Effects of 700 and 3500 MHz 5G radiofrequency exposure on developing zebrafish embryos.

Telecommunications industries are rapidly deploying the fifth generation (5G) spectrum and there is public concern about the safety and health impacts of this type of Radio Frequency Radiation (RFR), in part because of the lack of comparable scientific evidence. In this study we have used a validated commercially available setting producing a uniform field to expose zebrafish embryos (ZFe) to unmodulated 700 and 3500 MHz frequencies. We have combined a battery of toxicity, developmental and behavioral assays to further explore potential RFR effects. Our neurobehavioral profiles include a tail coiling assay, a light/dark activity assay, two thigmotaxis anxiety assays (auditory and visual stimuli), and a startle response - habituation assay in response to auditory stimuli. ZFe were exposed for 1 and 4 h during the blastula period of development and endpoints evaluated up to 120 hours post fertilization (hpf). Our results show no effects on mortality, hatching or body length. However, we have demonstrated specific organ morphological effects, and behavioral effects in activity, anxiety-like behavior, and habituation that lasted in larvae exposed during the early embryonic period. A decrease in acetylcholinesterase activity was also observed and could explain some of the observed behavioral alterations. Interestingly, effects were more pronounced in ZFe exposed to the 700 MHz frequency, and especially for the 4 h exposure period. In addition, we have demonstrated that our exposure setup is robust, flexible with regard to frequency and power testing, and highly comparable. Future work will include exposure of ZFe to 5G modulated signals for different time periods to better understand the potential health effects of novel 5G RFR.

Improving COVID-19 vaccine uptake: a message co-design process for a national mHealth intervention in Colombia.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 vaccination is a global priority. Latin American countries have some of the highest COVID-19 death rates worldwide with vaccination hampered by a variety of reasons, including mis- and disinformation, vaccine hesitancy, and vaccine supply constraints. Addressing vaccine hesitancy through effective messages has been found to help increase vaccine uptake. Participatory processes could be used to co-design health messages for this purpose. OBJECTIVE: This article describes the methodology used to co-design evidence-based audio messages to be deployed in a cohort of individuals through an interactive voice response (IVR) mobile phone survey intervention, aimed towards increasing vaccination uptake in an adult population in Colombia. METHODS: Participants of the COVID-19 vaccination message co-design process included a sample of the general population of the country, representatives of the funder organisation, and research team members. The co-design process consisted of four phases: (1) formative quantitative and qualitative research, (2) message drafting based on the results of the formative research, (3) message content evaluation, and (4) evaluation of the voices to deliver the audio messages; and was informed by reflexive meetings. RESULTS: Three categories of evidence-based audio messages were co-designed, each corresponding to an arm of the mHealth intervention: (1) factual messages, (2) narrative messages, and (3) mixed messages. An additional fourth arm with no message was proposed for control. The iterative co-design process ended with a total of 14 audio messages recorded to be deployed via the intervention. CONCLUSIONS: Co-developing health messages in response to health emergencies is possible. Adopting more context-relevant, participatory, people-centred, and reflexive multidisciplinary approaches could help develop solutions that are more responsive to the needs of populations and public health priorities. Investing resources in message co-design is deemed to have a greater potential for influencing behaviours and improving health outcomes.

Recurrence quantification analysis during a mental calculation task.

The identification of brain dynamical changes under different cognitive conditions with noninvasive techniques such as electroencephalography (EEG) is relevant for the understanding of their underlying neural mechanisms. The comprehension of these mechanisms has applications in the early diagnosis of neurological disorders and asynchronous brain computer interfaces. In both cases, there are no reported features that could describe intersubject and intra subject dynamics behavior accurately enough to be applied on a daily basis. The present work proposes the use of three nonlinear features (recurrence rate, determinism, and recurrence times) extracted from recurrence quantification analysis (RQA) to describe central and parietal EEG power series complexity in continuous alternating episodes of mental calculation and rest state. Our results demonstrate a consistent mean directional change of determinism, recurrence rate, and recurrence times between conditions. Increasing values of determinism and recurrence rate were present from the rest state to mental calculation, whereas recurrence times showed the opposite pattern. The analyzed features in the present study showed statistically significant changes between rest and mental calculation states in both individual and population analysis. In general, our study described mental calculation EEG power series as less complex systems in comparison to the rest state. Moreover, ANOVA showed stability of RQA features along time.

