Factorial Invariance of Self-efficacy in Physical Health Care Scale for Men and Women University Students

The present study analyses the psychometric properties of the Selfefficacy in Physical Health Care Scale. The overall sample consisted of 2006 subjects: 902 women and 1104 men, with a mean age of 18.53 years (SD= 1.52) and 18.84 years (SD= 1.55) respectively. The Factorial Psychometric analysis showed that a three-factorial structure (nutrition, physical health and hydration) was viable and adequate for both populations (men and woman) according to the established psychometric requirements when the informers are the students themselves. The results showed that factor structure, factor loadings and intercepts of the instrument could be considered invariant across groups; however, there are differences between groups in favor of men for the means of the nutrition and physical health factors

Uso actual y potencial de aguas residuales domésticas (ARD) para irrigación en la provincia de Salta, Argentina

En este trabajo se presenta un relevamiento de las principales experiencias actuales de reutilización de aguas residuales domésticas (ARD) para irrigación en la provincia de Salta, Argentina. Se identificaron tres experiencias de reúso directo y cuatro experiencias de reúso indirecto de ARD para irrigación. Las mismas se localizan en inmediaciones a los sistemas de tratamiento de líquidos cloacales. La calidad microbiológica de los efluentes indica que ningún caso cumple con las directrices propuestas por la OMS para riego irrestricto y de áreas verdes. Se estima que el potencial de reúso con ARD en la provincia asciende a unas 3500 hectáreas, considerando cultivos de referencia según la localidad. Esta estimación debe ser complementada con estudios de factibilidad para cada caso en particular. Los resultados obtenidos representan un aporte para el reconocimiento y la validación de las aguas residuales como un recurso hídrico alternativo para la región.Fil: Salas Barboza, Ariela Griselda Judith. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Investigaciones en Energía no Convencional. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Departamento de Física. Instituto de Investigaciones en Energía no Convencional; ArgentinaFil: Gatto D'andrea, María Laura. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Investigaciones en Energía no Convencional. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Departamento de Física. Instituto de Investigaciones en Energía no Convencional; ArgentinaFil: Garces, V.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Investigaciones en Energía no Convencional. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Departamento de Física. Instituto de Investigaciones en Energía no Convencional; ArgentinaFil: Rodriguez Alvarez, María Soledad. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Investigaciones en Energía no Convencional. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Departamento de Física. Instituto de Investigaciones en Energía no Convencional; ArgentinaFil: Liberal, Viviana Isabel. Universidad Nacional de Salta; ArgentinaFil: Paoli, H.. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria; ArgentinaFil: Seghezzo, Lucas. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Investigaciones en Energía no Convencional. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Departamento de Física. Instituto de Investigaciones en Energía no Convencional; Argentin

DEFICIENCY OF MYELOID PHD PROTEINS AGGRAVATES ATHEROGENESIS VIA MACROPHAGE APOPTOSIS AND PARACRINE FIBROTIC SIGNALING Atherogenic effects of myeloid PHD knockdown

AIMS: Atherosclerotic plaque hypoxia is detrimental for macrophage function. Prolyl hydroxylases (PHDs) initiate cellular hypoxic responses, possibly influencing macrophage function in plaque hypoxia. Thus, we aimed to elucidate the role of myeloid PHDs in atherosclerosis. METHODS AND RESULTS: Myeloid-specific PHD knockout (PHDko) mice were obtained via bone marrow transplantation (PHD1ko, PHD3ko) or conditional knockdown through lysozyme M-driven Cre recombinase (PHD2cko). Mice were fed high cholesterol diet for 6–12 weeks to induce atherosclerosis. Aortic root plaque size was significantly augmented 2.6-fold in PHD2cko, and 1.4-fold in PHD3ko compared to controls but was unchanged in PHD1ko mice. Macrophage apoptosis was promoted in PHD2cko and PHD3ko mice in vitro and in vivo, via the hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) 1α/BNIP3 axis. Bulk and single-cell RNA data of PHD2cko bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) and plaque macrophages, respectively, showed enhanced HIF1α/BNIP3 signalling, which was validated in vitro by siRNA silencing. Human plaque BNIP3 mRNA was positively associated with plaque necrotic core size, suggesting similar pro-apoptotic effects in human. Furthermore, PHD2cko plaques displayed enhanced fibrosis, while macrophage collagen breakdown by matrix metalloproteinases, collagen production, and proliferation were unaltered. Instead, PHD2cko BMDMs enhanced fibroblast collagen secretion in a paracrine manner. In silico analysis of macrophage-fibroblast communication predicted SPP1 (osteopontin) signalling as regulator, which was corroborated by enhanced plaque SPP1 protein in vivo. Increased SPP1 mRNA expression upon PHD2cko was preferentially observed in foamy plaque macrophages expressing ‘triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-2’ (TREM2hi) evidenced by single-cell RNA, but not in neutrophils. This confirmed enhanced fibrotic signalling by PHD2cko macrophages to fibroblasts, in vitro as well as in vivo. CONCLUSION: Myeloid PHD2cko and PHD3ko enhanced atherosclerotic plaque growth and macrophage apoptosis, while PHD2cko macrophages further activated collagen secretion by fibroblasts in vitro, likely via paracrine SPP1 signalling through TREM2hi macrophages

