were done over relatively short infusion times, and a complete profile of the lost fatty acids was never measured. Whether this lost happens considering longer infusion times or if some fatty acids are lost more than others remain unknown. Pooled breast milk was infused through a feeding tube by a peristaltic pump over a period of 30 minutes and 4, 12 and 24 hours at 2 ml/hour. Adsorbed fat was extracted from the tubes, and the fatty acid composition was analyzed by Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Total fat loss (average fatty acid loss) after 24 hours was 0.6 ± 0.1%. Short-medium chain (0.7%, p=0.15), long chain (0.6%, p=0.56) saturated (0.7%, p=0.4), monounsaturated (0.5%, p=0.15), polyunsaturated fatty (0.7%, p=0.15), linoleic (0.7%, p=0.25), and docosahexaenoic acids (0.6%, p=0.56) were not selectively adsorbed to the tube. However, very long chain fatty (0.9%, p=0.04), alpha-linolenic (1.6%, p=0.02) and arachidonic acids (1%, p=0.02) were selectively adsorbed and therefore lost in a greater proportion than other fatty acids. In all cases, the magnitude of the loss was clinically low.

The nursing process in clinical practice can be assessed using standardized language systems. The purpose is to find evidence on the effectiveness of the nursing process with standardized terminology using NANDA International, Nursing Interventions Classification, and Nursing Outcome Classification improving diag-nostic accuracy, nursing interventions, health outcomes, and people’s satisfaction. A systematic review was carried out in Medline and PreMedline, Embase, The Cochrane Library, CINAHL, SCI-EXPANDED, SSCI and Scielo and LILACS including randomized clinical trials, quasi-experimental, cohort and case-control studies. Selection and critical appraisal were conducted by two independent reviewers. The certainty of the evidence was assessed with Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation Methodology. 17 studies were included with variability in the level and certainty of evidence. According to outcomes, 6 evaluated improvements in diagnostic accuracy and 11 evaluated improvements in individual health outcomes. No studies evaluated improvements in intervention efficacy or population satisfaction. There is a need to increase studies with rigorous methodologies that address diagnostic accuracy and indi-viduals’ health outcomes using NANDA International, Nursing Interventions Classification, and Nursing Outcome Classification; as well as implementing studies that evaluate the use of these terminologies for improvements in the efficacy of nurses' interventions and population satisfaction with the nursing process.

The objective was to analyze the effects of adding anthocyanin delphinidin-3-O-sambubioside and cyanidin-3-O-sambubioside of Hibiscus sabdariffa L. in animal diets. Scientific articles published before 2021 in clinics, pharmacology, nutrition, and animal production were included. The grains/concentrate, metabolic exigency, and caloric stress contribute to increasing the reactive oxygen species (ROS); the excess of ROS unbalance the oxidants and antioxidants. Cyanidin-3-O-sambubioside and delphinidin-3-O-sambubioside have antioxidant, antibacterial, antiviral, and anthelmintic activities. In the rumen, anthocyanin might show interactions and/or synergisms with substrates, microorganisms, and enzymes which could reduce the fiber degradability, but increase the potential methane (CH4) emissions; since anthocyanin interferes in the biohydrogenation of fats, they increase the fat milk and meat quality. Anthocyanins reduce plasma oxidation and deposit in tissues, increasing the milk and meat antioxidant activities. Cyanidin-3-O-sambubioside and delphinidin-3-O-sambubioside act as inhibitors of the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACEi) and rennin expression which may improve milk yield (there is not enough evidence in ruminants, though). Polyphenols affect the reproductive potential. Sub products of HS contain as many amounts of polyphenols as calyces, and their inclusion in diets would positively affect the average daily gain and fat meat quality. Including HS in ruminant diets can improve the meat and milk quality.

Seawater has been proposed as a reservoir for antibiotic resistant bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes, thus representing a risk to public health. In this study, we evaluated the presence of antibiotic resistance determinants (bacteria and genes) in 77 seawater samples collected at different points along the coast of the Gulf of Valencia (Spain). Specifically, indicators of fecal contamination bacteria, Escherichia coli and Enterococcus sp. were isolated, and their antibiotic resistance profiles were analyzed by using the Sensititre® system, followed by the detection of main antibiotic resistance genes (blaTEM, qnrS, tetW, sulI, and ermB). The highest frequencies of resistance in E. coli isolates were detected against ampicillin (35.1%) and ciprofloxacin (17.5%), followed by sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim (15.7%), while 23% of enterococci isolates showed resistance to a single antibiotic, 20% against tetracycline and 3% against daptomycin. By PCR, 93% of the E. coli strains showed the blaTEM and sulI resistance genes. Among the enterococci, the presence of the blaTEM gene was detected in 40% of the isolates, while the rest of the genes were present at very low rates. Among the water samples, 57% were positive for at least one of the tested genes, being blaTEM gene the most commonly found (47%), followed by qnrS (33%) and sulI (23%) genes. These results show that seawater, in addition to having a high rate of fecal contamination, can contribute to the spread of antibiotic resistance.

