Subclinical synovitis impact on the progression of lupus joint disease: A 10-year longitudinal multicenter study.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of subclinical synovitis on the progression of joint disease in a cohort of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus over a mean follow-up of 10 years. METHODS: A longitudinal follow-up of 96 patients diagnosed with lupus was performed. All patients were considered clinically free of joint disease or with minimal joint impairment at baseline and were studied through ultrasound study of their dominant hand to assess the prevalence of subclinical synovitis. Now, over 10 years after we contacted them and reviewed their evolution to determine the impact of had or had not been diagnosed with subclinical synovitis in their current joint condition. RESULTS: Thirty-one of the 91 reached patients developed clinical progression in their joint manifestations (at least one ordinal degree of worsening). Of these, 23 (74,9%) had demonstrated subclinical synovitis at baseline. In the group of patients who did not progress clinically, 46 (76,6%) did not have this finding at the start of follow-up (p < .01, OR 9,44 95%CI 3,46-25,74). The patients in whom clinical progression was demonstrated had worse combined ultrasound scores than the rest of the patients: 6,41 SD 1,45 vs. 1,15 SD 0,97 (p < .01). CONCLUSIONS: The finding of subclinical synovitis in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus is associated with the development of joint disease progression both clinically and ultrasonographically.

Basal characteristics of patients who responded to Ovarian Fragmentation for Follicular Activation (OFFA) or In Vitro Activation (IVA): a systematic review and meta-analysis.

A systematic review and meta-analysis were performed to identify if there is a subset of patients with POI who are more likely to show follicular growth after ovarian fragmentation for follicular activation (OFFA) or in vitro activation (IVA). Five studies met inclusion criteria for meta-analysis with a total of 164 patients. Forty-three patients showed follicle development (26.21%). Of those, the pregnancy rate was 35.58% (11/43) and the live birth rate was 20.93% (9/43). Our meta-analysis showed that age was not associated with follicle growth. However, lower baseline FSH, lower duration of amenorrhea/diagnosis, and presence of follicles remaining in biopsy were statistically significant for follicle development. Patients with basal characteristics mentioned before may have more chances to show follicle growth after OFFA or IVA. Taking into account that approximately 20% of patients with follicle growth had live birth, these results are very promising. Given the overall certainty of evidence, future studies are needed to confirm said results.

Elevated Biomarkers of Inflammation and Vascular Dysfunction Are Associated with Distal Sensory Polyneuropathy in People with HIV.

Distal sensory polyneuropathy (DSP) is a disabling, chronic condition in people with HIV (PWH), even those with viral suppression of antiretroviral therapy (ART), and with a wide range of complications, such as reduced quality of life. Previous studies demonstrated that DSP is associated with inflammatory cytokines in PWH. Adhesion molecules, essential for normal vascular function, are perturbed in HIV and other conditions linked to DSP, but the link between adhesion molecules and DSP in PWH is unknown. This study aimed to determine whether DSP signs and symptoms were associated with a panel of plasma biomarkers of inflammation (d-dimer, sTNFRII, MCP-1, IL-6, IL-8, IP-10, sCD14) and vascular I integrity (ICAM-1, VCAM-1, uPAR, MMP-2, VEGF, uPAR, TIMP-1, TIMP-2) and differed between PWH and people without HIV (PWoH). A cross-sectional study was conducted among 143 participants (69 PWH and 74 PWoH) assessed by studies at the UC San Diego HIV Neurobehavioral Research Program. DSP signs and symptoms were clinically assessed for all participants. DSP was defined as two or more DSP signs: bilateral symmetrically reduced distal vibration, sharp sensation, and ankle reflexes. Participant-reported symptoms were neuropathic pain, paresthesias, and loss of sensation. Factor analyses reduced the dimensionality of the 15 biomarkers among all participants, yielding six factors. Logistic regression was used to assess the associations between biomarkers and DSP signs and symptoms, controlling for relevant demographic and clinical covariates. The 143 participants were 48.3% PWH, 47 (32.9%) women, and 47 (33.6%) Hispanics, with a mean age of 44.3 ± 12.9 years. Among PWH, the median (IQR) nadir and current CD4+ T-cells were 300 (178-448) and 643 (502-839), respectively. Participants with DSP were older but had similar distributions of gender and ethnicity to those without DSP. Multiple logistic regression showed that Factor 2 (sTNFRII and VCAM-1) and Factor 4 (MMP-2) were independently associated with DSP signs in both PWH and PWoH (OR [95% CI]: 5.45 [1.42-21.00], and 15.16 [1.07-215.22]), respectively. These findings suggest that inflammation and vascular integrity alterations may contribute to DSP pathogenesis in PWH, but not PWoH, possibly through endothelial dysfunction and axonal degeneration.