Fabrication of polycaprolactone/calcium phosphates hybrid scaffolds impregnated with plant extracts using 3D printing for potential bone regeneration.

The increase in critical bone diseases and defects in the world's population increases the need for bone substitutes to restore form and function. Organic and inorganic scaffolds with antibacterial properties could provide advantages for bone regeneration. In this study, we obtained scaffolds of polycaprolactone (PCL) charged with calcium phosphates nanoparticles and impregnated with extracts of Colombian plants as an alternative for potential bone regeneration. Calcium phosphate nanoparticles were obtained via auto-combustion synthesis. The nanoparticles were incorporated into the PCL with a chemical dissolution-disperse process. The composite obtained was used to produce a filament to print Triply Periodic Minimal Surface (TPMS) based scaffolds. Such geometry facilitates cellular growth thanks to its interconnected porosity. The scaffolds were impregnated with extracts of Justicia cf colorifera (Acanthaceae), and Billia rosea (Sapindaceae) due to their ancestral medical applications. A physical and biological characterization was conducted. The process to print scaffolds with an enhanced geometry to facilitate the flux of biological fluids was successful. The scaffolds loaded with B. rosea showed strong antibacterial behavior, suggesting the presence of reported terpenoids with antibacterial properties. The approach used in this study evidenced promising prospects for bone defect repair.

Devices and Technology in Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation: A Systematic Review.

The technology for transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) has significantly changed over the years, with important improvements in the signal generators, the coils, the positioning systems, and the software for modeling, optimization, and therapy planning. In this systematic literature review (SLR), the evolution of each component of TMS technology is presented and analyzed to assess the limitations to overcome. This SLR was carried out following the PRISMA 2020 statement. Published articles of TMS were searched for in four databases (Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, IEEE). Conference papers and other reviews were excluded. Records were filtered using terms about TMS technology with a semi-automatic software; articles that did not present new technology developments were excluded manually. After this screening, 101 records were included, with 19 articles proposing new stimulator designs (18.8%), 46 presenting or adapting coils (45.5%), 18 proposing systems for coil placement (17.8%), and 43 implementing algorithms for coil optimization (42.6%). The articles were blindly classified by the authors to reduce the risk of bias. However, our results could have been influenced by our research interests, which would affect conclusions for applications in psychiatric and neurological diseases. Our analysis indicates that more emphasis should be placed on optimizing the current technology with a special focus on the experimental validation of models. With this review, we expect to establish the base for future TMS technological developments.

Manifestaciones gastrointestinales de la nfermedad de Behçet / Gastrointestinal manifestations of Behçet´s disease

Resumen La Enfermedad de Behçet (EB), es una entidad poco común, idiopática, de naturaleza crónica y recurrente con afectación multisistémica. Entre ellos, el tracto gastrointestinal ha suscitado especial interés, al asociarse a mayor morbimortalidad y dado sus presentaciones heterogéneas puede simular otras enfermedades gastrointestinales y ser un gran reto diagnóstico para el gastroenterólogo. Por lo tanto, presentamos una revisión narrativa donde se pretenderá describir las manifestaciones gastrointestinales de la EB y sus diagnósticos diferenciales.

Abstract Behçet's Disease (BD) is a rare, idiopathic, chronic and relapsing entity; characterized by multisystem involvement. The gastrointestinal tract has aroused special interest, as it is associated with higher morbidity and mortality and given its heterogeneous presentations, being able to simulate other gastrointestinal pathologies, becoming a great diagnostic challenge for gastroenterologists. Therefore, we present a narrative review, where we intend to describe the possible gastrointestinal manifestations of BD and its differentials.

