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This paper presents the results of a wide research project aiming to determine the performance of plain basalt and hybrid glass/basalt and carbon/basalt reinforced vinylester matrix composites under high-speed impact. Experimental tests are carried out by shooting steel balls in the range of 200–800 m/s in a compressed-gas gun. Results are depicted as curves of residual velocity vs. impact velocity from which the ballistic limit (V50) is derived for all material configurations and different environmental conditions including temperature and water saturation. Experimental results are used to validate a new analytical model previously developed by the authors to model the projectile impact on a plate. A good agreement is observed between experimental and analytical predicted results.

In this experimental work, both wave amplification and phase evolution, due to a submerged mound, are studied. In addition to the classical surface wave measurements, the experimental study takes advantage of photographs that underline crest re-organization above and down-wave the shoal. In particular, together with wave amplification up to more than twice the incident wave, a wave steepening is observed in certain conditions in both the wave direction and in the cross-section. Due to a phase crest separation downstream of the shoal, steepening in the cross-shore direction is enhanced (up to 30% above the steepening along the main direction of propagation). Physical aspects are discussed through the analysis of the diffraction effects on the wave properties.

No presente estudo, foram investigadas diferentes substâncias para atuarem como modificadores químicos na determinação direta de cádmio em soro e urina humanos sem digestão prévia das amostras. A preparação da amostra foi feita diretamente nos copos do amostrador automático por diluição 1+4 de soro e 1+1 de urina com ácido nítrico 1% v/v contendo 0.02% v/v de cloreto de tricetil metil amônio (CTAC). Foram investigadas as melhores condições de determinação por meio de curvas de temperatura de pirólise e atomização na presença da matriz e do analito levando-se em conta a forma do pulso de absorção, baixas temperaturas na atomização, fundo corrigido e sensibilidade. Foram efetuados estudos na ausência de modificador e com a mistura universal em solução de Pd e Mg (10 e 15 μg, respectivamente) e com rutênio (500 μg) e irídio (500 μg) como modificadores permanentes. Para Ir permanente, as massas características foram 0.8 pg para soro e 0.7 pg para urina (recomendado de 2 pg). Na investigação do uso de Ir permanente, foi observado que o pico foi simétrico, retornando à linha de base em 3s e com fundo corrigido completamente com valores ótimos por pirólises e atomização de 300 e 1000°C para soro e 300 e 1100 o C para urina. A calibração foi feita por ajuste de matriz e apresentou coeficiente de correlação de regressão linear típico de 0.999. Análises de soro e urina fortificados mostraram recuperações que variaram entre 99.3 e 103.2 com um desvio padrão relativo (RSD, n=3) menor que 12% para soro e entre 93.1 e 102.2% com um RSD menor que 3% para urina. O limite de detecção (k=3, n=10) foi de 8 e 9 pg para soro e urina, respectivamente.

The Galician rías (NW Iberia, Spain) are coastal embayments at the northern boundary of the Canary Current upwelling system. Their favourable conditions for phytoplankton growth turn them into a suitable area for the development of aquaculture activities and a site of most of the national shellfish production. Phytoplankton blooms, a natural phenomenon inside the rías, under certain conditions eventually lead to seawater discolourations (colloquially known as "red tides"). Because of their transient nature, available records derive mainly from opportunistic samplings or casual observations, and are scattered in the literature. As a rule of thumb, red tides in the NW Iberian Peninsula are of non-toxic nature and are not systematically monitored. However, in recent years striking exceptions such as those of the toxic dinoflagellate Alexandrium minutum, a producer of paralytic shellfish toxins, have been registered. The present study goes through a historical overview of red tides in the Galician rías, describing their colouring, responsible organisms, seasonal and geographical occurrence, and their association with other features (harmful algal blooms, biotoxins and shellfish harvesting closures, bioluminescence, etc.), ending with social challenges and proposals for improving the monitoring of red tides in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The harvest of wild plants with medicinal uses is increasing globally, both for self‐treatment and as a source of income. The increasing demand for these remedies could lead to the over‐harvest of some species. Despite a recent surge in the number of studies analysing wild medicinal plants management, little is known about the effects of non‐commercial harvesting on the conservation status of medicinal plants. We explore the connection between the cultural importance (CI) of medicinal vascular plants traditionally used in Spain for self‐treatment and their availability, conservation and legal protection status, and discuss the implications of our results for sustainability. We focus on Spain, located in one of the world's 25 biodiversity hotspots and the most diverse country in Europe regarding vascular plants (7071 species, 1357 endemic), while also being culturally and linguistically diverse. Spain has a rich body of traditional knowledge referring to wild medicinal plants, with 1376 species with medicinal uses, which represents nearly a fourth (22%) of the total autochthonous vascular flora of the country (16% endemic). Species CI is positively correlated with abundance (ρ = 0.466) and occupancy area (ρ = 0.495). Only 8% of the wild medicinal plants traditionally used in Spain have an endangered conservation status and just 6% are fully or largely affected by protection measures. Most species used for self‐treatment in Spain are common, highly available and not threatened. This suggests that domestic use alone does not result in overexploitation and that traditional knowledge systems of plant management might ensure their sustainability. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

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We recently built the G4Jy-3CRE catalog of extragalactic radio sources. This catalog lists 264 powerful radio sources selected with similar criteria to those of the revised Third Cambridge Catalog, but visible from the Southern Hemisphere. A literature search revealed that 119 sources in the G4Jy-3CRE catalog (i.e., 45%) lack a firm spectroscopic redshift measurement. Here, we present a campaign aimed at acquiring optical spectra of G4Jy-3CRE sources and measuring their redshifts. We used single-slit observations obtained with the Víctor Blanco Telescope, the New Technology Telescope, the Southern Astrophysical Research Telescope, and the 2.1 m telescope of the Observatorio Astronómico Nacional at San Pedro Mártir, Mexico. In addition, we analyzed Very Large Telescope/MUSE archival observations. From these observations, we report the spectra and redshifts of 93 sources, 42 of which are the first optical spectra and redshift determinations for the respective sources. With our new data, approximately 71% of the sources in the G4Jy-3CRE catalog now have firm spectroscopic redshift measurements. This data set will be the basis of our future analysis of the optical properties of the G4Jy-3CRE catalog.

