Metabolic Syndrome and Heart Transplantation: An Underestimated Risk Factor?

Metabolic Syndrome (MetS), a multifactorial condition that increases the risk of cardio-vascular events, is frequent in Heart-transplant (HTx) candidates and worsens with immunosuppressive therapy. The aim of the study was to analyze the impact of MetS on long-term outcome of HTx patients. Since 2007, 349 HTx patients were enrolled. MetS was diagnosed if patients met revised NCEP-ATP III criteria before HTx, at 1, 5 and 10 years of follow-up. MetS was present in 35% of patients pre-HTx and 47% at 1 year follow-up. Five-year survival in patients with both pre-HTx (65% vs. 78%, p < 0.01) and 1 year follow-up MetS (78% vs 89%, p < 0.01) was worst. At the univariate analysis, risk factors for mortality were pre-HTx MetS (HR 1.86, p < 0.01), hypertension (HR 2.46, p < 0.01), hypertriglyceridemia (HR 1.50, p=0.03), chronic renal failure (HR 2.95, p < 0.01), MetS and diabetes at 1 year follow-up (HR 2.00, p < 0.01; HR 2.02, p < 0.01, respectively). MetS at 1 year follow-up determined a higher risk to develop Coronary allograft vasculopathy at 5 and 10 year follow-up (25% vs 14% and 44% vs 25%, p < 0.01). MetS is an important risk factor for both mortality and morbidity post-HTx, suggesting the need for a strict monitoring of metabolic disorders with a careful nutritional follow-up in HTx patients

Contribuciones a las bases de datos métricas

Claramente, los nuevos modelos de bases de datos, capaces de contener y manejar todo tipo de datos no estructurados: imágenes, videos, música, secuencias biológicas, etc., no tienen la madurez y versatilidad que presentan las bases de datos convencionales. Estas nuevas bases de datos deben ser capaces de adaptarse al gran volumen de datos digitales, que son generados constantemente por fuentes muy disímiles; al igual que al tipo de requerimientos al que son sometidas, que pueden ser tan dispares como el tipo de datos administrados, debido que éstos pertenecen a campos muy diferentes. Por esto, se hace necesario optimizar estos depósitos especializados, o desarrollar nuevos, y utilizar formas más sofisticadas de búsqueda sobre los mismos, que permitan enfrentar tales requerimientos. La administración del espacio disponible también se vuelve crucial debido a la gran cantidad de datos que se debe manipular para lograr respuestas adecuadas y eficientes. Esto obliga a los índices utilizados para acceder a este tipo de base de datos, a ser conscientes de la jerarquía de memoria. Esta investigación pretende contribuir a la madurez de este nuevo modelo de bases de datos considerando distintas perspectivas. Para ello utiliza un modelo en el cual se puede utilizar métodos de acceso que contemplen estos aspectos, y que se adapta a tales requerimientos: las Bases de Datos Métricas.Eje: Base de Datos y Minería de Datos.Red de Universidades con Carreras en Informátic

From the Feynman-Schwinger representation to the non-perturbative relativistic bound state interaction

We write the 4-point Green function in QCD in the Feynman-Schwinger representation and show that all the dynamical information are contained in the Wilson loop average. We work out the QED case in order to obtain the usual Bethe-Salpeter kernel. Finally we discuss the QCD case in the non-perturbative regime giving some insight in the nature of the interaction kernel.Comment: 25 pages, RevTex, 3 figures included, typos corrected, to appear in Phys. Rev. D 5

