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Background: Falls amongst the elderly represent a global public health challenge because of their potential to cause illness, death, and reduce the autonomy of this group. They also impact the emotional, family, social and economic well-being of those involved. Various strategies to prevent falls have been reported in the literature, focusing mainly on addressing individual risk factors, and on the continuous assessment of the risk of falls in older people. Objective: This study evaluated user satisfaction and acceptability of a comprehensive model, implemented in the community, to prevent falls amongst independent older adults aged 65 years and above. It sought to capture both the perceptions of the individuals who received the intervention and of the interventionists who implemented it. The study protocol was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov in November 2020 (ID: NCT04313062). Design: Qualitative, exploratory study using a case study design. The evaluation of the intervention followed the recommendations proposed by the Medical Research Council for complex interventions. Methods and participants: In the period between April 2021 to April 2022, 11 semi-structured interviews were conducted with independent older adults between 65 and 80 years of age who participated in the implementation of the comprehensive model in Santiago, Chile. Data were also collected with eight interventionists through: three semi-structured interviews at the beginning of the intervention; and two focus groups with seven interventionists at the end of the implementation of the model. The team members undertook a content analysis of the data collected. Results: Three themes emerged to account for the satisfaction and acceptability of the intervention with the model on the part of the participants and interventionists: (1) Previous experience of older persons and interventionists; (2) The older person-interventionist encounter and its context; and (3) Identification of facilitators, strengths and challenges for the implementation of the model. The results show a positive assessment of the model, highlighting the value of the social contact derived from the intervention by both participants and interventionists. Although the model involved an individual intervention, the participants’ accounts indicate that it reached out to others, including family members and other elderly acquaintances. Moreover, the interventionists helped identify challenges in implementation and made recommendations to strengthen the model. Conclusion: The evaluation of satisfaction and feasibility of implementing the model showed positive results that will nurture the next phase of development of this model, which involves scaling up the intervention.

Abstract Background Cycling is considered to be a highly beneficial sport for significantly enhancing cardiovascular fitness in individuals, yet studies show little or no corresponding improvements in bone mass. Methods A scientific literature search on studies discussing bone mass and bone metabolism in cyclists was performed to collect all relevant published material up to April 2012. Descriptive, cross-sectional, longitudinal and interventional studies were all reviewed. Inclusion criteria were met by 31 studies. Results Heterogeneous studies in terms of gender, age, data source, group of comparison, cycling level or modality practiced among others factors showed minor but important differences in results. Despite some controversial results, it has been observed that adult road cyclists participating in regular training have low bone mineral density in key regions (for example, lumbar spine). Conversely, other types of cycling (such as mountain biking), or combination with other sports could reduce this unsafe effect. These results cannot yet be explained by differences in dietary patterns or endocrine factors. Conclusions From our comprehensive survey of the current available literature it can be concluded that road cycling does not appear to confer any significant osteogenic benefit. The cause of this may be related to spending long hours in a weight-supported position on the bike in combination with the necessary enforced recovery time that involves a large amount of time sitting or lying supine, especially at the competitive level.

Introduction Chile is committed to actively involving patients in their healthcare. However, little is known about how this is translated into clinical encounters. Breast cancer (BC) is the first cause of cancer-related death in Chilean women. National policy guarantees standard care, and treatment decisions should be made along this process that can have long-term consequences for women. So, BC is a particularly well-suited case study to understand the complexity of patient participation in decision-making.Objective To identify the factors that affect the active involvement of patients in the BC treatment decision-making process, considering the perspectives and practices of health professionals and women facing the disease.Method and analysis We will conduct a mixed-method study through a convergent parallel design in three stages: (1) A qualitative study: non-participant observation of the tumour board (TB) meetings; semi-structured interviews with key informants from TBs; documentary analyses; semi-structured interviews with women facing BC; and non-participant observations of clinical encounters; (2) a cross-sectional study with 445 women facing BC stages I–III from three hospitals in Santiago, Chile. We will measure the level of expected participation, experienced participation, decisional conflict, quality of life (QoL) and satisfaction with healthcare. Descriptive analysis will be performed, and multivariable binary logistic regression models will be adjusted to identify factors associated with high levels of QoL or satisfaction; (3) an integration study will bring together the data through a joint display technique.Ethics and dissemination The study has been conceived and will be conducted according to international and local agreements for ethical research. Ethical approval has been granted by two Ethics Committees in Chile.The results will be disseminated to scientific and lay audiences (publications in scientific journals and conferences, seminars and a website for plain language dissemination).

