Estudio de la fermentación espontánea de cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) y evaluación de la calidad de los granos en una unidad productiva a pequeña escala

La dinámica microbiana en la fermentación de granos de cacao y los parámetros físico-químicos durante la fermentación en una unidad productiva del Valle del Cauca fueron estudiados. Se emplearon mazorcas de cacao de variedades mixtas y se monitoreo la fermentación diariamente durante 5 días. Se determinó la concentración de levaduras, bacterias lácticas, bacterias acéticas y aerobios mesófilos (UFC/g) y se evaluó la respuesta de parámetros fisicoquímicos (pH, el porcentaje de acidez titulable, concentración de azúcares reductores (mg/g), porcentaje de humedad, temperatura). Así mismo, se evaluaron parámetros de cosecha y de calidad como: índice de fermentación, porcentaje de fermentación visual, índice de grano, índice de mazorca, porcentaje de humedad de grano seco, porcentaje de cáscara y cascarilla. Durante la fermentación, la temperatura ambiental y temperatura máxima de fermentación registraron un promedio de 23 °C ± 2,58 y 28°C, respectivamente. Mientras el pH inicial y final del mucilago estuvo en 3,61 ± 0,02 y 4,24 ± 0,12, el pH de la almendra inicial y final estuvo en 5,60 ± 0,21 y 6,04 ± 0,06, respectivamente. Se presentó aumento del porcentaje de acidez durante la fermentación. El consumo de azúcares reductores fue del 64,4%. El comportamiento de la temperatura favoreció el crecimiento de las levaduras. El índice de grano fue de 98 g/100 granos, la humedad de 17,3 ± 2,36 % y 11,70 ± 0,5l % de cascarilla. El índice de mazorca promedio de las muestras fue de 26 mazorcas/kg de grano seco. De acuerdo a los resultados obtenidos uno de los factores influyentes en las variables evaluadas es la temperatura. Deben asegurarse las condiciones (infraestructura) para que los cambios de temperatura propicien la sucesión de microorganismos. El secado es un punto crítico a ser mejorado

Morbid liver manifestations are intrinsically bound to metabolic syndrome and nutrient intake based on a machine-learning cluster analysis

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is one of the most important medical problems around the world. Identification of patient ' s singular characteristic could help to reduce the clinical impact and facilitate individualized management. This study aimed to categorize MetS patients using phenotypical and clinical variables habitually collected during health check-ups of individuals considered to have high cardiovascular risk. The selected markers to categorize MetS participants included anthropometric variables as well as clinical data, biochemical parameters and prescribed pharmacological treatment. An exploratory factor analysis was carried out with a subsequent hierarchical cluster analysis using the z-scores from factor analysis. The first step identified three different factors. The first was determined by hypercholesterolemia and associated treatments, the second factor exhibited glycemic disorders and accompanying treatments and the third factor was characterized by hepatic enzymes. Subsequently four clusters of patients were identified, where cluster 1 was characterized by glucose disorders and treatments, cluster 2 presented mild MetS, cluster 3 presented exacerbated levels of hepatic enzymes and cluster 4 highlighted cholesterol and its associated treatments Interestingly, the liver status related cluster was characterized by higher protein consumption and cluster 4 with low polyunsaturated fatty acid intake. This research emphasized the potential clinical relevance of hepatic impairments in addition to MetS traditional characterization for precision and personalized management of MetS patients

Clonal chromosomal mosaicism and loss of chromosome Y in elderly men increase vulnerability for SARS-CoV-2

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19) had an estimated overall case fatality ratio of 1.38% (pre-vaccination), being 53% higher in males and increasing exponentially with age. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, we found 133 cases (1.42%) with detectable clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations (mCA) and 226 males (5.08%) with acquired loss of chromosome Y (LOY). Individuals with clonal mosaic events (mCA and/or LOY) showed a 54% increase in the risk of COVID-19 lethality. LOY is associated with transcriptomic biomarkers of immune dysfunction, pro-coagulation activity and cardiovascular risk. Interferon-induced genes involved in the initial immune response to SARS-CoV-2 are also down-regulated in LOY. Thus, mCA and LOY underlie at least part of the sex-biased severity and mortality of COVID-19 in aging patients. Given its potential therapeutic and prognostic relevance, evaluation of clonal mosaicism should be implemented as biomarker of COVID-19 severity in elderly people. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, individuals with clonal mosaic events (clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations and/or loss of chromosome Y) showed an increased risk of COVID-19 lethality

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

A Versatile Vector for In Vivo Monitoring of Type I Interferon Induction and Signaling.

