Flexible regression model for predicting the dissemination of Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus under variable climatic conditions.

Greening, or Huanglongbing (HLB), poses a severe threat to global citrus cultivation, affecting various citrus species and compromising fruit production. Primarily transmitted by psyllids during phloem feeding, the bacterium Candidatus Liberibacter induces detrimental symptoms, including leaf yellowing and reduced fruit quality. Given the limitations of conventional control strategies, the search for innovative approaches, such as resistant genotypes and early diagnostic methods, becomes essential for the sustainability of citrus cultivation. The development of predictive models, such as the one proposed in this study, is essential as it enables the estimation of the bacterium's concentration and the vulnerability of healthy plants to infection, which will be instrumental in determining the risk of HLB. This study proposes a prediction model utilizing environmental factors, including temperature, humidity, and precipitation, which play a decisive role in greening epidemiology, influencing the complex interaction among the pathogen, vector, and host plant. In the proposed modeling, it addresses non-linear relationships through cubic smoothing splines applications and tackles imbalanced categorical predictor variables, requiring the use of a random-effects regression model, incorporating a random intercept to account for variability across different groups and mitigate the risk of biased predictions. The model's ability to predict HLB incidence under varying climatic conditions provides a significant contribution to disease management, offering a strategic tool for early intervention and potentially reducing the spread of HLB. Using climatological and environmental data, the research aims to develop a predictive model, assessing the influence of these variables on the spread of Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus, essential for effective disease management. The proposed flexible model demonstrates robust predictions for both training and test data, identifying climatological and environmental predictors influencing the dissemination of Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus, the vascular bacterium associated with Huanglongbing (HLB) or greening.

Phenotypic Characterization of B-Lymphocyte Subpopulations in Human Peripheral Blood: A Cost-Effective Seven-Color One-Tube Protocol.

B cells are crucial components of the immune system, responsible for producing specific antibodies in response to infections and vaccines. Despite their uniform appearance, B cells display diverse surface molecules and functional properties, which are not yet fully understood. Apart from antibody production, B cells also play roles in antigen presentation and cytokine secretion, essential for initiating T-cell immune responses. Their significance as disease biomarkers and therapeutic targets has led to increased research focus. However, the lack of standardized protocols for B-cell identification and the variability in defining B-lymphocyte subpopulations pose some challenges. This paper proposes a B-cell identification panel throughout the evaluation of previous cytometry panels and nomenclature heterogeneity for B-cell subpopulations. Major subpopulations recognized in human peripheral blood include transitional, naive, switched memory, unswitched memory, double negative, and plasmablasts, characterized based on their functional and phenotypic features. We present a standardized flow cytometry protocol utilizing surface phenotypic markers (CD3, CD19, IgD, CD27, CD38, and CD24) to differentiate and analyze B-cell subpopulations. This practical and cost-effective panel can be used in various research and laboratory settings. The challenges of standardizing names and markers for classifying B-lymphocyte subpopulations are discussed, along with protocols utilizing multiple markers and gating strategies, allied with the importance of considering viability markers. In summary, this standardized protocol and panel provide a comprehensive approach to identifying B-cell subpopulations to enhance the reproducibility and comparability of B-cell subpopulation studies.

Craniospinal space reduction and malalignment due to atlas assimilation in Basilar Invagination-A case-control study.

Introduction: Type I Basilar invagination is associated with the assimilation of the anterior arch of the atlas. Observation suggests that the assimilation of the atlas does not allow the development of the normal space between the skull and C1 and displaces the high cervical spine towards the neural structures, posteriorly positioned. Purpose: The objective of this work is to evaluate craniospinal alignment in patients with type I Basilar invagination and AOA in comparison with normal subjects (Type I). Methods: Magnetic resonance images and / or CT SCAN with reconstruction in the midline, in acquisitions at t1 and or t2, from 30 normal subjects and 27 patients with type I Basilar invagination were evaluated. The position of Anterior arch of Atlas and odontoid process in relation to the Basion and distances between C1 and C2 to the anterior border of foramen magnum were compared between groups. Results: The distance from C2 to the Basion was significantly higher in the BI group than in the control group (t test: t = 4.18; p = 0) and the space between the skull and Atlas was reduced. All normal subjects had the Atlas anteriorly located in relation to the Basion. In AOA, all patients had Atlas in line with or posteriorly dislocated in relation to the Basion and the Odontoid process occupying the foramen magnum space. Conclusion: data revealed that AOA prevents a normal position of skull in relation to the Atlas and a presumed "slip-back" cranio-spinal displacement during developmental period.

