Potassium birnessites were prepared using two methods, sol-gel or oxidation. The solids were characterised by element chemical analysis, powder X-ray diffraction, FT-IR spectroscopy, thermal ...analyses, and nitrogen adsorption. The evolution of the properties as a function of the preparation method was discussed. The photocatalytic performance of these solids was preliminarily tested for the degradation of 4-nitrophenol. The degradation pathway and the nature of the by-products were investigated by mass spectrometry. The solids showed good catalytic behaviour, although their preparation must be improved, mainly concerning the calcination step involved in sol-gel synthesis, which led to the formation of Mn
2
O
3
that worsened the catalytic behaviour.
Background
During aging, loss of muscle strength (dynapenia) combined with unhealthy lifestyles and sedentarism can lead to functional limitations and dependency; currently there is still limited ...evidence about multicomponent training as a treatment for dynapenia and dependence in ambulatory older women.
Objective
To evaluate the effect of a multicomponent physical exercise program (VIVIFRAIL) on physical functionality in elderly ambulatory women with dynapenia.
Design, Setting and Participants
A non-randomized clinical trial was realized in 61 ambulatory older women (65–80 years old) with dynapenia that belonged from two Integral Gerontological Centers (IGC) of Hidalgo, Mexico, from June to December 2019.
Intervention
The control group (CG) received the physical daily training applied in the IGC (yoga, cardio-dance or tai chi) and the intervention group (IG) participated in a multicomponent program training (resistance, flexibility, balance and gait) called “VIVIFRAIL” for 12 weeks, minimum 3 weekly sessions of 45–60 minutes.
Measures
All participants were evaluated at baseline (0 weeks), intermediate (6 weeks) and final (12 weeks), evaluations included glucose, blood pressure (SBP and DBP), anthropometric test, body composition evaluation and functional performance test with Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB), Timed Up and Go Test (TUGT), muscle strength and a falls risk short test.
Results
52 older women completed the study, mean age was 71.9 ± 4.46. According to SPPB passport classification was 1 Type A, 1 Type B+, 9 Type C, 7 Type C+ and 9 Type D. After 12 weeks of intervention, statistical analysis showed that multicomponent exercise significantly improved strength (p=<0.001), gait speed (p<0.001), standing from a chair (p<0.001) and TUGT (p<0.001). About falls risk, intervention group went from 70% to 12.5% while control group went from 52.4% to 63.6% (p<0.05).
Conclusion
Older women who completed the 12 weeks multicomponent exercise program significantly improved their functionality in muscle strength, gait speed (3mt and 6mt), standing from a chair and TUGT tests. Also, it showed a significantly decrease in falls risk, therefore, this type of intervention can reduce the risk of frailty in the elderly.
Summary
Background
Childhood obesity is a serious public health problem in Mexico. Adult gut microbiota composition has been linked to obesity, but few studies have addressed the role of gut ...microbiota in childhood obesity.
Objectives
The aim of this study is to compare gut microbiota composition in obese and normal‐weight children and to associate gut microbiota profiles with amino acid serum levels and obesity‐related metabolic traits.
Methods
Microbial taxa relative abundance was determined by 16S rRNA sequencing in 67 normal‐weight and 71 obese children aged 6–12 years. Serum amino acid levels were measured by mass spectrometry. Associations between microbiota composition, metabolic parameters and amino acid serum levels were tested.
Results
No significant differences in phyla abundances or Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratios were observed between normal‐weight and obese children. However, Bacteroides eggerthii abundance was significantly higher in obese children and correlated positively with body fat percentage and negatively with insoluble fibre intake. Additionally, Bacteroides plebeius and unclassified Christensenellaceae abundances were significantly higher in normal‐weight children. Abundance of both these species correlated negatively with phenylalanine serum levels, a metabolite also found to be associated with obesity in Mexican children.
Conclusions
The study identified bacterial species associated with obesity, metabolic complications and amino acid serum levels in Mexican children.
