Fecal microbiota composition is related to brown adipose tissue 18F‑fluorodeoxyglucose uptake in young adults

Objective Human brown adipose tissue (BAT) has gained considerable attention as a potential therapeutic target for obesity and its related cardiometabolic diseases; however, whether the gut microbiota might be an efficient stimulus to activate BAT metabolism remains to be ascertained. We aimed to investigate the association of fecal microbiota composition with BAT volume and activity and mean radiodensity in young adults. Methods 82 young adults (58 women, 21.8 ± 2.2 years old) participated in this cross-sectional study. DNA was extracted from fecal samples and 16S rRNA sequencing was performed to analyse the fecal microbiota composition. BAT was determined via a static 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) positron emission tomography-computed tomography scan (PET/CT) after a 2 h personalized cooling protocol. 18F-FDG uptake was also quantified in white adipose tissue (WAT) and skeletal muscles. Results The relative abundance of Akkermansia, Lachnospiraceae sp. and Ruminococcus genera was negatively correlated with BAT volume, BAT SUVmean and BAT SUVpeak (all rho ≤ − 0.232, P ≤ 0.027), whereas the relative abundance of Bifidobacterium genus was positively correlated with BAT SUVmean and BAT SUVpeak (all rho ≥ 0.262, P ≤ 0.012). On the other hand, the relative abundance of Sutterellaceae and Bifidobacteriaceae families was positively correlated with 18FFDG uptake by WAT and skeletal muscles (all rho ≥ 0.213, P ≤ 0.042). All the analyses were adjusted for the PET/CT scan date as a proxy of seasonality. Conclusion Our results suggest that fecal microbiota composition is involved in the regulation of BAT and glucose uptake by other tissues in young adults. Further studies are needed to confirm these findings.Universidad de Granada / CBUASpanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness via Fondo de Investigacion Sanitaria del Instituto de Salud Carlos III PI13/01393 PTA 12264-IRetos de la Sociedad DEP2016-79512-REuropean Commission Spanish Government FPU13/04365 FPU16/05159 FPU17/01523Fundacion Iberoamericana de Nutricion (FINUT)Redes Tematicas De Investigacion Cooperativa RETIC Red SAMID RD16/0022InFLAMES Flagship Programme of the Academy of Finland 337530NextGenerationEU RR_C_2021_04AstraZenecaUniversity of Granada Plan Propio de Investigacion 2016-Excellence actions: Unit of Excellence on Exercise and Health (UCEES)Junta de Andalucia, Consejeria de Conocimiento, Investigacion y Universidades (ERDF) SOMM17/6107/UGREuropean Commission through the "European funds for regional development" (EFRE)regional Ministry of Economy, Science and Digitalization of Saxony-Anhalt as part of the "Autonomy in old Age"(AiA) research group for "LiLife" Project ZS/2018/11/95324MIRACUMFederal Ministry of Education & Research (BMBF) FKZ 01ZZ1801HFundacion Alfonso Martin Escuder

Concurrent validity of supraclavicular skin temperature measured with iButtons and infrared thermography as a surrogate marker of brown adipose tissue

We are grateful to Ms. Carmen Sainz-Quinn for assistance with the English language. We are grateful to Alberto Quesada-Aranda for helping with the development of the Temperatus software (Free trial in http://profth.ugr.es/temperatus).This study is part of a Ph.D. Thesis conducted in the Biomedicine Doctoral Studies of the University of Granada, Spain.Brown adipose tissue (BAT) thermogenic activity is commonly assessed with a positron emission tomography with computed tomography scan (PET/CT). This technique has several limitations and alternative techniques are needed. Supraclavicular skin temperature measured with iButtons and infrared thermography (IRT) has been proposed as an indirect marker of BAT activity. We studied the concurrent validity of skin temperature measured with iButtons vs. IRT and the association of supraclavicular skin temperature measured with iButtons and IRT with BAT. We measured skin temperature upon a shivering threshold test with iButtons and IRT in 6 different regions in 12 participants (n = 2 men). On a separate day, we determined supraclavicular skin temperature with an iButton and IRT after 2 h of a personalized cooling protocol. Thereafter, we quantified BAT volume and activity by PET/CT. We observed that the absolute differences between the devices were statistically different from 0 (all P < 0.05) after the shivering threshold test. Moreover, we did not find any association between supraclavicular skin temperature measured with iButtons or IRT and BAT 18F-FDG activity (r = −0.213; P = 0.530 and r = −0.079; P = 0.817). However, we observed a negative association of supraclavicular skin temperature measured by IRT with BAT 18F-FDG volume (r = −0.764; P = 0.006), but not with supraclavicular skin temperature measured with iButtons (r = −0.546; P = 0.082). In light of these results, we concluded that the measurement of skin temperature obtained by iButtons and IRT are not comparable. Furthermore, it seems that supraclavicular skin temperature is not associated with BAT 18F-FDG activity, but it appears to be negatively associated with BAT 18F-FDG volume in the case of IRT.This study was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness via the Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria del Instituto de Salud Carlos III (PI13/01393), Retos de la Sociedad (DEP2016-79512-R), PTA 12264-I, and European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the Spanish Ministry of Education (FPU 13/04365, FPU14/04172, FPU15/05337, and FPU15/04059), by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation-MINECO (RYC-2014-16938), the Fundación Iberoamericana de Nutrición (FINUT), the Redes Temáticas de Investigación Cooperativa RETIC (Red SAMID RD16/0022), the AstraZeneca HealthCare Foundation, the University of Granada Plan Propio de Investigación 2016 -Excellence actions: Unit of Excellence on Exercise and Health (UCEES) - and Plan Propio de Investigación 2018 - Programa Contratos-Puente, and the Junta de Andalucía, Consejería de Conocimiento, Investigación y Universidades (ERDF, ref. SOMM17/6107/UGR). This study is part of a Ph.D

