Zarit burden interview among caregivers of community-dwelling older adults in a caribbean setting (Jamaica): Reliability and factor structure

The Zarit Burden Interview has been the most popularly used tool for measuring caregiver burden and with the 60 years and over population in Jamaica and developing countries expected to increase, caregiver burden and its assessment assume increased importance. Establishing the reliability and underlying factor structure of instruments such as the ZBI is critical. This study sought to determine the reliability of the Zarit Burden Interview and to assess its underlying factor structure. The ZBI was administered to 180 caregivers of community dwelling older persons in Jamaica in a nationally representative sample across four geographic health regions in 2016. The factor structure was identified using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) with Varimax rotation. Cronbach's alpha was used to assess internal consistency/reliability of the instrument. The internal consistency/reliability of the ZBI instrument was high (Cronbach's α = 0.859) and the corrected item-total correlations ranged from 0.134 to 0.730. The ZBI mean score was found to be 16.92 ± 12.04. EFA produced a six-factor model comprised of 19 items which explained 48.97% of total variance, and was subsequently reduced to four (37.27% of total variance) via the use of parallel analysis and scrutiny of confidence intervals. The four factors identified were ‘personal strain’, ‘social relations disruption’, ‘resource strain/imbalance’ and ‘role intensity’. The ZBI-22 tool is a reliable instrument for evaluating caregiver burden among community dwelling older persons in Jamaica. A four factor model has emerged providing greater insights on the underlying constructs of the ZBI, the most widely used caregiver burden assessment tool.     

A comparison of the in vitro and in vivo activities of IgG and F(ab')2 fragments of a mixture of three monoclonal anti-Her-2 antibodies.

PURPOSE: We have demonstrated previously that a mixture of three anti-Her-2 monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) that bind to different epitopes on the extracellular domain of Her-2 expressed on a human breast cancer cell line has more potent antitumor activity than the individual MAbs both in vitro and in xenografted severe combined immunodeficient mice. Because the activity of Herceptin is Fc dependent, we determined whether this would also be the case when a mixture of these three anti-Her-2 MAbs was used. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: IgG and highly purified F(ab')(2) fragments of the anti-Her-2 MAbs and Herceptin were prepared and evaluated for their ability to induce cell death, inhibit vascular endothelial growth factor secretion, and mediate antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity and complement-mediated cytotoxicity in vitro. They were also compared for their abilities to induce regression of large BT474 tumors in severe combined immunodeficient mice. RESULTS: All of the F(ab')(2) fragments were >95% pure and, as expected, did not mediate antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity or complement-dependent cytotoxicity in vitro. The in vitro antiproliferative and proapoptotic effects of the IgGs and F(ab')(2) fragments were similar. In contrast, the IgGs had significant antitumor activity in vivo, whereas their F(ab')(2) fragments were only marginally effective even at 5-fold higher doses to offset their shorter half-lives. CONCLUSIONS: These results confirm the importance of the Fc portion of Herceptin for optimal in vivo activity and demonstrate that even a mixture of three anti-Her-2 MAbs that are highly effective at inducing cell death in vitro requires Fc-mediated effector function for optimal in vivo activity.     

Grapevine Plants Management Using Natural Extracts and Phytosynthesized Silver Nanoparticles

Starting from the well-known antimicrobial properties of silver nanoparticles, the goal of this study is to evaluate the influence of two “green” recipes, namely an alcoholic extract of Dryopteris filix-mas (L.) Schott and a dispersion of silver nanoparticles phytosynthesized using the extract on grapevine pathogens. The influence of some grapevine parameters (pith/wood rapport, soluble sugars, starch, total sugars, total water content, length of young shoots, number of grapes) in field experiments was also studied. The study was conducted on four clones (Feteasca alba 97 St., Feteasca neagra 6 St., Feteasca regala 72 St., and Cabernet Sauvignon 131 St.) located in vegetation pots inside a greenhouse. For the phytosynthesis of the silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) we used a scaled-up technology, allowing us to obtain large quantities of nanoparticles-containing solution. The AgNPs analysis by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy confirmed the synthesis of spherical and quasi-spherical nanoparticles of 17 nm average diameter and 6.72 nm crystallite size. The field experiments registered different responses of the four clones to the treatment, using both the natural extracts and phytosynthesized nanoparticles solution. Both recipes exhibited a protective effect against the Uncinula necator pathogen. For the treatment using phytosynthesized nanoparticles, significant increases in the pith/wood ratio for white wine clones (Feteasca alba 97 St. and Feteasca regala 72 St.) were observed. The biochemical analyses revealed other significant increases of soluble sugars (red wine clones—Feteasca neagra and Cabernet Sauvignon/second year), starch (Feteasca alba and Cabernet Sauvignon in 2021 for both clones), total sugars (Feteasca alba and Feteasca neagra in 2021 for both clones), and of total water content (Feteasca alba and Feteasca neagra in 2021 for both clones), respectively. The applied treatments also led to an increase of young shoots length and grape numbers for all clones as compared to the control (chemical pesticide), which would suggest a potential biostimulant effect of the recipes.     

