Introduction: Residents of rural communities face unique geographic challenges in accessing food and healthcare, which may contribute to poor diet quality and increase the risk of diabetes. We ...compared Alternative Healthy Eating Index (aHEI) scores among residents with and without a history of diabetes from a rural county in New York known to have poor health outcomes.
Methods: In 2021, we performed a cross-sectional survey and validated food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) among residents in Sullivan County, NY, a rural county that has the second-worst health outcomes among all counties in New York. We compared overall total aHEI scores and the 11 component scores of the aHEI between 155 rural participants with diabetes and 961 without a history of diagnosed diabetes.
Results: We found statistically lower healthy eating scores among rural study participants with diabetes compared to those without diabetes (p=0.01). While the overall magnitude of this difference in total aHEI was not large (54.1 versus 56.7), our analysis of aHEI component scores found that study participants with diabetes had statistically worse eating habits for nuts/legumes, red meat, trans-fats, and alcoholic drinks (p-values of 0.036, 0.001, 0.002 and 0.002 respectively). Notably, one category where rural residents with diabetes had better eating habits than those without diabetes was for sugary beverages/juice.
Discussion: Our study found worse eating habits among rural residents with diabetes compared to those without diabetes in a rural county with particularly poor health outcomes. Additionally, this study highlights the potential need for accessible nutritional education in high-risk rural communities. While study participants with diabetes on average, consumed fewer sugary beverages and juice, more attention may need to be focused on reducing other food categories that might increase the risk of poor glycemic control.
Disclosure
M.Rony: None. C.Quintero arias: None. N.N.Wise: None. A.Prabu: None. K.Doran: None. R.Anthopolos: None. B.Elbel: None. L.Thorpe: None. D.C.Lee: None.
Funding
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (R01DK124400)
Este trabajo indaga en las instrucciones y los registros producidos a partir de la Encuesta Nacional de Folklore de 1921, organizada por el Consejo Nacional de Educación con la intención de recopilar ...“tradiciones populares marcadamente antiguas” (Ramos, 1921: 15). Se trabaja a partir del análisis de las instrucciones y de un conjunto de respuestas clasificadas con la categoría “conocimientos populares de la ciencia”. En particular, se eligieron respuestas que mencionan “objetos del pasado”, incluidas noticias, sitios y objetos arqueológicos y paleontológicos. El objetivo consiste en mostrar que gran parte de lo que se ha clasificado como saber popular está mediado por las lecturas propias de la educación docente, no muy diferente de la formación que tenían quienes crearon la encuesta. En este sentido, el análisis permite evidenciar cómo se superponen capas de saberes, donde los maestros recurren a su formación docente y a referencias de “expertos” en ciertas temáticas; a la vez que se apropian de los hallazgos e investigaciones científicas, y los resignifican al considerar estas prácticas como parte del acervo folklórico y popular de la región.
Methanol-to-gasoline (MtG) is an alternative process for the production of liquid fuel that involves the conversion of methanol into light and heavy hydrocarbons. The attractiveness of this option ...relies on multiple feedstocks that can be used to produce methanol, which can impact the greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere in comparison to petroleum-based feedstocks. However, one of the challenges of this alternative gasoline production is its high investment cost. This study presents a solution to increase affordability by using repurposed equipment from petrochemical industries. The study employs three modeling techniques, i.e., kinetic modeling, process modeling, and techno-economic analysis. First, a lumped MtG kinetic mechanism using an hierarchical zeolite socony mobil-5 (HZSM-5) catalyst was developed and validated against the literature data to enable high-accuracy process modeling and optimization. Then, the kinetics were implemented in Aspen Plus V12 for process simulations of the fixed-bed MtG, optimization of the operating conditions, and heat integration to increase energy efficiency. Lastly, a techno-economic analysis (TEA) gives the levelized cost of the e-gasoline along with the sensitivity analysis to demonstrate the variables that mainly affect the cost. The TEA showed a price for the e-gasoline with a gray methanol feedstock of 1.82 USD/L, which is comparable with the current average retail gasoline price (1.29 USD/L). Additionally, increasing the capacity by 161 times can reduce the levelized price of e-gasoline to 0.761 USD/L.
