Título del artículo:

COVID-19 Pandemics: an opportunity to give Nursing global visibility

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Revista Gaucha de Enfermagem

Título del artículo:

Household Air Pollution and Adult Lung Function Change, Respiratory Disease, and Mortality across Eleven Low- and Middle-Income Countries from the PURE Study

BACKGROUND: Globally, household air pollution (HAP) is a major environmental hazard that affects respiratory health. However, few studies have examined associations between HAP and lung function decline and respiratory disease and mortality. METHODS: We used data from the Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiology study and examined adults residing in 240 rural communities in 11 low- and middle-income countries where HAP from cooking with solid fuels is common. Spirometry was conducted for 28,574 individuals at baseline and 12,489 individuals during follow-up (mean of 8 y between spirometry measures). In cross-sectional analyses, we compared lung function measurements [forced expiratory volume in 1 s (formula presented ), forced vital capacity (FVC), and formula presented /FVC ratio] in those who used solid fuels for cooking in comparison with clean fuels. Using repeated measurements of lung function, we examined the percent change in lung function measures per year, comparing individuals by baseline fuel type and individuals who used solid fuels at baseline but switched to clean fuels during follow-up. We also examined associations with prospective health events (any respiratory diseases, respiratory disease hospitalizations, and all-cause mortality). RESULTS: In adjusted cross-sectional models, use of solid fuel in comparison with clean fuels was associated with lower formula presented of formula presented (95% CI: formula presented ) and FVC of formula presented (95% CI: formula presented , 3.2), but not formula presented /FVC. In longitudinal analyses, individuals who switched from solid fuels to clean cooking fuels during follow-up (formula presented , 46% of those using solid fuel at baseline), showed no differences in the annual rate of change in formula presented or FVC, but had small improvements in formula presented /FVC change (0.2% per year, 95% CI: 0.03, 0.3). Individuals who switched from solid to clean fuels had a decreased hazard ratio for respiratory events of 0.76 (95% CI: 0.57, 1.00) in comparison with persistent solid fuel users, which was not attenuated by lung function measures. CONCLUSION: We observed modest associations between HAP exposure and lung function, lung function change, and respiratory disease and mortality. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP11179.

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Environmental health perspectives

Título del artículo:

Exploring long COVID condition in Latin America: Its impact on patients’ activities and associated healthcare use

Background: Studies exploring long COVID condition (LCC) in low- and middle-income countries are scarce. Further characterization of LCC patients experiencing activity limitations and their associated healthcare use is needed. This study aimed to describe LCC patients’ characteristics, its impact on activities, and associated healthcare use in Latin America (LATAM). Participants: Individuals who (cared for someone or) had COVID-19 and could read, write, and comprehend Spanish and lived in a LATAM country were invited to complete a virtual survey. Sociodemographic characteristics, COVID-19 and LCC symptoms, activity limitations, and healthcare use. Results: Data from 2,466 people from 16 countries in LATAM were analyzed (females = 65.9%; mean age of 39.5 ± 53.3 years). 1,178 (48%) of the respondents had LCC symptoms (≥3 months). These were more likely to have COVID-19 earlier in the pandemic, were older, had no COVID vaccines, had more comorbidities, needed supplementary oxygen, and reported significantly more COVID-19 symptoms during the infectious period. 33% of the respondents visited a primary care provider, 13% went to the emergency department, 5% were hospitalized, 21% visited a specialist, and 32% consulted ≥1 therapist for LCC symptoms mainly extreme fatigue, sleep difficulties, headaches, muscle or joint pain, and shortness of breath with activity. The most consulted therapists were respiratory therapists (15%) and psychologists (14%), followed by physical therapists (13%), occupational therapists (3%), and speech pathologists (1%). One-third of LCC respondents decreased their regular activities (e.g., work, school) and 8% needed help with activities of daily living (ADLs). LCC respondents who reduced their activities reported more difficulty sleeping, chest pain with activity, depression, and problems with concentration, thinking, and memory, while those who needed help with ADLs were more likely to have difficulty walking, and shortness of breath at rest. Approximately 60% of respondents who experienced activity limitations sought a specialist and 50% consulted therapists. Conclusions and relevance: Results supported previous findings in terms of the LCC demographics, and provided insight into LCC impact on patients’ activities and healthcare services used in LATAM. This information is valuable to inform service planning and resource allocation in alignment with the needs of this population.