Disruption of the Cortical-Vagal Communication Network in Parkinson's Disease.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neuropathy characterized by motor disorders, but it has also been associated with the presence of autonomic alterations as a result of degradation of the dopaminergic system. Studying the relation between Band Power time series (BPts) and Heart Rate Variability (HRV), has been proposed as a tool to explore the bidirectional communication pathways between cortex and autonomic control. This work presents a primer analysis on study brain ↔ heart interaction on a databse of PD patients under two conditions: without and after levadopa (L-dopa) intake. Additionally a healthy control population was also analyzed, and used as comparison level between both conditions. Results show PD affects pathways by reducing the number of connections, specially association of beta and power and the second faster component of HRV seems to be more sensitive to L-dopa administration.

Spectral Electroencephalographic and Heart Rate Variability features enhance identification of medicated/non-medicated Parkinson's disease patients.

Parkinson's Disease is a neuropathy that produces changes in several biomarkers, these changes could be used to evaluate even sub-clinical conditions. This paper presents an evaluation of indices extracted from electroencephalography and Heart Rate Variability (HRV), when used to classify a sample of subjects from three groups: control (healthy), medicated and non medicated subjects diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. Classification performance was measured using accuracy over these classes and a cross validation scheme was used to assess repeatability for the classification process. Results tend to prove that inclusion of an autonomic index derived from HRV analysis enhances classification, suggesting that Parkinson's disease could be related with unperceptible to mild alterations of the Autonomic Nervous System.

Veno-Occlusive Priapism in COVID-19 Disease.

Infection by COVID-19, being a respiratory disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, can predispose to arterial and venous thrombotic disease, in response to excessive inflammation, platelet activation, endothelial dysfunction, and venous stasis. During the COVID-19 pandemic period, the technological and resource availability for the care of these patients with thrombotic disease is critical, marking a factor of morbidity and poor prognosis in these cases. We describe a case of priapism in a patient with COVID-19, during the course of systemic inflammatory response syndrome and respiratory distress syndrome with a procoagulant state, seeking to relate the pathophysiological factors of ischemic priapism in patients with infection with SARS-Cov-2.

Capacidad antioxidante de un chocolate oscuro de granos cacao orgánico sin fermentar / Antioxidant capacity of a dark chocolate from organic and unfermented cocoa beans

Se evaluó la composición proximal, el contenido de polifenoles totales y la capacidad antioxidante de un chocolate oscuro formulado a partir de granos de cacao orgánico, seco, y no sometido al proceso fermentativo. Este producto fue elaborado con insumos y procesos desarrollados en la Granja Experimental El Cairo, ubicada en la Universidad Nacional de Colombia (GEL-UN), departamento de Arauca, Colombia. El contenido de grasa se encontró entre los rangos conocidos (>50%), siendo una característica ligada al origen genético, y a las condiciones climáticas. El alto contenido de proteínas (16,21%), evidencia que se trata de granos de cacao secos no fermentados. Tal contenido juega un papel importante en la formación de los precursores del sabor y aroma, en chocolates finos y exquisitos. El pH determinado es un indicativo de un chocolate amargo, con bajo índice de fermentación y de baja acidez acética o láctica. El contenido de polifenoles totales se relaciona de manera directa con la alta actividad antioxidante de este chocolate. Se concluye que el tipo de material genético usado como insumo, así como los procesos implementados para la obtención del chocolate, en GEL-UN, contribuyeron para la obtención de un producto tipo comercial, con propiedades funcionales, entre ellas las relacionadas con la capacidad antioxidante(AU)

