Substrate Concentration Influences Effective Radial Diffusion Coefficient in Canine Cortical Bone

Transport of nutrients and waste across osseous tissue is dependent on the dynamic micro and macrostructure of the tissue; however little quantitative data exists examining how this transport occurs across the entire tissue. Here we investigate in vitro radial diffusion across a section of canine tissue, at dimensions of several hundred microns to millimeters, specifically between several osteons connected through a porous microstructure of Volkmann\u27s canals and canaliculi. The effective diffusion coefficient is measured by a sample immersion technique presented here, in which the tissue sample was immersed in solution for 18-30 h, image analysis software was used to quantify the solute concentration profile in the tissue, and the data were fit to a mathematical model of diffusion in the tissue. Measurements of the effective diffusivity of sodium fluorescein using this technique were confirmed using a standard two-chamber diffusion system. As the solute concentration increased, the effective diffusivity decreased, ranging from 1.6 x 10(-7) +/- A 3.2 x 10(-8) cm(2)/s at 0.3 mu M to 1.4 x 10(-8) +/- A 1.9 x 10(-9) cm(2)/s at 300 mu M. The results show that there is no significant difference in mean diffusivity obtained using the two measurement techniques on the same sample, 3.3 x 10(-8) +/- A 3.3 x 10(-9) cm(2)/s (sample immersion), compared to 4.4 x 10(-8) +/- A 1.1 x 10(-8) cm(2)/s (diffusion chamber)

Fructosyltransferase Sources, Production, and Applications for Prebiotics Production

Fructooligosaccharides (FOS) are considered prebiotic compounds and are found in different vegetables and fruits but at low concentrations. FOS are produced by enzymatic transformation of sucrose using fructosyltransferase (FTase). Development of new production methods and search for FTase with high activity and stability for FOS production Is an actual research topic. In this article is discussed the most recent advances on FTase and its applications. Different microorganisms have been tested under various fermentation systems in order to identify and characterize new genes codifying for FTase. Some of these genes have been isolated from bacteria, fungi, and plants, with a wide range of percentages of identity but retaining the eight highly conserved motifs of the hydrolase family 32 glycoside. Therefore, this article presents an overview of the most recent advances on FTase and its applications

Patrones alimentarios y estado nutricional en mujeres embarazadas que asistieron a Centros de Atención Primaria de la Salud entre julio del 2021 y marzo del 2022, Florencio Varela, Buenos Aires, Argentina

El comportamiento alimentario comprende el conjunto de acciones que llevan al consumo de determinados alimentos, y está modelado por aspectos biológicos, psicológicos y socio-culturales. En ese sentido, el acceso a diferentes nutrientes en todas las etapas de la vida, incluyendo la prenatal, es variable y dependiente del contexto. La exposición a condiciones ambientales adversas, como una ingesta inadecuada de nutrientes, puede impactar en la salud materna, y en el crecimiento y desarrollo prenatal. El objetivo del presente trabajo es describir los patrones alimentarios y la composición nutricional de la dieta de mujeres gestantes residentes en Florencio Varela, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Se entrevistaron 150 mujeres que asistieron a controles prenatales entre julio del 2021 y marzo del 2022 y se estimó el índice de masa corporal (IMC) como medida del estado nutricional. Se realizó un cuestionario de frecuencia de consumo de alimentos y recordatorio de 24 horas. Los resultados indicaron la coexistencia de bajo peso, sobrepeso y obesidad junto con un elevado consumo de cereales refinados, azúcares y proteínas de origen animal, y un menor consumo de lácteos, pescados y frutos secos. Los datos obtenidos en este trabajo aportan a la discusión sobre el impacto de los comportamientos alimentarios en el estado nutricional de gestantes en contextos de vulnerabilidad

Comparison of metacognitive knowledge about the reading of Biology texts between students of the City of Buenos Aires

En este trabajo se caracteriza y compara el conocimiento metacognitivo procedimental sobre lectura de textos de biología, en estudiantes de primer año de una escuela estatal de nivel medio de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires y estudiantes avanzados de la Licenciatura en Ciencias Biológicas de la Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA). A partir de un enfoque cualitativo interpretativo, se realizaron entrevistas semi-estructuradas a los estudiantes, y sus relatos fueron analizados a partir de cuatro dimensiones: procesos de planificación de la lectura, procesos de monitoreo de la lectura, procesos de evaluación de la lectura y procesos de remediación de la incomprensión sobre lo leído. A partir del análisis de los resultados se concluye que los estudiantes universitarios avanzados de la Licenciatura en Ciencias Biológicas (UBA) consideran la aplicación de estrategias de carácter más autónomo para aprender a partir de la lectura y que tienen una concepción diferente a los estudiantes de primer año de la escuela de nivel medio estudiada, respecto de lo que significa aprender a través de un texto.In this work, we characterize and compare the procedural metacognitive knowledge about reading biology texts in students attending first year in a state middle school of the City of Buenos Aires and advanced students of the Bachelor in Biological Sciences of the University of Buenos Aires (UBA). Using a qualitative interpretative approach, semi-structured interviews were conducted with the students, and their stories were analysed from four dimensions: reading planning processes, reading monitoring processes, reading evaluation processes and processes for remediation of misunderstanding about what was read. From the analysis of the results, it is concluded that advanced students of the Bachelor in Biological Sciences (UBA) consider the application of more autonomous strategies for learning from reading and that they have a different conception than first year students attending the studied state middle school, with respect to what it means to learn through text.Fil: Miño, Mariela Haydée. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Centro de Formación e Investigación en Enseñanza de las Ciencias; ArgentinaFil: Toia, Sol N.. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Centro de Formación e Investigación en Enseñanza de las Ciencias; ArgentinaFil: Pérez, Gastón Mariano. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Centro de Formación e Investigación en Enseñanza de las Ciencias; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria; ArgentinaFil: Gutierrrez, Tatiana N.. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Centro de Formación e Investigación en Enseñanza de las Ciencias; ArgentinaFil: Gonzalez Galli, Leonardo Martin. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Centro de Formación e Investigación en Enseñanza de las Ciencias; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria; ArgentinaFil: Meinardi, Elsa Noemi. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Centro de Formación e Investigación en Enseñanza de las Ciencias; Argentin

