Effects of the Treatment with Flavonoids on Metabolic Syndrome Components in Humans: A Systematic Review Focusing on Mechanisms of Action

Diets high in bioactive compounds, such as polyphenols, have been used to mitigate metabolic syndrome (MetS). Polyphenols are a large group of naturally occurring bioactive compounds, classified into two main classes: non-flavonoids and flavonoids. Flavonoids are distributed in foods, such as fruits, vegetables, tea, red wine, and cocoa. Studies have already demonstrated the benefits of flavonoids on the cardiovascular and nervous systems, as well as cancer cells. The present review summarizes the results of clinical studies that evaluated the effects of flavonoids on the components of the MetS and associated complications when offered as supplements over the long term. The results show that flavonoids can significantly modulate several metabolic parameters, such as lipid profile, blood pressure, and blood glucose. Only theaflavin and catechin were unable to affect metabolic parameters. Moreover, only body weight and body mass index were unaltered. Thus, the evidence presented in this systematic review offers bases in support of a flavonoid supplementation, held for at least 3 weeks, as a strategy to improve several metabolic parameters and, consequently, reduce the risk of diseases associated with MetS. This fact becomes stronger due to the rare side effects reported with flavonoids.     

Antitumor effect of plant lectins

BACKGROUND: Staff development experts in a tertiary-care hospital were searching for a holistic approach to facilitating improved outcomes. METHOD: Staff development experts, clinical nurse specialists, and clinical managers developed a model that provides a framework for educators to integrate their energies with those of other leaders in order to create a holistic approach to the goal of achieving excellence. RESULTS: The model that is proposed links strategies for change with outcome evaluation. CONCLUSIONS: The model provides a conceptual lens that helps nurse leaders focus on organizational assessment, strategies to improve the work environment, and the evaluation of outcomes. The model is useful for guiding practice as well as research.     

List partitions

By definition, apartition of a list is a division of that list into nonempty contiguous segments. Many programming and operations research problems can be specified in terms of list partitions, and we present a hierarchy of theorems for deriving programs from such specifications. Throughout, reasoning is conducted in an equational style using the calculus for program synthesis developed by Bird and Meertens.Supported by a BP research studentship.     

Increased socioeconomic differences in mortality in eight Spanish provinces

In Spain, the study of socioeconomic differences in mortality has been limited by the fact that death certificates often do not include complete information on occupation. In this study, we chose those geographic areas with the highest quality information on occupation of the deceased in order to study socioeconomic differences in mortality from various causes of death. We used information from the death certificates of males who died between 30 and 64 years of age in eight Spanish provinces to compare mortality from the leading causes of death in professionals and managers (group I) and in manual laborers (group II) in 1980-82 and 1988-90. In each period the standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) were higher in group II, except for ischaemic heart disease during the first period, and cancer of the colon and rectum in both, although in the latter case the differences were not statistically significant. The ratio between the SMR from all causes in group II and group I was 1.27 in 1980-82, and 1.72 in 1988-90; for cancer of the colon and rectum the ratio went from 0.98 to 0.84, and for ischaemic heart disease, from 0.80 to 1.31. Except for cancer of the colon and rectum, which resulted in higher mortality in occupational group I, the excess mortality in occupational group II increased between the first and second period. The relation between socioeconomic level and mortality for ischaemic heart disease was reversed, a phenomenon similar to that which took place in the 1960s and 1970s in the developed countries.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

A new look at British graduate students.

Discusses findings of a survey of British graduate students in psychology conducted in late 1972 and 1973. Responses were obtained from 34 of the 89 British departments offering advanced courses or supervision for research leading to the PhD in psychology or one of its subspecialties. The total enrollment of all postbaccalaureate students in psychology was 1,112, but only 277 of these were in PhD programs; the number is almost 8 times higher in the US. UK postgraduate training in psychology seems to be conducted on a much smaller scale than in the US, the students enter doctoral training at an earlier age than American students, and females and non-White minority students are well represented in UK doctoral training programs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dietetic study of pregnant women of Santa Maria Cauqué, Guatemala. I. Variability of protein indicators and analysis by the time of meals