Abstract As an Indigenous community of Algeria and the broader Sahel, the Tuareg hold unique ecological knowledge, which might contribute to broader models of place‐based climate change impacts. Between January and April 2019, we carried out semi‐structured interviews (N = 23) and focus group discussions (N = 3) in five villages of the province of Illizi, Algeria, to document the local Tuareg community's timeline and ecological calendar, both of which are instruments used to understand place‐based reports of climate change impacts. The livelihoods of the Tuareg of Illizi are finely tuned to climate variability as reflected in changes reported in the cadence of events in their ecological calendar (marked by cyclical climatic and religious events). Participants reported rain and temperature irregularities and severe drought events, which have impacted their pastoral and semi‐pastoral livelihoods. These reports are aligned with scientifically measured climate observations and predictions. Paradoxically, although participants recall with detail the climatic disasters that happened in the region over the last century, the Tuareg do not explicitly report decadal trends in the frequency of extreme events. The differential perception of climate change impacts across scales can have important implications for undertaking climate change adaptation measures.

We recently constructed the G4Jy-3CRE, a catalog of extragalactic radio sources based on the GLEAM 4-Jy (G4Jy) sample, with the aim of increasing the number of powerful radio galaxies and quasars with similar selection criteria to those of the revised release of the Third Cambridge Catalog (3CR). The G4Jy-3CRE consists of a total of 264 radio sources mainly visible from the Southern Hemisphere. Here, we present an initial X-ray analysis of 89 G4Jy-3CRE radio sources with archival X-ray observations from the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory. We reduced a total of 624 Swift observations, for about 0.9 Ms of integrated exposure time. We found X-ray counterparts for 59 radio sources belonging to the G4Jy-3CRE, nine of them showing extended X-ray emission. The remaining 30 sources do not show any X-ray emission associated with their radio cores. Our analysis demonstrates that X-ray snapshot observations, even if lacking uniform exposure times, as those carried out with Swift, allow us to (i) verify and/or refine the host galaxy identification; (ii) discover the extended X-ray emission around radio galaxies of the intracluster medium when harbored in galaxy clusters, as the case of G4Jy 1518 and G4Jy 1664; and (iii) detect X-ray radiation arising from their radio lobes, as for G4Jy 1863.

Since the early sixties, our view of radio galaxies and quasars has been drastically shaped by discoveries made thanks to observations of radio sources listed in the Third Cambridge Catalog and its revised version (3CR). However, the largest fraction of data collected to date on 3CR sources was performed with relatively old instruments, rarely repeated and/or updated. Importantly, the 3CR contains only objects located in the Northern Hemisphere, thus having limited access to new and innovative astronomical facilities. To mitigate these limitations, we present a new catalog of powerful radio sources visible from the Southern Hemisphere, extracted from the GLEAM 4 Jy (G4Jy) catalog and based on equivalent selection criteria as the 3CR. This new catalog, named G4Jy-3CRE, where the E stands for “equivalent,” lists a total of 264 sources at decl. below −5° and with 9 Jy limiting sensitivity at ∼178 MHz. We explored archival radio maps obtained with different surveys and compared them with optical images available in the Pan-STARRS, DES, and DSS databases to search for optical counterparts of their radio cores. We compared mid-infrared counterparts, originally associated in the G4Jy, with the optical ones identified here, and we present results of a vast literature search carried out to collect redshift estimates for all G4Jy-3CRE sources resulting in a total of 145 reliable z measurements.

La etnoecología ha sido definida como el estudio interdisciplinar de los sistemas de conocimiento, prácticas, y creencias de los diferentes grupos humanos sobre su ambiente. En las décadas de los 60 y 70, los primeros estudios en etnoecología se centraron en documentar cómo diferentes grupos indígenas clasificaban elementos de su medio ambiente (e.g., plantas). A mediados de los 80, la revalorización internacional del conocimiento ecológico local generó un creciente interés académico en el tema. El interés se centró en estudiar el conocimiento ecológico local como una posible herramienta en la gestión sostenible de los recursos naturales. En las dos últimas décadas, la etnoecología ha buscado entender y promover el papel de los sistemas locales de conocimiento ecológico en la conservación y el desarrollo. En este artículo 1) revisamos los antecedentes históricos de la etnoecología, 2) apuntamos algunos de los temas que actualmente lideran la investigación en esta disciplina, y 3) planteamos los principales retos que enfrenta la etnoecología para entender y contribuir a manejar algunos de los problemas ambientales actuales.

La evaluación precisa de la presión intraocular (PIO) permite el diagnóstico oportuno del glaucoma infantil. El objetivo fue analizar la PIO medida con el tonómetro de rebote iCare ic100 en niños. Se realizó un estudio transversal en una muestra consecutiva de niños que asistieron a consulta de optometría. Fueron atendidos 100 pacientes, la edad promedio fue de 7,5±2,6 años y 55 % eran de sexo masculino. La medida se realizó con éxito en 97 % de los ojos. La PIO fue en promedio 13,8±3,5 mmHg para ojo derecho (OD) y 13,9±4,1 mmHg (OI) para ojo izquierdo (OI) (p=0,6411); en niñas fue de 13,8±3,1 mmHg [IC 95 % 12,8-14,7] en OD y de 13,6±3,0 mmHg [IC 95 % 12,7-14,5] en OI. La PIO en niños fue de 13,8±3,8 mmHg [IC 95 % 12,7-14,8] en OD y de 14,1±4,9 mmHg [IC 95 % 12,8-15,4] en OI. La PIO con el tonómetro de rebote resultó dentro de los valores de normalidad clínica en niños, sin diferencias significativas entre sexo o edad. Por la alta tasa de éxito en la medición, se propone la valoración de la PIO con el tonómetro ic100 en niños, para la identificación temprana de casos de glaucoma.

Objetivo: Evaluar las diferencias en los componentes biométricos oculares, como longitud axial, profundidad de la cámara anterior, espesor del cristalino, curvatura corneal y espesor corneal entre hombres y mujeres. Método: Estudio observacional analítico de corte transversal, en 106 estudiantes universitarios en edades entre 18 y 36 años. Todos los sujetos fueron sometidos a refracción bajo cicloplejia y valorados mediante autorrefractometría. El error refractivo fue medido después de la aplicación de ciclopentolato al 1%. Para la identificación de los componentes biométricos se realizó una valoración con el equipo Aladdin (Topcon Corporation, Equipos Oftalmológicos Colombia). Resultados: De los 106 participantes, el 71.7% (76) correspondían al sexo femenino, en edades entre 18 y 36 años. En las mujeres, el promedio de la longitud axial fue de 23.3 ± 0.88 mm y en los hombres 23.9 ± 0.99 mm. La profundidad de la cámara anterior fue de 3.5 ± 0.26 mm en las mujeres y de 3.6 ± 0.22 mm en los hombres. El espesor del cristalino en las mujeres fue de 3.47 ± 0.22 mm y en los hombres de 3.53 ± 0.20 mm. El espesor corneal en las mujeres fue de 538.65 ± 0.36 µm y en los hombres de 542.43 ± 32.73 µm. El promedio de la queratometría en las mujeres fue de 43.54 ± 1.35 D y en hombres de 42.76 ± 1.79 D. Hubo diferencias estadísticamente significativas entre la curvatura corneal (−0.78 D; hombres p = 0.01 y mujeres p = 0.003) y la longitud axial (0.63 mm; hombres p = 0.02 y mujeres p = 0.04). Conclusiones: Existen diferencias en la curvatura corneal de hasta 0.75 D, siendo más curva en las mujeres, y un mayor tamaño del globo ocular en los hombres, características anatómicas que intervienen en la prevalencia de errores de refracción.

