Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology-Nutritional Epidemiology (STROBE-nut): An Extension of the STROBE Statement.

Concerns have been raised about the quality of reporting in nutritional epidemiology. Research reporting guidelines such as the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) statement can improve quality of reporting in observational studies. Herein, we propose recommendations for reporting nutritional epidemiology and dietary assessment research by extending the STROBE statement into Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology-Nutritional Epidemiology (STROBE-nut).Recommendations for the reporting of nutritional epidemiology and dietary assessment research were developed following a systematic and consultative process, coordinated by a multidisciplinary group of 21 experts. Consensus on reporting guidelines was reached through a three-round Delphi consultation process with 53 external experts. In total, 24 recommendations for nutritional epidemiology were added to the STROBE checklist.When used appropriately, reporting guidelines for nutritional epidemiology can contribute to improve reporting of observational studies with a focus on diet and health

In Silico Insights into the Symbiotic Nitrogen Fixation in Sinorhizobium meliloti via Metabolic Reconstruction

BACKGROUND: Sinorhizobium meliloti is a soil bacterium, known for its capability to establish symbiotic nitrogen fixation (SNF) with leguminous plants such as alfalfa. S. meliloti 1021 is the most extensively studied strain to understand the mechanism of SNF and further to study the legume-microbe interaction. In order to provide insight into the metabolic characteristics underlying the SNF mechanism of S. meliloti 1021, there is an increasing demand to reconstruct a metabolic network for the stage of SNF in S. meliloti 1021. RESULTS: Through an iterative reconstruction process, a metabolic network during the stage of SNF in S. meliloti 1021 was presented, named as iHZ565, which accounts for 565 genes, 503 internal reactions, and 522 metabolites. Subjected to a novelly defined objective function, the in silico predicted flux distribution was highly consistent with the in vivo evidences reported previously, which proves the robustness of the model. Based on the model, refinement of genome annotation of S. meliloti 1021 was performed and 15 genes were re-annotated properly. There were 19.8% (112) of the 565 metabolic genes included in iHZ565 predicted to be essential for efficient SNF in bacteroids under the in silico microaerobic and nutrient sharing condition. CONCLUSIONS: As the first metabolic network during the stage of SNF in S. meliloti 1021, the manually curated model iHZ565 provides an overview of the major metabolic properties of the SNF bioprocess in S. meliloti 1021. The predicted SNF-required essential genes will facilitate understanding of the key functions in SNF and help identify key genes and design experiments for further validation. The model iHZ565 can be used as a knowledge-based framework for better understanding the symbiotic relationship between rhizobia and legumes, ultimately, uncovering the mechanism of nitrogen fixation in bacteroids and providing new strategies to efficiently improve biological nitrogen fixation

Anthocyanidins and anthocyanins: colored pigments as food, pharmaceutical ingredients, and the potential health benefits

Anthocyanins are colored water-soluble pigments belonging to the phenolic group. The pigments are in glycosylated forms. Anthocyanins responsible for the colors, red, purple, and blue, are in fruits and vegetables. Berries, currants, grapes, and some tropical fruits have high anthocyanins content. Red to purplish blue-colored leafy vegetables, grains, roots, and tubers are the edible vegetables that contain a high level of anthocyanins. Among the anthocyanin pigments, cyanidin-3-glucoside is the major anthocyanin found in most of the plants. The colored anthocyanin pigments have been traditionally used as a natural food colorant. The color and stability of these pigments are influenced by pH, light, temperature, and structure. In acidic condition, anthocyanins appear as red but turn blue when the pH increases. Chromatography has been largely applied in extraction, separation, and quantification of anthocyanins. Besides the use of anthocyanidins and anthocyanins as natural dyes, these colored pigments are potential pharmaceutical ingredients that give various beneficial health effects. Scientific studies, such as cell culture studies, animal models, and human clinical trials, show that anthocyanidins and anthocyanins possess antioxidative and antimicrobial activities, improve visual and neurological health, and protect against various non-communicable diseases. These studies confer the health effects of anthocyanidins and anthocyanins, which are due to their potent antioxidant properties. Different mechanisms and pathways are involved in the protective effects, including free-radical scavenging pathway, cyclooxygenase pathway, mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway, and inflammatory cytokines signaling. Therefore, this review focuses on the role of anthocyanidins and anthocyanins as natural food colorants and their nutraceutical properties for health. Abbreviations: CVD: Cardiovascular disease VEGF: Vascular endothelial growth factor

Application of a Heuristic-Diffuse Model to Support Decision-Making in Assessing the Post-seismic Structural Damage of a Building

This research paper aims to evaluate structural damage of a building after a telluric movement occurred, by applying a heuristic-diffuse model to support the decision-making of experts in the seismic area. Ecuador is located in a highly seismic area, so it is necessary to study damage to the building structures after a telluric movement. Current damage assessment techniques are based on quantitative results, creating uncertainty. When an earthquake occurs, there is not enough certified staff, so professionals are attended without the experience to carry out the assessments and this involves the final decisions that are made not the most accurate. For the evaluation model proposed in this research, the AHP (Analytical Hierarchical Process) methodology is used in order to be able to determine the relative weights of the groups of variables that make up the building, this methodology consists of a heuristic method based on expert experience on a specific topic and in conjunction with fuzzy logic techniques will allow to work directly with the qualitative values of the data, thus providing subjective results easy to interpret that will serve as a decision-making aid. Once you have entered the data corresponding to the damage in the structural elements such as columns or beams, non-structural elements such as the facade, and data related to the type of soil, you get the levels or index of overall structural damage, non-structural and soil conditions, the level of habitability of the building is determined by applying fuzzy rules based on Mamdani’s inference.</p