Involvement of Free Radicals in the Development and Progression of Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a major dementia related to an overproduction of free radicals (FRs), which leads to the generation of oxidative stress in brain tissue. Amyloid beta-peptide of 42 amino acid residues (Aβ1–42) is the main source of FRs in patients with AD. βA1–42 results from hydrolysis of the amyloid precursor protein by β-secretase in a process known as the amyloidogenic pathway. During βA1–42 aggregation, the peptide interacts with various transition metals to produce hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) by the Fenton reaction, generating the hydroxyl radical (•OH), which damages lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids, thereby contributing to neurodegeneration. In addition, βA1–42 is recognized by microglial receptors; it activates these cells, causing overproduction of superoxide anion (O2•−) by NADPH oxidase; O2•− is also converted into H2O2 and finally to •OH in the Fenton reaction. Other factors that contribute to oxidative stress during microglial activation are the overproduction of nitric oxide and interleukins and the overexpression of some enzymes, including cyclooxygenase and inducible nitric oxide synthase, all of which contribute to FR production. Currently, various models in vitro and in vivo exist that permit quantification of O2•− and H2O2 and determination of the effects of these reactive oxygen species

Stress influence on academic performance

El estrés adquiere influencia en diferentes enfermedades, disminuye el rendimiento laboral y académico, perjudica las relaciones personales y familiares, generando consecuencias que afectan al cuerpo, mente y emociones. Este artículo tiene por objetivo describir la influencia del estrés en el rendimiento académico de estudiantes a nivel universitario. Expertos establecen la importancia de minimizar el estrés analizando sus causas y consecuencias. La presente investigación está desarrollada desde el enfoque cuantitativo y a través del paradigma positivista. El nivel de estrés se midió con la escala creada por Borges y Melgosa, y fue aplicado en estudiantes de psicología y trabajo social de la Universidad Simón Bolívar sede Cúcuta. La administración del cuestionario se llevó a cabo en estudiantes de ambos sexos, con edades comprendidas entre 18 y 24 años, que asistían a la jornada nocturna del segundo y cuarto semestre académico. El análisis y la interpretación de información fueron realizados mediante el paquete estadístico SPSS. Se concluye que el estrés influye en diferentes aspectos de la vida, especialmente en el rendimiento académico.Stress acquires influence in different diseases, decreases work and academic performance, damages personal and family relationships, generating consequences that affect the body, mind and emotions. This article aims to describe the influence of stress on academic performance of higher education students. The importance of minimizing stress is established by experts through the analysis of its causes and consequences. Present research is developed from the quantitative approach and through the positivist paradigm. The stress level was measured with the scale created by Borges and Melgosa, and was applied in students of psychology and social work of the Universidad Simón Bolívar Cúcuta headquarters. The administration of the questionnaire was carried out in students of both genders, aged between 18 and 24 years, who attended the night shift of the second and fourth academic semester. The analysis and interpretation of information was performed with the SPSS software. It is concluded that stress influences different aspects of life, especially in academic performance

Indicadores bibliométricos para investigadores y revistas de impacto en el área de la salud

Las publicaciones científicas en revistas especializadas y losautores evaluados a través de métricas, deben conocer losparámetros y funcionalidad en procesos de indexación y categorización.Este artículo tiene por objetivo presentar argumentosde expertos en la temática, igualmente las institucionesy plataformas en indicadores bibliométricos, la importanciade las redes para la comunidad académica e investigativay científica. La metodología está fundamentada en la revisiónliteraria desde la investigación documental. Se concluye queWos, Scopus y Google Scholar constituyen los principalesíndices y Orcid, Publons y Researchgate las redes para ladivulgación de productos

BACTERIAL TRANSLOCATION: MICROBIOTA-INTESTINE-LUNG AXIS AND PRO-INFLAMMATORY STATUS IN THE SEVERITY OF COVID-19

Although severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus – 2 (SARS-CoV-2), causing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, is primarily associated with a respiratory infection, it has also been linked to multisystem involvement that includes the digestive tract. Gastrointestinal (GI) manifestations are common in patients with COVID-19 due to the high viral load lodged in the small intestine's mucosa. As a result, it causes an increase in the permeability of the intestinal barrier that favours the passage and translocation of bacteria, from the lumen of the intestine, towards the internal environment, with the appearance of sepsis, with evidence that SARS-CoV-2 has been found in faeces. This article highlights epidemiology, clinical symptoms, and mechanisms related to manifestations of disease in the GI tract and its pathogenesis in patients with COVID-19. It highlights bacterial translocation and COVID-19, mechanisms that control bacterial translocation, intestinal infection and feco-oral transmission, defense mechanisms against microbial invasion, role of microbiota/microbiome and implications of their dysbiosis and alterations during SARS-CoV-2 infection, and lastly protective health benefits by improving dietary habits with nutritional foods approaches amid the ongoing pandemic. Increasing evidence indicates that bacterial translocation appears due to the high viral load of COVID-19 in the mucosa of the GI tract, and the intestinal microbiota contributes to the COVID-19 course owing to their bidirectional relationship with the immune system and lungs. Dysbiosis in gut microbiota leads to increased gut permeability thus predisposing to secondary infection and multiple organ dysfunction. Disruption of intestinal barrier integrity due to dysbiosis may cause translocation of SARS-CoV-2 from lungs into the intestinal lumen via the circulatory and lymphatic system, initiating severe clinical presentation of the infection. A thorough understanding of the key role of gut microbiota, gastrointestinal symptoms, and pathology along with immunomodulatory approaches would help in alleviating morbidity and mortality during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic