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Frontiers in Medicine

Título del artículo:

Pleural tuberculosis, a report of a case in the Regional Hospital of San Gil, Santander, Colombia

BACKGROUND: Pleural tuberculosis is characterized by a severe inflammatory process that leads to the formation of an exudative pleural effusion due to the increased permeability of the pleural capillaries and obstruction of the lymphatics of the parietal pleura. Its clinical presentation is predominantly atypical, so it represents a challenge for an accurate diagnosis and optimal treatment for patients CLINICAL CASE: A 53-year-old male patient with tuberculous pleural effusion and a history of chronic alcohol consumption without medication, who was admitted with signs and symptoms of water congestion, so we focused on symptoms such as decompensated heart failure vs anasarca due to hypoalbuminemia. A pleural effusion highlighted that occupied two thirds parts of the right hemithorax, so diuretic therapy was started without improvement on the third day of treatment, evidenced due to persistent pleural effusion in a high-resolution chest tomography, which required performing a diagnostic and therapeutic thoracentesis, documenting exudative lymphocytic pleural effusion with positive bacilloscopy in pleural fluid. CONCLUSIONS: Pleural effusion is common in routine medical practice and can be due to many underlying diseases, among these, pleural tuberculosis. Therefore, it is always necessary to approach and study the pleural fluid, individualizing the patient and using the appropriate diagnostic tests.

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Medicina Interna de Mexico

Título del artículo:

Practical demonstration of the importance of wavelength in Ultraviolet Visible spectroscopy

In the present work, the design of a series of experiments was carried out with the objective of providing teachers of analytical chemistry courses with tools that allow them to demonstrate in a practical way the importance of the analysis wavelength in the measurements of absorbance in the, discipline of visible ultraviolet spectroscopy. Initially, a series of experiments based on the absorption of radiation by methylene blue and bromothymol blue (with pH regulated at 3.7) at different concentrations are proposed. To do this, the red (665 nm) and violet (405 nm) colored beam was passed over the solution to be studied and the attenuation of the intensity (or power) of the radiation beam was observed qualitatively after leaving the solution cell, considering that the greater the attenuation or decrease in the intensity of the radiation, the greater the absorbance of the sample. Finally, an experiment is proposed in the laboratory based on the realization of calibration curves of methylene blue and bromothymol blue (regulated at pH 3.7) at different wavelengths (665 and 425 nm), to provide quantitative information to the student about the importance of the selection of the wavelength in applications of visible ultraviolet absorption spectroscopy.

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Educacion Quimica

Título del artículo:

Selective Photooxidation of Valencene and Thymol with Nano-TiO2 and O2 as Oxidant

The selective photocatalytic oxidation with O2 as oxidant of valencene and thymol was evaluated using nanostructured TiO2 under UV-Vis radiation at atmospheric conditions. The effect of the morphology and optical properties of TiO2 nanotubes and aminate nanoparticles was studied. Different scavengers were used to detect the presence of positive holes (h+), electrons (e-), hydroxyl radicals (•OH), and the superoxide radical anion (O2-) during the photooxidation reaction. Superoxide anion radical is the main oxidizing specie formed, which is responsible for the selective formation of nootkatone and thymoquinone using aminated TiO2 nanoparticles under 400 nm radiation.

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Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)

Título del artículo:

Design of rainwater harvesting storage through efficiency and cost elasticity: case study Santander University

Reliability analysis is usually required as input for feasibility assessments of rainwater harvesting (RWH) systems. This study introduces the concept of elasticity between the volumetric reliability and a cost function to optimize the storage capacity. The elasticity was estimated for three tanks at a campus of the Universidad de Santander, Colombia; by means of a daily water balance under specific conditions of demand (non-potable uses), infrastructure (area and coverage of surface), and climatic variability. This method showed that, the average expected efficiency ranges from 29% to 58% with tanks of 60 m3. These values are 7–10% lower than those expected just from the water balance, but the size of tanks decreases by up to 53%. Therefore, the present method allows not only a comparison between expected efficiencies from average estimations with the optimization from daily water balance, but also with that estimated in conjunction with costs.

