A Two-Faced Gut Microbiome: Butyrogenic and Proinflammatory Bacteria Predominate in the Intestinal Milieu of People Living with HIV from Western Mexico.

HIV infection results in marked alterations in the gut microbiota (GM), such as the loss of microbial diversity and different taxonomic and metabolic profiles. Despite antiretroviral therapy (ART) partially ablating gastrointestinal alterations, the taxonomic profile after successful new ART has shown wide variations. Our objective was to determine the GM composition and functions in people living with HIV (PLWHIV) under ART in comparison to seronegative controls (SC). Fecal samples from 21 subjects (treated with integrase strand-transfer inhibitors, INSTIs) and 18 SC were included. We employed 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing, coupled with PICRUSt2 and fecal short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) quantification by gas chromatography. The INSTI group showed a decreased α-diversity (p < 0.001) compared to the SC group, at the expense of increased amounts of Pseudomonadota (Proteobacteria), Segatella copri, Lactobacillus, and Gram-negative bacteria. Concurrently, we observed an enrichment in Megasphaera and Butyricicoccus, both SCFA-producing bacteria, and significant elevations in fecal butyrate in this group (p < 0.001). Interestingly, gut dysbiosis in PLWHIV was characterized by a proinflammatory environment orchestrated by Pseudomonadota and elevated levels of butyrate associated with bacterial metabolic pathways, as well as the evident presence of butyrogenic bacteria. The role of this unique GM in PLWHIV should be evaluated, as well as the use of butyrate-based supplements and ART regimens that contain succinate, such as tenofovir disoproxil succinate. This mixed profile is described for the first time in PLWHIV from Mexico.

Barriers in the Management of Obesity in Mexican Children and Adolescents through the COVID-19 Lockdown-Lessons Learned and Perspectives for the Future.

The COVID-19 lockdown caused health system issues, including the need for long-term care for patients with conditions like childhood obesity. We wanted to know how the lockdown had changed our patients' health and which variables had greater influence in preventing and managing overweight and obesity in kids and teens during and after the lockdown. METHODS: Our study comprised two phases. The initial descriptive cross-sectional phase included surveys of children who are overweight or obese and their parents/guardians from the Pediatric Obesity Clinic at the Child Welfare Unit (UBI, acronym in Spanish) in the Hospital General de México "Dr. Eduardo Liceaga" (n = 129). The participants were studied to explore changes in lifestyle, physical activity, sleep patterns, eating behaviors, food consumption, anxiety, and depression. In the second phase, the biochemical, body composition, and anthropometric parameters of 29 pre-COVID-19 patients were compared before and after the lockdown. RESULTS: The survey showed more moderate anxiety and depression, alterations in sleep, physical inactivity, and an increase in the consumption of animal products, fruits, cereals, tubers, sugary drinks, and ultra-processed food. In the study's comparative phase, we observed a substantial increase in BMI z-score (p = 0.01), waist circumference (p < 0.001), fat mass (p < 0.001), percentage of adiposity (p = 0.002), and basal glucose (p = 0.047) and a drop in lean mass (p = 0.008). CONCLUSIONS: The pandemic led to a loss of routines and socioeconomic changes that made it difficult to address weight and obesity in young people. The results show that managing obesity in our patients involves considering both lifestyle and the social environment. This encourages us to consider a comprehensive and personalized approach.

Engineered titania nanomaterials in advanced clinical applications.

Significant advancement in the field of nanotechnology has raised the possibility of applying potent engineered biocompatible nanomaterials within biological systems for theranostic purposes. Titanium dioxide (titanium(IV) oxide/titania/TiO2) has garnered considerable attention as one of the most extensively studied metal oxides in clinical applications. Owing to the unique properties of titania, such as photocatalytic activity, excellent biocompatibility, corrosion resistance, and low toxicity, titania nanomaterials have revolutionized therapeutic approaches. Additionally, titania provides an exceptional choice for developing innovative medical devices and the integration of functional moieties that can modulate the biological responses. Thus, the current review aims to present a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of TiO2-based nanotherapeutics and the corresponding future challenges.

A Method to Quantify Tensile Biaxial Properties of Mouse Aortic Valve Leaflets.

