Effects of Optimal Temperature Control in Body Contouring Surgery: A Non-Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial.

BACKGROUND: Perioperative hypothermia in plastic surgery has underestimated risks, including increased risk of infection, cardiac events, blood loss, prolonged recovery time, increased nausea, pain, and opioid usage. Inadequate preventive measures can result in up to 4 hours of normothermia restoration. OBJECTIVES: Compare the impact of different strategies for normothermia during plastic surgery procedures and its relationship with clinical outcomes. METHODS: A non-randomized clinical trial was conducted in a single center in Bogota, Colombia. We enrolled adult patients undergoing body contouring surgery and divided them into four intervention groups with different measures to control body temperature. Univariate and Bivariate analyses were performed comparing several clinical symptoms to evaluate outcomes. RESULTS: A total of 197 patients were analyzed. Most of them were women (84,3%). Mean age was 38.6 years, and a median procedure duration of 260 minutes. Demographic and clinical characteristics did not exhibit significant differences between the groups. However, there were notable variations in temperature measurements at crucial moments during the surgical procedure among the groups, attributed to the implementation of distinct thermal protective strategies. Group comparisons showed a relationship between hypothermia with increased nausea, vomiting, shivering, pain, and additional analgesia requirements. CONCLUSIONS: Incorporation of active thermal protective measures, such as Blanketrol or HotDog, during body contouring procedures, markedly diminishes the risk of hypothermia and enhances overall clinical outcomes. Implementing these active measures to maintain the patient in a state of normothermia not only improves operating room efficiency but also leads to a reduction in recovery room duration.

Multifunctional Portable System Based on Digital Images for In-Situ Detecting of Environmental and Food Samples.

The development of a portable device created by 3D printing for colorimetric and fluorometric measurements is an efficient tool for analytical applications in situ or in the laboratory presenting a wide field of applications in the environmental and food field. This device uses a light-emitting diode (LED) as radiation source and a webcam as a detector. Digital images obtained by the interaction between the radiation source and the sample were analyzed using a programming language developed in Matlab (Mathworks Inc., Natick, MA, USA), which builds the calibration curves in real-time using the RGB colour model. In addition, the entire system is connected to a notebook which serves as an LED and detector power supply without the need for any additional power source. The proposed device was used for the determination in situ of norfloxacin, allura red, and quinine in water and beverages samples, respectively. For the validation of the developed system, the results obtained were compared with a conventional spectrophotometer and spectrofluorometer respectively with a t-test at a 95% confidence level, which provides satisfactory precision and accuracy values.

Rational selection of bioactive principles for wound healing applications: Growth factors and antioxidants.

Wound healing is a complex process of communication between growth factors, reactive species of oxygen, cells, signalling pathways, and cytokines in the extracellular matrix, in which growth factors are the key regulators. In humans, the main regulators of the cellular responses in wound healing are five growth factors, namely EGF, bFGF, VEGF, and TGF-ß1. On the other hand, antioxidants such as astaxanthin, beta-carotene, epigallocatechin gallate, delphinidin, and curcumin have been demonstrated to stimulate cell proliferation, migration and angiogenesis, and control inflammation, to suggest a practical approach to design new strategies to treat non-healing cutaneous conditions. Based on the individual effects of growth factors and antioxidants, it may be envisioned that the use of both types of bioactives in wound healing formulations may have an additive or synergistic effect on the healing potential. This review addresses the effect of growth factors and antioxidants on wound healing-related processes. Furthermore, a prospective on their potential additive or synergistic effect on wound healing formulations, based on their individual effects, is presented. This may serve as a guide for the development of a new generation of wound healing formulations.

Identification of Arenin, a Novel Kunitz-Like Polypeptide from the Skin Secretions of Dryophytes arenicolor.