Study protocol for the multicentre cohorts of Zika virus infection in pregnant women, infants, and acute clinical cases in Latin America and the Caribbean: The ZIKAlliance consortium

Background: The European Commission (EC) Horizon 2020 (H2020)-funded ZIKAlliance Consortium designed a multicentre study including pregnant women (PW), children (CH) and natural history (NH) cohorts. Clinical sites were selected over a wide geographic range within Latin America and the Caribbean, taking into account the dynamic course of the ZIKV epidemic. Methods: Recruitment to the PW cohort will take place in antenatal care clinics. PW will be enrolled regardless of symptoms and followed over the course of pregnancy, approximately every 4 weeks. PW will be revisited at delivery (or after miscarriage/abortion) to assess birth outcomes, including microcephaly and other congenital abnormalities according to the evolving definition of congenital Zika syndrome (CZS). After birth, children will be followed for 2 years in the CH cohort. Follow-up visits are scheduled at ages 1-3, 4-6, 12, and 24 months to assess neurocognitive and developmental milestones. In addition, a NH cohort for the characterization of symptomatic rash/fever illness was designed, including follow-up to capture persisting health problems. Blood, urine, and other biological materials will be collected, and tested for ZIKV and other relevant arboviral diseases (dengue, chikungunya, yellow fever) using RT-PCR or serological methods. A virtual, decentralized biobank will be created. Reciprocal clinical monitoring has been established between partner sites. Substudies of ZIKV seroprevalence, transmissio

The Genome of a Pathogenic Rhodococcus: Cooptive Virulence Underpinned by Key Gene Acquisitions

We report the genome of the facultative intracellular parasite Rhodococcus equi, the only animal pathogen within the biotechnologically important actinobacterial genus Rhodococcus. The 5.0-Mb R. equi 103S genome is significantly smaller than those of environmental rhodococci. This is due to genome expansion in nonpathogenic species, via a linear gain of paralogous genes and an accelerated genetic flux, rather than reductive evolution in R. equi. The 103S genome lacks the extensive catabolic and secondary metabolic complement of environmental rhodococci, and it displays unique adaptations for host colonization and competition in the short-chain fatty acid–rich intestine and manure of herbivores—two main R. equi reservoirs. Except for a few horizontally acquired (HGT) pathogenicity loci, including a cytoadhesive pilus determinant (rpl) and the virulence plasmid vap pathogenicity island (PAI) required for intramacrophage survival, most of the potential virulence-associated genes identified in R. equi are conserved in environmental rhodococci or have homologs in nonpathogenic Actinobacteria. This suggests a mechanism of virulence evolution based on the cooption of existing core actinobacterial traits, triggered by key host niche–adaptive HGT events. We tested this hypothesis by investigating R. equi virulence plasmid-chromosome crosstalk, by global transcription profiling and expression network analysis. Two chromosomal genes conserved in environmental rhodococci, encoding putative chorismate mutase and anthranilate synthase enzymes involved in aromatic amino acid biosynthesis, were strongly coregulated with vap PAI virulence genes and required for optimal proliferation in macrophages. The regulatory integration of chromosomal metabolic genes under the control of the HGT–acquired plasmid PAI is thus an important element in the cooptive virulence of R. equi

Global variation in diabetes diagnosis and prevalence based on fasting glucose and hemoglobin A1c

Fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) are both used to diagnose diabetes, but these measurements can identify different people as having diabetes. We used data from 117 population-based studies and quantified, in different world regions, the prevalence of diagnosed diabetes, and whether those who were previously undiagnosed and detected as having diabetes in survey screening, had elevated FPG, HbA1c or both. We developed prediction equations for estimating the probability that a person without previously diagnosed diabetes, and at a specific level of FPG, had elevated HbA1c, and vice versa. The age-standardized proportion of diabetes that was previously undiagnosed and detected in survey screening ranged from 30% in the high-income western region to 66% in south Asia. Among those with screen-detected diabetes with either test, the age-standardized proportion who had elevated levels of both FPG and HbA1c was 29-39% across regions; the remainder had discordant elevation of FPG or HbA1c. In most low- and middle-income regions, isolated elevated HbA1c was more common than isolated elevated FPG. In these regions, the use of FPG alone may delay diabetes diagnosis and underestimate diabetes prevalence. Our prediction equations help allocate finite resources for measuring HbA1c to reduce the global shortfall in diabetes diagnosis and surveillance

