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The presence of pollutants in soil and water has given rise to diverse analytical and biological approaches to detect and measure contaminants in the environment. Using bacterial cells as reporter strains represents an advantage for detecting pollutants present in soil or water samples. Here, an Escherichia coli reporter strain expressing a chromoprotein capable of interacting with soil or water samples and responding to DNA damaging compounds is validated. The reporter strain generates a qualitative signal and is based on the expression of the coral chromoprotein AmilCP under the control of the recA promoter. This strain can be used simply by applying soil or water samples directly and rendering activation upon DNA damage. This reporter strain responds to agents that damage DNA (with an apparent detection limit of 1 µg of mitomycin C) without observable response to membrane integrity damage, protein folding or oxidative stress generating agents, in the latter case, DNA damage was observed. The developed reporter strain reported here is effective for the detection of DNA damaging agents present in soils samples. In a proof-of-concept analysis using soil containing chromium, showing activation at 15.56 mg/L of Cr(VI) present in soil and leached samples and is consistent with Cr(III) toxicity at high concentrations (130 µg). Our findings suggest that chromogenic reporter strains can be applied for simple screening, thus reducing the number of samples requiring analytical techniques.

Sexual education in the educational system is a right of adolescents. In Latin America, despite the progress in the implementation of sexual education to prevent adolescent pregnancy, deficiencies are also evident. With the aim of exploring the sexual education experiences of adolescent fathers and mothers in schools, a qualitative study was developed in Cuenca. 19 semi-structured interviews were carried out (10 mothers; 9 adolescent fathers), and a thematic analysis of the information was used. It was found that, despite the established guidelines, sexual education is scarce and biased; Its implementation is unsystematic, with a bio-medical and moralistic approach and; it does not consider sexual development needs of adolescents. This reveals worrying gaps in the educational system that may contribute to the development of life skills. A educação sexual no sistema educacional é um direito dos adolescentes. Na América Latina, o progresso é evidente, mas também são evidentes as deficiências na implementação da educação sexual para prevenir a gravidez na adolescência. Com o objetivo de explorar as experiências de educação sexual de pais e mães adolescentes nas escolas, foi realizado um estudo qualitativo em Cuenca. Foram realizadas 19 entrevistas semiestruturadas (10 mães; 9 pais adolescentes), foi realizada uma análise temática das informações. Constatou-se que, apesar das diretrizes estabelecidas, a educação sexual é escassa e tendenciosa; A sua implementação é assistemática, com uma abordagem biomédica e moralista e; não considera as necessidades de desenvolvimento sexual dos adolescentes. Isto revela lacunas preocupantes no sistema educativo que contribuem para o desenvolvimento de competências necessárias à vida. La educación sexual en el sistema educativo es un derecho de los adolescentes. En Latinoamérica se evidencian avances, pero también se vislumbran deficiencias en la implementación de la educación sexual para prevención del embarazo adolescente. Con el objetivo de explorar las experiencias de educación sexual de padres y madres adolescentes en colegios, se realizó un estudio cualitativo en Cuenca. Se realizaron 19 entrevistas semiestructuradas (diez madres, nueve padres adolescentes) y un análisis temático de la información. Se encontró que, a pesar de los lineamientos establecidos, la educación sexual es escasa y sesgada. Su implementación es asistemática, con enfoque biomédico y moralista, y no considera necesidades del desarrollo sexual de adolescentes. Esto vislumbra preocupantes vacíos en el sistema educativo que aporten al desarrollo de habilidades necesarias para su vida.

