Search

El propósito del presente artículo es dar a conocer el desarrollo y los resultados de un taller realizado vía remota dedicado a ampliar los conocimientos matemáticos sobre los números decimales. El objeto de estudio e intervención fueron ocho estudiantes de segundo semestre de una escuela Normal Rural del Estado de Zacatecas, en México. Debido a la llegada intempestiva del Sars-Cov2 en 2020, la preparación de actividades presenciales se adaptó para realizarse a distancia. Se inició con la aplicación de un diagnóstico para definir los contenidos adecuados. Se utilizó la plataforma Meet, los formularios de Google, las pizarras electrónicas y los teléfonos inteligentes como principales recursos para la acción. Los resultados muestran que los participantes avanzaron en sus conocimientos y su comprensión de los números decimales, así como en su capacidad de argumentación. La interacción y construcción social de los conocimientos fueron posibles a pesar del distanciamiento físico gracias a la permanente solicitud de comparar y justificar las respuestas de los distintos estudiantes utilizando los medios disponibles.

Conferences are spaces to meet and network within and across academic and technical fields, learn about new advances, and share our work. They can help define career paths and create long-lasting collaborations and opportunities. However, these opportunities are not equal for all. This article introduces 10 simple rules to host an inclusive conference based on the authors' recent experience organizing the 2021 edition of the useR! statistical computing conference, which attracted a broad range of participants from academia, industry, government, and the nonprofit sector. Coming from different backgrounds, career stages, and even continents, we embraced the challenge of organizing a high-quality virtual conference in the context of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and making it a kind, inclusive, and accessible experience for as many people as possible. The rules result from our lessons learned before, during, and after the organization of the conference. They have been written mainly for potential organizers and selection committees of conferences and contain multiple practical tips to help a variety of events become more accessible and inclusive. We see this as a starting point for conversations and efforts towards building more inclusive conferences across the world. * Translated versions of the English abstract and the list of rules are available in 10 languages in S1 Text: Arabic, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Tamil, and Thai.

The field of distributional ecology has seen considerable recent attention, particularly surrounding the theory, protocols, and tools for Ecological Niche Modeling (ENM) or Species Distribution Modeling (SDM). Such analyses have grown steadily over the past two decades—including a maturation of relevant theory and key concepts—but methodological consensus has yet to be reached. In response, and following an online course taught in Spanish in 2018, we designed a comprehensive English-language course covering much of the underlying theory and methods currently applied in this broad field. Here, we summarize that course, ENM2020, and provide links by which resources produced for it can be accessed into the future. ENM2020 lasted 43 weeks, with presentations from 52 instructors, who engaged with >2500 participants globally through >14,000 hours of viewing and >90,000 views of instructional video and question-and-answer sessions. Each major topic was introduced by an “Overview” talk, followed by more detailed lectures on subtopics. The hierarchical and modular format of the course permits updates, corrections, or alternative viewpoints, and generally facilitates revision and reuse, including the use of only the Overview lectures for introductory courses. All course materials are free and openly accessible (CC-BY license) to ensure these resources remain available to all interested in distributional ecology.

As of 2021, more than 80 million people worldwide have been displaced by war, violence, and poverty. An estimated 30 to 34 million of these are under age 18, and many are at risk of interrupting their education permanently--a situation aggravated in recent years by the global COVID-19 pandemic. In this article, we adopt an intersectional conceptual framework to explore the roles gender and other social inequalities have played in shaping adolescents' access to education during the COVID-19 pandemic. We examine two refugee populations: the Rohingya, who have been excluded from formal education opportunities in Bangladesh, and Syrian refugees in Jordan, who have access to formal education in their host country. We provide novel empirical data, as well as insights into the adolescent refugee experience and the short-term consequences for education resulting from the pandemic. In the article, we draw from quantitative survey data on 3,030 adolescents, and from in-depth qualitative interviews we conducted in the spring of 2020 with a subset of 91 adolescents who are part of an ongoing longitudinal study. We also conducted 40 key informant interviews with community leaders and service providers.