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Urban Water Journal

Título del artículo:

Extracardiac mixoma: an unusual case in the aortic arch

Myxomas are the most common benign primary cardiac tumors in adults, occurring in 95% of cases in the atria, typically in the left atrium. Very rarely its presentation is extracardiac, its incidence is currently unknown due to the few reported cases. We present the case of a 53-year-old man who was admitted with chronic ischemia of the left upper limb, due to a dependent lesion of the aorta, imaging studies were performed that made a presumptive diagnosis of myxoma of the aortic arch, he underwent tumor resection. The diagnosis was confirmed by histopathological study.

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Revista Colombiana de Cardiologia

Título del artículo:

Combined effect of physical exercise and hormone replacement therapy on cardiovascular and metabolic health in postmenopausal women: A systematic review and meta-analysis

The cardioprotective effect of postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy (HRT) has been demonstrated in several studies. Similarly, physical exercise has yielded positive results. However, the effects of their combination remain inconclusive. This review describes the combined effects of physical exercise and hormone therapy on cardiovascular and metabolic health in postmenopausal women. We searched the Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, and Embase databases and included randomized controlled trials published up to December 2021 on the combined effects of physical exercise and hormone therapy on cardiovascular and metabolic health in postmenopausal women. We identified 148 articles, of which only seven met the inclusion criteria (386 participants; 91 [23%] HRT + exercise; 104 [27%] HRT; 103 [27%] exercise; 88 [23%] placebo). The combined treatment further decreased systolic blood pressure (SBP) compared to the isolated effect of aerobic training (AT) (mean difference [MD]=-1.69; 95% confidence interval [CI]=-2.65 to -0.72, n=73). Nevertheless, it attenuated the decrease in diastolic blood pressure (DBP) (MD=0.78; 95%CI: 0.22-1.35, n=73), and the increase in peak oxygen consumption (VO2 peak) promoted by exercise (AT + HRT=2.8±1.4 vs AT + placebo=5.8±3.4, P=0.02). The combination of AT and oral HRT improved SBP. However, AT alone seemed to have a better effect on physical fitness and DBP in postmenopausal women.

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Brazilian journal of medical and biological research = Revista brasileira de pesquisas medicas e biologicas

Título del artículo:

Global Variations in Heart Failure Etiology, Management, and Outcomes

Importance: Most epidemiological studies of heart failure (HF) have been conducted in high-income countries with limited comparable data from middle- or low-income countries. Objective: To examine differences in HF etiology, treatment, and outcomes between groups of countries at different levels of economic development. Design, Setting, and Participants: Multinational HF registry of 23 341 participants in 40 high-income, upper-middle-income, lower-middle-income, and low-income countries, followed up for a median period of 2.0 years. Main Outcomes and Measures: HF cause, HF medication use, hospitalization, and death. Results: Mean (SD) age of participants was 63.1 (14.9) years, and 9119 (39.1%) were female. The most common cause of HF was ischemic heart disease (38.1%) followed by hypertension (20.2%). The proportion of participants with HF with reduced ejection fraction taking the combination of a β-blocker, renin-angiotensin system inhibitor, and mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist was highest in upper-middle-income (61.9%) and high-income countries (51.1%), and it was lowest in low-income (45.7%) and lower-middle-income countries (39.5%) (P < .001). The age- and sex- standardized mortality rate per 100 person-years was lowest in high-income countries (7.8 [95% CI, 7.5-8.2]), 9.3 (95% CI, 8.8-9.9) in upper-middle-income countries, 15.7 (95% CI, 15.0-16.4) in lower-middle-income countries, and it was highest in low-income countries (19.1 [95% CI, 17.6-20.7]). Hospitalization rates were more frequent than death rates in high-income countries (ratio = 3.8) and in upper-middle-income countries (ratio = 2.4), similar in lower-middle-income countries (ratio = 1.1), and less frequent in low-income countries (ratio = 0.6). The 30-day case-fatality rate after first hospital admission was lowest in high-income countries (6.7%), followed by upper-middle-income countries (9.7%), then lower-middle-income countries (21.1%), and highest in low-income countries (31.6%). The proportional risk of death within 30 days of a first hospital admission was 3- to 5-fold higher in lower-middle-income countries and low-income countries compared with high-income countries after adjusting for patient characteristics and use of long-term HF therapies. Conclusions and Relevance: This study of HF patients from 40 different countries and derived from 4 different economic levels demonstrated differences in HF etiologies, management, and outcomes. These data may be useful in planning approaches to improve HF prevention and treatment globally.