Objetivo: Conocer la frecuencia y las características de uso de lentes de contacto en profesionales y pacientes durante la pandemia de COVID-19. Método: Se utilizó un cuestionario digital para obtener información demográfica, uso y frecuencia de lentes de contacto en los profesionales, y adaptación o readaptación a sus pacientes antes y durante la pandemia de COVID-19. Resultados: Participaron en la encuesta 172 profesionales, de los cuales el 70,3% eran mujeres. El 74.4% tiene un defecto refractivo y solo el 32.0% han utilizado lentes de contacto durante la pandemia de COVID-19. Los lentes más usados por los profesionales son de hidrogel de silicona, en un 99.9%. La modalidad de reemplazo ha sido en un 69.0% quincenal o mensual. El 63.4% de los optómetras manifestaron que la frecuencia de adaptación o readaptación de lentes de contacto disminuyó durante la pandemia. Antes y durante la pandemia, el material de lentes más adaptado fue en hidrogel de silicona, con un 79.7% y un 76.7%, respectivamente. La modalidad de reemplazo fue quincenal o mensual, con un 76.2% antes y un 73.3% durante la pandemia. El 58.1% de los encuestados consideran que la venta de lentes de contacto se ha reducido. Conclusiones: Durante la pandemia, la adaptación, la readaptación y la venta de lentes de contacto ha disminuido. Los lentes más utilizados por profesionales y pacientes son en hidrogel de silicona y de reemplazo quincenal omensual.

La prevalencia de miopía varía en las diferentes poblaciones del mundo y la incidencia aumenta de una forma acelerada, motivo por el cual los defectos refractivos se convierten en un problema de salud pública, con un impacto económico y social. La progresión de la miopía puede desencadenar cambios patológicos en el globo ocular que afectan estructuras como el cristalino, la retina, la coroides y la mácula. Estos cambios degenerativos constituyen la causa más frecuente de pérdida de visión y se relacionan con un incremento en los valores refractivos, que ascienden desde la infancia hasta la adultez. El desarrollo y progresión se relacionan con un componente genético y hereditario, sin embargo, hay una compleja interacción con factores externos, los cuales podrían explicar el incremento de casos en algunas poblaciones, en donde se perciben aumentos de urbanización y la necesidad por alcanzar altos niveles de educación. Además, otros factores ambientales como destinar mayor tiempo a actividades al aire libre puede ser un hábito favorable para evitar la aparición de la enfermedad.

Los defectos de refracción pueden ser corregidos mediante lentes oftálmicos, lentes de contacto y cirugía refractiva (1). La cirugía refractiva abarca un conjunto de procedimientos quirúrgicos, los cuales modifican la anatomía del ojo para lograr la emetropía artificial (2). Las técnicas quirúrgicas corneales se clasifican en incisionales o queratotomías, actualmente en desuso, y en técnicas de ablación con láser, las cuales eliminan o reducen pequeños cambios en la curvatura corneal (3). La técnica de ablación con láser llamada Queratectomía in situ asistida por láser (LASIK) (4) ha sido el procedimiento refractivo más utilizado desde sus inicios (5). La técnica actual consiste en levantar una porción de la córnea (flap) con un microquerátomo mecánico o a través de un láser femtosegundo para posterior fotoablación y reposición del tejido (4). En la actualidad, persisten complicaciones intraoperatorias, en su mayoría por el uso del microquerátomo con una incidencia de compli- caciones hasta del 33% (6), lo cual conlleva a daños en la superficie ocular, con una incidencia hasta del 5.3% (7,8). Por lo anterior otras técnicas quirúrgicas como las de superficie (PRK, LASEK Y Epi-lasik) han despertado en los últimos años mayor interés, ya que eliminan la necesidad de un colgajo corneal, lo cual disminuye la probabilidad de desestabilizar la córnea y de complicaciones graves como: infecciones, cicatrices y erosiones recurrentes. Las principales desventajas en comparación con el LASIK, son las molestias posoperatorias como el dolor y la aparición de haze corneal lo cual retarda la recuperación visual hasta que completar la epitelización corneal (9). Para la selección y análisis de los artículos se realizó una revisión de la literatura a través de la búsqueda de artículos en las bases de datos pubmed (MEDLINE) y proquest utilizando una estrategia de búsqueda con términos MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) y operadores boléanos AND y OR, con la siguiente estructura: (myopia OR nearsightedness) AND (astigmatism) AND (Refractive Surgical Procedures) OR (Keratorefractive Surgical Procedures). El propósito de la presente revisión, fue consolidar información reciente referente al comportamiento de la cirugía refractiva con excimer laser, además de conocer los factores que intervienen en el resultado visual posquirúrgico.