Abstract Species records from biological collections are becoming increasingly available online. This unprecedented availability of records has largely supported recent studies in taxonomy, biogeography, macroecology and biodiversity conservation. Biological collections vary in their documentation and notation standards, which have changed through time. For different reasons, neither collections nor data repositories perform the editing, formatting and standardisation of the data, leaving these tasks to the final users of the species records (e.g. taxonomists, ecologists and conservationists). These tasks are challenging, particularly when working with millions of records from hundreds of biological collections. To help collection curators and final users perform those tasks, we introduce plantR, an open‐source package that provides a comprehensive toolbox to manage species records from biological collections. The package is accompanied by the proposal of a reproducible workflow to manage this type of data in taxonomy, ecology and biodiversity conservation. It is implemented in R and designed to handle relatively large datasets as fast as possible. Initially designed to handle plant species records, many of the plantR features also apply to other groups of organisms, given that the data structure is similar. The plantR workflow includes tools to (a) download records from different data repositories, (b) standardise typical fields associated with species records, (c) validate the locality, geographical coordinates, taxonomic nomenclature and species identifications, including the retrieval of duplicates across collections, and (d) summarise and export records, including the construction of species lists with vouchers. Other R packages provide tools to tackle some of the workflow steps described above. But in addition to the new tools and resources related to data standardisation and validation, the greatest strength of plantR is to provide a comprehensive and user‐friendly workflow in one single environment, performing all tasks from data retrieval to export. Thus, plantR can help researchers better assess data quality and avoid data leakage in a wide variety of studies using species records.

El objetivo de este trabajo es conocer el uso tradicional de plantas medicinales en gestantes y puérperas de las comunidades nativas de la zona 7-Loja-Ecuador (Saraguro y Zamora). El tipo de investigación es cualitativa-cuantitativa; se trabajará con los puestos de salud del Ministerio de Salud Pública. Hasta el momento el 60% de las gestantes y puérperas utilizan plantas medicinales, manzanilla, matico, menta, anís, hinojo y ruda; para dolor abdominal, nervios, acelerar el trabajo de parto, lactancia y calambres; el consumo fue la vía oral, en infusiones; utilizan la raíz y hojas; en forma ocasional; costumbres que vienen utilizando de generación en generación y que no han presentado ninguna complicación.

Well-characterized and standardized extracts of a Mexican genotype of Ganoderma lucidum (Gl), a medicinal mushroom, cultivated on oak sawdust (Gl-1) or oak sawdust plus acetylsalicylic acid (Gl-2, ASA), have been shown to exert antioxidant, hypocholesterolemic, anti-inflammatory, prebiotic, and anticancer properties. However, toxicity analyses still need to be carried out. Different doses of these Gl-1 or Gl-2 extracts were administered to Wistar rats for 14 days in a repeated dose oral toxicity study. We assessed the external clinical signs, biochemical parameters, liver and kidney tissues, injury and inflammation biomarkers, gene expression, inflammatory responses, proinflammatory mediators, and gut microbiota. Gl extracts had no significant adverse, toxic or harmful effects on male and female rats compared to the control groups. No injury or dysfunction were recorded in the kidney or liver, as there were no significant abnormal variations in organ weight, tissue histopathology, serum biochemical parameters (C-reactive protein, creatinine, urea, glucose, ALT and AST transaminases, TC, LDL-c, TG, HDL-c), urinary parameters (creatinine, urea nitrogen, albumin, the albumin-to-creatinine ratio, glucose), injury and inflammatory biomarkers (KIM-1/TIM-1, TLR4, and NF-кB protein expression; IL-1β, TNF-α and IL-6 gene expression), or the expression of genes linked to cholesterol metabolism (HMG-CoA, Srebp2, Ldlr). Gl-1 and Gl-2 extracts showed prebiotic effects on the gut microbiota of male and female Wistar rats. Bacterial diversity and relative bacterial abundance (BRA) increased, positively modulating the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio. The ASA (10 mM) added to the substrate used for mushroom cultivation changed properties and effects of the Gl-2 extract on Wistar rats. The no-observed-adverse-effect-level (NOAEL) was 1000 mg/kg body weight/day of Gl-1 or Gl-2 extracts. Clinical trials are recommended for further exploring the potential therapeutic applications of studied extracts.