Understanding aortic valve (AV) mechanics is crucial in elucidating both the mechanisms that drive the manifestation of valvular diseases as well as the development of treatment modalities that target these processes. Genetically modified mouse models have become the gold standard in assessing biological mechanistic influences of AV development and disease. However, very little is known about mouse aortic valve leaflet (MAVL) tensile properties due to their microscopic size (∼500 µm long and 45 µm thick) and the lack of proper mechanical testing modalities to assess uniaxial and biaxial tensile properties of the tissue. We developed a method in which the biaxial tensile properties of MAVL tissues can be assessed by adhering the tissues to a silicone rubber membrane utilizing dopamine as an adhesive. Applying equiaxial tensile loads on the tissue-membrane composite and tracking the engineering strains on the surface of the tissue resulted in the characteristic orthotropic response of AV tissues seen in human and porcine tissues. Our data suggest that the circumferential direction is stiffer than the radial direction (n = 6, P = 0.0006) in MAVL tissues. This method can be implemented in future studies involving longitudinal mechanical stimulation of genetically modified MAVL tissues bridging the gap between cellular biological mechanisms and valve mechanics in popular mouse models of valve disease.

Sobrecarga en cuidadores principales de adultos mayores con dependencia severa en atención primaria de salud / Burden on primary caregivers of elderly people with severe dependence on Primary Health Care

Objetivo: Evaluar la relación entre las características sociodemográficas y del cuidado con la sobrecarga de los cuidadores principales de adultos mayores con dependencia severa. Metodología: Estudio correlacional de corte transversal, sobre una muestra consecutiva de 43 cuidadores principales de adultos mayores con dependencia severa pertenecientes al Programa de Atención Domiciliaria de un centro de salud familiar de Chile. Para evaluar el nivel de sobrecarga se utilizó la Escala de sobrecarga del cuidador de Zarit; además, se registraron variables sociodemográficas y del cuidado. La recogida de datos se realizó mediante visita domiciliaria. Se aplicó estadística descriptiva, y para analizar la relación entre las variables se aplicaron las pruebas estadísticas χ2 y prueba exacta de Fisher. En todos los casos se consideró un nivel de significación p < 0,05. Los datos fueron analizados con el software estadístico SPSS v. 23. Resultados: El 69,77% de los cuidadores presentó sobrecarga. La edad media fue de 58,33 ± 12,98 años, el mayor porcentaje fueron mujeres con un 74,42% y el 46,51% estaba soltero. El 86,05% de los cuidadores principales cuidaba 24 horas al adulto mayor y el 55,81% eran hijas/os. El abandono de una actividad por el cuidado alcanzó una diferencia estadísticamente significativa con la presencia de sobrecarga del cuidador (p < 0,05). Conclusiones: Las políticas públicas deben apoyar a los cuidadores en la actividad del cuidado, con la finalidad de disminuir la carga mejorando así su calidad de vida y su estado de salud

Objective: To evaluate the relationship between sociodemographic and care characteristics with the burden of the primary caregivers of the elderly with severe dependence. Methodology: Crosssectional correlational study on a consecutive sample of 43 primary caregivers of severely dependent seniors belonging to the Home Care Program of a Family Health Center of Chile. To assess the level of overload, the Zarit Caregiver Burden Scale was used, and sociodemographic and care variables were recorded. The data collection was done by home visits. Descriptive statistics were applied, and to analyze the relationship between the variables, the Chi-square and Fisher's Exact Test were applied. In all cases the level of significance considered was p<0.05. The data was analyzed with the statistical software SPSS v. 23. Results: 69,77% of the caregivers presented burden. The average age was 58,33 + 12,98 years, and the highest percentage were women with 74,42% and 46,51% were single. 86,05% of the main caregivers cared 24 hours to the elderly and 55,91% were sons or daughters. The abandonment of an activity by care reached a statistically significant difference with the presence of caregiver overload (p<0,05). Conclusions: Public Politics should support caregivers in this activity, in order to reduce the burden, thus improving their quality of life and health status

A microhydrodynamic rationale for selection of bead size in preparation of drug nanosuspensions via wet stirred media milling.

Although wet stirred media milling has proven to be a robust process for producing nanoparticle suspensions of poorly water-soluble drugs and thereby enhancing their bioavailability, selection of bead size has been largely empirical, lacking fundamental rationale. This study aims to establish such rationale by investigating the impact of bead size at various stirrer speeds on the drug breakage kinetics via a microhydrodynamic model. To this end, stable suspensions of griseofulvin, a model BCS Class II drug, were prepared using hydroxypropyl cellulose and sodium dodecyl sulfate. The suspensions were milled at four different stirrer speeds (1000-4000rpm) using various sizes (50-1500µm) of zirconia beads. Laser diffraction, SEM, and XRPD were used for characterization. Our results suggest that there is an optimal bead size that achieves fastest breakage at each stirrer speed and that it shifts to a smaller size at higher speed. Calculated microhydrodynamic parameters reveal two counteracting effects of bead size: more bead-bead collisions with less energy/force upon a decrease in bead size. The optimal bead size exhibits a negative power-law correlation with either specific energy consumption or the microhydrodynamic parameters. Overall, this study rationalizes the use of smaller beads for more energetic wet media milling.