Direct and Indirect Effects of COVID-19 in Frail Elderly: Interventions and Recommendations.

Frailty is a state of vulnerability to stressors because of a decreased physiological reserve, resulting in poor health outcomes. This state is related to chronic conditions, many of which are risk factors for outcomes in elderly patients having SARS-COV-2. This review aims to describe frailty as a physiological vulnerability agent during the COVID-19 pandemic in elderly patients, summarizing the direct and indirect effects caused by the SARS-COV-2 infection and its prognosis in frail individuals, as well as the interventions and recommendations to reduce their effects. Cohort studies have shown that patients with a Clinical Frailty Scale higher than five have a higher risk of mortality and use of mechanical ventilation after COVID-19; nonetheless, other scales have also associated frailty with longer hospital stays and more severe forms of the disease. Additionally, the indirect effects caused by the pandemic have a negative impact on the health status of older people. Due to the above, a holistic intervention is proposed based on a comprehensive geriatric assessment for frail patients (preventive or post-infection) with emphasis on physical activity and nutritional recommendations, which could be a potential preventive intervention in viral infections by COVID-19.

Bacterial Succession through the Artisanal Process and Seasonal Effects Defining Bacterial Communities of Raw-Milk Adobera Cheese Revealed by High Throughput DNA Sequencing.

The bacterial community of the artisanal Adobera cheese from Los Altos de Jalisco was described through high-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA gene libraries. Samples were collected in two different seasons (dry and rainy) during four key steps of the manufacturing process (raw milk, fresh curd, matured curd, and cheese). Bacterial diversity was higher in early steps in comparison with the final elaboration stages. Firmicutes and Proteobacteria were the most abundant phyla, strongly represented by the Streptococcaceae, Enterobacteriaceae and Lactobacillaceae families, and core bacteria genera such as Streptococcus spp., Lactococcus spp., and Lactobacillus spp. Undesirable bacteria, including Pseudomonas spp. and Acinetobacter spp., were also detected in raw milk but almost undetectable at the end of the cheese manufacturing process, and seemed to be displaced by lactic-acid bacteria-related genera. Seasonal effects were observed on the community structure but did not define the core microbiota composition. Predictive metabolism was related to membrane transport, and amino-acid, lipid, and carbohydrate metabolism pathways. Our results contribute to deduce the role of bacteria involved in Adobera cheese manufacturing in terms of the metabolism involved, cheese microbial safety, and how undesirable bacterial populations could be regulated by process standardization as a potential tool to improve safety.

Physiological, biochemical and molecular bases of resistance to tribenuron-methyl and glyphosate in Conyza canadensis from olive groves in southern Spain.

Multiple resistance to acetolactate synthase (ALS, EC 2.2.1.6) and 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS, EC 2.5.1.19) inhibitor herbicides was studied in two populations of Conyza canadensis (RTG and STG) harvested in southern Spain. Dose-response and enzymatic activity studies for the ALS-inhibiting herbicides showed only cross-resistance to sulfonylureas group but not to the other ALS chemical groups in the RTG population. Regarding glyphosate, the dose-response studies showed that the RTG population was 11.8 times more resistant than the STG population, while the inhibition of EPSPS enzyme (I50) was similar for both populations. Altered/reduced absorption and translocation were the main resistance mechanisms for glyphosate but not for tribenuron-methyl. The metabolic studies to find differences in the amounts of metabolites between the two populations were carried out using thin layer chromatography (for tribenuron-methyl) and capillary electrophoresis (for glyphosate). Metabolites were significantly differed among the two populations for tribenuron-methyl but not for glyphosate. The sequencing of the target-site ALS gene from RTG plants revealed a single point mutation, Pro-197-Ala, that causes resistance to sulfonylurea herbicide in C. canadensis.

Power maps and wavefront for progressive addition lenses in eyeglass frames.

PURPOSE: To evaluate a method for measuring the cylinder, sphere, and wavefront of progressive addition lenses (PALs) in eyeglass frames. METHOD: We examine the contour maps of cylinder, sphere, and wavefront of a PAL assembled in an eyeglass frame using an optical system based on a Hartmann test. To reduce the data noise, particularly in the border of the eyeglass frame, we implement a method based on the Fourier analysis to extrapolate spots outside the eyeglass frame. The spots are extrapolated up to a circular pupil that circumscribes the eyeglass frame and compared with data obtained from a circular uncut PAL. RESULTS: By using the Fourier analysis to extrapolate spots outside the eyeglass frame, we can remove the edge artifacts of the PAL within its frame and implement the modal method to fit wavefront data with Zernike polynomials within a circular aperture that circumscribes the frame. The extrapolated modal maps from framed PALs accurately reflect maps obtained from uncut PALs and provide smoothed maps for the cylinder and sphere inside the eyeglass frame. CONCLUSIONS: The proposed method for extrapolating spots outside the eyeglass frame removes edge artifacts of the contour maps (wavefront, cylinder, and sphere), which may be useful to facilitate measurements such as the length and width of the progressive corridor for a PAL in its frame. The method can be applied to any shape of eyeglass frame.