Repositorio académico de acceso abierto (Univ. Autonóma de Chile)
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Digitalització de la comunicació i atenció a persones LGBTIQ+: dos conflictes ètics emergents per a la psicologia en l'Atenció Primària de Salut xilena
No full textThe article analyzes the ethical conflicts detected by psychologists in Primary Health Care in Chile, centering the description and analysis on those perceived as emerging, through an exploratory-descriptive qualitative study. There were two main conflicts identified: a) safeguarding of sensitive information in electronic clinical records and b) healthcare for LGBTIQ+ persons without the corresponding qualification. The study illustrates the importance of highlighting developing demands in public healthcare through the perspectives of the professionals themselves, providing the demands with notoriety in order to advance in their prioritization and resolution. Exploring the ethical dimension is relevant for contemporary psychology practice because it accounts for the needs of society, even making it possible to anticipate them. Copyright (c) 2023 Manuel Antonio Pérez-Ayala.Universidad Autónoma de Chil
Reference growth curves to identify weight status (underweight, overweight or oebesity) in children and adolescents: systematic review
No full textThe identification of somatic growth, through reference curves, can be used to create strategies and public policies to reduce public health problems such as malnutrition and obesity and to identify underweight, overweight and obesity, taking into account the variability of physical and of human development characterized by intra and interpopulation heterogeneity. The purpose of this systematic review was to identify studies providing reference growth curves for weight status (underweight, overweight or obesity) in children and adolescents. A systematic search was conducted in CINAHL; LILACS; PubMed ScienceDirect; Scopus; SPORTDiscus; SciELO; Web of Science. Manual searches were also carried out in gray literature (Google scholar) in order to find possible studies that were not retrieved by the search strategy. Data were extracted by two independent reviewers, and consensus was verified between them. To assess the risk of bias/methodological quality of studies, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Quality Assessment Tool for Observational Cohort and Cross-sectional Studies (NHLBI) was used. Overall, 86 studies that met the inclusion criteria were included (cross-sectional and longitudinal). Through the values of reference growth curves for the identification of underweight, overweight and obesity, it was possible to verify that there is great variability among percentiles for the identification of underweight, overweight and obesity. The most prevalent percentiles for underweight were P3 and P5; for overweight, the most prevalent was P85 and the most prevalent percentiles for obesity were P95 and P97. The most prevalent anthropometric indicators were Body Mass Index (BMI), Waist Circumference (WC), Body Mass (BM) for age and height for age. Conclusion: The optimal growth must be reached, through the standard growth curves, but that the reference curves demonstrate a cut of the population growth, raising possible variables that can influence the optimal growth, such as an increase in the practice of physical activities and an awareness of proper nutrition.Universidad Autónoma de Chil
Exercise as medicine for depressive symptoms? A systematic review and meta-analysis with meta-regression
No full textObjective To estimate the efficacy of exercise on depressive symptoms compared with non-active control groups and to determine the moderating effects of exercise on depression and the presence of publication bias. Design Systematic review and meta-analysis with meta-regression. Data sources The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, PubMed, MEDLINE, Embase, SPORTDiscus, PsycINFO, Scopus and Web of Science were searched without language restrictions from inception to 13 September2022 (PROSPERO registration no CRD42020210651). Eligibility criteria for selecting studies Randomised controlled trials including participants aged 18 years or older with a diagnosis of major depressive disorder or those with depressive symptoms determined by validated screening measures scoring above the threshold value, investigating the effects of an exercise intervention (aerobic and/or resistance exercise) compared with a non-exercising control group. Results Forty-one studies, comprising 2264 participants post intervention were included in the meta-analysis demonstrating large effects (standardised mean difference (SMD)=-0.946, 95% CI -1.18 to -0.71) favouring exercise interventions which corresponds to the number needed to treat (NNT)=2 (95% CI 1.68 to 2.59). Large effects were found in studies with individuals with major depressive disorder (SMD=-0.998, 95% CI -1.39 to -0.61, k=20), supervised exercise interventions (SMD=-1.026, 95% CI -1.28 to -0.77, k=40) and moderate effects when analyses were restricted to low risk of bias studies (SMD=-0.666, 95% CI -0.99 to -0.34, k=12, NNT=2.8 (95% CI 1.94 to 5.22)). Conclusion Exercise is efficacious in treating depression and depressive symptoms and should be offered as an evidence-based treatment option focusing on supervised and group exercise with moderate intensity and aerobic exercise regimes. The small sample sizes of many trials and high heterogeneity in methods should be considered when interpreting the results. © 2023 BMJ Publishing Group. All rights reserved.NIHR-301206; Nutritional Medicine Institute; UK Research and Innovation Future Leaders, (MR/T021780/1); National Institute for Health and Care Research, NIHR; Universität Potsdam, UP; Angelini PharmaUniversidad Autónoma de Chil
