Teucrium × turianum (Labiatae) a new hybrid plant for the Valencian flora

Se describe un nuevo nototaxon, Teucrium × turianum, proveniente de la hibridación de Teucrium edetanum, endemismo valenciano de área reducida, y T. capitatum subsp. gracillimum, taxon de amplia distribución por el este y sudeste ibéricos. Se presentan una completa descripción morfológica y los principales caracteres diagnósticos del nuevo híbrido frente a sus progenitores. Además, se presentan datos sobre su comportamiento ecológico y distribución.A new nothospecies, Teucrium × turianum, is described which comes from the hybridization between Teucrium edetanum, a narrow Valencian endemism, and T. capitatum subsp. gracillimum, widespread through the E and SE of the Iberian Peninsula. A complete morphological description is reported, empasizing the main diagnostic characters allowing separation from its parental taxa. Furthermore, data are also presented on its ecological behaviour, ecology and distribution

Globotriaosylceramide is correlated with oxidative stress and inflammation in Fabry patients treated with enzyme replacement therapy

AbstractFabry disease is an X-linked inborn error of glycosphingolipid catabolism due to deficient activity of α-galactosidase A that leads to accumulation of the enzyme substrates, mainly globotriaosylceramide (Gb3), in body fluids and lysosomes of many cell types. Some pathophysiology hypotheses are intimately linked to reactive species production and inflammation, but until this moment there is no in vivo study about it. Hence, the aim of this study was to investigate oxidative stress parameters, pro-inflammatory cytokines and Gb3 levels in Fabry patients under treatment with enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) and finally to establish a possible relation between them. We analyzed urine and blood samples of patients under ERT (n=14) and healthy age-matched controls (n=14). Patients presented decreased levels of antioxidant defenses, assessed by reduced glutathione (GSH), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity and increased superoxide dismutase/catalase (SOD/CAT) ratio in erythrocytes. Concerning to the damage to biomolecules (lipids and proteins), we found that plasma levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and protein carbonyl groups and di-tyrosine (di-Tyr) in urine were increased in patients. The pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-6 and TNF-α were also increased in patients. Urinary Gb3 levels were positively correlated with the plasma levels of IL-6, carbonyl groups and MDA. IL-6 levels were directly correlated with di-Tyr and inversely correlated with GPx activity. This data suggest that pro-inflammatory and pro-oxidant states occur, are correlated and seem to be induced by Gb3 in Fabry patients

Reconfigurable silicon thermo-optical ring resonator switch based on Vernier effect control

A proof-of-concept for a new and entirely CMOS compatible thermo-optic reconfigurable switch based on a coupled ring resonator structure is experimentally demonstrated in this paper. Preliminary results show that a single optical device is capable of combining several functionalities, such as tunable filtering, non-blocking switching and reconfigurability, in a single device with compact footprint (~50μm x 30μm)

Rationale and design of a multicenter Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) and at-risk for CKD electronic health records-based registry: CURE-CKD.

BACKGROUND: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a global public health problem, exhibiting sharp increases in incidence, prevalence, and attributable morbidity and mortality. There is a critical need to better understand the demographics, clinical characteristics, and key risk factors for CKD; and to develop platforms for testing novel interventions to improve modifiable risk factors, particularly for the CKD patients with a rapid decline in kidney function. METHODS: We describe a novel collaboration between two large healthcare systems (Providence St. Joseph Health and University of California, Los Angeles Health) supported by leadership from both institutions, which was created to develop harmonized cohorts of patients with CKD or those at increased risk for CKD (hypertension/HTN, diabetes/DM, pre-diabetes) from electronic health record data. RESULTS: The combined repository of candidate records included more than 3.3 million patients with at least a single qualifying measure for CKD and/or at-risk for CKD. The CURE-CKD registry includes over 2.6 million patients with and/or at-risk for CKD identified by stricter guide-line based criteria using a combination of administrative encounter codes, physical examinations, laboratory values and medication use. Notably, data based on race/ethnicity and geography in part, will enable robust analyses to study traditionally disadvantaged or marginalized patients not typically included in clinical trials. DISCUSSION: CURE-CKD project is a unique multidisciplinary collaboration between nephrologists, endocrinologists, primary care physicians with health services research skills, health economists, and those with expertise in statistics, bio-informatics and machine learning. The CURE-CKD registry uses curated observations from real-world settings across two large healthcare systems and has great potential to provide important contributions for healthcare and for improving clinical outcomes in patients with and at-risk for CKD