Can Biomarkers Identify Women at Increased Stroke Risk? The Women's Health Initiative Hormone Trials

Objective: The Women's Health Initiative hormone trials identified a 44% increase in ischemic stroke risk with combination estrogen plus progestin and a 39% increase with estrogen alone. We undertook a case-control biomarker study to elucidate underlying mechanisms, and to potentially identify women who would be at lower or higher risk for stroke with postmenopausal hormone therapy (HT). Design: The hormone trials were randomized, double-blind, and placebo controlled. Setting: The Women's Health Initiative trials were conducted at 40 clinical centers in the United States. Participants: The trials enrolled 27,347 postmenopausal women, aged 50-79 y. Interventions: We randomized 16,608 women with intact uterus to conjugated estrogens 0.625 mg with medroxyprogesterone acetate 2.5 mg daily or placebo, and 10,739 women with prior hysterectomy to conjugated estrogens 0.625 mg daily or placebo. Outcome Measures: Stroke was ascertained during 5.6 y of follow-up in the estrogen plus progestin trial and 6.8 y of follow-up in the estrogen alone trial. Results: No baseline clinical characteristics, including gene polymorphisms, identified women for whom the stroke risk from HT was higher. Paradoxically, women with higher baseline levels of some stroke-associated biomarkers had a lower risk of stroke when assigned to estrogen plus progestin compared to placebo. For example, those with higher IL-6 were not at increased stroke risk when assigned to estrogen plus progestin (odds ratio 1.28) but were when assigned to placebo (odds ratio 3.47; p for difference = 0.02). Similar findings occurred for high baseline PAP, leukocyte count, and D-dimer. However, only an interaction of D-dimer during follow-up interaction with HT and stroke was marginally significant (p = 0.03). Conclusions: Biomarkers did not identify women at higher stroke risk with postmenopausal HT. Some biomarkers appeared to identify women at lower stroke risk with estrogen plus progestin, but these findings may be due to chance

Genome-wide association study identifies 30 loci associated with bipolar disorder.

Bipolar disorder is a highly heritable psychiatric disorder. We performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) including 20,352 cases and 31,358 controls of European descent, with follow-up analysis of 822 variants with P < 1 × 10-4 in an additional 9,412 cases and 137,760 controls. Eight of the 19 variants that were genome-wide significant (P < 5 × 10-8) in the discovery GWAS were not genome-wide significant in the combined analysis, consistent with small effect sizes and limited power but also with genetic heterogeneity. In the combined analysis, 30 loci were genome-wide significant, including 20 newly identified loci. The significant loci contain genes encoding ion channels, neurotransmitter transporters and synaptic components. Pathway analysis revealed nine significantly enriched gene sets, including regulation of insulin secretion and endocannabinoid signaling. Bipolar I disorder is strongly genetically correlated with schizophrenia, driven by psychosis, whereas bipolar II disorder is more strongly correlated with major depressive disorder. These findings address key clinical questions and provide potential biological mechanisms for bipolar disorder

