Objective: To compare, along with behavioural habits, the potential atherogenicity of diets in rural and urban areas in Costa Rica.
Design: Subjects were randomly selected from the general population in Costa Rica. A validated food-frequency questionnaire that inquired about dietary intake in the previous year was administered once to each subject. Each subject provided plasma and an adipose tissue biopsy, which were used as biomarkers for carotenoid, tocopherol and/or fatty acid intakes. Each subject also answered another questionnaire on personal profile and household characteristics.
Setting: A dietitian visited all subjects and conducted the interviews at their homes.
Subjects: Adult male and female free-living rural, suburban and urban Costa Ricans without a history of physical or mental disability.
Results: Subjects in rural areas were significantly (P < 0.05) more active physically, earned less income and had a higher intake of dietary fibre than urban dwellers. Urban residents reported a significantly (P < 0.05) higher consumption of total fat, specifically unsaturated fat mostly from soyabean oil, and had higher plasma and adipose tissue tocopherol and lycopene concentrations. Interestingly, no differences in body mass index were observed.
Conclusions: These data show differences in cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors of rural and urban populations in Costa Rica. In rural areas, low socio-economic status and low intake of unsaturated fatty acids appear to be the prevalent CVD risk factors, while in urban areas they were low physical activity, high trans-fatty acids in the diet and adipose tissue, and low dietary fibre intake.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1079/PHN2002372 | DOI Listing |
Langmuir
January 2025
School of Chemistry, Key Centre for Polymers and Colloids, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia.
Polymer Janus nanoparticles with one hard cross-linked polystyrene lobe and one soft film-forming poly(methyl methacrylate--butyl acrylate) lobe were synthesized by reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT)-mediated emulsion polymerization. The Janus nanoparticles adsorbed to oil/water and air/water interfaces, where the soft lobes coalesced, forming films of thickness between 25 and 250 nm; droplets of silicone oil could be stably encapsulated in polymer in this way. When prepared by mechanical mixing without additives, capsules of diameter 5-500 μm could be prepared, and with additives and application of heat, capsules of diameter around 5 μm were achieved, even with highly viscous silicone oil (20,000 cSt).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPhys Rev Lett
December 2024
Institute of Physics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
A comprehensive study of the angular distributions in the bottom-baryon decays Λ_{b}^{0}→Λ_{c}^{+}h^{-}(h=π,K), followed by Λ_{c}^{+}→Λh^{+} with Λ→pπ^{-} or Λ_{c}^{+}→pK_{S}^{0} decays, is performed using a data sample of proton-proton collisions corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 9 fb^{-1} collected by the LHCb experiment at center-of-mass energies of 7, 8, and 13 TeV. The decay parameters and the associated charge-parity (CP) asymmetries are measured, with no significant CP violation observed. For the first time, the Λ_{b}^{0}→Λ_{c}^{+}h^{-} decay parameters are measured.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Venom Anim Toxins Incl Trop Dis
January 2025
Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, University of Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica.
Background: Fish venoms have been poorly characterized and the available information about their composition suggests they are uncomplicated secretions that, combined with epidermal mucus, could induce an inflammatory reaction, excruciating pain, and, in some cases, local tissue injuries.
Methods: In this study, we characterized the 24-hour histopathological effects of lionfish venom in a mouse experimental model by testing the main fractions obtained by size exclusion-HPLC. By partial proteomics analysis, we also correlated these effects with the presence of some potentially toxic venom components.
Zookeys
January 2025
Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA University of California San Diego La Jolla United States of America.
The methane seeps on the Pacific margin of Costa Rica support extensive animal diversity and offer insights into deep-sea biogeography. During five expeditions between 2009 and 2019, we conducted intensive faunal sampling via 63 submersible dives to 11 localities at depths of 300-3600 m. Based on these expeditions and published literature, we compiled voucher specimens, images, and 274 newly published DNA sequences to present a taxonomic inventory of macrofaunal and megafaunal diversity with a focus on invertebrates.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEcol Lett
January 2025
Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), Birmensdorf, Switzerland.
The presence in ecological communities of unfeasible species interactions, termed forbidden links, due to physiological or morphological exploitation barriers has been long debated, but little direct evidence has been found. Forbidden links are likely to make ecological communities less robust to species extinctions, stressing the need to assess their prevalence. Here, we used a dataset of plant-hummingbird interactions, coupled with a Bayesian hierarchical model, to assess the importance of exploitation barriers in determining species interactions.
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