Immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection in obesity and T2D: Literature review

In December 2019, a novel coronavirus known as SARS-CoV-2 was first detected inWuhan, China, causing outbreaks of the coronavirus disease COVID-19 that has now spread globally. For this reason, The World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a public health emergency in March 2020. People living with pre-existing conditions such as obesity, cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes (T2D), and chronic kidney and lung diseases, are prone to develop severe forms of disease with fatal outcomes. Metabolic diseases such as obesity and T2D alter the balance of innate and adaptive responses. Both diseases share common features characterized by augmented adiposity associated with a chronic systemic low-grade inflammation, senescence, immunoglobulin glycation, and abnormalities in the number and function of adaptive immune cells. In obese and T2D patients infected by SARS-CoV-2, where immune cells are already hampered, this response appears to be stronger. In this review, we describe the abnormalities of the immune system, and summarize clinical findings of COVID-19 patients with pre-existing conditions such as obesity and T2D as this group is at greater risk of suffering severe and fatal clinical outcomes

A Regional Red List of Montane Tree Species of the Tropical Andes: Trees at the top of the world

Andean montane forests are a major global conservation priority owing to their biological richness and high level of species endemism. Botanically the Andes are very rich in species but they remain relatively unstudied. In common with montane forests elsewhere in the world, Andean forests are of great value for the provision of ecosystem services relating to water supply, regulation of regional climate and the capture and storage of carbon. The forests and their component species are however under threat. This report summarises information drawn from a wide variety of sources to provide a regional Red List of trees of Andean tropical montane forests. The species evaluation process has drawn on published national red lists of threatened species, botanical literature, specimen databases, forestry information and expert knowledge. The IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria have been used for the evaluation and a component of Natalia?s PhD study has been to evaluate their use for species with limited and dispersed data. Understanding the geographical distribution of the species is very important in conservation assessment. The maps produced for this study are a valuable starting point for the Red Listing and a baseline for monitoring impacts of climate change. In this assessment 70 species are recorded as globally threatened based on the IUCN Red List of Categories and Criteria out of 127 tree species evaluated. In addition 165 national endemic trees of the region have previously been evaluated as globally threatened based on the same IUCN process. In total therefore 235 tree species are currently considered to be threatened with extinction within the Andean montane forests.Fil: Tejedor Garavito , Natalia. Bournemouth University; Reino UnidoFil: Álvarez Dávila, Esteban. Jardín Botánico de Medellín; ColombiaFil: Caro, Sandra Arango. Missouri Botanical Garden; Estados UnidosFil: Murakami, Alejandro Araujo. Museo de Historia Natural Noel Kempff Mercado; BoliviaFil: Baldeón, Severo. Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos; PerúFil: Beltrán, Hamilton. Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos; PerúFil: Blundo, Cecilia Mabel. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo. Laboratorio de Investigaciones Ecológicas de las Yungas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán; ArgentinaFil: Boza Espinoza, Tatiana Erika. Missouri Botanical Garden; Estados UnidosFil: Fuentes Claros, Alfredo. Herbario Nacional de Bolivia; BoliviaFil: Gaviria, Juan. Universidad de Los Andes; VenezuelaFil: Gutiérrez, Néstor. Universidad de Los Andes; VenezuelaFil: Khela, Sonia. Botanic Gardens Conservation International; Reino UnidoFil: León, Blanca. University of Texas at Austin; Estados UnidosFil: la Torre Cuadros, Maria De Los Angeles. Universidad Nacional Agraria; PerúFil: López Camacho, René. Universidad Distrital; ColombiaFil: Malizia, Lucio Ricardo. Universidad Nacional de Jujuy. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Centro de Estudios Ambientales Territoriales y Sociales; ArgentinaFil: Millán, Betty. Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos; PerúFil: Moraes R., Mónica. Herbario Nacional de Bolivia; BoliviaFil: Newton, Adrian C.. Bournemouth University; Reino UnidoFil: Pacheco, Silvia. Fundación Proyungas; ArgentinaFil: Reynel, Carlos. Universidad Nacional Agraria; PerúFil: Ulloa Ulloa, Carmen. Missouri Botanical Garden; Estados UnidosFil: Vacas Cruz,Omar. Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador; Ecuado

Changing environments during the Middle-Upper Palaeolithic transition in the eastern Cantabrian Region (Spain): direct evidence from stable isotope studies on ungulate bones

