Community-based rehabilitation for people with psychosocial disabilities in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review of the grey literature.

BACKGROUND: Community based rehabilitation (CBR) aims to promote the inclusion and participation of people with disabilities, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Yet people with psychosocial disabilities are often excluded from CBR programmes. The restrictive inclusion criteria used by previous reviews make it difficult to identify promising examples that could otherwise help to inform the uptake of CBR for people with psychosocial disabilities. We aim to address this gap using gold standard methods for the review and synthesis of grey literature on CBR for people with psychosocial disabilities in LMICs. METHODS: Our search strategy was developed in consultation with an expert advisory group and covered seven grey literature databases, two customised Google Advanced searches, 34 targeted websites and four key reports. A single reviewer screened the search results and extracted relevant data using a standardised format based on the World Health Organisation's CBR matrix. The included programmes were then checked by a second reviewer with experience in CBR to ensure they met the review's criteria. A narrative synthesis with summative content analysis was performed to synthesise the findings. RESULTS: The 23 CBR programmes identified for inclusion spanned 19 countries and were mostly located in either rural areas or urban areas where a large proportion of the population was living in poverty. 13 were classified as livelihood programmes, eight as empowerment programmes, seven as social programmes, seven as health programmes and four as education programmes. Only two addressed all five of these components. 12 of the included programmes reported challenges to implementation, with stigma and lack of resources emerging as two of the most prominent themes. CONCLUSION: This grey literature review identified several CBR programmes and synthesised key learning that would have otherwise been missed by a more traditional review of the published literature. However, as evaluation by implementing organisations is not always conducted to a high standard, the quality of this evidence is generally poor. A flexible monitoring and evaluation framework for CBR programmes could help to reduce heterogeneity in terms of the quality and content of reporting

Complete genome sequence of phi29-like Microbacterium foliorum podovirus phage PineapplePizza

Bacteriophage PineapplePizza is a podovirus infecting Microbacterium foliorum NRRL B-24224. The genome is 16,662 bp long and contains 23 predicted protein-coding genes. Interestingly, PineapplePizza shows amino acid similarities to well-studied Bacillus subtilis phage phi29

Of the importance of a leaf: the ethnobotany of sarma in Turkey and the Balkans

BACKGROUND: Sarma - cooked leaves rolled around a filling made from rice and/or minced meat, possibly vegetables and seasoning plants - represents one of the most widespread feasting dishes of the Middle Eastern and South-Eastern European cuisines. Although cabbage and grape vine sarma is well-known worldwide, the use of alternative plant leaves remains largely unexplored. The aim of this research was to document all of the botanical taxa whose leaves are used for preparing sarma in the folk cuisines of Turkey and the Balkans. Methods: Field studies were conducted during broader ethnobotanical surveys, as well as during ad-hoc investigations between the years 2011 and 2014 that included diverse rural communities in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo, Albania, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Romania, and Turkey. Primary ethnobotanical and folkloric literatures in each country were also considered. Results: Eighty-seven botanical taxa, mainly wild, belonging to 50 genera and 27 families, were found to represent the bio-cultural heritage of sarma in Turkey and the Balkans. The greatest plant biodiversity in sarma was found in Turkey and, to less extent, in Bulgaria and Romania. The most commonly used leaves for preparing sarma were those of cabbage (both fresh and lacto-fermented), grape vine, beet, dock, sorrel, horseradish, lime tree, bean, and spinach. In a few cases, the leaves of endemic species (Centaurea haradjianii, Rumex gracilescens, and R. olympicus in Turkey) were recorded. Other uncommon sarma preparations were based on lightly toxic taxa, such as potato leaves in NE Albania, leaves of Arum, Convolvulus, and Smilax species in Turkey, of Phytolacca americana in Macedonia, and of Tussilago farfara in diverse countries. Moreover, the use of leaves of the introduced species Reynoutria japonica in Romania, Colocasia esculenta in Turkey, and Phytolacca americana in Macedonia shows the dynamic nature of folk cuisines. Conclusion: The rich ethnobotanical diversity of sarma confirms the urgent need to record folk culinary plant knowledge. The results presented here can be implemented into initiatives aimed at re-evaluating folk cuisines and niche food markets based on local neglected ingredients, and possibly also to foster trajectories of the avant-garde cuisines inspired by ethnobotanical knowledge

