The main challenges in drug delivery systems are to protect, transport and release biologically active compounds at the right time in a safe and reproducible manner, usually at a specific target ...site. In the past, drug nano-carriers have contributed to the development of precision medicine and to a lesser extent have focused on its inroads in agriculture. The concept of engineered nano-carriers may be a promising route to address confounding challenges in agriculture that could perhaps lead to an increase in crop production while reducing the environmental impact associated with crop protection and food production. The main objective of this review is to contrast the advantages and disadvantages of different types of nanoparticles and nano-carriers currently used in the biomedical field along with their fabrication methods to discuss the potential use of these technologies at a larger scale in agriculture. Here we explain what is the problem that nano-delivery systems intent to solve as a technological platform and describe the benefits this technology has brought to medicine. Also here we highlight the potential drawbacks that this technology may face during its translation to agricultural applications, based on the lessons learned so far from its use for biomedical purposes. We discuss not only the characteristics of an ideal nano-delivery system, but also the potential constraints regarding the fabrication including technical, environmental, and legal aspects. A key motivation is to evaluate the potential use of these systems in agriculture, especially in the area of plant breeding, growth promotion, disease control, and post-harvest quality control. Further, we highlight the importance of a rational design of nano-carriers and identify current research gaps to enable scale-up relevant to applications in the treatment of plant diseases, controlled release of fertilizers, and plant breeding.
Botrytis cinerea, a broad host-range necrotrophic (BHN) phytopathogen, establishes compatible interactions with hosts by deploying multigene infection strategies, rendering simply inherited ...resistance ineffective to fight off this pathogen. Since essential oils (EOs) serve as intermediators during phytobiome communication, we hypothesize that they have the potential to enhance the quantitative disease resistance against BHN by eliciting the adaptive stress response (hormesis) in plants. However, using EOs is challenging due to their poor solubility in water. Nanoemulsification of EOs enhances not only the solubility of EOs but also their potency and stability. Here, we demonstrate the potential use of essential oil nanoemulsions (EONEs) to control infections caused by BHN. Using basic engineering principles of nanocarrier design, we demonstrate the efficacy of a robust EONEs design for controlling B. cinerea infection in a model plant, Arabidopsis thaliana. Our nanoemulsion delivery system significantly enhanced the disease resistance of the host by reducing the necrotic area by up to 50% compared to untreated plants. RNA-seq analysis indicated that successful treatments upregulated autophagy, ROS scavenging, and activation of the jasmonic acid signaling pathway.
BACKGROUND:Social determinants affect health, yet there are few systematic clinical strategies in primary care that leverage electronic health record (EHR) automation to facilitate screening for ...social needs and resource referrals. An EHR-based social determinants of health (SDOH) screening and referral model, adapted from the WE CARE model for pediatrics, was implemented in urban adult primary care.
OBJECTIVES:This study aimed to(1) understand the burden of SDOH among patients at Boston Medical Center; and (2) evaluate the feasibility of implementing a systematic clinical strategy to screen new primary care patients for SDOH, use EHR technology to add these needs to the patient’s chart through autogenerated ICD-10 codes, and print patient language-congruent referrals to available resources upon patient request.
RESEARCH DESIGN:This observational study assessed the number of patients who were screened to be positive and requested resources for social needs. In addition, we evaluated the feasibility of implementing our SDOH strategy by determining the proportion ofeligible patients screened, providers signing orders for positive patient screenings, and provider orders for resource referral guides among patients requesting resource connections.
RESULTS:In total, 1696 of 2420 (70%) eligible patients were screened. Employment (12%), food insecurity (11%), and problems affording medications (11%) were the most prevalent concerns among respondents. In total, 367 of 445 (82%) patients with ≥1 identified needs (excluding education) had the appropriate ICD-10 codes added to their visit diagnoses. In total, 325 of 376 (86%) patients who requested resources received a relevant resource referral guide.