Effectiveness of Whey Protein Supplementation during Resistance Exercise Training on Skeletal Muscle Mass and Strength in Older People with Sarcopenia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
No full textObjective: To determine the effectiveness of whey protein (WP) supplementation during resistance exercise training (RET) vs. RET with or without placebo supplementation on skeletal muscle mass, strength, and physical performance in older people with Sarcopenia. Methods: Electronic searches in the PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, LILACS, SPORTDiscus, Epistemonikos, and CINAHL databases were performed until 20 January 2023. Randomized clinical trials conducted on sarcopenic adults aged 60 or older were included. The studies had to compare the effectiveness of the addition of supplements based on concentrated, isolated, or hydrolyzed whey protein during RET and compare it with RET with or without placebo supplementation on skeletal muscle mass and strength changes. The study selection process, data extraction, and risk of bias assessment were carried out by two independent reviewers. Results: Seven randomized clinical trials (591 participants) were included, and five of them provided data for quantitative synthesis. The overall pooled standardized mean difference (SMD) estimate showed a small effect size in favor of RET plus WP for skeletal muscle mass according to appendicular muscle index, with statistically significant differences compared with RET with or without the placebo group (SMD = 0.24; 95% CI, 0.05 to 0.42; p = 0.01; I2 = 0%, p = 0.42). The overall pooled mean difference (MD) estimate showed a significant difference of +2.31 kg (MD = 2.31 kg; 95% CI, 0.01 to 4.6; p = 0.05; I2 = 81%, p < 0.001) in handgrip strength in the RET plus WP group compared with the RET group with or without placebo. The narrative synthesis revealed discordance between the results of the studies on physical performance. Conclusions: WP supplementation during RET is more effective in increasing handgrip strength and skeletal muscle mass in older people with Sarcopenia compared with RET with or without placebo supplementation. However, the effect sizes were small, and the MD did not exceed the minimally important clinical difference. The quality of the evidence was low to very low according, to the GRADE approach. Further research is needed in this field. © 2023 by the authors.Interuniversity Center for Healthy Aging, (RED211993); Universidad de La Frontera, UFROUniversidad Autónoma de Chil
Bioinformatics analysis and single-cell RNA sequencing: elucidating the ubiquitination pathways and key enzymes in lung adenocarcinoma
No full textBackground: Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is a prevalent subtype of lung cancer associated with high mortality rates. We aimed to utilize single-cell multiomics analysis to identify the key molecules involved in ubiquitination modification, which plays a role in LUAD development and progression. Methods: We use a systematic approach to analyze LUAD-related single-cell and bulk transcriptome datasets from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) databases. Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) data were normalized, clustered, and annotated with the Seurat package in R. InferCNV was used to distinguish malignant from epithelial cells, and AUCell evaluated the area under the curve (AUC) score of ubiquitination-related enzymes. Survival and differential analyses identified significant molecular markers associated with ubiquitination. PSMD14 expression was confirmed using reverse-transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and Western blot assays, and its knockdown cell lines were assessed for effects on cellular processes and tumor formation in mice. PSMD14’s interacting proteins were predicted, and its impact on AGR2 protein half-life and ubiquitination was evaluated. Rescue experiments involving PSMD14 overexpression and AGR2 silencing assessed their impact on malignant behaviors. Results: By means of single-cell sequencing analysis, we probed the ubiquitination modification landscape in the LUAD microenvironment. Malignant cells had elevated scores for enzymes and ubiquitin-binding domains compared to normal epithelial cells, with 53 ubiquitination-related molecules showing prognostic disparities. FGR, PSMD14, and