Embarazo en la adolescencia: cómo ocurre en la sociedad actual

ResumenEn México, el 20% de los nacimientos anuales se presenta en madres menores de 20 años. Su importancia radica en el hecho de que el impacto de los embarazos en adolescentes comienza con los riesgos para la salud de la madre y su hijo. Estos riesgos son mayores a medida que la edad de la gestante es menor y en especial cuando, debido a las condiciones sociales y económicas, el cuidado de la salud es inferior a lo ideal, lo cual es determinante en el desarrollo psicosocial materno posterior. Se ha señalado que los jóvenes con baja escolaridad, con menores expectativas académicas y laborales, y con menor autoestima y asertividad tienden a iniciar a más temprana edad su vida sexual activa, a utilizar menos los anticonceptivos y, en el caso de las jóvenes, a quedarse embarazadas, con el riesgo de llegar al aborto por la falta de condiciones y conocimientos que faciliten una decisión mejor. Por ello es imprescindible tener en cuenta el contexto cultural y las características especiales de la familia para entender de forma preventiva la situación de la adolescente con riesgo de embarazo.AbstractIn Mexico, 20% of annual births occur in mothers younger than 20 years old. The importance of this is that the impact of pregnancies in adolescents begins with the risks for the mothers’ health and their children. The younger the age of the woman, the bigger the risk, especially when the social and economic conditions result in healthcare below the ideal, which is decisive in later maternal psychosocial development. It has been pointed out that youngsters with low-level education, with lower academic and work expectations and with lower self-esteem and assertiveness tend to begin their active sexual life at an earlier age, to use contraceptives less and, in the case of young women, to get pregnant. These young pregnant women are at risk of aborting because of the lack of conditions and knowledge that might facilitate a better decision. It is consequently indispensable to take the social context and special family characteristics into account to understand preventatively the situation of an adolescent with pregnancy risk

Carl Djerassi: “In memoriam”. Pionero de la creación del “anticonceptivo oral” y hombre polifacético

ResumenCarl Djerassi nació en Viena en 1923 y emigró a New York en 1939 donde escribió una carta a Eleanor Roosevelt solicitando un apoyo para continuar sus estudios, graduándose en química en 1942 y obteniendo su doctorado en química en la Universidad de Wisconsin en 1945. Sintetizó el esteroide básico del “anticonceptivo oral”, genéricamente conocido como noretisterona. Desde el siglo pasado se sabía que la administración parenteral de estrógenos y progesterona inhibía la ovulación, pero resultaba de un costo muy elevado. Jorge Rosenkranz invitó a Djerassi a incorporarse a Syntex para buscar la síntesis de progesterona, quienes junto con Luis E. Miramontes emplearon el esteroide esencial obtenido del barbasco descubierto por Rusell E. Marker. De esta manera se consiguió industrializar el anticonceptivo hormonal oral conocido trivialmente como la “píldora”.Djerassi se podría considerar como un conspicuo químico, biólogo y sociólogo; incursionó en la literatura, fue coleccionista de arte y benefactor de artistas. Fue presidente de Syntex en México y en Palo Alto. Falleció el 30 de enero de 2015 a la edad de 91 años en San Francisco California.AbstractCarl Djerassi (Vienna, 1923) immigrated to New York in 1939, where he wrote to Eleanor Roosevelt requesting funding to continue his studies, graduating in chemistry in 1942, and acquiring a doctorate in chemistry at the University of Wisconsin in 1945. He synthesised the basic “oral contraceptive” steroid, known generically as norethisterone. Since the preceding century parenteral estrogens and progesterone had been known to inhibit ovulation, but producing them was very expensive. Jorge Rosenkranz invited Djerassi to join Syntex to work on progesterone synthesis; together with Luis E. Miramontes, the researchers used the essential steroid from barbasco [a Mexican yam] discovered by Russell E. Marker to make it possible to industrialise the oral hormonal contraceptive commonly known as “the pill”.Djerassi could be considered as a distinguished chemist, biologist and sociologist, who also pursued literature and was an art collector and artists’ benefactor. Past president of Syntex in Mexico and in Palo Alto, he died on 30 January 2015 at the age of 91 in San Francisco, California