Introducción: La estrategia trombolítica no solo mejora la esperanza de supervivencia del infarto, sino que también reduce la mortalidad general a un mes en los pacientes que reciben este tratamiento. Objetivo: Caracterizar los pacientes con infarto agudo de miocardio con elevación del segmento ST tratados con estreptoquinasa recombinante en el Hospital Clínico Quirúrgico Docente «Celia Sánchez Manduley». Métodos: Se realizó un estudio descriptivo, longitudinal y retrospectivo en 94 pacientes que recibieron tratamiento trombolítico desde diciembre de 2018 a noviembre de 2020. Las variables utilizadas fueron: edad, sexo, comorbilidades, tiempo de ventana terapéutica, causas de suspensión temporal, complicaciones, topografía, criterios de reperfusión clínico, eléctrico y enzimático y mortalidad. Se calculó la frecuencia absoluta y relativa, y la media aritmética con desviación estándar. Resultados: Predominó el sexo masculino y el grupo de edad entre 61 - 70 años. Prevalecieron los pacientes con antecedentes de hipertensión y diabetes. La hipotensión arterial fue la causa de suspensión más frecuente. El 69,1 % fueron trombolizados pasadas las 6 horas. Solo 27 pacientes sufrieron complicaciones, de las cuales, el bloqueo auriculoventricular y Killip - Kimball II fueron las más vistas. Por otra parte, 9 pacientes no presentaron criterios de reperfusión, y solo el 7,4 % fallecieron. Conclusiones: La trombolisis se realiza en una minoría de los pacientes aun en período de ventana terapéutica. La hipotensión fue la causa más frecuente de suspensión temporal de la trombolisis, y la letalidad fue inferior a la letalidad general por infarto agudo de miocardio.

The objective of this paper is to provide insights into our experiences undertaking qualitative rapid research in Latin American contexts based on fieldwork from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Mexico. We focus on the insights and learning processes that emerged from our research teamwork during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our research projects are part of an international collaboration led by the Rapid Research Evaluation and Appraisal Lab (RREAL) to explore the experiences of COVID-19 Frontline Healthcare Workers. The analyzed experiences not only rely on the local studies but also on our reflections as a group of Latin American researchers collaborating along with an international team. Qualitative research has an important and long-lasting tradition in Latin America. However, healthcare professionals are still reluctant to use these methods. We highlight tensions and dilemmas that have emerged from our own empirical experience: First, the time for research ethics committees to evaluate the protocols; second, the difficulties in accessing funding to undertake research due to the lack of financial opportunities; third, having to decide the language of our publications. That is just the tip of the iceberg that allows us to show inequalities in the conditions under which scientific knowledge is produced between the North and the Global South. Following these points, our text explores the tension between the urgency to conduct rapid research and the multiple difficulties when undertaking it during the pandemic. It is important to point out that the problems we faced already existed before the sanitary emergency, being magnified by the former. At last, our conclusions delve into the reflexive process we, as a team of female researchers, undertook to explore the differences and similarities of our experiences. This analysis allowed us to solve obstacles and dilemmas when doing research. The winding road we describe here serves as an example for other research teams when planning and undertaking rapid qualitative research during future pandemics.

Background: although advances in the treatment of acute myocardial infarction have led to a reduction in the risk of sudden death in the long term, it remains high in certain subgroups of patients. Objective: to identify the risk factors for sudden in-hospital cardiac death in patients with ST-segment elevation acute myocardial infarction. Methods: an analytical study of cases and controls was carried out in the Cardiology service of the Celia Sánchez Manduley Provincial Clinical Surgical Hospital in Manzanillo, Granma province from 2016 to 2019. 41 defined cases were studied. For each one 2 living graduates were randomly chosen. Variables dependent on the patient, examinations and treatment performed were studied. The absolute and relative frequency calculation was performed. The arithmetic mean with standard deviation was determined and compared using the Student's t test. The Chi-square test was used for qualitative variables. Risk factors were determined using a logistic regression model. Results: male sex prevailed (56 %) and the mean age was 73.3 years. As risk factors, the following were determined: a history of heart failure, presenting the Killip Kimball classification III-IV, as well as fasting first glycemic levels greater than 10 mmol / L and creatine phosphokinase greater than 180 IU. Conclusions: the most prevalent risk factors were: arterial hypertension, smoking, as well as peripheral arterial insufficiency, the presence of diabetes and obesity.

Wounding induces phenolic biosynthesis in broccoli. However, there is scarce information about the physiological and molecular mechanisms governing this stress response. In the present study, a chemical-genetics approach was used to elucidate the role of reactive oxygen species (ROS), jasmonic acid (JA), and ethylene (ET) as stress-signaling molecules in the wound-induced phenolic biosynthesis in broccoli. Wounding activated the biosynthesis of ET and JA. Likewise, the wound-induced biosynthesis of ET and JA was regulated by ROS. JA activated primary metabolism, whereas the three signaling molecules activated phenylpropanoid metabolism. The signaling molecules inhibited the wound-induced activation of the hydroxycinnamoyl-CoA quinate hydroxycinnamoyl transferase (HQT) gene, which is involved in caffeoylquinic acids biosynthesis, and the main phenolics accumulated in wounded broccoli, suggesting that an alternative caffeoylquinic biosynthesis pathway is activated in the tissue due to wounding. ROS mediated the biosynthesis of most individual phenolic compounds evaluated. In conclusion, ROS, ET, and JA are essential in activating broccoli’s primary and secondary metabolism, resulting in phenolic accumulation.

