Blood cells as a source of transcriptional biomarkers of childhood obesity and its related metabolic alterations: results of the IDEFICS Study

Background: IDEFICS (Identification and Prevention of Dietary-and Lifestyle-Induced Health Effects in Children and Infants Project) is a European multicenter study on childhood obesity. One of its goals is to define early biomarkers of risk associated with obesity and its comorbid conditions. Objective: We considered blood cells as a new potential source of transcriptional biomarkers for these metabolic disorders and examined whether blood cell mRNA levels of some selected genes (LEPR, INSR, CPT1A, SLC27A2, UCP2, FASN, and PPAR alpha) were altered in overweight children and whether their expression levels could be defined as markers of the insulin-resistant or dyslipidemic state associated with overweight. Design: Blood samples were obtained from 306 normal-weight and overweight children, aged 2-9 yr, from eight different European countries. Whole-blood mRNA levels were assessed by quantitative RT-PCR. Results: LEPR, INSR, and CPT1A mRNA levels were higher in overweight compared with normal-weight children (the two latter only in males), whereas SLC27A2 mRNA levels were lower in overweight children. Significant associations were also found between expression levels of LEPR, INSR, CPT1A, SLC27A2, FASN, PPAR alpha, and different parameters, including body mass index, homeostasis model assessment index, and plasma triglycerides and cholesterol levels. These associations showed that high expression levels of CPT1A, SLC27A2, INSR, FASN, or PPAR alpha may be indicative of a lower risk for the insulin-resistant or dyslipidemic state associated with obesity, whereas low LEPR mRNA levels appear as a marker of high low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, independently of body mass index. Conclusions: These findings point toward the possibility of using the expression levels of these genes in blood cells as markers of metabolic status and can potentially provide an early warning of a future disorder

BIOCLAIMS standard diet (BIOsd): a reference diet for nutritional physiology

Experimental replication is fundamental for practicing science. To reduce variability, it is essential to control sources of variation as much as possible. Diet is an important factor that can influence many processes and functional outcomes in studies performed with rodent models. This is especially true for, but not limited to, nutritional studies. To compare functional effects of different nutrients, it is important to use standardized, semi-purified diets. Here, we propose and describe a standard reference diet, the BIOCLAIMS standard diet. The diet is AIN-93 based, but further defined with dietary and experimental requirements taken into account that allow for experiments with bioactive food components and natural (non-expensive) labeling. This diet will be implemented by two European research consortia, Mitofood and BIOCLAIMS, to ensure inter-laboratory comparability

Pedagogical strategies aimed at promoting the mutual relationship between thinking and caring for the environment in children from 3 to 6 years of age from the foundation to smile again, under the gaze of PIAGET and VYGOTSKY

Este proyecto se realizó en la Fundación Volver a Sonreír ubicada en Floridablanca, Santander en niños de 3 a 6 años. Allí se evidenciaron dos problemas: primero, el escaso conocimiento e interés frente al medio ambiente y segundo la dificultad del niño para dar respuestas a situaciones de su contexto viéndose afectado su pensamiento. El propósito es favorecer la relación mutua entre el conocimiento del medio ambiente y el desarrollo del pensamiento, es decir que el pensamiento vaya dirigido al medio y que este a su vez con sus manifestaciones le permita desarrollarlo.Fundación Volver a SonreírThis project was carried out at the Fundación Volver a Sonreír located in Floridablanca, Santander in children from 3 to 6 years old. There, two problems were evident: first, the scarce knowledge and interest in the environment and second, the child's difficulty in responding to situations in their context, their thinking being affected. The purpose is to promote the mutual relationship between the knowledge of the environment and the development of thought, that is to say that the thought is directed to the environment and that this in turn with its manifestations allows it to develop it

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Effectiveness of an intervention for improving drug prescription in primary care patients with multimorbidity and polypharmacy:Study protocol of a cluster randomized clinical trial (Multi-PAP project)

This study was funded by the Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias ISCIII (Grant Numbers PI15/00276, PI15/00572, PI15/00996), REDISSEC (Project Numbers RD12/0001/0012, RD16/0001/0005), and the European Regional Development Fund ("A way to build Europe").Background: Multimorbidity is associated with negative effects both on people's health and on healthcare systems. A key problem linked to multimorbidity is polypharmacy, which in turn is associated with increased risk of partly preventable adverse effects, including mortality. The Ariadne principles describe a model of care based on a thorough assessment of diseases, treatments (and potential interactions), clinical status, context and preferences of patients with multimorbidity, with the aim of prioritizing and sharing realistic treatment goals that guide an individualized management. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a complex intervention that implements the Ariadne principles in a population of young-old patients with multimorbidity and polypharmacy. The intervention seeks to improve the appropriateness of prescribing in primary care (PC), as measured by the medication appropriateness index (MAI) score at 6 and 12months, as compared with usual care. Methods/Design: Design:pragmatic cluster randomized clinical trial. Unit of randomization: family physician (FP). Unit of analysis: patient. Scope: PC health centres in three autonomous communities: Aragon, Madrid, and Andalusia (Spain). Population: patients aged 65-74years with multimorbidity (≥3 chronic diseases) and polypharmacy (≥5 drugs prescribed in ≥3months). Sample size: n=400 (200 per study arm). Intervention: complex intervention based on the implementation of the Ariadne principles with two components: (1) FP training and (2) FP-patient interview. Outcomes: MAI score, health services use, quality of life (Euroqol 5D-5L), pharmacotherapy and adherence to treatment (Morisky-Green, Haynes-Sackett), and clinical and socio-demographic variables. Statistical analysis: primary outcome is the difference in MAI score between T0 and T1 and corresponding 95% confidence interval. Adjustment for confounding factors will be performed by multilevel analysis. All analyses will be carried out in accordance with the intention-to-treat principle. Discussion: It is essential to provide evidence concerning interventions on PC patients with polypharmacy and multimorbidity, conducted in the context of routine clinical practice, and involving young-old patients with significant potential for preventing negative health outcomes. Trial registration: Clinicaltrials.gov, NCT02866799Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

