Personal well-being in the elderly

El propósito de esta investigación fue analizar las diferencias en bienestar personal entre población mayor institucionalizada y no institucionalizada, así como conocer la influencia de distintas variables psicosociales en el bienestar personal según la procedencia de la población mayor estudiada. Por tanto, las variables consideradas en este trabajo fueron el género, estado civil, la convivencia con otras personas incluyendo la pareja e hijos y otros familiares, el nivel de estudios, el nivel socioeconómico, la presencia o no de medicación y la edad. Además, para aquellos mayores procedentes de residencia de mayores, se consideró el tiempo que llevaban viviendo en la misma. El bienestar personal fue evaluado a través de la Escala de Bienestar Psicológico de Sánchez-Cánovas (1998), y sólo se tuvieron en cuenta las subescalas: bienestar psicológico y bienestar material dadas las características de la población objeto de estudio. El cuestionario se pasó a un total de 100 adultos mayores, en un rango de edad entre 58 y 98 años procedentes de residencia de mayores de la provincia de Cádiz por un lado, y por otro, del aula de mayores de la Universidad de Cádiz. Los primeros resultados tras aplicar la t de Student para analizar las diferencias de medias en bienestar personal entre mayores institucionalizados y no institucionalizados, no nos indican diferencias estadísticamente significativas.The purpose of this research was to analyze the differences between personal well-being in institucionalized and non institucionalized older adults. We also wanted to know the influence that some psychosocial factors could have upon the personal well-being. Factors considered were psychosocial variables such as gender, marital status, people living or not with them (partner, children, other family members), education and socioeconomic level, taking or not prescriptions, and the age. For people living in institutions, we studied how long they have been living in nursurey elderly home. The Questionaire to evaluate the personal well-being was the EBP from Sánchez-Cánovas (1998), but we just assesed two scales: psychological and material well-being because of our population. We evaluated 100 older adults aged between 58-98 year old. Some of them were living in institu- tions from the region of Cadiz (N= 49), and the others (N=51) were from a special university course for elderly people in the University of Cadiz. We calculated the t Student in order to analyze the differences in personal well-being between older adults living or not in institutions. Non statistically significant differences were found.peerReviewe

Glycoinositolphospholipids from Leishmania braziliensis and L. infantum: Modulation of Innate Immune System and Variations in Carbohydrate Structure

The essential role of the lipophosphoglycan (LPG) of Leishmania in innate immune response has been extensively reported. However, information about the role of the LPG-related glycoinositolphospholipids (GIPLs) is limited, especially with respect to the New World species of Leishmania. GIPLs are low molecular weight molecules covering the parasite surface and are similar to LPG in sharing a common lipid backbone and a glycan motif containing up to 7 sugars. Critical aspects of their structure and functions are still obscure in the interaction with the vertebrate host. In this study, we evaluated the role of those molecules in two medically important South American species Leishmania infantum and L. braziliensis, causative agents of visceral (VL) and cutaneous Leishmaniasis (CL), respectively. GIPLs derived from both species did not induce NO or TNF-α production by non-primed murine macrophages. Additionally, primed macrophages from mice (BALB/c, C57BL/6, TLR2−/− and TLR4−/−) exposed to GIPLs from both species, with exception to TNF-α, did not produce any of the cytokines analyzed (IL1-β, IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-10, IL-12p40, IFN-γ) or p38 activation. GIPLs induced the production of TNF-α and NO by C57BL/6 mice, primarily via TLR4. Pre incubation of macrophages with GIPLs reduced significantly the amount of NO and IL-12 in the presence of IFN-γ or lipopolysaccharide (LPS), which was more pronounced with L. braziliensis GIPLs. This inhibition was reversed after PI-specific phospholipase C treatment. A structural analysis of the GIPLs showed that L. infantum has manose rich GIPLs, suggestive of type I and Hybrid GIPLs while L. braziliensis has galactose rich GIPLs, suggestive of Type II GIPLs. In conclusion, there are major differences in the structure and composition of GIPLs from L. braziliensis and L. infantum. Also, GIPLs are important inhibitory molecules during the interaction with macrophages

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements

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