The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of a one-year intervention with a low-carb and low-fat diet on BMI, weight loss, and glycemic control in Hispanic patients with type 2 diabetes. Low-fat participants were given the Mediterranean diet, while the low-carb participants were given the Atkin's diet. A total of 60 randomized participants were assigned to a low-carb or a low-fat diet where they had to monitor their sugar levels and carbohydrate or fat intake. Before the study took place, each participant received nutritional education and tools, such as glucose monitors and a journal, to help them monitor their progress throughout the year. Every three months, health professionals interviewed each participant in order to keep track of their progress. When acquiring the results, the glucose, BMI, and cholesterol levels were measured and compared. Glucose, BMI, cholesterol levels and weight loss significantly decreased. However, the Mediterranean diet had better results than the Atkin's diet. In conclusion, the low-fat Mediterranean diet had the most significant findings.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the correlation between reading fictional literature and an increased level of empathy in children. Using an fMRI machine this paper studies the level of empathy that children who read significantly more or significantly less than one another experience while listening to Hans Christian Andersen's The Ugly Duckling. The findings concluded that the anterior medial prefrontal cortex in children who read significantly more every week is more active than in children who do not. Children who read significantly more are also more likely to detect a situation for which empathy is the proper response and in turn respond empathetically. The results of this study hold significance for the education system, which in the past 15 years has shifted toward teaching for the purpose of standardized testing scores. As this study shows reading fictional literature increases learning outcomes in children that benefits them into adulthood, in turn, benefitting society as a whole. Therefore, the education system needs to focus on teaching fictional literature accompanied by empathy-based discussion, rather than how to take standardized tests. This will increase learning outcomes in children and benefit society through the development of empathetical adults.

Recent studies have shown that genetics have been linked to the influence of conservatism and liberalism in the United States. Evidence has shown that conservatives present more brain matter volume within the anterior cingulate cortex, and liberals present more brain matter volume within the right amygdala. Despite other social and scientific factors that may influence conservatism and liberalism, such as morals, culture, demographics, personality traits, etc., the study conducted determines a correlation between brain structures and conservatism and liberalism. The study conducted consisted of brain studies using MRI evaluations of conservative, liberal and moderate families. These families include a mother, father, and child between the ages of 17 and 19. Results suggest that conservatism and liberalism is influenced by the brain structures of individuals. These results also indicate that conservative and liberal parents have strong influences on the brain structures of their teenage children.

Adiponectin (ADN) is a protein hormone secreted by adipose tissues. Correlations have been discovered between low ADN plasma levels and insulin resistance with increased fasting glucose levels. In order to be diagnosed with T2D, individuals will be given an A1C Hemoglobin test, where a result of 6.5% or higher on two separate occasions constitutes diagnoses. Recent trends depict diabetes, specifically T2D, as a world wide epidemic. Researchers have found genetic markers as factors contributing to the acquisition of T2D, particularly in the Hispanic demographic. The gene associated with diabetes among Hispanics is a specific locus, known as SLC16A11, found in the 17^th chromosome of the human genome. The pathogenesis of SLC16A11alters the carrier’s ability to metabolize lipids and increases their intracellular triacylglycerol levels. The locus was traced back to ancestral mating among Homo sapiens and Neanderthals. A gene therapy medication known as diPGA, was constructed replicating the SLC16A11 locus and attaching ADN and IGF-1 onto receptor sites, and tested among Hispanic subjects throughout Miami-Dade County. Subjects were given the medication to observe if increasing ADN levels in individuals would have an adverse affect on fasting glucose levels (A1C%). Results illustrated that Experimental Groups receiving diPGA showed a significant upward spike in ADN levels, rising steadily and stabilizing during a span of 36 months. Adversely, a negative correlation was noted in reference to fasting glucose levels (A1C%), showing steady decrease and stabilization towards the cessation of the 36-month trial. The results of this clinical trial raise implications that can positively impact the scientific, medical, and Hispanic communities worldwide if successfully replicated in future studies.

As the world becomes more diverse, effectiveness of interaction and empathy continue to decrease. In the nursing career, it is important to keep an open mind and an empathetic heart to execute the maximum quality of care. Fiction literature has proven to engender prosocial skills along with empathy and cognitive participation. FMRIs have shown significant correlations between literary pieces and neural activity in parts of the brain associated with empathy. Because nursing students have shown tremendous decrease in empathy approaching their graduation date, this study tests the effectiveness of fiction literature to prove the enhancement of empathy in the nursing students. This research included an equal number of female and male participants entering the nursing program at West Coast University. Subjects were evaluated on empathy before entering the program, then once more as they were about to graduate. The participants were divided into two groups; one of them received a fiction literature course that focused on empathy and the other did not. The group that was enrolled in the fiction literature course excelled remarkably compared to the group who was not stimulated through fiction literature. Because fiction literature allows nursing students (through guided imagery and other literary tools), the group with the additional course comprehended empathy and embraced it better than the control group.

