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as Each artery conduces blood (conduit function, CF) and smoothes out the pulsatility (buffering function, BF), while keeping its wall protected against the high oscillations of the pulse waves (damping function, ξ). These functions depend on each segment viscoelasticity and capability to store and dissipate energy. When a graft/prosthesis is implanted, the physiological gradual transition in the viscoelasticity and functionality of adjacent arterial segments is disrupted. It remains to be elucidated if the cryografts would allow keeping the physiological biomechanical transition. The aim of this study was to evaluate the cryografts capability to reproduce the functional, energetic and reflection properties of patients' arteries and fresh homografts. Common carotid's pressure, diameter and wallthickness were recorded in vivo (15 patients) and in vitro (15 cryografts and 15 fresh homografts from donors). Calculus: elastic (Epd) and viscous (Vpd) indexes, CF, BF, dissipated (WD) and stored (WPS) energy and ξ. The graft-patient's artery matching was evaluated using the reflection coefficient (Γ) and reflected power (WΓ). Cryografts did not show differences in Epd, Vpd, BF, CF, WD, WPS, and ξ, in respect to fresh homografts and patients' arteries, ensuring a reduced Γ and WΓ. Cryografts could be considered as alternatives in arterial reconstructions since they ensure the gradual transition of patients' arteries biomechanical and functional behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

pH regulation is essential to allow normal cell function, and their imbalance is associated with different pathologic situations, including cancer. In this study, we present the synthesis of 2-(((2-aminoethyl)imino)methyl)phenol (HL1) and the iron (III) complex (Fe(L1) 2 Br, ( C1 )), confirmed by X-ray diffraction analysis. The absorption and emission properties of complex C1 were assessed in the presence and absence of different physiologically relevant analytes, finding a fluorescent turn-on when OH - was added. So, we determined the limit of detection (LOD = 3.97 × 10 -9 M), stoichiometry (1:1), and association constant (K as = 5.86 × 10 3 M -1 ). Using DFT calculations, we proposed a spontaneous decomposition mechanism for C1 . After characterization, complex C1 was evaluated as an intracellular pH chemosensor on the human primary gastric adenocarcinoma (AGS) and non-tumoral gastric epithelia (GES-1) cell lines, finding fluorescent signal activation in the latter when compared to AGS cells due to the lower intracellular pH of AGS cells caused by the increased metabolic rate. However, when complex C1 was used on metastatic cancer cell lines (MKN-45 and MKN-74), a fluorescent turn-on was observed in both cell lines because the intracellular lactate amount increased. Our results could provide insights about the application of complex C1 as a metabolic probe to be used in cancer cell imaging.

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare academic achievement, cognitive performance, playtime, bullying, and discrimination in adolescents according to traditional uniforms (TUs) and sports uniforms (SUs) worn at school, while simultaneously exploring the influence of the school vulnerability index., Methods: A total of 988 Chilean adolescents (52.6% boys) aged 10-14 years participated in this cross-sectional study. Academic achievement was evaluated by the average grade in maths, language, and science grades, while cognitive performance was assessed through eight cognitive tasks. TUs affecting physical activity, playtime, bullying, and discrimination were queried. Mixed model analyses were performed., Results: No differences were observed in academic achievement (TU: 5.4 ± 0.1 vs. SU: 5.5 ± 0.2, p = 0.785) or in cognitive performance (TU: 99.6 ± 0.8 vs. SU: 98.9 ± 1.8, p= 0.754) according to the school uniformtype. Moreover, 64.1 % of participants declared that wearing TU affects their physical activity (traditional uniforms: + 8 min and sports uniforms: + 20 min), and those who believed so spent more time playing than those who answered negatively (14.5 min, p = 0.012). Finally, adolescents wearing SU displayed a lower feeling of bullying and discrimination; this finding depended mainly on the school's vulnerability., Conclusion: It is concluded that wearing TU does not show an educational advantage at an academic and cognitive level that justifies its obligation. In addition, it could be suggested that schools consider adolescents' opinions in adopting a more comfortable uniform, such as the SU. This feasible and low-cost measure would help to increase adolescents' physical activity during the school day, and, contrary to belief, it would not be related to increased feelings of bullying and discrimination., 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 Cristi-Montero, Solis-Urra, Sanchez-Martinez, Olivares-Arancibia, Hernández-Jaña, Gajardo-Araya, Palma-Leal, Sadarangani, Portela Estinto, Encina, Alvarez, Delgado-Floody, Aguilar-Farias, Ferrari, Mahecha-Matsudo, Zavala-Crichton, Ibarra-Mora, Parra-Saldías, Nanjarí-Miranda and Rodríguez-Rodríguez.)