ZBTB16 were identified as genes with prognostic significance, with PSMD14 showing higher expression in epithelial and malignant cells. Two missense mutation sites were identified in PSMD14, which had a high copy number amplification ratio and positive correlation with messenger RNA (mRNA) expression. PSMD14 expression and tumor stage were found to be independent prognostic factors, and interfering with PSMD14 expression reduced the malignant behavior of LUAD cells. PSMD14 was found to bind to AGR2 protein and reduce its ubiquitination, leading to increased AGR2 stability. Knockdown of AGR2 inhibited the enhancement of cell viability, invasion, and migration resulting from PSMD14 overexpression. Conclusions: This study examined ubiquitination modifications in LUAD using sequencing data, identifying PSMD14’s critical role in malignancy regulation and its potential as a prognostic and therapeutic biomarker. These insights enhance understanding of LUAD mechanisms and treatment. © Journal of Thoracic Disease. All rights reserved.National Key R&D Plan, Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China, (2017YFC1308700)Universidad Autónoma de Chil
Adsorption and Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue on TiO2 Thin Films Impregnated with Anderson-Evans Al-Polyoxometalates: Experimental and DFT Study
No full textIn this work, we fabricated a TiO2 thin film, and the same film was modified with an Anderson aluminum polyoxometalate (TiO2-AlPOM). Physical-chemical characterization of the catalysts showed a significant change in morphological and optical properties of the TiO2 thin films after surface modification. We applied the kinetic and isothermal models to the methylene blue (MB) adsorption process on both catalysts. The pseudo-second order model was the best fitting model for the kinetic results; qe (mg/g) was 11.9 for TiO2 thin films and 14.6 for TiO2-AlPOM thin films, and k2 (g mg-1 min-1) was 16.3 × 10-2 for TiO2 thin films and 28.2 × 10-2 for TiO2-AlPOM thin films. Furthermore, the Freundlich model was suitable to describe the isothermal behavior of TiO2, KF (5.42 mg/g), and 1/n (0.312). The kinetics of photocatalytic degradation was fitted using the Langmuir-Hinshelwood model; kap was 7 × 10-4 min-1 for TiO2 and 13 × 10-4 min-1 for TiO2-AlPOM. The comparative study showed that TiO2 thin films reach a 19.6% MB degradation under UV irradiation and 9.1% MB adsorption, while the TiO2-AlPOM thin films reach a 32.6% MB degradation and 12.2% MB adsorption on their surface. The surface modification improves the morphological, optical, and photocatalytic properties of the thin films. Finally, the DFT study supports all the previously shown results. © 2023 The Authors. Published by American Chemical SocietyVicerrectoría de Investigaciones of the Universidad del NorteUniversidad Autónoma de Chil
Acid-Sensing Ion Channels’ Immunoreactivity in Nerve Profiles and Glomus Cells of the Human Carotid Body
No full textThe carotid body is a major peripheral chemoreceptor that senses changes in arterial blood oxygen, carbon dioxide, and pH, which is important for the regulation of breathing and cardiovascular function. The mechanisms by which the carotid body senses O2 and CO2 are well known; conversely, the mechanisms by which it senses pH variations are almost unknown. Here, we used immunohistochemistry to investigate how the human carotid body contributes to the detection of acidosis, analyzing whether it expresses acid-sensing ion channels (ASICs) and determining whether these channels are in the chemosensory glomic cells or in the afferent nerves. In ASIC1, ASIC2, and ASIC3, and to a much lesser extent ASIC4, immunoreactivity was detected in subpopulations of type I glomus cells, as well as in the nerves of the carotid body. In addition, immunoreactivity was found for all ASIC subunits in the neurons of the petrosal and superior cervical sympathetic ganglia, where afferent and efferent neurons are located, respectively, innervating the carotid body. This study reports for the first time the occurrence of ASIC proteins in the human carotid body, demonstrating that they are present in glomus chemosensory cells (ASIC1 ASIC3 > ASIC4) and nerves, presumably in both the afferent and efferent neurons supplying the organ. These results suggest that the detection of acidosis by the carotid body can be mediated via the ASIC ion channels present in the type I glomus cells or directly via sensory nerve fibers. © 2023 by the authors.Universidad Autónoma de Chil
Stability of ACE2 Peptide Mimetics and Their Implications on the Application for SARS-CoV2 Detection