Review of the literature helped to establish hypertension as a multifactorial disease, meaning that malfunctions in certain genes predispose individuals to developing the condition but the genes are not particularly dominant and the expression of the final phenotype is heavily influenced by the patient’s lifestyle and environment. There is also a disparity concerning the prevalence of chronic illness between individuals of a lower and higher socioeconomic status. It has been shown that people coming from low socioeconomic backgrounds are disadvantaged in terms of disease management. In this study, 30 Zucker rats were used in the first trials of a medication for patients genetically predisposed to hypertension who struggle to manage their condition. The test subjects were separated into 3 groups: a control group who merely got fed twice a day, group 2 who got fed twice a day and received the medication with their first meal, and group 3 who were fed twice a day and received the medication with both meals. The results showed that the test subjects that received the lower dosage did have a decrease in blood pressure although it was slower and less stable compared to the rats that received the higher dosage. Studies must still be conducted although the medication has been deemed safe enough to continue on to the next phase: non-human primates. The hope is that within 5 years, through government assistance such as grants, the medication will be distributed throughout community health centers for the at-risk patient base.

La tiorredoxina es una enzima reductasa que se ha estudiada de manera transversal. De forma computacional se ha tratado de describir el comportamiento anómalo de uno de sus residuos de ácido aspártico (Asp26). Este residuo se encuentra en una cavidad hidrofóbica, por lo que su constante de acidez es 4 órdenes de magnitud inferior al valor en solución. La predicción del cambio de la constante de acidez o DpK_a con métodos teórico-computacionales en residuos como es el Asp26 presenta un gran desafío que se ha estudiado a través de diversos enfoques^1-2.       

En este trabajo se estudió el DpK_a del Asp26 en tiorredoxina en comparación al mismo residuo expuesto al solvente Asp20 utilizando simulaciones de dinámica molecular y cálculos de energía libre con solvente explícito. Para cada estado de protonación se obtuvieron distintas conformaciones por un método de agrupación que se basa en la desviación cuadrática media de la cadena peptídica utilizando el campo de fuerza AMBER99sb. Se calculó el cambio en la energía libre asociado a la transferencia del protón entre los residuos Asp20 y Asp26 usando la población de cada conformación como peso de Boltzmann para comparar con el valor experimental.

En el estado protonado de Asp26 se encontraron distintos confórmeros que se diferencian en los extremos de la cadena peptídica. Por otro lado, para el confórmero más abundante en el estado desprotonado de Asp26 se observa la formación de una interacción electrostática entre las cargas opuestas del Asp26 y una lisina (Lys57). Describir este proceso a través de sus distintos confórmeros hace más precisa la predicción de DpK_a debido a que en cada uno de ellos se presentan diversas interacciones que se traducen en diferencias energéticas que son ignoradas al realizar cálculos de energía libre solo desde una estructura. Al considerar los confórmeros más abundantes junto a su peso de Boltzmann la predicción de DpK_a mejoró en forma significativa.

Fig.1. Tiorredoxina con su superficie de van der Waals en negro, se muestran los residuos de cisteína en el sitio activo, la lisina y los ácidos aspárticos del sitio y el expuesto al solvente.

1. T. Simonson, J. Carlsson, D. A. Case, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2004.
2. S. K. Burger, J. Schofield, P. W. Ayers, J. Phys. Chem. B, 2013.
3. E. Vöhringer-Martinez, T. Verstraelen, P. W. Ayers, J. Phys. Chem. B, 2014.

In a recent article was described in silico repositioning, design, synthesis, biological evaluation and structure-activity relationship (SAR) of an original class of anti-inflammatory agents based on a polyaromatic pharmacophore structurally related to bisacodyl (BSL) drug used in therapeutic as laxative.

Bioenergy is the renewable and sustainable source of energy produced from organic matter. The challenge of depleting non-renewable resources can be addressed by exploiting the capability of biotic systems to produce bioenergy.The study talks about switching from first generation biofuels produced from sugars and seed oils to fourth generation biofuel that involves metabolically engineered plants. Recent developments in molecular biology techniques have provided valuable tools that could effectively optimize and control the processes involved in bioenergy production in the near future. Production of biofuels employing fungi that have high potential for bioconversion of  lignocellulosic materials abundant in nature can also be an effective means. Synthesis of nanostructures using fungi that can serve as super capacitors would be a solution to the problem of storage of bioenergy. The paper also discusses the role of bacteria in Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC). General biochemistry involved in MFC is also presented. Possible limitations or shortcomings are also identified and importance of identifying newer approaches is stressed upon in order to match the future demands.

Torilis leptophylla synonymously called bristle fruit hedge parsley belongs to the genus Torilis. It is widely appraised for its folkloric use in Indo-Pak subcontinent for its potential to cope with liver and gastrointestinal diseases. In order to discern the full medicinal prospects of Torilis leptophylla roots, it is required to have a complete picture of its phytoconstituents therefore comprehensive HPLC-MS profiling is hereby reported for the first time that led to the identification of 11 compounds in the roots of Torilis leptophylla including a C-linked glycoside named          as Flavone-6-C-β-D-xylopyranosyl-(1®4)-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1®4)-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1®4)-β-D-glucopyranoside. This compound was identified for the first time in this genus through combined application of TLC, PC and HPLC-DAD-ESI-MS analyses. So the present study paves way for establishing the identity of secondary metabolites, metabolomic fingerprinting and provides authentic basis for the use of Torilis leptophylla in in vivo applications. In addition, the metabolic pool of phytochemicals can play a noteworthy role in drug discovery and development.