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Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients have a higher frequency of infections than the healthy population. The reason has yet to be explained but involves several factors, of which body composition and rheumatoid cachexia are often overlooked. This study aimed to evaluate whether patients with cachexia, measured by bioelectrical impedance vector analysis, are at an increased risk of developing infections compared with patients without cachexia. A secondary analysis of 186 women with RA enrolled in a randomized trial (ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT02900898, September 14, 2016) was completed. Medical records and phone calls were used to record infectious events diagnosed and treated during follow-up. Hazard ratios were calculated using Cox proportional hazard regression analysis, and a predictive model of infection was created. After 36 months of follow-up, 62 patients (26.7% non-cachectic and 44.3% cachectic, p < 0.01) developed at least one infectious event. The most common site of was the urinary tract, followed by the lungs and respiratory tract. The presence of cachexia (HR 1.90, 95% CI 1.15-3.13) and the use of glucocorticoids (HR 1.77, 95% CI 1.01-3.09) were associated with infection in univariate and multivariate models. Body mass index (BMI), smoking, and methotrexate use were not associated with a higher frequency of infections. The presence of cachexia and the use of glucocorticoids were identified as predictors of infections in a cohort of female RA patients. More extensive measurements of body composition should be performed beyond BMI in RA patients to better understand its impact and to prevent additional comorbidities and complications. Key Points • The presence of cachexia measured by bioelectrical impedance vector analysis was associated with infectious events in women with rheumatoid arthritis, whereas body mass index did not show an association. • Glucocorticoids were the only drug associated with a higher frequency of infection. None of the disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs, including methotrexate, showed an association., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to International League of Associations for Rheumatology (ILAR).)

This study was carried out to evaluate the residual feed intake (RFI), volatile fatty acid (VFA) production and enteric methane (CH4) from growing Pelibuey sheep. In this case, 12 non-castrated Pelibuey with an initial average live weight (LW) of 21.17 ± 3.87 kg and an age of 3 months, were housed in individual pens and fed a basal diet with 16% of crude protein and 11 MJ ME for 45 days. Dry matter intake (DMI) was measured and the daily weight gain (DWG) was calculated using a linear regression between the LW and experimental period. Mean metabolic live weight (LW0.75) was calculated. RFI was determined by linear regression with DWG and LW0.75 as independent variables. Lambs were classified as low, medium, and high RFI. Feed efficiency was determined as DWG/DMI. For determining rumen pH, ammonia nitrogen concentration NH3-N), and VFA, ruminal fluid was obtained using an esophageal probe on day 40. Feed intake of low RFI lambs was approximately 16% lower (p < 0.05) while growth rate was not significantly different. Their average energy loss, expressed as CH4 production per kilogram of metabolic weight, was 17% lower (p < 0.05).

Background and Aims: The long-term conservation of seeds of plant genetic resources is of key importance for food security and preservation of agrobiodiversity. Nevertheless, there is scarce information available about seed longevity of many crops under germplasm bank conditions., Methods: Through germination experiments as well as the analysis of historical monitoring data, we studied the decline in viability manifested by 1000 maize (Zea mays subsp. mays) seed accessions conserved for an average of 48 years at the CIMMYT germplasm bank, the largest maize seedbank in the world, under two cold storage conditions: an active (-3 °C; intended for seed distribution) and a base conservation chamber (-15 °C; for long-term conservation)., Key Results: Seed lots stored in the active chamber had a significantly lower and more variable seed germination, averaging 81.4 %, as compared with the seed lots conserved in the base chamber, averaging 92.1 %. The average seed viability detected in this study was higher in comparison with that found in other seed longevity studies on maize conserved under similar conditions. A significant difference was detected in seed germination and longevity estimates (e.g. p85 and p50) among accessions. Correlating seed longevity with seed traits and passport data, grain type showed the strongest correlation, with flint varieties being longer lived than floury and dent types., Conclusions: The more rapid loss of seed viability detected in the active chamber suggests that the seed conservation approach, based on the storage of the same seed accessions in two chambers with different temperatures, might be counterproductive for overall long-term conservation and that base conditions should be applied in both. The significant differences detected in seed longevity among accessions underscores that different viability monitoring and regeneration intervals should be applied to groups of accessions showing different longevity profiles., (© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Annals of Botany Company. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Insecticide-impregnated nets can kill triatomine bugs, but it remains unclear whether they can protect against Chagas disease transmission. In a field trial in Quequeña, Peru, sentinel guinea pigs placed in intervention enclosures covered by deltamethrin-treated nets showed significantly lower antibody responses to saliva of Triatoma infestans compared with animals placed in pre-existing control enclosures. Our results strongly suggest that insecticide-treated nets prevent triatomine bites and can thereby protect against infection with Trypanosoma cruzi. Anti-salivary immunoassays are powerful new tools to evaluate intervention strategies against Chagas disease., (Copyright © 2011 Australian Society for Parasitology Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: With only a third of Latinos achieving sustained virologic response (SVR), there is a need for enhanced HCV treatment. Amantadine has been proposed to improve response rates in addition to standard therapy with peginterferon alpha and ribavirin. Our objective is to evaluate whether triple therapy with amantadine improves SVR rates in this special population., Method: Treatment-naïve Latino subjects with HCV genotype 1 infection were randomized to receive peginterferon alpha-2a plus weight-based ribavirin for 48 weeks (double therapy) or the same regimen plus amantadine 200 mg daily (triple therapy). The primary endpoint was SVR. Predictors of liver fibrosis using APRI and Forns indices were also evaluated., Results: We enrolled 124 patients with chronic hepatitis C genotype 1. Sixty-three received conventional therapy and 61 patients had triple therapy with amantadine. SVR at week 72 was achieved in 25 patients (39.7%) vs. 26 patients (42.6%) in the double and triple regimen, respectively (p=0.561). After multivariate analysis, advanced fibrosis, obesity, and low pretreatment ALT levels were associated with non-response in both groups (p=0.0234, p=0.0012, p=0.0249, respectively). APRI values delimited an area under the ROC curve (AUROC) of 0.724 and Forns index with AUROC of 0.733. There was no difference between both indices in predicting significant fibrosis (Knodell index: F3-F4)., Conclusion: Our study demonstrates that the addition of amantadine to standard treatment of chronic HCV does not improve SVR rates in Latino patients with genotype 1. Further research to improve response rates in this special population is needed.

