A Prospective, Multicenter, Evaluator-Blind, Randomized, Controlled Study of Belotero Balance (+), a Hyaluronic-Acid Filler with Lidocaine, for Correction of Infraorbital Hollowing in Adults.

BACKGROUND: The infraorbital hollow (IOH) is a concavity that interrupts the smooth transition between the lower eyelid and the cheek, resulting in a fatigued and aged appearance. Injectable fillers may be used to correct volume deficit in the under-eye area, restoring a more youthful appearance. OBJECTIVES: To demonstrate the effectiveness and safety of a Cohesive Polydensified Matrix® (CPM) hyaluronic acid (HA) filler with lidocaine (Belotero Balance® (+)) for correcting volume deficit in the IOH. METHODS: Eligible patients with a moderate or severe rating on the Merz Infraorbital Hollow Assessment Scale (MIHAS) were randomized 2:1 to treatment or control. Controls remained untreated until Week 8 and were then treated. Touch-up injections were allowed; retreatment was offered only in the treatment group. Effectiveness was evaluated by the MIHAS. Adverse events were recorded over a 76-week period. RESULTS: The estimated average response rate (≥ 1 point MIHAS improvement) was 80.6% [95% confidence interval (CI): 71.4%, 87.4%] in treated patients and 1.9% [95% CI: 0.3%, 10.2%] in controls at Week 8. The difference in estimated response rates was 78.7% [95% CI: 66.3%, 85.6%], demonstrating a statistically significant, superior response rate in treated patients compared to untreated controls. A total of 88/97 (90.7%) patients who responded to treatment at Week 8 retained improvement 48 weeks after treatment. Use of Belotero Balance (+) in the IOH had a favorable safety profile, with no unexpected adverse events reported. CONCLUSIONS: Belotero Balance (+) is a safe and effective treatment for correcting volume deficit in the IOH.

Arsenic, lead and cadmium concentration in food and estimated daily intake in the Cuban population and the health risks using a Total Diet Study.

This study estimates the intake of arsenic, lead and cadmium by the adult population (aged 18-91) of Cuba. The food consumption indices were obtained through 24-h dietary recall surveys applied to 450 people between October 2020 and March 2021. The Estimated Dietary Intake (EDI) of t-As (54.6 µg/day), Pb (118.5 µg/day) and Cd (35.1 µg/day) complied with Cuban legislation but was higher than the EDI for Cd established by the CONTAM Panel. The Target Hazard Quotients for the three contaminants were: iAs (0.220), Pb (0.409) and Cd (0.424), making the value of the Total Target Hazard Quotient 1.05, which indicates potential health risks for the population. Additionally, associated carcinogenic risks were: iAs (1.0·10-4), Pb (7.2·10-4) and Cd (25.9·10-4). Therefore, 10, 72 and 259 persons per 100,000 inhabitants are likely prone to developing cancer due to the ingestion of iAs, Pb and Cd, respectively.

Improving the Composition and Bioactivity of Cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) Bean Shell Extract by Choline Chloride-Lactic Acid Natural Deep Eutectic Solvent Extraction Assisted by Pulsed Electric Field Pre-Treatment.

An environmentally friendly method for the release of cocoa bean shell (CBS) extracts is proposed in this paper. This work aims to investigate the effect of pulsed electric field (PEF) pre-treatment on subsequent solid-liquid extraction (SLE) of metabolites with choline chloride-lactic acid natural deep eutectic solvent (NaDES) and bioactivity of cocoa bean shell (CBS) extract. Two different media for PEF application were evaluated: water and chlorine chloride-lactic acid. Total polyphenols (TPC), total flavonoids (TFC), individual major compounds, and antioxidant and antibacterial activity of CBS extracts were assessed. The performance of PEF-assisted extraction was compared with SLE and ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE). The proposed method improved the release of TPC up to 45% and TFC up to 48% compared with the conventional extraction. The CBS extract showed medium growth inhibition of Escherichia coli and high growth inhibition of Salmonella sp, Listeria monocytogenes, and Staphylococcus aureus. Thus, an extract with enhanced antioxidant and antibacterial properties was obtained.

