Factors Associated with Exposure to Dietary Bisphenols in Adolescents

Obesogenic endocrine-disrupting chemicals, such as bisphenol A (BPA) and its analogue bisphenol S (BPS), seem to play an important role in the development of obesity, although contradictory results have been reported. The aim of the present study was to conduct a gender analysis of the factors associated with exposure to dietary bisphenols in 585 Spanish adolescents. Dietary BPA and BPS exposure was assessed using a food frequency questionnaire. Foods and macronutrients accounting for more than 95% of energy intake were selected for analysis. Stepwise regression was used to estimate the foods that most contributed to dietary bisphenol exposure in the sample. Gender-related factors associated with greater dietary bisphenol exposure were evaluated using multivariate logistic regression models. Canned tuna was the main dietary source of BPA and BPS in both adolescent boys and girls. Overweight/obese girls showed a higher risk of high dietary exposure to BPA (odds ratio (OR): 3.38, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.25–9.07) and total bisphenols (OR: 2.81, 95% CI: 1.03–7.67) in comparison with girls with a BMI lower than 25 kg/m2 . Present results indicate a positive association of dietary exposure to both total bisphenols and BPA with being overweight/obese in adolescent girls.GP/EFSA/ENCO/380 2018/03/G04: OBEMIRISK: Knowledge platform for assessing the risk of bisphenol on gut microbiota and its role in obesogenic phenotypes: looking for biomarkers’ frameworkPlan Estatal de I + D + I 2013–2016FEDER-ISCIII PI17/01758FEDER-Consejería de Salud y FamiliasJunta de Andalucía PE-0250–2019FEDER-Junta de Andalucía-Consejería de Transformación Económica, Industria, Conocimiento y Universidades/ Proyecto P18-RT-4247Fundación Mapfre MAPFRE201

Dietary exposure to parabens and body mass index in an adolescent Spanish population

This work was carried out in line with 'GP/EFSA/ENCO/380 2018/03/G04: OBEMIRISK: Knowledge platform for assessing the risk of Bisphenols on gut microbiota and its role in obesogenic phenotype: looking for biomarkers'. This research was also funded by Plan Estatal de I + D + I 2013-2016 and co-funded by FEDER-ISCIII PI17/01758, FEDER-Consejeria de Salud y Familias, Junta de Andalucia PE-0250-2019, FEDER/Junta de Andalucia-Consejeria de Transformacion Economica, Industria, Conocimiento y Universidades/Proyecto P18-RT-4247. All individuals participating in this research signed an informed consent form and the study protocol was approved by the Ethics Com-mittee of the University of Granada.Parabens are alkyl esters of p-hydroxybenzoic acid which are extensively used in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and foodstuffs due to their antimicrobial properties. The most commonly used parabens are methyl-(MeP), ethyl- (EtP), propyl-(PrP) and butyl-(BuP) paraben. Most human exposure to parabens is achieved through the consumption of food or pharmaceutical products and the use of personal care products. However, studies on dietary parabens exposure and the associated factors are very scarce. The main aim of the present study was to explore factors associated with dietary exposure to parabens in Spanish adolescents according to gender. Dietary data and anthropometric measures were collected from 585 adolescents (53.4% boys) aged 12–16 years. Parabens exposure through diet was assessed using a food frequency questionnaire with food products providing more than 95% of energy and macronutrient intake being included in analysis. Stepwise regression was used to identify the foods that most contributed to parabens intake. Logistic regression was used to evaluate factors predicting higher dietary exposure to parabens. The main contributors to dietary MeP, EtP, PrP and BuP exposure in adolescent boys were eggs (41.9%), canned tuna (46.4%), bakery and baked goods products (57.3%) and pineapple (61.1%). In adolescent girls, the main contributors were apples and pears (35.3%), canned tuna (42.1%), bakery and baked goods products (55.1%) and olives (62.1%). Overweight/obese girls were more likely to belong to the highest tertile of overall parabens intake (odds ratio [OR]: 3.32; 95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 1.21–9.15) and MeP (OR: 3.05; 95% CI: 1.14–8.12) than those with a body mass index lower than 25 kg/m2. These findings suggest a positive association between dietary exposure to parabens and overweight/obesity in adolescent girls.Plan Estatal de I + D + I 2013-2016FEDER-ISCIII PI17/01758FEDER-Consejeria de Salud y FamiliasJunta de Andalucia PE-0250-2019FEDER/Junta de Andalucia-Consejeria de Transformacion Economica, Industria, Conocimiento y Universidades/Proyecto P18-RT-424

