Grape Resveratrol Increases Serum Adiponectin and Downregulates Inflammatory Genes in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells: A Triple-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, One-Year Clinical Trial in Patients with Stable Coronary Artery Disease

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits any use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and the source are credited.[Purpose] The grape and wine polyphenol resveratrol exerts cardiovascular benefits but evidence from randomized human clinical trials is very limited. We investigated dose-depending effects of a resveratrol-containing grape supplement on stable patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) treated according to currently accepted guidelines for secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease.[Methods] In a triple-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, one-year follow-up, 3-arm pilot clinical trial, 75 stable-CAD patients received 350 mg/day of placebo, resveratrol-containing grape extract (grape phenolics plus 8 mg resveratrol) or conventional grape extract lacking resveratrol during 6 months, and a double dose for the following 6 months. Changes in circulating inflammatory and fibrinolytic biomarkers were analyzed. Moreover, the transcriptional profiling of inflammatory genes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) was explored using microarrays and functional gene expression analysis.[Results] After 1 year, in contrast to the placebo and conventional grape extract groups, the resveratrol-containing grape extract group showed an increase of the anti-inflammatory serum adiponectin (9.6 %, p = 0.01) and a decrease of the thrombogenic plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1 (PAI-1) (−18.6 %, p = 0.05). In addition, 6 key inflammation-related transcription factors were predicted to be significantly activated or inhibited, with 27 extracellular-space acting genes involved in inflammation, cell migration and T-cell interaction signals presenting downregulation (p < 0.05) in PBMCs. No adverse effects were detected in relation to the study products.[Conclusions] Chronic daily consumption of a resveratrol-containing grape nutraceutical could exert cardiovascular benefits in stable-CAD patients treated according to current evidence-based standards, by increasing serum adiponectin, preventing PAI-1 increase and inhibiting atherothrombotic signals in PBMCs.This study was supported by public funds: Projects CICYT-BFU2007-60576 and Consolider-Ingenio 2010 (CSD2007-00063, Fun-C-Food) from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MICINN) and GERM-06-04486 (Fundación Séneca, Murcia, Spain). Dr. Tomé-Carneiro received a FPI grant from MICINN and Dr. Larrosa received a JAE-DOC contract from the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC, Spain).Peer reviewe

Quid: observatorio de medios

El informe está dividido en cuatro apartados: “Derecho a la información y transparencia”, “La televisión mexicana”, “Empresas y prácticas periodísticas” y “Los que se fueron”. En el primero de ellos se presenta un texto que ayuda a entender cuál es el momento en el que se encuentran las propuestas legislativas para regular a los medios y las telecomunicaciones en México, y una evaluación de los primeros cinco años del Instituto de Transparencia e Información Pública de Jalisco. El segundo apartado del informe es ecléctico, pues se compone de artículos que trabajan distintas temáticas de la televisión:la estructura y oferta de la televisión en nuestro país (en particular en la ciudad de Guadalajara), la televisión por cable (enfatizando el caso de Megacable), un recuento de cómo se gestó el Canal 44 y de sus prospectivas en 2011, y los mundiales de futbol. La tercera parte del informe documenta algunas de las situaciones más importantes que se viven en el periodismo local: estos trabajos presentan sistemas en crisis (alta vulnerabilidad de los periodistas mexicanos ante un clima de violencia que lejos de disminuir va en aumento, y la participación, por acción u omisión, del Estado mexicano en la sistemática violación de los derechos de quienes dedican su vida al trabajo periodístico. Los siguientes artículos tratan sobre las transformaciones de las empresas periodísticas, particularmente las del sector de la prensa escrita: la rápida e inexorable desaparición de los suplementos culturales, y una radiografía sobre las formas de producción de algunas secciones internacionales de los periódicos tapatíos. Al final se presentan las semblanzas de José Galindo, Raúl Mora Lomelí, S.J., Tomás Eloy Martínez y Juan Pablo Rosell.ITESO, A.C

Diagnóstico sobre el estado y vigencia de los derechos humanos en el sur de Jalisco: DESCA, seguridad pública y participación ciudadana

Los trabajos que se presentan en este diagnóstico versan sobre la situación de los derechos económicos, sociales, culturales y ambientales del Sur de Jalisco. Para realizarlo se hizo el diseño de un cuestionario de 131 reactivos, el cual se aplicó en población abierta de 16 municipios de la región durante un periodo de siete meses. La investigación arrojó información valiosa para medir el cumplimiento de los derechos en cinco dimensiones: capacidades humanas básicas; sustentabilidad y medio ambiente; autonomía, participación ciudadana y gobierno local; seguridad pública y sistema de justicia, así como una dimensión sociocultural (discriminación, género y cultura). Una vez que se obtuvo toda la información, se hizo el análisis de las cinco dimensiones y se redactaron cinco textos de divulgación, los cuales constituyen la parte medular de este diagnóstico.ITESO, A.C.John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundatio

SARS-CoV-2 Catalonia contact tracing program : evaluation of key performance indicators

Background: Guidance on SARS-CoV-2 contact tracing indicators have been recently revised by international public health agencies. The aim of the study is to describe and analyse contact tracing indicators based on Catalonia's (Spain) real data and proposing to update them according to recommendations. Methods: Retrospective cohort analysis including Catalonia's contact tracing dataset from 20 May until 31 December 2020. Descriptive statistics are performed including sociodemographic stratification by age, and differences are assessed over the study period. Results: We analysed 923,072 contacts from 301,522 SARS-CoV-2 cases with identified contacts (67.1% contact tracing coverage). The average number of contacts per case was 4.6 (median 3, range 1-243). A total of 403,377 contacts accepted follow-up through three phone calls over a 14-day quarantine period (84.5% of contacts requiring follow-up). The percentage of new cases declared as contacts 14 days prior to diagnosis evolved from 33.9% in May to 57.9% in November. All indicators significantly improved towards the target over time (p < 0.05 for all four indicators). Conclusions: Catalonia's SARS-CoV-2 contact tracing indicators improved over time despite challenging context. The critical revision of the indicator's framework aims to provide essential information in control policies, new indicators proposed will improve system delay's follow-up. The study provides information on COVID-19 indicators framework experience from country's real data, allowing to improve monitoring tools in 2021-2022. With the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic being so harmful to health systems and globally, is important to analyse and share contact tracing data with the scientific community

Inhibition of Gastric Lipase as a Mechanism for Body Weight and Plasma Lipids Reduction in Zucker Rats Fed a Rosemary Extract Rich in Carnosic Acid

BACKGROUND: Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) extracts (REs) exhibit hepatoprotective, anti-obesity and anti-inflammatory properties and are widely used in the food industry. REs are rich in carnosic acid (CA) and carnosol which may be responsible for some of the biological activities of REs. The aim of this study was to investigate whether inhibition of lipase activity in the gut may be a mechanism by which a RE enriched in CA (40%) modulates body weight and lipids levels in a rat model of metabolic disorders and obesity. METHODS AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: RE was administered for 64 days to lean (fa/+) and obese (fa/fa) female Zucker rats and body weight, food intake, feces weight and blood biochemical parameters were monitored throughout the study. Lipase activity (hydrolysis of p-nitrophenylbutyrate) was measured in the gastrointestinal tract at the end of the study and the contents of CA, carnosol and methyl carnosate were also determined. Sub-chronic administration of RE moderately reduced body weight gain in both lean and obese animals but did not affect food intake. Serum triglycerides, cholesterol and insulin levels were also markedly decreased in the lean animals supplemented with RE. Importantly, lipase activity was significantly inhibited in the stomach of the RE-supplemented animals where the highest content of intact CA and carnosol was detected. CONCLUSIONS: Our results confirm that long-term administration of RE enriched in CA moderates weight gain and improves the plasma lipids profile, primarily in the lean animals. Our data also suggest that these effects may be caused, at least in part, by a significant inhibition of gastric lipase and subsequent reduction in fat absorption

Cut-offs and response criteria for the Hospital Universitario la Princesa Index (HUPI) and their comparison to widely-used indices of disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis

Objective To estimate cut-off points and to establish response criteria for the Hospital Universitario La Princesa Index (HUPI) in patients with chronic polyarthritis. Methods Two cohorts, one of early arthritis (Princesa Early Arthritis Register Longitudinal PEARL] study) and other of long-term rheumatoid arthritis (Estudio de la Morbilidad y Expresión Clínica de la Artritis Reumatoide EMECAR]) including altogether 1200 patients were used to determine cut-off values for remission, and for low, moderate and high activity through receiver operating curve (ROC) analysis. The areas under ROC (AUC) were compared to those of validated indexes (SDAI, CDAI, DAS28). ROC analysis was also applied to establish minimal and relevant clinical improvement for HUPI. Results The best cut-off points for HUPI are 2, 5 and 9, classifying RA activity as remission if =2, low disease activity if >2 and =5), moderate if >5 and <9 and high if =9. HUPI''s AUC to discriminate between low-moderate activity was 0.909 and between moderate-high activity 0.887. DAS28''s AUCs were 0.887 and 0.846, respectively; both indices had higher accuracy than SDAI (AUCs: 0.832 and 0.756) and CDAI (AUCs: 0.789 and 0.728). HUPI discriminates remission better than DAS28-ESR in early arthritis, but similarly to SDAI. The HUPI cut-off for minimal clinical improvement was established at 2 and for relevant clinical improvement at 4. Response criteria were established based on these cut-off values. Conclusions The cut-offs proposed for HUPI perform adequately in patients with either early or long term arthritis