SALON ontology for the formal description of sequence alignments.

BACKGROUND: Information provided by high-throughput sequencing platforms allows the collection of content-rich data about biological sequences and their context. Sequence alignment is a bioinformatics approach to identifying regions of similarity in DNA, RNA, or protein sequences. However, there is no consensus about the specific common terminology and representation for sequence alignments. Thus, automatically linking the wide existing knowledge about the sequences with the alignments is challenging. RESULTS: The Sequence Alignment Ontology (SALON) defines a helpful vocabulary for representing and semantically annotating pairwise and multiple sequence alignments. SALON is an OWL 2 ontology that supports automated reasoning for alignments validation and retrieving complementary information from public databases under the Open Linked Data approach. This will reduce the effort needed by scientists to interpret the sequence alignment results. CONCLUSIONS: SALON defines a full range of controlled terminology in the domain of sequence alignments. It can be used as a mediated schema to integrate data from different sources and validate acquired knowledge.

Phylogenetic discordance and integrative species delimitation in the Mammillaria haageana species complex (Cactaceae).

Species complexes consist of very close phylogenetic relatives, where morphological similarities make it difficult to distinguish between them using traditional taxonomic methods. Here, we focused on the long-standing challenge of species delimitation in the Mammillaria haageana complex, a group that presents great morphological diversity that makes its taxonomy a puzzle. Our work integrates genomic, morphological, and ecological data to establish the taxonomic limits in the M. haageana complex, and we also studied the evolutionary relationships with the remainder of the M. ser. Supertextae species. Our genetic analyses, as well as morphological and ecological evidence, led us to propose that the M. haageana complex is made up of six distinct entities (M. acultzingensis, M. conspicua, M. haageana, M. lanigera, M. meissneri, and M. san-angelensis), mainly as a result of ecological speciation. A recent taxonomic proposal considered these taxa as a single species; therefore, we propose their recognition at the species level. Our results also show a high level of incomplete lineage sorting rather than reticulation, which is especially likely in recently diverged species such as those comprising M. ser. Supertextae. The species hypotheses proposed here may be useful in future extinction risk assessments and conservation strategies.

Sinus node dysfunction during transcatheter assessment and stent correction of sinus venosus atrial septal defects.

Covered stent correction of a superior sinus venosus atrial septal defect is increasingly performed as an alternative to surgical repair. While sinus node dysfunction requiring pacemaker implantation may be required after surgical repair, this has not been previously reported after covered stent implantation. We reviewed the experience in two interventional centers. Balloon inflation in the superior vena cava was used to confirm the anomalous pulmonary vein drainage would be unobstructed after stent implantation. During balloon testing in 62 consecutive patients, we assessed gradients across the pulmonary vein to left atrium while monitoring the rhythm. We observed the outcomes after covered stent correction in 51 patients. In a single patient, significant bradycardia and pauses developed on repeat balloon testing and the procedure was abandoned without stent implantation. In another patient, there was no sign of sinus node dysfunction during balloon testing but several hours after stent implantation, the patient became symptomatic from sinus bradycardia and pauses and had a pacemaker implanted 3 days later. Over a year later there are some signs of improvement in sinus node function. While sinus node dysfunction has not been described previously during balloon testing or after stent implantation, this report demonstrates for the first time that it may occur. Larger registries are therefore required to monitor for this uncommon complication.

Reappraising personal values in cancer: Meaning-in-life adaptation, meaningfulness, and quality of life.