Inflammation is a hallmark of aging and accelerated aging syndromes such as Hutchinson–Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS). In this study, we present evidence of increased expression of the components of the NLRP3 inflammasome pathway in HGPS skin fibroblasts, an outcome that was associated with morphological changes of the nuclei of the cells. Lymphoblasts from HGPS patients also showed increased basal levels of NLRP3 and caspase 1. Consistent with these results, the expression of caspase 1 and Nlrp3, but not of the other inflammasome receptors was higher in the heart and liver of Zmpste24 −/− mice, which phenocopy the human disease. These data were further corroborated in Lmna G609G/G609G mice, another HGPS animal model. We also showed that pharmacological inhibition of the NLRP3 inflammasome by its selective inhibitor, MCC950, improved cellular phenotype, significantly extended the lifespan of progeroid animals, and reduced inflammasome‐dependent inflammation. These findings suggest that inhibition of the NLRP3 inflammasome is a potential therapeutic approach for the treatment of HGPS. SYNOPSIS This study reveals a critical role of the NLRP3‐inflammasome complex in the pathogenesis of Hutchinson‐Gilford Progeria (HGPS). Targeting NLRP3 may be a novel potential therapeutic strategy for progeria treatment. NLRP3 signalling is hyperactivated in the skin fibroblasts and lymphoblast of HPGS patients and animal models. Inhibition of NLRP3 ameliorates phenotype of skin fibroblasts from patients and improves survival and bodyweight of animal models. Inhibition of NLRP3 suppresses the inflammasome‐dependent inflammation in animal models. Graphical Abstract This study reveals a critical role of the NLRP3‐inflammasome complex in the pathogenesis of Hutchinson‐Gilford Progeria (HGPS). Targeting NLRP3 may be a novel potential therapeutic strategy for progeria treatment.

Objectives We examined the extent to which funded satellite clinics could sustain the California Colon Cancer Control Program (C4P) strategies implemented in health systems to increase uptake of the fecal immunochemical test (FIT) or immunochemical fecal occult blood test (iFOBT) for colorectal cancer (CRC) screening in the absence of future C4P funds. Introduction Seven health systems consisting of 38 satellite clinics participated in C4P to examine the sustainability of the program in the absence future Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) funding. Methods Quantitative and qualitative methods with a close and open-ended survey approach, and a prospective cohort design were used to examine the sustainability of the C4P in health systems. Results A total of 61% of satellite clinics could not sustain funding stability. Only 26% could sustain funding stability. About, 71%, 26%, and 21% of the satellite clinics could sustain the small media platform, patient navigation services, and community health workers (CHWs), respectively. All the satellite clinics sustained the provider reminder system and professional development. Roughly, 71% and 42% of funded satellite clinics could not sustain the patient navigators and CHWs, respectively. The satellite clinics that could sustain funding stability, sustained patient navigation services and CHWs. Health systems that could not sustain funding stability, could not sustain patient navigation services and CHWs. Qualitatively, the need to support uninsured priority populations, health educators, patient navigators, care coordination activities, outreach services, and provision of enhanced services emerged. The need to support enhanced quality measures, expansion of funding, Medi-Cal Public Hospital Redesign and Incentive coverage, health plan, community linkages, resource sharing, and best practices specifically on CRC screening emerged. Themes such as automated reminder, limited personalized care delivery and capacity, transportation barriers, staff salary, expansion of care through patient navigation, and culturally appropriate media campaign also emerged. Conclusion Overall, to address sustainability barriers, funding stability should be maintained in the health systems.

The aim of this study was to treat sheep oocytes with resveratrol during in vitro maturation (IVM) and use them as cytoplasts in ISCNT via handmade cloning (HMC), evaluating the effect of resveratrol on the in vitro development of cloned Mexican bighorn sheep embryos. Post mortem skin fibroblasts from an adult male specimen were frozen for 8 years, thawed, and reseeded for eight cell passages. For IVM, Ovis aries oocytes were treated with 0, 0.5, or 1.0 µM resveratrol. Matured oocytes were manually enucleated, and triplets (O. aries cytoplast–Ovis canadensis mexicana karyoplast–O. aries cytoplast) were formed and electrically fused. The reconstructed embryos were chemically activated and cultured for in vitro development (IVD). The IVM rate was 81.8 ± 10.4% for CG, 81.9 ± 6.7% for EG1, and 76.3 ± 7.7% for EG2, with no significant differences between groups. For IVD, EG1 showed a statistically significant increase (p < 0.05) in the blastocyst rate (31 ± 12.0%) and a statistically significant decrease in the fragmented embryo rate (25 ± 10.4) when compared with the other groups. It was concluded that better rates of cloned bighorn sheep blastocysts could be obtained in ISCNT via HMC when fusing O. aries oocytes supplemented with resveratrol during IVM with post mortem adult male O. c. mexicana fibroblasts that had been cryopreserved for 8 years.