El impacto de las capacitaciones en la evaluación de desempeño en los funcionarios de la Contraloría General del departamento de Sucre

Este proyecto de investigación tiene como objetivo medir El impacto de las capacitaciones en la evaluación de desempeño en los funcionarios de la Contraloría General del departamento de Sucre. Por tanto, se realiza un informe descriptivo, tomando los resultados de los análisis obtenidos tanto negativos como positivos de esta entidad pública, con el fin de aportar recomendaciones para la mejora de los procesos estudiados.The objective of this research project is to measure the impact of training on performance evaluation in officials of the Comptroller General of the department of Sucre. Therefore, a descriptive report is made, taking the results of both negative and positive analyzes obtained from this public entity, in order to provide recommendations for the improvement of the processes studied

Supraclavicular skin temperature measured by iButtons and 18Ffluorodeoxyglucose uptake by brown adipose tissue in adults

This study is part of a Ph.D. thesis conducted in the Biomedicine Doctoral Studies of the University of Granada, Spain.Currently, 18 [F]-Fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) in combination with a positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) scan analysis is the most commonly used method to quantify human BAT volume and activity. However, this technique presents several drawbacks which negatively affect participant's health. The aim of the present work is to determine whether supraclavicular skin temperature can be used as an indirect marker of cold-induced BAT and skeletal muscle 18F-FDG uptake in adults, while taking into account body composition. We performed a personalized cooling protocol just before an 18F-FDG-PET/CT scan, and we measured supraclavicular skin temperature before (in warm conditions) and after the cooling protocol in 88 adults (n = 57 women, mean age: 21.9 ± 2.1 years old, body mass index: 24.5 ± 4.3 km/m2). We found that supraclavicular skin temperature at the warm and cold periods was weakly and positively associated with BAT activity (SUVmean and SUVpeak: β = 3.000; R2 = 0.072; P = 0.022 and β = 2.448; R2 = 0.060; P = 0.021), but not with skeletal muscle 18F-FDG uptake, after controlling for body composition. We performed further analyses and the positive associations persisted only in the group of women. In conclusion, supraclavicular skin temperature in warm and cold conditions seems to be related with cold-induced 18F-FDG uptake by BAT only in women, although the low explained variance of these associations means that there are other factors involved in the supraclavicular skin temperature.This study was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria del Instituto de Salud Carlos III (PI13/01393) and Retos de la Sociedad (DEP2016-79512-R), Fondos Estructurales de la Unión Europea (FEDER), by the Spanish Ministry of Education (FPU 13/04365, 14/04172, and 16/05159), by the Fundación Iberoamericana de Nutrición (FINUT), by the Redes temáticas de investigación cooperativa RETIC (Red SAMID RD16/0022), by AstraZeneca HealthCare Foundation and by the University of Granada Plan Propio de Investigación 2016 -Excellence actions: Unit of Excellence on Exercise and Health (UCEES) - and Plan Propio de Investigación 2018 - Programa Contratos-Puente, and the Junta de Andalucía, Consejería de Conocimiento, Investigación y Universidades (FEDER: ref. SOMM17/6107/UGR)

Association of Neck Circumference with Anthropometric Indicators and Body Composition Measured by DXA in Young Spanish Adults