What do you want to do ?New mailCopyBackground: to analyze the changes that a therapeutic physical exercise program is capable of causing in the functionality of patients suffering from ALS and in addition, to analyze the respiratory capacity. Methods: a systematic review of the PubMed, SCOPUS, Cochrane, SciELO, PEDro, CINAHL and MEDline databases is carried out. The information was filtered using the following MeSH terms: "Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis", "Physical Therapy", "Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine". Clinical trials published in the last 5 years were included in which one of the interventions was therapeutic physical exercise in patients with ALS, which included the ALSFRS-R as a result variable. Results: 10 clinical trials with a total of 421 patients were analyzed, of which 183 underwent rehabilitation with physical exercise and were part of the case group; the rest belong to the control group and their treatment was mostly passive. The observed trend is of a decrease of approximately 6 points in the ALSFRS-R scale at 6 months in the case groups; however, no behavior pattern was met in the controls. Conclusions: Therapeutic physical exercise could contribute to slow down the deterioration of the musculature of people with ALS, thus facilitating the performance of their daily activities.

Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is an important crop for food security and for national economics for several countries worlwide. One of the most important factors of risk in common bean production is the fungal disease anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum lindemuthianum, which in some cases, causes complete yield losses; this kind of plant disease is usually managed through the application of chemical products such as fungicides, that are commonly not accepted by society, this rejection is based on the relationship of pesticides with health damage and environmental contamination. In order to help in solving this drawbacks, the present work propose the use of Electrochemically Activated Salt Solutions(EASS) as a safer pathogen control agent in crops due to it have shown an elicitor and biostimulant effect on plants such as tobacco and apple. With this background, this manuscript presented in vitro results of the evaluation of the inhibitory effect for multiple bean pathogens and in vivo results of EASS in the common bean-Colletotrichum pathosystem by in vitro evaluations of the inhibitory effect for multiple bean pathogens and in vivo evaluation of the infection severity and defense activation such as secondary metabolites production and antioxidant activity. EASS presence in growth media had strong inhibitory effect, at beginning of experiment, for some of the evaluated fungi. EASS showed effect against the development of the disease when applied in specific doses to prevent distress in plants.

Acute and chronic bone infections, especially those caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), remains a major complication and therapeutic challenge. It is documented that local administration of vancomycin offers better results than the usual routes of administration (e.g. intravenous) when ischemic areas are present. In this work, we evaluate the antimicrobial efficacy against S. aureus and S. epidermidis and analyzed the potential cytotoxic effect of a novel hybrid 3D-printed scaffold based on poly(caprolactone) and chitosan loaded with different vancomycin concentrations (1, 5, 10 and 20%). For this purpose, vancomycin release was measured by means of HPLC, and the biological response of ah-BM-MSCs in the presence of the scaffolds was evaluated in terms of cytotoxicity (LDH activity), proliferation (AlamarBlueⓇ) and osteogenic differentiation (ALP activity, Alizarin Red staining). In addition, two cold plasma treatments were evaluated to improve the adhesion of hydrophobic polymers to hydrogels. The hybrid PCL/CS/Van scaffolds tested were found to be biocompatible, bioactive, and bactericide, as demonstrated by no cytotoxicity or functional alteration and by bacterial inhibition. Our results suggest that the scaffolds developed would be excellent candidates to be used in a wide range of biomedical fields such as drug delivery systems or tissue engineering applications.

Contamination by microplastics (MP) in aquatic ecosystems is largely due to the release of millions of these particles from treated effluents from Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTP). Due to the lack of policies and regulations that establish criteria for the control and elimination of MP from WWTP effluents, this research evaluated the presence of MP for particle sizes of 38 and 150 µm in influents and effluents from three WWTP in the port of Acapulco, Mexico. Using optical microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) techniques, the MP detected were polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). MP removal efficiencies of 82.5 to 98.7% (38 µm) and 86.8 to 97.5% (150µm) were obtained; the MP average daily emissions to the receiving bodies of these three WWTPs were in the ranges of 9.5 x 106 - 4.70 x 108 particles and the annual emissions in the range of 3.05 x 109 - 1.72 x 1011 particles. This work reveals the urgency of implementing regulatory policies to avoid the continuous emission of MP to aquatic ecosystems from WWTPs in Acapulco, Mexico.