Background: Sarcomas represent an extensive group of malignant diseases affecting mesodermal tissues. Among sarcomas, the clinical management of chondrosarcomas remains a complex challenge, as high-grade tumours do not respond to current therapies. Mutations in the isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) 1 and 2 genes are among the most common mutations detected in chondrosarcomas and may represent a therapeutic opportunity. The presence of mutated IDH (mIDH) enzymes results in the accumulation of the oncometabolite 2-HG leading to molecular alterations that contribute to drive tumour growth., Methods: We developed a personalized medicine strategy based on the targeted NGS/Sanger sequencing of sarcoma samples (n = 6) and the use of matched patient-derived cell lines as a drug-testing platform. The anti-tumour potential of IDH mutations found in two chondrosarcoma cases was analysed in vitro, in vivo and molecularly (transcriptomic and DNA methylation analyses)., Findings: We treated several chondrosarcoma models with specific mIDH1/2 inhibitors. Among these treatments, only the mIDH2 inhibitor enasidenib was able to decrease 2-HG levels and efficiently reduce the viability of mIDH2 chondrosarcoma cells. Importantly, oral administration of enasidenib in xenografted mice resulted in a complete abrogation of tumour growth. Enasidenib induced a profound remodelling of the transcriptomic landscape not associated to changes in the 5 mC methylation levels and its anti-tumour effects were associated with the repression of proliferative pathways such as those controlled by E2F factors., Interpretation: Overall, this work provides preclinical evidence for the use of enasidenib to treat mIDH2 chondrosarcomas., Funding: Supported by the Spanish Research Agency/FEDER (grants PID2022-142020OB-I00; PID2019-106666RB-I00), the ISC III/FEDER (PI20CIII/00020; DTS18CIII/00005; CB16/12/00390; CB06/07/1009; CB19/07/00057); the GEIS group (GEIS-62); and the PCTI (Asturias)/FEDER (IDI/2021/000027)., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Paralytic shellfish poisoning is a foodborne illness that typically derive from the consumption of shellfish contaminated with saxitoxin-group of toxins produced by dinoflagellates of the genus Gymnodinium, Alexandrium and Pyrodinium. N-sulfocarbamoyl, carbamate and dicarbamoyl are the most abundant. In 2007 and 2008 some episodes of PSP occurred in Angola where there is not monitoring program for shellfish contamination with marine biotoxins. Therefore, ten samples extracted from Semele proficua from Luanda Bay and Senilia senilis from Mussulo Bay, were analyzed by HPLC finding saxitoxin, decarbamoylsaxitoxin and other three compounds that have an unusual profile different to the known hydrophilic PSP toxins were found in different amounts and combinations. These new compounds were not autofluorescent, and they presented much stronger response after peroxide oxidation than after periodate oxidation. The compounds appear as peaks eluted at 2.5 and 5.6 min after periodate oxidation and 8.2 min after peroxide oxidation. Electrophysiological studies revealed that none of the three unknown compounds had effect at cellular level by decreasing the maximum peak inward sodium currents by blocking voltage-gated sodium channels. Thus, not contributing to PSP intoxication. The presence in all samples of saxitoxin-group compounds poses a risk to human health and remarks the need to further explore the presence of new compounds that contaminate seafood, investigating their activity and developing monitoring programs., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. Acknowledgments The research leading to these results has received funding from the following grants. From Campus Terra (USC), BreveRiesgo (2022-PU011) CLIMIGAL (2022- PU016). From Conselleria de Cultura, Educacion e Ordenación Universitaria, Xunta de Galicia, GRC (ED431C 2021/01). From Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación IISCIII/PI19/001248, PID 2020-11262RB-C21, Grant CPP2021-008447 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by The European Union NextGenerationEU/PRT. From European Union, Interreg EAPA-0032/2022 – BEAP-MAR, HORIZON-MSCA-2022-DN-01-MSCA Doctoral Networks 2022 101119901-BIOTOXDoc, and HORIZON-CL6-2023-CIRCBIO-01 COMBO-101135438., (© 2024 Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Lysosomes are the main organelles responsible for the degradation of macromolecules in eukaryotic cells. Beyond their fundamental role in degradation, lysosomes are involved in different physiological processes such as autophagy, nutrient sensing, and intracellular signaling. In some circumstances, lysosomal abnormalities underlie several human pathologies with different etiologies known as known as lysosomal storage disorders (LSDs). These disorders can result from deficiencies in primary lysosomal enzymes, dysfunction of lysosomal enzyme activators, alterations in modifiers that impact lysosomal function, or changes in membrane-associated proteins, among other factors. The clinical phenotype observed in affected patients hinges on the type and location of the accumulating substrate, influenced by genetic mutations and residual enzyme activity. In this context, the scientific community is dedicated to exploring potential therapeutic approaches, striving not only to extend lifespan but also to enhance the overall quality of life for individuals afflicted with LSDs. This review provides insights into lysosomal dysfunction from a molecular perspective, particularly in the context of human diseases, and highlights recent advancements and breakthroughs in this field.

Osteosarcoma (OS) is an aggressive bone cancer with poor prognosis, largely due to the limited effectiveness of current treatments such as doxorubicin (DX). Developing ways to overcome DX resistance is a significant clinical challenge. Here, we used two DX-resistant models to study the potential of Cold Plasma Treated Medium (PTM) to prevent DX resistance in OS. During the acquisition of the resistant phenotype upon long-term DX exposure, OS resistant cells became less proliferative, overexpressed the drug resistance-related efflux pump MDR1 and displayed a concomitant loss of SOD2 or GPX1. According to the reduced expression of these antioxidant enzymes, PTM treatment produced higher levels of oxidative express and was more effective in eradicating DX-resistant cells. Moreover, PTM reduced the expression of MDR1, thus sensitizing resistant cells to DX. These findings uncover new vulnerabilities of DX-resistant cells related with their inability to cope with excessive oxidative stress and their dependence on MDR1 that can be exploited using PTM-based treatments to provide new therapeutic approaches for the management of drug resistance in OS., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no competing interest., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

To evaluate KL-6 levels in medium-term post-COVID and to compare them in three groups categorised by the severity of COVID-19, we conducted a real-world, retrospective, cohort study. Data from the COVID-19 episode and follow-up during the post-COVID phase were extracted from the COVID@HULP and POSTCOVID@HULP databases, respectively. For the post-COVID period we included demographics, medical history, symptoms, quality of life, physical activity, anxiety and depression status and laboratory results. Patients were categorised into three groups based on the severity of COVID-19: Group 1 (inpatient critical), Group 2 (inpatient non-critical) and Group 3 (hospitalised at home). KL-6 was measured during the follow-up of the three groups. In all, 802 patients were included (Group 1 = 59; Group 2 = 296; Group 3 = 447 patients). The median age was 59 years (48-70), and 362 (45.2%) were males. At admission, fibrinogen and ferritin levels were lower in Group 3 than in the other groups ( p < 0.001). Follow-up data were obtained 124 days (97-149) after the diagnosis of COVID-19. The median levels of fibrinogen, ferritin and KL-6 at follow-up were 336 mg/dL (276-413), 80.5 ng/mL (36-174.3) and 326 U/mL (240.3-440.3), respectively. KL-6 levels were lower in Group 3 than in the other groups (298 U/mL (231.5-398) vs. 381.5 U/mL (304-511.8) (Group 1) and 372 U/mL (249-483) (Group 2) ( p < 0.001)). KL-6 was associated with ferritin ( p < 0.001), fibrinogen ( p < 0.001), D-dimer ( p < 0.001) and gamma-glutamyl transferase ( p < 0.001). KL-6 levels are less elevated at medium-term post-COVID follow-up in patients with mild COVID-19 than in those with moderate or severe disease. KL-6 is associated with systemic inflammatory, hepatic enzyme and thrombosis biomarkers.