Resumen: El artículo analiza elementos derivados de la investigación que sistematizó la experiencia de la implementación de la Comisión para el Esclarecimiento de la Verdad, la Convivencia y la No ...Repetición de Colombia en el exilio, en Chile y Ecuador: 1) la importancia de las redes de confianza tejidas para adelantar la tarea de la CEV en el exilio; 2) el valor reparador para las víctimas del reconocimiento estatal y social del exilio como hecho victimizante; y 3) la importancia de la incorporación del enfoque psicosocial en el proceso de escucha. A través de un método cualitativo y participativo, con herramientas narrativas y colaborativas de investigación psicosocial se vivenció y reflexionó analíticamente la experiencia, develando los sentidos y significados que el proceso generó en los y las participantes. Se dan pistas de cómo los mecanismos transicionales como las Comisiones de la Verdad pueden tener un efecto reparador para quienes participan.
Abstract: This article analyzes elements derived from systematizing the experience of the implementation of the Colombian Commission for the Clarification of Truth, Coexistence, and Non-Repetition in Exile (CEV), particularly in Chile and Ecuador: 1) the importance of trust networks woven to advance in the process of articulating actions for the implementation of the CEV; 2) the reparative value for victims of the recognition made by the State and the society of their exile as a victimizing act 3) the importance of the psychosocial approach in the listening process. Through a qualitative and participatory method, the researchers made part of the CEV process, using narrative and collaborative psychosocial research tools, and experiencing, analyzing, and reflecting; they enlightened the senses and meanings that the process had in the participants. The results allow an understanding of how transitional mechanisms such as Truth Commissions may have a restorative effect on their participants.
It is a privilege to recognize a new species and immortalize it with a name. Taxonomists may use etymologies recalling the sampling locality, habitat, species morphology, people (actor, writer, ...singer, politician, scientist), culture (customs, beliefs), fictional characters (gods, demons, cartoons), brands, ancient names, and others. Naming a species is a creative act that allows scientists to express their love for nature. By drawing on personal and cultural associations, species names are often imbued with far greater meaning than one might initially assume. Unconventional names for species can be an effective way to capture the imagination of the public and make the species memorable. In other words, species names can be both meaningful and whimsical. The central focus of this study was to pinpoint species in the subfamily Microgastrinae that share the same specific epithet that often creates confusion regarding which species is being referred to. The findings showed that 153 specific epithets were repeated representing 340 species in 52 genera, while the remaining 2,823 species have unique epithets. Three of the five categories proposed accommodate the majority of the etymologies: people (42%), morphology (27%), and geography (15%) whereas the categories of other (9%) and biology (7%) achieve the least representation. Approximately 95% of the same specific epithets had a single clear meaning, while for the remaining 5%, it was not possible to trace etymology. The study revealed that the average length of specific epithets was 9.01 letters, the longest contains 18 (eliethcantillanoae) while the shortest four (eros and erro). Additionally, most identical specific epithets were repeated two times (85.25% of the occurrences), although three (12.82%), five, six, and even nine (each one with 0.64%) repetitions were also found. Finally, a list of recommendations for taxonomists when faced with the task of naming a new species is provided.
The rapid growth in the extraction of clinical events from unstructured clinical records has raised considerable challenges. In this paper, we propose the use of different features with a statical ...modeling method called conditional random fields, which is consider an algorithm for effectively solving problems of sequence tagging. Our goal is to determine which feature selection can affect the performance of four subtasks presented in SemEval Task-12: Clinical TempEval 2016. We applied a careful preprocessing, where the proposed method was tested on real clinical records from Task-12: Clinical TempEval 2016. The comparative analyses obtained indicate that our proposal achieves good results compared to the work presented in Task-12: Clinical TempEval 2016 challenges.
To date, there is no specific antiviral therapy for severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that causes Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). Since there is no specific therapy ...against SARS-CoV2, current efforts aim to prevent contagion through public health measures and develop a protective vaccine. While waiting for the latter, it is necessary to evaluate the drugs that at least, in initial studies, suggested some degree of utility in the management of Covid-19 or its complications. The main objective of the study was to describe the clinical manifestations and outcomes of patients with severe Covid-19 Pneumonia treated with corticosteroids and colchicine.