Las infecciones vaginales son corresponsables de un importante porcentaje de morbilidad materna y perinatal, presentando complicaciones como amenaza de aborto, ruptura de membranas, parto pretérmino y enfermedad pélvica inflamatoria, permitiendo con este trabajo investigativo la elaboración de un perfil clínico-epidemiológico, favoreciendo al personal médico y usuarias gestantes, contribuyendo a la detección oportuna desde el primer nivel de atención, disminuyendo sus complicaciones y mejorando su calidad de vida; cuyos objetivos fueron: Determinar las infecciones vaginales y complicaciones durante el embarazo, conocer las infecciones vaginales más frecuentes, identificar las complicaciones y establecer la relación entre estas ; siendo un estudio descriptivo, con enfoque cualitativo y cuantitativo desarrollado en el Centro de Salud Universitario de Motupe en el período Octubre 2020 – Marzo 2021, cuyo universo constituyó 127 usuarias y una muestra de 52 gestantes que cumplieron con los criterios de inclusión plasmándose en una hoja de recolección de datos realizada por la autora; determinando que la Vaginosis Bacteriana se presenta en el 15 % entre los 26 - 30 años, 13 % 21 - 35 años, 8 % 36 - 40 años y 6 % 16 - 20 y 31 - 35 años, tricomoniasis 6 % 21 - 35 años, el 2 % 26 - 35 años, candidiasis 13 % en 26 - 30 años, 9 % 21 - 35 años, el 8 % 16-20 años, 6 % 31 - 40 años, como complicación el 4 %, amenaza de aborto y el 96 % sin complicaciones. Las infecciones vaginales, vaginosis bacteriana y candidiasis fueron las que presentaron complicaciones de amenaza de aborto en un 4,38 %, evidenciándose que las pacientes que presentan infecciones vaginales no muestran complicaciones en alto porcentaje.

Background/Objective: In recent studies, it has been shown that dietary bioactive compounds can produce health benefits; however, it is not known whether an improvement in solubility can enhance their biological effects. Thus, the aim of this work was to study whether co-amorphous (CoA) naringenin or fisetin with enhanced solubility modify glucose and lipid metabolism, thermogenic capacity and gut microbiota in mice fed a high-fat, high-sucrose (HFSD) diet. Methods: Mice were fed with an HFSD with or without CoA-naringenin or CoA-fisetin for 3 months. Body weight, food intake, body composition, glucose tolerance, hepatic lipid composition and gut microbiota were assessed. Results: CoA-naringenin demonstrated significant reductions in fat-mass gain, improved cholesterol metabolism, and enhanced glucose tolerance. Mice treated with CoA-naringenin gained 45% less fat mass and exhibited improved hepatic lipid profiles, with significant reductions seen in liver triglycerides and cholesterol. Additionally, both CoA-flavonoids increased oxygen consumption (VO2), contributing to enhanced energy expenditure and improved metabolic flexibility. Thermogenic activation, indicated by increased UCP1 and PGC-1α levels, was observed with CoA-fisetin, supporting its role in fat oxidation and adipocyte size reduction. Further, both CoA-flavonoids modulated gut microbiota, restoring diversity and promoting beneficial bacteria, such as Akkermansia muciniphila, which has been linked to improved metabolic health. Conclusions: These findings suggest that co-amorphous naringenin or fisetin offers promising applications in improving solubility, metabolic health, and thermogenesis, highlighting the potential of both as therapeutic agents against obesity and related disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conferences are spaces to meet and network within and across academic and technical fields, learn about new advances, and share our work. They can help define career paths and create long-lasting collaborations and opportunities. However, these opportunities are not equal for all. This article introduces 10 simple rules to host an inclusive conference based on the authors' recent experience organizing the 2021 edition of the useR! statistical computing conference, which attracted a broad range of participants from academia, industry, government, and the nonprofit sector. Coming from different backgrounds, career stages, and even continents, we embraced the challenge of organizing a high-quality virtual conference in the context of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and making it a kind, inclusive, and accessible experience for as many people as possible. The rules result from our lessons learned before, during, and after the organization of the conference. They have been written mainly for potential organizers and selection committees of conferences and contain multiple practical tips to help a variety of events become more accessible and inclusive. We see this as a starting point for conversations and efforts towards building more inclusive conferences across the world. * Translated versions of the English abstract and the list of rules are available in 10 languages in S1 Text: Arabic, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Tamil, and Thai.