Thee proximal chemical composition, the content of total polyphenols, and the antioxidant capacity of a dark chocolate formulated from organic, dry cocoa beans and not subjected to the fermentation process were evaluated. This product was made with inputs and processes developed at the El Cairo Experimental Farm, located at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia (CEF-UN), Arauca, Colombia. The fat content was found between the known ranges (> 50%), being a characteristic linked to the genetic origin, and to the climatic conditions. The high protein content (16.21%) evidenced that it´s unfermented dry cocoa beans. Such content plays an important role in the formation of precursors of flavor and aroma, in fine and exquisite chocolates. The determined pH is indicative of a dark chocolate, with a low fermentation index and low acetic or lactic acidity. The content of total polyphenols is directly related to the high antioxidant activity of this chocolate. It is concluded that the type of genetic material used as input, as well as the processes implemented to obtain chocolate, in CEF-UN, contributed to obtaining a commercial type product, with functional properties, including those related to antioxidant capacity(AU)

Bidirectional intrinsic modulation of EEG band power time series and spectral components of heart rate variability.

Some hypotheses relate oscillations of EEG band power with autonomic processes derived from homeostatic control modulated by structures like the Central Autonomic Network and the Autonomic Nervous System. This research project studies the causal relationships between fluctuations of an autonomic process marker like the Heart Rate Variability (HRV) and the proposed EEG band power time series (BPts). To verify the existence of directional causal relationships, using Granger Causality (GC) test between HRV and BPts. Analyses were performed using two databases, of 9 and 14 subjects respectively. Experiments consisted of spontaneous breathing and a controlled breathing task (CBT). GC was tested over Intrinsinc Mode Functions of HRV derived from Empirical Mode Decomposition and BPts computed over α, ß and γ bands. Positive GC tests were observed through each experimental task, channels, IMFs, EEG band, and direction. The largest number of positive GC relationships were found from BPts to HRV when testing, higher EEG band and IMF with lower spectral content. Opposite direction achieves lower total counts, but more related with IMFs of higher spectral content. Its presence also suggests that some homeostatic condition alters the BPts course given its increment under the CBT. It is important to notice that in both cases γ band achieves larger values for almost all of the studied conditions. Suggesting that such band has an important influence over HRV, but alterations on breathing condition also produce changes on BPts evolution, suggesting that the closed loop for homeostatic control alters neural dynamics at cortical level.

Pinning Control for the p53-Mdm2 Network Dynamics Regulated by p14ARF.

p53 regulates the cellular response to genotoxic damage and prevents carcinogenic events. Theoretical and experimental studies state that the p53-Mdm2 network constitutes the core module of regulatory interactions activated by cellular stress induced by a variety of signaling pathways. In this paper, a strategy to control the p53-Mdm2 network regulated by p14ARF is developed, based on the pinning control technique, which consists into applying local feedback controllers to a small number of nodes (pinned ones) in the network. Pinned nodes are selected on the basis of their importance level in a topological hierarchy, their degree of connectivity within the network, and the biological role they perform. In this paper, two cases are considered. For the first case, the oscillatory pattern under gamma-radiation is recovered; afterward, as the second case, increased expression of p53 level is taken into account. For both cases, the control law is applied to p14ARF (pinned node based on a virtual leader methodology), and overexpressed Mdm2-mediated p53 degradation condition is considered as carcinogenic initial behavior. The approach in this paper uses a computational algorithm, which opens an alternative path to understand the cellular responses to stress, doing it possible to model and control the gene regulatory network dynamics in two different biological contexts. As the main result of the proposed control technique, the two mentioned desired behaviors are obtained.

Trajectory Tracking on Uncertain Complex Networks via NN-Based Inverse Optimal Pinning Control.

A new approach for trajectory tracking on uncertain complex networks is proposed. To achieve this goal, a neural controller is applied to a small fraction of nodes (pinned ones). Such controller is composed of an on-line identifier based on a recurrent high-order neural network, and an inverse optimal controller to track the desired trajectory; a complete stability analysis is also included. In order to verify the applicability and good performance of the proposed control scheme, a representative example is simulated, which consists of a complex network with each node described by a chaotic Lorenz oscillator.

Current treatment of lichen sclerosus and stricture.