Abstract Background Avocado (Persea americana Mill.) is a basal angiosperm from the Lauraceae family. This species has a diploid genome with an approximated size of ~ 920 Mbp and produces a climacteric, fleshy and oily fruit. The flowering and fruit set are particularly prolonged processes, lasting between one to three months, generating important differences in physiological ages of the fruit within the same tree. So far there is no detailed genomic information regarding this species, being the cultivar ‘Hass’ especially important for avocado growers worldwide. With the aim to explore the fruit avocado transcriptome and to identify candidate biomarkers to monitore fruit development, we carried out an RNA-Seq approach during 4 stages of ‘Hass’ fruit development: 150 days after fruit set (DAFS), 240 DAFS, 300 DAFS (harvest) and 390 DAFS (late-harvest). Results The ‘Hass’ de novo transcriptome contains 62,203 contigs (x̅=988 bp, N50 = 1050 bp). We found approximately an 85 and 99% of complete ultra-conserved genes in eukaryote and plantae database using BUSCO (Benchmarking Universal Single-Copy Orthologs) and CEGMA (Core Eukaryotic Gene Mapping Approach), respectively. Annotation was performed with BLASTx, resulting in a 58% of annotated contigs (90% of differentially expressed genes were annotated). Differentially expressed genes analysis (DEG; with False Discovery Rate ≤ 0.01) found 8672 genes considering all developmental stages. From this analysis, genes were clustered according to their expression pattern and 1209 genes show correlation with the four developmental stages. Conclusions Candidate genes are proposed as possible biomarkers for monitoring the development of the ‘Hass’ avocado fruit associated with lipid metabolism, ethylene signaling pathway, auxin signaling pathway, and components of the cell wall.

The data presented in this article are related to the research article entitled “Expression of two indole-3-acetic acid (IAA)-amido synthetase (GH3) genes during fruit development of raspberry (Rubus idaeus Heritage)” (Bernales et al., In press). This data article describes the relation of all size variables between them and with the weight showing an increasing trend between length and weight and an inverse relation of fruit firmness and ethylene production during development. In addition, IAA treatment during auxin in-vitro assay showed no significant changes in firmness, a significant increase of ethylene and respiratory production.

Purpose: The aim of the present study was to determine which of the published anthropometric equations is the most appropriate to estimate body-fat percentage (BF%) in adolescent swimmers. Method: Eighty-eight swimmers (45 boys, 43 girls) participated in this study. Following the recommendations of the International Society of the Advancement of Kinanthropometry, biceps, triceps, subscapular, iliac-crest, supraspinale, front-thigh, and medial calf skinfold thicknesses were measured. Waist, hip, midthigh, calf, relaxed arm, and arm flexed and tensed girths were also registered. BF% was measured with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) to obtain the reference value. Existing anthropometric equations were applied, and BF% results obtained from anthropometric equations were compared to DXA BF% results with the modified Bland-Altman. Results: The Flavel, Durnin-Rahaman-Siri, and Durnin-Rahaman-Brozek were the only equations that did not demonstrate statistically significant differences when compared with DXA. Conclusion: The present study showed that the best anthropometric equation from existing literature to estimate BF% in swimmers is that proposed by Durnin-Rahaman (independently of applying the Siri or Brozek equation).

Wounding stress is an effective strategy to induce glucosinolate (GS) biosynthesis in broccoli. However, there is insufficient knowledge on the physiological and molecular mechanisms underlying this stress response. Herein, a chemical-genetic approach was applied to elucidate the role of jasmonic acid (JA), ethylene (ET), and reactive oxygen species (ROS) on the wound-induced biosynthesis of GS. Broccoli was processed into chops to induce wounding stress. Broccoli chops were treated with phenidone (PHEN) and diphenyleneiodonium chloride (DPI) as inhibitors of JA and ROS biosynthesis, respectively, whereas 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) was applied as an inhibitor of ET action. Wounding stress induced the expression of genes related to the biosynthesis of indolic and aliphatic GS, which was correlated with the accumulation of GS and modulated by the inhibitors of signaling molecules applied. Results of gene expression analysis indicated that JA played a key role in the activation of most genes, followed by ROS. Furthermore, except for the CYP79B2 gene, PHEN and 1-MCP synergistically downregulated the expression of GS biosynthetic genes evaluated, showing that the interaction between JA and ET was fundamental to modulate GS biosynthesis. Results presented herein increased our knowledge of the physiological and molecular mechanisms governing the wound-induced biosynthesis of GS in broccoli.