Microfluidic Isolation of Neuronal-Enriched Extracellular Vesicles Shows Distinct and Common Neurological Proteins in Long COVID, HIV Infection and Alzheimer's Disease.

Long COVID (LongC) is associated with a myriad of symptoms including cognitive impairment. We reported at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic that neuronal-enriched or L1CAM+ extracellular vesicles (nEVs) from people with LongC contained proteins associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Since that time, a subset of people with prior COVID infection continue to report neurological problems more than three months after infection. Blood markers to better characterize LongC are elusive. To further identify neuronal proteins associated with LongC, we maximized the number of nEVs isolated from plasma by developing a hybrid EV Microfluidic Affinity Purification (EV-MAP) technique. We isolated nEVs from people with LongC and neurological complaints, AD, and HIV infection with mild cognitive impairment. Using the OLINK platform that assesses 384 neurological proteins, we identified 11 significant proteins increased in LongC and 2 decreased (BST1, GGT1). Fourteen proteins were increased in AD and forty proteins associated with HIV cognitive impairment were elevated with one decreased (IVD). One common protein (BST1) was decreased in LongC and increased in HIV. Six proteins (MIF, ENO1, MESD, NUDT5, TNFSF14 and FYB1) were expressed in both LongC and AD and no proteins were common to HIV and AD. This study begins to identify differences and similarities in the neuronal response to LongC versus AD and HIV infection.

Abernethy syndrome as a cause of liver transplantation.

Congenital portosystemic shunts are rare abnormalities in which blood flow from the liver is diverted to the systemic circulation. We would like to present the case of a 48-year-old male, during his neurological follow-up he was diagnosed with a congenital intrahepatic portosystemic shunt. Embolization of the portosystemic communicating veins was attempted on two occasions, but without success. Due to the poor clinical course, the patient was presented to our transplant committee and a liver transplant was decided upon.

Urban air pollution evaluation in downtown streets of a medium-sized Latin American city using AERMOD dispersion model.

The transport sector is considered the largest contributor of air pollutants in urban areas, mainly on-road vehicles, affecting the environment and human health. Bahía Blanca is a medium-sized Latin American city, with high levels of traffic in the downtown area during peak hours. In this regard, it is necessary to analyze air pollution using an air quality model considering that there are no air pollutant measurements in the central area. Furthermore, this type of study has not been carried out in the region and since the city is expected to grow, it is necessary to evaluate the current situation in order to make effective future decisions. In this sense, the AERMOD model (US-EPA version) and the RLINE source type were used in this work. This study analyzes the variations of pollutant concentrations coming from mobile sources in Bahía Blanca's downtown area, particularly carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) during the period Jul-2020 to Jun-2022. It is interesting to note the results show the maximum concentration values detected are not directly associated with maximum levels of vehicle flow or emission rates, which highlights the importance of meteorological parameters in the modeling. In addition, alternative scenarios are proposed and analyzed from a sustainable approach. Regarding the scenario analysis, it can be concluded that diesel vehicles have a large influence on NOx emissions. Moreover, restrictions as strict as those proposed for a Low Emission Zone would be less applicable in the city than alternative temporary measures that modify traffic at peak hours.

The clinical epidemiology, management, and outcomes of patients diagnosed with encephalitis in North Carolina, 2015-2020.

IMPORTANCE: Despite the relatively high mortality and the difficulty in diagnosis, nearly one-third of patients hospitalized with a documented diagnosis of encephalitis did not undergo a lumbar puncture (LP). When an LP was performed, pathogen-specific testing was greatly underutilized. Infectious etiologies were most common, but over 40% of cases were idiopathic at discharge. These findings suggest that there is a substantial opportunity to improve the quality of care through more accurate and timely diagnosis.

The roles of inflammation, affect, and interoception in predicting social perception.