Background: Fitness is a powerful marker of health associated with physical activity (PA) in university students. However, insufficient PA is a serious health concern among university students. Active commuting provides an opportunity for increased PA levels. Therefore, the aims of this study were (a) to describe the mode of commuting, PA and fitness in university students; (b) to analyze the associations of mode of commuting with PA and fitness; and c) to analyze the relationship between mode of commuting, PA recommendations and fitness., Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. A total of 1257 university students (52.4% women) participated (22.4 ± 5.6 years old)., Results: Public commuting was the main mode to and from university. Active and public commuters were more likely to meet the PA recommendations and reported higher muscular strength than those using private commuting. Active and public commuters who met PA recommendations present the highest fitness in most of its components., Conclusions: Achieving the PA recommendations was more relevant than adopting an active mode of commuting in order to have better fitness. Further research targeting a broader understanding of the mode of commuting, PA levels and fitness in university students is needed.

The increased oxidative stress in the acceleration of the aging process and development of the neuronal disorder are the common feature detected in neurodegenerative illness, such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Searching for new treatment against these diseases, the inclusion of exogenous antioxidant agents has shown good results. Flavonoids are polyphenols compounds present in plants, fruits and vegetables that exhibit potent antioxidant and biological properties, which are related to their chemical structure that to confer an excellent radical scavenging ability. The design of metal-flavonoid complexes allows to obtain compounds with improved biological and physicochemical properties, generating important increase of the flavonoid antioxidant properties. This evidence we motive to propose that antioxidant properties of the metal flavonoids compounds can play an important role in the design of potential novel therapeutic strategies. This review presents the structure-activity relationship on the antioxidant properties of three series of metal-flavonoid complexes: M-(quercetin), M-(morin), and M-(rutin). In general, we observed that the coordination sites, the metal ion type used, and the molar ratio metal:flavonoid present in the complexes, are important factors for to increase the antioxidant activity. On these evidences we motive to propose that the development of metal-flavonoid compounds is a potentially viable approach for combating neurodegenerative diseases., (Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.. All rights reserved.)

Natural products have been known for their antimicrobial factors since time immemorial. Infectious diseases are a worldwide burden that have been deteriorating because of the improvement of species impervious to various anti-infection agents. Hence, the distinguishing proof of antimicrobial specialists with high-power dynamic against MDR microorganisms is central to conquer this issue. Successful treatment of infection involves the improvement of new drugs or some common source of novel medications. Numerous naturally occurring antimicrobial agents can be of plant origin, animal origin, microbial origin, etc. Many plant and animal products have antimicrobial activities due to various active principles, secondary metabolites, or phytochemicals like alkaloids, tannins, terpenoids, essential oils, flavonoids, lectins, phagocytic cells, and many other organic constituents. Phytocomplexes' antimicrobial movement frequently results from a few particles acting in cooperative energy, and the clinical impacts might be because of the direct effects against microorganisms. The restorative plants that may furnish novel medication lead the antimicrobial movement. The purpose of this study is to investigate the antimicrobial properties of the phytocomplexes and natural extracts of the plants that are ordinarily being utilized as conventional medications and then recommended the chance of utilizing them in drugs for the treatment of multiple drug-resistant disease.

Biking and walking are active commuting, which is considered an opportunity to create healthy habits., Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the main environmental and psychosocial barriers perceived by students, leading to less Active Commuting (AC) to university and to not reaching the Physical Activity (PA) recommendations., Material and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 1349 university students (637 men and 712 women) were selected. A self-reported questionnaire was applied to assess the mode of commuting, PA level and barriers to the use of the AC., Results: Women presented higher barriers associated with passive commuting than men. The main barriers for women were "involves too much planning" (OR: 5.25; 95% CI: 3.14-8.78), "It takes too much time" (OR: 4.62; 95% CI: 3.05-6.99) and "It takes too much physical effort " (OR: 3.18; 95% CI: 2.05-4.94). In men, the main barriers were "It takes too much time" (OR: 4.22; 95% CI: 2.97-5.99), "involves too much planning" (OR: 2.49; 95% CI: 1.67-3.70) and "too much traffic along the route" (OR: 2.07; 95% CI: 1.47-2.93). Psychosocial barriers were found in both sexes., Conclusions: Psychosocial and personal barriers were more positively associated with passive commuting than environmental barriers. Interventions at the university are necessary to improve the perception of AC and encourage personal organization to travel more actively.