CONCLUSIONS:Implementing a systematic clinical strategy in primary care using EHR workflows was successful in identifying and providing resource information to patients with SDOH needs.
Playing a play De la Vega, Pablo; Suarez-Fernández, Sara; Boto-García, David ...
Journal of cultural economics,
09/2020, Letnik:
44, Številka:
3
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
In this paper, the relation between live and online highbrow performing arts consumption is examined. Specifically, we analyse whether restrictions on live cultural participation can be overcome by ...online consumption and the differences in the profiles of live and online consumers. To this end, using the Survey of Cultural Habits and Practices in Spain 2014–2015, two Bivariate Probit models using information about online and live consumption of highbrow performing arts in Spain are estimated. We separately analyse theatre and musical performing arts (ballet, opera, Spanish operetta and classical music concerts). Our results show that the profiles of live and online cultural consumers differ. However, we also find a complementarity effect between live and online consumption. Therefore, the online channel could be a valuable tool for spreading access to culture that might overcome some restrictions on live cultural participation, such as high prices and time constraints. Alternatively, if this is true only for people already consuming culture but not attracting new consumers, the online channel would help just to reproduce old patrons of inequality in cultural access but not to democratize highbrow culture.
SYSTEMIC AND IDIOSYNCRATIC SOVEREIGN DEBT CRISES Kaminsky, Graciela Laura; Vega-García, Pablo
Journal of the European Economic Association,
February 2016, Letnik:
14, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
The theoretical literature on sovereign defaults has focused on adverse shocks to debtors' economies, suggesting that defaults are of an idiosyncratic nature. Still, sovereign debt crises are also of ...a systemic nature, clustered around panics in the financial center, such as the European Sovereign Debt Crisis in the aftermath of the US Subprime Crisis in 2008. Crises in the financial centers are rare disasters and, thus, their effects on the periphery can only be captured by examining long episodes.In this paper, we examine sovereign defaults from 1820 to the Great Depression, with a focus on Latin America. We find that 63% of the crises are of a systemic nature. These crises are different. Both the international collapse of liquidity and the growth slowdown in the financial centers are at their core. These global shocks trigger longer defaultspells and larger losses for investors.
Chitosan and d-limonene are bioactive molecules derived from organic waste. We repurposed them in the form of a drug delivery system for agricultural applications in crop protection to combatBotrytis ...cinerea, a broad host-range necrotrophic (BHN) pathogen that causes economic losses worldwide. Synthetic fungicide application remains the most common method to control this pathogen, but this comes with a significant environmental cost. Drug delivery systems from naturally occurring biomaterials can offer efficient treatment options to combat this pathogen. We hypothesized that engineered chitosan nanoparticles (CSNPs) loaded with d-limonene can trigger an on-demand systemic defense response in plants that enhances its quantitative disease resistance against BHN. Chitosan nanocarriers encapsulated with d-limonene as cargo were fabricated through a rational formulation via ionic gelation and the spontaneous emulsification method, respectively, to produce chitosan d-limonene nanoparticles (CdlNPs). The therapeutic effect of the d-limonene nanoemulsion, CSNPs, and CdlNPs on the plants’ defense response against necrotrophic fungal pathogens was evaluated by monitoring the dynamic morpho-physiological changes via multispectral image-based phenotyping in an Arabidopsis thaliana (Col-0)–B. cinerea model system. Functional analysis of the differentially expressed genes revealed that at the concentration of significant disease resistance (0.5%), CSNPs downregulated the biological process involved in plant growth and development, but upregulated the main process controlling response to stress.
