Linking socioeconomic inequalities and type 2 diabetes through obesity and lifestyle factors among Mexican adults: a structural equations modeling approach

Objective. To assess the association between type 2 dia­betes (DM2) and socioeconomic inequalities, mediated by the contribution of body mass index (BMI), physical activity (PA), and diet (diet-DII). Materials and methods. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis using data of adults participating in the Diabetes Mellitus Survey of Mexico City. Socioeconomic and demographic characteristics as well as height and weight, dietary intake, leisure time activity and the presence of DM2 were measured. We fitted a structural equation model (SEM) with DM2 as the main outcome, and BMI, diet-DII and PA served as mediator variables between socioeconomic inequalities index (SII) and DM2. Results. The prevalence of DM2 was 13.6%. From the fitted SEM, each standard deviation increases in the SII was associated with increased scores of DM2 (β=0.174, P<0.001). Conclusion. The results in the present study show how high scores in the index of SII may influence the presence of DM2

Manipulation of Pre-Target Activity on the Right Frontal Eye Field Enhances Conscious Visual Perception in Humans

The right Frontal Eye Field (FEF) is a region of the human brain, which has been consistently involved in visuo-spatial attention and access to consciousness. Nonetheless, the extent of this cortical site’s ability to influence specific aspects of visual performance remains debated. We hereby manipulated pre-target activity on the right FEF and explored its influence on the detection and categorization of low-contrast near-threshold visual stimuli. Our data show that pre-target frontal neurostimulation has the potential when used alone to induce enhancements of conscious visual detection. More interestingly, when FEF stimulation was combined with visuo-spatial cues, improvements remained present only for trials in which the cue correctly predicted the location of the subsequent target. Our data provide evidence for the causal role of the right FEF pre-target activity in the modulation of human conscious vision and reveal the dependence of such neurostimulatory effects on the state of activity set up by cue validity in the dorsal attentional orienting network

Formation risk of toxic and other unwanted compounds in pressure-assisted thermally processed foods

Consumers demand, in addition to excellent eating quality, high standards of microbial and chemical safety in shelf-stable foods. This requires improving conventional processing technologies and developing new alternatives such as pressure-assisted thermal processing (PATP). Studies in PATP foods on the kinetics of chemical reactions at temperatures (approximately 100 to 120 °C) inactivating bacterial spores in low-acid foods are severely lacking. This review focuses on a specific chemical safety risk in PATP foods: models predicting if the activation volume value (V a) of a chemical reaction is positive or negative, and indicating if the reaction rate constant will decrease or increase with pressure, respectively, are not available. Therefore, the pressure effect on reactions producing toxic compounds must be determined experimentally. A recent model solution study showed that acrylamide formation, a potential risk in PATP foods, is actually inhibited by pressure (that is, itsV avalue must be positive). This favorable finding was not predictable and still needs to be confirmed in food systems. Similar studies are required for other reactions producing toxic compounds including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, heterocyclic amines, N-nitroso compounds, and hormone like-peptides. Studies on PATP inactivation of prions, and screening methods to detect the presence of other toxicity risks of PATP foods, are also reviewed. © 2011 Institute of Food Technologists ®.Peer Reviewe

Nostra aetate: origins, promulgation, impact on jewish-catholic relations

On 30th October - 1st November 2005, for the 40th Anniversary of the Declaration Nostra Aetate, proclaimed by Pope Paul VI at the Council Vatican II on 28 October 1965, a joint symposium on "Nostra Aetate: Origins, Promulgation, Impact on Jewish-Catholic Relations" was held in Jerusalem by the Center for the Study of Christianity at the Hebrew University, in conjunction with the John XXIII Foundation for Religious Studies in Bologna. The volume brings together most of the papers delivered at the symposium, which proved that Nostra Aetate is still a vibrant spiritus movens in Catholic-Jewish relations