Amphibian skin secretions are enriched with complex cocktails of bioactive molecules such as proteins, peptides, biogenic amines, alkaloids guanidine derivatives, steroids and other minor components spanning a wide spectrum of pharmacological actions exploited for centuries in folk medicine. This study presents evidence on the protein profile of the skin secretions of the canyon tree frog, Dryophytes arenicolor. At the same time, it presents the reverse-phase liquid chromatography isolation, mass spectrometry characterization and identification at mRNA level of a novel 58 amino acids Kunitz-like polypeptide from the skin secretions of Dryophytes arenicolor, arenin. Cell viability assays performed on HDFa, CaCo2 and MCF7 cells cultured with different concentrations of arenin showed a discrete effect at low concentrations (2, 4, 8 and 16 µg/mL) suggesting a multi-target interaction in a hormetic-like dose-response. Further work is required to investigate the mechanisms underlying the variable effect on cell viability produced by different concentrations of arenin.

UVA, UVB Light, and Methyl Jasmonate, Alone or Combined, Redirect the Biosynthesis of Glucosinolates, Phenolics, Carotenoids, and Chlorophylls in Broccoli Sprouts.

Broccoli sprouts contain health-promoting phytochemicals that can be enhanced by applying ultraviolet light (UV) or phytohormones. The separate and combined effects of methyl jasmonate (MJ), UVA, or UVB lights on glucosinolate, phenolic, carotenoid, and chlorophyll profiles were assessed in broccoli sprouts. Seven-day-old broccoli sprouts were exposed to UVA (9.47 W/m²) or UVB (7.16 W/m²) radiation for 120 min alone or in combination with a 25 µM MJ solution, also applied to sprouts without UV supplementation. UVA + MJ and UVB + MJ treatments increased the total glucosinolate content by ~154% and ~148%, respectively. MJ induced the biosynthesis of indole glucosinolates, especially neoglucobrassicin (~538%), showing a synergistic effect with UVA stress. UVB increased the content of aliphatic and indole glucosinolates, such as glucoraphanin (~78%) and 4-methoxy-glucobrassicin (~177%). UVA increased several phenolics such as gallic acid (~57%) and a kaempferol glucoside (~25.4%). MJ treatment decreased most phenolic levels but greatly induced accumulation of 5-sinapoylquinic acid (~239%). MJ treatments also reduced carotenoid and chlorophyll content, while UVA increased lutein (~23%), chlorophyll b (~31%), neoxanthin (~34%), and chlorophyll a (~67%). Results indicated that UV- and/or MJ-treated broccoli sprouts redirect the carbon flux to the biosynthesis of specific glucosinolates, phenolics, carotenoids, and chlorophylls depending on the type of stress applied.

UVA, UVB Light Doses and Harvesting Time Differentially Tailor Glucosinolate and Phenolic Profiles in Broccoli Sprouts.

Broccoli sprouts contain health-promoting glucosinolate and phenolic compounds that can be enhanced by applying ultraviolet light (UV). Here, the effect of UVA or UVB radiation on glucosinolate and phenolic profiles was assessed in broccoli sprouts. Sprouts were exposed for 120 min to low intensity and high intensity UVA (UVAL, UVAH) or UVB (UVBL, UVBH) with UV intensity values of 3.16, 4.05, 2.28 and 3.34 W/m², respectively. Harvest occurred 2 or 24 h post-treatment; and methanol/water or ethanol/water (70%, v/v) extracts were prepared. Seven glucosinolates and 22 phenolics were identified. Ethanol extracts showed higher levels of certain glucosinolates such as glucoraphanin, whereas methanol extracts showed slight higher levels of phenolics. The highest glucosinolate accumulation occurred 24 h after UVBH treatment, increasing 4-methoxy-glucobrassicin, glucobrassicin and glucoraphanin by ~170, 78 and 73%, respectively. Furthermore, UVAL radiation and harvest 2 h afterwards accumulated gallic acid hexoside I (~14%), 4-O-caffeoylquinic acid (~42%), gallic acid derivative (~48%) and 1-sinapoyl-2,2-diferulolyl-gentiobiose (~61%). Increases in sinapoyl malate (~12%), gallotannic acid (~48%) and 5-sinapoyl-quinic acid (~121%) were observed with UVBH Results indicate that UV-irradiated broccoli sprouts could be exploited as a functional food for fresh consumption or as a source of bioactive phytochemicals with potential industrial applications.

Data-Driven Surveillance Protocol for Patients at Risk for Peritoneal Recurrence of Primary Colon Cancer: Surveillance for Peritoneal Carcinomatosis.

Peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC) is rarely discovered early due to low sensitivity of screening imaging and tumor markers, however, earlier identification may improve outcomes. This study assesses risk factors and time to recurrence of PC and implementation of a surveillance system. Patients with stage II-III colon adenocarcinoma undergoing curative colectomy between 2005-2022 were retrospectively reviewed at a single tertiary care institution. Patients were divided into three cohorts: no recurrence (NR), PC, and other types of recurrence (OTR). Baseline characteristics between cohorts were compared with univariate analysis. Overall survival and PC risk were assessed using multivariate analysis with Cox's proportional-hazard modelling. 412 patients were included; 78.4% had NR, 7.8% had PC, and 13.8% had OTR. Patient demographics, comorbidities, tumor side, and histologic features were similar between cohorts. Patients with PC were more likely to have microscopic tumor perforation (25% vs. 8.8% vs. 6.8%, p = 0.002), margin involvement (25% vs. 8.8% vs. 4.6%, p < 0.001), lymphovascular invasion (56.2% vs. 33.3%, vs. 24.5%, p < 0.001), perineural invasion (28.1% vs. 15.8% vs. 11.5%, p = 0.026) compared to OTR or NR. Median time to PC after colectomy was 11 months. Tumor characteristics of stage II-III colon cancer define a high-risk profile for PC. An early surveillance program sensitive for peritoneal disease should be adopted for these patients.

Ultrasonic- and Ultrasound-assisted Improvement of Silhouette of the Torso: Bone Structure High-definition Remodeling (Part I).

Background: High-definition liposculpture allowed plastic surgeons to achieve better aesthetic results by carving the underlying muscles and contours in a new way. Several authors have improved the original technique by adding other procedures and new technologies. We designed a new improvement by incorporating bone transformation surgery to overcome the lack of silhouette at the waist and, as a result, optimize the breast-waist-hip ratios. Methods: We carried out a prospective multicenter study, with five different surgeons performing the same rib remodeling technique for waist definition. We used an ultrasonic piece for costal corticotomy and real-time ultrasound imaging to perform green-stick fractures over the last two or three floating ribs. Ours is a new technique based on the prior one described by Kudzaev. Results: We reported 131 consecutive patients who were enrolled in this study. Waistline diameter decreased an average of 8 cm after surgery (P < 0.05). Most patients were women (n = 125, 95.4%). No major complications were reported. Most common complication was prolonged pain, with only three cases of contour asymmetry, all of which were attributable to noncompliance of constantly wearing the corset + compressive garments. Patients reported a high satisfaction rate and fast recovery (Body-QoL survey). Conclusions: Ultrasonic- and ultrasound- assisted indentation surgery of the thorax is a safe and reliable technique for waistline definition, with a high satisfaction rate, almost-invisible scars, and minimal risk for complications. Incorporation of high-definition liposculpture to rib remodeling opens up a new horizon for bone structure modification surgery (S-high-definition remodeling) that can be safely performed for patients who seek better aesthetic outcomes in body contouring.

Ecological and anthropogenic drivers of rabies exposure in vampire bats: implications for transmission and control.

Despite extensive culling of common vampire bats in Latin America, lethal human rabies outbreaks transmitted by this species are increasingly recognized, and livestock rabies occurs with striking frequency. To identify the individual and population-level factors driving rabies virus (RV) transmission in vampire bats, we conducted a longitudinal capture-recapture study in 20 vampire bat colonies spanning four regions of Peru. Serology demonstrated the circulation of RV in vampire bats from all regions in all years. Seroprevalence ranged from 3 to 28 per cent and was highest in juvenile and sub-adult bats. RV exposure was independent of bat colony size, consistent with an absence of population density thresholds for viral invasion and extinction. Culling campaigns implemented during our study failed to reduce seroprevalence and were perhaps counterproductive for disease control owing to the targeted removal of adults, but potentially greater importance of juvenile and sub-adult bats for transmission. These findings provide new insights into the mechanisms of RV maintenance in vampire bats and highlight the need for ecologically informed approaches to rabies prevention in Latin America.

Advances and trends in the design, analysis, and characterization of polymer-protein conjugates for "PEGylaided" bioprocesses.

