Context: To meet the worldwide challenge of emerging diabetes, accessible and inexpensive tests to identify insulin resistance are needed.
Objective: To evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of ...the product of fasting, we compared the triglycerides and glucose (TyG) index, a simple measure of insulin resistance, with the euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamp test.
Design and Setting: We conducted a cross-sectional study of the general population and outpatients of the Internal Medicine Department at the Medical Unit of High Specialty of the Specialty Hospital at the West National Medical Center in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Patients: Eleven nonobese healthy subjects, 34 obese normal glucose tolerance individuals, 22 subjects with prediabetes, and 32 diabetic patients participated in the study.
Intervention: We performed a euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamp test.
Main Outcome Measures: Sensitivity and specificity of the TyG index Ln(fasting triglycerides) (mg/dl) × fasting glucose (mg/dl)/2 were measured, as well as the area under the curve of the receiver operating characteristic scatter plot and the correlation between the TyG index and the total glucose metabolism (M) rates.
Results: Pearson′s correlation coefficient between the TyG index and M rates was −0.681 (P < 0.005). Correlation between the TyG index and M rates was similar between men (−0.740) and women (−0.730), nonobese (−0.705) and obese (−0.710), and nondiabetic (−0.670) and diabetic (−0.690) individuals. The best value of the TyG index for diagnosis of insulin resistance was 4.68, which showed the highest sensitivity (96.5%) and specificity (85.0%; area under the curve + 0.858).
Conclusions: The TyG index has high sensitivity and specificity, suggesting that it could be useful for identification of subjects with decreased insulin sensitivity.
The product of triglycerides and glucose closely mirrors the glucose clamp technique in the assessment of insulin sensitivity.
In Mexico, 35.5% of school-age children were overweight or obese in 2018. The school food environment is important because children spend a significant part of their time at school and consume ...one-third to one-half of their daily meals there. In 2014, a Federal Government guideline for the sale and distribution of food and beverages in Mexican schools was published (the AGREEMENT) but the extent of its implementation is not known.
Descriptive cross-sectional study in a representative, random sample of elementary schools, using the tools of the INFORMAS network. Data collection included: a) an interview with a school authority; b) a checklist of items available in the school canteen; c) a checklist of the school breakfast menu; and d) an evaluation of the physical environment. The main indicators were: percentage of implementation (self-report) of the AGREEMENT and percentage of compliance (researcher verified) with the AGREEMENT (based on tools b and c).
119 schools participated (response rate 87.5%), with 15.1% (95%CI 9.2-22.8) of the schools reporting having fully implemented the AGREEMENT. However, only 1% (95%CI 0-5.3) of the school canteens and 71.4% (95%CI 57.8-82.7) of the school breakfast menus fully complied with the AGREEMENT. A variety of sugar-sweetened beverages and energy-dense, nutrient poor products were found in the school canteens. Further, only 43.7% of the water fountains in schools were functional and 23.4% were clean. In only 24.4% of schools had the school authorities received formal training related to the AGREEMENT and in 28.6% of schools had the parents received information about the AGREEMENT.
The AGREEMENT has been poorly implemented in elementary schools in Mexico. Actions are needed to encourage and support its full implementation to improve the food environment in Mexican schools.
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic autoimmune disease with severe joint inflammation and destruction associated with an inflammatory environment. The etiology behind RA remains to be elucidated; ...most updated concepts include the participation of environmental, proteomic, epigenetic, and genetic factors. Epigenetic is considered the missing link to explain genetic diversification among RA patients. Within epigenetic factors participating in RA, miRNAs are defined as small noncoding molecules with a length of approximately 22 nucleotides, capable of gene expression modulation, either negatively through inhibition of translation and degradation of the mRNA or positively through increasing the translation rate. Over the last decade and due to the feasibility of the identification of miRNAs among different tissues and compartments, they have been proposed as biomarkers for diagnosis, prognosis, and response to treatment in different pathologies. Nevertheless, miRNAs seem to be important regulators of networks instead of single genes; their hypothetical use as biomarkers needs to rely on a functional integrative description of their effects in the biological process of autoimmune conditions which until now is missing. Therefore, we underwent a bibliographic search for review and original articles related to miRNAs and their possible implications in rheumatoid arthritis. We found 48 different studies using the key words “miRNAs” or “micro-RNAs” and “rheumatoid arthritis” with restriction of publication dates from 2011 to 2016, in humans, using the English language. After a critical reading, we provide in this paper a functional view with respect to miRNA biogenesis, interaction with targets that are expressed in specific cells and tissues, during different stages of inflammatory responses associated with RA, and recognized specific areas where miRNAs might also have a pathogenic role but remain undescribed. Our results will be useful in designing future research projects that can support miRNAs as biomarkers or therapeutic targets in RA.