"Sickness behavior" is an orchestrated suite of symptoms that commonly occur in the context of inflammation, and is characterized by changes in affect, social experience, and behavior. However, recent evidence suggests that inflammation may not always produce the same set of sickness behavior (e.g., fatigue, anhedonia, and social withdrawal). Rather, inflammation may be linked with different behavior across contexts and/or across individuals, though research in this area is under-developed to-date. In the present study (n = 30), we evaluated the influence of affective context and individual differences in difficulty detecting bodily sensations (i.e., interoceptive difficulty) on social perception following an inflammatory challenge. Inflammation was induced using the influenza vaccine and inflammatory reactivity was operationalized as changes in circulating levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) before the vaccine and approximately 24 h later. Twenty-four hours after administration of the influenza vaccine, we manipulated affective context using a well-validated affect misattribution task in which participants made trustworthiness judgments of individuals with neutral facial expressions following the rapid presentation of "prime" images that were positive or negative in affective content. Interoceptive difficulty was measured at baseline using a validated self-report measure. Results revealed significant interactions between inflammatory reactivity to the influenza vaccine and affective context on social perception. Specifically, individuals with greater inflammatory reactivity were more biased by affective context when judging the trustworthiness of neutral faces. In addition, interoceptive difficulty and affective context interacted to predict social perception such that individuals with greater interoceptive difficulty were more biased by affective context in these judgments. In sum, we provide some of the first evidence that inflammation may amplify the saliency of affective cues during social decision making. Our findings also replicate prior work linking interoceptive ability to the use of affect-as-information during social perception, but in the novel context of inflammation.

Ongoing Healthcare Disparities in neuroHIV: Addressing Gaps in the Care Continuum.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: We aim to review the neurological complications of HIV and the social, cultural, and economic inequalities that contribute to disparities in neuroHIV care. RECENT FINDINGS: Disparities in diagnostics and care of patients with neurological infections and non-infectious conditions associated with HIV in both high-income and low-to-middle-income countries (LMIC) are common. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated these disparities. Factors, such as HIV-related stigma, may deter people from accessing HIV treatment. First-line recommended treatments for neurological infections are not available in many LMICs, leading to inadequate treatment and exposure to agents with more harmful side effect profiles. Access-related factors, such as lack of transportation, lack of health insurance, and inadequate telehealth access, may increase the risk of HIV-related neurological complications. Further research is needed to increase awareness of neurological complications among providers and PWH, and regional guidelines should be considered to better address these complications.

The Memory Alteration Test Is Correlated with Clinical, Cerebrospinal Fluid, and Brain Imaging Markers of Alzheimer Disease in Lima, Peru.

INTRODUCTION: As disease-modifying therapies become available for Alzheimer's disease (AD), detection of AD in early stages of illness (mild cognitive impairment [MCI], early dementia) becomes increasingly important. Biomarkers for AD in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are costly and not widely available; hence, it is important to identify cognitive tests that correlate well with AD biomarker status. In this study, we evaluated the memory alteration test (M@T) to detect biomarker-proven AD and quantify its correlation with neurodegeneration and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) AD biomarkers in a cohort of participants from Lima, Peru. METHODS: This is a secondary analysis of a cohort of 185 participants: 63 controls, 53 with amnestic MCI (aMCI), and 69 with dementia due to AD. Participants underwent testing with M@T and a gold standard neuropsychological battery. We measured total tau (t-tau), phosphorylated tau (p-tau), and beta-amyloid (ß-amyloid) in CSF, and evaluated neurodegeneration via medial temporal atrophy score in MRI. We used receiver-operator curves to determine the discriminative capacity of the total M@T score and its subdomains. We used the Pearson coefficient to correlate M@T score and CSF biomarkers. RESULTS: The M@T had an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.994 to discriminate between controls and cognitively impaired (aMCI or AD) patients, and an AUC of 0.98 to differentiate between aMCI and AD patients. Free-recall and cued recall had the highest AUCs of all subdomains. Total score was strongly correlated with t-tau (-0.77) and p-tau (-0.72), and moderately correlated with ß-amyloid (0.66). The AUC for discrimination of neurodegeneration was 0.87. CONCLUSION: The M@T had excellent discrimination of aMCI and dementia due to AD. It was strongly correlated with CSF biomarkers and had good discrimination of neurodegeneration. In LMICs, the M@T may be a cost-effective screening tool for aMCI and dementia caused by AD.