Chronic Exposure to Arsenic and Markers of Cardiometabolic Risk: A Cross-Sectional Study in Chihuahua, Mexico

BackgroundExposure to arsenic (As) concentrations in drinking water > 150 μg/L has been associated with risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease, but little is known about the effects of lower exposures.ObjectiveThis study aimed to examine whether moderate As exposure, or indicators of individual As metabolism at these levels of exposure, are associated with cardiometabolic risk.MethodsWe analyzed cross-sectional associations between arsenic exposure and multiple markers of cardiometabolic risk using drinking-water As measurements and urinary As species data obtained from 1,160 adults in Chihuahua, Mexico, who were recruited in 2008–2013. Fasting blood glucose and lipid levels, the results of an oral glucose tolerance test, and blood pressure were used to characterize cardiometabolic risk. Multivariable logistic, multinomial, and linear regression were used to assess associations between cardiometabolic outcomes and water As or the sum of inorganic and methylated As species in urine.ResultsAfter multivariable adjustment, concentrations in the second quartile of water As (25.5 to < 47.9 μg/L) and concentrations of total speciated urinary As (< 55.8 μg/L) below the median were significantly associated with elevated triglycerides, high total cholesterol, and diabetes. However, moderate water and urinary As levels were also positively associated with HDL cholesterol. Associations between arsenic exposure and both dysglycemia and triglyceridemia were higher among individuals with higher proportions of dimethylarsenic in urine.ConclusionsModerate exposure to As may increase cardiometabolic risk, particularly in individuals with high proportions of urinary dimethylarsenic. In this cohort, As exposure was associated with several markers of increased cardiometabolic risk (diabetes, triglyceridemia, and cholesterolemia), but exposure was also associated with higher rather than lower HDL cholesterol.CitationMendez MA, González-Horta C, Sánchez-Ramírez B, Ballinas-Casarrubias L, Hernández Cerón R, Viniegra Morales D, Baeza Terrazas FA, Ishida MC, Gutiérrez-Torres DS, Saunders RJ, Drobná Z, Fry RC, Buse JB, Loomis D, García-Vargas GG, Del Razo LM, Stýblo M. 2016. Chronic exposure to arsenic and markers of cardiometabolic risk: a cross-sectional study in Chihuahua, Mexico. Environ Health Perspect 124:104–111; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.140874

ColoLipidGene: Signature of lipid metabolism-related genes to predict prognosis in stage-II colon cancer patients

Lipid metabolism plays an essential role in carcinogenesis due to the requirements of tumoral cells to sustain increased structural, energetic and biosynthetic precursor demands for cell proliferation. We investigated the association between expression of lipid metabolism-related genes and clinical outcome in intermediate-stage colon cancer patients with the aim of identifying a metabolic profile associated with greater malignancy and increased risk of relapse. Expression profile of 70 lipid metabolismrelated genes was determined in 77 patients with stage II colon cancer. Cox regression analyses using c-index methodology was applied to identify a metabolic-related signature associated to prognosis. The metabolic signature was further confirmed in two independent validation sets of 120 patients and additionally, in a group of 264 patients from a public database. The combined analysis of these 4 genes, ABCA1, ACSL1, AGPAT1 and SCD, constitutes a metabolic-signature (ColoLipidGene) able to accurately stratify stage II colon cancer patients with 5-fold higher risk of relapse with strong statistical power in the four independent groups of patients. The identification of a group of 4 genes that predict survival in intermediate-stage colon cancer patients allows delineation of a high-risk group that may benefit from adjuvant therapy, and avoids the toxic and unnecessary chemotherapy in patients classified as low-risk groupThis work was supported by Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación del Gobierno de España (Plan Nacional I + D + i AGL2013–48943-C2–2-R and IPT-2011–1248-060000), Comunidad de Madrid (P2013/ABI-2728. ALIBIRDCM) and European Union Structural Funds. CIBEREHD is funded by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III. This is a collaborative study between the Molecular Oncology Unit of The Institute of Advanced Studies of Madrid IMDEA Food and the Grupo Español Multidisciplinar en Cáncer Digestivo (GEMCAD

