Human Genetics to Identify Therapeutic Targets for NAFLD: Challenges and Opportunities

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a continuous progression of pathophysiologic stages that is challenging to diagnose due to its inherent heterogeneity and poor standardization across a wide variety of diagnostic measures. NAFLD is heritable, and several loci have been robustly associated with various stages of disease. In the past few years, larger genetic association studies using new methodology have identified novel genes associated with NAFLD, some of which have shown therapeutic promise. This mini-review provides an overview of the heterogeneity in NAFLD phenotypes and diagnostic methods, discusses genetic associations in relation to the specific stages for which they were identified, and offers a perspective on the design of future genetic mapping studies to accelerate therapeutic target identification.

Effectiveness of the Philippine Government’s Responses to COVID-19 Pandemic

Background: The COVID–19 pandemic is a health issue and concern that posed domino effects along with health, economy, transportation, and education, among others. In response to the pandemic, governments and institutions worldwide have implemented various measures to slow down the spread of the virus. In the Philippines, both the national and local governments have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic with declarations of emergency, community quarantine, closure of schools and public meeting places, and other restrictions intended to slow the progression of the virus. Aims: The study assessed the effectiveness of the government's responses to the COVID–19 pandemic as perceived by professionals. Place and Duration of the Study: Pangasinan State University between March 2020 to May 2020. Methodology: The descriptive-survey research design was employed to a total of 522 professionals from Northern Luzon, Philippines. Data was gathered for one week after the 60 days implementation of enhanced community quarantine/lockdown using google form. Results: The results of the study showed that the government's responses to the COVID 19 pandemic was perceived effective (grand mean = 3.53); and most effective on the implementation of physical isolation (overall mean = 3.60; DR - effective) but least effective in the implementation of medical responses (overall mean = 3.37; DR – moderately effective). Further, 64.56% believed that the President's decisiveness to address the pandemic was the number factor contributing to the effectiveness of the government's responses. On the other hand, the general public's lack of discipline was seen as the number one factor contributing to the failure of the government's responses to the pandemic, as perceived by 77.39% of the respondents. Conclusion: Despite the pandemic's continuous progression, the people believed that the national and local governments have effectively responded to the pandemic.

Benchmarking tools for DNA repeat identification in diverse genomes

Continuous progression in genomics shows that repeats are important elements of genomes that perform many regulatory and other functions. Eventually, to date, many computational tools have been developed and frequently used for the identification and analysis of genomic repeats. A single tool cannot detect all different types of repeats in diverse species rather pipeline of tools is more effective. But, the choice of such rigorous and robust tools is highly challenging. A method has been implemented to select a set of optimal tools for finding all available classes of perfect and imperfect tandem repeats including microsatellites, minisatellites, and interspersed CRISPRs in genomes. A total of 11 tools have been shortlisted using rule-based selection and then ranked by analyzing rigorousness in searching in diverse species and execution time. Tool comparison shows consistency in perfect microsatellite detection performance but significantly differ for long and imperfect repeats. A web-server has been built which provides a generic platform for various classes of repeat identification from the diverse genome using multiple tools and comparison.

Visual Impairment Caused by Monovision Surgical Design

Neurophysiological anatomy of natural binocular vision shows the need to focus with both eyes to jointly produce the two corneas accommodation, correcting, in a compensatory way, the divergences inherent in the two different images, of the same visual field projected in the two distinct spaces, the two retinas. Corneal accommodation is part of the forced convection mechanism for the transfer of mobile mass in the cornea, trabecular meshwork and retina, to inhibit the accumulation of dehydrated intraocular metabolic residue, which can cause refractive errors in the cornea, obstruction of the trabecular meshwork and reduction of the amplitude of the signals produced by the phototransducers and sent to the brain. The IOL monovision surgical implantation technique differs from the physiology of natural binocular vision, which can cause after surgery disorders, described in this chapter, in that it imposes a different adaptation from the neurophysiological anatomy of human vision in addition to favoring the continuous progression of residue accumulation dehydrated intraocular metabolic and stimulate ocular.