Background: There is increasing evidence that gut microbiota in offspring is derived in part from maternal environment such as diet. Thus, sweeteners intake including caloric or non-caloric during perinatal period can induce gut dysbiosis and program the offspring to develop cognitive problems later in life.Objective: To determine the effect of maternal high-sweeteners intake during gestation and lactation on gut microbiota shifts in adult male offspring rats and the impact on cognitive dysfunction.Methods: Thirty-four male pups from dams fed standard diet (Control-C, n = 10), high-sucrose diet (HS-C, n = 11), high-honey diet (Ho-C, n = 8), and high-stevia diet (HSt-C, n = 5) were fed standard diet after weaning, and body weight and food intake were recorded once a week for 26 weeks. Learning and memory tests were performed at week 23 of life using the Barnes maze. Fecal samples from the breastfeeding and adulthood periods were collected and analyzed by sequencing the 16S rRNA V3-V4 region of gut microbiota.Results: Maternal high-sucrose and stevia diets programmed the male offspring, and changes in microbial diversity by Shannon index were observed after weaning (p < 0.01). Furthermore, maternal high-stevia diet programming lasted into adulthood. The increase of Firmicutes abundance and the decrease in phylum Bacteroidetes were significant in HS-C and HSt-C groups. This led to an increase in the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes index, although only in HS-C group was statistically significant (p < 0.05). Of note, the downstream gram-negative Bacteroidales and the upregulation of the gram-positive Clostridiales abundance contribute to cognitive dysfunction.Conclusion: These results suggest that dams fed a high-sucrose and stevia diets during gestation and lactation favor a deficient memory performance in adult male offspring rats through shifts gut microbiota diversity and relative abundance at several taxa.

