Search

Abstract Background Tubulointerstitial lesions play a pivotal role in the progression of IgA nephropathy (IgAN). Elevated N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) in urine is released from damaged proximal tubular epithelial cells (PTEC) and may serve as a biomarker of renal progression in diseases with tubulointerstitial involvement. Methods We evaluated the predictive value of urinary NAG (uNAG) for disease progression in 213 biopsy-proven primary IgAN patients from January 2018 to December 2019 at Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University. We compared the results with those of serum cystatin C (sCysC). Results Increased uNAG and sCysC levels were associated with worse clinical and histological manifestations. Only uNAG level was independently associated with remission status after adjustment. Patients with high uNAG levels (> 22.32 U/g Cr) had a 4.32-fold greater risk of disease progression. The combination of baseline uNAG and clinical data may achieve satisfactory risk prediction in IgAN patients with relatively preserved renal function (eGFR ≥ 60 ml/min/1.73 m2, area under the curve [AUC] 0.760). Conclusion Our results suggest that uNAG is a promising biomarker for predicting IgAN remission status.

Estudio cualitativo con enfoque fenomenológico que surge de la necesidad de contar con experiencias y recomendaciones para la promoción de salud mental y bienestar psicosocial en personas diagnosticadas con patología psiquiátrica, desde expertos por experiencia, durante el periodo de aislamiento por pandemia COVID-19. El objetivo del artículo es sintetizar estrategias para promoción de Salud Mental y Bienestar Psicosocial de personas diagnosticadas con patología psiquiátrica, utilizadas por expertos por experiencia. Con respecto a la metodología, se trabajó con tres expertos por experiencia que participaran como acompañantes terapéuticos en Unidades de Salud Mental, donde no se hubieran presentado casos de reagudizaciones que requirieran hospitalización. Se realizaron focus group y entrevistas en profundidad, que fueron sometidas a análisis de contenido, obteniéndose seis categorías: planificación de rutina diaria; realización de actividades recreativas; mantener actitud optimista; recibir información útil y de fuentes confiables; activar red de apoyo social y reconocimiento y manejo del estrés. Estas recomendaciones fueron validadas posteriormente por los expertos por experiencia. Los principales resultados dan cuenta que las estrategias para la promoción de salud mental y bienestar psicosocial utilizadas por expertos por experiencia concuerdan con estrategias descritas en la literatura. Los expertos por experiencia dan valor a mantener una actitud optimista, centrándose en las habilidades desarrolladas por las personas, como el reconocimiento de sus habilidades para enfrentar las dificultades y el sentido del humor.

Copyright © 2020 Harris. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Capsicum spp. fruits (CFs) are a basic ingredient in the diet and have been used as active ingredients in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and food products, due to their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, and antimicrobial properties. The antimicrobial activity is the most studied property due to its effectiveness against pathogenic species, however, few studies have focused on the mechanisms of action involved. Therefore, this review discusses the effects generated by the CFs compounds on the viability and metabolism of microorganisms, highlighting the mechanisms by which these compounds exert their antimicrobial effects. The information provided shows that CFs are mainly source of capsaicinoids and phenolic compounds responsible for the inhibition of bacteria, yeasts, and fungi, through an increase in the permeabilization of the membrane and cell wall. Also, these compounds show an antiviral effect associated with the inactivation of virus binding proteins, preventing their replication and infection. Despite this, there is still a lack of information about the mechanisms that regulate the interactions between CFs compounds and food-important-microorganisms. Therefore, future research should focus on new antimicrobial compounds from CFs for their subsequent use against novel infectious agents, mainly virus of importance in health such as SARS-CoV-2., Competing Interests: Conflicts of interestThe authors declare that they have no Conflicts of interest., (© Association of Food Scientists & Technologists (India) 2022, Springer Nature or its licensor holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.)

Synthetic biology is employed for the study and design of engineered microbes with new and improved therapeutic functions. The main advantage of synthetic biology is the selective genetic manipulation of living organisms with desirable beneficial effects such as probiotics. Engineering technologies have contributed to the edition of metabolic processes involved in the mechanisms of action of probiotics, such as the generation of bioactive peptides. Hence, current information related to bioactive peptides, produced by different engineering probiotics, with antimicrobial, antiviral, antidiabetic, and antihypertensive activities, as well as their potential use as functional ingredients, is discussed here. Besides, the effectiveness and safety aspects of these bioactive peptides were also described., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2021 The Authors.)

The interest for food-derived bioactive peptides, either from common or unconventional sources, has increased due to their potential therapeutic effect against a wide range of diseases. The study of such bioactive peptides using conventional methods is a long journey, expensive and time-consuming. Hence, bioinformatic approaches, which can not only help to predict the formation of bioactive peptides from any known protein source, but also to analyze the protein structure/function relationship, have gained a new meaning in this scientific field. Therefore, this review aims to provides an overview of conventional characterization methods and the most recent advances in the field of in silico approaches for predicting and screening promising food-derived bioactive peptides., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2021 The Author(s).)