The distribution of the protein energy ratio indicators (Pe%), amino acid score and protein value (NDpCal%) in the three daily meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) of the diet of pregnant women from Santa María Cauqué, Guatemala, was studied. The results were compared with those obtained for the total daily food intake. The differences observed were not significant, confirming the validity of the determination of amino acid score, Pe% and NDpCal% in the foods consumed during the whole day in this type of populations. It also reflects the nutritional benefit of the food pattern, since protein utilization would not be decreased by a different distribution of protein quality and concentration throughout the three daily meals. The variability among individuals of Pe% intake, amino acid score and NDpCal% gave the following values: 16.0, 9.3 and 15.6, respectively. It is noteworthy to add that the variability of Pe% observed is similar to that reported for populations of developed countries.     

Learning Structure from Data and Its Application to Ozone Prediction

In this paper we propose an algorithm for structure learning in predictive expert systems based on a probabilistic network representation. The idea is to have the simplest structure (minimum number of links) with acceptable predictive capability. The algorithm starts by building a tree structure based on measuring mutual information between pairs of variables, and then it adds links as necessary to obtain certain predictive performance. We have applied this method for ozone prediction in México City, where the ozone level is used as a global indicator for the air quality in different parts of the city. It is important to predict the ozone level a day, or at least several hours in advance, to reduce the health hazards and industrial losses that occur when the ozone reaches emergency levels. We obtained as a first approximation a tree-structured dependency model for predicting ozone in one part of the city. We observe that even with only three parameters, its estimations are acceptable.A causal network representation and the structure learning techniques produced some very interesting results for the ozone prediction problem. Firstly, we got some insight into the dependence structure of the phenomena. Secondly, we got an indication of which are the important and not so important variables for ozone forecasting. Taking this into account, the measurement and computational costs for ozone prediction could be reduced. And thirdly, we have obtained satisfactory short term ozone predictions based on a small set of the most important parameters.     

Molecular Dynamics of CYFIP2 Protein and Its R87C Variant Related to Early Infantile Epileptic Encephalopathy

The CYFIP2 protein (cytoplasmic FMR1-interacting protein 2) is part of the WAVE regulatory complex (WRC). CYFIP2 was recently correlated to neurological disorders by the association of the R87C variant with early infantile epileptic encephalopathy (EIEE) patients. In this set of syndromes, the epileptic spasms and seizures since early childhood lead to impaired neurological development in children. Inside the WRC, the variant residue is at the CYFIP2 and WAVE1 protein interface. Thus, the hypothesis is that the R87C modification weakens this interaction, allowing the WRC complex’s constant activation. This work aimed to investigate the impacts of the mutation on the structure of the WRC complex through molecular dynamics simulation. For that, we constructed WRC models containing WAVE1-NCKAP1 proteins complexed with WT or R87C CYFIP2. Our simulations showed a flexibilization of the loop comprising residues 80–110 due to the loss of contacts between internal residues in the R87C CYFIP2 as well as the key role of residues R/C87, E624, and E689 in structural modification. These data could explain the mechanism by which the mutation impairs the stability and proper regulation of the WRC.     

LncRNA H19 Impairs Chemo and Radiotherapy in Tumorigenesis

Various treatments based on drug administration and radiotherapy have been devoted to preventing, palliating, and defeating cancer, showing high efficiency against the progression of this disease. Recently, in this process, malignant cells have been found which are capable of triggering specific molecular mechanisms against current treatments, with negative consequences in the prognosis of the disease. It is therefore fundamental to understand the underlying mechanisms, including the genes—and their signaling pathway regulators—involved in the process, in order to fight tumor cells. Long non-coding RNAs, H19 in particular, have been revealed as powerful protective factors in various types of cancer. However, they have also evidenced their oncogenic role in multiple carcinomas, enhancing tumor cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. In this review, we analyze the role of lncRNA H19 impairing chemo and radiotherapy in tumorigenesis, including breast cancer, lung adenocarcinoma, glioma, and colorectal carcinoma.