Cancer is a disease that involves impaired genome stability with a high mortality index globally. Since its discovery, many have searched for effective treatment, assessing different molecules for their anticancer activity. One of the most studied sources for anticancer therapy is natural compounds and their derivates, like alkaloids, which are organic molecules containing nitrogen atoms in their structure. Among them, oxoisoaporphine and sampangine compounds are receiving increased attention due to their potential anticancer effects. Boldine has also been tested as an anticancer molecule. Boldine is the primary alkaloid extract from boldo, an endemic tree in Chile. These compounds and their derivatives have unique structural properties that potentially have an anticancer mechanism. Different studies showed that this molecule can target cancer cells through several mechanisms, including reactive oxygen species generation, DNA binding, and telomerase enzyme inhibition. In this review, we summarize the state-of-art research related to oxoisoaporphine, sampangine, and boldine, with emphasis on their structural characteristics and the relationship between structure, activity, methods of extraction or synthesis, and anticancer mechanism. With an effective cancer therapy still lacking, these three compounds are good candidates for new anticancer research.

The coordination of the ligands with respect to the central atom in the complex bromido-tricarbon-yl[diphen-yl(pyridin-2-yl)phosphane-κ 2 N , P ]rhenium(I) chloro-form disolvate, [ReBr(C 17 H 14 NP)(CO) 3 ]·2CHCl 3 or [κ 2 - P , N -{(C 6 H 5 ) 2 (C 5 H 5 N)P}Re(CO) 3 Br]·2CHCl 3 , ( I ·2CHCl 3 ), is best described as a distorted octa-hedron with three carbonyls in a facial conformation, a bromide atom, and a biting P , N -di-phenyl-pyridyl-phosphine ligand. Hirshfeld surface analysis shows that C-Cl⋯H inter-actions contribute 26%, the distance of these inter-actions are between 2.895 and 3.213 Å. The reaction between I and piperidine (C 5 H 11 N) at 313 K in di-chloro-methane leads to the partial decoord-ination of the pyridyl-phosphine ligand, whose pyridyl group is replaced by a piperidine mol-ecule, and the complex bromido-tricarbon-yl[diphen-yl(pyridin-2-yl)phosphane-κ P ](piperidine-κ N )rhenium(I), [ReBr(C 5 H 11 N)(C 17 H 14 NP)(CO) 3 ] or [ P -{(C 6 H 5 ) 2 (C 5 H 5 N)P}(C 5 H 11 N)Re(CO) 3 Br] ( II ). The mol-ecule has an intra-molecular N-H⋯N hydrogen bond between the non-coordinated pyridyl nitro-gen atom and the amine hydrogen atom from piperidine with D ⋯ A = 2.992 (9) Å. Thermogravimetry shows that I ·2CHCl 3 losses 28% of its mass in a narrow range between 318 and 333 K, which is completely consistent with two solvating chloro-form mol-ecules very weakly bonded to I . The remaining I is stable at least to 573 K. In contrast, II seems to lose solvent and piperidine (12% of mass) between 427 and 463 K, while the additional 33% loss from this last temperature to 573 K corresponds to the release of 2-pyridyl-phosphine. The contribution to the scattering from highly disordered solvent mol-ecules in II was removed with the SQUEEZE routine [Spek (2015 ▸). Acta Cryst. C71, 9-18] in PLATON . The stated crystal data for M r , μ etc . do not take this solvent into account.

Objective : To compare the differences in the modes and distance of the displacements in high school and university stage in the same sample. Methods : A total of 1288 volunteer university students (614 males and 674 females) participated, with an average age of 22.7 ± 5.8 years, belonging to four private and public universities in Chile where a validated self-report questionnaire was applied to the study, which included the modes, travel time, and distance at school and university. Results : The active commuting decreases from school to university when leaving home (males: 39.6% to 34.0%; p = 0.033 and females: 32.9% to 18.5%, p < 0.001), as well as when returning (males: 44.1% to 33.7%; p < 0.001 and females: 38.6% to 17.6%, p < 0.001). Conversely, non-active modes of transport increase, especially in females (go: 67.1% to 81.4%, return: 61.5% to 82.6%), affected by the increase in the use of public transportation in university. It was also defined that at both school and at university, the active commuting decreases the greater the distance travelled. Conclusion : The active modes of commuting decreased between high school and university and the non-active mode of commuting was the most frequent form of mobility to high school and university, observing that the active trips decreased when the distance from the home to high school or university increased. Public and private intervention policies and strategies are required to maintain or increase the modes of active commuting in the university stage for an active life in adulthood.

Purpose. To evaluate in chronically haemodialysed patients (CHPs), if: (1) the vascular access (VA) position (upper arm or forearm) is associated with differential changes in upper limb arterial stiffness; (2) differences in arterial stiffness exist between genders associated with the VA; (3) the vascular substitute (VS) of choice, in biomechanical terms, depends on the previous VA location and CHP gender. Methods. 38 CHPs (18 males; VA in upper arm: 18) were studied. Left and right carotid-brachial pulse wave velocity (PWV(c-b)) was measured. In in vitro studies, PWV was obtained in ePTFE prostheses and in several arterial and venous homografts obtained from donors. The biomechanical mismatch (BM) between CHP native vessel (NV) and VS was calculated. Results/Conclusions. PWV(c-b) in upper limbs with VA was lower than in the intact contralateral limbs (P < 0.05), and differences were higher (P < 0.05) when the VA was performed in the upper arm. Differences between PWV(c-b) in upper limbs with VA (in the upper arm) with respect to intact upper limbs were higher (P < 0.05) in males. Independently of the region in which the VA was performed, the homograft that ensured the minimal BM was the brachial artery. The BM was highly dependent on gender and the location in the upper limb in which the VA was performed.

