Metabolic risk score indexes validation in overweight healthy people

The constellation of adverse cardiovascular disease (CVD) and metabolic risk factors, including elevated abdominal obesity, blood pressure (BP), glucose, and triglycerides (TG) and lowered high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), has been termed the metabolic syndrome (MetSyn) [1]. A number of different definitions have been developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) [2], the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (ATP III) [3], the European Group for the Study of Insulin Resistance (EGIR) [4] and, most recently, the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) [5]. Since there is no universal definition of the Metabolic Syndrome, several authors have derived different risk scores to represent the clustering of its components [6-11]

Isotherms and isosteric heat of sorption of two varieties of Peruvian quinoa

The isosteric heats of sorption of two varieties of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) grain were determined by the static gravimetric method at four temperatures (40, 50, 60 and 70 °C) and in relative humidity environments provided by six saturated salt solutions. Six mathematical equations were used to model the experimental data: GAB, Oswin, Henderson, Peleg, Smith and Halsey. The isosteric heat of sorption was determined using the parameters of the GAB model. All the equations were shown to be appropriate by the coefficients of determination (R2) and the mean absolute error (MA%E). The influence of temperature was observed because the adsorption of water by the grains was lower at higher temperatures. The equilibrium moisture contents for security of storage, for long periods of time at water activity lower than 0.65, were 12 - 13%. The effect of temperature on the parameters of the GAB model was analysed using the exponential Arrhenius equation. The isosteric heats of sorption were determined by applying the Clausius-Clapeyron equation as a function of humidity. The isosteric heat at 5% moisture for grains of the Blanca de Juli variety was 3663 kJ/kg and for the Pasankalla variety it was 3393 kJ/kg. The experimental data for isosteric heat as a function of humidity were satisfactorily modelled using three mathematical equations.The isosteric heats of sorption of two varieties of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) grain were determined by the static gravimetric method at four temperatures (40, 50, 60 and 70 °C) and in relative humidity environments provided by six saturated salt solutions. Six mathematical equations were used to model the experimental data:  GAB, Oswin, Henderson, Peleg, Smith and Halsey. The isosteric heat of sorption was determined using the parameters of the GAB model. All the equations were shown to be appropriate by the coefficients of determination (R2) and the mean absolute error (MA%E). The influence of temperature was observed because the adsorption of water by the grains was lower at higher temperatures. The equilibrium moisture contents for security of storage, for long periods of time at water activity lower than 0.65, were 12 - 13%. The effect of temperature on the parameters of the GAB model was analysed using the exponential Arrhenius equation. The isosteric heats of sorption were determined by applying the Clausius-Clapeyron equation as a function of humidity. The isosteric heat at 5% moisture for grains of the Blanca de Juli variety was 3663 kJ/kg and for the Pasankalla variety it was 3393 kJ/kg. The experimental data for isosteric heat as a function of humidity were satisfactorily modelled using three mathematical equations

Alternativas al Trabajo Fin de Master: el juego de empresas. Proyecto de Innovación y Mejora de la Calidad Docente Convocatoria 2014. Nº 279

El business game o juego de empresas es una actividad que cumple los objetivos que se señalan para un Trabajo Fin de Master y que, en opinión del grupo de trabajo de este proyecto, aporta más valor formativo para el alumno que un TFM convencional y a facilitar la finalización de la titulación dentro del curso académico

Guía docente común de las titulaciones de Ingeniero en Electrónica en las universidades andaluzas

El presente documento constituye el resultado del trabajo elaborado de acuerdo con la Convocatoria de Elaboración de Guías Docentes de Titulaciones Andaluzas conforme al Sistema de Créditos Europeos (años 2005/2006) de la Dirección General de Universidades, dependiente de la Secretaría General de Universidades, Investigación y Tecnología de la Consejería de Innovación, Ciencia y Empresa de la Junta de Andalucía

Calidad de las elecciones a titular del Ejecutivo en el Centro y Centro-occidente de México

