Effect of physiological factors, pathologies, and acquired habits on the sweet taste threshold: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Sweet taste perception is a key factor in the establishment of the food pattern with nonstatic thresholds. Indeed, taste sensitivity can be influenced by physiological factors (age and sex), pathologies (obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus), and acquired habits (tobacco and alcohol consumption). In order to elucidate how these variables influence the sucrose detection threshold (DT) and recognition threshold (RT), a systematic review and meta‐analysis of the relevant literature were performed. After a comprehensive search in the PubMed and Scopus databases, a total of 48 studies were qualitatively considered, and 44 were meta‐analyzed. The factors of aging (standard mean difference [SMD]: −0.46; 95% confidence interval (CI), −0.74 to −0.19; I2: 73%; Tau2: 0.18) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (SMD: 0.30; 95% CI, 0.06 to 0.55; I2: 0%; Tau2: 0.00) were found to significantly increase the sucrose RT, whereas the DT only increased in subjects with a higher body mass index (SMD: 0.58; 95% CI, 0.35 to 0.82; I2: 0%; Tau2: 0.00). No effects of sex and tobacco smoking were found, and associations with alcohol consumption could not be assessed, as it was included as a variable in only one study. Feasible mechanisms underlying changes in sucrose thresholds include the modulation of hormones involved in energy and body weight homeostasis, taste bud abundance, taste brain signaling, and the gut-brain axis. The present work provides insights into the variables that should be considered when assessing sweet taste sensitivity, discusses the mechanisms underlying differences in sweet taste, and highlights the need for further research in the field of personalized nutrition

Full-term pregnancy in breast cancer survivor with fertility preservation: A case report and review of literature

A 43-year-old woman with an associated history of gynecological pathology and breast cancer with only one cryopreserved embryo wished to be a mother. Several factors that influenced the success of the pregnancy in this case were analyzed. Favorable factors included: triple positive breast cancer [positive hormone receptors and positive human epidermal growth factor receptor 2], which is more hormosensitive and chemosensitive; absence of metastasis; correct endometrium preparation; and the patient's optimistic attitude and strict health habits. In contrast, the factors against success were: breast cancer; adjuvant breast cancer therapy gonadotoxicity; the age of the patient (> 40-year-old); endometriosis; ovarian cyst; hydrosalpinx; submucosal fibroids and the respective associated surgery done for the above-mentioned pathology (all resolved prior to the embryo transfer); and a low quantity of ovules (low ovarian reserve) after ovarian stimulation. This is a very special clinical case of a patient with theoretically low pregnancy success probability due to the consecutive accumulation of gynecological and oncological pathologies, who nonetheless became pregnant and delivered a full-term infant and was able to provide adequate breastfeeding

Anàlisi socio-ambiental de les bordes de la Vall d'Estaon (Pallars Sobirà) i de la biodiversitat associada

Aquest projecte ha estat desenvolupat entre l'octubre de 2008 i el juliol de 2009 perEste proyecto ha sido desarrollado entre octubre de 2008 y julio de 2009 por unThis project has been developed between October of 2008 and July of 2009 by a team of students of Environmental Sciences of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. The object of main study has been the huts, agro-livestock constructions used traditionally to store the graze and the stalling of the cattle. As far as the biodiversity, it has been realised a study of vegetation at dry stone and one first approach to the study of the bats, protected species that use the huts like refuge. The study's zone corresponds to the Vall d' Estaon in the municipality of Vall de Cardós, in the region of the Pallars Sobirà, Catalonia. All the studied surface belongs to the Natural Parc of Alt Pirineu and it's under its protection. For the accomplishment of the present study has been used the methodology carried in the project of the Bosc de Virós (Mestres et al., 2007). An inventory of huts and another one of biodiversity from the data collected are elaborated by means of th

Effect of moderate beer consumption (with and without ethanol) on cardiovascular health in postmenopausal women

The main aim of this 2-year non-randomized parallel controlled clinical pilot trial was to evaluate the long-termeffect of a moderate daily intake of beer (with and without alcohol) on cardiovascular health in postmenopausal women. A totalof 34 participants were grouped into three study arms: 16 were administered alcoholic beer, 6 consumed non-alcoholic beer,and 12 were in the control group. Changes in glucose metabolism, lipid profile, liver enzymes, anthropometric measurements,body composition, and blood pressure variables were monitored. Data on medical history, diet, and exercise were collected,and gustatory capacities were determined.RESULTS: Moderate consumption of beer, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, seemed to have positive effects on biochemicalindicators of cardiovascular health in postmenopausal women, with 660 mL day−1of non-alcoholic beer reducing low-densitylipoprotein cholesterol blood levels, and 330 mL day−1of alcoholic beer increasing high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Theevolution of changes in android and gynoid fat percentage and their ratio differed significantly between study groups, whichwas attributable to either the interventions or the disparity between groups regarding the time elapsed since menopauseonset. Iso-⊍-acids recognition threshold could be involved in intervention group election, whereas the sensory phenotypesstudied were not associated with alcohol drinking frequency.CONCLUSIONS: Moderate beer consumption was found to improve the lipid profile of postmenopausal women, although theireffects in preventing cardiometabolic alterations deserve further research (trial registration number: ISRCTN13825020;https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN13825020

¿Cuál es tu diagnóstico?