OBJECTIVE: This study explores the reappraisal of personal values among people with cancer post-diagnosis and its connections to meaningfulness, encompassing personal meaning and sense of meaning, and various dimensions of quality of life. METHODS: A total of 144 patients with diverse cancer types and a control group comprising 158 healthy adults with similar demographic characteristics completed the Valued Living Questionnaire-Perceived Change, the Personal Meaning Profile-Brief, the Portrait Values Questionnaire, and the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-Being. RESULTS: Cancer patients displayed a substantial values reappraisal compared to healthy adults. They reported an increased significance of social areas and self-transcendental values, including close relationships (family, partner, and friends), spirituality, citizenship, and universalism, as well as an increased importance of self-care and self in general. Conversely, cancer patients assigned less importance to work and self-enhancement values such as stimulation, power, and achievement. Cluster analysis revealed that patients who reappraised their values exhibited higher meaningfulness and better indicators of quality of life, including spiritual and physical well-being, compared to patients who did not modify their value system. CONCLUSIONS: These findings underscore the importance of assessing and promoting meaning-in-life adaptability among people with cancer, with potential applications in meaning-centered therapies and interventions aimed at enhancing psychological flexibility.

Improved Patient Satisfaction With Skin After Treatment of Cheek Skin Roughness and Fine Lines With VYC-12L: Participant-Reported Outcomes From a Prospective, Randomized Study.

BACKGROUND: VYC-12L is a hyaluronic acid filler to improve skin quality. A prospective study showed safety and effectiveness of VYC-12L for improving cheek skin smoothness and fine lines. OBJECTIVES: To report participant-reported outcomes, subgroup analyses, and physician experience from the prospective study. METHODS: Adults with moderate to severe Allergan Cheek Skin Smoothness (ACSS) scale scores were randomized 2:1 to VYC-12L or control (no treatment with optional treatment). Participant assessments included FACE-Q Satisfaction With Skin, FACE-Q Appraisal of Lines, natural look and feel, the Global Aesthetic Improvement Scale (GAIS), and safety. Subgroup analyses examined ACSS responder rate (≥1-grade improvement from baseline to 1 month). RESULTS: FACE-Q Satisfaction With Skin overall mean scores improved from baseline to 1 month posttreatment by 32.0 and 1.4 in the VYC-12L and control groups, respectively. FACE-Q Appraisal of Lines overall mean scores improved from baseline to 1 month posttreatment by 23.3 and 0.4 in VYC-12L and control, respectively. Treated participants had high median scores (≥9.0) of natural look and feel of their cheek skin. GAIS responder rate was high at Month 1 (85.5%; 95% CI, 79.3%-91.7%) and through Month 6 (83.1%; 95% CI, 76.5%-89.7%). Mean participant-rated pain scores were low (<3). The most common injection site reactions were redness, swelling, and lumps/bumps; most resolved within 3 days. Subgroup analyses showed significant differences in ACSS responder rate between VYC-12L and control groups 1 month posttreatment. Physician injectors reported that VYC-12L was easily injected at the superficial skin and integrated quickly. CONCLUSIONS: VYC-12L treatment produced significant improvements in satisfaction with skin and cheek skin smoothness, as measured by participant-reported outcome measures.

Coalescent-based species delimitation in North American pinyon pines using low-copy nuclear genes and plastomes.

PREMISE: Accurate species delimitation is essential for evolutionary biology, conservation, and biodiversity management. We studied species delimitation in North American pinyon pines, Pinus subsection Cembroides, a natural group with high levels of incomplete lineage sorting. METHODS: We used coalescent-based methods and multivariate analyses of low-copy number nuclear genes and nearly complete high-copy number plastomes generated with the Hyb-Seq method. The three coalescent-based species delimitation methods evaluated were the Generalized Mixed Yule Coalescent (GMYC), Poisson Tree Process (PTP), and Trinomial Distribution of Triplets (Tr2). We also measured admixture in populations with possible introgression. RESULTS: Our results show inconsistencies among GMYC, PTP, and Tr2. The single-locus based GMYC analysis of plastid DNA recovered a higher number of species (up to 24 entities, including singleton lineages and clusters) than PTP and the multi-locus coalescent approach. The PTP analysis identified 10 species whereas Tr2 recovered 13, which agreed closely with taxonomic treatments. CONCLUSIONS: We found that PTP and GMYC identified species with low levels of ILS and high morphological divergence (P. maximartinezii, P. pinceana, and P. rzedowskii). However, GMYC method oversplit species by identification of more divergent samples as singletons. Moreover, both PTP and GMYC were incapable of identifying some species that are readily identified morphologically. We suggest that the divergence times between lineages within North American pinyon pines are so disparate that GMYC results are unreliable. Results of the Tr2 method coincided well with previous delimitations based on morphology, DNA, geography, and secondary chemistry.