Osteosarcomas are frequently associated to a poor prognosis and a modest response to current treatments. EC-8042 is a well-tolerated mithramycin analog that has demonstrated an efficient ability to eliminate tumor cells, including cancer stem cell subpopulations (CSC), in sarcomas. In transcriptomic and protein expression analyses, we identified NOTCH1 signaling as one of the main pro-stemness pathways repressed by EC-8042 in osteosarcomas. Overexpression of NOTCH-1 resulted in a reduced anti-tumor effect of EC-8042 in CSC-enriched 3D tumorspheres cultures. On the other hand, the depletion of the NOTCH-1 downstream target HES-1 was able to enhance the action of EC-8042 on CSCs. Moreover, HES1 depleted cells failed to recover after treatment withdrawal and showed reduced tumor growth potential in vivo. In contrast, mice xenografted with NOTCH1-overexpressing cells responded worse than parental cells to EC-8042. Finally, we found that active NOTCH1 levels in sarcoma patients was associated to advanced disease and lower survival. Overall, these data highlight the relevant role that NOTCH1 signaling plays in mediating stemness in osteosarcoma. Moreover, we demonstrate that EC-8042 is powerful inhibitor of NOTCH signaling and that the anti-CSC activity of this mithramycin analog highly rely on its ability to repress this pathway., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest statement The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Francisco Moris was an employee and reported ownership of stock in of EntreChem SL until April 2022. All other authors declare they have no competing interests., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.. All rights reserved.)

Osteosarcoma (OS) is a malignant type of bone cancer that arises in periods of increased bone formation. Curative strategies for these types of tumors have remained essentially unchanged for decades and the overall survival for most advanced cases is still dismally low. This is in part due to the existence of drug resistant Cancer Stem Cells (CSC) with progenitor properties that are responsible for tumor relapse and metastasis. In the quest for therapeutic alternatives for OS, Cold Atmospheric Plasmas and Plasma-Treated Liquids (PTL) have come to the limelight as a source of Reactive Oxygen and Nitrogen Species displaying selectivity towards a variety of cancer cell lines. However, their effects on CSC subpopulations and in vivo tumor growth have been barely studied to date. By employing bioengineered 3D tumor models and in vivo assays, here we show that low doses of PTL increase the levels of pro-stemness factors and the self-renewal ability of OS cells, coupled to an enhanced in vivo tumor growth potential. This could have critical implications to the field. By proposing a combined treatment, our results demonstrate that the deleterious pro-stemness signals mediated by PTL can be abrogated when this is combined with the STAT3 inhibitor S3I-201, resulting in a strong suppression of in vivo tumor growth. Overall, our study unveils an undesirable stem cell-promoting function of PTL in cancer and supports the use of combinatorial strategies with STAT3 inhibitors as an efficient treatment for OS avoiding critical side effects. We anticipate our work to be a starting point for wider studies using relevant 3D tumor models to evaluate the effects of plasma-based therapies on tumor subpopulations of different cancer types. Furthermore, combination with STAT3 inhibition or other suitable cancer type-specific targets can be relevant to consolidate the development of the field., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The dynamics of color centers, being a promising quantum technology, is strongly dependent on the local environment. A synergistic approach of X-ray fluorescence analysis and X-ray excited optical luminescence (XEOL) using a hard X-ray nanoprobe is applied. The simultaneous acquisition provides insights into compositional and functional variations at the nanoscale demonstrating the extraordinary capabilities of these combined techniques. The findings on cobalt doped zinc oxide nanowires show an anticorrelation between the band edge emission of the zinc oxide host and the intra-3d cobalt luminescence, indicating two competing recombination paths. Moreover, time-resolved XEOL measurements reveal two exponential decays of the cobalt luminescence. The fast and newly observed one can be attributed to a recombination cascade within the cobalt atom, resulting from direct excitation. Thus, this opens a new fast timescale for potential devices based on cobalt color centers in ZnO nanowires in photonic circuits., (© 2022 The Authors. Advanced Science published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Women are still underrepresented in STEM careers (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). One of the possible drivers behind this gender gap in the labour market is the female dropout from STEM education. The causes of the gender differences in the persistence of pursuing STEM studies have been explained by multiple factors related to interest and resolution in this type of career. The goal of the present research is to study the Engineering persistence gender gap in higher education by exploring the main factors underlying the leakage in the pipeline of Engineering fields. Our study reports the results of 34 qualitative in-depth interviews where internal barriers, stereotypes and external obstacles are assessed by women who have left their university degrees, compared with men who have withdrawn and women who have persisted. Results from the content analysis suggest that the undermining of persistence in Engineering fields is related to factors such as the chilly and hostile environment in classes or the workload from an excessively demanding curriculum. Other factors affecting women's withdrawal are the lack of role models and the perceived incongruity between the female gender role and STEM roles in society, leading to a weakening of female students' self-efficacy and eroding their sense of belongingness, even making them consider dropping out of their Engineering degree. These findings provide information for the design of future STEM interventions aimed to enhance women's persistence in STEM university studies., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 González-Pérez, Martínez-Martínez, Rey-Paredes and Cifre.)

Bone sarcomas have not shown a significant improvement in survival for decades, due, in part, to the development of resistance to current systemic treatments, such as doxorubicin. To better understand those mechanisms mediating drug-resistance we generated three osteosarcoma and one chondrosarcoma cell lines with a stable doxorubicin-resistant phenotype, both in vitro and in vivo. These resistant strains include a pioneer model generated from a patient-derived chondrosarcoma line. The resistant phenotype was characterized by a weaker induction of apoptosis and DNA damage after doxorubicin treatment and a lower migratory capability. In addition, all resistant lines expressed higher levels of ABC pumps; meanwhile, no clear trends were found in the expression of anti-apoptotic and stem cell-related factors. Remarkably, upon the induction of resistance, the proliferation potential was reduced in osteosarcoma lines but enhanced in the chondrosarcoma model. The exposure of resistant lines to other anti-tumor drugs revealed an increased response to cisplatin and/or methotrexate in some models. Finally, the ability to retain the resistant phenotype in vivo was confirmed in an osteosarcoma model. Altogether, this work evidenced the co-existence of common and case-dependent phenotypic traits and mechanisms associated with the development of resistance to doxorubicin in bone sarcomas.