Drug and alcohol induced hepatotoxicity

Drug induced hepatotoxicity is the most common reason cited for withdrawal of already approved drugs from the market and accounts for more than 50 percent of cases of acute liver failure in the United States. Ethanol (EtOH) causes a further substantial amount of liver insufficiencies world wide. The current thesis was focused on the mechanisms behind hepatotoxicity caused by these agents. Using a rat in vivo model for alcoholic liver disease (ALD) it was found that cytokine and chemokine levels in blood accompanied the fluctuating levels of blood EtOH, indicating that they are directly influenced by absolute EtOH concentration. During the early phases of ALD in this model, a strong initial Th1 response was observed as revealed by increased levels of cytokine as well as transcription factor mRNAs, followed by a downregulation, whereas Th2 response was decreased by EtOH over the entire treatment period of four weeks. We found that supplementation with the antioxidant NAC to ethanol treated animals decreases severity of liver damage and somewhat decreases initial inflammatory response mediated by TNFalpha. NAC also diminished the ethanol-induced formation of protein adducts of lipid peroxidation products like MDA and HNE. Also, the formation of antibodies against neo-antigens formed by MDA, HNE and HER protein adducts was lowered. In order to further study the influence of oxidative stress in ALD we utilized a transgenic mouse model overexpressing the human form of CYP2E1. Pathological changes were significantly increased after EtOH treatment, and principal component analysis showed that among parameters influencing total pathology score, para-nitrophenol activity mirroring CYP2E1 activity, had the highest impact. Analysis of 39,000 gene transcripts revealed that the expression of several genes previously known to be associated with ALD as well as several TNFalpha induced transcripts increased in the transgenic EtOH treated mice. We also show that cytokeratins 8 and 18, known to be of importance for formation of Mallory bodies, correlated highly to total pathology score. The results strongly support the view of an important role of oxidative stress and CYP2E1 in ethanol mediated hepatotoxicity and suggest that cytokeratin 8 can be used as an in vivo marker for ALD. There are many different models available to study liver toxicity in vitro, with the major drawback of low predictability. We showed that the human hepatoma cell line B16A2 differentiates spontaneously after long term confluent growth, into a more mature hepatocyte like phenotype. We developed a co-culture system using human hepatoma cells and monocytes and found that, compared to single cell cultures, co-cultures showed increased cytotoxicity and elevated mitochondrial oxidative stress in response to troglitazone whereas rosiglitazone was without effect. The data underline the importance of using in vitro models harboring different cell types for studies of drug induced hepatotoxicity

Els valors controlen a la llei 11/2021, de 9 de juliol, de mesures per a la prevenció i lluita contra el frau fiscal

[ES] El objetivo de este trabajo es realizar un estudio exhaustivo para determinar si el valor de referencia introducido por la Ley 11/2021, de 9 de julio, de medidas de prevención y lucha contra el fraude fiscal, resulta efectivo y adecuado a Derecho a la hora de determinar el valor de los bienes inmuebles en una transmisión sujeta a ITP-AJD, de conformidad con la capacidad económica del contribuyente. Para ello, mediante el método bibliográfico y analítico, se estudiará el marco normativo correspondiente a la materia; la jurisprudencia disponible; los dictámenes del Consejo de Estado emitidos frente al anteproyecto de ley y aquellos artículos científicos que resultan de interés. Dado que la motivación y la prueba en la comprobación de valores resulta esencial a la hora de garantizar los derechos de los contribuyentes, en su caso, se realizará una propuesta de lege ferenda que pueda garantizar cabalmente las garantías jurídicas de los contribuyentes de conformidad con la Constitución Española.Butura, BL. (2022). La comprobación de valores en la ley 11/2021, de 9 de julio, de medidas de prevención y lucha contra el fraude fiscal. Universitat Politècnica de València. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/185640TFG

Enhancing Anti-Tumoral Potential of CD-NHF by Modulating PI3K/Akt Axis in U87 Ex Vivo Glioma Model

Background: In the latest years, there has been an increased interest in nanomaterials that may provide promising novel approaches to disease diagnostics and therapeutics. Our previous results demonstrated that Carbon-dots prepared from N-hydroxyphthalimide (CD-NHF) exhibited anti-tumoral activity on several cancer cell lines such as MDA-MB-231, A375, A549, and RPMI8226, while U87 glioma tumor cells were unaffected. Gliomas represent one of the most common types of human primary brain tumors and are responsible for the majority of deaths. In the present in vitro study, we expand our previous investigation on CD-NHF in the U87 cell line by adding different drug combinations. Methods: Cell viability, migration, invasion, and immunofluorescent staining of key molecular pathways have been assessed after various treatments with CD-NHF and/or K252A and AKTVIII inhibitors in the U87 cell line. Results: Association of an inhibitor strongly potentiates the anti-tumoral properties of CD-NHF identified by significant impairment of migration, invasion, and expression levels of phosphorylated Akt, p70S6Kinase, or by decreasing expression levels of Bcl-2, IL-6, STAT3, and Slug. Conclusions: Using simultaneously reduced doses of both CD-NHF and an inhibitor in order to reduce side effects, the viability and invasiveness of U87 glioma cells were significantly impaired