INTRODUCTION: Lichen sclerosus (LS) is a common cause of urethral stricture disease. The purpose of this article is to review the literature over the past 5 years, to describe current treatment of lichen sclerosus as it relates to urethral stricture in men. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Literature reviews were performed using PUBMED, with search terms "lichen scleros*" and "urethral stenosis", as well as "lichen scleros*" and "urethral stricture". Relevant articles published within the past 5 years were selected for review. A summary of current treatment of lichen sclerosus was prepared and synthesized. RESULTS: For LS affecting genital skin, topical steroids are a mainstay of therapy but in advanced cases, surgery may be required such as circumcision. When LS causes urethral stricture, urethral dilatation is unlikely to be successful long term, and surgery is often required, such as meatoplasty, single- or two-stage urethroplasty, or perineal urethrostomy. Oral mucosal grafting is the graft of choice, and usage of genital skin for flaps or grafts is best avoided due to predilection for recurrence. Biopsy and long-term surveillance of LS are recommended, due to its potential association with squamous cell carcinoma development. CONCLUSION: Although debate still exists regarding the pathogenesis of LS, it is agreed that LS can pose a treatment challenge to physicians and surgeons. Treatment options for LS range from pharmacological to surgical, depending on severity and location of disease, patient factors, and response of previous treatments.

Tortuosity Index Based on Dynamic Mechanical Properties of Polyimide Foam for Aerospace Applications.

The determination of a reliable tortuosity index is lacking in the aerospace industry. Therefore, a methodology is formulated via direct and indirect characterization methods of a fluid-filled porous media. Chemical, thermal, and mechanical characterization was performed to the PolyuMACTM polyimide foam. Tortuosity was measured considering a pressure difference as the resistivity variable, rather than electrical resistivity or molecular diffusivity, as proposed on previous models. This is an empirical establishment of the tortuosity index considering the correlation among hydraulic and structural dimensionless parameters obtained through the Buckingham's Pi theorem. The behavior of the polyimide was studied for samples of different lengths compressed at 30%, 60%, and 90% of its original length on the foaming direction. Results show that, porosity, sample length, and fluid viscosity are relevant for the insulation performance of the material. Regression analysis produced a significant statistical model fit to the data correlated from the dimensionless parameters for each dynamic compression series.

Cognitive and spectral coherence of EEG alterations in resting state in children with chronic TBI / Alteraciones cognitivas y en la coherencia espectral del EEG en estado de reposo en niños con TCE crónico

Abstract Introduction TBI is associated with alterations in cortico-subcortical connectivity. However, little attention has been paid to its clinical characteristics and functional connectivity in pediatric patients with chronic TBI. Objective To evaluate the cognitive performance and spectral coherence of a group of children with TBI in non-acute phase. Method Cross-sectional study of 15 children with chronic TBI and 17 healthy children. The Neuropsychological Assessment of Children (Evaluación Neuropsicológica Infantil, ENI) was used and the resting activity of the EEG with eyes-closed was recorded. Offline, two-second epochs of the EEG of each participant were chosen and the spectral coherence was estimated in a range of 1.6 to 30 Hz. The cognitive performance between groups was compared with T-test/Mann-Whitney U Test and MANOVA for the coherence values. Results The TBI group showed a lower performance (p ≤ 0.05) in metalinguistic, visuospatial skills, attention, memory, non-verbal flexibility, planning, and organization. Differences (p ≤ 0.000) were found both inter and intrahemispherically in the spectral coherence between the groups, particularly on F1-F3 (95% CI: 0.543 - 0.557) over the whole frequency range and F3-C3 (95% CI: 0.503 - 0.515) in delta, theta, alpha2, and beta frequencies. Discussion and conclusión Our findings suggest alterations of hypo and hyper functional connectivity, particularly on the frontal and parietal lobes of both hemispheres, even after several years of a TBI. It is possible that a subtle difference in the degree of connectivity is crucial in the genesis or successful development of attentional, mnesic, executive, and visuospatial processes.