Haematological and other manifestations in the presence of antiphospholipid antibodies in a multicentric paediatric cohort.

OBJECTIVES: To identify the variables associated with the development of haematological manifestations in the presence of antiphospholipid antibodies (aPLs) in a paediatric cohort. METHODS: We conducted a multicentric retrospective cohort study of children under the age of 18 years. RESULTS: One hundred and thirty-four children were included; 12.2% had at least one thrombotic event (TE) and 67% at least one non-criterion manifestation. Of them, 90% did not develop any TE. Haematological manifestations were the most frequent (42%), followed by neurological (19.8%), cutaneous (17.6%), cardiac (16.8%) and renal (1.5%) manifestations. In those children with haematological disorders, the aPLs positivity rate was: 67.3% LA, 65.6% aß2GPI, 60% aCL, 45.5% single, 23.6% double and 30.9% triple. A univariate analysis showed that children with IgM aCL+, IgM aß2GPI+, triple positivity and with a SLE diagnosis had a significantly higher frequency of haematological manifestations (p<0.05). Finally, a stepwise regression analysis identified IgG aß2GPI positivity [OR 2.91, 95% CI (1.26-6.74), p=0.013], SLE [OR 2.67, 95% CI (1.13-6.3), p=0.026] and LA positivity [OR 2.53, 95% CI (1.08-5.94), p=0.033] as independent risk factors for the development of haematological manifestations. CONCLUSIONS: Non-criteria manifestations and among them haematological disorders, are the most frequent events in the presence of aPLs and/or LA in our paediatric cohort. Children with SLE, LA and/or IgG aß2GPI positivity showed a higher risk of haematological manifestations.

La resistencia antimicrobiana, una amenaza en tres dimensiones.

Entre los principales problemas de Salud Pública podemos identificar a la resistencia antimicrobiana (RAM), definida por la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) como aquella que se produce cuando los microorganismos (bacterias, hongos, virus y parásitos) sufren cambios al verse expuestos a los antimicrobianos, resultando que los medicamentos se vuelvan ineficaces y las infecciones persistan.

Biomarkers for dementia in Latin American countries: Gaps and opportunities.

Limited knowledge on dementia biomarkers in Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries remains a serious barrier. Here, we reported a survey to explore the ongoing work, needs, interests, potential barriers, and opportunities for future studies related to biomarkers. The results show that neuroimaging is the most used biomarker (73%), followed by genetic studies (40%), peripheral fluids biomarkers (31%), and cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers (29%). Regarding barriers in LAC, lack of funding appears to undermine the implementation of biomarkers in clinical or research settings, followed by insufficient infrastructure and training. The survey revealed that despite the above barriers, the region holds a great potential to advance dementia biomarkers research. Considering the unique contributions that LAC could make to this growing field, we highlight the urgent need to expand biomarker research. These insights allowed us to propose an action plan that addresses the recommendations for a biomarker framework recently proposed by regional experts.

Sleepy Mice Case Study: Implementation and Assessment.

Case studies are a valuable teaching tool to engage students in course content using real-world scenarios. As part of the High-throughput Discovery Science & Inquiry-based Case Studies for Today's Students (HITS) Research Coordination Network (RCN), our team has created the Sleepy Mice Case Study for students to engage with RStudio and the Allen Institute for Brain Science's open access high-throughput sleep dataset on mice. Sleep is important for health, a familiar concern to college students, and was a basis for this case study. In this case, students completed an initial homework assignment, in-class work, and a final take-home application assignment. The case study was implemented in synchronous and asynchronous Introductory Neuroscience courses, a Biopsychology course, and a Human Anatomy and Physiology course, reflecting its versatility. The case can be used to teach course-specific learning objectives such as sleep-related content and/or science data processing skills. The case study was successful as shown by gains in student scores and confidence in achieving learning objectives. Most students reported enjoying learning about sleep deprivation course content using the case study. Best practices based on instructor experiences in implementation are also included to facilitate future use so that the Sleepy Mice Case Study can be used to teach content and/or research-related skills in various courses and modalities.