The effects SARS-CoV-2 inflicts on human physiology, especially in patients who developed COVID-19, can range from flu-like symptoms to death, and although many lives have been lost during the ...pandemic, others have faced the resolution of aggressive neoplasms that once proclaimed a poor prognosis following traditional treatments. The purpose of this review was to analyze several fortunate case reports and their associated biomolecular pathways to further explore new avenues that might provide oncological treatments in the future of medicine. We included papers that discussed cases in which patients affected by COVID-19 suffered beneficial changes in their cancer status. Multiple mechanisms which elicited a reactivation of the host's immune system included cross-reactivity with viral antigens and downregulation of neoplastic cells. We were able to identify important cases presenting the resolution/remission of different aggressive neoplasms, for which most of the time, standard-of-care treatments offered little to no prospect towards a cure. The intricacy of the defense mechanisms humans have adopted against cancer cells through the millennia are still not well understood, but SARS-CoV-2 has demonstrated that the same ruinous cytokine storm which has taken so many lives can paradoxically be the answer we have been looking for to recalibrate the immunological system to retarget and vanquish malignancies.
Background. Urinary tract infections (UTIs) affect up to 150 million individuals annually worldwide, mainly due to Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Klebsiella. The emergence and spread of ...multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria are increasing, representing one of the biggest threats for human health. The objective of our study was to describe antimicrobial patterns of resistance and identify risk factors associated with MDR uropathogens. Methods. We conducted a cross-sectional study in 296 patients with community-acquired UTI who underwent clinical and microbiologic analysis, and clinical associations to MDR uropathogens were investigated. Findings. Microbiological analysis included E. coli (55%), ESBL-E. coli (26%), Enterococcus (6%), Klebsiella (5%), and others (8%). Higher frequencies of MDR bacteria were found among ESBL-E. coli, with resistance to ampicillin (100%), ceftriaxone (96%), gentamicin (57%), ciprofloxacin (89%), and TMP/SMX (53%). However, they were sensitive to fosfomycin (6.6%), nitrofurantoin (1.3%), and carbapenems (0%). Fosfomycin MIC90 for ESBL-E. coli was 5.78 μg/mL. The only clinical variable with significant association to ESBL producers was the presence of comorbidities: hypertension and type 2 diabetes mellitus with an OR (95%CI) of 2.51.3−4.9p<0.01 and 2.81.2−6.7p<0.05, respectively. Conclusions. In the majority of cases, resistance rates to commonly prescribed antimicrobials in UTIs were high, except for fosfomycin, nitrofurantoin, and carbapenems. To provide appropriate treatment, both the identification of risk factors and the uropathogen would be important. An active surveillance in UTIs in the community is required since the proportion of ESBL producers is increasing.
The distribution of the wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) extends from Mexico to southeastern Canada and to the eastern and southern regions of the USA. Six subspecies have been described based on ...morphological characteristics and/or geographical variations in wild and domesticated populations. In this paper, based on DNA sequence data from the mitochondrial D-loop, we investigated the genetic diversity and structure, genealogical relationships, divergence time and demographic history of M. gallopavo populations including domesticated individuals.