Worldwide trends in underweight and obesity from 1990 to 2022: a pooled analysis of 3663 population-representative studies with 222 million children, adolescents, and adults

Background Underweight and obesity are associated with adverse health outcomes throughout the life course. We estimated the individual and combined prevalence of underweight or thinness and obesity, and their changes, from 1990 to 2022 for adults and school-aged children and adolescents in 200 countries and territories. Methods We used data from 3663 population-based studies with 222 million participants that measured height and weight in representative samples of the general population. We used a Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate trends in the prevalence of different BMI categories, separately for adults (age ≥20 years) and school-aged children and adolescents (age 5–19 years), from 1990 to 2022 for 200 countries and territories. For adults, we report the individual and combined prevalence of underweight (BMI <18·5 kg/m2) and obesity (BMI ≥30 kg/m2). For schoolaged children and adolescents, we report thinness (BMI <2 SD below the median of the WHO growth reference) and obesity (BMI >2 SD above the median). Findings From 1990 to 2022, the combined prevalence of underweight and obesity in adults decreased in 11 countries (6%) for women and 17 (9%) for men with a posterior probability of at least 0·80 that the observed changes were true decreases. The combined prevalence increased in 162 countries (81%) for women and 140 countries (70%) for men with a posterior probability of at least 0·80. In 2022, the combined prevalence of underweight and obesity was highest in island nations in the Caribbean and Polynesia and Micronesia, and countries in the Middle East and north Africa. Obesity prevalence was higher than underweight with posterior probability of at least 0·80 in 177 countries (89%) for women and 145 (73%) for men in 2022, whereas the converse was true in 16 countries (8%) for women, and 39 (20%) for men. From 1990 to 2022, the combined prevalence of thinness and obesity decreased among girls in five countries (3%) and among boys in 15 countries (8%) with a posterior probability of at least 0·80, and increased among girls in 140 countries (70%) and boys in 137 countries (69%) with a posterior probability of at least 0·80. The countries with highest combined prevalence of thinness and obesity in school-aged children and adolescents in 2022 were in Polynesia and Micronesia and the Caribbean for both sexes, and Chile and Qatar for boys. Combined prevalence was also high in some countries in south Asia, such as India and Pakistan, where thinness remained prevalent despite having declined. In 2022, obesity in school-aged children and adolescents was more prevalent than thinness with a posterior probability of at least 0·80 among girls in 133 countries (67%) and boys in 125 countries (63%), whereas the converse was true in 35 countries (18%) and 42 countries (21%), respectively. In almost all countries for both adults and school-aged children and adolescents, the increases in double burden were driven by increases in obesity, and decreases in double burden by declining underweight or thinness. Interpretation The combined burden of underweight and obesity has increased in most countries, driven by an increase in obesity, while underweight and thinness remain prevalent in south Asia and parts of Africa. A healthy nutrition transition that enhances access to nutritious foods is needed to address the remaining burden of underweight while curbing and reversing the increase in obesit

Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular testing in the United States versus the rest of the world

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-US institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection

Design and baseline characteristics of the finerenone in reducing cardiovascular mortality and morbidity in diabetic kidney disease trial

Background: Among people with diabetes, those with kidney disease have exceptionally high rates of cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality and progression of their underlying kidney disease. Finerenone is a novel, nonsteroidal, selective mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist that has shown to reduce albuminuria in type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) while revealing only a low risk of hyperkalemia. However, the effect of finerenone on CV and renal outcomes has not yet been investigated in long-term trials. Patients and Methods: The Finerenone in Reducing CV Mortality and Morbidity in Diabetic Kidney Disease (FIGARO-DKD) trial aims to assess the efficacy and safety of finerenone compared to placebo at reducing clinically important CV and renal outcomes in T2D patients with CKD. FIGARO-DKD is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, event-driven trial running in 47 countries with an expected duration of approximately 6 years. FIGARO-DKD randomized 7,437 patients with an estimated glomerular filtration rate >= 25 mL/min/1.73 m(2) and albuminuria (urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio >= 30 to <= 5,000 mg/g). The study has at least 90% power to detect a 20% reduction in the risk of the primary outcome (overall two-sided significance level alpha = 0.05), the composite of time to first occurrence of CV death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or hospitalization for heart failure. Conclusions: FIGARO-DKD will determine whether an optimally treated cohort of T2D patients with CKD at high risk of CV and renal events will experience cardiorenal benefits with the addition of finerenone to their treatment regimen. Trial Registration: EudraCT number: 2015-000950-39; ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02545049