Enhancing apple postharvest protection: Efficacy of pectin coatings containing Cryptococcus laurentii against Penicillium expansum.

The aim of this work is the application of pectin coatings containing Cryptococcus laurentii as a method of biocontrol of Penicillium expansum for postharvest protection of apples. For this purpose, the yeast was incorporated into a pectin matrix, and its viability and biocontrol activity in vitro and in vivo against P. expansum was evaluated over time. In addition, the influence of the sterilization process on coating thickness was studied. Results showed that pectin coating with C. laurentii enhanced mycelial growth inhibition in vitro studies, while no significant differences were observed in disease incidence and severity reduction in vivo studies. The sterilization process reduced the viscosity of the pectin solution, resulting in coating thicknesses ranging from 0.5 to 1 µm. As a general evaluation, in vitro and in vivo, biocontrol assays were useful in demonstrating better postharvest protection of the yeast at 7 °C concerning 25 °C.

XSIM: A structural similarity index measure optimized for MRI QSM.

PURPOSE: The structural similarity index measure (SSIM) has become a popular quality metric to evaluate QSM in a way that is closer to human perception than RMS error (RMSE). However, SSIM may overpenalize errors in diamagnetic tissues and underpenalize them in paramagnetic tissues, resulting in biasing. In addition, extreme artifacts may compress the dynamic range, resulting in unrealistically high SSIM scores (hacking). To overcome biasing and hacking, we propose XSIM: SSIM implemented in the native QSM range, and with internal parameters optimized for QSM. METHODS: We used forward simulations from a COSMOS ground-truth brain susceptibility map included in the 2016 QSM Reconstruction Challenge to investigate the effect of QSM reconstruction errors on the SSIM, XSIM, and RMSE metrics. We also used these metrics to optimize QSM reconstructions of the in vivo challenge data set. We repeated this experiment with the QSM abdominal phantom. To validate the use of XSIM instead of SSIM for QSM quality assessment across a range of different reconstruction techniques/algorithms, we analyzed the reconstructions submitted to the 2019 QSM Reconstruction Challenge 2.0. RESULTS: Our experiments confirmed the biasing and hacking effects on the SSIM metric applied to QSM. The XSIM metric was robust to those effects, penalizing the presence of streaking artifacts and reconstruction errors. Using XSIM to optimize QSM reconstruction regularization weights returned less overregularization than SSIM and RMSE. CONCLUSION: XSIM is recommended over traditional SSIM to evaluate QSM reconstructions against a known ground truth, as it avoids biasing and hacking effects and provides a larger dynamic range of scores.

Astrocytes, reactive astrogliosis, and glial scar formation in traumatic brain injury.

Traumatic brain injury is a global health crisis, causing significant death and disability worldwide. Neuroinflammation that follows traumatic brain injury has serious consequences for neuronal survival and cognitive impairments, with astrocytes involved in this response. Following traumatic brain injury, astrocytes rapidly become reactive, and astrogliosis propagates from the injury core to distant brain regions. Homeostatic astroglial proteins are downregulated near the traumatic brain injury core, while pro-inflammatory astroglial genes are overexpressed. This altered gene expression is considered a pathological remodeling of astrocytes that produces serious consequences for neuronal survival and cognitive recovery. In addition, glial scar formed by reactive astrocytes is initially necessary to limit immune cell infiltration, but in the long term impedes axonal reconnection and functional recovery. Current therapeutic strategies for traumatic brain injury are focused on preventing acute complications. Statins, cannabinoids, progesterone, beta-blockers, and cerebrolysin demonstrate neuroprotective benefits but most of them have not been studied in the context of astrocytes. In this review, we discuss the cell signaling pathways activated in reactive astrocytes following traumatic brain injury and we discuss some of the potential new strategies aimed to modulate astroglial responses in traumatic brain injury, especially using cell-targeted strategies with miRNAs or lncRNA, viral vectors, and repurposed drugs.

Progressive Acute Lower Extremity Ischemia Resulting From Cardiac Myxoma Embolization: A Case Report.

Cardiac myxomas are the most common primary benign tumors of the heart. The occlusion of peripheral arteries and complete obstruction of the abdominal aorta by a tumor embolus presents with distinct clinical manifestations. Herein, we present the case of a 38-year-old male with acute paresthesia, muscle weakness, erythematous, and violaceous changes in skin color localized to the dorsum of the left forefoot initially treated as cutaneous vasculitis. Further studies revealed the total occlusion of the terminal abdominal aorta by a saddle embolus from a cardiac myxoma. A multidisciplinary team consisting of cardiothoracic and vascular surgeons were involved in treating the patient, which resulted in full resolution of the case. This paper details the progression of acute bilateral limb ischemia to chronic limb threatening ischemia resulting from the total occlusion of the terminal abdominal aorta by a saddle embolus.

