Search

Patricia Muñoz-Villegas,1,2 Gisela García-Sánchez,1 Ricardo O Jauregui-Franco,1 Sebastian Quirarte-Justo,1 Alejandra Sánchez-Ríos,1 Oscar Olvera-Montaño1 1Regional Medical Affairs Department, Laboratorios Sophia, S.A. de C.V., Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico; 2Centro de Investigación en Matemáticas, A.C., Unidad Aguascalientes (CIMAT), Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes, MexicoCorrespondence: Patricia Muñoz-Villegas, Laboratorios Sophia, S.A. de C.V., Paseo del Norte 5255, Technology Park, Zapopan, Jalisco, 45010, México, Tel +52 33 3001 4200, Email patricia.munoz@sophia.com.mxBackground: This research aims to investigate the influence of environmental factors on the treatment efficacy of ocular lubricants in patients from urban areas with dry eye disease (DED).Methods: A phase IV clinical trial, which included 173 patients from major cities in Mexico, was randomly assigned to use ocular lubricants four times a day for 30 days. Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI), noninvasive tear film break-up time (NIBUT), ocular staining, and conjunctival hyperemia (CH) among other factors like weather, and air pollution as covariates were analysed.Results: After 30 days, OSDI score decreased by 14.8 points (p< 0.001), and NIBUT increased by 2.9 seconds (p< 0.001), with longer values observed in patients recruited in autumn and winter (additional 1.8 seconds, p< 0.05) compared to those recruited in spring. Patients living in cities with cooler weather and high humidity, but low air quality had higher OSDI and conjunctival stain scores of up to 4.4 and 0.3 points, respectively, as compared to those living in cities with similar pollution and humidity levels but with higher temperatures (p-values= 0.019 and 0.050). Patients with moderate CH had an increase of up to 0.8 points in their corneal stain score (p< 0.010). We also found that ozone levels were related to the predicted changes in OSDI and NIBUT.Conclusion: This study demonstrated the impact of environmental factors on the signs and symptoms of DED and suggests that patients residing in cities with inadequately controlled air pollution can benefit from using ocular lubricants to alleviate their symptoms.Trial Registration: Trial is registered at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT04702776).Keywords: Dry eye disease, dry eye symptoms, dry eye signs, environmental factors, ocular lubricants

Alfredo Salcedo-Ledesma,1,2 Andrea Córdoba,1 Naomi C Zatarain-Barrón,1 Enrique O Graue-Hernández,1 Yonathan Garfias,3,4 Norma Morales Flores,1 Gustavo A García-Sánchez,5 Diego García-Santisteban,5 Mónica A Linares-Alba,5 Rodrigo García-Santisteban,6 Alejandro Navas1 1Department of Cornea and Refractive Surgery, Institute of Ophthalmology “Conde de Valenciana”, Mexico City, Mexico; 2PECEM MD/PhD Program, Faculty of Medicine, UNAM, Mexico City, Mexico; 3Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, UNAM, Mexico City, Mexico; 4Research Unit, Institute of Ophthalmology “Conde de Valenciana”, Mexico City, Mexico; 5Research and Development, Santgar Laboratories, Mexico City, Mexico; 6Faculty of Medicine, Panamerican University, Mexico City, MexicoCorrespondence: Alejandro Navas, Department of Cornea and Refractive Surgery, Institute of Ophthalmology “Conde de Valenciana”, Chimalpopoca 14, Mexico City, 06800, Mexico, Tel +5255 54421700, Fax +5255 55789748, Email alejandro.navas@institutodeoftalmologia.orgPurpose: To determine the effectiveness of subconjunctival application of a novel sirolimus liposomal formulation for the treatment of dry eye.Methods: A randomized, triple-blind, Phase II clinical trial. Thirty-eight eyes of 19 patients were included. Nine patients (18 eyes) assigned to the sham group (Sham) and 10 patients (20 eyes) to sirolimus-loaded liposomes group (Sirolimus). The treatment group received three doses of subconjunctival liposome-encapsulated sirolimus and the sham group received three doses of liposomal suspension without sirolimus. Subjective (Ocular Surface Disease Index, OSDI) and measured (corrected distance visual acuity, conjunctival hyperemia, tear osmolarity, Schirmer’s test, corneal/conjunctival staining and matrix metalloproteinase-9) variables were measured.Results: Sirolimus-entrapped liposomes-treated group OSDI scores changed from 62.19 (± 6.07) to 37.8 (± 17.81) (p=0.0024), and conjunctival hyperemia from 2.0 (± 0.68) to 0.83 (± 0.61) (p< 0.0001); Sham