Effects of Red Raspberry Polyphenols and Metabolites on Biomarkers of Inflammation and Insulin Resistance in Prediabetes and Type 2 Diabetes

Berry fruits are rich sources of polyphenolic compounds (PCs), which can promote health benefits. Anthocyanin concentrations of red raspberry (RR)(Rubus idaeus) extracts were determined to be a total of 887.6 ± 262.8 μg/g cyanidin-3-sophoroside (C3S) equivalents with C3S being the most prevalent. Ellagitannin analysis by MALDI-TOF indicated sanguiin H-6 and lambertianin C were the major ellagitannins present in RR. To explore the efficacy of RR in modulating diabetes, seven type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and two pre-diabetic patients were given drinks delivering one RR serving (123 g) per day in a smoothie for two weeks. Blood samples were drawn at baseline (BSL) and post-feeding (PF) days. The samples were analyzed for phenolic metabolites, and for both inflammation and insulin resistance biomarkers. Two urolithin conjugates, i.e. urolithin A glucuronide (Uro-A glur) and urolithin A sulfate (Uro-A sulf) were found in 7 of the 9 patients’ plasma samples at nanomolar concentrations on PF day whereas anthocyanin-derived metabolites such as protocatechuic acid (PCA) and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) were present at higher but not statistically significant levels on both groups at PF day when compared to BSL. Results indicated significant reductions in hsCRP (p= 0.01), and on insulin resistance where a statistical trend on HOMA-IR (p=0.0584) for T2DM patients was seen. DOPAC, a metabolite from anthocyanin and quercetin consumption in RR, when incubated at 1-100 µM did not stimulate insulin secretion in INS-1 rat pancreatic cells. Increases and decreases were observed on the cytokines analyzed by multiplex assay, yet, none was significant on either group. This study demonstrates the potential of RR to modulate levels of biomarkers of inflammation and insulin resistance in diabetic and prediabetic patients

Saturation routing for asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) networks

The main objective of this thesis is to show that saturation routing, often in the past considered inefficient, can in fact be a viable approach to use in many important applications and services over an Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) network. For other applications and services, a hybrid approach (one that partially uses saturation routing) is presented. First, the minimum effects of saturation routing are demonstrated by showing that the ratio, defined as f, of routing overhead cells over information cells is small even for large networks. Second, modeling and simulation and M/D/l queuing analysis techniques are used to show that the overall effect on performance when using saturation routing is not significant over ATM networks. Then saturation routing ATM implementation is also provided, with important extensions to services such as multicast routing. After an analytical comparison, in terms of routing overhead, is made between Saturation Routing and the currently proposed Private Network-Network Interface (PNNI) procedure for ATM routing made by the ATM forum. This comparison is made for networks of different sizes (343node and 2401 -node networks) and different number of hierarchical levels (3 and 4 levels of hierarchy). The results show that the higher the number of levels of hierarchy and the farthest (in terms of hierarchical levels) the source and the destination nodes are from each other, the more advantageous saturation routing becomes. Finally, a set of measures of performance for use by saturation routing (or any routing algorithm), as metrics for routing path selection, is proposed. Among these measures, an innovative new measure of performance derived for measuring quality of service provided to Constant Bit Rate (CBR) users (e.g., such as voice and video users) called the Burst Voice Arrival Lag (BVAL) is described and derived

EL TERREMOTO DE OCTUBRE DE 1986 Y LA SITUACION HABIT ACIONAL DE LOS SECTORES POPULARES

El terremoto que sacudió a la ciudad de San Salvador el 10 de octubre de 1986, aunque de elevado costo social, no es un fenómeno extraño para los habitantes de la capital de El Salvador En 15 ocasiones desde su ya lejana fundación en la primera mitad del siglo XVI, este fenómeno natural ha destruido buena parte de esta ciudad 1 En varios momentos se ha hablado, y en 2 de ellas se ha llevado a la práctica el traslado de la capital del país a otros sitios del territorio salvadoreño, volviendo posteriormente a la antigua localización