In addition to their use as therapeutics and because of their enhanced properties, PEGylated proteins have potential application in fields such as bioprocessing. However, the use of PEGylated conjugates to improve the performance of bioprocess has not been widely explored. This limited additional industrial use of PEG-protein conjugates can be attributed to the fact that PEGylation reactions, separation of the products, and final characterization of the structure and activity of the resulting species are not trivial tasks. The development of bioprocessing operations based on PEGylated proteins relies heavily in the use of analytical tools that must sometimes be adapted from the strategies used in pharmaceutical conjugate development. For instance, to evaluate conjugate performance in bioprocessing operations, both chromatographic and non-chromatographic steps must be used to separate and quantify the resulting reaction species. Characterization of the conjugates by mass spectrometry, circular dichroism, and specific activity assays, among other adapted techniques, is then required to evaluate the feasibility of using the conjugates in any operation. Correct selection of the technical and analytical methods in each of the steps from design of the PEGylation reaction to its final engineering application will ensure success in implementing a "PEGylaided" process. In this context, the objective of this review is to describe technological and analytical trends in developing successful applications of PEGylated conjugates in bioprocesses and to describe potential fields in which these proteins can be exploited.

Tap or bottled water: drinking preferences among urban minority children and adolescents.

The last decade has seen an increasing trend in consumer preference of bottled water over tap water. Little is known what type of water children and adolescents prefer for drinking and what their parents think of their community tap water. The study objective was to assess drinking water preferences, perceptions of the qualities of tap water and bottled water, and fluoride knowledge in an urban pediatric population. We conducted an anonymous survey of a convenience sample of caretakers of children and adolescents at an urban clinic regarding their preferences for tap or bottled water, their perceptions of the quality of tap and bottled water and their knowledge of fluoride. Of the 208 participants (79% African American, 9% Latino), 59% drank tap water, 80% bottled water. Only 17% drank tap water exclusively, 38% drank bottled water exclusively, 42% drank both. We found no significant differences in water preferences across age groups, from infancy to adulthood, or among ethnic groups. Ratings for taste, clarity, purity and safety were significantly higher for bottled water than tap water (P < 0.001). Only 24% were aware of fluoride in drinking water. We conclude bottled water was preferred over tap water in an urban minority pediatric population. Perceptions of the qualities of water seemed to drive drinking preferences. Public health strategies are needed to increase public awareness of the impact of bottled water consumption on oral health, household budgets and the environment.

Therapeutic Plants with Immunoregulatory Activity and Their Applications: A Scientific Vision of Traditional Medicine in Times of COVID-19.

The progression of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) in humans heavily depends on the patient's overall health status, especially on its immunoregulatory capacity. Different plants and plant-derived preparations (infusions, encapsulated, etc.) have been used as immunoregulators, several of them with scientific support. Nevertheless, due to the composition complexity of such plant-derived preparations, the molecular and physiological mechanisms involved in their beneficial effects remain, in some cases, unclear. In this review article, the most reported plants used in traditional medicine to enhance immunoregulatory capacity are presented, and their effect on the innate immune response is discussed and correlated with their respective phytochemical profile. Understanding how the plant phytochemical profile relates to the observed impact on the innate and adaptative immune response is fundamental to designing plant-derived co-treatments to lessen the symptoms and favor the recovery of COVID-19 patients. In this regard, we propose a prospective guideline for using plants and plant-derived preparations as co-treatments for COVID-19 (and similar viral infections), which could be helpful in the context of the worldwide effort to end the current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.

Non-Thermal Technologies as Tools to Increase the Content of Health-Promoting Compounds in Whole Fruits and Vegetables While Retaining Quality Attributes.

Fruits and vegetables contain health-promoting compounds. However, their natural concentration in the plant tissues is low and in most cases is not sufficient to exert the expected pharmacological effects. The application of wounding stress as a tool to increase the content of bioactive compounds in fruits and vegetables has been well characterized. Nevertheless, its industrial application presents different drawbacks. For instance, during the washing and sanitizing steps post-wounding, the primary wound signal (extracellular adenosine triphosphate) that elicits the stress-induced biosynthesis of secondary metabolites is partially removed from the tissue. Furthermore, detrimental reactions that affect the quality attributes of fresh produce are also activated by wounding. Therefore, there is a need to search for technologies that emulate the wound response in whole fruits and vegetables while retaining quality attributes. Herein, the application of non-thermal technologies (NTTs) such as high hydrostatic pressure, ultrasound, and pulsed electric fields are presented as tools for increasing the content of health-promoting compounds in whole fruits and vegetables by inducing a wound-like response. The industrial implementation and economic feasibility of using NTTs as abiotic elicitors is also discussed. Whole fruits and vegetables with enhanced levels of bioactive compounds obtained by NTT treatments could be commercialized as functional foods.

