Clinical, randomized, double blind clinical trial to study the effect of parenteral supplementation with fish oil emulsion in the nutritional support in esophagectomized patients

Introduction: Esophagectomy is a major surgery with a high degree of catabolic and post-surgical inflammatory response accompanied by high morbidity and significant mortality. Post-surgical nutritional support via enteral administration of omega-3 fatty acids has been seen to be effective although its bad tolerance. There are few clinical trials with parenteral omega-3 fatty acids in these patients. We propose to investigate the effect of combining a parenteral fish oil lipid emulsion with the standard enteral nutrition (EN) support. Materials and methods: Prospective, single-center, randomized, double-blind study in esophagectomized patients, and treated after surgery with parenteral lipid emulsions of omega-3 fatty acids or a mixture of omega-6 long-chain triglycerides/short-chain triglycerides 50%. These emulsions will be added to the standard nutritional support in continuous infusion until 5 days of treatment have been completed. Patients will be randomized 1:1:1 in Group A receiving 0.4 g/kg/d of fish-oil lipid emulsion and 0.4 g/kg/d of a lipid emulsion mixture of omega-6 long-chain fatty acids (LCT) plus medium-chain fatty acids (MCT) (total dose of 0.8 g/kg/d of lipid emulsion); Group B receiving 0.8 g/kg/d of fish oil lipid emulsion and Group C receiving 0.8 g/kg/d of LCT/MCT emulsion. The main objective is to determine whether 5 days administration of intravenous omega-3 fatty acid lipid emulsion is effective in normalizing interleukin-6 levels compared with LCT/MCT emulsions, and whether a 0.8 g/kg/d dose is more effective than 0.4 g/kg/d. Secondary outcomes include other inflammatory markers such as C-reactive protein, tumor necrosis factor alpha and interleukin-10, and parameters of morbidity, safety, nutrition and mortality. Samples will be collected at the time when surgery is indicated and on days 0, 1, 3, 5 and 21 to determine inflammatory, nutritional, hepatic and safety parameters. In addition, clinical follow-up will be continued throughout the hospital admision and up to 1 year after surgery. Discussion: Studies of omega-3 fatty acids administered parenterally in esophagectomized patients are scarce. This study proposes to investigate the effect of combining fish-oil lipid emulsions administered parenterally with EN support. Potential benefits include fast incorporation of lipids to the cellular membranes and to the inflammatory cascade, and the use of only 1 pharmaconutrient

Immuno-Golgi as a Tool for Analyzing Neuronal 3D-Dendritic Structure in Phenotypically Characterized Neurons

Characterization of neuronal dendritic structure in combination with the determination of specific neuronal phenotype or temporal generation is a challenging task. Here we present a novel method that combines bromodioxyuridine (BrdU) immunohistochemistry with Golgi-impregnation technique; with this simple non-invasive method, we are able to determine the tridimensional structure of dendritic arborization and spine shape of neurons born at a specific time in the hippocampus of adult animals. This analysis is relevant in physiological and pathological conditions in which altered neurogenesis is implicated, such as aging or emotional disorders

How genomics can help biodiversity conservation

The availability of public genomic resources can greatly assist biodiversity assessment, conservation, and restoration efforts by providing evidence for scientifically informed management decisions. Here we survey the main approaches and applications in biodiversity and conservation genomics, considering practical factors, such as cost, time, prerequisite skills, and current shortcomings of applications. Most approaches perform best in combination with reference genomes from the target species or closely related species. We review case studies to illustrate how reference genomes can facilitate biodiversity research and conservation across the tree of life. We conclude that the time is ripe to view reference genomes as fundamental resources and to integrate their use as a best practice in conservation genomics.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The era of reference genomes in conservation genomics

Progress in genome sequencing now enables the large-scale generation of reference genomes. Various international initiatives aim to generate reference genomes representing global biodiversity. These genomes provide unique insights into genomic diversity and architecture, thereby enabling comprehensive analyses of population and functional genomics, and are expected to revolutionize conservation genomics

The era of reference genomes in conservation genomics

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The era of reference genomes in conservation genomics

Progress in genome sequencing now enables the large-scale generation of reference genomes. Various international initiatives aim to generate reference genomes representing global biodiversity. These genomes provide unique insights into genomic diversity and architecture, thereby enabling comprehensive analyses of population and functional genomics, and are expected to revolutionize conservation genomics

A global experiment on motivating social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic

Finding communication strategies that effectively motivate social distancing continues to be a global public health priority during the COVID-19 pandemic. This cross-country, preregistered experiment (n = 25,718 from 89 countries) tested hypotheses concerning generalizable positive and negative outcomes of social distancing messages that promoted personal agency and reflective choices (i.e., an autonomy-supportive message) or were restrictive and shaming (i.e., a controlling message) compared with no message at all. Results partially supported experimental hypotheses in that the controlling message increased controlled motivation (a poorly internalized form of motivation relying on shame, guilt, and fear of social consequences) relative to no message. On the other hand, the autonomy-supportive message lowered feelings of defiance compared with the controlling message, but the controlling message did not differ from receiving no message at all. Unexpectedly, messages did not influence autonomous motivation (a highly internalized form of motivation relying on one’s core values) or behavioral intentions. Results supported hypothesized associations between people’s existing autonomous and controlled motivations and self-reported behavioral intentions to engage in social distancing. Controlled motivation was associated with more defiance and less long-term behavioral intention to engage in social distancing, whereas autonomous motivation was associated with less defiance and more short- and long-term intentions to social distance. Overall, this work highlights the potential harm of using shaming and pressuring language in public health communication, with implications for the current and future global health challenges

New insights into the genetic etiology of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias

Characterization of the genetic landscape of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related dementias (ADD) provides a unique opportunity for a better understanding of the associated pathophysiological processes. We performed a two-stage genome-wide association study totaling 111,326 clinically diagnosed/'proxy' AD cases and 677,663 controls. We found 75 risk loci, of which 42 were new at the time of analysis. Pathway enrichment analyses confirmed the involvement of amyloid/tau pathways and highlighted microglia implication. Gene prioritization in the new loci identified 31 genes that were suggestive of new genetically associated processes, including the tumor necrosis factor alpha pathway through the linear ubiquitin chain assembly complex. We also built a new genetic risk score associated with the risk of future AD/dementia or progression from mild cognitive impairment to AD/dementia. The improvement in prediction led to a 1.6- to 1.9-fold increase in AD risk from the lowest to the highest decile, in addition to effects of age and the APOE ε4 allele

The psychological science accelerator’s COVID-19 rapid-response dataset

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Psychological Science Accelerator coordinated three large-scale psychological studies to examine the effects of loss-gain framing, cognitive reappraisals, and autonomy framing manipulations on behavioral intentions and affective measures. The data collected (April to October 2020) included specific measures for each experimental study, a general questionnaire examining health prevention behaviors and COVID-19 experience, geographical and cultural context characterization, and demographic information for each participant. Each participant started the study with the same general questions and then was randomized to complete either one longer experiment or two shorter experiments. Data were provided by 73,223 participants with varying completion rates. Participants completed the survey from 111 geopolitical regions in 44 unique languages/dialects. The anonymized dataset described here is provided in both raw and processed formats to facilitate re-use and further analyses. The dataset offers secondary analytic opportunities to explore coping, framing, and self-determination across a diverse, global sample obtained at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which can be merged with other time-sampled or geographic data