Effect of age on human ACE2 and ACE2-expressing alveolar type II cells levels

Background: Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is the receptor for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) which causes COVID-19. Viral entry requires ACE2 and transmembrane protease serine 2 (TMPRSS2). Transcriptomic studies showed that children display lower ACE2 than adults, though gene expression levels do not always correlate with protein levels. We investigated the effect of age on ACE2 and TMPRSS2 protein expression in alveolar type II (AT2) cells in the lungs of children compared to adults. We also analysed the ratio of Ang-(1–7) to Ang II as a surrogate marker of ACE2 activity in the subjects’ lung parenchyma. Methods: Ang II and Ang-(1–7) levels and ACE2 and TMPRSS2 protein expression were measured by radioimmunoassay and immunohistochemistry, respectively. Results: The amount of ACE2-expressing AT2 cells and ACE2 protein content were lower in children than in adults. Ang II levels were higher in children compared to adults and inversely correlated with the amount of ACE2-expressing AT2 cells. Children presented lower Ang-(1–7)/Ang II ratio than adult suggesting lower ACE2 activity in children. TMPRSS2 protein expression was not influenced by age. Conclusions: These results expand on previous transcriptomic studies and may partially explain the low susceptibility of children to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Category of study: Clinical original research Impact: Children display lower ACE2 protein content and activity compared to adults.Ang II levels were higher in children compared to adults and inversely correlated with the amount of ACE2-expressing AT2 cellsTMPRSS2 protein expression was not influenced by age.These results expand on previous transcriptomic studies and may partially explain the low susceptibility of children to SARS-CoV-2 infection.Fil: Silva, Mauro Gastón. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Química y Físico-Química Biológicas "Prof. Alejandro C. Paladini". Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Instituto de Química y Físico-Química Biológicas; ArgentinaFil: Falcoff, Nora L.. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Ministerio de Salud. Hospital "Dr. Antonio A. Cetrángolo"; ArgentinaFil: Corradi, Gerardo Raul. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Química y Físico-Química Biológicas "Prof. Alejandro C. Paladini". Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Instituto de Química y Físico-Química Biológicas; ArgentinaFil: Di Camillo, Norma Alicia. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Ministerio de Salud. Hospital "Dr. Antonio A. Cetrángolo"; ArgentinaFil: Seguel, Rolando F.. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Ministerio de Salud. Hospital "Dr. Antonio A. Cetrángolo"; ArgentinaFil: Tabaj, Gabriela C.. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Ministerio de Salud. Hospital "Dr. Antonio A. Cetrángolo"; ArgentinaFil: Guman, Gabriela R.. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Ministerio de Salud. Hospital "Dr. Antonio A. Cetrángolo"; ArgentinaFil: de Matteo, Elena Noemí. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital General de Niños "Ricardo Gutiérrez"; Argentina. Centro de Estudios Históricos "Profesor Carlos S. A. Segreti". Instituto de Estudios Históricos - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Estudios Históricos; ArgentinaFil: Nuñez, Myriam. Universidad de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Gironacci, Mariela Mercedes. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Química y Físico-Química Biológicas "Prof. Alejandro C. Paladini". Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Instituto de Química y Físico-Química Biológicas; Argentin

Inclusive Decays of Heavy Quarkonium to Light Particles

We derive the imaginary part of the potential NRQCD Hamiltonian up to order 1/m^4, when the typical momentum transfer between the heavy quarks is of the order of Lambda_{QCD} or greater, and the binding energy E much smaller than Lambda_{QCD}. We use this result to calculate the inclusive decay widths into light hadrons, photons and lepton pairs, up to O(mv^3 x (Lambda_{QCD}^2/m^2,E/m)) and O(mv^5) times a short-distance coefficient, for S- and P-wave heavy quarkonium states, respectively. We achieve a large reduction in the number of unknown non-perturbative parameters and, therefore, we obtain new model-independent QCD predictions. All the NRQCD matrix elements relevant to that order are expressed in terms of the wave functions at the origin and six universal non-perturbative parameters. The wave-function dependence factorizes and drops out in the ratio of hadronic and electromagnetic decay widths. The universal non-perturbative parameters are expressed in terms of gluonic field-strength correlators, which may be fixed by experimental data or, alternatively, by lattice simulations. Our expressions are expected to hold for most of the charmonium and bottomonium states below threshold. The calculations and methodology are explained in detail so that the evaluation of higher order NRQCD matrix elements in this framework should be straightforward. An example is provided.Comment: 61 pages, 9 figures. Minor change

Bridging senses of place and mobilities scholarships to inform social-ecological systems governance:A research agenda