Security in Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks: Challenges and Countermeasures

Recently, vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs) got much popularity and are now being considered as integral parts of the automobile industry. As a subclass of MANETs, the VANETs are being used in the intelligent transport system (ITS) to support passengers, vehicles, and facilities like road protection, including misadventure warnings and driver succor, along with other infotainment services. The advantages and comforts of VANETs are obvious; however, with the continuous progression in autonomous automobile technologies, VANETs are facing numerous security challenges including DoS, Sybil, impersonation, replay, and related attacks. This paper discusses the characteristics and security issues including attacks and threats at different protocol layers of the VANETs architecture. Moreover, the paper also surveys different countermeasures.

Antibacterial Properties of Small-Size Peptide Derived from Penetratin against Oral Streptococci

Periodontitis, an infectious disease originating from dental biofilms that causes the irreversible loss of alveolar bone, is accompanied by gradual biofilm formation and the continuous progression of inflammation. A small peptide derived from penetratin, Arg-Gln-Ile-Arg-Arg-Trp-Trp-Gln-Arg-NH2 (RR9), appears to have antibacterial properties against selected strains associated with periodontitis. The purpose of this research is to assess the antibacterial activity and mechanism of RR9 against the initial oral colonizers Streptococci oralis, Streptococci gordonii, and Streptococci sanguinis and to investigate the cytotoxicity of RR9 on human gingival fibroblasts in vitro. The effects of RR9 on the initial oral settlers of planktonic and biofilm states were evaluated by measuring the MIC, MBC, bactericidal kinetics, and antibiofilm activity. Visual evidence and antibacterial mechanisms were identified, and the anti-inflammatory activity and cytotoxicity were measured. The results demonstrated that RR9 can inhibit the growth of streptococci in the planktonic state and during biofilm formation in vitro while keeping a low toxicity against eukaryotic cells. The antibacterial mechanism was proven to be related to the lower expression of sspA in streptococci. RR9 may be used as a potential antimicrobial and anti-infective agent for periodontal disease.

PROGRESSÃO CONTINUADA NO BLOCO PEDAGÓGICO: desafios para a gestão escolar em uma escola pública da rede municipal de Santa Maria-RS

Este trabalho tem por objetivo apresentar resultados de pesquisa de mestrado profissional em Políticas públicas e Gestão Educacional da UFSM realizada entre os anos de 2016 a 2018, cujo propósito foi analisar as demandas da gestão escolar e os desafios acerca da implementação do regime de progressão continuada no bloco pedagógico do ensino fundamental de uma instituição da rede municipal de Santa Maria-RS. Os processos metodológicos estão embasados na abordagem qualitativa e a metodologia adotada é o estudo de caso. A análise documental teve como base, a legislação de ordem nacional e municipal, bem como documentos oficiais da escola. A construção dos dados ancorou-se nas entrevistas despadronizadas com gestores e professores da escola alvo da pesquisa e na observação participante. Para a análise de dados considerou-se a triangulação dos dados e a análise de conteúdo. Como produto final dessa pesquisa de Mestrado Profissional foi elaborado compartilhadamente o Plano de Gestão Escolar do Bloco Pedagógico no viés do planejamento estratégico. Os estudos apontam que a formação continuada representa a possibilidade de auxiliar na interpretação da progressão continuada no bloco pedagógico. A compreensão da dinâmica da proposta dessa política representa um instrumento de resistência e apoderamento para reivindicar condições adequadas ao funcionamento que promove o sucesso e a permanência dos(as) alunos (as) na escola, para tanto, a gestão escolar pautada na ação participativa e democrática conduz o êxito do ato pedagógico.Palavras-chave: Políticas Públicas Educacionais. Gestão Escolar. Progressão Continuada. Bloco Pedagógico.CONTINUOUS PROGRESSION IN THE PEDAGOGICAL FIELD: challenges for school management in a public school of the municipal network of Santa Maria-RSAbstractThis study aims to present the results of research of a professional master’s degree in Public Policies and Educational Management of UFSM conducted between 2016 and 2018, whose purpose was to analyse the demands of school management and the challenges regarding the implementation of the continuous progression in the pedagogical field of elementary education of an institution of the municipal network of Santa Maria-RS. The methodological processes are based on the qualitative approach and the methodology adopted is the case study. The documentary analysis was based on the national and the municipal legislation as well as the official school documents. The construction of data was anchored in non-standardized interviews with managers and teachers from the target school of this research and participant observation. Data triangulation and content analysis were considered for data analysis. As a final product of this Master's Degree research, the School Management Plan of the Pedagogical Field was elaborated in the strategic planning bias. The studies indicate that continuous education represents the possibility of assisting in the interpretation of the continuous progression in the pedagogical field. The comprehension of the proposal’s dynamics of this policy represents an instrument of resistance and empowerment to claim adequate conditions for the functioning, which promotes the success and permanence of the students in the school. Therefore, the school management based on participatory and democratic action leads to the success of the pedagogical act.PROGRESIÓN CONTINUA EN EL ÁREA PEDAGÓGICA: retos para la gestión escolar en una escuela pública de la red municipal de Santa Maria-RSResumenEste trabajo tiene por objetivo presentar los resultados de investigación de maestría profesional en Políticas Públicas y Gestión Educativa de la UFSM realizada entre los años 2016 y 2018, cuyo propósito fue analizar las demandas de la gestión escolar y los desafíos acerca de la implementación del régimen de progresión continuada en el área pedagógica de la enseñanza primaria de una institución de la red municipal de Santa Maria/RS. Los procesos metodológicos se basan en el abordaje cualitativo y la metodología adoptada es el estudio de caso. El análisis documental tuvo como base la legislación de orden nacional y municipal, así como documentos oficiales de la escuela. La construcción de los datos se ancló en las entrevistas no estándar con gestores y profesores de la escuela objeto de la investigación y en la observación participante. Para el análisis de datos se consideró la triangulación de los datos y el análisis de contenido. Como producto final de esta investigación de Maestría Profesional se ha elaborado comparte el Plan de Gestión Escolar del Área Pedagógica en el sesgo de la planificación estratégica. Los estudios apuntan que la formación continuada representa la posibilidad de auxiliar en la interpretación de la progresión continuada en el área pedagógica. La comprensión de la dinámica de la propuesta de esta política representa un instrumento de resistencia y apoderamiento para reivindicar condiciones adecuadas al funcionamiento, lo que promueve el éxito y la permanencia de los alumnos en la escuela. Por lo tanto, la gestión escolar pautada en la acción participativa y democrática conduce el éxito del acto pedagógico.Palabras clave: Políticas Públicas Educativas. Gestión Escolar. Progresión continua. Área Pedagógica.