Clonal chromosomal mosaicism and loss of chromosome Y in elderly men increase vulnerability for SARS-CoV-2

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19) had an estimated overall case fatality ratio of 1.38% (pre-vaccination), being 53% higher in males and increasing exponentially with age. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, we found 133 cases (1.42%) with detectable clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations (mCA) and 226 males (5.08%) with acquired loss of chromosome Y (LOY). Individuals with clonal mosaic events (mCA and/or LOY) showed a 54% increase in the risk of COVID-19 lethality. LOY is associated with transcriptomic biomarkers of immune dysfunction, pro-coagulation activity and cardiovascular risk. Interferon-induced genes involved in the initial immune response to SARS-CoV-2 are also down-regulated in LOY. Thus, mCA and LOY underlie at least part of the sex-biased severity and mortality of COVID-19 in aging patients. Given its potential therapeutic and prognostic relevance, evaluation of clonal mosaicism should be implemented as biomarker of COVID-19 severity in elderly people. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, individuals with clonal mosaic events (clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations and/or loss of chromosome Y) showed an increased risk of COVID-19 lethality

VIII Encuentro de Docentes e Investigadores en Historia del Diseño, la Arquitectura y la Ciudad

Acta de congresoLa conmemoración de los cien años de la Reforma Universitaria de 1918 se presentó como una ocasión propicia para debatir el rol de la historia, la teoría y la crítica en la formación y en la práctica profesional de diseñadores, arquitectos y urbanistas. En ese marco el VIII Encuentro de Docentes e Investigadores en Historia del Diseño, la Arquitectura y la Ciudad constituyó un espacio de intercambio y reflexión cuya realización ha sido posible gracias a la colaboración entre Facultades de Arquitectura, Urbanismo y Diseño de la Universidad Nacional y la Facultad de Arquitectura de la Universidad Católica de Córdoba, contando además con la activa participación de mayoría de las Facultades, Centros e Institutos de Historia de la Arquitectura del país y la región. Orientado en su convocatoria tanto a docentes como a estudiantes de Arquitectura y Diseño Industrial de todos los niveles de la FAUD-UNC promovió el debate de ideas a partir de experiencias concretas en instancias tales como mesas temáticas de carácter interdisciplinario, que adoptaron la modalidad de presentación de ponencias, entre otras actividades. En el ámbito de VIII Encuentro, desarrollado en la sede Ciudad Universitaria de Córdoba, se desplegaron numerosas posiciones sobre la enseñanza, la investigación y la formación en historia, teoría y crítica del diseño, la arquitectura y la ciudad; sumándose el aporte realizado a través de sus respectivas conferencias de Ana Clarisa Agüero, Bibiana Cicutti, Fernando Aliata y Alberto Petrina. El conjunto de ponencias que se publican en este Repositorio de la UNC son el resultado de dos intensas jornadas de exposiciones, cuyos contenidos han posibilitado actualizar viejos dilemas y promover nuevos debates. El evento recibió el apoyo de las autoridades de la FAUD-UNC, en especial de la Secretaría de Investigación y de la Biblioteca de nuestra casa, como así también de la Facultad de Arquitectura de la UCC; va para todos ellos un especial agradecimiento

Hábitos nutricionales, estilo de vida y exposición a disruptores endocrinos como factores influyentes en el sobrepeso y la obesidad en adolescentes y adultos jóvenes