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is a serious health problem, and recent evidence indicates that gut microbiota plays a key role in its development. It is known that 2-oleoyl glycerol (2-OG) produced by the gut microbiota is associated with hepatic fibrosis, but it is not known whether this metabolite is involved in the development of hepatic steatosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate how a high-fat–sucrose diet (HFS) increases 2-OG production through gut microbiota dysbiosis and to identify whether this metabolite modifies hepatic lipogenesis and mitochondrial activity for the development of hepatic steatosis as well as whether a combination of functional foods can reverse this process. Wistar rats were fed the HFS diet for 7 months. At the end of the study, body composition, biochemical parameters, gut microbiota, protein abundance, lipogenic and antioxidant enzymes, hepatic 2-OG measurement, and mitochondrial function of the rats were evaluated. Also, the effect of the consumption of functional food with an HFS diet was assessed. In humans with MASLD, we analyzed gut microbiota and serum 2-OG. Consumption of the HFS diet in Wistar rats caused oxidative stress, hepatic steatosis, and gut microbiota dysbiosis, decreasing α-diversity and increased Blautia producta abundance, which increased 2-OG. This metabolite increased de novo lipogenesis through ChREBP and SREBP-1. 2-OG significantly increased mitochondrial dysfunction. The addition of functional foods to the diet modified the gut microbiota, reducing Blautia producta and 2-OG levels, leading to a decrease in body weight gain, body fat mass, serum glucose, insulin, cholesterol, triglycerides, fatty liver formation, and increased mitochondrial function. To use 2-OG as a biomarker, this metabolite was measured in healthy subjects or with MASLD, and it was observed that subjects with hepatic steatosis II and III had significantly higher 2-OG than healthy subjects, suggesting that the abundance of this circulating metabolite could be a predictor marker of hepatic steatosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The post-nutritional intervention modulation of miRNA expression has been previously investigated; however, post-acute dietary-ingestion-related miRNA expression dynamics in individuals with obesity and insulin resistance (IR) are unknown. We aimed to determine the acute effects of protein ingestion from different dietary sources on the postprandial metabolic response, amino acid levels, and circulating miRNA expression in adults with obesity and IR. This clinical trial included adults with obesity and IR who consumed (1) animal-source protein (AP; calcium caseinate) or (2) vegetable-source protein (VP; soy protein isolate). Glycaemic, insulinaemic, and glucagon responses, amino acid levels, and exosomal microRNAs isolated from plasma were analysed. Post-AP ingestion, the area under the curve (AUC) of insulin (p = 0.04) and the plasma concentrations of branched-chain (p = 0.007) and gluconeogenic (p = 0.01) amino acids increased. The effects of different types of proteins on the concentration of miRNAs were evaluated by measuring their plasma circulating levels. Compared with the baseline, the AP group presented increased circulating levels of miR-27a-3p, miR-29b-3p, and miR-122-5p (p < 0.05). Subsequent analysis over time at 0, 30, and 60 min revealed the same pattern and differences between treatments. We demonstrated that a single dose of dietary protein has acute effects on hormonal and metabolic regulation and increases exosomal miRNA expression in individuals with obesity and IR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, engineering degree programs have become fundamental to the teaching of robotics and incorporate many fundamental STEM concepts. Some authors have proposed different platforms for teaching different topics related to robotics, but most of these platforms are not practical for classroom use. In the case of teaching autonomous navigation algorithms, the absence of platforms in classrooms limits learning because students are unable to perform practice activities or cannot evaluate and compare different navigation algorithms. The main contribution of this study is the implementation of a free platform for teaching autonomous-driving algorithms based on the Robot Operating System without the use of a physical robot. The authors present a case study using this platform as a teaching tool for instruction in two undergraduate robotic courses. Students evaluated the platform quantitatively and qualitatively. Our study demonstrates that professors and students can carry out different tests and compare different navigation algorithms to analyze their performance under the same conditions in class. In addition, the proposed platform provides realistic representations of environments and data visualizations. The results claim that the use of simulations helps students better understand the theoretical concepts, motivates them to pay attention, and increases their confidence.

Fat and sweeteners contribute to obesity. However, it is unknown whether specific bacteria are selectively modified by different caloric and noncaloric sweeteners with or without a high-fat diet (HFD). Here, we combined extensive host phenotyping and shotgun metagenomics of the gut microbiota to investigate this question. We found that the type of sweetener and its combination with an HFD selectively modified the gut microbiota. Sucralose and steviol glycosides led to the lowest α-diversity of the gut microbiota. Sucralose increased the abundance of B. fragilis in particular, resulting in a decrease in the abundance of occludin and an increase in proinflammatory cytokines, glucose intolerance, fatty acid oxidation and ketone bodies. Sucrose+HFD showed the highest metabolic endotoxemia, weight gain, body fat, total short chain fatty acids (SCFAs), serum TNFα concentration and glucose intolerance. Consumption of sucralose or sucrose resulted in enrichment of the bacterial genes involved in the synthesis of LPS and SCFAs. Notably, brown sugar and honey were associated with the absence of metabolic endotoxemia, increases in bacterial gene diversity and anti-inflammatory markers such as IL-10 and sIgA, the maintenance of glucose tolerance and energy expenditure, similar to the control group, despite the consumption of an HFD. These findings indicate that the type of sweetener and an HFD selectively modify the gut microbiota, bacterial gene enrichment of metabolic pathways involved in LPS and SCFA synthesis, and metabolic endotoxemia associated with different metabolic profiles.