Non-criteria manifestations in the presence of antiphospholipid antibodies in a paediatric cohort.

OBJECTIVE: To identify the variables associated with the development of non-criteria manifestations in the presence of antiphospholipid antibodies (aPLs) in a paediatric cohort. METHODS: Multicentric historical cohort study of children under the age of 18 years to determine thrombotic events (TEs) and non-criteria manifestations in the presence of aPL. RESULTS: Eighty-two children were included; 8.5% had at least one TE and 69.5% at least one non-criteria manifestation. Of them, 96.5% did not associate TEs. Haematological manifestations were the most frequent (43.65%), followed by cutaneous (22%), neurological (15.9%) and cardiac (4.9%) events. The most frequent aPLs were: 77.8% LA; 42.7% aCL and 41.5% aß2GP. The positivity rate was: 64.6% simple, 18.3% double and 17.1% triple. ANA positivity was 68.1%. A bivariate analysis revealed that children with IgM aCL+, IgM aß2GP+, ANA+, an SLE diagnosis or the absence of TEs had a significantly higher percentage of non-criteria manifestations (P <0.05). The logistic regression showed family history of autoimmune diseases [odds ratio (OR) 4.26, 95% CI: 0.8, 22.2, P =0.086] and the absence of TEs (OR 17.18, 95% CI: 1.2, 244.6, P =0.03) as independent risk factors of developing non-criteria manifestations. An SLE diagnosis, aPL profile and ANA+ were not identified. CONCLUSION: Non-criteria manifestations were more frequent than TEs. A positive family history of autoimmune diseases and the absence of TEs were associated with a higher risk of developing non-criteria manifestations. Therefore, their inclusion as APS classification criteria should be considered in order to get an improved prognosis in the paediatric population.

Inflammatory reactivity to the influenza vaccine is associated with changes in automatic social behavior.

Recent evidence suggests differential patterns of social behavior following an inflammatory challenge, such that increases in inflammation may not uniformly lead to social withdrawal. Indeed, increases in inflammation have been associated with enhanced self-reported motivation to approach a specific close other, and greater neural sensitivity to positive social cues. However, no known studies have examined the association between inflammation in response to an inflammatory challenge and social behavior in humans, nor has past research examined specifically how approach and withdrawal behavior may differ based on whether the target is a close other or stranger. To address this, 31 participants (ages 18-24) received the influenza vaccine to elicit a low-grade inflammatory response. The morning before and approximately 24 h after the vaccine, participants provided a blood sample and completed a computer task assessing automatic (implicit) approach and withdrawal behavior toward a social support figure and strangers. Greater increases in the inflammatory cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6) in response to the vaccine were associated with an increase in accuracy in avoiding strangers and a decrease in accuracy in approaching them. Increases in IL-6 were also associated with a decrease in reaction time to approach a support figure, but only when controlling for baseline IL-6 levels. There were no associations between change in IL-6 and changes in self-reported motivation to engage in social behavior with either close others, or strangers. Together, these findings reveal that increases in inflammation following the influenza vaccine are associated with automatic social behavior, especially behavior suggesting avoidance of unfamiliar social targets and ease in approaching a support figure. These data add to the growing literature suggesting that the association between inflammation and social behavior includes both social withdrawal and social approach, depending on the specific target.

HIV and COVID-19 in Latin America and the Caribbean.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) has been hit hard by COVID-19 due to political instability, flawed health systems, and structural inequalities. The repercussion of the pandemic on vulnerable populations, like people living with HIV (PLWH), is complex. This review aims to explore the interactions between the HIV and COVID-19 pandemics in this region. RECENT FINDINGS: Data regarding the interactions of HIV and COVID-19 in LAC is scarce. Only case reports or small case series have been published regarding the clinical course of COVID-19 in PLWH and regarding the clinical course of COVID-19 in PLWH, which appears to be similar to the general population. The pandemic has disrupted prevention and treatment of PLWH. However, there have been country efforts to counteract those effects. There are some lessons from the HIV response which have been effectively applied in the region to address COVID-19. COVID-19 has had an unprecedented impact on the cascade-of-care among PLWH in LAC. There is a need for longitudinal studies that assess clinic implication of these pandemic interactions in LAC.

Irreversible hippocampal changes induced by high fructose diet in rats.