Sarcomas are mesenchymal cancers which often show an aggressive behavior and patient survival largely depends on an early detection. In last years, much attention has been given to the fact that cancer patients release specific odorous volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that can be efficiently detected by properly trained sniffer dogs. Here, we have evaluated for the first time the ability of sniffer dogs (n = 2) to detect osteosarcoma cell cultures and patient samples. One of the two dogs was successfully trained to discriminate osteosarcoma patient-derived primary cells from mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) obtained from healthy individuals. After the training phase, the dog was able to detect osteosarcoma specific odor cues in a different panel of 6 osteosarcoma cell lines with sensitivity and specificity rates between 95 and 100%. Moreover, the same VOCs were also detected by the sniffer dog in saliva samples from osteosarcoma patients (n = 2) and discriminated from samples from healthy individuals with a similar efficacy. Altogether, these results indicate that there are common odor profiles shared by cultures of osteosarcoma cells and body fluid samples from patients and provide a first proof of concept about the potential of canine odor detection as a non-invasive screening method to detect osteosarcomas., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Introduction Recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) replacement therapy might be able to induce hypothyroidism, but this is a controversial issue. Previous studies evaluated the effects of rhGH replacement therapy on thyroid function, but little information is available in the subset of children with isolated idiopathic growth hormone deficiency (GHD). Our aim was to assess the effects of rhGH replacement therapy on thyroid function in children with isolated idiopathic GHD. Methods Retrospective analysis of the medical files of 64 children with confirmed GHD treated with rhGH. After review, 56 children with isolated idiopathic GHD and treated with rhGH for at least one year were included. Auxological (weight standard deviation score [SDS], height SDS, growth velocity [GV] SDS) and biochemical (free thyroxine [FT4], thyroid-stimulating hormone [TSH], and insulin-like growth factor 1 [IGF-1]) parameters were recorded before, during, and after treatment with rhGH. Results FT4 and TSH levels decreased significantly during rhGH therapy in children with isolated idiopathic GHD. Twenty-one percent (n=12) of the children developed hypothyroidism, on average 47 months after initiation of rhGH. Higher baseline FT4 levels were protective against the need for levothyroxine (LT4) (OR=0.8, CI 0.592-0.983; p=0.036). Hypothyroidism was reversed after interruption of rhGH, except in one patient; FT4 levels returned to baseline in the first year after completing the treatment. Final height SDS of the children who developed hypothyroidism was not different from their counterparts without hypothyroidism (-1.24 [-1.52 to -1.10] vs -1.13 [-1.78 to -0.74], p=1.000). Predicted adult height (PAH) SDS in patients who completed rhGH treatment was similar in both LT4 supplemented (n=7; final Ht SDS -1.16 [-1.31 to -1.10] vs PAH -1.00 [-1.42 to -0.48]; p=0.398) and not supplemented patients (n=25; final Ht SDS -1.46 [-1.83 to -0.78] vs PAH SDS -0.88 [-1.35 to -0.56]; p=0.074). Conclusions Our results show that patients with isolated idiopathic GHD may transiently need LT4 during GH treatment. Properly supplemented patients achieved PAH., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright © 2022, Salazar et al.)

Background: The hemostatic system is complex and evolves continuously since gestation and well into the adult years, in a process known as "developmental hemostasis.", Data Sources: A comprehensive review was performed after an extensive literature search on PubMed/MEDLINE concerning developmental hemostasis during the neonatal period. Relevant cross references were also included., Results: Although part of a system, each component of the hemostatic system evolves differently, with many displaying both quantitative and qualitative age-related differences. This leads to drastic disparities between the coagulation system of neonates and both other children's and adults', while still maintaining a generally balanced and physiological hemostasis. The motives behind this process remain to be fully elucidated but may be, at least in part, related to non-hemostatic factors., Conclusions: Knowledge regarding "developmental hemostasis" is essential for everyone caring for newborns or even children in general and in this review, we describe each hemostatic system component's neonatal characteristics and age-related progression as well as explore some of the possible physiological motives behind the process., (© 2021. Children's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine.)