To compare presentation of Alzheimer disease (AD) at the time of initial evaluation at a university specialty clinic across three ethnoracial groups in order to understand similarities and differences in the demographic, clinical, cognitive, psychiatric, and biologic features. Cross-sectional study. A total of 1,341 self-identified African American, Latino (primarily of Caribbean origin), and white non-Hispanic (“WNH”) subjects were recruited from primary care sites or by referral by primary care physicians. Demographic variables and age of onset of AD, as well as cognitive, functional, and mood impairments at the time of initial presentation and frequencies of apolipoprotein E genotypes, were compared across groups. Differences among ethnoracial groups were found for nearly all variables of interest. In particular, the largely immigrant Puerto Rican Latino group had an earlier age of onset of AD, more cognitive impairment, and greater severity of cognitive impairment at the time of initial evaluation in the setting of low average education and socioeconomic status. There was more depression in the Latinos compared with African Americans and WNHs. Greater severity of symptoms was not accounted for by a difference in lag time between onset of symptoms and initial evaluation. The apolipoprotein E-4 genotype was not associated with AD in the Latino cohort. Minority groups in Philadelphia, especially Latinos, exhibit a more severe profile of AD at the time of presentation than WNHs. Important potential confounds need to be considered and future research comparing immigrant and nonimmigrant Latino groups will be necessary to elucidate the highly significant differences reported.

(analytical)Sexual education in the educational system is a right of adolescents. In Latin America, despite the progress in the implementation of sexual education to prevent adolescent pregnancy, deficiencies are also evident. With the aim of exploring the sexual education experiences of adolescent fathers and mothers in schools, a qualitative study was developed in Cuenca. 19 semi-structured interviews were carried out (10 mothers; 9 adolescent fathers), and a thematic analysis of the information was used. It was found that, despite the established guidelines, sexual education is scarce and biased; Its implementation is unsystematic, with a bio-medical and moralistic approach and; it does not consider sexual development needs of adolescents. This reveals worrying gaps in the educational system that may contribute to the development of life skills.   (analítico) La educación sexual en el sistema educativo es un derecho de los adolescentes. En Latinoamérica se evidencian avances, pero también se vislumbran deficiencias en la implementación de la educación sexual para prevención del embarazo adolescente. Con el objetivo de explorar las experiencias de educación sexual de padres y madres adolescentes en colegios, se realizó un estudio cualitativo en Cuenca. Se realizaron 19 entrevistas semiestructuradas (diez madres, nueve padres adolescentes) y un análisis temático de la información. Se encontró que, a pesar de los lineamientos establecidos, la educación sexual es escasa y sesgada. Su implementación es asistemática, con enfoque biomédico y moralista, y no considera necesidades del desarrollo sexual de adolescentes. Esto vislumbra preocupantes vacíos en el sistema educativo que aporten al desarrollo de habilidades necesarias para su vida.     (analítico)A educação sexual no sistema educacional é um direito dos adolescentes. Na América Latina, o progresso é evidente, mas também são evidentes as deficiências na implementação da educação sexual para prevenir a gravidez na adolescência. Com o objetivo de explorar as experiências de educação sexual de pais e mães adolescentes nas escolas, foi realizado um estudo qualitativo em Cuenca. Foram realizadas 19 entrevistas semiestruturadas (10 mães; 9 pais adolescentes), foi realizada uma análise temática das informações. Constatou-se que, apesar das diretrizes estabelecidas, a educação sexual é escassa e tendenciosa; A sua implementação é assistemática, com uma abordagem biomédica e moralista e; não considera as necessidades de desenvolvimento sexual dos adolescentes. Isto revela lacunas preocupantes no sistema educativo que contribuem para o desenvolvimento de competências necessárias à vida.  