Analyses of 612 wild and domesticated turkey mitochondrial D-loop sequences, including 187 that were collected for this study and 425 from databases, revealed 64 haplotypes with few mutations, some of which are shared between domesticated and wild turkeys. We found a high level of haplotype and nucleotide diversity, which suggests that the total population of this species is large and stable with an old evolutionary history. The results of genetic differentiation, haplotype network, and genealogical relationships analyses revealed three main genetic groups within the species: mexicana as a population relict (C1), merriami (C2), and mexicana/intermedia/silvestris/osceola (C3). Haplotypes detected in domesticated turkeys belong to group C3. Estimates of divergence times agree with range expansion and diversification events of the relict population of M. gallopavo in northwestern Mexico during the Pliocene-Pleistocene and Pleistocene-Holocene boundaries. Demographic reconstruction showed that an expansion of the population occurred 110,000 to 130,000 years ago (Kya), followed by a stable period 100 Kya and finally a decline ~ 10 Kya (Pleistocene-Holocene boundary). In Mexico, the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt may be responsible for the range expansion of the C3 group. Two haplotypes with different divergence times, MGMDgoB/MICH1 and MICH2, are dominant in domesticated and commercial turkeys.
During the Pleistocene, a large and stable population of M. gallopavo covered a wide geographic distribution from the north to the center of America (USA and Mexico). The mexicana, merriami, and mexicana/intermedia/silvestris/osceola genetic groups originated after divergence and range expansion from northwestern Mexico during the Pliocene-Pleistocene and Pleistocene-Holocene boundaries. Old and new maternal lines of the mexicana/intermedia/silvestris/osceola genetic group were distributed within the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt where individuals were captured for domestication. Two haplotypes are the main founder maternal lines of domesticated turkeys.
The environmental impact caused by the intensive exploitation of fossil fuels to generate heat and electricity has already reached a critical level. Also, as the industrial sector is the largest ...energy consumer, mainly in the form of heat, it has then become compulsive to implement the use of renewable solar heat in industrial processes, such as those found in the food processing and beverages industries, which do not require high temperatures. Consequently, this study examines the viability of supplying heat as hot water at 80 °C and saturated steam at 160 °C to a medium-sized brewery factory through a hybrid solar plant composed of flat plate and parabolic trough collectors and sensible thermal energy storage. The study was conducted numerically using the meteorological conditions of a city different from that where the factory is located because it benefits from higher insolation levels. The mean annual solar fractions achieved were 49.9% for hot water production and 37.3% for steam generation, at a levelized cost of heat of 0.032 USD/kWh, which can be considered competitive if compared against the values reported in other similar solar projects. Also, the decrease in fossil fuel consumption allowed an annual reduction of 252 tons of carbon dioxide emissions.
Several studies suggest that the holiday season, starting from the last week of November to the first or second week of January, could be critical to gaining weight. This study aims to review the ...literature to determine the effects of the holidays on body weight. In studies of adults, a significant weight gain was consistently observed during this period (0.4 to 0.9 kg, p<0.05). The only study in college students found an effect on body fat but not on weight (0.1 kg, p=0.71). The only study found in children did not show an effect on BMI percentile (−0.4%, p>0.05) during this period. Among individuals with obesity who attempt to lose weight, an increase in weight was observed (0.3 to 0.9 kg, significant in some but not in all studies), as well as increase in weight in motivated self-monitoring people (0.4 to 0.6%, p<0.001). Programs focused on self-monitoring during the holidays (phone calls and daily mailing) appeared to prevent weight gain, but information is limited. The holiday season seems to increase body weight in adults, even in participants seeking to lose weight and in motivated self-monitoring people, whereas in children, adolescents, and college students, very few studies were found to make accurate conclusions.
Metabolomics is a technology that generates large amounts of data and contributes to obtaining wide and integral explanations of the biochemical state of a living organism. Plants are continuously ...affected by abiotic stresses such as water scarcity, high temperatures and high salinity, and metabolomics has the potential for elucidating the response-to-stress mechanisms and develop resistance strategies in affected cultivars. This review describes the characteristics of each of the stages of metabolomic studies in plants and the role of metabolomics in the characterization of the response of various plant species to abiotic stresses.
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