Este libro, que tiene por objetivo analizar la calidad de las elecciones celebradas entre 2006 y 2011 para ocupar la titularidad del Poder Ejecutivo de las 14 entidades federativas de la República Mexicana que conforman las regiones Centro y Centro-occidente de este país, ha sido elaborado por investigadores pertenecientes a la Red Nacional de Investigación sobre la Calidad de la Democracia en México (Renicadem), la cual cuenta con un equipo de investigación en cada una de las entidades federativas del país. A su vez, esta Red constituye una de las cuatro líneas temáticas que componen la red temática del Conacyt “Sociedad civil y calidad de la democracia”. Con todo, la presente obra puede considerarse, en dos sentidos, como el resultado parcial de estudios realizados por investigadores que conforman la mencionada Renicadem. Por un lado, trata sólo de una de las varias dimensiones que esta Red ha establecido como necesarias para analizar la calidad de la democracia: la calidad electoral (otras dimensiones, que se encuentran en proceso de investigación, son calidad de vida, rendición de cuentas y Estado de derecho). También es parcial porque no abarca la totalidad de la República Mexicana, sino únicamente a las 14 entidades indicadas.UAE

High-resolution hepatitis C virus subtyping using NS5B deep sequencing and phylogeny, an alternative to current methods

HepatitisCvirus(HCV)is classified into seven major genotypesand67 subtypes. Recent studies haveshownthat inHCVgenotype 1-infected patients, response rates to regimens containingdirect-acting antivirals(DAAs)are subtype dependent. Currently available genotypingmethods have limited subtyping accuracy.Wehave evaluated theperformanceof adeep-sequencing-basedHCVsubtyping assay, developed for the 454/GS-Junior platform, in comparisonwith thoseof two commercial assays (VersantHCVgenotype 2.0andAbbott Real-timeHCVGenotype II)andusingdirectNS5Bsequencing as a gold standard (direct sequencing), in 114 clinical specimenspreviously tested by first-generation hybridization assay (82 genotype 1and32 with uninterpretable results). Phylogenetic analysis of deep-sequencing reads matched subtype 1 callingbypopulation Sanger sequencing(69%1b,31%1a) in 81 specimensandidentified amixed-subtype infection (1b/3a/1a) in one sample. Similarly,amongthe 32previously indeterminate specimens, identical genotypeandsubtype results were obtained by directanddeep sequencing in all but four samples with dual infection. In contrast, both VersantHCVGenotype 2.0andAbbott Real-timeHCVGenotype II failed subtype 1 calling in 13 (16%) samples eachandwere unable to identify theHCVgenotype and/or subtype inmore than half of the nongenotype 1 samples.Weconcluded that deep sequencing ismore efficient forHCVsubtyping than currently available methodsandallows qualitative identificationofmixed infectionsandmay bemorehelpfulwith respect to informing treatment strategies withnewDAA-containing regimens across allHCVsubtypesThis study has been supported by CDTI (Centro para el Desarrollo Tecnológico Industrial), Spanish Ministry of Economics and Competitiveness (MINECO), IDI-20110115; MINECO projects SAF 2009-10403; and also by the Spanish Ministry of Health, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (FIS) projects PI10/01505, PI12/01893, and PI13/00456. CIBERehd is funded by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain. Work at CBMSO was supported by grant MINECO-BFU2011-23604, FIPSE, and Fundación Ramón Areces. X. Forns received unrestricted grant support from Roche and has acted as advisor for MSD, Gilead, and Abbvie. M. Alvarez-Tejado, J. Gregori, and J. M. Muñoz work in Roche Diagnostic

Calidad de las elecciones a titular del Ejecutivo en el Centro y Centro-occidente de México

