A short review on the applicability and use of cubosomes as nanocarriers.

Abstract: Cubosomes are nanostructured lipid-based particles that have gained significant attention in the field of drug delivery and nanomedicine. These unique structures consist of a three-dimensional cubic lattice formed by the self-assembly of lipid molecules. The lipids used to construct cubosomes are typically nonionic surfactants, such as monoolein, which possess both hydrophilic and hydrophobic regions, allowing them to form stable, water-dispersible nanoparticles. One of the key advantages of cubosomes is their ability to encapsulate and deliver hydrophobic as well as hydrophilic drugs. The hydrophobic regions of the lipid bilayers provide an ideal environment for incorporating lipophilic drugs, while the hydrophilic regions can encapsulate water-soluble drugs. This versatility makes cubosomes suitable for delivering a wide range of therapeutic agents, including small molecules, proteins, peptides, and nucleic acids. The unique structure of cubosomes also offers stability and controlled release benefits. The lipid bilayers provide a protective barrier, shielding the encapsulated drugs from degradation and improving their stability. Moreover, the cubic lattice arrangement enables the modulation of drug release kinetics by varying the lipid composition and surface modifications. This allows for the development of sustained or triggered drug release systems, enhancing therapeutic efficacy and reducing side effects. Furthermore, cubosomes can be easily modified with targeting ligands or surface modifications to achieve site-specific drug delivery, enhancing therapeutic selectivity and reducing off-target effects. In conclusion, cubosomes offer a versatile and promising platform for the delivery of therapeutic agents. In this manuscript, we will highlight some of these applications.

When Holistic Admissions Review Is Not Enough: Barriers to Diversity.

BACKGROUND: Patient populations are increasingly diverse; however, the health care workforce often fails to reflect the diversity of the populations it serves. Holistic admission review (HAR) has been proposed as a strategy to diversify the student body and create a more diverse workforce. METHOD: This article describes the development, application, and evaluation of a holistic admissions process for freshman undergraduates admitted directly to a College of Nursing located in a nonaffirmative action state. RESULTS: There was an increase in the diversity of applicants; however, the selected metric of SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test)/ACT (American College Test) scores resulted in a decrease in the number of qualified applicants. This decrease disproportionately affected underrepresented students, illustrating that the inability to consider race, ethnicity, or gender continues to restrict the admission of a diverse student body even with HAR. CONCLUSION: Our findings highlight the need to consider all aspects of HAR, particularly the effect of the chosen metrics on the applicant pool. [J Nurs Educ. 2022;61(7):375-382.].

Increasing participation in research with therapy dogs: A qualitative study at a large urban mental health and addiction hospital.

The benefits of involving patients as partners in research across diverse medical and psychiatric settings are well established in the literature. However, researchers continue to struggle to access, engage and retain participants from hard-to-reach populations. The main objective of this study was to co-create pet therapy activities with patients admitted for serious and complex mental illness to a large urban mental health and addiction hospital. Informed by the principles of participatory action research methodology, we conducted focus group discussions with 38 inpatients in seven different clinical units. An experienced volunteer handler and a certified therapy dog helped facilitate our discussions. Participating researchers, recreational therapists, volunteer handlers and our participants all reported that the presence of a certified therapy dog at each of our discussions was integral to their success. Certified therapy dogs increased the motivation to participate in our study, helped to build rapport with participants and created connections in our discussions that enriched our data. To our knowledge our study is the first to demonstrate the value of using a therapy dog as a participatory research tool in a healthcare setting. The authors believe that therapy dogs are a low-tech intervention that could be used effectively to engage hard-to-reach populations in research about their treatment and care in a diverse range of medical settings. These findings support the creation of a pilot study to test the value of including therapy dogs in patient-centered research with vulnerable and hard-to-reach populations.

Prevalencia de obesidad abdominal en una población rural del estado portuguesa / Prevalence of abdominal obesity in a rural population of the portuguese state

La obesidad afecta a más de mil millones de personas en el mundo según la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS). El exceso de peso condiciona la aparición de otras enfermedades crónicas no transmisibles. Venezuela es el país con mayor prevalencia de obesidad en Suramérica por lo que su prevención es una exigencia inmediata. Se realizó un estudio descriptivo, transversal, durante el año 2014, utilizando una muestra no probabilística. Se estudiaron 264 adultos residenciados en San Nicolás o en sus caseríos aledaños del Estado Portuguesa. Se aplicó un instrumento que incluía: datos de identificación, antecedentes familiares, antecedentes personales, hábitos psicobiológicos, circunferencia abdominal, tensión arterial e índice de masa corporal (IMC). 23% de los hombres y 63% de las mujeres presentaron un perímetro abdominal que confiere alto riesgo según la OMS. La población que presentó mayor frecuencia de obesidad abdominal fueron las mujeres entre 30 y 49 años con 46,5% (n=60), seguidas por el grupo de mujeres entre 18 y 29 años con una frecuencia de 21,9% (n=28). La población menos afectada fueron los hombres mayores de 70 años. Al relacionar IMC y obesidad abdominal se determinó que el grupo con mayor frecuencia de obesidad abdominal eran las mujeres con sobrepeso, seguidas por las mujeres con obesidad grado I. La obesidad abdominal afecta una quinta parte de los hombres y tres quintas partes de las mujeres de la población rural venezolana estudiada.Las mujeres en edad productiva fueron el grupo más afectado(AU)

Obesity affects more than one billion people in the world becoming one of the major health problems nowadays according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Obesity is associated with the occurrence of other chronic non transmissible diseases. According to WHO statistics, Venezuela is the country with more obesity prevalence in South America; for that reason prevention health plans are an immediate requirement. A descriptive, crosssectional study was conducted during 2014 using a nonrandom sample selected from the population of San Nicolas and its surrounding villages. 264 people were included. An instrument of data collection was applied that included: identification data, family and personal history, psychobiological habits, , waist circumference, blood pressure and body mass index.. Of the sample, 33.33% (n88) were men. Twenty three percent of men and 63% of women had a waist circumference in high risk according to the WHO. The the group of women between 30 and 49 years with 46.5% (n60) followed for women between 18 and 29 years with 21.9% (n28). higher abdominal obesity and the group of men over 70 years with 0.8% (n2).was less affected In relation to BMI and abdominal obesity it was determined that the group with higher frequency of abdominal obesity was overweight women with a percentage of 37.5% (n48); followed by women presenting with Grade I obesity a percentage of 16.2% (n31)(AU)