Using a serious game to assess spatial memory in children and adults

Short-term spatial memory has traditionally been assessed using visual stimuli, but not auditory stimuli. In this paper, we design and test a serious game with auditory stimuli for assessing short-term spatial memory. The interaction is achieved by gestures (by raising your arms). The auditory stimuli are emitted by smart devices placed at different locations. A total of 70 participants (32 children and 38 adults) took part in the study. The outcomes obtained with our game were compared with traditional methods. The results indicated that the outcomes in the game for the adults were significantly greater than those obtained by the children. This result is consistent with the assumption that the ability of humans increases continuously during maturation. Correlations were found between our game and traditional methods, suggesting its validity for assessing spatial memory. The results indicate that both groups easily learn how to perform the task and are good at recalling the locations of sounds emitted from different positions. With regard to satisfaction with our game, the mean scores of the children were higher for nearly all of the questions. The mean scores for all of the questions, except one, were greater than 4 on a scale from 1 to 5. These results show the satisfaction of the participants with our game. The results suggest that our game promotes engagement and allows the assessment of spatial memory in an ecological way

Adverse childhood experiences and incident coronary heart disease: a counterfactual analysis in the Whitehall II prospective cohort study

Objectives: Adverse childhood experience is thought to be associated with risk of coronary heart disease, but it is not clear which experiences are cardiotoxic, and whether risk increases with the accumulation of adverse childhood experiences. Methods: Participants were 5149 adults (72.6% men) in the Whitehall II cohort study. Parental death was recorded at phase 1 (median age in years 44.3), and 13 other adverse childhood experiences at phase 5 (55.3). We applied Cox proportional hazards regression with person-time from phase 5 to examine associations of adverse childhood experiences with incident coronary heart disease. We predicted hazard ratios according to count of the experiences, and examined dose-response effect. We finally estimated reduction of coronary heart disease in a hypothetical scenario, the absence of adverse childhood experiences. Results: Among study participants, 62.9% had at least one adversity, with “financial problems” having the highest prevalence (26.1%). There were 509 first episodes of coronary heart disease during an average 12.9 years follow-up. Among 14 adverse childhood experiences in a multiply adjusted model, “parental unemployment” showed the highest hazard of coronary heart disease incidence (hazard ratio; 95% confidence interval: 1.53; 1.16 to 2.02). No dose-response effect was observed (constant for proportionality in hazard ratio: 1.05, 0.99 to 1.11). Based on the estimates of final model, in the absence of childhood adversities, we estimated a 6.0% reduction in coronary heart disease (0.94; 0.87 to 1.01), but the confidence interval includes one. Conclusion: Although individual adverse childhood experiences show some association with coronary heart disease, there is no clear relationship with the number of adverse experiences. Further research is required to quantify effects of multiple and combinations of adverse childhood experiences considering timing, duration, and severity

Association of aortic stiffness with cognitive decline: Whitehall II longitudinal cohort study

Aortic stiffness is associated with an increased risk of cardio- and cerebrovascular disease and mortality and may increase risk of dementia. The aim of the present study is to examine the association between arterial stiffness and cognitive decline in a large prospective cohort study with three repeated cognitive assessment over 7 years of follow-up. Aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV) was measured among 4300 participants (mean ± standard deviation age 65.1 ± 5.2 years) in 2007–2009 and categorized based on the tertiles: (lowest third:  8.91 m/s). A global cognitive score was calculated in 2007–2009, 2012–2013, and 2015–2016 based on responses to memory, reasoning and fluency tests. Standardized global cognitive score (mean = 0, SD = 1) in highest third versus lowest third of PWV category was lower at baseline (− 0.12, 95% CI − 0.18, − 0.06). Accelerated 7-year cognitive decline was observed among individuals with the highest PWV [difference in 7-year cognitive change for highest third versus lowest third PWV: − 0.06, 95% CI − 0.11, − 0.01, P < 0.01]. Higher aortic stiffness was associated with faster cognitive decline. Clinicians may be able to use arterial stiffness severity as an indicator to administer prompt treatments to prevent or delay the onset of cognitive decline or dementia. Future studies need to determine whether early intervention of vascular stiffness is effective in delaying these outcomes

Current state of insect proteins: extraction technologies, bioactive peptides and allergenicity of edible insect proteins.