Environmental change has been proposed as a factor that contributed to the extinction of the Neanderthals in Europe during MIS3. Currently, the different local environmental conditions experienced at the time when Anatomically Modern Humans (AMH) met Neanderthals are not well known. In the Western Pyrenees, particularly, in the eastern end of the Cantabrian coast of the Iberian Peninsula, extensive evidence of Neanderthal and subsequent AMH activity exists, making it an ideal area in which to explore the palaeoenvironments experienced and resources exploited by both human species during the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition. Red deer and horse were analysed using bone collagen stable isotope analysis to reconstruct environmental conditions across the transition. A shift in the ecological niche of horses after the Mousterian demonstrates a change in environment, towards more open vegetation, linked to wider climatic change. In the Mousterian, Aurignacian and Gravettian, high inter-individual nitrogen ranges were observed in both herbivores. This could indicate that these individuals were procured from areas isotopically different in nitrogen. Differences in sulphur values between sites suggest some variability in the hunting locations exploited, reflecting the human use of different parts of the landscape. An alternative and complementary explanation proposed is that there were climatic fluctuations within the time of formation of these archaeological levels, as observed in pollen, marine and ice cores.This research was funded by the European Commission through a Marie Curie Career Integration Grant (FP7- PEOPLE-2012-CIG-322112), by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (HAR2012-33956 and Ramon y Cajal-2011-00695), the University of Cantabria and Campus International to ABMA. Radiocarbon dating at ORAU was funded by MINECO-HAR2012-33956 project. J.J was supported initially by the FP7- PEOPLE-2012-CIG-322112 and later by a Marie Curie Individual Fellowship (H2020-MSCA-IF-2014-656122). Laboratory work, associated research expenses and isotopic analysis were kindly funded by the Max Planck Society to M.R

Propuesta de un plan de manejo de residuos sólidos peligrosos y no peligrosos para una empresa de manufactura de abrasivos

El presente trabajo propone la implementación de un plan de manejo de residuos sólidos peligrosos y no peligrosos en la empresa ABRASIVOS S.A. (ASA) para una eficiente gestión de sus insumos y residuos sólidos y por ende el cumplimiento de la normatividad peruana vigente del sector. Se realizaron entrevistas y encuestas al personal a fin de tener un punto de partida del conocimiento y predisposición en la implementación del Plan. Se analizaron los procesos productivos de la empresa así como el diagnóstico técnico operativo del sistema de manejo de residuos sólidos, la identificación de los aspectos y valoración de los impactos ambientales de los procesos de producción a fin de identificar los impactos ambientales significativos y su relación con la generación de residuos sólidos. Esta etapa fue enmarcada en la norma internacional ISO 14001:2004 y una futura implementación de la citada norma en la Empresa. También Se proponen indicadores para medir el desempeño operacional y financiero. Así mismo, este plan sirvió para identificar las opciones de minimización de residuos sólidos y posibilidades de implementación de tecnologías más limpias

Impact of training primary care physicians in behavioral counseling to reduce cardiovascular disease risk factors in Ecuador

Objective. To assess the feasibility of implementing a physician-based, patient-centered counseling intervention model in Ecuador to improve the ability of primary care physicians (PCPs) to reduce cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors among patients. Methods. This was a randomized clinical trial conducted in primary care clinics in Quito in 2014 – 2016. Participants included 15 PCPs and their adult patients at high risk of developing type-2 diabetes. A physician-based and patient-centered counseling program was delivered to eight PCPs. Seven PCPs who did not receive the training comprised the control group. The patient experience was assessed by a patient exit interview (PEI). Assessment of the patient's anthropometrics, blood pressure, and blood biochemistry parameters were conducted. Changes within and between groups were estimated utilizing chi-square, ANOVA, paired t-tests, and coefficient with intervention. Results. A total of 197 patients participated, 113 in the intervention care group (ICG) and 84 in the usual care group (UCG); 99 patients (87.6%) in the ICG and 63 (75%) in the UCG completed the study. Counseling steps, measured by the PEI, were significantly higher in the ICG (8.9±1.6 versus 6.6±2.3; P = 0.001). Comparison of the estimated difference between the ICG and the UCG showed greater decreases in HbA1c and total cholesterol in the ICG. Within the ICG, there were significant improvements in weight, BMI, HbA1C, total cholesterol, and LDL-cholesterol. Conclusions. Training PCPs in a patient-centered behavioral intervention for CVD risk factor reduction is feasible and efficacious for reducing CVD risk factors in Ecuador. Developed and developing countries alike could benefit from such an intervention