Mutations in the LMNA gene (encoding lamin A/C proteins) cause several human cardiac diseases, including dilated cardiomyopathies (LMNA-DCM). The main clinical risks in LMNA-DCM patients are sudden cardiac death and progressive left ventricular ejection fraction deterioration, and therefore most human and animal studies have sought to define the mechanisms through which LMNA mutations provoke cardiac alterations, with particular focus on cardiomyocytes. To investigate if LMNA mutations also cause vascular alterations that might contribute to the etiopathogenesis of LMNA-DCM, we generated and characterized Lmnaflox/floxSM22αCre mice, which constitutively lack lamin A/C in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), cardiac fibroblasts, and cardiomyocytes. Like mice with whole body or cardiomyocyte-specific lamin A/C ablation, Lmnaflox/floxSM22αCre mice recapitulated the main hallmarks of human LMNA-DCM, including ventricular systolic dysfunction, cardiac conduction defects, cardiac fibrosis, and premature death. These alterations were associated with hyperactivation of Smad3 and elevated expression of the proapoptotic protein caspase 3 in the heart. Lmnaflox/floxSM22αCre mice also exhibited perivascular fibrosis in the coronary arteries, and a switch of aortic VSMCs from the ‘contractile’ to the ‘synthetic’ phenotype. Ex vivo wire myography in isolated aortic rings revealed impaired maximum contraction capacity and an altered response to vasoconstrictor and vasodilator agents in Lmnaflox/floxSM22αCre mice. To our knowledge, our results provide the first evidence of phenotypic alterations in VSMCs that might contribute significantly to the pathophysiology of some forms of LMNA-DCM. Future work addressing the mechanisms underlying vascular defects in LMNA-DCM may open new therapeutic avenues for these diseases.

Our aim was to evaluate the immune response of healthcare workers included in the RIPOVAC study, after receiving a booster dose (third dose), in terms of intensity and persistence of induced antibodies. In the second phase of RIPOVAC study, between December 2021 and January 2022, eight months after the second dose, 389 voluntary, immunocompetent, non-pregnant healthcare workers received a booster dose of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, and a serum sample was obtained. Two groups of patients were established: with and without previous SARS-CoV-2 infection. In order to quantify anti-S1 IgG (AU/mL) we used CMIA (Abbott). All the health workers were anti-S IgG positive 8 months after receiving the booster dose of the vaccine, with a mean of 17040 AU/mL. In 53 patients without previous infection, antibody levels had increased by a mean of 10762 AU/mL. This figure is 7 times higher than the one produced after the second dose (1506 AU/mL). The booster dose produces a robust elevation of the antibody level, which persists at 8 months with levels up to values significantly higher than those reached after the second dose, that allow to predict a persistence of more than one year. The study demonstrates the efficacy of the booster dose of anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccines.

Abstract: Background: The periodization of physical exercise to optimize the objectives is common in competitive sports, however physical exercise programs for the older adults do not usu-ally present periodization in their programming, they are limited to carrying out similar sessions throughout the program. Methods:137 people over 60 years old performed a physical exercise program, 71 people participated in a multicomponent non-periodized program as the Control Group (CG) and 66 people participated in a program periodized in blocks as the Experimental Group (EG). The block periodization program was oriented to the development of strength, and was carried out in 86 sessions three times per week during a period of 8 months. Anthropometric assessments were made using: weight, height, BMI and electrical bioimpedance; and functional evaluations through standardized tests: SPPB, TUG, handgrip and two-minute stair test. Results: After the intervention, the EG presents significant improvements in the TUG, in the weight and in the BMI. On the other hand, the CG presents significant improvements in fat weight, in BMI and in the 2-minute stair test. The SPPB did not present changes after the intervention. Conclusion: The periodization of physical exercise for older adults does not have a significant impact on the functional capacity in this population group.