Fire may divert or arrest natural regeneration in abandoned pastures throughout the tropics, transforming them to low-resilience systems that do not recover even in the absence of disturbances. Understanding regeneration in degraded landscapes is crucial to decision-making and predicting the outcome of passive or active restoration actions. We aimed to understand the effects of intensifying fire regimes on post-fire natural regeneration in sites degraded by logging and fire in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. We studied five areas with different fire regimes (i.e., different fire frequencies and post-fire regeneration time), dominated by Moquiniastrum polymorphum (Asteraceae), a widely-distributed species with fire resistance traits. We analyzed differences in structure, diversity, the amplitude of the species' geographic distribution, and floristic composition. We recorded Leaf Area Index and grass cover to understand the effect of canopy closure on fire exclusion and analyzed functional traits related to succession and response to fire (specific leaf area, height, wood density, bark thickness, seed mass). Post-fire regeneration was slow and fire-prone and dominance by M. polymorphum decreased with less disturbance, as other species entered the communities. Structure, diversity, and functional composition recovered along the gradient but did not reach old-growth values. The taxonomic composition was strikingly different in burned areas and forests, irrespective of fire history. Natural regeneration followed a divergent trajectory, marked by the establishment of other widely-distributed species, which suggests a long-term floristic impoverishment. The establishment of M. polymorphum allows these pastures to exit grass-fire cycles. Longer post-fire recovery and fewer fire events allow for canopy closure, grass exclusion, and eventually fire suppression. This two-step dynamic breaks a crucial barrier for restoration from degraded pastures and represents a more desirable state than pastures. However, relying only upon natural regeneration results in impoverished secondary forests. Given the pervasive effects of deforestation and fire, natural regeneration observed in tropical landscapes may correspond to impoverished new secondary forests that fail to attain conservation targets for the biome. Preventing future fires and controlling grass cover in the understory is crucial to avoid their retrogression to pastures and to treat them as regeneration templates for active restoration.

Isostichopus badionotus is a sea cucumber species of great ecological and economic relevance for Mexico and Central American and Caribbean countries; however, the protocols for the extraction of the nucleic acids have not yet been published. In this study, we describe the first protocols to obtain DNA and RNA from different tissues of I. badionotus, which include the respiratory tree, gonad, longitudinal muscle bands, anterior intestine and cloaca. The extraction of high-quality DNA was performed using the DNeasy Blood & Tissue kit (Qiagen, Valencia, CA, USA) with minor modifications in different points of the protocol.Concerning the RNA, the method of TRIzol was used. This method is particularly advantageous in situations where cells or tissues are enriched for endogenous RNases or when the separation of cytoplasmic RNA from nuclear RNA is impractical. The methodologies used in this study allowed us to obtain DNA and RNA of high quality and integrity in the different tissues of I. badionotus, which will be the basis for future genomic and transcriptomic studies. • The successful extraction of DNA and RNA was achieved in the different tissues of I. badionotus. • The concentrations of DNA and RNA obtained were adequate for a diversity of analyses at a molecular level. Method name: I. badionotus DNA and RNA isolation, Keywords: Holothuroid, Molecular biology, Genetics, Nucleic acid