The photoreductive synthesis and antibacterial activity of silver nanoparticles (AgNP) prepared in the presence of bovine serum albumin (BSA) and lysozyme (LZ) were evaluated. AgNP@BSA showed similar antibacterial activity to those stabilized with citrate (AgNP@CIT) and to an AgNO 3 solution, suggesting the releases of Ag + as the mechanism of death. In contrast, AgNP@LZ solutions showed no activity, although LZ behaves as a moderately antibacterial peptide. Furthermore, the addition of LZ to the AgNP@CIT or AgNP@BSA solutions induced their agglomeration and suppressed their original antibacterial efficacy. This antagonistic antibacterial effect exerted by LZ on AgNPs is associated with electrostatic interactions exerted by LZ. Specific metal-LZ interactions produce a harder protein corona on AgNP@LZ that retains Ag + , while LZ acts as a glue for AgNP@CIT or AgNP@LZ due to its opposite electrical charge, besides strong binding to Ag + avoiding the bactericide effect. Therefore, bactericidal effects of AgNP in biological media may be modulated by specific protein interactions., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Sarcomas comprise a group of aggressive malignancies with very little treatment options beyond standard chemotherapy. Reposition of approved drugs represents an attractive approach to identify effective therapeutic compounds. One example is mithramycin (MTM), a natural antibiotic which has demonstrated a strong antitumour activity in several tumour types, including sarcomas. However, its widespread use in the clinic was limited by its poor toxicity profile., Results: In order to improve the therapeutic index of MTM, we have loaded MTM into newly developed nanocarrier formulations. First, polylactide (PLA) polymeric nanoparticles (NPs) were generated by nanoprecipitation. Also, liposomes (LIP) were prepared by ethanol injection and evaporation solvent method. Finally, MTM-loaded hydrogels (HG) were obtained by passive loading using a urea derivative non-peptidic hydrogelator. MTM-loaded NPs and LIP display optimal hydrodynamic radii between 80 and 105 nm with a very low polydispersity index (PdI) and encapsulation efficiencies (EE) of 92 and 30%, respectively. All formulations show a high stability and different release rates ranging from a fast release in HG (100% after 30 min) to more sustained release from NPs (100% after 24 h) and LIP (40% after 48 h). In vitro assays confirmed that all assayed MTM formulations retain the cytotoxic, anti-invasive and anti-stemness potential of free MTM in models of myxoid liposarcoma, undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma and chondrosarcoma. In addition, whole genome transcriptomic analysis evidenced the ability of MTM, both free and encapsulated, to act as a multi-repressor of several tumour-promoting pathways at once. Importantly, the treatment of mice bearing sarcoma xenografts showed that encapsulated MTM exhibited enhanced therapeutic effects and was better tolerated than free MTM., Conclusions: Overall, these novel formulations may represent an efficient and safer MTM-delivering alternative for sarcoma treatment., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Despite the great advances in autophagy research in the last years, the specific functions of the four mammalian Atg4 proteases (ATG4A-D) remain unclear. In yeast, Atg4 mediates both Atg8 proteolytic activation, and its delipidation. However, it is not clear how these two roles are distributed along the members of the ATG4 family of proteases. We show that these two functions are preferentially carried out by distinct ATG4 proteases, being ATG4D the main delipidating enzyme. In mammalian cells, ATG4D loss results in accumulation of membrane-bound forms of mATG8s, increased cellular autophagosome number and reduced autophagosome average size. In mice, ATG4D loss leads to cerebellar neurodegeneration and impaired motor coordination caused by alterations in trafficking/clustering of GABA A receptors. We also show that human gene variants of ATG4D associated with neurodegeneration are not able to fully restore ATG4D deficiency, highlighting the neuroprotective role of ATG4D in mammals., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Background: Oral and gut microbiomes have emerged as potential biomarkers in cancer. We characterised the oral and gut microbiomes in a prospective observational cohort of HPV+ oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) patients and evaluated the impact of chemoradiotherapy (CRT)., Methods: Saliva, oropharyngeal swabs over the tumour site and stool were collected at baseline and post-CRT. 16S RNA and shotgun metagenomic sequencing were used to generate taxonomic profiles, including relative abundance (RA), bacterial density, α-diversity and β-diversity., Results: A total of 132 samples from 22 patients were analysed. Baseline saliva and swabs had similar taxonomic composition (R 2  = 0.006; p = 0.827). Oropharyngeal swabs and stool taxonomic composition varied significantly by stage, with increased oral RA of Fusobacterium nucleatum observed in stage III disease (p < 0.05). CRT significantly reduced the species richness and increased the RA of gut-associated taxa in oropharyngeal swabs (p < 0.05), while it had no effect in stool samples. These findings remained significant when adjusted by stage, smoking status and antibiotic use., Conclusions: Baseline oral and gut microbiomes differ by stage in this HPV+ cohort. CRT caused a shift towards a gut-like microbiome composition in oropharyngeal swabs. Stage-specific features and the transitions in oral microbiome might have prognostic and therapeutic implications.

Sarcomas are aggressive tumors which often show a poor response to current treatments. As a promising therapeutic alternative, we focused on mithramycin (MTM), a natural antibiotic with a promising anti-tumor activity but also a relevant systemic toxicity. Therefore, the encapsulation of MTM in nano-delivery systems may represent a way to increase its therapeutic window. Here, we designed novel transfersomes and PLGA polymeric micelles by combining different membrane components (phosphatidylcholine, Span 60, Tween 20 and cholesterol) to optimize the nanoparticle size, polydispersity index (PDI) and encapsulation efficiency (EE). Using both thin film hydration and the ethanol injection methods we obtained MTM-loaded transferosomes displaying an optimal hydrodynamic diameter of 100-130 nm and EE values higher than 50%. Additionally, we used the emulsion/solvent evaporation method to synthesize polymeric micelles with a mean size of 228 nm and a narrow PDI, capable of encapsulating MTM with EE values up to 87%. These MTM nano-delivery systems mimicked the potent anti-tumor activity of free MTM, both in adherent and cancer stem cell-enriched tumorsphere cultures of myxoid liposarcoma and chondrosarcoma models. Similarly to free MTM, nanocarrier-delivered MTM efficiently inhibits the signaling mediated by the pro-oncogenic factor SP1. In summary, we provide new formulations for the efficient encapsulation of MTM which may constitute a safer delivering alternative to be explored in future clinical uses.

Background: Experts in the field of medical education emphasized the need for curricula that improve students' attitudes toward the underserved. However, some studies have shown that medical education tends to worsen these attitudes in students. We aimed at systematically reviewing the literature assessing the change in medical students' attitudes toward the underserved and intention to work with the underserved throughout medical education, the sociodemographic and educational factors associated with favorable medical student attitudes toward and/or intention to work with the underserved and the effectiveness of educational interventions to improve medical student attitudes toward and/or intention to work with the underserved., Method: We conducted a systematic review on MEDLINE, Scopus, and Web of Science databases. Three investigators independently conducted the electronic search. We assessed the change in medical students attitudes toward the underserved by computing a weighted mean effect size of studies reporting scores from validated scales. The research team performed a meta-analysis for the sociodemographic and educational factors associated with medical students attitudes toward and/or intention to work with the underserved., Results: Fifty-five articles met the inclusion criteria, including a total of 109,647 medical students. The average response rate was 73.2%. Most of the studies were performed in the USA (n = 45). We observed a significant decline of medical students attitudes toward the underserved throughout medical education, in both US and non-US studies. A moderate effect size was observed between the first and fourth years (d = 0.51). Higher favorable medical students attitudes toward or intention to work with the underserved were significantly associated with female gender, being from an underserved community or ethnic minority, exposure to the underserved during medical education and intent to practice in primary care. Regarding educational interventions, the effectiveness of experiential community-based learning and curricula dedicated to social accountability showed the most positive outcome., Conclusions: Medical students attitudes toward the underserved decline throughout medical education. Educational interventions dedicated to improving the attitudes or intentions of medical students show encouraging but mixed results. The generalizability of our results is impeded by the high number of studies from the global-North included in the review.