Se presentó en la consulta un perro Dogo Alemán, macho, de 5 meses de edad, con una historia clínica de apatía y cojera de la extremidad anterior derecha desde hacía una semana. En el examen físico se observó una inflamación en la zona distal del antebrazo, con dolor a la palpación. Se realizaron radiografías de la extremidad anterior derecha (Fig. 1 A y B)

Epigenetic loss of RNA-methyltransferase NSUN5 in glioma targets ribosomes to drive a stress adaptive translational program

Resultado clínico; Epitranscriptómica; GliomaClinical outcome; Epitranscriptomics; GliomaResultat clínic; Epitranscriptòmica; GliomaTumors have aberrant proteomes that often do not match their corresponding transcriptome profiles. One possible cause of this discrepancy is the existence of aberrant RNA modification landscapes in the so-called epitranscriptome. Here, we report that human glioma cells undergo DNA methylation-associated epigenetic silencing of NSUN5, a candidate RNA methyltransferase for 5-methylcytosine. In this setting, NSUN5 exhibits tumor-suppressor characteristics in vivo glioma models. We also found that NSUN5 loss generates an unmethylated status at the C3782 position of 28S rRNA that drives an overall depletion of protein synthesis, and leads to the emergence of an adaptive translational program for survival under conditions of cellular stress. Interestingly, NSUN5 epigenetic inactivation also renders these gliomas sensitive to bioactivatable substrates of the stress-related enzyme NQO1. Most importantly, NSUN5 epigenetic inactivation is a hallmark of glioma patients with long-term survival for this otherwise devastating disease.This work was supported by a European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Grant under the European Community’s Seventh Framework Program (FP7/2007-2013)/ERC Grant Agreement No. 268626—EPINORC project (to M. Esteller), the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO) under Grant No. SAF2014-55000-R (to M. Esteller) and the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), under the FIS PI16/01278 Project (to J. Seoane), the Integrated Project of Excellence no. PIE13/00022 (ONCOPROFILE) (to M. Esteller), CIBER 2016 CB16/12/00312 (CIBERONC) (to M. Esteller), co-financed by the European Development Regional Fund, ‘A way to achieve Europe’ ERDF, the AGAUR—Catalan Government (Project No. 2009SGR1315 and 2014SGR633) (to M. Esteller), the Cellex Foundation (to M. Esteller), Obra Social “La Caixa” (to M. Esteller), the CERCA Program and the Health and Science Departments of the Catalan Government (Generalitat de Catalunya) (to M. Esteller) and a grant from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (APP1061551, to TP). M.W. Boudreau is a member of the NIH Chemistry-Biology Interface Training Program (T32-GM070421)

Percepción de los pacientes sobre los cuidados de enfermería en el contexto de la crisis del COVID-19