Medios de comunicación y derecho a la información en Jalisco, 2021

Este volumen de la serie de "Medios de comunicación y derecho a la información en Jalisco", escrito por académicos y estudiantes, ofrece información sobre cinco temas generales: artículos sobre la comunicación política durante las elecciones locales de 2021; un informe dedicado a los medios de comunicación en Jalisco: otro artículo sobre el derecho a la información, una investigación académica sobre las inequidades de género en las coberturas periodísticas en el ámbito global y en la sección de las y los que se fueron, ofrece semblanzas de dos personajes importantes para el estado de Jalisco: el periodista radiofónico Marcos Arana y el fotoperiodista José Hernández Claire.ITESO, A.C

Consenso mexicano sobre probióticos en gastroenterología

Introducción: El uso de los probióticos es común en la práctica clínica. Existe un número signi-ficativo de estudios que apoyan la eficacia de los probióticos en algunos trastornos digestivos.Sin embargo, el desconocimiento de la evidencia científica y las diferentes presentaciones ycomposiciones microbianas de los probióticos disponibles dificultan su prescripción.Objetivo: Proveer al clínico de una revisión consensuada sobre los probióticos y recomendacio-nes de su uso en gastroenterología.Material y métodos: Se seleccionaron los ensayos clínicos controlados, metaanálisis y revisio-nes sistemáticas publicados hasta 2015, usando los términos MESH: probiotics, gastrointestinaldiseases, humans, adults and children. Se utilizó la metodología Delphi. Diecisiete gastroente-rólogos de adultos y 12 de ni˜nos elaboraron enunciados los cuales fueron votados hasta obteneracuerdo > 70%. Para cada enunciado se evaluó el nivel de evidencia basado en el sistema GRADE.Resultados y conclusiones: Se generaron 11 enunciados sobre conceptos generales de probió-ticos y 27 enunciados sobre uso de probióticos en enfermedades gastrointestinales tanto enni˜nos como en adultos. El grupo de consenso recomienda el uso de probióticos en las siguientescondiciones clínicas: prevención de la diarrea asociada a antibióticos, tratamiento de la diarreaaguda infecciosa, prevención de infección por Clostridium difficile y enterocolitis necrosante,para disminuir los eventos adversos de la terapia de erradicación del Helicobacter pylori, elalivio de los síntomas del síndrome de intestino irritable, en el estre˜nimiento funcional deladulto, para inducir y mantener la remisión en pacientes con colitis ulcerosa crónica idiopáticay pouchitis, y en la encefalopatía hepática oculta y manifiesta.© 2016 Asociaci´on Mexicana de Gastroenterolog´ıa. Publicado por Masson Doyma M´exico S.A.Este es un art´ıculo Open Access bajo la licencia CC BY-NC-ND (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). ASTRACT Introduction: Probiotics are frequently prescribed in clinical practice. Their efficacy in treatinggastrointestinal disorders is supported by a significant number of clinical trials. However, thecorrect prescription of these agents is hampered due to a lack of knowledge of the scientificevidence and to the different presentations and microbial compositions of the probiotics thatare currently available.Aim: To provide the clinician with a consensus review of probiotics and recommendations fortheir use in gastroenterology.Materials and methods: Controlled clinical trials, meta-analyses, and systematic reviewspublished up to 2015 were selected, using the MESH terms: probiotics, gastrointestinal diseases,humans, adults, AND children. The Delphi method was employed. Eighteen gastroenterologiststreating adult patients and 14 pediatric gastroenterologists formulated statements that werevoted on until agreement > 70% was reached. The level of evidence based on the GRADE systemwas evaluated for each statement.Results and conclusions: Eleven statements on the general concepts of probiotics and 27 sta-tements on the use of probiotics in gastrointestinal diseases in both adults and children wereformulated. The consensus group recommends the use of probiotics under the following clini-cal conditions: the prevention of diarrhea associated with antibiotics, the treatment of acuteinfectious diarrhea, the prevention of Clostridium difficile infection and necrotizing enteroco-litis, the reduction of adverse events from Helicobacter pylori eradication therapy, relief fromirritable bowel syndrome symptoms, the treatment of functional constipation in the adult, and the induction and maintenance of remission in patients with ulcerative colitis and pouchitis,and the treatment of covert and overt hepatic encephalopathy.© 2016 Asociaci´on Mexicana de Gastroenterolog´ıa. Published by Masson Doyma M´exico S.A. Thisis an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)