This data paper presents: (1) the liquid and solid discharge characteristics of the Las River, an urban Mediterranean stream flowing to the Bay of Toulon (south of France), and (2) the water height of the main karst springs supplying the Las River. We assessed the river's discharge with hydrological observations and we explored floods characteristics influencing its solid discharge [1]. The location of the monitoring station near the river's mouth was selected accordingly to accessibility and technical constraints, as far downstream as possible. The vast majority of tributaries (such as possible underground springs, stormwater outlets, urban runoff) were taken into account. A multi-parameter probe (temperature, pressure, turbidity and electric conductivity) and a sediment trap were deployed continuously for 17 months, from October 2012 to March 2014. At the river's sources, probes (temperature, water height) were deployed to characterized karst springs. Times series were averaged at a daily time step, and water height converted in discharge when the rating curve was available. Sediment samples were analyzed for grain-size distribution. Datasets may help to estimate karsts' contributions to the Mediterranean Sea and to assess their influence on rivers discharge and solid yield. Stakeholders may also use the maximum water height to evaluate the flooding risk. Our data also contribute to linking the catchment freshwater to the coastal sea, a connection yet to be fully explored., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships which have, or could be perceived to have, influenced the work reported in this article., (© 2020 Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Stemness in sarcomas is coordinated by the expression of pluripotency factors, like SOX2, in cancer stem cells (CSC). The role of SOX2 in tumor initiation and progression has been well characterized in osteosarcoma. However, the pro-tumorigenic features of SOX2 have been scarcely investigated in other sarcoma subtypes. Here, we show that SOX2 depletion dramatically reduced the ability of undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma (UPS) cells to form tumorspheres and to initiate tumor growth. Conversely, SOX2 overexpression resulted in increased in vivo tumorigenicity. Moreover, using a reporter system (SORE6) which allows to monitor viable cells expressing SOX2 and/or OCT4, we found that SORE6+ cells were significantly more tumorigenic than the SORE6- subpopulation. In agreement with this findings, SOX2 expression in sarcoma patients was associated to tumor grade, differentiation, invasive potential and lower patient survival. Finally, we studied the effect of a panel of anti-tumor drugs on the SORE6+ cells of the UPS model and patient-derived chondrosarcoma lines. We found that the mithramycin analogue EC-8042 was the most efficient in reducing SORE6+ cells in vitro and in vivo. Overall, this study demonstrates that SOX2 is a pro-tumorigenic factor with prognostic potential in sarcoma. Moreover, SORE6 transcriptional activity is a bona fide CSC marker in sarcoma and constitutes an excellent biomarker for evaluating the efficacy of anti-tumor treatments on CSC subpopulations.

The Frenchorthographic system is particularly difficult to learn because nearly 30% of words in the lexicon end with a silent letter. One metalinguistic skill that has been identified to facilitate spelling acquisition in French is morphological knowledge. This cross-sectional study investigated the construct of morphological knowledge, its development and its role in building accurate orthographic representations in a sample of francophone elementary students. We proposed that morphological knowledge, a superordinate process, encompasses children's implicit use of morphemes in everyday language and their conscious, targeted manipulation of morphemes. In the present study, we assessed children's recognition of morphogrammes, the silent-letter endings (SLEs) of root words that become pronounced in suffixed forms (e.g., the silent t in chant/ʃã/ [song] → chanteur /ʃãtœʀ/ [singer]). When spelling root words, children may mark morphogrammes by recalling morphologically related words in which the morphogramme is not silent - thus, morphological knowledge was hypothesized to positively predict morphogramme spelling. One hundred and twenty-three children in grades 1-3 were assessed on four measures of morphological knowledge, two measures of spelling recognition and a dictation of pseudowords to explore their inclusion of silent-letter endings in novel words. As expected, morphological tasks that required explicit morphological manipulations were harder than implicit ones. Moreover, first graders struggled to complete explicit morphological tasks, while third graders were near ceiling performance on implicit tasks. Nevertheless, the four tasks converged on a single morphological knowledge construct as confirmed by a factor analysis. Importantly, morphological knowledge explained unique variance in children's accurate representation of silent-letter endings after controlling for grade, reading for pleasure and general orthographic recognition of words. Finally, children rarely used silent-letter endings when spelling pseudowords; however, when they did, they displayed sensitivity to the appropriate phonological context for the letter used. The findings are in accord with theoretical models suggesting that the representations of letters without phonological value are difficult to construct and may remain fuzzy., (Copyright © 2020 Mussar, Sénéchal and Rey.)

Background & Objectives: Obesity is often associated with increased postprandial triglyceride (TG) concentrations, mainly from chylomicrons- and VLDL-TG. These alterations are usually reverted to normal after gastric bypass surgery (GB), through mechanisms which remain unknown. The objective of this study was therefore to assess the contribution of exogenous labelled fatty acids ingested with a meal to postprandial blood chylomicrons and VLDL-TG concentrations after GB., Subjects/methods: 7 GB patients 3-5 years after surgery (GB: 2M/5F, mean BMI 30 ± 2 kg/m 2 , mean age 40 ± 3 years), 6 overweight non operated subjects (OW: 1M/5F, mean BMI 31 ± 3 kg/m 2 , mean age 38 ± 2 years) and 8 normal weight healthy subjects (NW: 4M/4F, mean BMI 22 ± 1 kg/m 2 , mean age 26 ± 4 years) were studied over 7 h following ingestion of a liquid meal containing 18 g fat labelled with 250 mg 13 C 16 palmitate, 22 g protein, 36 g fructose and 36 g glucose. TG, 13 C palmitate ( 13 C-palm) and apoB48 concentrations were measured hourly in whole plasma and/or in chylomicrons and VLDL lipoprotein sub-fractions., Results: OW subjects had higher chylomicron-than NW (chylo-TG 96.5 (23.1) vs 28.8 (11.8) mmol/l*420min (p = 0.02)), but similar total, chylo- 13 C-palm and apoB48 iAUCs. In GB, chylo- 13 C-palm and apoB48 increased earlier after meal ingestion, but then remained lower than in NW and OW throughout the postprandial period. GB also had lower chylo-TG iAUCs than OW (8.9 (11.5) vs 96.5 (23.2) mmol/l*420min, p = 0.003). Their apoB48 iAUCs were not different from NW and OW (509.2 (90.5) vs 710.2 (80.5) and 870.1 (297.6) pg/ml*420min, all p > 0.05)., Conclusions: An accelerated postprandial apoB48 rise, together with unchanged postprandial apoB48 iUAC, suggests that intestinal fat absorption and chylomicron secretion was quantitatively unaltered, but accelerated after gastric bypass. In contrast, the decreased postprandial chylo-TG and 13 C-palm iAUCs suggest that plasma chylomicron clearance was enhanced after gastric bypass., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest LT has previously received research support and speaker fees from Soremartec Italia, Srl for research unrelated to this article, speaker fees from Nestlé AG, Switzerland, and the Gatorade Sport Science Institute, USA, and consultant fees from Takeda Pharma, USA. All other authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

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