La presente obra comienza con un capítulo que contiene tanto consideraciones teóricas y metodológicas como una comparación sistemática de los resultados obtenidos en las investigaciones de las 14 entidades federativas incluidas en ella. Estas investigaciones están divididas en dos secciones, que corresponden a las dos regiones de las que forman parte —Centro y Centro-occidente—, las cuales han sido delimitadas con criterios convencionales de orden geográfico. La secuencia de los capítulos dentro de cada sección también resulta discutible: pusimos en primer lugar a la capital del país, y ordenamos a los estados según la distancia de la capital estatal respecto al Distrito Federal. La no coincidencia de los años de las elecciones a titular del Poder Ejecutivo (que se denominan gobernadores en los estados y jefe de gobierno en el Distrito Federal) en las distintas entidades federativas resulta lógica dada la naturaleza federal del Estado mexicano. De hecho, las elecciones analizadas en la presente obra abarcan de 2006 a 2011: las del Distrito Federal, Morelos, Guanajuato y Jalisco corresponden a la primera de estas fechas; la de Michoacán a 2007; las de Querétaro, San Luis Potosí y Colima a 2009; las de Hidalgo, Puebla, Tlaxcala y Aguascalientes a 2010, y las del Estado de México y Nayarit a 2011. El libro termina con tres conjuntos de anexos: el primero sintetiza la guía metodológica de la Renicadem; el segundo, dividido en tres cuadros, presenta los datos proporcionados por los equipos de investigación de las 14 entidades federativas; y el tercero incluye en un solo cuadro las evaluaciones de los tres anteriores, con la finalidad de facilitar su comparación.Este libro, que tiene por objetivo analizar la calidad de las elecciones celebradas entre 2006 y 2011 para ocupar la titularidad del Poder Ejecutivo de las 14 entidades federativas de la República Mexicana que conforman las regiones Centro y Centro-occidente de este país, ha sido elaborado por investigadores pertenecientes a la Red Nacional de Investigación sobre la Calidad de la Democracia en México (Renicadem), la cual cuenta con un equipo de investigación en cada una de las entidades federativas del país. A su vez, esta Red constituye una de las cuatro líneas temáticas que componen la red temática del Conacyt “Sociedad civil y calidad de la democracia”. Con todo, la presente obra puede considerarse, en dos sentidos, como el resultado parcial de estudios realizados por investigadores que conforman la mencionada Renicadem. Por un lado, trata sólo de una de las varias dimensiones que esta Red ha establecido como necesarias para analizar la calidad de la democracia: la calidad electoral (otras dimensiones, que se encuentran en proceso de investigación, son calidad de vida, rendición de cuentas y Estado de derecho). También es parcial porque no abarca la totalidad de la República Mexicana, sino únicamente a las 14 entidades indicadas

Vision, challenges and opportunities for a Plant Cell Atlas

With growing populations and pressing environmental problems, future economies will be increasingly plant-based. Now is the time to reimagine plant science as a critical component of fundamental science, agriculture, environmental stewardship, energy, technology and healthcare. This effort requires a conceptual and technological framework to identify and map all cell types, and to comprehensively annotate the localization and organization of molecules at cellular and tissue levels. This framework, called the Plant Cell Atlas (PCA), will be critical for understanding and engineering plant development, physiology and environmental responses. A workshop was convened to discuss the purpose and utility of such an initiative, resulting in a roadmap that acknowledges the current knowledge gaps and technical challenges, and underscores how the PCA initiative can help to overcome them.National Science Foundation 1916797 David W Ehrhardt, Kenneth D Birnbaum, Seung Yon Rhee; National Science Foundation 2052590 Seung Yon Rhe

Impact of the first wave of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on the outcome of neurosurgical patients: A nationwide study in Spain