The absence of interdental papillae leads to the appearance of black triangle. For most patients, the appearance of these triangles is an important reason for concern and affects their social relationships. Multiple reconstruction techniques have been developed with different degrees of success and predictability. The main aim of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of hyaluronic acid (HA) injected into interproximal papillae six months after injection and to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis. After a systematic review, five articles were selected: a clinical randomised controlled trial and four clinical trials. In total, eighty-five patients with a deficiency in upper papillae in the front of the maxilla and jaw were included in the study. The height variable was evaluated (mm) six months after HA injection. In total, one hundred and four interproximal papillae were studied. Three articles showed an important difference in favour of intervention. The total result regarding in the injection of AH was favourable with an approximate average filling of 0.7 mm in the height of the interdental papilla. The injection of HA for the reconstruction of deficient papillae in the region of the upper and lower maxilla was a possible option treatment strategy.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) presents distinct challenges during pregnancy due to its influence on maternal health and pregnancy outcomes. This literature review aims to dissect the existing scientific evidence on pregnancy in women with IBD and provide evidence-based recommendations for clinical management. A comprehensive search was conducted across scientific databases, selecting clinical studies, systematic reviews, and other pertinent resources. Numerous studies have underscored an increased risk of complications during pregnancy for women with IBD, including preterm birth, low birth weight, neonates small for gestational age, and congenital malformations. Nevertheless, it's evident that proactive disease management before and throughout pregnancy can mitigate these risks. Continuation of IBD treatment during pregnancy and breastfeeding is deemed safe with agents like thiopurines, anti-TNF, vedolizumab, or ustekinumab. However, there's a call for caution when combining treatments due to the heightened risk of severe infections in the first year of life. For small molecules, their use is advised against in both scenarios. Effective disease management, minimizing disease activity, and interdisciplinary care are pivotal in attending to women with IBD. The emphasis is placed on the continual assessment of maternal and infant outcomes and an expressed need for further research to enhance the understanding of the ties between IBD and adverse pregnancy outcomes.

The search for natural product-based biopesticides from endophytic fungi is an effective tool to find new solutions. In this study, we studied a pre-selected fungal endophyte, isolate YCC4, from the paleoendemism Persea indica, along with compounds present in the extract and the identification of the insect antifeedant and nematicidal ones. The endophyte YCC4 was identified as Phyllosticta capitalensis by molecular analysis. The insect antifeedant activity was tested by choice bioassays against Spodoptera littoralis, Myzus persicae and Rhopalosiphum padi and the in vitro and in vivo mortality was tested against the root-knot nematode Meloiydogyne javanica. Since the extract resulted an effective insect antifeedant, a strong nematicidal and lacked phytotoxicity on tomato plants, a comprehensive phytochemical study was carried out. The chemical study resulted in the identification of two new metabolites, metguignardic acid (4) and (-)-epi-guignardone I (14), along the known dioxolanones guignardic acid (1), ethyl guignardate (3), guignardianones A (5), C (2), D (7) and E (6), phenguignardic acid methyl ester (8), and the meroterpenes guignardone A (9) and B (10) and guignarenone C (12), (-)-guignardone I (13) and the phyllomeroterpenoid B (15). Among these compounds, 1 and 4 were effective antifeedants against both insect species, while 2 was only active on the aphid M. persicae. The nematicidal compounds were 4, 7 and 8. This is the first report on the insect antifeedant or nematicidal effects of these dioxolanone-type compounds. Since the insect antifeedant and nematicidal activity of the P. capitalensis extract depends on the presence of dioxolanone components, future fermentation optimizations are needed to promote the biosynthesis of these compounds instead of the meroterpenes.

Escape room’s games are educational gamification technologies that consist of introducing a team of players into a physical or digital space to solve a mystery or a problem in search of clues to solve puzzles, riddles, or enigmas. This study aims to determine the effectiveness of escape room’s games on the training of nurses and nursing students. A systematic review was carried out in MEDLINE, WOS, SCOPUS, CINAHL and LILACS databases using the MeSH terms: "Education, Nursing" and "Educational Technology", and the free term "Escape room", combining with Boolean operators AND/OR. Intervention studies in Spanish, English and Portuguese were included, without limitation for the year of publication. Selection and critical appraisal were conducted by two independent reviewers. A total of n=15 interventional studies were included (n=2 Randomized Clinical Trials and n=12 quasi-experimental). Escape rooms are a recent and booming educational methodology, which is increasingly used in academia and training of nurses and nursing students; however, it is necessary to expand their use to more countries, as well as the number and quality of interventional studies, being necessary to homogenize and standardize criteria and to use validated instruments to evaluate the effectiveness of escape rooms in the field of nursing.

The neocortex is an exquisitely organized structure achieved through complex cellular processes from the generation of neural cells to their integration into cortical circuits after complex migration processes. During this long journey, neural cells need to stablish and release adhesive interactions through cell surface receptors known as cell adhesion molecules (CAMs). Several types of CAMs have been described regulating different aspects of neurodevelopment. Whereas some of them mediate interactions with the extracellular matrix, others allow contacts with additional cells. In this review, we will focus on the role of two important families of cell-cell adhesion molecules (C-CAMs), classical cadherins and nectins, as well as in their effectors, in the control of fundamental processes related with corticogenesis, with especial attention in the cooperative actions among the two families of C-CAMs.

