Características físicas e químicas de frutos de pupunheira no estado do Pará.

O objetivo deste estudo foi caracterizar física e físico-quimicamente frutos de 21 matrizes de pupunheira (Bactris gasipaes Kunth), visando a obter subsídios que permitam avançar com o programa de melhoramento genético, em especial para características da polpa do fruto. Os frutos provenientes de diferentes genótipos foram caracterizados quanto à dimensão dos frutos e caroço, umidade, proteínas, lipídeos, cinzas, fibras e carotenoides totais. Os resultados obtidos para as diferentes variáveis analisadas demonstraram diferenças entre os frutos obtidos de diferentes genótipos. A análise de proteínas apresentou valores que variaram de 4,20 a 6,79%, com destaque para a matriz B04-P20, que apresentou o maior valor. Para lipídeos, os teores variaram bastante, com valores entre 8,25 e 40,83%, destacando-se a matriz B02-P30 com o maior teor de lipídeos. Os teores de carotenoides totais das matrizes de pupunheira variaram de 8,02 a 124,90µg/g, com destaque para as matrizes B02-P30 (124,90µg/g) e B05-P45 (123,04µg/g), indicando que a pupunha pode contribuir de maneira importante na ingestão de antioxidantes na dieta. De maneira geral, as análises físicas e físico-químicas dos frutos mostraram diferenças significativas entre as matrizes para os caracteres estudados, evidenciando ser um conjunto geneticamente promissor para a prática da seleçã

Access and utilisation of primary health care services comparing urban and rural areas of Riyadh Providence, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has seen an increase in chronic diseases. International evidence suggests that early intervention is the best approach to reduce the burden of chronic disease. However, the limited research available suggests that health care access remains unequal, with rural populations having the poorest access to and utilisation of primary health care centres and, consequently, the poorest health outcomes. This study aimed to examine the factors influencing the access to and utilisation of primary health care centres in urban and rural areas of Riyadh province of the KSA

Traditional Chinese Medicine for Acute Myocardial Infarction in Western Medicine Hospitals in China.

BACKGROUND: Amid national efforts to improve the quality of care for people with cardiovascular disease in China, the use of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is increasing, yet little is known about its use in the early management of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). METHODS AND RESULTS: We aimed to examine intravenous use of TCM within the first 24 hours of hospitalization (early IV TCM) for AMI. Data come from the China Patient-centered Evaluative Assessment of Cardiac Events Retrospective Study of Acute Myocardial Infarction, restricted to a large, representative sample of Western medicine hospitals throughout China (n=162). We conducted a chart review of randomly sampled patients with AMI in 2001, 2006, and 2011, comparing early intravenous TCM use across years, predictors of any early intravenous TCM use, and association with in-hospital bleeding and mortality. From 2001 to 2011, early intravenous TCM use increased (2001: 38.2% versus 2006: 49.1% versus 2011: 56.1%; P<0.01). Nearly all (99%) hospitals used early intravenous TCM. Salvia miltiorrhiza was most commonly prescribed, used in one third (35.5%) of all patients admitted with AMI. Patients receiving any early intravenous TCM, compared with those who did not, were similar in age and sex and had fewer cardiovascular risk factors. In multivariable hierarchical models, admission to a secondary (versus tertiary) hospital was most strongly associated with early intravenous TCM use (odds ratio: 2.85; 95% confidence interval: 1.98-4.11). Hospital-level factors accounted for 55% of the variance (adjusted median odds ratio: 2.84). In exploratory analyses, there were no significant associations between early intravenous TCM and in-hospital bleeding or mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Early intravenous TCM use for AMI in China is increasing despite the lack of evidence of their benefit or harm. There is an urgent need to define the effects of these medications because they have become a staple of treatment in the world's most populous country. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01624883

An investigation of photovoltaic powered pumps in direct solar domestic hot water systems