Evaluation of the Immune Response of a Candidate Phage-Based Vaccine against Rhipicephalus microplus (Cattle Tick).

Cattle tick (Rhipicephalus microplus) represents a severe problem causing substantial economic losses, estimated in billions of dollars annually. Currently, chemical acaricides represent the most widely used control method. However, several problems such as resistance have been described. Phage-based vaccines represent a fast and low-cost tool for antigen delivery. In this regard, the objective of the present work was to develop a candidate phage-based vaccine displaying a cattle tick antigen (Bm86-derived Sbm7462 antigen) on the surface of bacteriophage M13. Phage ELISA and dot blotting analysis confirmed the display of the antigen. Vaccine immunogenicity was evaluated using a bovine monocyte-derived dendritic cell-based ex vivo assay and a murine in vivo assay. The ex vivo model showed the maturation of dendritic cells after being pulsed with the phage-based vaccine. The humoral response was confirmed in the in vivo assay. These results demonstrated the capacity of the phage-based vaccine to induce both humoral and cellular immune-specific responses. Importantly, this is the first report describing a control method for cattle ticks using a candidate phage-based vaccine. Further studies to evaluate the immunogenicity in a bovine model are needed. The current approach represents a promising alternative to control cattle tick infestations.

Binding Analysis of Functionalized Multimode Optical-Fiber Sandwich-like Structure with Organic Polymer and Its Sensing Application for Humidity and Breath Monitoring.

In recent years, the chemical modification of optical fibers (OFs) has facilitated the manufacture of sensors because OFs can identify several analytes present in aqueous solutions or gas phases. Nevertheless, it is imperative better to understand the chemical interactions in this molecular system to generate low-cost and efficient sensors. This work presents a theoretical and experimental study of organic polymeric functionalized OF structures and proposes a cost-effective alternative to monitor breathing and humidity. The device is based on silicon optical fibers functionalized with (3-Aminopropyl) triethoxysilane (APTES) and alginate. The theoretical analysis is carried out to validate the activation of the silicon dioxide fiber surface; moreover, the APTES-alginate layer is discussed. The computational simulation suggests that water can be absorbed by alginate, specifically by the calcium atom linked to the carboxylic acid group of the alginate. The analysis also demonstrates a higher electrostatic interaction between the water and the OF-APTES-alginate system; this interaction alters the optical fiber activated surface's refractive index, resulting in transmission power variation. The humidity analysis shows a sensitivity of 3.1288 mV/RH, a time response close to 25 s, and a recovery time around 8 s. These results were achieved in the range of 50 to 95% RH. Moreover, the recovery and response time allow the human breath to be studied. The proposed mechanism or device is competitive with prior works, and the components involved made this sensor a cost-effective alternative for medical applications.

Practical context of enzymatic treatment for wound healing: A secreted protease approach (Review).

Skin wounds have been extensively studied as their healing represents a critical step towards achieving homeostasis following a traumatic event. Dependent on the severity of the damage, wounds are categorized as either acute or chronic. To date, chronic wounds have the highest economic impact as long term increases wound care costs. Chronic wounds affect 6.5 million patients in the United States with an annual estimated expense of $25 billion for the health care system. Among wound treatment categories, active wound care represents the fastest-growing category due to its specific actions and lower costs. Within this category, proteases from various sources have been used as successful agents in debridement wound care. The wound healing process is predominantly mediated by matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) that, when dysregulated, result in defective wound healing. Therapeutic activity has been described for animal secretions including fish epithelial mucus, maggot secretory products and snake venom, which contain secreted proteases (SPs). No further alternatives for use, sources or types of proteases used for wound healing have been found in the literature to date. Through the present review, the context of enzymatic wound care alternatives will be discussed. In addition, substrate homology of SPs and human MMPs will be compared and contrasted. The purpose of these discussions is to identify and propose the stages of wound healing in which SPs may be used as therapeutic agents to improve the wound healing process.