Total anomalous pulmonary venous connection: 16 years of surgical results in a single center.

PURPOSE: The aim of the study was to analyze the surgical outcome of patients with total anomalous pulmonary venous connection (TAPVC) who underwent cardiac surgery. METHODS: A retrospective study was carried out. Patients with diagnosis of TAPVC undergoing cardiac surgery at the National Institute of Cardiology Ignacio Chávez, from January 1, 2003 and June 30, 2019 were included. Descriptive statistics were calculated, as well as a bivariate analysis of the variables associated with mortality. A logistic regression model was included to determine risk factors associated with the main outcome and survival was analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS: A total of 5314 patients diagnosed with congenital heart disease (CHD) underwent surgery, 414 (7.8%) were patients with TAPVC, with an average age of 17.1 ± 34.6 months, 58.2% were male. It was frequent in infants (61.6%) and preschool (19.6%). Predominant type was supracardiac TAPVC (47.4%). Pulmonary venous obstruction (PVO) occurred in 32.1%. Risk factors associated with mortality were infracardiac TAPVC (odds ratio [OR]: 3.26; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.17-9.03; p = .02), PVO (OR: 2.56; 95% CI: 1.05-6.22; p = .03) and postoperative mechanical ventilation (OR: 1.005; 95% CI: 1.002-1.008; p = .01). Overall survival was 87.2%, with better outcomes in adolescents (100%), children (94.1%), mixed TAPVC (96%), and cardiac TAPVC (91.9%; p < .001). CONCLUSIONS: The survival of our institution after surgical correction of TAPVC is similar to that of other referral centers, where patients with infracardiac TAPVC and newborns worse outcomes. All patients must undergo a rigorous evaluation to determine an adequate repair strategy.

A preliminary exploration on psychological variables related to online social network addiction. / Exploración preliminar sobre las variables psicológicas implicadas en la adicción a redes sociales on-line.

This study examined the roles of anxiety, experiential avoidance and meaning in life in the abusive use of social networks. Participants in the study (N = 235: 172 women, 62 men, 1 non-binary) volunteered to complete a brief online survey measuring experiential avoidance, anxiety and meaning in life. Correlational and linear regression analyses were performed controlling for age in both the total sample and the subsamples of men and women. The partial correlation analyses showed that, once age was controlled for experiential avoidance, anxiety and meaning in life were related to the abusive use of social networks in women, while for men, only anxiety was significant. For women the linear regression equation which best predicted abusive use of social networks included little meaning in life and high experiential avoidance. For men, only anxiety was a possible predictive factor of abusive use of social networks. These results are discussed with regard to existing research on abusive use of social networks, noting the possible protective effect of meaning in life and calling greater attention to gender differences in behaviors related to online social networks.

El presente estudio examinó el papel de la ansiedad, la evitación experiencial y el sentido vital en el uso abusivo de redes sociales. Los participantes (N = 235: 172 mujeres, 62 hombres, 1 no-binario) completaron una breve encuesta dirigida a medir la evitación experiencial, la ansiedad y el sentido vital. Se llevaron a cabo análisis de regresión lineal y correlaciones controlando la influencia de la edad tanto para hombres como para mujeres. Los análisis de correlación parcial mostraron que, una vez controlada la edad de los participantes, tanto la evitación experiencial como la ansiedad y el sentido vital estuvieron relacionados con el uso abusivo de redes sociales en mujeres; sin embargo, para los varones, sólo la ansiedad se relacionó con un mayor uso de redes sociales. Para las mujeres la ecuación de regresión lineal que mejor predijo el uso abusivo de redes sociales incluyó un bajo sentido vital y una elevada evitación experiencial, mientras que para los varones sólo la ansiedad predijo el mayor uso de redes sociales. Los resultados obtenidos se discuten en relación con la investigación existente sobre el uso de las redes sociales, destacando el sentido vital como un posible factor protector y la importancia de una perspectiva de género para estudiar las redes sociales en línea.