El incremento de peso (sobrepeso y obesidad), es uno de los problemas más importantes de salud pública en el mundo. En líneas generales, las personas que sufren obesidad tienen el riesgo de padecer otras enfermedades como la hipertensión, diabetes, síndrome metabólico, hiperlipemia, depresión, patologías cardiovasculares, algunos tipos de cáncer y también se asocia con un aumento de mortalidad. Aunque la mejora de los hábitos alimentarios y estilo de vida saludable es clave para revertir esta situación existen otros factores medioambientales que parecen estar implicados en su desarrollo como los disruptores endocrinos. El ser humano se encuentra expuesto a los disruptores endocrinos que acceden al organismo a través de la vía digestiva, respiratoria y dérmica. La exposición a estos contaminantes químicos con actividad hormonal es dificil de evitar ya que existen una multitud de compuestos químicos en nuestra vida diaria. Estas sustancias químicas se emplean como materia prima para la fabricación de otros compuestos y preparados, que pueden ser envases de plástico de uso alimentario, pesticidas o formar parte de cosméticos, lo que dificulta la identificación de las fuentes de exposición. La exposición en el ser humano suele ocurrir a concentraciones bajas de mezclas de sustancias que pueden interactuar entre sí y con las hormonas endógenas produciendo efectos antagónicos, aditivos y/o sinérgicos. La asociación entre la exposición a los compuestos químicos y el peso corporal ha sido evaluada en diferentes estudios epidemiológicos. Comprender las consecuencias sobre la salud de la exposición de los disruptores endocrinos dietéticos en poblaciones vulnerables como niños y adolescentes es muy importante para mejorar la comprensión actual de las contribuciones dietéticas a la exposición de estos compuestos químicos y para desarrollar programas apropiados de mitigación de la exposición. Es por ello que en esta Tesis Doctoral se ha realizado diversos estudios encaminados en primer lugar a evaluar la relación entre la exposición dietética a determinados disruptores endocrinos, como el Bisfenol A y análogos y los Parabenos, con el objetivo de establecer una relación con el sobrepeso y obesidad en una población vulnerable como es la infancia y adolescencia. En segundo lugar, se establece el posible efecto hormonal de esta exposición. La hipótesis del obesógeno propone que los disruptores endocrinos pueden modificar la susceptibilidad a la obesidad, lo que explica en parte el crecimiento epidémico de casos de sobrepeso y obesidad. Estos compuestos podrían desencadenar el aumento de peso a través de la interrupción de la adipogénesis y el metabolismo de los lípidos al unirse a factores de transcripción nuclear, incluidos los receptores activados por proliferadores de peroxisomas y los receptores de hormonas esteroides. Se han propuesto además otros mecanismos de acción como la inducción de modificaciones epigenéticas, el deterioro de la estructura de la cromatina y la alteración de la microbiota intestinal. Y, por último, en esta Tesis, se plantea la hipótesis de estudio sobre la frecuencia de la expresión de determinados polimorfismos de un solo nucleótido relacionados con procesos adipogénicos y su relación con la exposición a estas sustancias químicas, (bisfenoles y parabenos). Aunque la obesidad tiene una elevada heredabilidad, existen más de 900 polimorfismos de un solo nucleótido que han sido identificados en la obesidad. Existen variantes genéticas de genes asociados a la masa grasa y la obesidad que se expresan en gran medida en el cerebro interfieriendo negativamente con la respuesta a los alimentos mediada por leptina y el equilibrio energético, el metabolismo y la adipogénesis, es por ello que esos genes se asocian con un mayor riesgo de sobrepeso y obesidad en niños y adultos.Excess weight (overweight and obesity) is one of the most important public health problems in the world. In general, people who suffer from obesity are at risk of suffering from other diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, hyperlipidemia, depression, cardiovascular pathologies, some types of cancer and it is also associated with increased mortality. Although improving eating habits and a healthy lifestyle is key to reversing this problem, there are other environmental factors that seem to be involved in its development, such as endocrine disruptors. The human being is exposed to endocrine disruptors that enter the body through the digestive, respiratory and dermal routes. Avoiding exposure to these hormonally active chemical pollutants is a complicated since there are a multitude of chemical compounds in our daily lives. These chemical substances are used as raw material for the manufacture of other compounds and preparations, which can be plastic containers for food use, pesticides or form part of cosmetics, which makes it difficult to identify the sources of exposure. Exposure in humans usually occurs at low concentrations of mixtures of substances that can interact with each other and with endogenous hormones producing antagonistic, additive and/or synergistic effects. The association between exposure to chemical compounds and body weight has been evaluated in different epidemiological studies. Understanding the health consequences of exposure to dietary endocrine disruptors in vulnerable populations such as children and adolescents is very important to improve current understanding of dietary contributions to exposure to these chemicals and to develop appropriate exposure mitigation programs. That is why several studies have been carried out in this Doctoral dissertation firstly at evaluating the relationship between dietary exposure to certain endocrine disruptors, such as Bisphenol A and its analogs and Parabens, with the aim of establishing a relationship with overweight. and obesity in a vulnerable population such as children and adolescents. Second, the possible hormonal effect of this exposure is established. The obesogen hypothesis proposes that endocrine disruptors can modify susceptibility to obesity, which explains in part the epidemic growth of cases of overweight and obesity. These compounds could trigger weight gain through disruption of adipogenesis and lipid metabolism by binding to nuclear transcription factors, including peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors and steroid hormone receptors. Other mechanisms of action have also been proposed, such as the induction of epigenetic modifications, the deterioration of chromatin structure and the alteration of the intestinal microbiota. And finally, in this Doctoral dissertation, the study hypothesis is raised on the frequency of the expression of certain polymorphisms of a single nucleotide related to adipogenic processes and their relationship with exposure to these chemical substances (bisphenols and parabens). Although obesity has a high heritability, there are more than 900 single nucleotide polymorphisms that have been identified in obesity. There are genetic variants of genes associated with fat mass and obesity that are highly expressed in the brain, negatively interfering with the leptin-mediated response to food and energy balance, metabolism and adipogenesis, which is why these genes are associated with an increased risk of overweight and obesity in children and adults.Tesis Univ. Granada

