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Physalis ixocarpa is an edible species of Solanaceae. This is one of the few cultivated and economically important species of the genus in Mesoamerica. In Mexico, several varieties and landraces have been developed, which have not been molecularly characterized. In the current study, five RAMS primers were used to characterize and assess the genetic variability of two varieties and three landraces of this species. The capacity of these markers to discriminate between them was also evaluated. With comparative aims, Physalis peruviana, the most economically important species of the genus in South America, was analyzed in the same manner. The results revealed that the varieties and landraces of P. ixocarpa conserve important levels of genetic variability (21.75% > Polymorphism < 42.75%), which were higher than that found for P. peruviana (10.75% Polymorphism). RAMS were useful specific markers, as P. peruviana and P. ixocarpa were clearly distinguished one from each other by both cluster analysis and principal components analysis. Close genetic relationships were found between the landraces San Isidro Chihuiro and Verde Puebla, and between the varieties Diamante and Rendidora. In spite of the genetic closeness, the RAMS amplification profiles had a clear varietal-specific tendency, in such a way that they may represent varietal fingerprints, which can be used as authentication tool for varieties and landraces of P. ixocarpa.

This paper describes the rationale and the protocol of the first component of the third simulation round of the Inter-Sectoral Impact Model Intercomparison Project (ISIMIP3a, http://www.isimip.org, last access: 2 November 2023) and the associated set of climate-related and direct human forcing data (CRF and DHF, respectively). The observation-based climate-related forcings for the first time include high-resolution observational climate forcings derived by orographic downscaling, monthly to hourly coastal water levels, and wind fields associated with historical tropical cyclones. The DHFs include land use patterns, population densities, information about water and agricultural management, and fishing intensities. The ISIMIP3a impact model simulations driven by these observation-based climate-related and direct human forcings are designed to test to what degree the impact models can explain observed changes in natural and human systems. In a second set of ISIMIP3a experiments the participating impact models are forced by the same DHFs but a counterfactual set of atmospheric forcings and coastal water levels where observed trends have been removed. These experiments are designed to allow for the attribution of observed changes in natural, human, and managed systems to climate change, rising CH4 and CO2 concentrations, and sea level rise according to the definition of the Working Group II contribution to the IPCC AR6.

This paper describes the climate-related forcings (CRFs), i.e. change in climate comprising the atmosphere and the ocean, coastal water levels, and atmospheric composition (CO2 and methane concentrations), provided as input data within the “b” part of the third simulation round of the Inter-Sectoral Impact Model Intercomparison Project (ISIMIP3b). While ISIMIP3a comprises historical impact models simulations forced by observational Direct Human Forcings (DHF), such as changes in population and asset distributions, land use, fishing efforts, agricultural and water management driven by socio-economic development or climate protection strategies, and observational CRF, the ISIMIP3b CRFs are based on climate model simulations generated within the sixth phase of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6). In a first set of experiments covering the pre-industrial (1601–1849) and historical period (1850–2014) (ISIMIP3b, group I) the CMIP6-based CRFs for the historical period are combined with historical observation-based DHF also considered in ISIMIP3a. These group I simulations allow for the quantification of impacts of historical climate change by comparison to simulations where the observational DHF are combined with simulated pre-industrial CRFs. In addition, the impacts of observed changes in CRFs can be compared to the impacts of simulated changes in CRFs by comparing the ISIMIP3a simulations to the ISIMIP3b, group I simulations. The second group of experiments (ISIMIP3b, group II) comprises future projections assuming constant observational direct human forcings at 2015 levels to estimate the impact of climate change given today's DHF for the low emission scenario SSP1-2.6, the high and the very high emission scenarios SSP3-7.0, SSP5-8.5, and reference simulations based on pre-industrial CRF, respectively. The very high emissions scenarios and the assumption of fixed present day DHF particularly allow for testing the scalability of impacts in terms of global temperature change. The provided CRFs comprise atmospheric CO2 and CH4 concentrations, atmospheric and oceanic climate data, coastal water levels, tropical cyclone (TC) tracks and their associated wind speed and precipitation fields. In addition to the CRFs data, this paper describes the experiments belonging to group I and II and the rationale behind them. Another set of future projections accounting for changing DHFs (ISIMIP3b, group III) is in preparation and will be described in another paper.