San Agustín escribió dos obras en las que comenta el simbolismo presente en algunos textos joánicos. Estas obras son In Iohannis Evangelium Tractatus y también In Epistulam Iohannis ad Partos. Estamos ante dos escritos realmente bellos. En ellos el obispo de Hipona pone la exégesis (siguiendo el modelo típico de la Escuela de Alejandría) al servicio de la pastoral y de la propuesta mistagógica. El presente artículo ofrece al lector el comentario de 14 símbolos joánicos analizados por san Agustín. Es complemento de otro artículo publicado por el mismo autor en la revista Estudios Eclesiásticos, durante el año 2013. El artículo se distribuye en 5 apartados. El 1.º enseña unos trazos rápidos de la biografía del hiponense. El 2.º brinda unas notas imprescindibles para ubicar las dos obras joánicas estudiadas por él. El 3.º evidencia el modo en que el símbolo es un recurso de inestimable riqueza para el ejercicio de la teología simbólica. El 4.º se centra en el análisis de 14 símbolos concretos. Y, finalmente, el 5.º pone encima de la mesa las conclusiones a las que llega el autor de la investigación.

Abstract Current efforts are directed to reducing the gut dysbiosis and inflammation produced by obesity. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether consuming nopal, a vegetable rich in dietary fibre, vitamin C, and polyphenols can reduce the metabolic consequences of obesity by modifying the gut microbiota and preventing metabolic endotoxemia in rats fed a high fat and sucrose diet. With this aim, rats were fed a high fat diet with 5% sucrose in the drinking water (HFS) for 7 months and then were fed for 1 month with HFS + 5% nopal (HFS + N). The composition of gut microbiota was assessed by sequencing the 16S rRNA gene. Nopal modified gut microbiota and increased intestinal occludin-1 in the HFS + N group. This was associated with a decrease in metabolic endotoxemia, glucose insulinotropic peptide, glucose intolerance, lipogenesis, and metabolic inflexibility. These changes were accompanied by reduced hepatic steatosis and oxidative stress in adipose tissue and brain, and improved cognitive function, associated with an increase in B. fragilis. This study supports the use of nopal as a functional food and prebiotic for its ability to modify gut microbiota and to reduce metabolic endotoxemia and other obesity-related biochemical abnormalities.

Background Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a serious health problem over the world; thus, the aim of the present work was to develop a lifestyle intervention to decrease the dysbiosis of gut microbiota and reduce the biochemical abnormalities of MetS. Methods and Results The prevalence of MetS was evaluated in 1065 subjects of Mexico City, Mexico, and the gut microbiota in a subsample. Subjects with MetS were selected for a pragmatic study based on a lifestyle intervention with a low‐saturated‐fat diet, reduced‐energy intake, with functional foods and physical activity, and a second group was selected for a randomized control‐placebo study to assess the gut microbiota after the dietary intervention. Prevalence of MetS was 53%, and the higher the body mass index, the higher the gut microbiota dysbiosis. The higher the Homeostatic Model Assessment for Insulin Resistance, the lower the high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol concentration. The pragmatic study revealed that after 15 days on a low‐saturated‐fat diet, there was a 24% reduction in serum triglycerides; and after a 75‐day lifestyle intervention, MetS was reduced by 44.8%, with a reduction in low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol, small low‐density lipoprotein particles, glucose intolerance, lipopolysaccharide, and branched‐chain amino acid. The randomized control‐placebo study showed that after the lifestyle intervention, there was a decrease in the dysbiosis of the gut microbiota associated with a reduction in the Prevotella/ Bacteroides ratio and an increase in the abundance of Akkermansia muciniphila and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii. Conclusions A lifestyle intervention significantly decreased MetS components, small low‐density lipoprotein particle concentration, gut microbiota dysbiosis, and metabolic endotoxemia, reducing the risk of atherosclerosis. Clinical Trial Registration URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT03611140.

Dios se revela en la Sagrada Escritura y su mensaje salvífico lo transmite, frecuentemente, por medio de símbolos. Esto se capta, sin grandes dificultades, al leer los escritos joánicos. San Agustín fue muy consciente de ello y —por esta razón— interpretó detenidamente la doctrina escondida en la simbología joannea. Sus reflexiones le sirvieron para elaborar un cuidado discurso teológico, basándose —en no pocas ocasiones— en los recursos brindados tanto por la alegoría como por la analogía. En otros momentos aprovechó las riquezas teológicas del legado jóanico para acercar el mensaje del Señor a las gentes más sencillas. Este artículo tiene tres partes. En la primera se presentan los dos escritos joánicos de San Agustín, en los que centramos nuestro estudio. En la segunda se explora la riqueza teológica de veinte símbolos joánicos, comentados teológicamente por el doctor de la gracia. Por razón del espacio del artículo hemos seleccionado los veinte más destacados, aunque —en realidad— el obispo comenta más de ochenta. En la tercera se enumeran las diez conclusiones a las que ha llegado el autor de estas páginas, tras un análisis hermenéutico de los textos agustinianos manejados.