Dengue Virus Inhibits Immune Responses in Aedes aegypti Cells

The ability of many viruses to manipulate the host antiviral immune response often results in complex host-pathogen interactions. In order to study the interaction of dengue virus (DENV) with the Aedes aegypti immune response, we have characterized the DENV infection-responsive transcriptome of the immune-competent A. aegypti cell line Aag2. As in mosquitoes, DENV infection transcriptionally activated the cell line Toll pathway and a variety of cellular physiological systems. Most notably, however, DENV infection down-regulated the expression levels of numerous immune signaling molecules and antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). Functional assays showed that transcriptional induction of AMPs from the Toll and IMD pathways in response to bacterial challenge is impaired in DENV-infected cells. In addition, Escherichia coli, a Gram-negative bacteria species, grew better when co-cultured with DENV-infected cells than with uninfected cells, suggesting a decreased production of AMPs from the IMD pathway in virus-infected cells. Pre-stimulation of the cell line with Gram-positive bacteria prior to DENV infection had no effect on DENV titers, while pre-stimulation with Gram-negative bacteria resulted in an increase in DENV titers. These results indicate that DENV is capable of actively suppressing immune responses in the cells it infects, a phenomenon that may have important consequences for virus transmission and insect physiology

Management of Peripheral Arthritis in Patients With Psoriatic Arthritis: An Updated Literature Review Informing the 2021 GRAPPA Treatment Recommendations.

OBJECTIVE We aimed to compile evidence for the efficacy and safety of therapeutic options for the peripheral arthritis domain of psoriatic arthritis (PsA) for the revised 2021 Group in Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (GRAPPA) treatment recommendations. METHODS A working group consisting of clinicians and patient research partners was convened. We reviewed the evidence from new randomized controlled trials (RCTs) for PsA treatment from February 19, 2013, to August 28, 2020. We used the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE)-informed approach to derive evidence for the classes of therapeutic options for 3 patient groups: (1) naïve to treatment, (2) inadequate response to conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (csDMARDs), and (3) inadequate response to biologic DMARDs (bDMARDs). Recommendations were derived through consensus meetings. RESULTS The evidence review included 69 RCTs. We derived GRADE evidence for each class of therapeutic options and achieved consensus for the recommendations. For patients naïve to treatment, the working group strongly recommends csDMARDs (methotrexate, sulfasalazine, leflunomide) and phosphodiesterase 4 inhibitors, and emphasizes regular assessment and early escalation to achieve treatment target. bDMARDs (tumor necrosis factor inhibitors [TNFi], interleukin 17 inhibitors [IL-17i], IL-12/23i, IL-23i) and Janus kinase inhibitors (JAKi) are also strongly recommended. For patients with inadequate response to csDMARDs, we strongly recommend TNFi, IL-17i, IL-12/23i, IL-23i, and JAKi. For those who had prior experience with bDMARDs, we strongly recommend a second TNFi, IL-17i, IL-23i, and JAKi. The evidence supporting nonpharmacological interventions was very low. An expert panel conditionally recommends adequate physical activity, smoking cessation, and diet to control weight gain. CONCLUSION Evidence supporting optimal therapy for the peripheral arthritis domain of PsA was compiled for the revised 2021 GRAPPA treatment recommendations