Development of reporter systems for in vivo examination of IFN-β induction or signaling of type I interferon (IFN-I) pathways is of great interest in order to characterize biological responses to different inducers such as viral infections. Several reporter mice have been developed to monitor the induction of both pathways in response to different agonists. However, alternative strategies that do not require transgenic mice breeding have to date not been reported. In addition, detection of these pathways in vivo in animal species other than mice has not yet been addressed. Herein we describe a simple method based on the use of an adeno-associated viral vector (AAV8-3xIRF-ISRE-Luc) containing an IFN-β induction and signaling-sensitive promoter sequence controlling the expression of the reporter gene luciferase. This vector is valid for monitoring IFN-I responses in vivo elicited by diverse stimuli in different organs. Intravenous administration of the vector in C57BL/6 mice and Syrian hamsters was able to detect activation of the IFN pathway in the liver upon systemic treatment with different pro-inflammatory agents and infection with Newcastle disease virus (NDV). In addition, intranasal instillation of AAV8-3xIRF-ISRE-Luc showed a rapid and transient IFN-I response in the respiratory tract of mice infected with the influenza A/PR8/34 virus lacking the NS1 protein. In comparison, this response was delayed and exacerbated in mice infected with influenza A/PR/8 wild type virus. In conclusion, the AAV8-3xIRF-ISRE-Luc vector offers the possibility of detecting IFN-I activation in response to different stimuli and in different animal models with no need for reporter transgenic animals

<i>In vivo</i> activity of AAV8-3xIRF-ISRE-Luc in hamster in response to intravenous NDV-F3AA-GFP LaSota administration.

<p>Syrian hamsters were inoculated iv with 1x10¹¹ vg of the AAV8-3xIRF-ISRE-Luc vector. Three weeks later, animals received an iv administration of 1x10⁹ iu NDV-F3AA-GFP LaSota. A) <i>In vivo</i> luciferase activity was monitored at 10, 24, 48 and 72 hours after iv administration of the NDV virus. Each line represents an individual hamster. B) Image of a representative hamster before (basal) and 10 hours after the first NDV administration. C) Luciferase activity stimulation in hamsters receiving two doses of NDV-F3AA-GFP LaSota 6 weeks apart one from the other. D) Type I IFN activity in serum of hamsters before and 24 hours after second NDV administration, measured by bio-assay. E) NDV neutralizing antibodies in serum of hamsters before and 6 weeks after the first NDV administration. These data are from one experiment representative of two.</p

<i>In vivo</i> characterization of 3xIRF-ISRE-Luc reporter plasmid delivered to mouse liver by hydrodynamic injection.

<p>A) Mice received a hydrodynamic injection with 20 μg of 3xIRF-ISRE-Luc reporter plasmid through the tail vein. Once luciferase activity stabilized (one month after injection), mice were treated intraperitoneally with the indicated doses of murine IFN-β. Light emission was quantified by BLI 10 and 24 hours after treatment. Values correspond to fold luciferase activity, using baseline (pre-induction) activity as a reference. B) Quantitative RT-PCR of <i>OAS</i> and <i>Mx1</i> genes in peripheral blood lymphocytes of animals treated for 24 hours with different doses of recombinant murine IFN-β. C) Reporter activity re-induction in mice determined every week by intraperitoneally administration of 10,000 units of IFN-β. Each line represents an individual mouse. D) Representative BLI images of mice before and 10 hours after administration of 10,000 U of murine IFN-β. These data are from one experiment representative of three.** p<0.01 <i>vs</i> 3,000, 1,000 and 0 IFN-β units.</p