ABSTRACT Fire disturbance affects the composition, structure and dynamics of vegetation. Historical records of fire events exist in some places, but they are generally limited in temporal and spatial extent. Tree-ring research is a useful tool for fire history reconstruction and can contribute important long-term ecological data. We tested the hypotheses that Moquiniastrum polymorphum (Less.) G. Sancho, a widespread species in Brazil that occurs in burnt areas of Atlantic Forest, produces annual growth rings and that its wood can record fire incidence by datable fire scaring. Our results corroborate these hypotheses and indicate that the species has potential for fire history reconstruction.

Se analizan diversas perspectivas éticas de las acciones huma - nas dentro de su contexto social, considerando la reivindicación del ‘jui - cio moral en situación’, es decir, la deliberación y puesta en práctica de ac - ciones responsables según convicciones profundas. Desde Aristóteles hasta Ricœur, la sabiduría práctica es requerida en tanto conciencia moral para la ejecución de decisiones singulares envueltas en un plano de incertidum - bre y graves conflictos como base para un acercamiento teleológico tenden - te a vivir bien. Finalmente, en el plano deontológico de la obligación ubica - mos al derecho, donde la justicia se identifica con lo legal y lo equitativo.

Héctor González-Pacheco,1 Jesús Vargas-Barrón,2 Maite Vallejo,2 Yigal Piña-Reyna,3 Alfredo Altamirano-Castillo,1 Pedro Sánchez-Tapia,1 Carlos Martínez-Sánchez1 1Coronary Care Unit, National Institute of Cardiology in Mexico City, Mexico City, Mexico; 2Department of Clinical Research, National Institute of Cardiology in Mexico City, Mexico City, Mexico; 3Catheterization Laboratory, National Institute of Cardiology in Mexico City, Mexico City, Mexico Background: Among patients with coronary artery disease (CAD), 80%–90% present at least one conventional risk factor. On the other hand, lipid profile modification after a cardiovascular event related to acute coronary syndrome (ACS) has been recognized. The prevalence of conventional risk factors and the lipid profile at the time of admission in patients with ACS and significant CAD (stenosis ≥50%) determined through coronary angiography is not well described. Methods: We studied 3,447 patients with a diagnosis of ACS and significant CAD with stenosis ≥50%, as shown on angiography. We recorded the presence of conventional risk factors, including smoking, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and diabetes. In addition, we analyzed the lipid profiles within the first 24 hours of admission. We analyzed the studied population and compared findings according to sex.Results: Most patients (81.7%) were male. ST-elevation myocardial infarction was present in 51.3% of patients, and non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome was present in 48.7%. The most frequent risk factor was smoking, which was present in 68% of patients, followed by hypertension (57.8%), dyslipidemia (47.5%), and diabetes (37.7%). In women, the most frequent risk factors were hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidemia, whereas in men, smoking was the most frequent. We identified at least one risk factor in 95.7% of all patients, two or three risk factors in 62%, and four risk factors in 8.6% of patients. The lipid profile analysis revealed that 85.1% of patients had some type of dyslipidemia, and the most frequent was low levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (68.6% of cases). Conclusion: We found at least one conventional risk factor in 95.7% of patients with ACS and significant CAD. The lipid profile analysis revealed that two thirds of cases had low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. Keywords: conventional risk factors, HDL-C, acute coronary syndrome, STEMI, NSTEACS