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JAMA

Título del artículo:

Sleep Patterns and the Risk of Acute Stroke: Results From the INTERSTROKE International Case-Control Study

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Symptoms of sleep disturbance are common and may represent important modifiable risk factors of stroke. We evaluated the association between a spectrum of sleep disturbance symptoms and the risk of acute stroke in an international setting. METHODS: The INTERSTROKE study is an international case-control study of patients presenting with first acute stroke and controls matched by age (±5 years) and sex. Sleep symptoms in the previous month were assessed through a questionnaire. Conditional logistic regression estimated the association between sleep disturbance symptoms and acute stroke, expressed as odds ratios (ORs) and 95% CIs. The primary model adjusted for age, occupation, marital status, and modified Rankin scale at baseline, with subsequent models adjusting for potential mediators (behavioral/disease risk factors). RESULTS: Overall, 4,496 matched participants were included, with 1,799 of them having experienced an ischemic stroke and 439 an intracerebral hemorrhage. Short sleep (<5 hours: OR 3.15, 95% CI 2.09-4.76), long sleep (>9 hours: OR 2.67, 95% CI 1.89-3.78), impaired quality (OR 1.52, 95% CI 1.32-1.75), difficulty getting to sleep (OR 1.32, 95% CI 1.13-1.55) or maintaining sleep (OR 1.33, 95% CI 1.15-1.53), unplanned napping (OR 1.48, 95% CI 1.20-1.84), prolonged napping (>1 hour: OR 1.88, 95% CI 1.49-2.38), snoring (OR 1.91, 95% CI 1.62-2.24), snorting (OR 2.64, 95% CI 2.17-3.20), and breathing cessation (OR 2.87, 95% CI 2.28-3.60) were all significantly associated with an increased odds of acute stroke in the primary model. A derived obstructive sleep apnea score of 2-3 (2.67, 2.25-3.15) and cumulative sleep symptoms (>5: 5.38, 4.03-7.18) were also associated with a significantly increased odds of acute stroke, with the latter showing a graded association. After an extensive adjustment, significance was maintained for most of the symptoms (not difficulty getting to/maintaining sleep and unplanned napping), with similar findings for stroke subtypes. DISCUSSION: We found that sleep disturbance symptoms were common and associated with a graded increased risk of stroke. These symptoms may be a marker of increased individual risk or represent independent risk factors. Future clinical trials are warranted to determine the efficacy of sleep interventions in stroke prevention.

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Neurology

Título del artículo:

Virtual classroom support for teaching Industrial Mycology

Objective: Design a virtual classroom to support the appropriation of knowledge of industrial mycology in the experiential context of students in the fifth semester 2020B of the Industrial Microbiology program. Method: A structured experiential survey was carried out, the responses were analyzed, and the virtual classroom was designed and implemented in Moodle, using different activities. Results: The virtual Mycology classroom was designed and set on the Moodle platform; in the same way, the mental mapping activities, workshops, and the recording of synchronous encounters were uploaded using BigBlueButton®. Majority of students agree that mind mapping was the activity with which they felt most comfortable. Discussion and Conclusion: The collected evaluations are consistent with other publications, where the virtual classroom created was liked by the students and facilitated the Teaching-Learning processes between teacher-student too. Likewise, in this way, the respondents agree that the mind maps were the activities that most facilitated the appropriation of the theoretical contents and the competencies proposed by Microbiology II. Other activities are also proposed such as invitation of experts.

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Educacion y Humanismo

Título del artículo:

Simulation of X-ray diffraction profiles of test samples for academic applications

The present work aims to give the reader a series of tools and instructions on the creation of simulated X-ray diffraction profiles for polycrystalline samples, using X-ray diffraction profiles previously published by open access databases. Initially, the search for the diffraction profiles of the crystalline phases must be carried out, which will integrate the simulated X-ray diffraction profile. Then, the operating mode is established to carry out the combination of 2 or more X-ray diffraction profiles, to generate a diffraction profile that contains the information 2 or more crystalline phases present, in proportions established by the user. Finally, this diffraction profile is tested using free access software for the analysis of crystalline phases present in X-ray diffraction profiles. The objective of this work is to provide didactic tools to teachers of analytical chemistry courses with emphasis on X-ray diffraction.