Objective To assess the effect of the first wave of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on the outcome of neurosurgical patients in Spain. Settings The initial flood of COVID-19 patients overwhelmed an unprepared healthcare system. Different measures were taken to deal with this overburden. The effect of these measures on neurosurgical patients, as well as the effect of COVID-19 itself, has not been thoroughly studied. Participants This was a multicentre, nationwide, observational retrospective study of patients who underwent any neurosurgical operation from March to July 2020. Interventions An exploratory factorial analysis was performed to select the most relevant variables of the sample. Primary and secondary outcome measures Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify independent predictors of mortality and postoperative SARS-CoV-2 infection. Results Sixteen hospitals registered 1677 operated patients. The overall mortality was 6.4%, and 2.9% (44 patients) suffered a perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection. Of those infections, 24 were diagnosed postoperatively. Age (OR 1.05), perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection (OR 4.7), community COVID-19 incidence (cases/10 5 people/week) (OR 1.006), postoperative neurological worsening (OR 5.9), postoperative need for airway support (OR 5.38), ASA grade =3 (OR 2.5) and preoperative GCS 3-8 (OR 2.82) were independently associated with mortality. For SARS-CoV-2 postoperative infection, screening swab test <72 hours preoperatively (OR 0.76), community COVID-19 incidence (cases/10 5 people/week) (OR 1.011), preoperative cognitive impairment (OR 2.784), postoperative sepsis (OR 3.807) and an absence of postoperative complications (OR 0.188) were independently associated. Conclusions Perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection in neurosurgical patients was associated with an increase in mortality by almost fivefold. Community COVID-19 incidence (cases/10 5 people/week) was a statistically independent predictor of mortality. Trial registration number CEIM 20/217

Obeticholic acid for the treatment of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis: interim analysis from a multicentre, randomised, placebo-controlled phase 3 trial

Background Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a common type of chronic liver disease that can lead to cirrhosis. Obeticholic acid, a farnesoid X receptor agonist, has been shown to improve the histological features of NASH. Here we report results from a planned interim analysis of an ongoing, phase 3 study of obeticholic acid for NASH. Methods In this multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, adult patients with definite NASH,non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) activity score of at least 4, and fibrosis stages F2–F3, or F1 with at least oneaccompanying comorbidity, were randomly assigned using an interactive web response system in a 1:1:1 ratio to receive oral placebo, obeticholic acid 10 mg, or obeticholic acid 25 mg daily. Patients were excluded if cirrhosis, other chronic liver disease, elevated alcohol consumption, or confounding conditions were present. The primary endpointsfor the month-18 interim analysis were fibrosis improvement (≥1 stage) with no worsening of NASH, or NASH resolution with no worsening of fibrosis, with the study considered successful if either primary endpoint was met. Primary analyses were done by intention to treat, in patients with fibrosis stage F2–F3 who received at least one dose of treatment and reached, or would have reached, the month 18 visit by the prespecified interim analysis cutoff date. The study also evaluated other histological and biochemical markers of NASH and fibrosis, and safety. This study is ongoing, and registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02548351, and EudraCT, 20150-025601-6. Findings Between Dec 9, 2015, and Oct 26, 2018, 1968 patients with stage F1–F3 fibrosis were enrolled and received at least one dose of study treatment; 931 patients with stage F2–F3 fibrosis were included in the primary analysis (311 in the placebo group, 312 in the obeticholic acid 10 mg group, and 308 in the obeticholic acid 25 mg group). The fibrosis improvement endpoint was achieved by 37 (12%) patients in the placebo group, 55 (18%) in the obeticholic acid 10 mg group (p=0·045), and 71 (23%) in the obeticholic acid 25 mg group (p=0·0002). The NASH resolution endpoint was not met (25 [8%] patients in the placebo group, 35 [11%] in the obeticholic acid 10 mg group [p=0·18], and 36 [12%] in the obeticholic acid 25 mg group [p=0·13]). In the safety population (1968 patients with fibrosis stages F1–F3), the most common adverse event was pruritus (123 [19%] in the placebo group, 183 [28%] in the obeticholic acid 10 mg group, and 336 [51%] in the obeticholic acid 25 mg group); incidence was generally mild to moderate in severity. The overall safety profile was similar to that in previous studies, and incidence of serious adverse events was similar across treatment groups (75 [11%] patients in the placebo group, 72 [11%] in the obeticholic acid 10 mg group, and 93 [14%] in the obeticholic acid 25 mg group). Interpretation Obeticholic acid 25 mg significantly improved fibrosis and key components of NASH disease activity among patients with NASH. The results from this planned interim analysis show clinically significant histological improvement that is reasonably likely to predict clinical benefit. This study is ongoing to assess clinical outcomes