Background: Due to a clinical and public health interest of neck circumference (NC), a better understanding of this simple anthropometric measurement, as a valid marker of body composition is necessary. Methods: A total of 119 young healthy adults participated in this study. NC was measured over the thyroid cartilage and perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the neck. Body weight, height, waist circumference (WC), and hip circumference were measured. A Dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scan was used to determine fat mass, lean mass, and visceral adipose tissue (VAT). Additionally, body mass index (BMI) and triponderal mass index (TMI), the waist to hip and waist to height ratios, and the fat mass and lean mass indexes (FMI and LMI, respectively) were calculated. Results: NC was positively associated in women (W) and men (M), with BMI (rW = 0.70 and rM = 0.84, respectively), TMI (rW = 0.63 and rM = 0.80, respectively), WC (rW = 0.75 and rM = 0.86, respectively), VAT (rW = 0.74 and rM = 0.82, respectively), Waist/hip (rW = 0.51 and rM = 0.67, respectively), Waist/height (rW = 0.68 and rM = 0.83, respectively) and FMI (rW = 0.61 and rM = 0.81, respectively). The association between NC and indicators of body composition was however weaker than that observed by BMI, TMI, WC and Waist/height in both women and men. It is of note that in women, NC was associated with FMI, VAT and LMI independently of BMI. In men, adding NC to anthropometric variables did not improve the prediction of body composition, while slight improvements were observed in women. Conclusions: Taken together, the present study provides no indication for NC as a useful proxy of body composition parameters in young adults, yet future studies should explore its usefulness as a measure to use in combination with BMI, especially in women.This study was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness Grants (DEP2016-79512-R and PTA 12264-I), Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria del Instituto de Salud Carlos III (PI13/01393), and Retos de la Sociedad (DEP2016-79512-R), Fondos Estructurales de la Unión Europea (FEDER), by the Spanish Ministry of Education (FPU 13/04365), by the Fundación Iberoamericana de Nutrición (FINUT), by the Redes temáticas de investigación cooperativa RETIC (Red SAMID RD16/0022), by AstraZeneca HealthCare Foundation and by the University of Granada, Plan Propio de Investigación 2016, Excellence actions: Units of Excellence; Scientific Unit of Excellence on Exercise and Health (UCEES), Plan Propio de Investigación 2018: Programa Contratos-Puente and Programa Perfeccionamiento de Doctores, by the Junta de Andalucía, Consejería de Conocimiento, Investigación y Universidades, the European Regional Development Funds (ref. SOMM17/6107/UGR), by the Fundación Alfonso Martín Escudero, and by the Fundación Carolina (C.2016-574961). This study is part of a Ph.D. Thesis conducted in the Biomedicine Doctoral Studies of the University of Granada, Spain

Impact of Using Different Levels of Threshold-Based Artefact Correction on the Quantification of Heart Rate Variability in Three Independent Human Cohorts

The following are available online at https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/9/2/325/s1, Figure S1: Example of a visual inspection of a R-R signal to find possible artefacts or premature contractions across Kubios filters; Figures S2 and S3: Differences on the Heart Rate Variability (HRV) time- and frequency-domains parameters respectively without considering the Very Strong filter; Figure S4: Differences between cohorts on the SDNN using different Kubios filters; Figure S5: Differences between cohorts on the pNN50 using different Kubios filters; and Figure S6: Differences between cohorts on the HF using different Kubios filters.Juan M.A. Alcantara, Abel Plaza-Florido, Jairo H. Migueles, Guillermo Sanchez-Delgado and Francisco J. Amaro-Gahete are supported by the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport (FPU15/04059, FPU16/02760, FPU15/02645, FPU13/04365 and FPU14/04172 respectively). Guillermo Sanchez-Delgado is supported by the University of Granada Plan Propio de Investigación 2018 (Programa Contratos-Puente and Programa Perfeccionamiento de Docotres). Francisco J. Amaro-Gahete is supported by the University of Granada Plan Propio de Investigación 2019 (Programa Contratos-Puente). Guillermo Sanchez-Delgado and Borja Martinez-Tellez are supported by individual postdoctoral grants from the Fundación Alfonso Martin Escudero.Heart rate variability (HRV) is a non-invasive indicator of autonomic nervous system function. HRV recordings show artefacts due to technical and/or biological issues. The Kubios software is one of the most used software to process HRV recordings, offering different levels of threshold-based artefact correction (i.e., Kubios filters). The aim of the study was to analyze the impact of different Kubios filters on the quantification of HRV derived parameters from short-term recordings in three independent human cohorts. A total of 312 participants were included: 107 children with overweight/obesity (10.0 ± 1.1 years, 58% men), 132 young adults (22.2 ± 2.2 years, 33% men) and 73 middle-aged adults (53.6 ± 5.2 years, 48% men). HRV was assessed using a heart rate monitor during 10–15 min, and the Kubios software was used for HRV data processing using all the Kubios filters available (i.e., 6). Repeated-measures analysis of variance indicated significant differences in HRV derived parameters in the time-domain (all p < 0.001) across the Kubios filters in all cohorts, moreover similar results were observed in the frequency-domain. When comparing two extreme Kubios filters, these statistical differences could be clinically relevant, e.g. more than 10 ms in the standard deviation of all normal R-R intervals (SDNN). In conclusion, the results of the present study suggest that the application of different Kubios filters had a significant impact on HRV derived parameters obtained from short-term recordings in both time and frequency-domains.The study was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (DEP2013-47540 and DEP2016-79512-R), the Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria del Instituto de Salud Carlos III (PI13/01393), European Union Development Funds, the Fundación Iberoamericana de Nutrición (FINUT), the Redes Temáticas de Investigación Cooperativa RETIC (Red SAMID RD16/0022), the University of Granada Plan Propio de Investigación 2016 (Excellence actions: Unit of Excellence on Exercise and Health [UCEES]), and the Junta de Andalucía, Consejería de Conocimiento, Investigación y Universidades (FEDER: ref. SOMM17/6107/UGR)