Background: Energetic quarks in nuclear DIS propagate through the nuclear medium. Processes that are believed to occur inside nuclei include quark energy loss through medium-stimulated gluon ...bremsstrahlung and intra-nuclear interactions of forming hadrons. More data are required to gain a more complete understanding of these effects. Purpose: To test the theoretical models of parton transport and hadron formation, we compared their predictions for the nuclear and kinematic dependence of pion production in nuclei. Methods: We have measured charged-pion production in semi-inclusive DIS off D, C, Fe, and Pb using the CLAS detector and the CEBAF 5.014 GeV electron beam. We report results on the nuclear-to-deuterium multiplicity ratio for $\pi^{+}$ and $\pi^{-}$ as a function of energy transfer, four-momentum transfer, and pion energy fraction or transverse momentum - the first three-dimensional study of its kind. Results: The $\pi^{+}$ multiplicity ratio is found to depend strongly on the pion fractional energy $z$, and reaches minimum values of $0.67\pm0.03$, $0.43\pm0.02$, and $0.27\pm0.01$ for the C, Fe, and Pb targets, respectively. The $z$ dependences of the multiplicity ratios for $\pi^{+}$ and $\pi^{-}$ are equal within uncertainties for C and Fe targets but show differences at the level of 10$\%$ for the Pb-target data. The results are qualitatively described by the GiBUU transport model, as well as with a model based on hadron absorption, but are in tension with calculations based on nuclear fragmentation functions. Conclusions: These precise results will strongly constrain the kinematic and flavor dependence of nuclear effects in hadron production, probing an unexplored kinematic region. They will help to reveal how the nucleus reacts to a fast quark, thereby shedding light on its color structure, transport properties, and on the mechanisms of the hadronization process.
Summary This Review assesses the relevant data and controversies regarding the use of radiotherapy for, and locoregional management of, women with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). In view of the ...strong association between BRCA1 and TNBC, knowledge of baseline mutation status can be useful to guide locoregional treatment decisions. TNBC is not a contraindication for breast conservation therapy because data suggest increased locoregional recurrence risks (relative to luminal subtypes) with breast conservation therapy or mastectomy. Although a boost to the tumour bed should routinely be considered after whole breast radiation therapy, TNBC should not be the sole indication for post-mastectomy radiation, and accelerated delivery methods for TNBC should be offered on clinical trials. Preliminary data implying a relative radioresistance for TNBC do not imply radiation omission because radiation provides an absolute locoregional risk reduction. At present, the integration of subtypes in locoregional management decisions is still in its infancy. Until level 1 data supporting treatment decisions based on subtypes are available, standard locoregional management principles should be adhered to.
ABSTRACT We present a study of the spatial distribution and kinematics of star-forming galaxies in 30 massive clusters at 0.15 < z < 0.30, combining wide-field Spitzer 24 m and GALEX near-ultraviolet ...imaging with highly complete spectroscopy of cluster members. The fraction (fSF) of star-forming cluster galaxies rises steadily with cluster-centric radius, increasing fivefold by 2r200, but remains well below field values even at 3r200. This suppression of star formation at large radii cannot be reproduced by models in which star formation is quenched in infalling field galaxies only once they pass within r200 of the cluster, but is consistent with some of them being first pre-processed within galaxy groups. Despite the increasing fSF-radius trend, the surface density of star-forming galaxies actually declines steadily with radius, falling ∼15× from the core to 2r200. This requires star formation to survive within recently accreted spirals for 2-3 Gyr to build up the apparent over-density of star-forming galaxies within clusters. The velocity dispersion profile of the star-forming galaxy population shows a sharp peak of 1.44 at 0.3r500, and is 10%-35% higher than that of the inactive cluster members at all cluster-centric radii, while their velocity distribution shows a flat, top-hat profile within r500. All of these results are consistent with star-forming cluster galaxies being an infalling population, but one that must also survive ∼0.5-2 Gyr beyond passing within r200. By comparing the observed distribution of star-forming galaxies in the stacked caustic diagram with predictions from the Millennium simulation, we obtain a best-fit model in which star formation rates decline exponentially on quenching timescales of 1.73 0.25 Gyr upon accretion into the cluster.
Dietary fiber intake is one of the most influential and efficacious strategies for modulating the gut microbiota. Said fiber can be digested by the microbiota itself, producing numerous metabolites, ...which include the short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). SCFAs have local and systemic functions that impact the composition and function of the gut microbiota, and consequently, human health. The aim of the present narrative review was to provide a document that serves as a frame of reference for a clear understanding of dietary fiber and its direct and indirect effects on health.
The direct benefits of dietary fiber intake can be dependent on or independent of the gut microbiota. The use of dietary fiber by the gut microbiota involves several factors, including the fiber’s physiochemical characteristics. Dietary fiber type influences the gut microbiota because not all bacterial species have the same capacity to produce the enzymes needed for its degradation. A low-fiber diet can affect the balance of the SCFAs produced. Dietary fiber indirectly benefits cardiometabolic health, digestive health, certain functional gastrointestinal disorders, and different diseases.
