Visions of the World by Pepper and its application to Health Education

INTRODUCCIÓN: Las metáforas impregnan nuestra vida cotidiana y no sólo el lenguaje también el pensamiento y la acción. La enfermera usa las metáforas como recurso didáctico para facilitar la comunicación y la comprensión de conceptos abstractos. Los usuarios expresan sus vivencias de salud o enfermedad a través de metáforas de su ámbito personal y cotidiano. La comprensión del uso de las metáforas en Educación para la Salud (EpS) requiere examinar también los paradigmas dentro de los cuales las metáforas son construidas. Este estudio pretende conocer las metáforas básicas o “visones del mundo” que utilizan la enfermera en la consulta de atención primaria en sus intervenciones educativas-asistenciales con usuarios afectados enfermedades crónicas

Caracterización agronómica-morfológica de 6 entradas de “tomaca tipo masclet” de la colección de variedades tradicionales del IVIA

En el presente trabajo se muestran las características morfológicas y de interés agronómico del fruto, correspondientes a 6 entradas de tomate valenciano perteneciente a la colección de variedades tradicionales del IVIA. Las 6 entradas son: IVIA-2 (origen Moncada); IVIA-27 (origen Siete Aguas); IVIA-28 (origen Paiporta); IVIA-69 (origen Moncada); IVIA-72 (origen Moncada); IVIA-126 (origen El Perelló). Respecto a la arquitectura de la planta, las 6 entradas son similares. La diferencia más importante entre ellas es debido a la morfología del fruto; tanto en su sección longitudinal, número de lóculos y el peso medio de los frutos. Las entradas con el extremo distal del fruto con forma puntiaguda, característica muy apreciada por los consumidores, son las IVIA-27 e IVIA-69. Por otro lado, IVIA-28, presenta el mayor peso medio de los frutos con un valor de 262g con una gran calidad, aunque la forma del fruto es menos puntiaguda que ninguno de los otros. Las 6 entradas presentan un gran potencial agronómico dado que presentan un tamaño, forma y color de fruto atrayentes dentro de los cánones de la denominación del tomate valenciano

Assessment of iron bioavailability from different bread making processes using an in vitro intestinal cell model

Myo-inositol hexakisphosphate (IP6), is the main iron chelator in cereals and bread. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of three commercial baking processes (sourdough, conventional yeast and Chorleywood Bread Making Process (CBP)) on the IP6 content of wholemeal bread, its impact on iron uptake in Caco-2 cells and the predicted bioavailability of iron from these breads with added iron, simulating a mixed-meal. The sourdough process fully degraded IP6 whilst the CBP and conventional processes reduced it by 75% compared with wholemeal flour. The iron released in solution after a simulated digestion was 8-fold higher in sourdough bread than with others but no difference in cellular iron uptake was observed. Additionally, when iron was added to the different breads digestions only sourdough bread elicited a significant ferritin response in Caco-2 cells (4.8-fold compared to the other breads) suggesting that sourdough bread could contribute towards improved iron nutrition

Vitamin K-dependent proteins GAS6 and Protein S and TAM receptors in patients of systemic lupus erythematosus: correlation with common genetic variants and disease activity

Introduction: Growth arrest-specific gene 6 protein (GAS6) and protein S (ProS) are vitamin K-dependent proteins present in plasma with important regulatory functions in systems of response and repair to damage. They interact with receptor tyrosine kinases of the Tyro3, Axl and MerTK receptor tyrosine kinase (TAM) family, involved in apoptotic cell clearance (efferocytosis) and regulation of the innate immunity. TAM-deficient mice show spontaneous lupus-like symptoms. Here we tested the genetic profile and plasma levels of components of the system in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and compare them with a control healthy population. Methods: Fifty SLE patients and 50 healthy controls with matched age, gender and from the same geographic area were compared. Genetic analysis was performed in GAS6 and the TAM receptor genes on SNPs previously identified. The concentrations of GAS6, total and free ProS, and the soluble forms of the three TAM receptors (sAxl, sMerTK and sTyro3) were measured in plasma from these samples. Results: Plasma concentrations of GAS6 were higher and, total and free ProS were lower in the SLE patients compared to controls, even when patients on oral anticoagulant treatment were discarded. Those parameters correlated with SLE disease activity index (SLEDAI) score, GAS6 being higher in the most severe cases, while free and total ProS were lower. All 3 soluble receptors increased its concentration in plasma of lupus patients. Conclusions: The present study highlights that the GAS6/ProS-TAM system correlates in several ways with disease activity in SLE. We show here that this correlation is affected by common polymorphisms in the genes of the system. These findings underscore the importance of mechanism of regulatory control of innate immunity in the pathology of SLE

Anti-angiogenic therapies for the treatment of angiosarcoma: a clinical update

Summary: Angiosarcomas are rare aggressive endothelial tumours, and are associated with a poor prognosis. Due to their vascular nature, there is great interest in their response to anti-angiogenic agents. A number of small prospective studies have reported angiosarcoma response to vascular-targeted agents, including agents that target vascular endothelial growth factor. To date, the response to these agents has been disappointing, and similar to the response observed in other soft tissue sarcoma subtypes. This short review will summarise the recent data in this field

Altered Hypercoagulability Factors in Patients with Chronic Chagas Disease: Potential Biomarkers of Therapeutic. Response

Thromboembolic events were described in patients with Chagas disease without cardiomyopathy. We aim to confirm if there is a hypercoagulable state in these patients and to determine if there is an early normalization of hemostasis factors after antiparasitic treatment. Ninety-nine individuals from Chagas disease-endemic areas were classified in two groups: G1, with T.cruzi infection (n = 56); G2, healthy individuals (n = 43). Twenty-four hemostasis factors were measured at baseline. G1 patients treated with benznidazole were followed for 36 months, recording clinical parameters and performance of conventional serology, chemiluminescent enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (trypomastigote-derived glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored mucins), quantitative polymerase chain reaction, and hemostasis tests every 6-month visits. Prothrombin fragment 1+2 (F1+2) and endogenous thrombin potential (ETP) were abnormally expressed in 77% and 50% of infected patients at baseline but returned to and remained at normal levels shortly after treatment in 76% and 96% of cases, respectively. Plasmin-antiplasmin complexes (PAP) were altered before treatment in 32% of G1 patients but normalized in 94% of cases several months after treatment. None of the patients with normal F1+2 values during follow-up had a positive qRT-PCR result, but 3/24 patients (13%) with normal ETP values did. In a percentage of chronic T. cruzi infected patients treated with benznidazole, altered coagulation markers returned into normal levels. F1+2, ETP and PAP could be useful markers for assessing sustained response to benznidazole