Enhanced enzymatic electrochemical detection of an organophosphate Pesticide: Achieving Wide linearity and femtomolar detection via gold nanoparticles growth within polypyrrole films.

The indiscriminate use of pesticides in agriculture demands the development of devices capable of monitoring contaminations in food supplies, in the environment and biological fluids. Simplicity, easy handling, high sensitivities, and low limits-of-detection (LOD) and quantification are some of the required properties for these devices. In this work, we evaluated the effect of incorporating gold nanoparticles into indigo carmine-doped polypyrrole during the electropolymerization of films for use as an acetylcholinesterase (AChE) enzyme-based biosensor. As proof of concept, the pesticide methyl parathion was tested towards the inhibition of AChE. The enzyme was immobilized simply by drop-casting a solution, eliminating the need for any prior surface modification. The biosensors were characterized with cyclic voltammetry, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. The assays for the detection of methyl parathion with films containing polypyrrole, indigo carmine and AChE (PPy-IC-AChE) presented a sensitivity of 5.7 µA cm-2 g-1 mL and a LOD of 12 nmol L-1 (3.0 ng L-1) with a linear range from 1.3 x 10-7 mol L-1 to 1.0 x 10-5 mol L-1. The introduction of gold nanoparticles (AuNP) into the film (PPy-IC-AuNP-AChE) led to remarkable improvements on the overall performance, such as a lower redox potential for the enzymatic reaction, a 145 % increase in sensitivity (14 µA cm-2 g-1 mL), a wider detection dynamic range (from 1.3x10-7 to 1.0x10-3 mol L-1), and a very low LOD of 24 fmol L-1 (64 ag mL-1). These findings underscore the potential of using AuNPs to improve the enzymatic performance of biosensor devices.

Impacts of PI3K/protein kinase B pathway activation in reactive astrocytes: from detrimental effects to protective functions.

Astrocytes are the most abundant type of glial cell in the central nervous system. Upon injury and inflammation, astrocytes become reactive and undergo morphological and functional changes. Depending on their phenotypic classification as A1 or A2, reactive astrocytes contribute to both neurotoxic and neuroprotective responses, respectively. However, this binary classification does not fully capture the diversity of astrocyte responses observed across different diseases and injuries. Transcriptomic analysis has revealed that reactive astrocytes have a complex landscape of gene expression profiles, which emphasizes the heterogeneous nature of their reactivity. Astrocytes actively participate in regulating central nervous system inflammation by interacting with microglia and other cell types, releasing cytokines, and influencing the immune response. The phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (AKT) signaling pathway is a central player in astrocyte reactivity and impacts various aspects of astrocyte behavior, as evidenced by in silico , in vitro , and in vivo results. In astrocytes, inflammatory cues trigger a cascade of molecular events, where nuclear factor-κB serves as a central mediator of the pro-inflammatory responses. Here, we review the heterogeneity of reactive astrocytes and the molecular mechanisms underlying their activation. We highlight the involvement of various signaling pathways that regulate astrocyte reactivity, including the PI3K/AKT/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), α v ß 3 integrin/PI3K/AKT/connexin 43, and Notch/PI3K/AKT pathways. While targeting the inactivation of the PI3K/AKT cellular signaling pathway to control reactive astrocytes and prevent central nervous system damage, evidence suggests that activating this pathway could also yield beneficial outcomes. This dual function of the PI3K/AKT pathway underscores its complexity in astrocyte reactivity and brain function modulation. The review emphasizes the importance of employing astrocyte-exclusive models to understand their functions accurately and these models are essential for clarifying astrocyte behavior. The findings should then be validated using in vivo models to ensure real-life relevance. The review also highlights the significance of PI3K/AKT pathway modulation in preventing central nervous system damage, although further studies are required to fully comprehend its role due to varying factors such as different cell types, astrocyte responses to inflammation, and disease contexts. Specific strategies are clearly necessary to address these variables effectively.

Determining prognostic factors in the treatment of primary hemifacial spasm: Clinical outcomes and complications. A literature review.