XVI International Congress of Control Electronics and Telecommunications: "Techno-scientific considerations for a post-pandemic world intensive in knowledge, innovation and sustainable local development"

Este título, sugestivo por los impactos durante la situación de la Covid 19 en el mundo, y que en Colombia lastimosamente han sido muy críticos, permiten asumir la obligada superación de tensiones sociales, políticas, y económicas; pero sobre todo científicas y tecnológicas. Inicialmente, esto supone la existencia de una capacidad de la sociedad colombiana por recuperar su estado inicial después de que haya cesado la perturbación a la que fue sometida por la catastrófica pandemia, y superar ese anterior estado de cosas ya que se encontraban -y aún se encuentran- muchos problemas locales mal resueltos, medianamente resueltos, y muchos sin resolver: es decir, habrá que rediseñar y fortalecer una probada resiliencia social existente - producto del prolongado conflicto social colombiano superado parcialmente por un proceso de paz exitoso - desde la tecnociencia local; como lo indicaba Markus Brunnermeier - economista alemán y catedrático de economía de la Universidad de Princeton- en su libro The Resilient Society…La cuestión no es preveerlo todo sino poder reaccionar…aprender a recuperarse rápido.This title, suggestive of the impacts during the Covid 19 situation in the world, and which have unfortunately been very critical in Colombia, allows us to assume the obligatory overcoming of social, political, and economic tensions; but above all scientific and technological. Initially, this supposes the existence of a capacity of Colombian society to recover its initial state after the disturbance to which it was subjected by the catastrophic pandemic has ceased, and to overcome that previous state of affairs since it was found -and still is find - many local problems poorly resolved, moderately resolved, and many unresolved: that is, an existing social resilience test will have to be redesigned and strengthened - product of the prolonged Colombian social conflict partially overcome by a successful peace process - from local technoscience; As Markus Brunnermeier - German economist and professor of economics at Princeton University - indicates in his book The Resilient Society...The question is not to foresee everything but to be able to react...learn to recover quickly.Bogot

Construyendo buen gobierno en Colombia: los casos de la Fundación CINEP y de la Fundación Social

En resumen, se tiene que el estudio de la acción de las ONG, se explica de mejor manera, cuando se relaciona con el concepto de buen gobierno en cuanto propone una nueva manera de pensar lo público a partir de la interacción y coordinación entre actores de diferente naturaleza, con el concepto de desarrollo en cuanto a su esencia social que interviene por la no-exclusión, con los conceptos de impacto y sostenibilidad en tanto se logran acciones de cambio capaces de mantenerse por si solas en el tiempo, y con el concepto de redes de cooperación, en cuanto propicia la construcción de propósitos compartidos, y para esto, el intercambio de recursos de diferente índole: conocimiento, experticia, información, dinero, entre otros. La recolección de la información se realizó en primer lugar, a través de fuentes primarias a las cuales se hicieron entrevistas por punteo con una duración aproximada de dos horas cada una, y en segundo lugar, por medio de la consulta a diversas fuentes secundarias como libros, artículos de revistas especializadas, bibliotecas – como JSTOR- y páginas institucionales disponibles en internet. Dicha información fue clasificada con el fin de estudiar las cuatro categorías analíticas que dan nombre y cuerpo a los capítulos aquí presentados, y posteriormente estructurada –organizada- en matrices explicativas que posibilitaron la interpretación y análisis de los elementos considerados pertinentes para dar respuesta a la pregunta de investigación planteada en el proyecto, y comprobar la validez de la hipótesis formulada. De igual forma, se empleó como método de apoyo el análisis de contenido, el cual fue propicio para encontrar regularidades o no, en las respuestas ofrecidas por los entrevistados, así como en los documentos consultados. Cabe anotar en este punto, que si bien el resultado de las entrevistas fue utilizado para la argumentación, no fue posible citarlo todo, debido a que algunas de las fuentes solicitaron ciertas reservas con respecto a la información suministrada

Compartimentacion sanguinea de aminoacidos. Implicacion de un nuevo acervo adsorbido a membranas eritrocitarias

Centro de Informacion y Documentacion Cientifica (CINDOC). C/Joaquin Costa, 22. 28002 Madrid. SPAIN / CINDOC - Centro de Informaciòn y Documentaciòn CientìficaSIGLEESSpai