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

Drug Repurposing to Inhibit Histamine <i>N</i>-Methyl Transferase

Lower activity of the histaminergic system is associated with neurological disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Thus, the enhancement of histaminergic neurotransmission by inhibition of histamine N-methyl transferase (HNMT), which degrades histamine, appears as an important approach. For this purpose, rigid and flexible molecular docking studies of 185 FDA-approved drugs with the HNMT enzyme were carried out to select two compounds to perform molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to evaluate the binding free energies and stability of the enzyme–drug complexes. Finally, an HNMT inhibition assay was performed to corroborate their effect towards HNMT. Molecular docking studies with HNMT allowed the selection of dihydroergotamine and vilazodone since these molecules showed the lowest Gibbs free energy values. Analysis of the binding mode of vilazodone showed interactions with the binding pocket of HNMT with Glu28, Gln143, and Asn283. In contrast, dihydroergotamine binds to the HNMT active site in a different location, apparently because it is overall the more rigid ligand compared to flexible vilazodone. HNMT inhibitory activity for dihydroergotamine and vilazodone was corroborated (IC50 = 72.89 μM and 45.01 μM, respectively) by in vitro assays. Drug repurposing of HNMT was achieved by employing computational studies

Influencia del estrés sobre el rendimiento académico

El estr&eacute;s adquiere influencia en diferentes enfermedades,disminuye el rendimiento laboral y acad&eacute;mico, perjudica lasrelaciones personales y familiares, generando consecuenciasque afectan al cuerpo, mente y emociones. Este art&iacute;culotiene por objetivo describir la influencia del estr&eacute;s en elrendimiento acad&eacute;mico de estudiantes a nivel universitario.Expertos establecen la importancia de minimizar el estr&eacute;sanalizando sus causas y consecuencias. La presente investigaci&oacute;nest&aacute; desarrollada desde el enfoque cuantitativo y atrav&eacute;s del paradigma positivista. El nivel de estr&eacute;s se midi&oacute;con la escala creada por Borges y Melgosa, y fue aplicado enestudiantes de psicolog&iacute;a y trabajo social de la UniversidadSim&oacute;n Bol&iacute;var sede C&uacute;cuta. La administraci&oacute;n del cuestionariose llev&oacute; a cabo en estudiantes de ambos sexos, conedades comprendidas entre 18 y 24 a&ntilde;os, que asist&iacute;an a lajornada nocturna del segundo y cuarto semestre acad&eacute;mico.El an&aacute;lisis y la interpretaci&oacute;n de informaci&oacute;n fueron realizadosmediante el paquete estad&iacute;stico SPSS. Se concluye queel estr&eacute;s influye en diferentes aspectos de la vida, especialmenteen el rendimiento acad&eacute;mico

Bibliometric indicators for researchers and impact journals in health area

Las publicaciones científicas en revistas especializadas y los autores evaluados a través de métricas, deben conocer los parámetros y funcionalidad en procesos de indexación y categorización. Este artículo tiene por objetivo presentar argumentos de expertos en la temática, igualmente las instituciones y plataformas en indicadores bibliométricos, la importancia de las redes para la comunidad académica e investigativa y científica. La metodología está fundamentada en la revisión literaria desde la investigación documental. Se concluye que Wos, Scopus y Google Scholar constituyen los principales índices y Orcid, Publons y Researchgate las redes para la divulgación de productos.Scientific publications in specialized journals and authors evaluated through metrics should know the parameters and functionality in indexing and categorization processes. This article aims to present arguments of experts in the field, also institutions and platforms in bibliometric indicators, the importance of networks for the academic and research and scientific community. The methodology is based on literary review from documentary research. It is concluded that Wos, Scopus and Google Scholar constitute the main indexes and Orcid, Publons and ResearchGate networks for the dissemination of products

Sistemas comunitarios de captación y almacenamiento de agua de lluvia y tecnología apropiada en materia de agua para zonas marginadas

42 p

The Ability of Chlorophyll to Trap Carcinogen Aflatoxin B₁: A Theoretical Approach

The coordination of one and two aflatoxin B1 (AFB1, a potent carcinogen) molecules with chlorophyll a (chl a) was studied at a theoretical level. Calculations were performed using the M06-2X method in conjunction with the 6-311G(d,p) basis set, in both gas and water phases. The molecular electrostatic potential map shows the chemical activity of various sites of the AFB1 and chl a molecules. The energy difference between molecular orbitals of AFB1 and chl a allowed for the establishment of an intermolecular interaction. A charge transfer from AFB1 to the central cation of chl a was shown. The energies of the optimized structures for chl a show two configurations, unfolded and folded, with a difference of 15.41 kcal/mol. Chl a appeared axially coordinated to the plane (α-down or β-up) of the porphyrin moiety, either with the oxygen atom of the ketonic group, or with the oxygen atom of the lactone moiety of AFB1. The complexes of maximum stability were chl a 1-α-E-AFB1 and chl a 2-β-E-AFB1, at −36.4 and −39.2 kcal/mol, respectively. Additionally, with two AFB1 molecules were chl a 1-D-2AFB1 and chl a 2-E-2AFB1, at −60.0 and −64.8 kcal/mol, respectively. Finally, biosorbents containing chlorophyll could improve AFB1 adsorption