Bacteriophage-Based Vaccines: A Potent Approach for Antigen Delivery.

Vaccines are considered one of the most important bioproducts in medicine. Since the development of the smallpox vaccine in 1796, several types of vaccines for many diseases have been created. However, some vaccines have shown limitations as high cost and low immune responses. In that regard, bacteriophages have been proposed as an attractive alternative for the development of more cost-effective vaccines. Phage-displayed vaccines consists in the expression of antigens on the phage surface. This approach takes advantage of inherent properties of these particles such as their adjuvant capacity, economic production and high stability, among others. To date, three types of phage-based vaccines have been developed: phage-displayed, phage DNA and hybrid phage-DNA vaccines. Typically, phage display technology has been used for the identification of new and protective epitopes, mimotopes and antigens. In this context, phage particles represent a versatile, effective and promising alternative for the development of more effective vaccine delivery systems which should be highly exploited in the future. This review describes current advances in the development of bacteriophage-based vaccines, with special attention to vaccine delivery strategies. Moreover, the immunological aspects of phage-based vaccines, as well as the applications of phage display for vaccine development, are explored. Finally, important challenges and the future of phage-bases vaccines are discussed.

Human rabies and rabies in vampire and nonvampire bat species, Southeastern Peru, 2007.

After a human rabies outbreak in southeastern Peru, we collected bats to estimate the prevalence of rabies in various species. Among 165 bats from 6 genera and 10 species, 10.3% were antibody positive; antibody prevalence was similar in vampire and nonvampire bats. Thus, nonvampire bats may also be a source for human rabies in Peru.

Thermo-separating polymer-based aqueous two-phase systems for the recovery of PEGylated lysozyme species.

Fractionation of native, mono and di-PEGylated lysozyme was performed in 36 different polymer-polymer aqueous two-phase systems using UCON as a phase-forming component. After a discrete partition analysis, dextran 75 kDa-UCON, volume ratio 3, tie-line length 35% w/w; ficoll 70 kDa-UCON, volume ratio 1, tie-line length 45% w/w and a PEG 8 kDa-UCON volume ratio 3, tie-line length 65% w/w systems were selected for optimization via salt addition and to observe the behavior of the lysozyme species in mixtures. The dextran-UCON and the PEG-UCON systems with 75 mM NaCl showed effectiveness in separating 75% and 87% of mono-PEGylated lysozyme from the rest of the lysozyme species in the top and bottom phases, respectively. These results are an advancement in incorporating these extractions in different processes since the use of UCON simplifies the removal of the polymers, providing the opportunity of recycling it to the operation.

Improved recovery of bacteriophage M13 using an ATPS-based bioprocess.

Aqueous two-phase systems (ATPS) have been widely exploited for the recovery and partial purification of biological compounds. Recently our research group characterized the primary recovery and partial purification of bacteriophage M13 using polymer-salt and ionic liquid-salt ATPS. From such study, it was concluded that PEG 400-potassium phosphate ATPS with a volume ratio (VR ) of 1 and 25% w/w TLL were the best suitable for the primary recovery of bacteriophage M13 from a crude extract, achieving a recovery yield of 83.3%. Although such system parameters were proven to be adequate for the recovery of the product of interest, it was concluded that further optimization was desirable and attainable by studying the effect of additional system parameters such as VR , concentration of neutral salt (M) and sample load (% w/w). This research work presents an optimization of a previously reported process for the recovery of bacteriophage M13 directly from a crude extract using ATPS. The increase in VR and sample load showed a positive effect in the recovery of M13 indicating an improved performance of the proposed ATPS. According to the results presented here, a system composed of PEG 400 17.2% (w/w), potassium phosphate 15.5% (w/w) and a sample load of 30% (w/w) allowed the recovery of M13 directly from a crude extract with a top phase recovery of 80.1%, representing an increase of 4.8 times in the final concentration and a reduction of 2.65 times in the processing costs. © 2018 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 2018 © 2018 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 34:1177-1184, 2018.