Transposon-mediated insertional mutagenesis was used for the isolation of auxotrophic mutants in plasmid-free derivatives of B. anthracis. A number of auxotrophic mutants were isolated and confirmed by cotransduction to result from insertion of Tn917. These experiments showed Tn917 to be an effective tool for insertional mutagenesis in B. anthracis and prompted the investigation of the B. anthracis capsule plasmid pXO2. The capsule of B. anthracis, which is an important virulence factor, is composed mainly, if not entirely, of the D-isomer of glutamic acid. Previous work in our laboratory demonstrated that pXO2 is involved in capsule synthesis by B. anthracis. Wild-type B. anthracis strains harboring pXO2 produce capsule (Cap $\\sp+)$when grown in a CO $\\sb2$ -rich atmosphere in the presence of bicarbonate. Utilization of the temperature-sensitive transposition selection vector pTV1 has allowed the isolation of a collection of pXO2::Tn917 derivatives. One class of insertion mutants produces greater amounts of capsular material than does wild type in the presence of CO $\\sb2$and bicarbonate. A second class is Cap $\\sp+$when grown with or without CO $\\sb2$and bicarbonate. A third class is Cap $\\sp+$when grown in air or CO $\\sb2,$and growth is inhibited by bicarbonate. A fourth class is Cap $\\sp+$when grown in air, and growth of this class is inhibited by CO $\\sb2.$A fifth class requires CO $\\sb2$for growth and is Cap $\\sp+$in the presence of CO $\\sb2$and bicarbonate. A sixth class retains pXO2 and is Cap $\\sp-$under all conditions of growth. The phenotypes of some of these mutants suggest that Tn917 is inserted in sequences involved in regulation of capsule synthesis. Restriction and DNA-DNA hybridization analysis of a collection of pXO2 plasmids carrying Tn917 insertions have shown that the transposon is located at a number of different sites. Restriction analysis with different enzymes has revealed two regions of pXO2 that may be involved in regulation of capsule synthesis. Quantitative determinations of glutamyl polypeptide showed that members of the first class of mutants produce more capsular material than does the parent strain. Determination of the configuration of glutamic acid in glutamyl polypeptide produced by the wild-type strain and these insertion mutants showed that the polypeptide from mutant strains did not differ from that produced by the parent strain.

There are not many real-world studies evaluating daily insulin doses requirements (DIDR) in patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D) using second-generation basal insulin analogs, and such comparison is necessary. The aim of this study was to compare DIDR in individuals with T1D using glargine 300 UI/mL (IGlar-300) or degludec (IDeg) in real clinical practice. An observational, retrospective study was designed in 412 patients with T1D (males: 52%; median age 37.0±13.4 years, diabetes duration: 18.7±12.3 years) using IDeg and IGla-300 ≥6 months to compare DIDR between groups. Patients using IGla-300 (n=187) were more frequently males (59% vs 45.8%; p=0.004) and had lower glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) (7.6±1.2 vs 8.1%±1.5%; p<0.001) than patients using IDeg (n=225). Total (0.77±0.36 unit/kg/day), basal (0.43±0.20 unit/kg/day) and prandial (0.33±0.23 unit/kg/day) DIDR were similar in IGla-300 and IDeg groups. Patients with HbA1c ≤7% (n=113) used significantly lower basal (p=0.045) and total (p=0.024) DIDR, but not prandial insulin (p=0.241), than patients with HbA1c between 7.1% and 8% and >8%. Patients using IGla-300 and IDeg used similar basal, prandial and total DIDR regardless of metabolic control subgroup. No difference in basal, prandial and total DIDR was observed between patients with T1D using IGla-300 or IDeg during at least 6 months in routine clinical practice.

Genotoxic data of substances that could be used as food additives are required by the European Food Safety Authority. In this sense, the use of an extract from grapevine shoots containing a stilbene richness of 99% (ST-99), due to its antioxidant and antibacterial activities, has been proposed as an alternative to sulfur dioxide in wine. The aim of this work was to study, for the first time, the in vivo genotoxic effects produced in rats orally exposed to 90, 180, or 360 mg ST-99/kg body weight at 0, 24, and 45 h. The combination of micronucleus assay in bone marrow (OECD 474) and standard (OECD 489) and enzyme-modified comet assay was used to determine the genotoxicity on cells isolated from stomach, liver, and blood of exposed animals. The ST-99 revealed no in vivo genotoxicity. These results were corroborated by analytical studies that confirm the presence of stilbenes and their metabolites in plasma and tissues. Moreover, to complete these findings, a histopathological study was performed under light microscopy in liver and stomach showing only slight modifications in both organs at the highest concentration used. The present work confirms that this extract is not genotoxic presenting a good profile for its potential application as a preservative in the wine industry.

