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BackgroundTo estimate the prevalence, socio-demographic distribution, treatment and control of diabetes mellitus in Panama.MethodsA cross-sectional, descriptive study was conducted in the provinces of Panama and Colon, applying a survey on cardiovascular risk factors and analyzing biochemical indicators in 3590 persons. A single-stage, probabilistic, and randomized sampling strategy with a multivariate stratification was used. Individuals with a previous medical diagnosis of diabetes, glycemia ≥ 126 mg/dl and/or glycosylated hemoglobin ≥ 6.5% (≥ 48 mmol/mol) were considered with diabetes mellitus. The prevalence estimates were calculated as percentages with 95% confidence intervals and a p value. Logistic regression was used to identify the sociodemographic variables that were significantly associated with diabetes. Odds ratio and p values were calculated using 2 x 2 tables, and a value of p ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant.ResultsOf the participants, 7.3% (262/3590) were aware of having diabetes and 2.2% (78/3590) were unaware. The estimated prevalence of diabetes mellitus was 9.5% (340/3590) and increased in proportion to increasing age. The logistic regression revealed relationships between diabetes and age, sex, area of residence and sociocultural groups. 77.9% of the people aware of having diabetes received treatment and 53.4% have not stabilized the disease.ConclusionsThe research evidenced a high prevalence of diabetes mellitus in Panama, where being Afro-Panamanian and 50 years of age or older are sociodemographic risk factors for DM. Due to the complications that the disease may present we recommend actively searching for such cases to increase diagnosis of people unaware of having diabetes.

Pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) is one of the most valuable vegetables in the world. Over the last decades, highly performing cultivars have progressively replaced the diversified and heterogeneous landraces worldwide, causing wide genetic erosion in this crop. The recovery of these ancient landraces, which might preserve alleles of agricultural interest and local adaptations, results of pivotal importance for the development of new varieties and the maintenance of a sustainable agriculture. In the present work, a collection of twenty-six landrace-derived inbred lines and three landraces from NorthWest Spain were evaluated for their agronomic performance and genetic diversity based on a set of twenty-seven morphological descriptors and twenty microsatellite markers. The collection featured phenotypic variability for all the studied traits, which were influenced by the location, except for the yield. The principal component analysis divided the landraces in well-defined groups, with only Arnoia, Punxin and Blanco Rosal showing some degree of overlapping. The greater part of the variance was accounted for traits such as fruit weight, pericarp thickness and fruit shape and colour. The molecular analyses suggested a high level of genetic diversity within the collection and the presence of specific alleles, which were not previously detected in other Spanish pepper landraces. Multivariate and Bayesian clustering showed that landraces were primarily grouped according to their geographical origin and secondarily in agreement with the characteristics of their fruits. Six groups of landraces, with a great genetic differentiation, were clearly identified. Only the landraces Mougan and Arnoia possessed an allele associated to the pungency character.

Fifteen onion landraces from Galicia (northwest Spain) were characterised with a set of 25 microsatellite markers and the genetic variability harboured by this collection was compared with the surrounding diversity by comparison with a representative panel of European onion landraces. Twenty markers were polymorphic allowing the detection of 121 alleles. Ninety-one of these were identified in the Galician group (average of 4.6 distinct alleles per locus) and 9% of the total number of alleles were recorded as unique alleles specifically contributed by onion landraces from northwest Spain. High values of observed and expected heterozygosities were detected for the majority of loci. Wright's fixation index confirmed an excess of heterozygotes and a low level of inbreeding, suggesting that high levels of heterogeneity have accumulated within landraces. Multivariate and STRUCTURE analyses revealed that Galician onions possessed a specific genomic composition different from that found in European landraces. ARTICLE HISTORY

The effect of desferoxamine (DFO)-induced hypoxia on neuronal human mu-opioid receptor (hMOR) gene expression was investigated using NMB cells. DFO decreased cell viability and increased cellular glutathione levels in a dose-and time-dependent manner. Confocal analysis using annexin-V-fluorescein and propidium iodide staining revealed that surviving/attached cells under DFO challenge were morphologically similar to control (vehicle-treated) cells. RT-PCR analysis demonstrated that the hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) mRNA level was augmented in these surviving neurons. DFO treatment for 8hrs or longer down-regulated the hMOR message, but not that of the delta-opioid receptor. Functional analysis using luciferase reporter assay showed that the hMOR 5′-regulatory region, from −357bp to translational initiation site (+1), contains the active promoter with an inhibitory region located in the −422 to −357bp region. DFO decreased hMOR promoter activity as compared to control. Mutation analysis suggested the existence of both dsDNA and ssDNA elements, located in a CT-rich region of hMOR, mediating the DFO-response. RT-PCR further revealed that DFO exhibited no effect on hMOR mRNA stability. In conclusion, DFO-induced hypoxia specifically affects neuronal hMOR gene expression at the transcriptional, not post-transcriptional, level.