Sequoya: multiobjective multiple sequence alignment in Python.

MOTIVATION: Multiple sequence alignment (MSA) consists of finding the optimal alignment of three or more biological sequences to identify highly conserved regions that may be the result of similarities and relationships between the sequences. MSA is an optimization problem with NP-hard complexity (non-deterministic polynomial-time hardness), because the time needed to find optimal alignments raises exponentially along with the number of sequences and their length. Furthermore, the problem becomes multiobjective when more than one score is considered to assess the quality of an alignment, such as maximizing the percentage of totally conserved columns and minimizing the number of gaps. Our motivation is to provide a Python tool for solving MSA problems using evolutionary algorithms, a nonexact stochastic optimization approach that has proven to be effective to solve multiobjective problems. RESULTS: The software tool we have developed, called Sequoya, is written in the Python programming language, which offers a broad set of libraries for data analysis, visualization and parallelism. Thus, Sequoya offers a graphical tool to visualize the progress of the optimization in real time, the ability to guide the search toward a preferred region in run-time, parallel support to distribute the computation among nodes in a distributed computing system, and a graphical component to assist in the analysis of the solutions found at the end of the optimization. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION: Sequoya can be freely obtained from the Python Package Index (pip) or, alternatively, it can be downloaded from Github at https://github.com/benhid/Sequoya. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Cardiac surgery in patients with atrial isomerism: Long-term results and outcomes.

PURPOSE: The aim of the study was to identify, determine, and analyze the clinical and surgical outcomes of patients with atrial isomerism (AI) undergoing cardiac surgery. METHODS: A retrospective study was carried out. Patients with diagnosis of AI undergoing cardiac surgery at the National Institute of Cardiology Ignacio Chávez, from January 1, 2010 and March 31, 2020 were included; demographic characteristics and perioperative conditions of the patients were considered. RESULTS: Sixty-five patients were included, with an average age of 6.4 ± 4.9 years, 50.8% males. Thirty-eight (58.5%) had right atrial isomerism (RAI) and 27 (41.5%) had left atrial isomerism (LAI); univentricular physiology (78.5%) predominated. Atrioventricular septal defect (AVSD) in RAI and septal defects in LAI were identified as the main associated defects. The most common surgical procedures performed were modified Blalock-Taussig shunt (MBTS) (27.6%), MBTS with total anomalous pulmonary venous connection (TAPVC) repair (15.3%) and total cavopulmonary connection (TCPC) with an extracardiac conduit fenestrated (10.8%); 100% RAI required a univentricular approach, while in LAI it was 48.1%. Overall survival was 92.3%, with 100% survival in LAI with biventricular physiology and 86.8% in RAI with univentricular physiology. CONCLUSIONS: The survival of our institution is similar to that of other referral centers, where patients with LAI had a better evolution than RAI; in addition, the univentricular approach was required in all with RAI. Patients with AI must undergo a rigorous evaluation to determine an adequate repair strategy, considering univentricular RAI with a high possibility of morbidity and mortality.

Rehabilitation of pulmonary arteries: Hybrid treatment in the unilateral absence of the pulmonary artery.

BACKGROUND: Unilateral abscence of pulmonary artery is a rare congenital heart disease. If these anomaly is unrecognized and treated the risk of pulmonary hypertension in the contralateral lung can be lethal for the patients. AIMS: To report the successful sequential hybrid-surgical approach of two cases of rescue of pulmonary branches only fed by ductus arteriosus. MATERIALS & METHODS: Description of two rare cases of absence of a unilateral pulmonary branch successfully treated in our institution. RESULTS, DISCUSSSIION AND CONCLUSION: The timely identification of these cases and the strategic planning of interventional and surgical hybrid sequential treatment of these rare cases is effective.