The performance of photovoltaic powered pumps in direct solar domestic hot water (PV-SDHW) systems has been studied. The direct PV- SDHW system employs a photovoltaic array, a separately excited DC- motor, a centrifugal pump, a thermal collector, and a storage tank. A search methodology for an optimum PV-SDHW system configuration has been proposed. A comparison is made between the long-term performance of a PV-SDHW system and a conventional SDHW system operating under three control schemes. The three schemes are: an ON-OFF flow controlled SDHW system operating at the manufacturer-recommended constant flow rate, and a linear proportional flow controlled SDHW system with the flow proportional to the solar radiation operating under an optimum proportionality. 13 refs., 6 figs

Association of Aortic Stiffness With Biomarkers of Neuroinflammation, Synaptic Dysfunction, and Neurodegeneration

OBJECTIVES: To test the hypothesis that increased aortic stiffening is associated with greater cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) evidence of core Alzheimer's disease pathology (Aβ, phosphorylated tau (p-tau)), neurodegeneration (total tau (t-tau)), synaptic dysfunction (neurogranin), neuroaxonal injury (neurofilament light (NFL)), and neuroinflammation (YKL-40, sTREM2), we analyzed pulse wave velocity (PWV) data and CSF data among older adults. METHODS: Participants free of stroke and dementia from the Vanderbilt Memory and Aging Project, an observational community-based study, underwent cardiac magnetic resonance to assess aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV, m/sec) and lumbar puncture to obtain CSF. Linear regressions related aortic PWV to CSF Aβ, p-tau, t-tau, neurogranin, NFL, YKL-40, and sTREM2 concentrations adjusting for age, race/ethnicity, education, apolipoprotein (APOE) ε4 status, Framingham Stroke Risk Profile, and cognitive diagnosis. Models were repeated testing PWV interactions with age, diagnosis, APOE-ε4, and hypertension on each biomarker. RESULTS: 146 participants were examined (72±6 years). Aortic PWV interacted with age on p-tau (β=0.31, p=0.04), t-tau, (β=2.67, p=0.05), neurogranin (β=0.94, p=0.04), and sTREM2 (β=20.4, p=0.05). Among participants over age 73 years, higher aortic PWV related to higher p-tau (β=2.4, p=0.03), t-tau (β=19.3, p=0.05), neurogranin (β=8.4, p=0.01), and YKL-40 concentrations (β=7880, p=0.005). Aortic PWV had modest interactions with diagnosis on neurogranin (β=-10.76, p=0.03) and hypertension status on YKL-40 (β=-18020, p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Among our oldest participants, age 74 years and older, greater aortic stiffening is associated with in vivo biomarker evidence of neuroinflammation, tau phosphorylation, synaptic dysfunction, and neurodegeneration, but not amyloidosis. Central arterial stiffening may lead to cumulative cerebral microcirculatory damage and blood flow delivery to tissue, resulting in neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration in more advanced age

Employing Plant Functional Groups to Advance Seed Dispersal Ecology and Conservation

Seed dispersal enables plants to reach hospitable germination sites and escape natural enemies. Understanding when and how much seed dispersal matters to plant fitness is critical for understanding plant population and community dynamics. At the same time, the complexity of factors that determine if a seed will be successfully dispersed and subsequently develop into a reproductive plant is daunting. Quantifying all factors that may influence seed dispersal effectiveness for any potential seed-vector relationship would require an unrealistically large amount of time, materials and financial resources. On the other hand, being able to make dispersal predictions is critical for predicting whether single species and entire ecosystems will be resilient to global change. Building on current frameworks, we here posit that seed dispersal ecology should adopt plant functional groups as analytical units to reduce this complexity to manageable levels. Functional groups can be used to distinguish, for their constituent species, whether it matters (i) if seeds are dispersed, (ii) into what context they are dispersed and (iii) what vectors disperse them. To avoid overgeneralization, we propose that the utility of these functional groups may be assessed by generating predictions based on the groups and then testing those predictions against species-specific data. We suggest that data collection and analysis can then be guided by robust functional group definitions. Generalizing across similar species in this way could help us to better understand the population and community dynamics of plants and tackle the complexity of seed dispersal as well as its disruption