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Educacion Quimica

Título del artículo:

Didactic strategy for the strengthening of citizen skills in basic education, through musical appreciation as a diagnostic mechanism of anti-values.

The objective of this research article is to propose a didactic strategy to strengthen citizen skills in basic education, making use of musical appreciation as a diagnostic mechanism for anti-values. Based on a qualitative study, from an ethnographic field and at a descriptive level, two fundamental phases are fulfilled: first, the determination of the influence of the lyrics of a group of songs, in the civic competences developed by the students who are the subjects of the study; from the content analysis of the letters; secondly, the strategic design of an accompanying guide on values to improve coexistence. The population consisted of 180 students of basic secondary education, from grades 6 to 11, from an educational institute in Norte de Santander, Cúcuta, Colombia; likewise, 15 songs considered the most listened to by students. The collection techniques were the interview and the intervention through focus groups. It is concluded that, regarding the content of the lyrics, they express profanity, and guide the creation of a need for the listener, to identify with the lyrics and with the person who interprets them; This verbal message is accompanied by an auditory influence of the rhythm, which generates an identity impact on the listener from the consumption of the lyrics. Regarding the proportion of anti-values per song, of 14 anti-values, 12 of the 15 songs have 6 anti-values (42.86%). The most outstanding anti-values are obscene words, promiscuity, sexual and erotic content, and the promotion of crime. A strategy is designed to strengthen social values, a strategy consisting of an accompanying guide on values to improve coexistence.

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Aibi, Revista de Investigacion Administracion e Ingenierias

Título del artículo:

ON THE MOTION OF VERY SMALL BODIES IN WATER WAVES.

The equation of motion of a small isolated body that moves in translational motion through a fluid which is itself in unsteady and nonuniform motion is established on the assumption that actual forces acting on the body can be split up in gravity; a drag component, which accounts for viscosity and vorticity effects; and an inertial force with the same formal expression as the force that would act on the body if the flow were irrotational. A simple expression is derived for the leading order approximation of the velocity of very small bodies in water waves. This solution shows that, at least under certain conditions, the previously proposed hypothesis of some delay time is sound, although this time is not the same, in general, for the vertical velocity component as for the horizontal one. From a practical point of view, owing to the assumptions involved in this derivation, the applicability of the solution must be restricted to suspended sediment particles in low concentrations and to reasonably well-behaved wave conditions, including superposition of linear waves (particularly standing waves and irregular wave fields), slightly nonlinear waves, and weak currents superimposed on waves.

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Journal of Geophysical Research

Título del artículo:

Comparative Virucidal Activities of Essential Oils and Alcohol-Based Solutions against Enveloped Virus Surrogates: In Vitro and In Silico Analyses

The large-scale use of alcohol (OH)-based disinfectants to control pathogenic viruses is of great concern because of their side effects on humans and harmful impact on the environment. There is an urgent need to develop safe and environmentally friendly disinfectants. Essential oils (EOs) are generally recognized as safe (GRAS) by the FDA, and many exhibit strong antiviral efficacy against pathogenic human enveloped viruses. The present study investigated the virucidal disinfectant activity of solutions containing EO and OH against DENV-2 and CHIKV, which were used as surrogate viruses for human pathogenic enveloped viruses. The quantitative suspension test was used. A solution containing 12% EO + 10% OH reduced > 4.0 log10 TCID50 (100% reduction) of both viruses within 1 min of exposure. In addition, solutions containing 12% EO and 3% EO without OH reduced > 4.0 log10 TCID50 of both viruses after 10 min and 30 min of exposure, respectively. The binding affinities of 42 EO compounds and viral envelope proteins were investigated through docking analyses. Sesquiterpene showed the highest binding affinities (from -6.7 to -8.0 kcal/mol) with DENV-2 E and CHIKV E1-E2-E3 proteins. The data provide a first step toward defining the potential of EOs as disinfectants.