Visiones

El trabajo obtuvo un Premio Tomás García Verdejo a las buenas prácticas educativas en la Comunidad Autónoma de Extremadura para el curso 2017/2018. Modalidad BSe presenta un proyecto llevado a cabo en la Escuela Oficial de Idiomas de Plasencia (Cáceres) que tenía como objetivo principal el uso de la lengua a través de actividades eminentemente comunicativas que fomenten las relaciones y la convivencia. Se desarrollaron 4 actividades: 'Visiones de Plasencia, El mercado' que pretendía mostrar la visión que los turistas y vecinos extranjeros tienen de Plasencia; 'Visiones de Europa', que consistió en contactar con un ilustrador gráfico y se le encargaron ilustraciones de 5 ciudades europeas, en torno a las cuales se realizaron distintas tareas; 'Visiones culturales' en la que teniendo como base siete ilustraciones de personajes famosos que destacaban por su labor profesional y contribución cultural se investigó sobre su vida y 'Visiones personales' que se construyó con retratos de la ciudad de Plasencia elaborados por los propios alumnos del centro (selfies)ExtremaduraES

Delayed colorectal cancer care during covid-19 pandemic (decor-19). Global perspective from an international survey

Background The widespread nature of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been unprecedented. We sought to analyze its global impact with a survey on colorectal cancer (CRC) care during the pandemic. Methods The impact of COVID-19 on preoperative assessment, elective surgery, and postoperative management of CRC patients was explored by a 35-item survey, which was distributed worldwide to members of surgical societies with an interest in CRC care. Respondents were divided into two comparator groups: 1) ‘delay’ group: CRC care affected by the pandemic; 2) ‘no delay’ group: unaltered CRC practice. Results A total of 1,051 respondents from 84 countries completed the survey. No substantial differences in demographics were found between the ‘delay’ (745, 70.9%) and ‘no delay’ (306, 29.1%) groups. Suspension of multidisciplinary team meetings, staff members quarantined or relocated to COVID-19 units, units fully dedicated to COVID-19 care, personal protective equipment not readily available were factors significantly associated to delays in endoscopy, radiology, surgery, histopathology and prolonged chemoradiation therapy-to-surgery intervals. In the ‘delay’ group, 48.9% of respondents reported a change in the initial surgical plan and 26.3% reported a shift from elective to urgent operations. Recovery of CRC care was associated with the status of the outbreak. Practicing in COVID-free units, no change in operative slots and staff members not relocated to COVID-19 units were statistically associated with unaltered CRC care in the ‘no delay’ group, while the geographical distribution was not. Conclusions Global changes in diagnostic and therapeutic CRC practices were evident. Changes were associated with differences in health-care delivery systems, hospital’s preparedness, resources availability, and local COVID-19 prevalence rather than geographical factors. Strategic planning is required to optimize CRC care