SARS-CoV-2 infection produces a response of the innate immune system causing oxidative stress and a strong inflammatory reaction termed ‘cytokine storm’ that is one of the leading causes of death. Paraoxonase-1 (PON1) protects against oxidative stress by hydrolyzing lipoperoxides. Alterations in PON1 activity have been associated with pro-inflammatory mediators such as the chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 2 (CCL2) and the glycoprotein galectin-3. We aimed to investigate the alterations in the circulating levels of PON1, CCL2 and galectin-3 in 126 patients with COVID-19 and their interactions with clinical variables and analytical parameters. A machine learning approach was used to identify predictive markers of the disease. For comparisons, we recruited 45 COVID-19 negative patients and 50 healthy individuals. Our approach identified a synergy between oxidative stress, inflammation and fibrogenesis in positive patients that is not observed in negative patients. PON1 activity was the parameter with the greatest power to discriminate between patients who were either positive or negative for COVID-19, while their levels of CCL2 and galectin-3 were similar. We suggest that the measurement of serum PON1 activity may be a useful marker for the diagnosis of COVID-19.

The effect of individual and combined supplementation of FA and GPM on physiological variables, productive performance, and carcass characteristics of finishing pigs under heat stress conditions were investigated. Forty Yorkshire x Duroc pigs (80.23 kg) were individually housed and randomly distributed into 4 groups under a 2 x 2 factorial arrangement (n=10): Control (basal diet, BD); FA, BD + 25 mg FA; GPM, BD with 2.5% GPM; and MIX, BD with 25 mg FA and 2.5% GPM. Additives were supplemented for 31 days. The inclusion of FA or GPM did not modify rectal temperature and respiratory rate. An interaction effect (P &lt;0.05) was observed on FI, while average daily gain (ADG) and feed conversion (FC) were not affected by treatments (P &gt;0.05). The inclusion of FA improved hot and cold carcass weight and carcass yields, while the addition of GPM decreased the marbling (P &lt;0.05), and GPM tended to increase loin area (P &lt;0.10). GPM increased liver weight (p &lt;0.05). The addition of GPM and FA can improve some carcass characteristics under heat stress conditions. It is necessary to continue investigating different levels of inclusion of GPM and FA, to demonstrate their potential growth promoting effect in finishing pigs.

Hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcys) is recognized as an independent risk factor for various significant medical conditions, yet controversy persists around its assessment and management. The diagnosis of disorders affecting homocysteine (Hcys) metabolism faces delays due to insufficient awareness of its clinical presentation and unique biochemical characteristics. In cases of arterial or venous thrombotic vascular events, particularly with other comorbidities, it is crucial to consider moderate to severe HHcys. A nutritional approach to HHcys management involves implementing dietary strategies and targeted supplementation, emphasizing key nutrients like vitamin B6, B12, and folate crucial for Hcys conversion. Adequate intake of these vitamins, along with betaine supplementation, supports Hcys remethylation. Lifestyle modifications, such as smoking cessation and regular physical activity, complement the nutritional approach to enhance Hcys metabolism. For individuals with HHcys, maintaining a plasma Hcys concentration below 50 μmol/L consistently is vital to lower the risk of vascular events. Collaboration with healthcare professionals and dietitians is essential for developing personalized dietary plans addressing specific needs and underlying health conditions. This integrated approach aims to optimize metabolic processes and reduce the associated health risks.

Testing and isolation have been crucial for controlling the COVID-19 pandemic. Venezuela has one of the weakest testing infrastructures in Latin America and the low number of reported cases in the country has been attributed to substantial underreporting. However, the Venezuelan epidemic seems to have lagged behind other countries in the region, with most cases occurring within the capital region and four border states. Here, we describe the spatial epidemiology of COVID-19 in Venezuela and its relation to population mobility, migration patterns, non-pharmaceutical interventions and fuel availability. Using an SEI metapopulation model, we explore how movement patterns could have driven the observed distribution of cases. Low within-country connectivity most likely delayed the epidemic in most states, except for those bordering Colombia and Brazil where high immigration seeded outbreaks. NPIs slowed early epidemic growth and subsequent fuel shortages appeared to be responsible for limiting the spread of COVID-19 across the country.

Variations in geochemical signatures of fossil brachiopod shells may be due to diagenesis and/or biological processes (i.e. ‘vital effects’). Characterize them is crucial to identify reliable areas into the shell suitable to paleoclimatological studies. This investigation contributes to an in-depth understanding of geochemical variations of Gigantoproductus sp. shells (SW Spain, Serpukhovian age), which could affect to the Late Paleozoic Ice Age interpretation. Microstructural, crystallographic, cathodoluminescence and geochemical (minor and trace elements, δ18O, δ13C, and strontium isotopes) characterisation have been performed on the tertiary layer of the ventral valve, to assess the preservation state. Poorly-preserved areas exhibit microstructural and geochemical changes such as recrystallisation, fracturing and higher Mn and Fe enrichment. Moreover, these areas have higher dispersion of ⁸⁶Sr, ⁸⁷Sr, δ18O and δ13C than well-preserved areas. Three structural regions have been identified in well-preserved areas of ventral valve by differences in valve curvature and thickness, such as the umbonal, thick and thin regions. These regions have different proportions of Mg, S, Na, δ18O, and δ13C, whom are interpreted as ‘vital effects’ and probably are related with growth rate differences during shell growth. Gigantoproductus tertiary layer seems the best suitable to paleoclimatological studies because it retains the original microstructure and geochemistry.