Resumen Introducción El TCE se asocia con alteraciones en la conectividad cortico-subcortical. Sin embargo, se ha prestado poca atención a las características clínicas y de conectividad funcional en pacientes pediátricos con TCE crónico. Objetivo Evaluar el desempeño cognitivo y la coherencia espectral de un grupo de niños con TCE en fase no aguda. Método Estudio transversal de 15 niños con TCE y 17 niños controles. Se empleó la Evaluación Neuropsicológica Infantil (ENI) y se registró la actividad en reposo del EEG con ojos cerrados. Fuera de línea, se eligieron épocas de 2 s del trazo de cada participante y se estimó la coherencia espectral en un rango de 1.6 a 30 Hz. Se comparó el rendimiento cognitivo entre los grupos con la prueba T/U-Mann de Whitney y MANOVA para los valores de coherencia. Resultados El grupo con TCE mostró un menor rendimiento (p ≤ 0.05) en habilidades metalingüísticas, visuoespaciales, atención, memoria, flexibilidad no verbal, planeación y organización. Se encontraron diferencias (p ≤ 0.000) en la coherencia espectral tanto inter como intrahemisférica entre los grupos. Particularmente, en F1-F3 (95%IC: 0.543 - 0.557) en todo el rango de frecuencias y F3-C3 (95%IC: 0.503 - 0.515) en delta, theta, alfa2 y beta. Discusión y conclusión Los resultados sugieren que distintas redes en estado de reposo muestran alteraciones de hipo e hiperconectividad funcional aun después de varios años de un TCE. Es probable que una sutil diferencia en el grado de conectividad sea determinante en la génesis o desarrollo exitoso de procesos atencionales, mnésicos, ejecutivos y visoespaciales.

Association of Listeria monocytogenes LIPI-1 and LIPI-3 marker llsX with invasiveness.

Listeria monocytogenes is an opportunistic pathogen that is widely distributed in the environment. The evolution of its genome has exhibited differences in virulence among strains of the same species. Listeria monocytogenes LIPI-3 (Listeria Pathogenicity Island 3) and LIPI-1 (Listeria Pathogenicity Island 1) are considered responsible for the increased virulence in some strains. The aim of this study was to detect LIPI-1 genes and the llsX gene belonging to LIPI-3 in invasive strains of L. monocytogenes and to establish whether there is a relationship among the invasiveness, presence of the llsX and LIPI-1 genes, and the source of the strains. The results showed that 70% of the strains were invasive, and all these strains except one possessed LIPI-1, which suggests that although there is a correlation between LIPI-1 and invasiveness, the independent mechanisms of LIPI-1 may contribute to invasiveness. In contrast, 35% of the total strains were positive for llsX and were invasive; thus, the results revealed that there is a strong association between llsX and the invasiveness of L. monocytogenes in HEp-2 cells (HeLa contaminant/epithelial in origin). In addition, there is no other association with any other variable in this study. Moreover, the authors found that LIPI-1 and llsX are more frequently found in fresh than in frozen vegetables. Together, the findings provide an approximation for the better understanding of Listeriolysin S (LLS) and its role in the pathogenesis of L. monocytogenes, and a possible relation between virulence factors and food-storage temperature.

Latency and amplitude changes in cognitive event related potentials due to hemodialysis.

Chronic kidney disease impacts the cognitive abilities of patients, and yet few works have analyzed functional electroencephalographic changes on event-related potentials before and after an hemodialysis session. This work shows that, as a consequence of hemodialysis, cognitive potential waveforms suffer changes, occurring with reduced latency $( \sim 50$ ms) and with larger amplitude $( \sim 0.128\mathrm {a}$.u.) after the treatment session. While only a limited sample of five patients is reported herein, the observed changes immediately after hemodialysis could be a sign of central nervous system alterations that are not clinically evaluated. Signs like these could entail an early indicator of possible evolution into some neuropathology.