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Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)

Título del artículo:

Toxic Determination of Cry11 Mutated Proteins Obtained Using Rational Design and Its Computational Analysis

Cry11 proteins are toxic to Aedes aegypti, the vector of dengue, chikungunya, and Zika viruses. Cry11Aa and Cry11Bb are protoxins, which when activated present their active-toxin form in two fragments between 30 and 35 kDa respectively. Previous studies conducted with Cry11Aa and Cry11Bb genes using DNA shuffling generated variant 8, which presented a deletion in the first 73 amino acids and one at position 572 and 9 substitutions including L553F and L556W. In this study, variant 8 mutants were constructed using site-directed mutagenesis, resulting in conversion of phenylalanine (F) and tryptophan (W) to leucine (L) at positions 553 and 556, respectively, producing the mutants 8F553L, 8W556L, and 8F553L/8W556L. Additionally, two mutants, A92D and C157R, derived from Cry11Bb were also generated. The proteins were expressed in the non-crystal strain BMB171 of Bacillus thuringiensis and subjected to median-lethal concentration (LC50) tests on first-instar larvae of A. aegypti. LC50 analysis showed that the 8F553L, 8W556L, 8F553L/8W556L, and C157R variants lost their toxic activity (>500 ng·mL−1), whereas the A92D protein presented a loss of toxicity of 11.4 times that of Cry11Bb. Cytotoxicity assays performed using variant 8, 8W556L and the controls Cry11Aa, Cry11Bb, and Cry-negative BMB171 on the colorectal cancer cell line SW480 reported 30–50% of cellular viability except for BMB171. Molecular dynamic simulations performed to identify whether the mutations at positions 553 and 556 were related to the stability and rigidity of the functional tertiary structure (domain III) of the Cry11Aa protein and variant 8 showed the importance of these mutations in specific regions for the toxic activity of Cry11 against A. aegypti. This generates pertinent knowledge for the design of Cry11 proteins and their biotechnological applications in vector-borne disease control and cancer cell lines.

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International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Título del artículo:

Telecommuting and COVID-19: how has the pandemic changed workers’ perception on physical and mental health?

Due to the current pandemic situation, work from home, or telecommuting, has been implemented as part of public health measures to prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2. Although this measure was introduced rapidly, it is likely to remain in effect for some time to prevent further outbreaks of COVID-19. Despite being few, various studies have addressed the relationship between telecommuting and workers’ health in the context of the current pandemic. Some aspects observed include fatigue, dietary changes, reduced levels of physical activity, and pain. Other conditions observed are associated with “techno-stress,” namely work overload, invasion of privacy, pace of information technology changes, decreased job autonomy, emotional exhaustion, and being constantly in electronic contact with work. Generally speaking, the COVID-19 pandemic has created a new environment for considering work and family life within the discussion on telecommuting. Likewise, a contextualized understanding of factors related to physical and mental well-being is essential to ensure positive impacts on workers. It is important to develop studies and discussions within organizations that allow knowing, analyzing and reformulating strategies and policies aimed at aspects such as changes in workers’ physical and mental well-being in the pandemic context and the way how occupational environments at home affect these components.

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Revista Brasileira de Medicina do Trabalho

Título del artículo:

Comparison of Strength and Power Characteristics Before ACL Rupture and at the End of Rehabilitation Before Return to Sport in Professional Soccer Players

Background: Strength and power is often reduced on the involved versus contralateral limb and healthy controls after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction, but no study has compared with preinjury values at the time of return to sport (RTS). Hypothesis: Divergent recovery patterns in strength and power characteristics will be present at RTS relative to preinjury baseline data and healthy matched controls. Study Design: Cohort study. Level of Evidence: Level 3. Methods: Isokinetic strength tests, bilateral and single-leg countermovement jumps (CMJ; SLCMJ) were measured before ACL rupture in 20 professional soccer players. These then had surgical reconstruction (ACL group) and completed follow-up testing before RTS. Healthy controls (uninjured group) were tested at the same time as the ACL group preinjury. Values recorded at RTS of the ACL group were compared with preinjury. We also compared the uninjured and ACL groups at baseline and RTS. Results: Compared with preinjury, ACL normalized quadriceps peak torque of the involved limb (difference = -7%), SLCMJ height (difference = -12.08%), and Reactive Strength Index modified (RSImod) (difference = -5.04%) were reduced after ACL reconstruction. No significant reductions in CMJ height, RSImod, and relative peak power were indicated at RTS in the ACL group when compared with preinjury values, but deficits were present relative to controls. The uninvolved limb improved quadriceps (difference = 9.34%) and hamstring strength (difference = 7.36%) from preinjury to RTS. No significant differences from baseline were shown in SLCMJ height, power, and reactive strength of the uninvolved limb after ACL reconstruction. Conclusion: Strength and power in professional soccer players at RTS after ACL reconstruction were often reduced compared with preinjury values and matched healthy controls. Clinical Relevance: Deficits were more apparent in the SLCMJ, suggesting that dynamic and multijoint unilateral force production is an important component of rehabilitation. Use of the uninvolved limb and normative data to determine recovery may not always be appropriate.