Objective: Primary Hemifacial Spasm (PHFS) significantly impacts quality of life, necessitating effective treatment like microvascular decompression of the facial nerve. This study aims to identify prognostic factors related to surgical treatment to enhance outcomes and minimize complications. A systematic review of literature from the past five years was conducted. Methods: Following PRISMA guidelines, we systematically searched databases like PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Ovid, EBSCO, and Cochrane using keywords such as 'Hemifacial spasm,' 'Microvascular decompression,' 'Neurovascular conflict,' and 'Surgical techniques.' The search spanned January 2018 to November 2023. The 'Rayyan' program facilitated data compilation. Each author reviewed abstracts, applying inclusion criteria like systematic reviews, clinical trials, observational studies, and case series, while excluding theoretical or non-English articles. Results: Of 26 selected articles, those solely addressing PHFS treatment with botulinum toxin and lacking surgical procedure data were excluded. Thus, our analysis focused on 16 articles, including meta-analyses, systematic reviews, clinical trials, and observational studies. Discussion: Microvascular decompression at the cerebellar pontine angle is the mainstay treatment for hemifacial spasm. Despite limited statistically significant prognostic factors in the literature, overarching recommendations aim to improve outcomes, minimize complications, and prevent recurrences. Key considerations include surgeon expertise, precise techniques, thorough nerve exploration, identifying the conflict's cause, and intraoperative monitoring. Conclusions: PHFS significantly impacts patients' lives, necessitating timely surgical intervention if initial treatments fail. While statistically significant prognostic factors may be lacking, this study highlights crucial considerations for successful treatment.

Evaluation of the Chetomin effect on histopathological features in a murine acute spinal cord injury model.

Background: Several research studies have been focused on improving the treatment and prognosis of acute spinal cord injury, as part of this initiative we investigated the use of Chetomin to reduce the inflammatory response in this pathology. Methods: An experimental, prospective, cross-sectional study was performed using 42 Wistar rats where we analyzed the effect of Chetomin compared to methylprednisolone administered 1 and 8 h after the spinal cord injury in a murine model. Results: Chetomin administration 8h post-injury decreased IL-6 and VEGF expression; and, and its administration 1h post-injury decreased NF-kB expression. Conclusions: Chetomin has anti-inflammatory effects in acute spinal cord injury, whether these effects are observable with other proinflammatory markers should be investigated.

A disposable, portable electrochemical immunosensor for rapid in situ detection of bovine tuberculosis.

This contribution describes the development of a simple, fast, cost-effective, and sensitive impedimetric immunosensor for quantifying bovine tuberculosis (TB) in bovine serum samples. The construction of the immunosensor involved immobilizing the purified protein derivative (PPD) of M. bovis onto a screen-printed electrode that was modified with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and a polypyrrole (pPy) film synthesized electrochemically. The immunosensor exhibited a linear range from 0.5 µg mL-1 to 100 µg mL-1 and achieved a limit of detection (LD) of 100 ng mL-1 for the detection of anti-M. bovis antibody. The recovery percentages obtained in bovine serum samples were excellent, ranging between 98 % and 103 %. This device presents several advantages over alternative methods for determining TB in bovine serum samples. These include direct, in situ measurement without the need for pre-treatment, utilization of small volumes, thus avoiding harmful solvents and expensive reagents, and portability. In addition, the immunosensor exhibits both physical and chemical stability, retaining effectiveness even after 30 days of modification. This allows simultaneous incubations and facilitates large-scale detection. Hence, this immunosensor presents itself as a promising diagnostic tool for detecting anti-M. bovis antibodies in bovine serum. It serves as a viable alternative to tuberculin and ELISA tests.

A novel strategy for the quantify of emerging isomeric pollutants belonging to the dihydroxybenzene family for environmental sample monitoring by amperometric detection.

This study introduces an innovative approach for quantifying isomeric pollutants utilizing an amperometric sensor. The determination of the isomers hydroquinone and catechol is based on the use of a glassy carbon electrode modified with Cu@PtPd/C nanoparticles (Cu@PtPd/C/GCE) in core-shell form, showing significant electrocatalytic activity in the oxidation of the later compounds. The determination was carried out at two different potentials: one at which where only hydroquinone is oxidized, and another in which where both hydroquinone and catechol are oxidized. Using these potentials, two calibration curves were built, one for the quantification of hydroquinone and the other for both isomers. Subsequently, the quantification of catechol was performed using a strategy based on the calculation of a difference using the information collected in the first step. The experiments using hydrogen peroxide as a redox probe demonstrate a clear synergistic effect in the catalytic reduction of hydrogen peroxide at -0.100 V, when Pt, Pd and Cu are incorporated into the core-shell nanostructure. The best performance was achieved with Cu@PtPd/C/GCE 1.00 mg mL-1. For the selected sensor, the analytical parameters are very competitive compared to similar devices reported in recent years for hydroquinone and catechol, with comparable linearity ranges of 0.010-0.200 mmol L-1 (hydroquinone) and 0.005-0.500 mmol L-1 (catechol), low limits of detection (LODs) of 14.0 nmol L-1 (S/N = 3.3) and 1.75 nmol L-1 (S/N = 3.3) for hydroquinone and catechol. The resulting sensor platform has been successfully applied for the quantification of hydroquinone and catechol in river and tap water and could be a promising candidate for environmental monitoring and drinking water safety.

