Observational stepped-wedge analysis of a community health worker-led intervention for diabetes and hypertension in rural Mexico.

Objectives: There is emerging interest and data supporting the effectiveness of community health workers (CHWs) in non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in low/middle-income countries (LMICs). This study aimed to determine whether a CHW-led intervention targeting diabetes and hypertension could improve markers of clinical disease control in rural Mexico.

Design And Setting: A prospective observational stepped-wedge study was conducted across seven communities in rural Chiapas, Mexico from March 2014 to April 2018.

Afro-Caribbeans Have a Lower Prevalence of Advanced Colon Neoplasia than African-Americans.

Background/aims: The black population in the USA is a heterogeneous group composed of smaller subgroups from different origins. The definition of black in many colorectal cancer (CRC) risk studies is vague, and differences in CRC risk comparing black subpopulations have not been evaluated. The aim of the study is to compare advanced colorectal neoplasia (ACN) between two subgroups of black populations: African-American (AA) and Afro-Caribbean (AC).

Comparative Pharmacognosy, Chemical Profile and Antioxidant Activity of Extracts from (Spreng.) Griseb. Collected from Different Localities in Cuba.

(Spreng.) Griseb. is a traditionally used plant with various pharmacological properties.

Phytochemical components and amino acid profile of brown seaweed as affected by air drying temperature.

The effects of different drying temperatures between 40 and 80 °C on bioactive constituents and antioxidant activity of edible sub Antarctic brown seaweed, were studied. Dietary fibre, amino acids profile, pigments (chlorophyll and carotenoids), vitamin E, total phenolics and total flavonoids as well as antioxidant activity were determined, beside a measurement of the chromatic coordinates. The brown seaweed had a high content of dietary fibre and was rich in essential amino acids and drying between 40 and 80 °C did not influence significantly dietary fibre content nor the level of essential amino acids that remained around 44%.

Improved thermal stability of polylactic acid (PLA) composite film via PLA-β-cyclodextrin-inclusion complex systems.

The effects of the incorporation of PLA-β-cyclodextrin-inclusion complex (IC) and β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) on biopolyester PLA films were investigated. Thermal stability, surface morphology, barrier, and mechanical properties of the films were measured at varying IC (1, 3, 5, and 7%) and β-CD (1 and 5%) concentrations. The PLA-IC-composite films (IC-PLA-CFs) showed uniform morphological structure, while samples containing β-CD (β-CD-PLA-CFs) showed high agglomeration of β-CD due to poor interfacial interaction between β-CD and PLA moieties.

Preparation and evaluation of nanocellulose-gold nanoparticle nanocomposites for SERS applications.

Nanocellulose is of research interest due to its extraordinary optical, thermal, and mechanical properties. The incorporation of guest nanoparticles into nanocellulose substrates enables production of novel nanocomposites with a broad range of applications. In this study, gold nanoparticle/bacterial cellulose (AuNP/BC) nanocomposites were prepared and evaluated for their applicability as surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates.

Electrospun nanofibrous cellulose scaffolds with controlled microarchitecture.

Introducing porosity in electrospun scaffolds is critical to improve cell penetration and nutrient diffusion for tissue engineering. Nanofibrous cellulose scaffolds were prepared by electrospinning cellulose acetate (CA) followed by saponification to regenerate cellulose. Using a computer-assisted design approach, scaffolds underwent laser ablation resulting in pores with diameters between 50 and 300 μm without damaging or modifying the surrounding scaffold area.

Scheduled meals and scheduled palatable snacks synchronize circadian rhythms: consequences for ingestive behavior.

Food is a potent time signal for the circadian system and has shown to entrain and override temporal signals transmitted by the biological clock, the suprachiasmatic nucleus, which adjusts mainly to the daily light/dark (LD) alternation. Organisms mostly ingest food in their active period and this permits a correct coordination between the LD and the food elicited time signals with the circadian system. Under conditions when feeding opportunities are shifted to the usual resting/sleep phase, the potent entraining force of food, shifts circadian fluctuations in several tissues, organs, and brain structures toward meal time, resulting a desynchrony within the body and between the organism and the external LD cycle.

Biomimetic calcium phosphate crystal mineralization on electrospun cellulose-based scaffolds.

Novel cellulose based-scaffolds were studied for their ability to nucleate bioactive calcium phosphate crystals for future bone healing applications. Cellulose-based scaffolds were produced by electrospinning cellulose acetate (CA) dissolved in a mixture of acetone/dimethylacetamide (DMAc). The resulting nonwoven CA mats containing fibrils with diameters in the range of 200 nm to 1.

Effective moisture diffusivity determination and mathematical modelling of the drying curves of the olive-waste cake.

Olive cake is an important agro industrial by-product with the dried cake being the input material of many applications areas. In this research, the drying kinetics of olive cake during convective dehydration at five temperatures (50, 60, 70, 80 and 90 degrees C) was investigated. Several empirical mathematical models were selected to describe experimental drying kinetics data, namely, Page, Modified Page, Henderson and Pabis, Modified Henderson and Pabis, Two-Terms, Logarithmic and Weibull.