Acerca de la revista donde se publicó este artículo:

Sports Health

Título del artículo:

Central Oxygen Venous Saturation and Mortality in Patients Undergoing Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting

Purpose: Central venous oxygen saturation (ScvO2) has been reported as a prognostic marker of in-hospital mortality when it is below 60% in certain situations. Nevertheless, it has not been widely reported in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG). The study determined the association between ScvO2 and in-hospital mortality in patients undergoing CABG in a high-complexity health institution in Santiago de Cali, Colombia. Patients and Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted with patients undergoing isolated CABG. The subject sample included 515 subjects aged 18 years or older. Exposure was defined as ScvO2 <60% upon admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) following surgery. The major outcome was mortality rates after 30 days. Furthermore, exposure variables were measured at preoperative, intra-operative, and postoperative time points. Results: A total of 103 exposed and 412 unexposed subjects were included. The final model revealed a higher mortality risk in individuals with ScvO2 <60% upon ICU admission compared with those with higher saturation levels (relative risk 4.2, 95% confidence interval: 2.4–7.2; p = 0.001). Values were adjusted using variables such as age (>75 years), low socioeconomic stratum, chronic kidney failure before surgery, unstable angina before surgery, ischemia time (>60 min), and intra-operative inotrope use. The primary cause of death was cardiogenic shock (54.7%), followed by sepsis (25.0%) and postoperative bleeding (17.2%). Conclusion: The study identified an association between ScvO2 <60% and in-hospital mortality in patients undergoing CABG.

Acerca de la revista donde se publicó este artículo:

Therapeutics and Clinical Risk Management

Título del artículo:

Essential oil of Cordia curassavica (Jacq) Roem. & Schult: in vitro and in silico evaluation of effects on dengue virus replication and cytokines production

The lack of effective conventional therapies against dengue has created an interest in herbal preparations as alternative therapies. In the present study, in vitro effects of Cordia curassavica essential oil (EO) on both dengue virus replication and cytokine production were examined. Predictions of molecular interactions between EO compounds and virus and cell proteins were performed with AutoDock Vina. The EO inhibited replication of dengue virus serotypes at IC50 < 30 μg/mL, and it reduced 87% TNF-α, 67% IL-8 and 46% IFN-α in LPS-stimulated PBMCs. The main EO compounds were trans-β-caryophyllene (21.4%), germacrene D (17.8%), α-copaene (16.5%), trans-β-guaiene (8.2%), and α-pinene (6.0%). The first two compounds, δ-cadinene, α-muurolene, α-cubebene and β-burbonene were coupled to proteins involved in the TLR-4 cytokine effector pathway. 3,7-Guaiadiene was coupled to the viral E and C proteins. This study demonstrates the potential of C. curassavica EO as a starting point for discovering novel therapeutic for dengue.

Acerca de la revista donde se publicó este artículo:

Boletin Latinoamericano y del Caribe de Plantas Medicinales y Aromaticas

Título del artículo:

Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the production, distribution and consumption of agricultural products in the department of Norte de Santander, Colombia

The objective of the research was to analyze the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on the production, distribution and consumption of agricultural products in the department of Norte de Santander, Colombia. A total of 96 surveys were applied to agricultural producers of 28 products; 99 surveys to traders of 14 products in 5 markets; and 263 surveys to consumers. The results showed high impacts on production costs, availability and prices of agricultural inputs in production; prices and quality of products in marketing; and prices, quantity, frequency and quality of products consumed.