group with OSDI scores from 60.02 (± 14.2) to 36.02 (± 20.70) (p=0.01), and conjunctival hyperemia from 1.33 (± 0.68) to 0.94 (± 0.87) (p=0.048). All the other evaluated outcomes only showed significant differences in the sirolimus group: corneal/conjunctival staining score (p=0.0015), lipid layer interferometry (p=0.006), and inferior meibomian gland dropout (p=0.038). No local or systemic adverse effects regarding the medication itself were reported, and the administration route was well accepted.Conclusion: Our findings suggest that sub-conjunctival sirolimus-loaded liposomes are effective in reducing both signs and symptoms of dry eye in patients with poorly controlled moderate-to-severe DED, while avoiding other topical administration adverse effects. Further investigation with a larger sample size is required to determine long-term effects.Keywords: sirolimus, rapamycin, liposomes, sirolimus liposomal formulation, dry eye disease

The state of Puebla is the main producer of cabbage ( Brassica oleracea var. capitata ) in Mexico, with an area of approximately 1,858 ha (SIAP 2023). In April 2023, a field sampling was conducted in the San Luis Ajajalpan, Tecali de Herrera (18°55.57'N, 97°55.607'W), Puebla, Mexico. The average temperature was 24°C and the relative humidity was 95% for five consecutive days. Cabbage plants cv. 'American Taki San Juan' close to harvest, with head rot symptoms were found in a commercial area of approximately 3 ha, at an estimated incidence of 35 to 45%. More than 70% of the leaves were symptomatic on severely affected plants. Typical symptoms included chlorosis of older foliage, soft rot with abundant white to gray mycelium, and abundant production of large and irregularly-shaped sclerotia. The fungus was isolated from 30 symptomatic plants. Sclerotia were collected from symptomatic heads, surface sterilized in 3% NaOCl, rinsed twice with sterile distilled water, and plated on Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA) with sterile forceps. Subsequently, a dissecting needle was used to place fragments of mycelium directly on PDA. Plates were placed in an incubator at 25°C in the dark. A total of 30 representative isolates were obtained by the hyphal-tip method, one from each diseased plant (15 isolates from sclerotia and 15 from mycelial fragments). After 8 days, colonies had fast-growing, dense, cottony-white aerial mycelium forming irregular sclerotia of 3.75 ± 0.8 mm (mean ± standard deviation, n=100). Each Petri dish produced 14-25 sclerotia (mean = 18, n = 50), after 10 days. The sclerotia were initially white and gradually turned black. The isolates were identified as Sclerotinia sclerotiorum based on morphological characteristics (Saharan and Mehta 2008). Two representative isolates were chosen for molecular identification, and genomic DNA was extracted by a CTAB protocol. The ITS region and the glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (G3PDH) gene were sequenced for two isolates (White et al. 1990; Staats et al. 2005). The ITS and G3PDH sequences of a representative isolate (SsC.1) were deposited in the GenBank (ITS- OR286628; G3PDH- OR333495). BLAST analysis of the partial sequences ITS (509 bp) and G3PDH (915 bp) showed 100% similarity to S. sclerotiorum isolates (GenBank: MT436756.1 and OQ790148). Pathogenicity was confirmed by inoculating 10 detached cabbage heads of 'American Taki San Juan', using the SsC.1 isolate, according to Sanogo et al. (2015). Heads were placed on the rim of a plastic container and inserted in a moisture box with 2 cm of water on its bottom. The box was covered with a plastic sheet to maintain humidity. The control plants were inoculated with a plug of noncolonized PDA. The inoculated cabbages were covered with white to gray mycelia and abundant sclerotia within 10 days, whereas no symptoms were observed on non-inoculated controls. The fungus was re-isolated from the inoculated cabbages as described above, fulfilling Koch's postulates. The pathogenicity tests were repeated three times. White mold caused by S. sclerotiorum on Brussels sprouts was recently reported in Mexico (Ayvar-Serna et al. 2023). In 2015, S . sclerotiorum was reported on cabbage in New Mexico, causing head rot (Sanogo et al. 2015). To our knowledge, this is the first report of S . sclerotiorum causing white mold on cabbage in Mexico. This research is essential for designing management strategies and preventing spread to other production areas.