A cross sectional study of 301 adult patients with Covid-19 Pneumonia confirmed by Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction for SARS-CoV2 (RT-PCR SARS-CoV2), Berlin protocol, who required hospitalization in three hospitals in Antioquia, Colombia. Patients were treated according to the institutional protocol (from March 20, 2020 to June 30, 2020) with corticosteroid if the patient required supplemental oxygen. From July 1, 2020, the management protocol changed with the addition of colchicine to all patients admitted to the institutions. The treatment was supervised and monitored by the same specialist in Infectology of the institutions. We describe the clinical manifestations and outcomes of the patients who received these treatments. The information of the patients was analyzed according to the outcome of interest (alive/dead) with univariate, bivariate, and multivariate measures to adjust the variables that presented statistical association.
All patients had pneumonia documented by chest computed tomography with ground glass images and presented an alveolar pressure/inspired oxygen fraction (PaFi) less than 300. Three hundred one patients were included, 240 (79.7%) received corticosteroids, within these 145 (48.2%) received colchicine also, and the remaining 61 (20.3%) patients did not receive corticosterioids or colchicine. Mortality in the group that received colchicine was lower compared to the group that did not receive it (9.6 vs 14.6%, p-value = 0.179).
Treatment with corticosteroids and colchicine for managing patients with severe Covid-19 Pneumonia was associated with low mortality at the hospital level. Randomized, placebo-controlled studies are required to evaluate the effect of corticosteroids and colchicine on complications or death from Covid-19.
There are concerns about muscle and bone health in patients with Phenylketonuria (PKU). Our aim was to compare muscle mass, function, and bone health among young adults with PKU who maintained or ...suspended dietary treatment.
Three groups were considered-PKU-1: 10 patients who used a protein substitute (PS) without phenylalanine (Phe); PKU-2: 14 patients who used the PS without Phe until eighteen years old and then practiced mostly a vegan diet; and 24 matched healthy controls. A 24 h recall survey, blood parameters, body composition and bone mineral density through DEXA, rectus femoris thickness by ultrasound, hand grip strength, submaximal exercise test, and walking speed were assessed.
PKU-1 patients had lower hand grip strength than their matched controls, but no other differences. Compared to controls, the PKU-2 group had lower fat-free mass (
= 0.01), less spine and femoral bone mineral density (
= 0.04 and
< 0.01, respectively), and peak workload on the incremental test (
= 0.03). When comparing PKU groups, blood Phe levels were significantly lower in the PKU-1 group (
= 0.02).
Among PKU patients, abandoning the dietary treatment and maintaining high blood Phe concentrations could be deleterious for muscles and bones. However, we cannot discard other causes of bone and muscle damage in these patients.
Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) is a biocompatible material widely used in spinal and craniofacial implants, with potential use in percutaneous implants. However, its inertness prevents it from forming a ...tight seal with the surrounding soft tissue, which can lead to infections and implant failure. Conversely, the surface chemistry of percutaneous organs (i.e., teeth) helps establish a strong interaction with the epithelial cells of the contacting soft tissues, and hence a tight seal, preventing infection. The seal is created by adsorption of basement membrane (BM) proteins, secreted by epithelial cells, onto the percutaneous organ surfaces. Here, we aim to create a tight seal between PEEK and epithelial tissues by mimicking the surface chemistry of teeth. Our hypothesis is that collagen I, the most abundant tooth protein, enables integration between the epithelial tissue and teeth by promoting adsorption of BM proteins. To test this, we immobilized collagen I via EDC/NHS coupling on a carboxylated PEEK surface modified using diazonium chemistry. We used titanium alloy (Ti-6Al-4V) for comparison, as titanium is the most widely used percutaneous biomaterial. Both collagen-modified PEEK and titanium showed a larger adsorption of key BM proteins (laminin, nidogen, and fibronectin) compared to controls. Keratinocyte epithelial cell viability on collagen-modified PEEK was twice that of control PEEK and ∼1.5 times that of control titanium after 3 days of cell seeding. Both keratinocytes and fibroblasts spread more on collagen-modified PEEK and titanium compared to controls. This work introduces a versatile and biomimetic surface modification technique that may enhance PEEK–epithelial tissue sealing with the potential of extending PEEK applications to percutaneous implants, making it competitive with titanium.
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