Disease-free life expectancy has not improved in Spain

The COVID-19 pandemic has put a stop to the continuous progression in life expectancy at birth, in which Spain was one of the world leaders. Although this downward effect is a result of the present conjuncture and it is hoped that recovery will be swift in the coming years, this situation has led us to consider the evolution prior to the pandemic. It is true that the increase in number of years of life has been progressive and steady but, in recent years, these gains have not implied improved health among the older population. Disability-free life expectancy at the age of 65 has been very stable over time, but the figures are less encouraging when the presence of diseases and chronic conditions are taken into account. In this issue of Demographic Perspectives, we investigate whether there have been gains or losses in years of disease-free life for men and women at the age of 65 in Spain and by autonomous community (AC) in the years 2006, 2012, and 2017. The results indicate that increased life expectancy will also mean that people will live more time with diagnosed diseases unless the present trend is reversed. The most common ailments and conditions include hypertension, chronic back pain, diabetes, and heart disease. The differences between men and women tend to converge in years of life in good health, mainly as a result of a lengthening of time lived in poor health among men.Cabré, A. (1995) “Notes sobre la Transició familiar”. Transcription of the lecture presented at the seminar “Família i canvi social” for the United Nations Association of Spain, Barcelona, 1994. Papers de Demografia, Nº 96

Promising Therapy for Heart Failure in Patients with Severe COVID-19: Calming the Cytokine Storm

The coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic poses a serious global threat to human health and the economy. Based on accumulating evidence, its continuous progression involves not only pulmonary injury but also damage to the cardiovascular system due to intertwined pathophysiological risks. As a point of convergence in the pathophysiologic process between COVID-19 and heart failure (HF), cytokine storm induces the progression of COVID-19 in patients presenting pre-existing or new onset myocardial damage and even HF. Cytokine storm, as a trigger of the progression of HF in patients with COVID-19, has become a novel focus to explore therapies for target populations. In this review, we briefly introduce the basis of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and illuminate the mechanism and links among COVID-19, cytokine storm, and HF. Furthermore, we discuss drugs and therapeutic targets for patients with COVID-19 and HF.