Antistaling properties of amylases, wheat gluten and CMC on corn tortilla

Antistaling properties of enzymes (xylanase, bacterial maltogenic and conventional a-amylases), CMC and vital wheat gluten on corn tortillas were evaluated during storage for up to 21 days. Effect of storage time (0-21 days) and temperature (-40, -20, 3, 10 and 21 oC) on tortilla staling was evaluated with or without additives. Addition of 275-1650 AU of ICS maltogenic amylase effectively reduced amylopectin retrogradation without reducing tortilla yields, but did not improve tortilla flexibility. The combination of 825 AU of ICS amylase (to interfere with intra-granular amylopectin re-crystallization) and 0.25% CMC (to create a more flexible inter-granular matrix than retrograded amylose) produced less stiff, equally flexible and less chewy tortillas than 0.5% CMC. Corn tortilla staling followed the basic laws that control aging in starch-based semi-crystalline systems such as starch gels, bread and other baked products. Amylopectin re-crystallization was the driving force behind the staling of corn tortillas. Increasing levels of re-crystallized amylopectin measured by DSC correlated significantly with increased tortilla stiffness and reduction in tortilla rollability, pliability and rupture distance during storage. Re-crystallization of amylopectin in fresh tortillas was not detected. It increased rapidly during the first 24 hr reaching a plateau after 7 days storage. The level of amylopectin re-crystallization on tortillas showed a bell-shaped trend along the evaluated storage temperature range with a maximum around 7 oC. However, a negative linear relationship of peak pasting viscosity with storage temperature of tortilla extracts without additives after 21 days suggests other compounds besides amylopectin affect tortilla staling. Thus, interfering with amylopectin re-crystallization is not the only way to retard staling. Further research is required to optimize the addition of maltogenic amylases in continuous processing lines that use fresh masa instead of nixtamalized corn flour, to determine how these amylases interfere with amylopectin re-crystallization and to elucidate if amylose retrogradation continues during storage and plays a role in tortilla staling

Conocimientos, actitudes y prácticas sobre infecciones intrahospitalarias, del personal que labora en el Hospital regional Gabriela Alvarado de la Ciudad de Danlí, El Paraíso, Honduras. Noviembre de 2010.

Se encontró en cuanto al uso de guantes y mascarillas que todo el personal en su momento utiliza guantes pero no lo realizan en una forma correcta ya que algunas veces lo utilizan más lo que es claro es que saben para que son utilizados los guantes, estériles y para que los descartables. 20 empleados observados (auxiliares de enfermería y personal de limpieza) los utilizan mal aunque si se les pregunta diferencian su uso, pero no tienen conciencia de los costos que esto implica. Hay un desconocimiento total sobre la importancia del uso de mascarillas, se piensa que sólo en sala de operaciones debe utilizarse. Las bodegas de las demás salas no cuentan con ellas, es muy poco común encontrarlas en las salas observadas en el momento que se observó al personal

Auditoría informática a la empresa Master Technology, cantón Quito, provincia de Pichincha

El presente trabajo de investigación aplicado a la Empresa Master Technology, del Cantón Quito, Provincia de Pichincha, Período 2019, tuvo como objetivo, valorar la integridad, confidencialidad y disponibilidad de los recursos, equipos informáticos y su información mediante el uso de métodos, técnicas, estándares y herramientas de auditoria informática para la empresa. La ejecución de este trabajo se llevó a cabo con las 3 etapas de la auditoria: Planificación, Ejecución y Comunicación de Resultados mediante la metodología del cuestionario de control interno COSO II, el cual está establecido por 8 componentes que son: ambiente de control, establecimiento de objetivos, identificación de acontecimientos, evaluación de riesgos, respuesta al riesgo, actividades de control, comunicación y supervisión, que permitieron detectar los hallazgos para determinar el nivel de riesgo y de confianza, se definió en la hoja de hallazgos la condición, criterio, causa, efecto, conclusión y recomendación por cada anomalía encontrada en el COSO II. A través de estos componentes se encontraron aspectos relevantes como: la ausencia de respaldos de información, falta de pólizas de seguro, software informático que no cumple con lo que necesita la empresa, inexistencia de normas y reglamentos que ayuden al manejo y control de los recursos informáticos. Todos los hallazgos encontrados fueron expuestos en la etapa 2 de la auditoría que es la ejecución. Para finalizar el trabajo de investigación se emitió un informe en el cual se muestra de manera clara y concreta las opiniones y recomendaciones como, la implementación de una Unidad de Tecnologías de la Información y Comunicación, para erradicar los problemas detectados durante el proceso de auditoría a fin de tomar decisiones oportunas y eficientes para el buen desarrollo de la entidad.The present research work applied to the Master Technology Company, located in Quito, Province of Pichincha, term 2019, was aimed to value the integrity, confidentiality and availability of resources, computer equipment and its information through the use of methods, techniques, standards and computer auditing tools for the company. The execution of this study was carried out in 3 stages: planning, execution and communication of results through the methodology of the internal control questionnaire COSO II, established by 8 components: controlling environment, setting goals, identifying events, risk assessment, response risk, control, communication and supervision activities, which allowed the detection of findings to determine the level of risk and confidence, the condition, criterion, cause, effect, conclusion and recommendation for each anomaly found in the COSO II. Through these components, relevant aspects were found such as: the absence of information backups, lack of insurance policies, computer software that fails to what the company needs, the absence of rules and regulations to help the operation and control of the computing resources. All of the findings were presented in stage 2 of the audit process which is the execution. To complete the investigation work, a report was issued, which shows in a concrete and transparent way the opinions and recommendations as the implementation of an Information and Communication Technologies Area to eliminate the problems identified during the audit process in order to make appropriate and effective decisions for the successful development of the company

Human capital and ICT are important for exports: the case of the spanish organic olive oil sector