The use of ultrasonic energy for washing of textiles has been tried several times without achieving practical development. In fact, the softness of the fibres makes the cavitation to produce small erosion effect and the reticulate structure of the fabric favours the formation of air bubble layers which obstruct wave penetration. In addition, a high proportion of water with respect to the wash load and a certain water degassing is required to assure efficiency and homogeneity in the wash performance. Such requirements have hindered the commercial development of the ultrasonic washing machines for domestic purposes. For specific industrial applications, a great part of these limitations may be overcome. This article deals with a new process in which the fabric is exposed to the ultrasonic field in a flat format. Such process has been implemented at laboratory and at semi-industrial stage by using specially designed power ultrasonic transducers with rectangular plate radiators. The cleaning effect is produced by the intense cavitation field generated by the plate radiator within a thin layer of liquid where the fabric is introduced. The homogeneity of such effect is achieved by the successive exposure of all the fabric areas to the intense acoustic field. In this paper the structure and performance of the developed system are shown.

The associations between the presence of triatomines and environmental variables were studied using correlation analysis and logistic regression models for a sample of villages in the south-eastern provinces of Guatemala. Information on the presence of Triatoma dimidiata, T. nitida and Rhodnius prolixus came from entomological surveys carried out by the Ministry of Health of Guatemala as part of its vector control programme. Environmental information for each village was extracted from digital thematic maps developed by the Ministry of Agriculture. The presence of T. nitida was found to be significantly associated with the average minimum temperature. The odds of presence of T. nitida in a village decreased as the average minimum temperature increased. T. nitida exists at altitudes above 1000 m above sea level in temperate regions. The presence of R. prolixus showed a significant positive association with maximum absolute temperature and relative humidity. The logistic regression model for R. prolixus showed a good fit and predicted suitable habitats in the provinces of Chiquimula, Zacapa and Jalapa, which agrees with the known distribution of the species. Habitat partitioning between R. prolixus and T. dimidiata is suggested by their significant and opposite associations with maximum absolute temperature. Improved models to predict suitable habitats for T. dimidiata hold promise for spatial targeting of integrated vector management.

Background and Objectives: Family physicians are expected to provide culturally sensitive care. However, teaching about cultural diversity and measuring educational outcomes can be challenging. We describe a diversity curriculum based on the concept of cultural humility, which includes participatory didactic and structured learning activities., Methods: Two classes of second-year family medicine residents participated in a yearlong diversity curriculum. Self-assessment and observational data were collected before and after the curriculum., Results: Observational data showed that residents increased patient involvement during office visits. Ratings by announced and unannounced simulated patients indicated that residents were attentive to the patient's perspective and social context. Resident ratings indicated high satisfaction with the learning activities. Self-assessment data did not show significant changes in residents' perception of their ability to work with particular patients., Conclusions: Participatory learning activities that focus on cultural humility are a promising approach for diversity education.

The separation of fine particles from gases or liquids is a topic of permanent industrial attention. The use of ultrasonic energy to assist conventional separation techniques seems to be very promising. The adequate applications of high-intensity ultrasonic fields may contribute to improve the efficiency and capacity of the separation methods presently used. The specific mechanisms to ultrasonically enhance separation processes basically depend on the medium to be treated. In gas suspensions, where very fine particles have to be removed, ultrasonic action involves agglomeration of particles in order to increase their size and, consequently, to improve collection efficiency of conventional filters. In liquid suspensions, agglomeration is, in general, less efficient than in gases. Nevertheless, the ultrasonic energy is useful to dewater fine-particle high-concentration suspensions such as slurries and sludges. This paper deals with the application of acoustic energy to assist fluid/solid separation processes in gas and liquid suspensions and presents some theoretical and experimental results in specific applications.

The development of high-power applications of sonic and ultrasonic energy in industrial processing requires a great variety of practical systems with characteristics which are dependent on the effect to be exploited. Nevertheless, the majority of systems are basically constituted of a treatment chamber and one or several transducers coupled to it. Therefore, the feasibility of the application mainly depends on the efficiency of the transducer-chamber system. This paper deals with a macrosonic system which is essentially constituted of a high-power transducer with a double stepped-plate radiator coupled to a chamber of square section. The radiator, which has a rectangular shape, is placed on one face of the chamber in order to drive the inside fluid volume. The stepped profile of the radiator allows a piston-like radiation to be obtained. The radiation from the back face of the radiator is also applied to the chamber by using adequate reflectors. Transducer-chamber systems for sonic and ultrasonic frequencies have been developed with power capacities up to about 5 kW for the treatment of fluid volumes of several cubic meters. The characteristics of these systems are presented in this paper.