Cabbage and fermented vegetables : From death rate heterogeneity in countries to candidates for mitigation strategies of severe COVID-19

Large differences in COVID-19 death rates exist between countries and between regions of the same country. Some very low death rate countries such as Eastern Asia, Central Europe, or the Balkans have a common feature of eating large quantities of fermented foods. Although biases exist when examining ecological studies, fermented vegetables or cabbage have been associated with low death rates in European countries. SARS-CoV-2 binds to its receptor, the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). As a result of SARS-CoV-2 binding, ACE2 downregulation enhances the angiotensin II receptor type 1 (AT(1)R) axis associated with oxidative stress. This leads to insulin resistance as well as lung and endothelial damage, two severe outcomes of COVID-19. The nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2 (Nrf2) is the most potent antioxidant in humans and can block in particular the AT(1)R axis. Cabbage contains precursors of sulforaphane, the most active natural activator of Nrf2. Fermented vegetables contain many lactobacilli, which are also potent Nrf2 activators. Three examples are: kimchi in Korea, westernized foods, and the slum paradox. It is proposed that fermented cabbage is a proof-of-concept of dietary manipulations that may enhance Nrf2-associated antioxidant effects, helpful in mitigating COVID-19 severity.Peer reviewe

Nrf2-interacting nutrients and COVID-19 : time for research to develop adaptation strategies

There are large between- and within-country variations in COVID-19 death rates. Some very low death rate settings such as Eastern Asia, Central Europe, the Balkans and Africa have a common feature of eating large quantities of fermented foods whose intake is associated with the activation of the Nrf2 (Nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2) anti-oxidant transcription factor. There are many Nrf2-interacting nutrients (berberine, curcumin, epigallocatechin gallate, genistein, quercetin, resveratrol, sulforaphane) that all act similarly to reduce insulin resistance, endothelial damage, lung injury and cytokine storm. They also act on the same mechanisms (mTOR: Mammalian target of rapamycin, PPAR gamma:Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor, NF kappa B: Nuclear factor kappa B, ERK: Extracellular signal-regulated kinases and eIF2 alpha:Elongation initiation factor 2 alpha). They may as a result be important in mitigating the severity of COVID-19, acting through the endoplasmic reticulum stress or ACE-Angiotensin-II-AT(1)R axis (AT(1)R) pathway. Many Nrf2-interacting nutrients are also interacting with TRPA1 and/or TRPV1. Interestingly, geographical areas with very low COVID-19 mortality are those with the lowest prevalence of obesity (Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia). It is tempting to propose that Nrf2-interacting foods and nutrients can re-balance insulin resistance and have a significant effect on COVID-19 severity. It is therefore possible that the intake of these foods may restore an optimal natural balance for the Nrf2 pathway and may be of interest in the mitigation of COVID-19 severity

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https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/polytechsummit2018gallery/1042/thumbnail.jp

Mecánica de Materiales - CI168 - 202102

Descripción: El curso Mecánica de Materiales presenta las propiedades de los materiales que forman parte de toda obra de ingeniería y que están sometidos a cargas que generan esfuerzos y deformaciones en este. Es así como el curso permitirá al estudiante abordar, comprender y aplicar las teorías del comportamiento de los materiales, que conducen a la determinación de la resistencia, rigidez, esfuerzos y deformaciones de elementos estructurales sometidos a diversos tipos de solicitaciones mecánicas. Es un curso de especialidad de la carrera de Ingeniería Civil, de carácter teórico-práctico, dirigido a los estudiantes del 5to ciclo. Durante su desarrollo son resueltos diversos problemas de ingeniería civil a partir de los cuales calcularán los esfuerzos, las 1deformaciones y la estabilidad que alcanzan los elementos estructurales sometidos a diversos estados de carga haciendo uso de manera clara y precisa de los principios de resistencia, rigidez y estabilidad de estructuras. Asimismo, realizaran diversos ensayos de laboratorio de tal manera que puedan adquirir la habilidad de conocer las distintas propiedades mecánicas de los materiales relacionando los conceptos teóricos con la experimentación. Propósito: Teniendo en cuenta la importancia de las estructuras de diversos materiales y su funcionamiento en la ingeniería civil, con la finalidad de realizar diseños eficiente la asignatura de mecánica de materiales permitirá al estudiante abordar, comprender y aplicar las teorías del comportamiento de los materiales, que conducen a la determinación de la resistencia, rigidez, esfuerzos y deformaciones de elementos estructurales sometidos a diversos tipos de solicitaciones mecánicas. El curso contribuye con el desarrollo de la competencia general de Pensamiento Innovador a nivel 2 y la competencia específica 1 de ABET a nivel 1: Identifica, formula y resuelve problemas complejos de Ingeniería Civil mediante la aplicación de principios de ingeniería, ciencia y matemáticas. Cuenta con los prerrequisitos de Cálculo II y Estática

\u3ci\u3eDrosophila\u3c/i\u3e Muller F Elements Maintain a Distinct Set of Genomic Properties Over 40 Million Years of Evolution

The Muller F element (4.2 Mb, ~80 protein-coding genes) is an unusual autosome of Drosophila melanogaster; it is mostly heterochromatic with a low recombination rate. To investigate how these properties impact the evolution of repeats and genes, we manually improved the sequence and annotated the genes on the D. erecta, D. mojavensis, and D. grimshawi F elements and euchromatic domains from the Muller D element. We find that F elements have greater transposon density (25–50%) than euchromatic reference regions (3–11%). Among the F elements, D. grimshawi has the lowest transposon density (particularly DINE-1: 2% vs. 11–27%). F element genes have larger coding spans, more coding exons, larger introns, and lower codon bias. Comparison of the Effective Number of Codons with the Codon Adaptation Index shows that, in contrast to the other species, codon bias in D. grimshawi F element genes can be attributed primarily to selection instead of mutational biases, suggesting that density and types of transposons affect the degree of local heterochromatin formation. F element genes have lower estimated DNA melting temperatures than D element genes, potentially facilitating transcription through heterochromatin. Most F element genes (~90%) have remained on that element, but the F element has smaller syntenic blocks than genome averages (3.4–3.6 vs. 8.4–8.8 genes per block), indicating greater rates of inversion despite lower rates of recombination. Overall, the F element has maintained characteristics that are distinct from other autosomes in the Drosophila lineage, illuminating the constraints imposed by a heterochromatic milieu