Uncertainty and change are increasingly commonplace as communities respond to impacts of social-ecological change including climate change, and dangerous levels of pollution. Given the extent of these crises, new approaches are needed to support responses. Here we identify challenges and discuss insights that the nexus of Senses of place (SoP) and mobilities research offers in navigating such uncertainty. We conducted a two-round Delphi, followed by a workshop, and collaborative writing process with a global network of researchers with expertise in either or both SoP and mobilities research. Participants identified five challenges at the place-mobility nexus that emerge when a social-ecological system is disrupted. We use the 2022 Odra River fish die-off to exemplify the identified challenges: 1) accounting for power dynamics, inequalities and motility; 2) doing justice to more-than human actors; 3) integrating multiple and sometimes nested spatial scales; 4) considering temporalities of place and mobilities, and 5) embracing multisensoriality. To address these challenges, we recommend drawing on diverse methods and knowledge co-creation processes that combine more-than-human perspectives, multisensoriality, and engage in the dynamic relations between places to understand people-place disruptions in the face of socio-spatial precarity. Addressing such knowledge gaps requires stronger collaboration of mobilities and place researchers.</p

Bridging senses of place and mobilities scholarships to inform social-ecological systems governance:A research agenda

Uncertainty and change are increasingly commonplace as communities respond to impacts of social-ecological change including climate change, and dangerous levels of pollution. Given the extent of these crises, new approaches are needed to support responses. Here we identify challenges and discuss insights that the nexus of Senses of place (SoP) and mobilities research offers in navigating such uncertainty. We conducted a two-round Delphi, followed by a workshop, and collaborative writing process with a global network of researchers with expertise in either or both SoP and mobilities research. Participants identified five challenges at the place-mobility nexus that emerge when a social-ecological system is disrupted. We use the 2022 Odra River fish die-off to exemplify the identified challenges: 1) accounting for power dynamics, inequalities and motility; 2) doing justice to more-than human actors; 3) integrating multiple and sometimes nested spatial scales; 4) considering temporalities of place and mobilities, and 5) embracing multisensoriality. To address these challenges, we recommend drawing on diverse methods and knowledge co-creation processes that combine more-than-human perspectives, multisensoriality, and engage in the dynamic relations between places to understand people-place disruptions in the face of socio-spatial precarity. Addressing such knowledge gaps requires stronger collaboration of mobilities and place researchers.</p

Meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies from the CHARGE consortium identifies common variants associated with carotid intima media thickness and plaque

Carotid intima media thickness (cIMT) and plaque determined by ultrasonography are established measures of subclinical atherosclerosis that each predicts future cardiovascular disease events. We conducted a meta-analysis of genome-wide association data in 31,211 participants of European ancestry from nine large studies in the setting of the Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology (CHARGE) Consortium. We then sought additional evidence to support our findings among 11,273 individuals using data from seven additional studies. In the combined meta-analysis, we identified three genomic regions associated with common carotid intima media thickness and two different regions associated with the presence of carotid plaque (P < 5 × 10 -8). The associated SNPs mapped in or near genes related to cellular signaling, lipid metabolism and blood pressure homeostasis, and two of the regions were associated with coronary artery disease (P < 0.006) in the Coronary Artery Disease Genome-Wide Replication and Meta-Analysis (CARDIoGRAM) consortium. Our findings may provide new insight into pathways leading to subclinical atherosclerosis and subsequent cardiovascular events

Integrating transposable elements in the 3D genome

Chromosome organisation is increasingly recognised as an essential component of genome regulation, cell fate and cell health. Within the realm of transposable elements (TEs) however, the spatial information of how genomes are folded is still only rarely integrated in experimental studies or accounted for in modelling. Whilst polymer physics is recognised as an important tool to understand the mechanisms of genome folding, in this commentary we discuss its potential applicability to aspects of TE biology. Based on recent works on the relationship between genome organisation and TE integration, we argue that existing polymer models may be extended to create a predictive framework for the study of TE integration patterns. We suggest that these models may offer orthogonal and generic insights into the integration profiles (or "topography") of TEs across organisms. In addition, we provide simple polymer physics arguments and preliminary molecular dynamics simulations of TEs inserting into heterogeneously flexible polymers. By considering this simple model, we show how polymer folding and local flexibility may generically affect TE integration patterns. The preliminary discussion reported in this commentary is aimed to lay the foundations for a large-scale analysis of TE integration dynamics and topography as a function of the three-dimensional host genome