The morphological characterization of the cornea using corneal topographers is a widespread clinical practice that is essential for the diagnosis of keratoconus. The current state of this ...non-invasive exploratory technique has evolved with the possibility of achieving a great number of measuring points of both anterior and posterior corneal surfaces, which is possible due to the development of new and advanced measurement devices. All these data are later used to extract a series of topographic valuation indices that permit to offer the most exact and reliable clinical diagnosis. This paper describes the technologies in which current corneal topographers are based on, being possible to define the main morphological characteristics that the keratoconus pathology produces on corneal surface. Finally, the main valuation indices, which are provided by the corneal topographers and used for the diagnosis of keratoconus, are also defined.
The purpose of this study is to contribute to the knowledge about fungal spores in the atmosphere of the city of Salamanca (Middle West Spain), through the comparative study of
Alternaria
spore ...levels in two different sampling points within the same city. The study was done in terms of seasonal and hourly distribution and the possible influence of the main meteorological parameters on their atmospheric concentrations. The sampling was carried out from 17 February 2014 to 16 February 2016, both included, with two Hirst-type volumetric spore trap samplers, in two buildings in the city: one in a semi-urban environment, on the outskirts of the city, and the other in the city centre, 1.4 km apart. After the two years of sampling, the total annual values of
Alternaria
varied very little concerning the location of the samplers. The maximum values coincided in the two spore traps during 2014–2015 on the same day with similar amounts, whereas in 2015–2016 the difference was more noticeable both in date and amount. In the study of the seasonality of
Alternaria
's atmospheric distribution, there were no differences in the length of the main spore season nor the number of days with health risk levels (concentrations above 100 spores/m
3
). With regard to correlations, the analyses carried out between daily concentrations in both samplers obtained highly significant and positive results. The influence of meteorological parameters on spore levels, showed a positive effect of temperature and sunshine, as well as a negative one for humidity and rainfall.
This study aimed to assess the interactions between physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviour in a large population taking account of major sociodemographic characteristics.
Cross-sectional ...population-based study.
Data from 28,031 individuals living in the European Union who were aged ≥15 years were retrieved from a cross-sectional survey, the Eurobarometer 2017. Interactions among the four mobility components (vigorous, moderate, walking activity and sitting time) were assessed at the individual level across age, gender and place of residence, and at the country level by compositional data analysis, hierarchical linear regressions and principal component analysis.
The most frequently reported PA was walking; however, sitting time represented >95% of the reported weekly times, whereas moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) represented <1%. Women reported less PA and sitting time, age decreased total PA and increased sitting time, and individuals living in large urban areas reported lower PA and higher sitting times. MVPA decreased with age (β = −0.047, P < 0.001) and was lower in women (β = −0.760, P < 0.001) and those living in large urban areas (β = −0.581, P < 0.001), while walking and sitting times increased with age, being higher in women and lower in those living in rural areas. At the country level, sitting time was positively associated with moderate activity (β = 0.389, P = 0.041) and marginally non-significant with MVPA (β = 0.330, P = 0.087).
Walking was the highest contributor to weekly PA, whereas sitting time was paradoxically associated with higher MVPA. Specific measures to reduce sitting time are required to achieve an active lifestyle.
Ocean acidification generates a decrease in calcium carbonate availability essential for biomineralization in organisms such as mollusks. This effect was evaluated on Panopea globosa exposing for ...7 days umbonate veliger larvae to two pH treatments: experimental (pH 7.5) and control (pH 8.0). Exposure to pH 7.5 affected growth, reducing larval shell length from 5.15–13.34% compared to the control group. This size reduction was confirmed with electron microscopy, also showing shell damage. The physiological response showed an increase in oxygen consumption in larvae exposed to low pH with a maximum difference of 1.57 nmol O2 h−1 larvae−1 at day 7. The gene expression analyses reported high expression values for nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) dehydrogenase and Perlucin in larvae at pH 7.5, suggesting a higher energetic cost in this larval group to maintain homeostasis. In conclusion, this study showed that acidification affected development of P. globosa umbonate veliger larvae.
•The pH significantly influenced the biometric variables in Panopea globosa larvae.•Larvae exposed to lower pH showed shell dissolution at the umbo level.•The metabolic rate was higher in larvae exposed to acidification compared to the control.•Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide dehydrogenase expression levels to pH 7.5 suggest a higher energy requirement.