No full textThe SARS-CoV-2 worldwide outbreak prompted the development of several tools to detect and treat the disease. Among the new detection proposals, the use of peptides mimetics has surged as an alternative to avoid the use of antibodies, of which there has been a shortage during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the use of peptides in detection systems still presents some questions to be answered, mainly referring to their stability under different environmental conditions. In this work, we synthesized an ACE2 peptide mimic and evaluated its stability in different pH, salinity, polarity, and temperature conditions. Further, the same conditions were assessed when using the ability of the peptide mimic to detect the recombinant SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in a biotin-streptavidin-enzyme-linked assay. Finally, we also tested the capacity of the peptide to detect SARS-CoV-2 from patients’ samples. The results indicate that the peptide is structurally sensitive to the medium conditions, with relevance to the pH, where basic pH favored its performance when used as a SARS-CoV-2 detector. Further, the proposed peptide mimic was able to detect SARS-CoV-2 comparably to RT-qPCR results. Therefore, the present study promotes knowledge advancement, particularly in terms of stability considerations, in the application of peptide mimics as a replacement for antibodies in detection systems. © 2023 by the authors.Universidad Autónoma de Chil
The influence of a company's inherent values on its sustainability: Evidence from a born-sustainable SME in the footwear industry
No full textSMEs are a significant portion of global corporations and, while individually, might not compare to larger corporations in total emissions, holistically have a significant impact. Therefore, understanding how the founder's and the company's values influence its ability to be sustainable is a theme not fully covered in the literature. This research focused on the influence of the founder's values on social, environmental, and economic values on a company's sustainability. The Agency Theory was used as a theoretical lens to analyze the values and sustainable-oriented behaviors of the founder and the company. An exploratory case study was implemented through qualitative data collection and analysis. The main findings revealed that, by comparing the founder and company profiles, the inherent values of Veganism, Ethical Drive, and Ecological Consciousness influenced mainly the environmental and economic dimensions of the company's sustainability to be more sustainable. Moreover, comparing their values according to Schwartz (1994) and Axsen and Kurani (2013), the founder and the company matched six over nine values. The inherent values influenced the growth in environmental, social, and economic dimensions of sustainability. This research contributes by highlighting the need to translate the inherent values to practice fostering sustainability in the private sector. © 2023 The AuthorsUniversidade Autónoma de LisboaUniversidad Autónoma de Chil
Gallbladder Cancer Risk and Indigenous South American Mapuche Ancestry: Instrumental Variable Analysis Using Ancestry-Informative Markers
No full textA strong association between the proportion of indigenous South American Mapuche ancestry and the risk of gallbladder cancer (GBC) has been reported in observational studies. Chileans show the highest incidence of GBC worldwide, and the Mapuche are the largest indigenous people in Chile. We set out to assess the confounding-free effect of the individual proportion of Mapuche ancestry on GBC risk and to investigate the mediating effects of gallstone disease and body mass index (BMI) on this association. Genetic markers of Mapuche ancestry were selected based on the informativeness for assignment measure, and then used as instrumental variables in two-sample Mendelian randomization analyses and complementary sensitivity analyses. Results suggested a putatively causal effect of Mapuche ancestry on GBC risk (inverse variance-weighted (IVW) risk increase of 0.8% per 1% increase in Mapuche ancestry proportion, 95% CI 0.4% to 1.2%, p = 6.7 × 10−5) and also on gallstone disease (3.6% IVW risk increase, 95% CI 3.1% to 4.0%), pointing to a mediating effect of gallstones on the association between Mapuche ancestry and GBC. In contrast, the proportion of Mapuche ancestry showed a negative effect on BMI (IVW estimate −0.006 kg/m2, 95% CI −0.009 to −0.003). The results presented here may have significant implications for GBC prevention and are important for future admixture mapping studies. Given that the association between the individual proportion of Mapuche ancestry and GBC risk previously noted in observational studies appears to be free of confounding, primary and secondary prevention strategies that consider genetic ancestry could be particularly efficient. © 2023 by the authors.Biobank of the University of Chile, (phs000810.v1.p1); National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, NHLBI; University of Miami, UM, (N01-HC65234); Northwestern University, NU, (N01-HC65236); San Diego State University, SDSU, (N01-HC65237); Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Yeshiva University, AECOM, (N01-HC65235); University of North Carolina Wilmington, UNCW, (N01-HC65233); Horizon 2020 Framework Programme, H2020, (825741); Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG, (INST 35/1314-1 FUGG, INST 35/1503-1 FUGG); Ministerium für Wissenschaft, Forschung und Kunst Baden-Württemberg, MWKUniversidad Autónoma de Chil