The intriguing life of cD galaxies

Objective To assess the available data on the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MS) in Latin-American countries.Design Systematic review. Searches were carried out in PubMed, ISIWeb, SCielo and Redalyc, using ?metabolic syndrome x' and ?prevalence' as keywords for titles and/or abstracts. Articles selected were cross-sectional studies in Latin-American countries, whose main objective was to study MS and whose study population is described below. MS must be determined using Adult Treatment Panel III criteria. Twelve studies with these criteria were selected, one of which was multi-centric.Setting Latin America.Subjects Apparently healthy subjects aged 18-65 years (including young adult, mature adult and elderly populations) of both genders.Results The general prevalence (weighted mean) of MS in Latin-American countries was 24.9 (range: 18.8-43.3) %. MS was slightly more frequent in women (25.3 %) than in men (23.2 %), and the age group with the highest prevalence of MS consisted of those over 50 years of age. The most frequent components of MS were low HDL cholesterol levels (62.9 %) and abdominal obesity (45.8 %). Similar outcomes were obtained from the multi-centre study on Latin-American populations analysed.Conclusions The present review brings us closer to an understanding of the prevalence of MS in Latin-American countries. However, it is not possible to know the full scope of the problem, partly because data from some countries are not available, and because the methodological differences among the studies published up to the present limit a joint analysis of their results. Copyright " The Authors 2011.",,,,,,"10.1017/S1368980010003320",,,"http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12104/45242","http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84855406393&partnerID=40&md5=0ba40f3143e3440abbb2fc20cdc7a05

Effects of a Symbiotic on Gut Microbiota in Mexican Patients With End-Stage Renal Disease

Objectives: Gut microbiota provides beneficial effects under physiological conditions, but is able to contribute to inflammatory diseases in susceptible individuals. Thus, we designed this study to test whether additional intake of symbiotic gel affects specific modifications of gut microbiota in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Methods: Eighteen patients with ESRD diagnosis with renal replacement therapy (hemodialysis) were included in this study. They were randomly assigned to 2 treatment groups: (1) test group (nutritional counseling\ua0+\ua0symbiotic) and (2) control group (nutritional counseling\ua0+\ua0placebo). Clinical history and the evaluation of Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale were performed. Gut microbiota composition was analyzed by real-time polymerase chain reaction from fecal samples. All subjects were followed for 2\ua0months. Results: Bifidobacterial counts were higher in the second samples (mean: 5.5\ua0±\ua01.72 log10 cells/g) than in first samples (4.2\ua0±\ua00.88 log 10\ua0cells/g) in the patients of the test group (P\ua0=\ua0.0344). Also, lactobacilli counts had a little decrease in the test group (2.3\ua0±\ua00.75 to 2.0\ua0±\ua00.88 log 10 cells/g) and the control group (2.2\ua0±\ua00.90 to 1.8\ua0±\ua01.33 log 10 cells/g), between the first and the second samples. Gastrointestinal symptoms scores (scale 8-40) were reduced in the test group (start 12 [10-14] and end 9 [8-10]) compared with control group (start 11 [8-21] and end 11 [9-15]). Conclusions: Short-term symbiotic treatment in patients with ESRD can lead to the increase of Bifidobacterium counts, maintaining the intestinal microbial balance. © 2014 National Kidney Foundation, Inc

EELS analysis of Nylon 6 nanofibers reinforced with nitroxide- functionalized graphene oxide

Objective: The study aimed to assess the effect of a symbiotic gel on presence and severity of gastrointestinal symptoms (GIS) in hemodialysis patients. Design: A double-blinded, placebo-controlled, randomized, clinical trial was designed. The study was conducted at 2 public hospitals in Guadalajara, Mexico. Subjects and Intervention: Twenty-two patients were randomized to the intervention group (nutritional counseling+symbiotic gel) and 20 patients were randomized to the control group (nutritional counseling+placebo), during 2months of follow-up. Main Outcome Measure: Presence and monthly episodes of GIS were assessed by direct interview and severity by using the self-administered GIS questionnaire. Additionally, biochemical parameters, inflammatory markers, and nutritional status (dietary intake, subjective global assessment, anthropometry, and body composition) were evaluated. Results: After a 2-month treatment, intervention group had a significant reduction in prevalence and monthly episodes of vomit, heartburn, and stomachache, as well as a significant decrease in GIS severity compared with control group. Moreover, intervention group had a greater yet not significant decrease in the prevalence of malnutrition and a trend to reduce their C-reactive protein and tumor necrosis factor ? levels compared with control group. No symbiotic-related adverse side effects were shown in these patients. Clinical studies with longer follow-up and sample size are needed to confirm these results. Conclusions: We concluded that administration of a symbiotic gel is a safe and simple way to improve common GIS in dialysis patients. " 2015 National Kidney Foundation, Inc.",,,,,,"10.1053/j.jrn.2014.09.008",,,"http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12104/40898","http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84928161969&partnerID=40&md5=e3ae60e49222f72f6aae48d8bc226dd