Plant species are precursors of a wide variety of secondary metabolites that, besides having useful activity for themselves, can also be used by humans for their consumption and economic benefit. Pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) fruit is not only a common food and spice source, but it also stands out for containing high amounts of antioxidants (such as vitamins C and A), polyphenols and capsaicinoids. Particular attention has been paid to capsaicin, whose anti-inflammatory, antiproliferative and analgesic activities, have been proven. Due to the potential interest in pepper metabolites for human use, in this project, we carried out an investigation to identify new bioactive compounds of this crop is carried out. To achieve this, we developed a metabolomic approach, using an HPLC (high-performance liquid chromatography) separative technique coupled to metabolite identification by high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS). After chromatographic analysis and data processing against metabolic databases, 12 differential bioactive compounds were identified in sweet pepper fruits, including quercetin and its derivatives, L-tryptophan, phytosphingosin, FAD, gingerglycolipid A, tetrahydropentoxylin, blumenol C glucoside, colnelenic acid and capsoside A. The abundance of these metabolites varied depending on the ripening stage of the fruits, either immature green or ripe red. We also studied the variation of these 12 metabolites upon treatment with exogenous nitric oxide (NO), a free radical gas involved in a good number of physiological processes in higher plants such as germination, growth, flowering, senescence, and fruit ripening, among others. Overall, it was found that the content of the analysed metabolites was modulated by the ripening stage and by the presence of NO. The metabolic pattern followed by quercetin and its derivatives, as a consequence of the ripening stage and NO treatment, was also corroborated by transcriptomic analysis of genes involved in the synthesis of these compounds. This opens new research windows on the pepper fruit’s bioactive compounds with nutraceutical potentiality, where biotechnological strategies can be applied for optimizing the level of these beneficial compounds.

Soil salinity is a limiting factor in crop productivity. Inoculating crops with microorganisms adapted to salt stress is an alternative to increasing plant salinity tolerance. Few studies have simultaneously propagated arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and dark septate fungi (DSF) using different sources of native inoculum from halophyte plants, and evaluated their effectiveness. This study selected, in alfalfa plants as trap culture, the infectivity of 38 microbial consortia native from rhizospheric soil (19) or roots (19) coming from six halophyte plants, as well as their effectiveness in mitigating salinity stress. Inoculation with soil resulted in 26%-56% colonization by AMF and 12%-32% by DSF. Root inoculation produced 10%-56% and 8%-24% of colonization, respectively. There was no difference in the number of spores of AMF produced with both inoculum types. The effective consortia were selected based on low Na but high P and K shoot concentrations which is relevant for plant nutrition but more for salt stress mitigation. The microbial consortia selection is presented in a more novel and applicable context, which would allow for the production of native microbial inoculants adapted to salinity to diminish the harmful effects of salinity stress in glycophyte plants in the context of sustainable agriculture.

Yellow pitahaya is a tropical fruit that has gained popularity in recent years. Natural elicitors are compounds that can stimulate the resistance and quality of fruits. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of natural elicitors: methyl salicylate (MeSa), methyl jasmonate (JaMe), salicylic acid (SA) and oxalic acid (OA) at concentrations of 0.1 mM (SaMe and JaMe) and 5 mM (SA and OA), applied to the yellow pitahaya fruits, under greenhouse conditions. After full blossom, 4 applications were made with a frequency of 15 days. At time of harvest and after storage, the following variables were evaluated: firmness (whole fruit), total soluble solids (TSS), total acidity (TA), phenolics and carotenoids (in the pulp), while phenolics, carotenoids, macronutrients and micronutrients were determined in the peel. The results showed that JaMe presented a delay of the ripening process, according to TSS, TA, firmness, and total phenolic compounds results, while MeSa advanced the fruit maturation. Regarding the alternative use of the peel as by-product, the application of natural elicitors significantly increased the content of polyphenols, carotenoids, macronutrients and micronutrients in the peel, which can be used as a bioactive compound in the food industry. In conclusion, the results indicate that natural elicitors can be an alternative to improve the quality and shelf life of yellow pitahaya fruits.