Relationship between IGF-1 and body weight in inflammatory bowel diseases: Cellular and molecular mechanisms involved

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), represented by ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn''s disease (CD), are characterized by chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract, what leads to diarrhea, malnutrition, and weight loss. Depression of the growth hormone-insulin-like growth factor-1 axis (GH-IGF-1 axis) could be responsible of these symptoms. We demonstrate that long-term treatment (54 weeks) of adult CD patients with adalimumab (ADA) results in a decrease in serum IGF-1 without changes in serum IGF-1 binding protein (IGF1BP4). These results prompted us to conduct a preclinical study to test the efficiency of IGF-1 in the medication for experimental colitis. IGF-1 treatment of rats with DSS-induced colitis has a beneficial effect on the following circulating biochemical parameters: glucose, albumin, and total protein levels. In this experimental group we also observed healthy maintenance of colon size, body weight, and lean mass in comparison with the DSS-only group. Histological analysis revealed restoration of the mucosal barrier with the IGF-1 treatment, which was characterized by healthy quantities of mucin production, structural maintenance of adherers junctions (AJs), recuperation of E-cadherin and ß-catenin levels and decrease in infiltrating immune cells and in metalloproteinase-2 levels. The experimentally induced colitis caused activation of apoptosis markers, including cleaved caspase 3, caspase 8, and PARP and decreases cell-cycle checkpoint activators including phosphorylated Rb, cyclin E, and E2F1. The IGF-1 treatment inhibited cyclin E depletion and partially protects PARP levels. The beneficial effects of IGF-1 in experimental colitis could be explained by a re-sensitization of the IGF-1/IRS-1/AKT cascade to exogenous IGF-1. Given these results, we postulate that IGF-1 treatment of IBD patients could prove to be successful in reducing disease pathology. © 2021 The Author

Aplicación de un programa reeducativo de la actividad pedagógica alterada para superar las dificultades de aprendizaje de lecto-escritura en niños de tercer grado de 8 a 11 años 6 meses de edad cronológica, de las escuelas oficiales urbanas de la ciudad de Nueva San Salvador, Departamento de la Libertad.

Las dificultades del aprendizaje en cuanto a la lecto-escritura inician con el desarrollo de los niños cuando aprenden a leer y escribir, debido a que se aplica una acitud incorrecta a la ensañanza o por hábitos y procedimientos de estudio mal conformados

Saberes, Culturas y Derechos Sexuales en Colombia

Este libro reúne artículos de gran pertinencia académica en el tema, ponencias y discusiones que realizaron distintos grupos de trabajo en el marco del seminario Hacia una Agenda sobre Sexualidad y Derechos Humanos en Colombia, realizado en Bogotá durante los días 18, 19 y 20 de marzo de 2004. Este texto acerca a un público más amplio el debate que vienen desarrollando en Colombia investigadores, militantes, responsables y ejecutores de políticas públicas en materia de sexualidad y de derechos sexuales y reproductivos. La divulgación de los trabajos presentados en este libro permitirá a los lectores identificar las líneas de debate que orientan la investigación, las políticas públicas, los programas de intervención social y el derecho en este ámbito. El texto presenta hallazgos en torno a estos temas, con el objetivo de construir un referente común sobre la sexualidad como una construcción sociocultural e histórica objeto de una regulación pública. Igualmente, pretende inscribir la sexualidad en el ámbito de la construcción de ciudadanía y de la reivindicación de los derechos humanos

Resultados Semilleros de Investigación 2009-2010

La publicación recoge los doce informes finales de investigación presentados por los estudiantes de ocho Semilleros 1 y cuatro Semilleros 2, correspondientes a la convocatoria 2009–2010 y se constituye en el Número 25 de la Serie de Investigaciones en Construcción, si bien este es el primer Número publicado en formato digital que UNIJUS se permite poner a disposición no sólo de la comunidad universitaria, sino también de la sociedad colombiana e internacional, interesada en los temas estudiados por los jóvenes investigadores de la Facultad de Derecho, Ciencias Políticas y Sociales de la Universidad Nacional de Colombia