Chronoamperometric flow-cell designed to be unaffected by air bubbles.

In this paper, we present a new design for a chronoamperometric flow cell in which air bubbles do not interfere with the control of potential between the working and reference electrodes. The flow-through dual-detection cell consists of two independent parts: an upper compartment containing a quiescent supporting electrolyte solution and a channel that operates under hydrodynamically controlled conditions. In this system, the working and counter electrodes can be placed directly in contact with both compartments, whereas the reference electrode can be assembled to be either isolated or in contact with the flowing stream channel. The design ensures that the potential applied to the working electrode (controlled in the upper compartment) is similar to the potential applied in the flowing channel. The performance of the proposed flow cell in generating accurate results, even in the presence of air bubbles, was evaluated through successive air-analyte-air injections. In both series where the analyte was introduced, suitable reproducibility was achieved. The robustness of the design was definitively proven by performing a series of measurements in analytical applications for the determination of hydrogen peroxide in antiseptic samples, yielding very satisfactory results.

Development of new PDMS in tube extraction microdevice for enhanced monitoring of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and their derivatives in water.

Contamination by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) is an urgent environmental concern, given its atmospheric dispersion and deposition in water bodies and soils. These compounds and their nitrated and oxygenated derivatives, which can exhibit high toxicities, are prioritized in environmental analysis contexts. Amid the demand for precise analytical techniques, comprehensive two-dimensional chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GCxGC/Q-TOFMS) has emerged as a promising tool, especially in the face of challenges like co-elution. This study introduces an innovation in the pre-concentration and detection of PAHs using an extraction fiber based on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), offering greater robustness and versatility. The proposed technique, termed in-tube extraction, was developed and optimized to effectively retain PAHs and their derivatives in aqueous media, followed by GCxGC/Q-TOFMS determination. Fiber characterization, using techniques such as TG, DTG, FTIR, and SEM, confirmed the hydrophobic compounds retention properties of the PDMS. The determination method was validated, pointing to a significant advancement in the detection and analysis of PAHs in the environment, and proved effective even for traces of these compounds. The results showed that the detection limits (LOD) and quantification limits (LOQ) ranged from 0.07 ng L-1 to 1.50 ng L-1 and 0.33 ng L-1 to 6.65 ng L-1, respectively; recovery ranged between 72 % and 117 %; and the precision intraday and interday ranged from 1 % to 20 %. The fibers were calibrated in the laboratory, with exposure times for analysis in the equilibrium region ranging from 3 to 10 days. The partition coefficients between PDMS and water were also evaluated, showing logarithm values ranging from 2.78 to 5.98. The fibers were applied to the analysis of real water samples, demonstrating high capacity. Additionally, given the growing demand for sustainable methods, the approach presented here incorporates green chemistry principles, providing an efficient and eco-friendly solution to the current chemical analysis scenario.

Enhancing mass spectrometry interpretability by ComDim-ICA multi-block analysis: Geographical and varietal traceability of Brazilian Coffea canephora.