This research paper presents an analysis of the propagation of the SARS-CoV-2, or other similar pathogens, in a hospital isolation room using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and Lagrangian Coherent Structures (LCS). The study investigates the airflow dispersion and droplets in the room under air conditioning vent and sanitizer conditions. The CFD simulation results show that both the air conditioner and sanitizer systems significantly influence the dispersion of the virus in the room. The use of LCS enables acquiring a deep understanding of the dispersion of suspended particles, providing insights into the mechanisms of virus transmission. The findings of this study could help in developing strategies for improving the design and operation of isolation rooms to minimize the likelihood of virus dissemination within hospitals., Competing Interests: The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: AMM reports financial support was provided by Ministry of Science and Innovation. MA reports financial support was provided by Ministry of Science and Innovation. NA reports financial support was provided by ENDESA., (© 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The meat greening is an abnormal pigmentation related to microbiological contamination and lipid oxidation during storage. This color change results from sulfmyoglobin (SulfMb) production promoted by the reaction between metmyoglobin (MetMb), H 2 O 2, and thiol compounds. Spectral studies on cooked meat suggested the production of SulfMb, probably due to the increment of free radicals during thermal treatment. Thus, we evaluated the involvement of free radicals and heme iron in the SulfMb production from horse MetMb and free cysteine (Cys) during thermal treatment. The results confirm that the reaction of SulfMb production at meat muscle pH (5.7-7.2) during heat treatment is a product of free radicals formed from Cys oxidation (SH) and reactive oxygen species (O 2 - , H 2 O 2 ). This is catalyzed by the release of heme iron, thus promoting a consecutive reaction having MbFe(IV)O as a reaction intermediate., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Juan Carlos Ramirez-Suarez reports financial support and equipment, drugs, or supplies were provided by Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACyT) through the project A1-S-44107., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The chaotic nature of ocean motion is a major challenge that hinders the discovery of spatio-temporal current routes that govern the transport of material. Certain material, such as oil spills, pose significant environmental threats and these are enhanced by the fact that they evolve in a chaotic sea, in a way which still nowadays is far from being systematically anticipated. Recently such an oil spill event has affected the Mediterranean coast of several Middle Eastern countries. No accidents were reported for these spills previous to their arrival at the coast, and therefore there was no hint of their origin. Modelling such an event, in which uncertainties are increased due to the lack of information on where and when the spills was produced, stretches available technologies to their limits, and requires the use of novel ideas that help to understand the essential features of oil and tar transport by ocean currents. In this regard Lagrangian Coherent Structures enable us to find order within ocean chaos and provide powerful insights into chaotic events and their relationships over different locations and times like the one addressed. Using the observed locations of the oil impacting the coast at specific times, we seek to determine its original location and the time it was released in the open ocean. We have determined both using a combination of earlier satellite observations and computational modelling of the time evolution. The observed agreement between modeled cases and satellite observations highlights the power of these ideas., (© 2022. The Author(s).)