Some reports have described that a high fructose diet is associated with a deficit of hippocampus-dependent cognitive functions. In this study, we have evaluated the effects of fructose on spatial memory and molecular markers in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex and analyzed whether those alterations are reversible. Male Wistar rats (n = 60) began their treatment during adolescence. A group was forced to drink a solution of 10% fructose for twelve weeks. Another group was subjected to the same fructose intake schedule, but later fructose was removed, and tap water was provided for four weeks. After treatments, spatial memory was evaluated with Barnes maze. Different neurogenesis, inflammation, astrocyte, and energy homeostasis markers were evaluated with immunofluorescence, ELISA, and Western blot. Changes were analyzed using two-way repeated-measures ANOVA, one-way ANOVA, and Tukeýs posthoc test (p < 0.05). Results showed that after long-term consumption of fructose, there was an impairment of spatial memory. This deficit was concomitant with the abolition of hippocampal neurogenesis and significant increases of IL-1b in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. Levels of COX-2 were decreased in the hippocampus. Besides, fructose induced a significant increase in GFAP and a decrease of glutamine synthetase. Likewise, energy homeostasis-associated neuropeptide orexin-A and their receptors (ORX R1 and ORX R2) were significantly increased. The spatial memory deficit, neuroinflammation, and changes in some proteins expression were permanent one month after the fructose elimination from the diet. These results suggest that fructose induces substantial hippocampal and cortical changes, and those are irreversible after a shift in the diet.

Effects of plant-based versus marine-based omega-3 fatty acids and sucrose on brain and liver fatty acids in a mouse model of chemotherapy.

Chemotherapy can result in toxic side effects in the brain. Intake of marine-based omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), alter brain fatty acids, potentially improving brain function. However, it is unclear if alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), the plant-based n-3, affects brain PUFAs during chemotherapy. The objective of this study was to examine the effects of dietary ALA, EPA and DHA, with high or low sucrose, on brain PUFAs in a mouse model of chemotherapy. Secondarily, the use of liver PUFAs as surrogate measures of brain PUFAs was examined. Lipid peroxidation (4-HNE) and neurotrophic markers (BDNF) were assessed. Female C57Bl/6 mice (n = 90) were randomized to 1 of 5 diets (high EPA + DHA/high or low sucrose, high ALA/high or low sucrose, or control with no EPA + DHA/low ALA/low sucrose) and injected with doxorubicin-based chemotherapy or saline. Brain EPA and DHA were greater (p < 0.0001) with high EPA + DHA diets, regardless of sucrose; there were no significant differences in brain PUFAs between high ALA diets and control. Chemotherapy-treated mice had higher brain and liver DHA (p < 0.05) and lower brain and liver linoleic acid (p < 0.0001). Brain n-3 and n-6 PUFAs were strongly correlated with liver n-3 (r = 0.8214, p < 0.0001) and n-6 PUFAs (r = 0.7568, p < 0.0001). BDNF was correlated with brain total PUFAs (r = 0.36; p < 0.05). In conclusion, dietary ALA in proportions approximately two times greater than consumed by humans did not appreciably increase brain n-3 PUFAs compared to low ALA intake. Liver PUFAs may be a useful surrogate marker of brain PUFAs in this mouse model.

Polymer informatics for QSPR prediction of tensile mechanical properties. Case study: Strength at break.

The artificial intelligence-based prediction of the mechanical properties derived from the tensile test plays a key role in assessing the application profile of new polymeric materials, especially in the design stage, prior to synthesis. This strategy saves time and resources when creating new polymers with improved properties that are increasingly demanded by the market. A quantitative structure-property relationship (QSPR) model for tensile strength at break is presented in this work. The QSPR methodology applied here is based on machine learning tools, visual analytics methods, and expert-in-the-loop strategies. From the whole study, a QSPR model composed of five molecular descriptors that achieved a correlation coefficient of 0.9226 is proposed. We applied visual analytics tools at two levels of analysis: a more general one in which models are discarded for redundant information metrics and a deeper one in which a chemistry expert can make decisions on the composition of the model in terms of subsets of molecular descriptors, from a physical-chemical point of view. In this way, with the present work, we close a contribution cycle to polymer informatics, providing QSPR models oriented to the prediction of mechanical properties related to the tensile test.