Mass spectrometry can gain analytical interpretability by studying complementarity and synergy between the data obtained by the same technique. To explore its potential in an untargeted metabolomic application, the objective of this work was to obtain organic and aqueous coffee extracts of three coffee Canephora groups produced in Brazil with distinctive aspects: geographical origin and botanical variety. Aqueous and organic extracts of roasted coffee beans were analyzed by direct infusion electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. Due to the large number of samples, the injector of the liquid chromatography system was used to automate the analysis. The column was removed, and a peak tube was added to connect the system directly to the mass spectrometer to inject both polar and nonpolar fractions of the coffee extracts individually. The technique provided characteristic fingerprinting mass spectra that not only allowed for differentiation of geographical origins but also between robusta and conilon botanical varieties. The mass spectra of the organic and water extracts represented two separate data blocks to be analyzed by the ComDim-ICA multi-block data analysis method. While the classical ComDim is based on applying PCA to the iteratively reweighted concatenated matrices, in the ComDim-ICA, the factorization is done using independent components analysis, which promotes specific improvements since it is based on extracting components that are statistically independent of one another. The results highlighted by ComDim-ICA show that both water and organic extracts contributed with important ions to the characterization of the coffee composition. However, the results revealed a high variability of metabolomic composition within each botanical variety (Robusta Amazônico and Conilon Capixaba) and geographical provenance (Rondônia indigenous-1, Rondônia non-indigenous-2 and Espírito Santo-3). Even so, water mass spectra differentiated the botanical variety Conilon from Robusta based on significant ions related to trigonelline, caffeic acid, caffeoylquinic acid, and methylpyridinium; both water and organic mass spectra differentiated Rondônia indigenous from Rondônia non-indigenous and Espírito Santo Conilon based on significant ions related to benzoic acid, pentose, coumaric acid, caffeine in the organic extract and malonic acid, pentose, caffeoylquinic acid, methyl pyridinium, caffeine, and sucrose present in the water extract. With the proposed approach acquiring ion fingerprints of different coffee extracts and their subsequent analysis by ComDim-ICA, new complementary chemical aspects of Brazilian Coffea canephora were put in evidence.

Influence of lipid and metabolite profiles of mitochondrial fraction on pH and color stability of longissimus lumborum muscle with different ultimate beef pH.

This study aimed to explore the differences in the lipidome and mitochondrial fraction metabolome of Nellore cattle meat in different ranges of ultimate pH (pHu) normal (≤5.79), intermediate (5.80 to 6.19) and high (≥ 6.20) after 3- and 21-d postmortem. Instrumental color, myoglobin redox state, oxygen consumption, and metmyoglobin-reducing activity were measured during storage. A total of 472 lipids and 22 mitochondrial fraction metabolites were identified. Beef with high pHu showed positive regulation of ceramides involved in apoptosis and negative regulation of lipid classes related to membrane permeability and stability. In addition, lower carnitine content was noted in high-pHu beef than in normal-pHu beef. Acylcarnitines, phosphatidylinositol, and IMP showed upregulation in beef with intermediate pHu, indicating changes mainly related to energy, purine and pyruvate metabolism. Aging time impacted on the lipid content and metabolites involved in different metabolic pathways. These results provided new insights into beef's mitochondrial fraction lipid and metabolic profile with different pHu. In addition, beef with intermediate pHu differs from beef with high pHu due to changes in energy metabolism.

The scale of myths of romantic love: Evidence of validity and reliability of a brief scale in Peru.

The study aimed to provide validity evidence and reliability of the Scale of Myths of Romantic Love (SMRL) in Peru among young and adult individuals. Focusing on how romantic love myths affect relationship satisfaction and their ties to interpersonal violence, sexism, and gender inequality, the methodology involved 308 participants, mainly females (75%), using the SMRL and Relationship Assessment Scale. Bayesian Confirmatory Factor Analysis (BCFA) assessed the scale's structure and reliability, complemented by descriptive statistics and correlation analyses to examine the myths' impact on intimate relationships. Results showed the SMRL's two-dimensional structure, confirming its robust psychometric properties and satisfactory internal consistency. Descriptive findings revealed a skeptical view of traditional romantic myths among participants, indicating the scale's good reliability and successful adaptation to the Peruvian context. This validation highlights how debunking romantic love myths can improve relationship dynamics and satisfaction and addresses their wider societal effects.

Low-Grade Chronic Inflammation: a Shared Mechanism for Chronic Diseases.

Inflammation is an important physiological response of the organism to restore homeostasis upon pathogenic or damaging stimuli. However, the persistence of the harmful trigger or a deficient resolution of the process can evolve into a state of low-grade, chronic inflammation. This condition is strongly associated with the development of several increasingly prevalent and serious chronic conditions, such as obesity, cancer, and cardiovascular diseases, elevating overall morbidity and mortality worldwide. The current pandemic of chronic diseases underscores the need to address chronic inflammation, its pathogenic mechanisms, and potential preventive measures to limit its current widespread impact. The present review discusses the current knowledge and research gaps regarding the association between low-grade chronic inflammation and chronic diseases, focusing on obesity, cardiovascular diseases, digestive diseases, and cancer. We examine the state of the art in selected aspects of the topic and propose future directions and approaches for the field.