Transcatheter Closure of Perimembranous Ventricular Septal Defects Using Different Generations of Amplatzer Devices: Multicenter Experience.

OBJECTIVES: To demonstrate safety and efficacy of using different generations of softer Amplatzer™ devices for ventricular septal defect (VSD) closure to avoid serious complications at follow-up. BACKGROUND: Transcatheter closure of perimembranous ventricular septal defects (PmVSD) is a well-established procedure; however, it is associated with unacceptable incidence of complete heart block. Great advantages have been achieved by using softer devices for VSD transcatheter closure. The first and second generation of Amplatzer™ occluders (AVP II, ADO, and ADO II) seem to offer a safe and attractive alternative for this procedure. These devices can be delivered using either an arterial (retrograde) or venous (prograde) approach. METHODS AND RESULTS: Patients with congenital PmVSD who underwent transcatheter closure using ADO, ADO II, and AVP II devices were included. Primary end point was to determine efficacy and safety of these generations of devices and to determine the incidence of complications at follow-up (complete AV block and aortic/tricuspid/mitral regurgitation). One hundred and nineteen patients underwent VSD closure at a median age of 5 years (8 months-54 years). During the catheterization, there were only minor complications and at follow-up of 36 ± 25.7 months (up to 99 months), the closure rate was high of 98.3% and freedom from AV block was 100%. CONCLUSIONS: The use of softer Amplatzer™ devices is a good alternative to achieve PmVSD closure safely with no risk of AVB during the procedure or at midterm follow-up.

Population structure, diversifying selection, and local adaptation in Pinus patula.

PREMISE: Climate change is predicted to affect natural and plantation forests. The responses of conifers to overcome changing environments will depend on their adaptation to local conditions; however, intraspecific adaptive genetic variation is unknown for most gymnosperms. Studying genetic diversity associated with phenotypic variability along environmental gradients will enhance our understanding of adaptation and may reveal genetic pools important for conservation and management. METHODS: We used target enrichment and genome skimming to obtain single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from 61 individuals of Pinus patula, a pine tree native to Mexico widely used in plantation forestry. We investigated the adaptive genetic variation of two varieties with morphological and distributional differences potentially related to genetic and adaptive divergence. RESULTS: Population structure and haplotype network analyses revealed that genetic diversity between P. patula var. patula and P. patula var. longipedunculata was structured, even within populations of P. patula var. longipedunculata. We observed high genetic diversity, low inbreeding rate, and rapid linkage disequilibrium (LD) decay in the varieties. Based on outlier tests, loci showing signatures of natural selection were detected in geographically distant P. patula var. longipedunculata populations. For both varieties, we found significant correlations between climate-related environmental variation and SNP diversity at loci involved in abiotic stress, cell transport, defense, and cell wall biogenesis, pointing to local adaptation. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, significant intraspecific adaptive genetic variation in P. patula was detected, highlighting the presence of different genetic pools and signs of local adaptation that should be considered in forestry and conservation.

Jowl Reduction With Deoxycholic Acid.

BACKGROUND: The study proposes a novel protocol for targeting the jowls using deoxycholic acid (DCA) injections, with emphasis on safety and feasibility of the procedure. METHODS: This prospective study was conducted at a cosmetic practice between June 2016 and May 2017. Twelve consecutive patients seeking reduction/improvement in mild/moderate jowl fat were injected with DCA subcutaneously in a predefined circular area 1.0 cm above the mandibular border. Treatment response was assessed using physician-evaluated Global Aesthetic Improvement Scale (GAIS) and Subject GAIS. RESULTS: Twelve patients (11 women and 1 man) with mild (n = 8) or moderate (n = 4) jowls were treated. After the first treatment, GAIS responses for 24 jowls showed 5 jowls with vast improvement, 15 with moderate improvement, and 4 with no change. After the second session for 5 jowls in 3 patients, GAIS responses showed vast improvement in 4 jowls and moderate improvement in 1. Adverse events included induration (n = 4), bruising (n = 6), numbness (n = 2), pain (n = 5), redness (n = 3), edema (n = 9), and dysphagia (n = 1). CONCLUSION: Results of this early experience showed that DCA injections were safe and effective for nonsurgical jowl reduction.