Plasmodium falciparum pfhrp2 and pfhrp3 Gene Deletions and Relatedness to Other Global Isolates,Djibouti, 2019–2020

Deletions of pfhrp2 and paralogue pfhrp3 (pfhrp2/3) genes threaten Plasmodium falciparum diagnosis by rapid diagnostic test. We examined 1,002 samples from suspected malaria patients in Djibouti City, Djibouti, to investigate pfhrp2/3 deletions. We performed assays for Plasmodium antigen carriage, pfhrp2/3 genotyping, and sequencing for 7 neutral microsatellites to assess relatedness. By PCR assay, 311 (31.0%) samples tested positive for P. falciparum infection, and 296 (95.2%) were successfully genotyped; 37 (12.5%) samples were pfhrp2+/pfhrp3+, 51 (17.2%) were pfhrp2+/pfhrp3–, 5 (1.7%) were pfhrp2–/pfhrp3+, and 203 (68.6%) were pfhrp2–/pfhrp3–. Histidine-rich protein 2/3 antigen concentrations were reduced with corresponding gene deletions. Djibouti P. falciparum is closely related to Ethiopia and Eritrea parasites (pairwise G_ST 0.68 [Ethiopia] and 0.77 [Eritrea]). P. falciparum with deletions in pfhrp2/3 genes were highly prevalent in Djibouti City in 2019–2020; they appear to have arisen de novo within the Horn of Africa and have not been imported.     

Co-Microencapsulation of Anthocyanins from Cornelian Cherry (Cornus mas L.) Fruits and Lactic Acid Bacteria into Antioxidant and Anti-Proliferative Derivative Powders

Driven by the modern lifestyle, the consumers are interested in healthier and balanced diets, including both probiotics and natural antioxidants. The beneficial health effects of probiotics are mainly due to their capacity of modulating the human intestinal microbiota, although achieving at least a 6 log of viable cells at the targeted site is still challenging. Therefore, in this study, an attempt to improve the bioaccessibility of Lacticaseibacillus casei (L. casei) 431^® through a co-microencapsulation by complex coacervation and freeze-drying, using an extract from Cornelian cherry and two biopolymeric matrices, whey protein isolates and casein (WPI-CN) and inulin (WPI-I), was studied. The powders showed a comparable anthocyanin content of around 32.00 mg cyanidin-3-rutinoside (C3R)/g dry matter (DM) and a microbial load of about 10 Log CFU/g DM. A high stability of the lactic acid bacteria was assessed throughout 90 days of storage, whereas the anthocyanins’ degradation during storage followed a first order kinetic model, allowing the estimation of a half-time of 66.88 ± 1.67 days for WPI-CN and 83.60 ± 2.46 days for WPI-I. The in vitro digestion showed a high stability of anthocyanins in the simulated gastric juice, whereas the release in the simulated intestinal juice was favored in the variant with inulin (up to 38%). The use of casein permitted to obtain finer spherosomes, with smaller diameters, whereas a double encapsulation was obvious in both variants, thus explaining the high resistance in the gastric environment. The anti-proliferative effect against the human colon cancer cell line (HT-29) was also demonstrated. No cytotoxicity has been found for the concentrations between 1 and 25 μg/mL for the WPI-I variant, whereas a cell proliferation effect was observed at low concentrations of 1–5 μg/mL.     

Metallic and Metal Oxides Nanoparticles for Sensing Food Pathogens—An Overview of Recent Findings and Future Prospects

Nowadays, special importance is given to quality control and food safety. Food quality currently creates significant problems for the industry and implicitly for consumers and society. The effects materialize in economic losses, alterations of the quality and organoleptic properties of the commercial products, and, last but not least, they constitute risk factors for the consumer’s health. In this context, the development of analytical systems for the rapid determination of the sanitary quality of food products by detecting possible pathogenic microorganisms (such as Escherichia coli or Salmonella due to the important digestive disorders that they can cause in many consumers) is of major importance. Using efficient and environmentally friendly detection systems for identification of various pathogens that modify food matrices and turn them into food waste faster will also improve agri-food quality throughout the food chain. This paper reviews the use of metal nanoparticles used to obtain bio nanosensors for the purpose mentioned above. Metallic nanoparticles (Au, Ag, etc.) and their oxides can be synthesized by several methods, such as chemical, physical, physico-chemical, and biological, each bringing advantages and disadvantages in their use for developing nanosensors. In the “green chemistry” approach, a particular importance is given to the metal nanoparticles obtained by phytosynthesis. This method can lead to the development of good quality nanoparticles, at the same time being able to use secondary metabolites from vegetal wastes, as such providing a circular economy character. Considering these aspects, the use of phytosynthesized nanoparticles in other biosensing applications is also presented as a glimpse of their potential, which should be further explored.     

The challenges of androgen insensitivity syndrome

Androgen insensitivity syndrome (AIS) is an X-linked recessive genetic syndrome that occurs as result of an androgen receptor mutation; it affects the normal masculinization process in chromosomal male patients. More than 900 androgen receptor mutations that can lead to AIS have been identified. The complete androgen insensitivity is characterized by a total lack of response to androgens, usually in patients with 46XY karyotype but with feminine phenotype. Primary amenorrhoea and inguinal swellings in female patients are the main signs that could raise suspicion for this syndrome. Patients with partial androgen insensitivity have ambiguous genitalia at birth and gynecomastia during puberty, whereas those with mild androgen insensitivity present a normal male phenotype but altered spermatogenesis during adulthood and pubertal gynecomastia. The diagnosis of AIS often proves to be a challenge; its management is complex and requires a multidisciplinary approach to meet decision-making challenges in sex assignment, fertility and timing of gonadectomy, psychological outcomes and genetic counselling.     

Balancing orbital volume reduction and redistribution for a tailored surgical treatment in Graves’ ophthalmopathy

Graefe's Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology - The purpose of this study is to share our experience on the use of different orbital decompression techniques, as well as the...