The objective of this study was to develop and validate a predictive model for assessment of the individual risk of malignancy of thyroid nodules based on clinical, ultrasound, and analytical variables. A retrospective case-control study was carried out with 542 patients whose thyroid nodules were analyzed at our endocrinology department between 2013 and 2018 while undergoing treatment for thyroidectomy. Starting with a multivariate logistic regression analysis, which included clinical, analytical, and ultrasound variables, a predictive model for thyroid cancer (TC) risk was devised. This was then subjected to a cross-validation process, using resampling techniques. In the final model, the independent predictors of the risk of malignancy were: being male, age of the extremes, a family history of TC, a TSH level > 4.7 mcU/L, the presence of autoimmune thyroiditis, a solid consistency, hypoechogenicity, irregular or microlobed borders, nodules that are taller than they are wide, microcalcifications, and suspicious adenopathy. With a cut-off point of 50% probability of thyroid cancer, the predictive model had an area under the ROC curve of 0.925 (95% confidence interval 0.898-0.952). Finally, using the ten-fold cross-validation method, the accuracy of the model was found to be 88.46%, with a kappa correlation coefficient of 0.62. A predictive model for the individual risk of malignancy of thyroid nodules was developed and validated using clinical, analytical, and ultrasound variables. An online calculator ( https://obgynreference.shinyapps.io/calccdt/ ) was developed from this model to be used by clinicians to improve decision-making in patients with thyroid nodules.

Background: Imbalance in the intestinal microbiota can lead to chronic low-grade inflammation. Diet may influence this association. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the interaction between Akkermansia muciniphila (A. muciniphila) and dietary patterns using a proinflammatory index. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study with school-aged children. We quantified the relative abundance (RA) of A. muciniphila in feces using a polymerase chain reaction. We collected dietary information through employing a food frequency questionnaire and generated dietary patterns using principal component analysis. We generated a proinflammatory index from serum levels of interleukin-6, interleukin-10, tumor necrosis factor alpha, and adiponectin validated by receptor operating characteristic curves. We evaluated the association between A. muciniphila and the proinflammatory index using logistic regression, including an interaction term with dietary patterns. Results: We found that children with a low RA of A. muciniphila and a high intake of simple carbohydrates and saturated fats had increased odds of being high on the proinflammatory index. However, when the consumption of this dietary pattern is low, children with a low RA of A. muciniphila had decreased odds of being high on the proinflammatory index. Conclusions: Our results suggest that the simultaneous presence of A. muciniphila and diet have a more significant impact on the presence of being high on the proinflammatory index compared to both factors separately.

The objective of this study was to develop and validate a predictive model for the assessment of the individual risk of malignancy of thyroid nodules based on clinical, ultrasound, and analytic variables. A retrospective case-control study was carried out with 542 patients whose thyroid nodules were analyzed at our endocrinology department between 2013 and 2018 while undergoing treatment for thyroidectomy. Starting with a multivariate logistic regression analysis, which included clinical, analytic, and ultrasound variables, a predictive model for thyroid cancer (TC) risk was devised. This was then subjected to a cross-validation process, using resampling techniques. In the final model, the independent predictors of the risk of malignancy were: being male, age of the extremes, family history of TC, thyroid-stimulating hormone level >4.7 μU/L, presence of autoimmune thyroiditis, solid consistency, hypoechogenicity, irregular or microlobed borders, nodules that are taller than they are wide, microcalcifications, and suspicious adenopathy. With a cut-off point of 50% probability of thyroid cancer, the predictive model had an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.925 (95% confidence interval 0.898 to 0.952). Finally, using the 10-fold cross-validation method, the accuracy of the model was found to be 88.46%, with a kappa correlation coefficient of 0.62. A predictive model for the individual risk of malignancy of thyroid nodules was developed and validated using clinical, analytic, and ultrasound variables. An online calculator was developed from this model to be used by clinicians to improve decision-making in patients with thyroid nodules.

Background: Persistent gut microbiota (GM) imbalance has been associated with metabolic disease development. This study evaluated the mediating role of waist circumference in the association between GM and insulin resistance (IR) in children. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 533 children aged between 6 and 12. The anthropometry, metabolic markers, and relative abundance (RA) of five intestinal bacterial species were measured. Path coefficients were estimated using path analysis to assess direct, indirect (mediated by waist circumference), and total effects on the association between GM and IR. Results: The results indicated a positive association mediated by waist circumference between the medium and high RA of S. aureus with homeostatic model assessments for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and for insulin resistance adiponectin-corrected (HOMA-AD). We found a negative association mediated by waist circumference between the low and medium RA of A. muciniphila and HOMA-IR and HOMA-AD. Finally, when we evaluated the joint effect of S. aureus, L. casei, and A. muciniphila, we found a waist circumference-mediated negative association with HOMA-IR and HOMA-AD. Conclusions: Waist circumference is a crucial mediator in the association between S. aureus and A. muciniphila RA and changes in HOMA-IR and HOMA-AD scores in children.