Perception of Beauty in the Visually Blind: A Pilot Observational Study.

BACKGROUND: Blind individuals have demonstrated the ability to detect danger and facial expressions without conscious awareness of visual stimuli. These embodied sensations are believed to be the result of primitive neural networks refined by evolutionary adaptations. We postulate that similar embodied sensations may have evolved to allow blind individuals to perceive beauty. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the visually blind can detect physical beauty. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This observational study consisted of 8 blind and 10 nonblind test subjects and 6 models that were categorized into predetermined beauty categories. Test subjects were individually asked to rate 6 models on a 1 to 10 numerical beauty scale. This process was repeated in both groups while blindfolded (masked). All groups' mean model beauty scores underwent multivariate and univariate analysis. RESULTS: All groups rated preselected (greater than 8) more beautiful models, higher except for the masked, nonblind group. Intraclass correlation was good in the blind raters with a score of 0.751, whereas poor in the nonblind masked raters with a score of 0.458. CONCLUSION: This is the first pilot study demonstrating with supporting evidence that blind individuals can detect beauty and supports that beauty may rely on primal forms of messaging that are subconsciously appreciated.

The Uruguayan semen donor population: A twenty-eight-year retrospective study.

Several studies have reported a global decline in seminal quality over the years. The objective of this study was to describe the semen donor population of Uruguay through comparing data of successive samples banked by the same donors and the analysis of their semen and physical characteristics, ancestry origin and educational level. A total of 3,449 ejaculated samples collected from 71 donors, cryobanked between 1989 and March 2017 at Fertilab, were analysed. Results revealed a mean age of 23.90 ± 3.98 years, an average weight of 74.95 ± 1.09 kg and a mean height of 1.78 ± 0.06 m. The majority of the donors trace their origin to Europe (74.65%, 53/71) and 66.19% (47/71) have a level of education higher than secondary school. We observed longitudinal differences in two parameters, that is sperm concentration and semen volume. Sperm concentration declined, while semen volume increased significantly over the 28-year period. The results of the present study are in accordance with that of previous articles that also reported a decline in sperm concentration over time. However, no differences were observed in total sperm number per ejaculate due to the increase in semen volume values, thus reflecting no real changes in sperm production over time.

Religiosity and depressive symptoms among older adults in Colombia.

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between depressive symptoms and religiosity among older adults in Colombia.Methods: Data are drawn from the SABE (Salud, Bienestar y Envejecimiento) Colombia Study, a cross-sectional survey conducted in 2015 involving 19,004 community-dwelling adults aged 60 years and older living in urban and rural areas of Colombia. Depressive symptoms were measured using the Geriatric Depression scale (GDS; range 0-15), examined both as a continuous and categorical variable. Religiosity was assessed by self-rated religiosity and comfort derived from religion. Logistic and linear regression analyses were used to assess the association adjusting for confounders.Results: Multivariate logistic regression analyses demonstrated that being more religious (OR = 0.90, 95% CI = 0.85-0.95, p < .001) or perceiving greater strength or comfort from religion (OR = 0.88, 95% CI = 0.82-0.93, p < .001) was associated with a lower likelihood of scoring above the cutoff on the GDS for significant depressive symptoms (≥6). Similarly, linear regression analyses indicated that being more religious (unstandardized beta coefficient B = -0.16, p < .001) or perceiving greater strength or comfort from religion (B = -0.20, p < .001) was associated with a significantly lower score on the GDS assessed on a continuous scale.Conclusion: Being more religious or perceiving greater strength or comfort from religion is associated with fewer depressive symptoms among older adults in Colombia.