Montes de María is the best-preserved tropical dry forest fragment in the Colombian Caribbean, making it an ideal location for studying the impacts of human disturbance on local ecosystems. This study analyzed the ecological structure of diurnal butterflies in both forested and disturbed areas using 16 circular plots to identify relationships between alpha and beta diversity, and the geographic distance between disturbed areas and native forests, using a range of metrics, including range-abundance and rarefaction curves, nonlinear models, and the Bray–Curtis dissimilarity index. Results revealed three distinct species assemblages associated with forest, intermediate disturbed areas (IDA), and disturbed areas (DA). Nonlinear models show that IDA are more diverse than forest and DA. However, forests have more beta diversity among plots than IDA and DA. Indicator species for each butterfly assemblage were also identified. Thus, although new butterfly species assemblages emerge from a new human land-scape, it is clear that species that only occur within dry forest fragments are lost when forest fragments disappear. Overall, these findings have important implications for conservation efforts and understanding how human disturbance affects biodiversity in tropical ecosystems.

Ammonia can be considered a relevant compound in the future energy sector, playing a significant role as an energy carrier, storage, or carbon-free fuel. However, the production of this molecule has a high energy demand, and the use of natural gas, which is not free of controversy due to the accidental leakage into the atmosphere produced during extraction and the fact that it is a non-renewable source, contributes to increasing greenhouse gas emissions. Reducing the process’s energy demand and carbon footprint will be essential to making ammonia a clear alternative for a carbon-free economy. Given the vast experience in ammonia production and handling, this gas seems to be the logical step forward in the evolution of the energy sector. However, the current uncertainty in the global market requires cautiousness in decision-making. Several factors may impact economic growth and human welfare, thus needing a careful assessment before taking any transcendental decisions that could affect worldwide energy prices and raw material availability.

Trypanosomosis is a global animal issue, causing significant economic losses, particularly in Africa. In Spain, only one pathogenic species, Trypanosoma evansi, has been identified so far. It was first detected in a dromedary camel in the Canary Islands in 1997. Since then, numerous cases of the disease, known as surra, have been diagnosed, prompting various studies and efforts in control and surveillance. Given the lack of a comprehensive database that consolidates the most relevant data in this area, the development of a national atlas, with focus on the Canary Islands, to incorporate all available information on T. evansi in Spain became a necessity. For the development of the atlas, a repository was constructed, encompassing a range of datasets and documents spanning from 1997 to 2022. Information from each source, and in particular georeferenced locations and results of blood tests on animals, were extracted and integrated into a comprehensive database. A total of 31 sources were analysed, providing a total of 99 georeferenced locations and 12,433 animal samples. Out of these samples, 601 (mostly from dromedaries) were found to be positive for T. evansi. The Card Agglutination Test for T. evansi (CATT/T. evansi), a serological test, was the most commonly used diagnostic method, and it showed higher prevalence for all tested animal species. Positive cases were mainly concentrated in the Canary Islands, specifically in the eastern islands, with isolated cases found in the province of Alicante (Iberian Peninsula). This atlas provides an overview of the history and occurrence of surra in Spain, and it represents a valuable tool for future control initiatives and for research. Still, the need for more studies remains, especially for further testing of potential hosts other than camelids and for the examination of their potential transmission vectors.

Alzheimer's disease (AD), the most common neurodegenerative disease and the first cause of dementia worldwide, has no effective treatment yet, and AD's pathological mechanisms are not yet fully understood. We conducted this study to explore the proteomic differences associated with Familial Alzheimer's Disease (FAD) in olfactory ecto-mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) derived from PSEN1 (A431E) mutation carriers compared with healthy donors paired by age and gender through two label-free liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry approaches. The first analysis compared carrier 1 (patient with symptoms, P1) and its control (healthy donor, C1), and the second the Carrier 2 (patient with pre-symptoms, P2) with its respective control cells (C2) to evaluate whether the protein alterations presented in the symptomatic carrier were also present in pre-symptoms stages. Finally, we analyzed the differential expressed proteins (DEPs) for biological and functional enrichment. These proteins showed an impaired expression in a stage-dependent manner and are involved in energy metabolism, vesicle transport, actin cytoskeleton, cell proliferation, and proteostasis pathways resembling previous AD reports. Our study is the first proteomic analysis in MSCs from FAD patients in two stages of the disease (symptomatic and presymptomatic), showing these cells as a new and excellent in vitro model for future AD studies.