The complexity of searches and the volume of genomic data make sequence alignment one of bioinformatics most active research areas. New alignment approaches have incorporated digital signal processing techniques. Among these, correlation methods are highly sensitive. This paper proposes a novel sequence alignment method based on 2-dimensional images, where each nucleic acid base is represented as a fixed gray intensity pixel. Query and known database sequences are coded to their pixel representation and sequence alignment is handled as object recognition in a scene problem. Query and database become object and scene, respectively. An image correlation process is carried out in order to search for the best match between them. Given that this procedure can be implemented in an optical correlator, the correlation could eventually be accomplished at light speed. This paper shows an initial research stage where results were "digitally" obtained by simulating an optical correlation of DNA sequences represented as images. A total of 303 queries (variable lengths from 50 to 4500 base pairs) and 100 scenes represented by 100 x 100 images each (in total, one million base pair database) were considered for the image correlation analysis. The results showed that correlations reached very high sensitivity (99.01%), specificity (98.99%) and outperformed BLAST when mutation numbers increased. However, digital correlation processes were hundred times slower than BLAST. We are currently starting an initiative to evaluate the correlation speed process of a real experimental optical correlator. By doing this, we expect to fully exploit optical correlation light properties. As the optical correlator works jointly with the computer, digital algorithms should also be optimized. The results presented in this paper are encouraging and support the study of image correlation methods on sequence alignment.

Introduction and Objectives: It is not yet known whether cryopreservation enables vessels to retain their viscoelastic properties or whether cryopreserved homografts are biomechanically more like native arteries than currently used vascular prostheses. The study objectives were: a) to determine whether our cryopreservation methodology enables arterial and venous homografts to retain their viscoelastic and functional properties; and b) to assess similarities between patients' femoral arteries, homografts, and other vascular prostheses in common use., Methods: The pressure and the diameter and parietal thickness of 15 muscular (femoral) arteries were measured in patients using tonometry and echography, both noninvasive techniques. In addition, the pressure in and diameter and parietal thickness of 15 fresh and 15 cryopreserved human muscular (femoral) artery segments, saphenous veins, and 15 expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) vascular prostheses were measured in vitro under hemodynamic conditions similar to those in patients. A Kelvin-Voigt model of the segment wall was used to derive elastic (Epd, mm Hg/mm) and viscous (Vpd, mm Hg x s/mm) pressure-diameter indices, the buffering function (Vpd/Epd), and the conduit function (1/Zc, where Zc is the characteristic impedance). The incremental Young modulus, the pressure-strain elastic modulus, and pulse wave velocity were also calculated., Results: No difference was observed between either the viscoelastic or functional properties of fresh and cryopreserved homografts. Arterial homografts were the most similar to the patient's arteries., Conclusions: Cryopreservation enabled venous and arterial homografts to retain their viscoelastic and functional properties. Of all the grafts investigated, arterial homografts were most similar, both biomechanically and functionally, to the patient's femoral arteries.

The aim was to evaluate our cryopreservation method effects on the mechanical properties and filtering function of human superficial femoral arteries (SFA). SFA segments from 10 multiorgan donors were divided into two groups: fresh, tested 24-48 h after harvesting, and cryopreserved/defrosted, tested after 1 month of cryopreservation. The cooling process was carried out in three steps: 2 degrees C/min until -40 degrees C; 5 degrees C/min until -90 degrees C and finally a rapid cooling by transferring the bag to vapour phase of liquid nitrogen (-142 degrees C). Thawing was made in two steps, a slow warming time by exposing the bag to 20 degrees C during 20 min, followed by a rapid warming by immersion in a 40 degrees C warm bath until defrost. In a circulation mock, arterial pressure [Pressure signal (P)] and diameter [Diameter (D)] were registered at similar stretch-frequency, P and flow levels. A compliance transfer function (D/P) was used for the on-line assessment of the arterial wall elastic (E), viscous (eta), and inertial (M) properties. To evaluate the arterial wall filter function, the arterial wall D/P frequency response was characterized, the cut-off frequency (fc) was quantified, and the viscous energy dissipation (Weta) was calculated. After cryopreservation, there were not significant changes in E, eta, M, Weta, and fc.