For the last years, consumption of organic products in general and in particular organic olive oil is experiencing a significant increase in Spain. The growth in demand does not justify, however, a balanced position in the domestic market, on the contrary, surpluses, that make the export be required like a requirement for the viability of the sector. In this research, some factors that traditionally has been linked to the possibility that companies actively participate in international markets have been analysed. The results extracted, using method a binary logistic regression show the existence of a relationship between the training manager, legal form and the use of Information Technology and Communication (ICT) and the probability that the organic olive oil of the Spanish companies can be actively sold abroad

A comparative study of the variables used to measure syntactic complexity and accuracy in task-based research

The constructs of complexity, accuracy and fluency (CAF) have been used extensively to investigate learner performance on second language tasks. However, a serious concern is that the variables used to measure these constructs are sometimes used conventionally without any empirical justification. It is crucial for researchers to understand how results might be different depending on which measurements are used, and accordingly, choose the most appropriate variables for their research aims. The first strand of this article examines the variables conventionally used to measure syntactic complexity in order to identify which may be the best indicators of different proficiency levels, following suggestions by Norris and Ortega. The second strand compares the three variables used to measure accuracy in order to identify which one is most valid. The data analysed were spoken performances by 64 Japanese EFL students on two picture-based narrative tasks, which were rated at Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) A2 to B2 according to Rasch-adjusted ratings by seven human judges. The tasks performed were very similar, but had different degrees of what Loschky and Bley-Vroman term ‘task-essentialness’ for subordinate clauses. It was found that the variables used to measure syntactic complexity yielded results that were not consistent with suggestions by Norris and Ortega. The variable found to be the most valid for measuring accuracy was errors per 100 words. Analysis of transcripts revealed that results were strongly influenced by the differing degrees of task-essentialness for subordination between the two tasks, as well as the spread of errors across different units of analysis. This implies that the characteristics of test tasks need to be carefully scrutinised, followed by careful piloting, in order to ensure greater validity and reliability in task-based research

Histone H3K36 methylation regulates pre-mRNA splicing in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Co-transcriptional splicing takes place in the context of a highly dynamic chromatin architecture, yet the role of chromatin restructuring in coordinating transcription with RNA splicing has not been fully resolved. To further define the contribution of histone modifications to pre-mRNA splicing in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, we probed a library of histone point mutants using a reporter to monitor pre-mRNA splicing. We found that mutation of H3 lysine 36 (H3K36) – a residue methylated by Set2 during transcription elongation – exhibited phenotypes similar to those of pre-mRNA splicing mutants. We identified genetic interactions between genes encoding RNA splicing factors and genes encoding the H3K36 methyltransferase Set2 and the demethylase Jhd1 as well as point mutations of H3K36 that block methylation. Consistent with the genetic interactions, deletion of SET2, mutations modifying the catalytic activity of Set2 or H3K36 point mutations significantly altered expression of our reporter and reduced splicing of endogenous introns. These effects were dependent on the association of Set2 with RNA polymerase II and H3K36 dimethylation. Additionally, we found that deletion of SET2 reduces the association of the U2 and U5 snRNPs with chromatin. Thus, our study provides the first evidence that H3K36 methylation plays a role in co-transcriptional RNA splicing in yeast

Six Collective Challenges for Sustainability of Almería Greenhouse Horticulture

Globally, current food consumption and trade are placing unprecedented demand on agricultural systems and increasing pressure on natural resources, requiring tradeoffs between food security and environmental impacts especially given the tension between market-driven agriculture and agro-ecological goals. In order to illustrate the wicked social, economic and environmental challenges and processes to find transformative solutions, we focus on the largest concentration of greenhouses in the world located in the semi-arid coastal plain of South-east Spain. Almería family farming, predominantly cooperative, greenhouse intensive production, commenced after the 1960s and has resulted in very significant social and economic benefits for the region, while also having important negative environmental and biodiversity impacts, as well as creating new social challenges. The system currently finds itself in a crisis of diminishing economic benefits and increasing environmental and social dilemmas. Here, we present the outcomes of multi-actor, transdisciplinary research to review and provide collective insights for solutions-oriented research on the sustainability of Almeria’s agricultural sector. The multi-actor, transdisciplinary process implemented collectively, and supported by scientific literature, identified six fundamental challenges to transitioning to an agricultural model that aims to ameliorate risks and avoid a systemic collapse, whilst balancing a concern for profitability with sustainability: (1) Governance based on a culture of shared responsibility for sustainability, (2) Sustainable and efficient use of water, (3) Biodiversity conservation, (4) Implementing a circular economy plan, (5) Technology and knowledge transfer, and (6) Image and identity. We conclude that the multi-actor transdisciplinary approach successfully facilitated the creation of a culture of shared responsibility among public, private, academic, and civil society actors. Notwithstanding plural values, challenges and solutions identified by consensus point to a nascent acknowledgement of the strategic necessity to locate agricultural economic activity within social and environmental spheres.This paper demonstrates the need to establish transdisciplinary multi-actor work-schemes to continue collaboration and research for the transition to an agro-ecological model as a means to remain competitive and to create value