[ES] Antecedentes: La pandemia de COVID-19 ha alterado considerablemente los procedimientos habituales de los sistemas sanitarios en todo el mundo. El trabajo diario se ha vuelto física y emocionalmente agotador para los profesionales sanitarios, obligados a afrontar y adaptarse a nuevos retos y situaciones estresantes. Esta situación pesa sobre la práctica diaria de enfermería. Objetivo: El presente estudio tuvo como objetivo determinar la percepción del paciente sobre los cuidados de enfermería humanizados recibidos durante su estancia hospitalaria. Método: Se realizó un estudio descriptivo, cuantitativo, transversal, en el que se realizaron entrevistas telefónicas a 357 personas >18 años que ingresaron durante más de 24 horas en el Hospital de León con el fin de evaluar la percepción del paciente. Uno de los instrumentos utilizados fue la Escala de Percepción de Conductas del Cuidado de Enfermería Humanizado (PCHE), para evaluar en tres dimensiones (D): cualidades de la práctica de enfermería (D1), apertura a la comunicación enfermera-paciente (D2) y disposición al cuidado (D3). El otro instrumento utilizado fue una encuesta de satisfacción institucional para conocer la opinión sobre la calidad de la atención al cliente en el área de hospitalización. Resultados: El porcentaje de pacientes que puntuaron como “siempre” cada dimensión fue: D1 = 91,2%; D2 = 81,4%; y D3 = 87,8%. La satisfacción del paciente obtuvo una puntuación media de 4,6 sobre 5. Conclusión: A pesar del impacto negativo del COVID-19 en el sistema de salud, los pacientes percibieron la atención de enfermería humanizada recibida como muy satisfactoria.[EN] Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has heavily altered regular procedures of healthcare systems worldwide. Daily work has become physically and emotionally exhausting for health care professionals, forced to face and adapt to new challenges and stressful situations. This situation weighs on the daily nursing practice and might have an impact on the quality of care provided and on the level of satisfaction perceived by hospitalized patients. Thus, the present study aimed to determine the patient’s perception of humanized nursing care received during their hospital stay. Methods: A descriptive, quantitative, cross-sectional study was carried out, in which telephone interviews were conducted in 357 people >18 years of age who were admitted for more than 24 hours to the Hospital de León in order to asses patient ́s perception. One instrument used was The Perception of Behaviors of Humanized Nursing Care Scale (PCHE), to evaluate in three dimensions (D): qualities of nursing practice (D1), openness to nurse–patient communication (D2), and willingness to care (D3). In addition, an institutional satisfaction survey was performed to know the opinion on the quality of customer service in hospitalization area. Results: The percentage of patients scoring as “always” every dimension was: D1 = 91.2%; D2= 81.4%; and D3= 87.8%. Patient satisfaction obtained a mean score of 4.6 out of 5. 42.3% of population were men and 57.7% were women, most in the age range 61–75 years. The predominant marital status and educational level were married and basic–medium, respectively. Conclusion: Despite the negative impact of COVID-19 in the health care system, patients perceived humanized nursing care received as very successful.S

Impact of Pain Neuroscience Education Program in Community Physiotherapy Context on Pain Perception and Psychosocial Variables Associated with It in Elderly Persons: A Ranzomized Controlled Trial

This study investigated the long-term effect (six-months) of a Pain Neuroscience Education (PNE) program on pain perception, quality of life, kinesiophobia and catastrophism in older adults with multimorbidity and chronic pain. Fifty participants (n = 50) were randomly assigned to the pain education therapy group (PET; n = 24) and control group (CG; n = 26). The PET group received six sessions (i.e., once a week, 50 min) about neurophysiology of pain while the CG carried on with their usual life. Perception of pain through the visual analogue scale (VAS), quality of life (EQ-5D questionnaire), kinesiophobia (TSK-11) and catastrophism (PCS) were assessed after six months since the last PNE session. Statistically significant differences on VAS (t(48) = 44, p = 0.01, ES = 0.42 [0.13, 0.65]) was found in favor to PET group. No other statistically significant differences were found. This study found that the application of a PNE intervention in an isolated form was able to significantly reduce pain perception with low effect size in the long-term (six months after intervention) in elderly people with chronic pain.Medicin

PT-112 Induces Mitochondrial Stress and Immunogenic Cell Death, Targeting Tumor Cells with Mitochondrial Deficiencies

PT-112 is a novel pyrophosphate–platinum conjugate, with clinical activity reported in advanced pretreated solid tumors. While PT-112 has been shown to induce robust immunogenic cell death (ICD) in vivo but only minimally bind DNA, the molecular mechanism underlying PT-112 target disruption in cancer cells is still under elucidation. The murine L929 in vitro system was used to test whether differential metabolic status alters PT-112’s effects, including cell cytotoxicity. The results showed that tumor cells presenting mutations in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) (L929dt and L929dt cybrid cells) and reliant on glycolysis for survival were more sensitive to cell death induced by PT-112 compared to the parental and cybrid cells with an intact oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) pathway (L929 and dtL929 cybrid cells). The type of cell death induced by PT-112 did not follow the classical apoptotic pathway: the general caspase inhibitor Z-VAD-fmk did not inhibit PT-112-induced cell death, alone or in combination with the necroptosis inhibitor necrostatin-1. Interestingly, PT-112 initiated autophagy in all cell lines, though this process was not complete. Autophagy is known to be associated with an integrated stress response in cancer cells and with subsequent ICD. PT-112 also induced a massive accumulation of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species, as well as changes in mitochondrial polarization—only in the sensitive cells harboring mitochondrial dysfunction—along with calreticulin cell-surface exposure consistent with ICD. PT-112 substantially reduced the amount of mitochondrial CoQ10 in L929 cells, while the basal CoQ10 levels were below our detection limits in L929dt cells, suggesting a potential relationship between a low basal level of CoQ10 and PT-112 sensitivity. Finally, the expression of HIF-1α was much higher in cells sensitive to PT-112 compared to cells with an intact OXPHOS pathway, suggesting potential clinical applications