Una de las estrategias que más impacto y mayor eficacia tiene para la modulación de la microbiota intestinal es el consumo de fibra dietaria, que puede ser digerida por la propia microbiota generando numerosos metabolitos. Entre éstos, se encuentran los ácidos grasos de cadena corta (AGCC) con funciones tanto locales como sistémicas, que impactan en la composición y función de la microbiota intestinal y por lo tanto en la salud humana. El objetivo de esta revisión narrativa fue generar un documento que sirva como marco de referencia para conocer acerca de la fibra dietaria y sus efectos directos e indirectos.
Los beneficios directos de la ingestión de fibra dietaria, pueden ser dependientes o independientes de la microbiota intestinal. La utilización de la fibra dietaria por esta última, depende de varios factores y de sus características fisicoquímicas. La clase de fibra dietaria influye sobre la composición de la microbiota intestinal debido a que no todas las especies tienen la misma capacidad de producir enzimas necesarias para su degradación. El consumo de dietas con bajo contenido de fibra dietaria puede afectar el balance de los AGCC producidos. Los beneficios indirectos de la fibra dietaria impactan sobre la salud cardiometabólica, la salud digestiva, ciertos trastornos funcionales gastrointestinales y enfermedades diversas.
Aliment Pharmacol Ther 2011; 33: 340–348
Summary
Background The long‐term efficacy of adalimumab in patients with ulcerative colitis is not well known.
Aim To evaluate the short‐ and long‐term ...outcomes of adalimumab in ulcerative colitis patients previously treated with infliximab.
Methods Patients with active ulcerative colitis were treated with adalimumab after failure of other therapies including infliximab. Short‐term clinical response and remission were assessed at weeks 4 and 12. The proportion of patients who continued on adalimumab and the proportion of patients who remained colectomy free were assessed over the long term.
Results Clinical response at weeks 4 and 12 was achieved in 16 (53%) and 18 (60%) patients, respectively, and clinical remission was obtained in 3 (10%) and 8 (27%) patients, respectively. After a mean 48 weeks’ follow‐up, 15 patients (50%) continued on adalimumab. Six patients (20%) required colectomy. All patients who achieved clinical response at week 12 were colectomy free at long term.
Conclusions Adalimumab was well tolerated and induced durable clinical response in many patients with otherwise medically refractory ulcerative colitis. Patients achieving clinical response at week 12 avoided colectomy over the long term.
Thermal stress is an important factor in many industrial situations, athletic events and military scenarios. It can seriously affect the productivity and the health of the individual and diminish ...tolerance to other environmental hazards. However, the assessment of the thermal stress and the translation of the stress in terms of physiological and psychological strain is complex. For over a century attempts have been made to construct an index, which will describe heat stress satisfactorily. The many indices that have been suggested can be categorized into one of three groups: "rational indices", "empirical indices", or "direct indices". The first 2 groups are sophisticated indices, which integrate environmental and physiological variables; they are difficult to calculate and are not feasible for daily use. The latter group comprises of simple indices, which are based on the measurement of basic environmental variables. In this group 2 indices are in use for over four decades: the "wet-bulb globe temperature" (WBGT) index and the "discomfort index" (DI). The following review summarizes the current knowledge on thermal indices and their correlates to thermal sensation and comfort. With the present knowledge it is suggested to adopt the DI as a universal heat stress index.
The COVID-19 pandemic presents clinicians a unique set of challenges in managing breast cancer (BC) patients. As hospital resources and staff become more limited during the COVID-19 pandemic, it ...becomes critically important to define which BC patients require more urgent care and which patients can wait for treatment until the pandemic is over. In this Special Communication, we use expert opinion of representatives from multiple cancer care organizations to categorize BC patients into priority levels (A, B, C) for urgency of care across all specialties. Additionally, we provide treatment recommendations for each of these patient scenarios. Priority A patients have conditions that are immediately life threatening or symptomatic requiring urgent treatment. Priority B patients have conditions that do not require immediate treatment but should start treatment before the pandemic is over. Priority C patients have conditions that can be safely deferred until the pandemic is over. The implementation of these recommendations for patient triage, which are based on the highest level available evidence, must be adapted to current availability of hospital resources and severity of the COVID-19 pandemic in each region of the country. Additionally, the risk of disease progression and worse outcomes for patients need to be weighed against the risk of patient and staff exposure to SARS CoV-2 (virus associated with the COVID-19 pandemic). Physicians should use these recommendations to prioritize care for their BC patients and adapt treatment recommendations to the local context at their hospital.
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