This review aims to provide an updated overview of edible insect proteins and the bioactivity of insect-derived peptides. The essential amino acid content of edible insects is compared with well-known protein sources to demonstrate that edible insects have the potential to cover the protein quality requirements for different groups of the population. Then the current methodologies for insect protein extraction are summarized including a comparison of the protein extraction yield and the final protein content of the resulting products for each method. Furthermore, in order to improve our understanding of insect proteins, their functional properties (such as solubility, foaming capacity, emulsifying, gelation, water holding capacity and oil holding capacity) are discussed. Bioactive peptides can be released according to various enzymatic hydrolysis protocols. In this context, the bioactive properties of insect peptides (antihypertensive, antidiabetic, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties) have been discussed. However, the allergens present in insect proteins are still a major concern and an unsolved issue for insect-based product consumption; thus, an analysis of cross reactivity and the different methods available to reduce allergenicity are proposed. Diverse studies of insect protein hydrolysates/peptides have been ultimately promoting the utilization of insect proteins for future perspectives and the emerging processing technologies to enhance the wider utilization of insect proteins for different purposes

Paratuberculosis control strategies in dairy cattle: A systematic review

Background: Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis is the causative agent of paratuberculosis (PTB), incurable enterocolitis, affecting domestic and wild ruminants. Economic losses, impacts on animal health and welfare, and public health concerns justify its herd-level control.Aim: To systematically collect information to answer: What are the control and eradication strategies of PTB in dairy cattle worldwide?Methods: The search procedure was carried out on October 2nd, 2019, and updated on August 3rd, 2021, using OVID®, SciELO, and Redalyc databases, and the registers from the International Colloquium on Paratuberculosis (1991–2018). The inclusion criteria considered articles published in English, Portuguese, and Spanish and in peerreviewed journals. The exclusion criteria included irrelevant topics, species other-than bovines, and not original articles. Definitive studies were obtained through the consensus of the authors on eligibility and quality. Data extraction was performed, considering bibliographic information, control and outcome strategies, follow-up time, and results.Results: Twenty-six relevant studies were found, reporting the use of three grouped control strategies: hygiene and management strategy (HMS), test-and-cull strategy (TCS), and vaccination strategy (VS). The HMS was the most common one (20/26), followed by TCS (17/26) and VS (7/26). Combined control strategies such as TCS-HMS (12/26), TCS-VS (1/26), and HMS-VS (1/26) were also described, and the consideration of the three control strategies (TCSHMS-VS) was reported in two articles. The HMS included practices such as neonates/juvenile livestock hygiene, biosecurity, prevention of infection introduction into the herd, and environmental management. Within HMS, the most frequent practices were to remove calves from their dams as soon as possible after birth and to keep the minimal exposure of calves and heifers to adult cattle. As limitations, within the HMS, it is considered that some strategies cannot be included due to lack of compliance, or the application of the same strategy among one study and another may have a different degree of interpretation; publication bias was not controlled since the results of the control programs in endemic countries may be not available.Conclusion: The main PTB control strategies in dairy cattle worldwide are HMS, TCS, and VS. The use of one or several combined strategies has been found to succeed in controlling the disease at the herd-level

Relationship between Serum Concentration of Uric Acid and Insulin Secretion among Adults with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

To determine the relationship between serum concentrations of uric acid and insulin secretion with hyperglycaemic clamp technique among adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2) without hyperuricemia, we carried out a cross-sectional study on 45 patients of both gender. We observed correlation between uric acid with male gender r = 0.710 (P = 0.001). Also correlation between uric acid and total insulin secretion was positive r = 0.295 (P = 0.049). As well as a positive correlation adjusted for body mass index was demonstrated for the first, second, and total phases of insulin secretion, respectively, r = 0.438 (P = 0.022), r = 0.433 (P = 0.022), and r = 0.439 (P = 0.024). Serum concentration of uric acid showed a positive relationship with the total phase of insulin secretion; even in states prior to hyperuricemia, uric acid can play an important role in the function of the beta cell in patients with DM2