Acerca de la revista donde se publicó este artículo:

Aibi, Revista de Investigacion Administracion e Ingenierias

Título del artículo:

Plants with photosensitizing activity and therapeutic potential in cutaneous leishmaniasis: Hypericin, a promising alternative

Leishmaniasis is a disease endemic to 98 countries, with over 350 million people at risk of acquiring the infection and 12 million people already infected. The numerous disadvantages associated with current treatments encourage a lack of adherence and even abandonment of the disease treatment, resulting in the emergence of drug-resistant strains. These factors have stimulated the search for therapeutic alternatives that are fast, safe, easy to administer and economical. This has resulted in the emergence of ethnobotany, which, along with phototherapy, could become an innovative strategy for finding naturally occurring compounds with leishmanicidal activity. In this context, products such as hypericin could be considered promising candidates in the discovery and development of new treatments. Hypericin is a naturally occurring molecule that has a high quantum yield in its triplet state and efficiently generates reactive oxygen species. These properties could make hypericin an effective leishmanicidal agent when applied over infected tissues and a potential healing agent that provides cosmetic effects favorable to lesion resolution. In addition, its significant advantages in terms of low cost and easy handling make hypericin a favorable alternative to other treatments for managing this disease. © 2013 ACIN.

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Infectio

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On some lower bounds for the permutation flowshop problem

The permutation flowshop problem with makespan objective is a classic machine scheduling problem, known to be NP-hard in the strong sense. We analyse some of the existing lower bounds for the problem, including the “job-based” and “machine-based” bounds, a bound from linear programming (LP), and a recent bound of Kumar and co-authors. We show that the Kumar et al. bound dominates the machine-based bound, but the LP bound is stronger still. On the other hand, the LP bound does not, in general, dominate the job-based bound. Based on this, we devise simple iterative procedures for strengthening the Kumar et al. and LP bounds. Computational results are encouraging. In particular, we are able to obtain improved lower bounds for the “hard, small” instances of Vallada, Ruiz and Framinan.

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Computers and Operations Research

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Sensitivity of Countermovement Jump Variables in Professional Rugby Union Players Within a Playing Season

ABSTRACT: Howarth, DJ, McLean, BD, Cohen, DD, and Coutts, AJ. Sensitivity of countermovement jump variables in professional rugby union players within a playing season. J Strength Cond Res 37(7): 1463-1469, 2023-The aim of this study was to explore the measurement sensitivity of a wide range of countermovement jump (CMJ) variables to a full European professional rugby union season. A secondary purpose was to compare 3 different data treatment methods for the calculation of CMJ variables. Twenty-nine professional rugby union players (mean ± SD; age 24 ± 4 years, height 183.7 ± 8.0 cm, body mass 101.6 ± 10.7 kg) completed a minimum of 12 CMJ testing sessions on Thursdays-a day preceded by a rest day and a minimum of 96 hours after a match-throughout a season. Measurement sensitivity, quantified by signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), was determined for 74 CMJ variables and was calculated by dividing the signal, (week-to-week variation expressed as a coefficient of variation [CV%]) by the noise (interday test/retest reliability expressed as CV%). We also identified variables which had no overlap between the 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the signal and the noise. The 3 data treatment methods for comparison were (a) mean output across 3 jump trials (Mean3), (b) single output from the trial with the highest jump (BestJH), and (c) the trial with the highest flight time to contraction time ratio (BestFTCT). Most variables had an SNR >1.0 (Mean3 = 60/74; BestFTCT = 59/74; BestJH = 48/74). Fewer variables displayed a nonoverlap of 95% CIs (Mean3 = 23/60; BestFTCT = 22/59; BestJH = 16/48). Most CMJ variables during a professional rugby season demonstrated a signal that exceeded measured noise (SNR > 1.0) and that using the Mean3 or BestFTCT data treatment methods yields a greater number of variables considered sensitive within a season (i.e., SNR > 1.0) than when using BestJH. We also recommend the calculation of the 95% CIs for both signal and noise, with nonoverlap indicative of a greater probability that the responsiveness of the variable at team level (i.e., SNR) also applies at the individual level. As sensitivity analysis is cohort and environment specific, practitioners should conduct a sensitivity analysis using internal signal and noise data to inform their own monitoring protocols.

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Journal of strength and conditioning research