Mineral nutrients are essential for plant growth and reproduction, yet only a few studies connect the nutritional status to plant innate immunity. The backbone of plant defense response is mainly controlled by two major hormones: salicylic acid (SA) and jasmonic acid (JA). This study investigated changes in the macronutrient concentration (deficiency/excess of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, and sulfur) on the expression of PR1, a well-characterized marker in the SA-pathway, and PDF1.2 and LOX2 for the JA-pathway, analyzing plants carrying the promoter of each gene fused to GUS as a reporter. After histochemical GUS assays, we determined that PR1 gene was strongly activated in response to sulfur (S) deficiency. Using RT-PCR, we observed that the induction of PR1 depended on the function of Non-expressor of Pathogenesis-Related gene 1 (NPR1) and SA accumulation, as PR1 was not expressed in npr1-1 mutant and NahG plants under S-deprived conditions. Plants treated with different S-concentrations showed that total S-deprivation was required to induce SA-mediated defense responses. Additionally, bioassays revealed that S-deprived plants, induced resistance to the hemibiotrophic pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. DC3000 and increase susceptibility to the necrotrophic Botrytis cinerea. In conclusion, we observed a relationship between S and SA/JA-dependent defense mechanisms in Arabidopsis.

La educación sexual en el sistema educativo es un derecho de los adolescentes. En Latinoamérica se evidencian avances, pero también se vislumbran deficiencias en la implementación de la educación sexual para prevención del embarazo adolescente. Con el objetivo de explorar las experiencias de educación sexual de padres y madres adolescentes en colegios, se realizó un estudio cualitativo en Cuenca. Se realizaron 19 entrevistas semiestructuradas (diez madres, nueve padres adolescentes) y un análisis temático de la información. Se encontró que, a pesar de los lineamientos establecidos, la educación sexual es escasa y sesgada. Su implementación es asistemática, con enfoque biomédico y moralista, y no considera necesidades del desarrollo sexual de adolescentes. Esto vislumbra preocupantes vacíos en el sistema educativo que aporten al desarrollo de habilidades necesarias para su vida.

The presence of chemical agents in natural systems and crops is alarming for the people's health due to the consumption of vegetables that, in some cases, absorb heavy metals (cadmium, copper, chromium, etc.). Hexavalent chromium (Cr6+) prevails under oxidation conditions and depends on the pH of the solution, being able to form additional species. The toxic characteristics of Cr6+ motivate our interest in evaluating the presence of this heavy metal in two species, lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) and Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris var. cicla). Experiments were performed in two phases: the first phase for seed germination and the last for early growth plants. Germination was determined over 120 h and early plant growth was determined in the greenhouse. Chromium accumulation and plant tissue morphology and color were analyzed with a bifactorial analysis of variance for each plant species. Lettuce and Swiss chard germination were 90% and 30%, respectively, at the highest Cr6+ concentration of 8 ppm. However, root length was 41.6% for lettuce and 38% for Swiss chard at 8 ppm, indicating moderate phytotoxicity when compared with previous studies. The bioaccumulation capacity of the two species makes them suitable for bioremediation alternatives for small crops. Additionally, the depigmentation in aerial parts may serve as a guide to identify the potential presence of Cr6+ in the plants in the early stages of growth, preventing consumption. Core Ideas The bioaccumulation for the two species was proportional to the mass of chromium exposed. Plant tissue morphology and color were affected by bioaccumulation of hexavalent chromium. The bioaccumulation characteristics could be used for bioremediation applications.