Abstract
Tamales are a traditional dish rich in fat and carbohydrates with increasing popularity. The present study aimed to investigate the use of agave inulin powder (AIP) as a potential fat ...replacer in tamales. The effect of replacing 0%, 33%, 66%, and 100% (w/w) of fat with AIP was evaluated in the physicochemical, sensory, and nutritional features of tamales. The fat content of tamales decreased up to 88% in AIP tamales, whereas total dietary fiber (TDF) increased up to 14%. TDF in AIP tamales had a higher proportion of soluble dietary fiber (SDF). Moreover, results indicated that both insoluble and SDF were formed during the processing of tamales. Fat replacement led to a reduction of up to 26% in the calorie load of tamales. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis confirmed changes in the absorption bands related to carbohydrates, with increments in peaks associated with inulin (936 and 862 cm
−1
), and inhibition of retrogradation when inulin was included. AIP addition resulted in tamales with lighter color. Fat replacement with AIP affected the texture of tamales increasing their softness, adhesiveness, and cohesiveness. In general, inulin positively affected the hedonic attributes and acceptance of tamales. Interestingly, full‐fat tamales had a lower glycemic index and presented higher contents of resistant starch compared to tamales with AIP. Nevertheless, agave inulin may serve as a fat replacer yielding reduced‐fat tamales with higher TDF and SDF and yielding a lower calorie load without significantly affecting the sensory acceptability of this traditional meal.
Colorectal cancer(CRC) is a major health problem in the Western world. The diagnostic process is a challenge in all health systems for many reasons: There are often no specific symptoms; lower ...abdominal symptoms are very common and mostly related to nonneoplastic diseases, not CRC; diagnosis of CRC is mainlybased on colonoscopy, an invasive procedure; and the resource for diagnosis is usually scarce. Furthermore, the available predictive models for CRC are based on the evaluation of symptoms, and their diagnostic accuracy is limited. Moreover, diagnosis is a complex process involving a sequence of events related to the patient, the initial consulting physician and the health system. Understanding this process is the first step in identifying avoidable factors and reducing the effects of diagnostic delay on the prognosis of CRC. In this article, we describe the predictive value of symptoms for CRC detection. We summarize the available evidence concerning the diagnostic process, as well as the factors implicated in its delay and the methods proposed to reduce it. We describe the different prioritization criteria and predictive models for CRC detection, specifically addressing the two-week wait referral guideline from the National Institute of Clinical Excellence in terms of efficacy, efficiency and diagnostic accuracy. Finally, we collected information on the usefulness of biomarkers, specifically the faecal immunochemical test, as non-invasive diagnostic tests for CRC detection in symptomatic patients.
Objective
To understand providers' perceptions of how a patient's experience of racism may impact the successful implementation of a brief posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment in the safety ...net integrated primary care setting. To conduct a developmental formative evaluation prior to a hybrid type I effectiveness‐implementation trial.
Data Sources and Study Setting
From October 2020 to January 2021, in‐depth qualitative interviews were conducted with integrated primary care stakeholders (N = 27) at the largest safety net hospital in New England, where 82% of patients identify as racial or ethnic minorities.
Study Design
Interviews with clinical stakeholders were used to (a) contextualize current patient and provider experiences and responses to racism, (b) consider how racism may impact PTSD treatment implementation, (c) gather recommendations for potential augmentation to the proposed PTSD treatment (e.g., culturally responsive delivery, cultural adaptation), and (d) gather recommendations for how to shift the integrated primary care practice to an antiracist framework.
Data Collection/Extraction Methods
Interview data were gathered using remote data collection methods (video conferencing). Participants were hospital employees, including psychologists, social workers, primary care physicians, community health workers, administrators, and operations managers. We used conventional content analysis.
Principal Findings
Clinical stakeholders acknowledged the impact of racism, including racial stress and trauma, on patient engagement and noted the potential need to adapt PTSD treatments to enhance engagement. Clinical stakeholders also characterized the harms of racism on patients and providers and provided recommendations such as changes to staff training and hiring practices, examination of racist policies, and increases in support for providers of color.
Conclusions
This study contextualizes providers' perceptions of racism in the integrated primary care practice and provides some suggestions for shifting to an antiracist framework. Our findings also highlight how racism in health care may be a PTSD treatment implementation barrier.
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