In this study, we evaluated the effects of three prebiotics (inulin, β-glucan, and chitosan) on the physiological performance of
Totoaba macdonaldi
juveniles under culture conditions. The respiratory ...burst and the leucocyte content were measured in the blood to assess innate immune responses. The intestinal digestive capacity was evaluated by analyzing trypsin, amylase, and lipase activities, whereas the effects of such prebiotics at the transcriptomic level were assessed by implementing the RNA-Seq of liver tissue. After 60 days, fish fed with 0.5% chitosan diets showed the highest respiratory burst, the lowest lipase activity, and the highest number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs), where biological processes related to proteolysis, digestion, and lipid hydroxylation were the most affected. In addition, fish from the chitosan diet showed the highest expression of immunoglobulin genes. In contrast, fish fed with the 1% inulin diet presented the highest diet digestibility and trypsin and lipase activities. These physiological effects align with the highest expression of trypsin-like and chymotrypsin-like genes in the liver of fish from this diet. On the other hand, fish fed the 0.1% β-glucan diets showed the lowest amount of DEGs compared to the control group, most of which were associated with immune response, with an up-regulation of genes related to the complement system and a downregulation of immunoglobulin genes. Based on our results, we propose the inclusion of 1% dietary inulin to improve the digestibility of experimental diets and the addition of 0.5% chitosan to stimulate the immune system of
T. macdonaldi
juveniles.
It is habitual for combat sports athletes to lose weight rapidly to get into a lower weight class. Fluid restriction, dehydration by sweating (sauna or exercise) and the use of diuretics are among ...the most recurrent means of weight cutting. Although it is difficult to dissuade athletes from this practice due to the possible negative effect of severe dehydration on their health, athletes may be receptive to avoid weight cutting if there is evidence that it could affect their muscle performance. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to investigate if hypohydration, to reach a weight category, affects neuromuscular performance and combat sports competition results.
We tested 163 (124 men and 39 woman) combat sports athletes during the 2013 senior Spanish National Championships. Body mass and urine osmolality (UOSM) were measured at the official weigh-in (PRE) and 13-18 h later, right before competing (POST). Athletes were divided according to their USOM at PRE in euhydrated (EUH; UOSM 250-700 mOsm · kgH2O(-1)), hypohydrated (HYP; UOSM 701-1080 mOsm · kgH2O(-1)) and severely hypohydrated (S-HYP; UOSM 1081-1500 mOsm · kgH2O(-1)). Athletes' muscle strength, power output and contraction velocity were measured in upper (bench press and grip) and lower body (countermovement jump - CMJ) muscle actions at PRE and POST time-points.
At weigh-in 84 % of the participants were hypohydrated. Before competition (POST) UOSM in S-HYP and HYP decreased but did not reach euhydration levels. However, this partial rehydration increased bench press contraction velocity (2.8-7.3 %; p < 0.05) and CMJ power (2.8 %; p < 0.05) in S-HYP. Sixty-three percent of the participants competed with a body mass above their previous day's weight category and 70 of them (69 % of that sample) obtained a medal.
Hypohydration is highly prevalent among combat sports athletes at weigh-in and not fully reversed in the 13-18 h from weigh-in to competition. Nonetheless, partial rehydration recovers upper and lower body neuromuscular performance in the severely hypohydrated participants. Our data suggest that the advantage of competing in a lower weight category could compensate the declines in neuromuscular performance at the onset of competition, since 69 % of medal winners underwent marked hypohydration.
Electrospraying is a technique now applied for the production of food nanoparticles, nanofibres and nanocapsules, which could constitute a good alternative for the development of films. The goal of ...this work was to determine the electrospraying operation conditions and the zein concentration that would allow a film to be produced and also to evaluate the structural characteristics and barrier and thermal properties of films developed at different thicknesses. Results showed that films can be obtained by electrospraying, resulting possible to produce homogeneous films, without electrical arc formation during processing when using a 11.4% zein solution, an electrical voltage of 7.8–8.7 kV and a distance of 1.5 ± 0.5 cm between the nozzle and the deposit plaque. Regarding the effect of the production methods (electrospraying and casting) and the film thickness on film appearance, both variables had significant effect on colour parameters, observing a more yellowish colour (b* = 72.3 ± 6.8) and lower transparency (%T = 90.6 ± 0.21) at larger thicknesses (100 μm), and a smoother and more homogeneous surface (ESEM) when films were obtained by electrospraying. Water vapour permeability was only influenced by film thickness (1.51 × 10−08 to 3.11 × 10−08 g/s-m-Pa) in both methodologies. The glass transition temperatures (Tg) for electrospraying and casting films were different (222 °C and 231 °C respectively) and higher than that of zein powder (165 °C), indicating a possible change in the film structure due to the process. Under the process conditions tested in this work, electrospraying can be considered as an alternative technique to produce films.