Abstract: Urban population growth and the expansion of the built environment, pollution, overexploitation of water, inequality in water distribution, and the impacts of climate change in future availability of water, are all elements that jeopardize urban water security. Due to the complexity of urban water systems and their relevance for urban life, a holistic and integrative perspective is therefore needed to address such challenges. In this paper, Urban Water Metabolism (UWM) has been used for comprehensively understanding water (in)security in the City of Puebla (Mexico) and its metropolitan area. Water inflows and outflows have been estimated using a Material Flow Analysis (MFA) method with data either obtained from official sources or simulated with the Monte Carlo method. Our findings show that the UWM configuration in the City of Puebla and its metropolitan area is effective for generating profits to service providers and water related business, yet ineffective to guarantee citizens’ Human Right to Water and Sanitation (HRWS), a right recognized in the Constitution of Mexico. We conclude that to advance towards an inclusive and sustainable provision of water, economic interests must be reconsidered and therefore adjusted so they can be in line with such aspirational socioecological goals. UWM accounting can therefore inform new water governance arrangements, those based on both the best available knowledge and a vibrant participation of all relevant stakeholders.

Climate change and exposure to environmental pollutants play a key role in the onset and aggravation of allergic diseases. As different climate-dependent patterns of molecular immunoglobulin E (IgE) reactivity have been regionally described, we sought to investigate the evolving allergen exposome in distinctive allergic phenotypes, and subtropical weather conditions through a Precision Allergy Molecular Diagnosis (PAMD@) model. Concurrent sensitization to several house dust mites (HDM) and storage mite molecules were broadly dominant in the investigated cohort, followed by the major cat allergen Fel d 1, and regardless of the basal allergic disease. Although a complex repertoire of allergens was recognized, a steadily increasing number of IgE binding molecules was associated with the complexity of the underlying atopic disease. Besides the highly prevalent IgE responses to HMD major allergens, Der p 21, Der p 5, and Der p 7 also showed as serodominant molecules, especially in those subjects bothered with asthma and atopic dermatitis. The accurate characterization of the external exposome at the molecular level and their putative role as clinically relevant allergens is essential to elucidate the phenotypic diversity of atopic disease in terms of personalized diagnosis and therapy.

(1) Background: The purpose of this study was therefore to analyze the predictive capacity of the three variables (impulsivity, sensation-seeking and drug use) in aggressors and victims of violence. (2) Methods: The design is cross-sectional quasi-experimental. A sample of 822 students aged 13 to 18 who had filled in an ad hoc questionnaire, the State Impulsivity Scale and the Sensation-Seeking Scale, was used for this. (3) Results: The results show that aggressors had high levels of gratification, automatism, attentional factor, disinhibition and susceptibility to boredom, and use alcohol and/or tobacco. The variables that could predict involvement as an aggressor in peer conflict are use of alcohol, smoking, high levels of gratification, automatism and attentional factors and a high degree of disinhibition and susceptibility to boredom. The disinhibition is the best predictor of aggressor. (4) Conclusions: Thus having available empirical evidence that facilitates detection of predictive variables for participation in violence is going to favor the design of effective education intervention for reducing risk behavior.

Targeted therapies with antiangiogenic drugs (e.g., sunitinib) and immune checkpoint inhibitors (e.g., anti-PD-1 antibodies) are the standard of care for patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma. Although these treatments improve patient survival, they are rarely curative. We previously hypothesized that advanced cancers might be treated without drugs by using artificial diets in which the levels of specific amino acids (AAs) are manipulated. In this work, after showing that AA manipulation induces selective anticancer activity in renal cell carcinoma cells in vitro, we evaluated the anticancer activity of 17 artificial diets in a challenging animal model of renal cell carcinoma. The model was stablished by injecting murine renal cell carcinoma (Renca) cells into the peritoneum of immunocompetent BALB/cAnNRj mice. Mice survival was markedly improved when their normal diet was replaced with our artificial diets. Mice fed a diet lacking six AAs (diet T2) lived longer than mice treated with sunitinib or anti-PD-1 immunotherapy; several animals lived very long or were cured. Controlling the levels of several AAs (e.g., cysteine, methionine and leucine) and lipids was important for the anticancer activity of the diets. Additional studies are needed to further evaluate the therapeutic potential of this simple and inexpensive anticancer strategy.

The potential of biological consortia designed for laccase production and dye treatment is discussed in this review. The poor yields in laccase production and low efficiency in dye decolorization of monoculture-based treatments has encouraged the use of designed biological consortia. A consortium is a system where the growth of two or more organisms, chosen to improve a particular bioprocess, is induced in the same medium. Chemical and natural mediators are being replaced by consortia for the production of laccases because, in addition to being less toxic, they induce new enzyme isoforms and lead to high laccase yields. On the other hand, consortia act synergistically in the decolorization of azo dyes through the enzymes they produce, so overall degradation is improved. Designed consortia are an attractive alternative still in development that could provide new biotechnological tools for the treatment of textile effluents.