Atypical Haemolytic Uraemic Syndrome Associated with a Hybrid Complement Gene

BACKGROUND: Sequence analysis of the regulators of complement activation (RCA) cluster of genes at chromosome position 1q32 shows evidence of several large genomic duplications. These duplications have resulted in a high degree of sequence identity between the gene for factor H (CFH) and the genes for the five factor H-related proteins (CFHL1–5; aliases CFHR1–5). CFH mutations have been described in association with atypical haemolytic uraemic syndrome (aHUS). The majority of the mutations are missense changes that cluster in the C-terminal region and impair the ability of factor H to regulate surface-bound C3b. Some have arisen as a result of gene conversion between CFH and CFHL1. In this study we tested the hypothesis that nonallelic homologous recombination between low-copy repeats in the RCA cluster could result in the formation of a hybrid CFH/CFHL1 gene that predisposes to the development of aHUS. METHODS AND FINDINGS: In a family with many cases of aHUS that segregate with the RCA cluster we used cDNA analysis, gene sequencing, and Southern blotting to show that affected individuals carry a heterozygous CFH/CFHL1 hybrid gene in which exons 1–21 are derived from CFH and exons 22/23 from CFHL1. This hybrid encodes a protein product identical to a functionally significant CFH mutant (c.3572C>T, S1191L and c.3590T>C, V1197A) that has been previously described in association with aHUS. CONCLUSIONS: CFH mutation screening is recommended in all aHUS patients prior to renal transplantation because of the high risk of disease recurrence post-transplant in those known to have a CFH mutation. Because of our finding it will be necessary to implement additional screening strategies that will detect a hybrid CFH/CFHL1 gene

Radial velocity confirmation of K2-100b: A young, highly irradiated, and low-density transiting hot Neptune

We present a detailed analysis of HARPS-N radial velocity observations of K2-100, a young and active star in the Praesepe cluster, which hosts a transiting planet with a period of 1.7 d. We model the activity-induced radial velocity variations of the host star with a multidimensional Gaussian Process framework and detect a planetary signal of 10.6 \ub1 3.0 m s−1, which matches the transit ephemeris, and translates to a planet mass of 21.8 \ub1 6.2 M. We perform a suite of validation tests to confirm that our detected signal is genuine. This is the first mass measurement for a transiting planet in a young open cluster. The relatively low density of the planet, 2.04+−006661 g cm−3, implies that K2-100b retains a significant volatile envelope. We estimate that the planet is losing its atmosphere at a rate of 1011–1012 g s−1 due to the high level of radiation it receives from its host star

Validation and atmospheric exploration of the sub-Neptune TOI-2136b around a nearby M3 dwarf

Context. The NASA space telescope TESS is currently in the extended mission of its all-sky search for new transiting planets. Of the thousands of candidates that TESS is expected to deliver, transiting planets orbiting nearby M dwarfs are particularly interesting targets since they provide a great opportunity to characterize their atmospheres by transmission spectroscopy. Aims. We aim to validate and characterize the new sub-Neptune-sized planet candidate TOI-2136.01 orbiting a nearby M dwarf (d = 33.36 +/- 0.02 pc, T-eff = 3373 +/- 108 K) with an orbital period of 7.852 days. Methods. We use TESS data, ground-based multicolor photometry, and radial velocity measurements with the InfraRed Doppler (IRD) instrument on the Subaru Telescope to validate the planetary nature of TOI-2136.01, and estimate the stellar and planetary parameters. We also conduct high-resolution transmission spectroscopy to search for helium in its atmosphere. Results. We confirm that TOI-2136.01 (now named TOI-2136b) is a bona fide planet with a planetary radius of R-p = 2.20 +/- 0.07 R-circle plus and a mass of M-p = 4.7(-2.6)(+3.1) M-circle plus. We also search for helium 10830 angstrom absorption lines and place an upper limit on the equivalent width of <7.8 m angstrom and on the absorption signal of <1.44% with 95% confidence. Conclusions. TOI-2136b is a sub-Neptune transiting a nearby and bright star (J = 10.8 mag), and is a potentially hycean planet, which is a new class of habitable planets with large oceans under a H-2-rich atmosphere, making it an excellent target for atmospheric studies to understand the formation, evolution, and habitability of the small planets