Display omitted
•Electrospraying can be used to produce zein films.•Electrospraying generates similar films to those produce by casting.•Electrosprayied zein generates different products as varying process conditions.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory disease, which leads to focal plaques of demyelination and tissue injury in the central nervous system. Oxidative stress is also thought to promote ...tissue damage in multiple sclerosis. Current research findings suggest that omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) such as eicosapenta-enoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) contained in fish oil may have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and neuroprotective effects. The aim of the present work was to evaluate the efficacy of fish oil supplementation on serum proinflammatory cytokine levels, oxidative stress markers, and disease progression in MS. 50 patients with relapsing-remitting MS were enrolled. The experimental group received orally 4 g/day of fish oil for 12 months. The primary outcome was serum TNFα levels; secondary outcomes were IL-1β 1b, IL-6, nitric oxide catabolites, lipoperoxides, progression on the expanded disability status scale (EDSS), and annualized relapses rate (ARR). Fish oil treatment decreased the serum levels of TNFα, IL-1β, IL-6, and nitric oxide metabolites compared with placebo group (P≤0.001). There was no significant difference in serum lipoperoxide levels during the study. No differences in EDSS and ARR were found. Conclusion. Fish oil supplementation is highly effective in reducing the levels of cytokines and nitric oxide catabolites in patients with relapsing-remitting MS.
In potentially severe diseases in general and COVID-19 in particular, it is vital to early identify those patients who are going to progress to severe disease. A recent living systematic review ...dedicated to predictive models in COVID-19, critically appraises 145 models, 8 of them focused on prediction of severe disease and 23 on mortality. Unfortunately, in all 145 models, they found a risk of bias significant enough to finally "not recommend any for clinical use". Authors suggest concentrating on avoiding biases in sampling and prioritising the study of already identified predictive factors, rather than the identification of new ones that are often dependent on the database. Our objective is to develop a model to predict which patients with COVID-19 pneumonia are at high risk of developing severe illness or dying, using basic and validated clinical tools. We studied a prospective cohort of consecutive patients admitted in a teaching hospital during the "first wave" of the COVID-19 pandemic. Follow-up to discharge from hospital. Multiple logistic regression selecting variables according to clinical and statistical criteria. 404 consecutive patients were evaluated, 392 (97%) completed follow-up. Mean age was 61 years; 59% were men. The median burden of comorbidity was 2 points in the Age-adjusted Charlson Comorbidity Index, CRB was abnormal in 18% of patients and basal oxygen saturation on admission lower than 90% in 18%. A model composed of Age-adjusted Charlson Comorbidity Index, CRB score and basal oxygen saturation can predict unfavorable evolution or death with an area under the ROC curve of 0.85 (95% CI 0.80-0.89), and 0.90 (95% CI 0.86 to 0.94), respectively. Prognosis of COVID-19 pneumonia can be predicted without laboratory tests using two classic clinical tools and a pocket pulse oximeter.
Vasculogenic mimicry (VM) is characterized by formation of three-dimensional (3D) channels-like structures by tumor cells, supplying the nutrients needed for tumor growth. VM is stimulated by hypoxic ...tumor microenvironment, and it has been associated with increased metastasis and clinical poor outcome in cancer patients. cAMP responsive element (CRE)-binding protein 5 (CREB5) is a hypoxia-activated transcription factor involved in tumorigenesis. However, CREB5 functions in VM and if its regulated by microRNAs remains unknown in breast cancer.
We aim to study the functional relationships between VM, CREB5 and microRNA-204-5p (miR-204) in breast cancer cells.
CREB5 expression was evaluated by mining the public databases, and using RT-qPCR and Western blot assays. CREB5 expression was silenced using short-hairpin RNAs in MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 breast cancer cells. VM formation was analyzed using matrigel-based cultures in hypoxic conditions. MiR-204 expression was restored in cancer cells by transfection of RNA mimics. Luciferase reporter assays were performed to evaluate the binding of miR-204 to 3'UTR of CREB5.
Our data showed that CREB5 mRNA expression was upregulated in a set of breast cancer cell lines and clinical tumors, and it was positively associated with poor prognosis in lymph nodes positive and grade 3 basal breast cancer patients. Silencing of CREB5 impaired the hypoxia-induced formation of 3D channels-like structures representative of the early stages of VM in MDA-MB-231 cells. In contrast, VM formation was not observed in MCF-7 cells. Interestingly, we found that CREB5 expression was negatively regulated by miR-204 mimics in breast cancer cells. Functional analysis confirmed that miR-204 binds to CREB5 3'-UTR indicating that it's an ulterior effector.
Our findings suggested that CREB5 could be a potential biomarker of disease progression in basal subtype of breast cancer, and that perturbations of the miR-204/CREB5 axis plays an important role in VM development in breast cancer cells.
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