Browsing by Author "Aguirre, Carolina"

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    Climate change-related warming-induced shifts in leaf chemical traits favor nutrition of the specialist herbivore Battus polydamas archidamas
    (2023) Gonzalez-Teuber, Marcia; Palma-Onetto, Valeria; Aguirre, Carolina; Ibanez, Alfredo J.; Mithoefer, Axel
    One of the major impacts of climate change is increasing global temperatures. Because warming is expected to affect plant morphological and chemical traits, it may therefore also influence plant interactions with other trophic levels, including herbivores. Here, we simulated a climate warming scenario of +2.7 degrees C in the field using open-top chambers and assessed the effects of warming on plant performance (growth, leaf area, and chlorophyll), leaf nutrients (nitrogen and carbon), and primary (amino acids and carbohydrates) and secondary (toxic aristolochic acids) metabolites in the plant Aristolochia chilensis. We performed untargeted metabolomics analyses for estimating general changes in foliar metabolites between ambient control and warming-treated plants. Bioassays were additionally conducted to evaluate how changes in host plant chemistry affected growth and nutritional parameters in first-instar larvae of the specialist lepidopteran herbivore Battus polydamas archidamas. We found that warming did not significantly affect plant performance, but did result in significant changes in leaf nutrients, and primary and secondary metabolites, although in opposite directions. While primary metabolites (specifically, nitrogen-containing compounds) decreased in response to treatment, aristolochic acids increased. Untargeted metabolomics analyses showed that, of a total of 824 features, 50 were significantly different between ambient control and warming-treated plants; some of these were identified by MS/MS spectra as amino acids. Larvae feeding on warming-treated plants, showed significantly enhanced growth, food conversion efficiency, and lipid concentration. Our study contributes to current understanding of climate change impacts on trophic interactions, showing that projected temperature increases lead to changes in the resistance phenotype of the host plant, favoring nutrition and growth of a unique specialist herbivore.
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    Excess weight and gastrointestinal symptoms in Chilean celiac patients at the time of diagnosis
    (2019) Parada, Alejandra C.; Mendez, Constanza; Aguirre, Carolina
    Introduction: celiac disease is an immune condition that results in histologic changes in the small bowel and produces both digestive and extra-digestive symptoms. Intestinal damage results in malabsorption and impaired weight or impaired optimal weight gain. However, these patients may be overweight or obese in spite of histologic damage. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of excess weight in newly diagnosed (adult) celiac patients.
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    Excess weight and gastrointestinal symptoms in Chilean celiac patients at the time of diagnosis.
    (2019) Parada, Alejandra; Mendez Vejar, Constanza; Aguirre, Carolina
    Introduction: celiac disease is an immune condition that results in histologic changes in the small bowel and produces both digestive and extra-digestive symptoms. Intestinal damage results in malabsorption and impaired weight or impaired optimal weight gain. However, these patients may be overweight or obese in spite of histologic damage. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of excess weight in newly diagnosed (adult) celiac patients.Methodsthis was a retrospective observational study of patients recently diagnosed with celiac disease according to the standard Marsh classification. Nutritional status was assessed based on body mass index (BMI), as categorized by the World Health Organization (WHO). Clinical presentation was classified as typical or atypical. Potential differences in gastrointestinal symptoms according to nutritional status were also assessed.Resultsa total of 135 medical records of adult celiac patients (women = 123; men = 12) were reviewed. The average weight and BMI were 61.1 kg and 23.7 kg/m2, respectively. The proportion of typical clinical presentations was 59.2% and of atypical presentations 40.8%. A total of 71.8% of patients had a BMI indicating low or normal weight and 28.1% had a BMI indicative of being overweight or obese. No differences with regard to the presence of gastrointestinal symptoms were found according to nutritional status.Conclusionsfurther studies are needed to jointly assess energy intake and intestinal absorption in these patients, in order to explain the high rate of excess weight.
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    Nikolai Gogol's account of sleep paralysis in the tale "The Portrait"
    (2021) Aguirre, Carolina; Miranda, Marcelo; Stefani, Ambra
    Several classical writers had an impressive power of observation and often depicted medical conditions in their works long before medical literature did. Sleep paralysis is a common and frightening experience, in particular when occurring for the first time. Therefore, it is not surprising that it has been frequently described in the classical literature, eg by Dostoevsky, Kafka, Dickens, and Maupassant. In Nikolai Gogol's tale "The portrait" (1833) we could recognize an excellent description of a sleep paralysis, in which several components of this condition were depicted including motor paralysis, visual and auditory hallucinations, and autonomic manifestations. To the best of our knowledge, this account is the earliest description of a sleep paralysis in non-medical literature. (c) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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    Predicting academic success in undergraduate students from the Nutrition and Dietetics degree program from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
    (2024) Pettinelli, Paulina; Fernandez-Verdejo, Rodrigo; Fredes, Carolina; Parada, Alejandra; Aguirre, Carolina
    Introduction: Identifying the factors that determine academic success can help design strategies focused on increasing academic success. We aimed to identify predictors associated with academic success in undergraduate students of the Nutrition and Dietetics Program of the Pontificia Universidad Cat & oacute;lica de Chile (PUC). Methods: Retrospective study using the institutional database. Academic success was the main outcome, including two indexes: i) final grade point average (GPA-f) and; ii) timely graduation, defined as graduating in <= 10 semesters. Candidate predictors were: age, sex, region of origin, school attended, score at the university selection test (PSU-score), admission route, and preference for the program. Stepwise linear regression was used to identify predictors of GPA-f. Binary logistic regression was used to identify variables associated with timely graduation. Results: PSU-score was the only predictor of GPA, explaining 24% of its variance. The odds (OR [95%CI]) for a timely graduation were influenced by PSU-score (1.017 [1.003- 1.031]) and admission route (PSU 1.00 [Reference], Inclusive 0.30 [0.10- 0.96], Special 0.46 [0.13- 1.57]). Conclusions and implications: PSU-score partially predicts the academic success of Nutrition and Dietetics students. In addition, students who accessed the program by the equity admission had lower odds of a timely graduation. As educational inequalities may affect academic success, the teaching and learning process needs to be addressed with specific strategies for these students to ensure academic success.
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    Rol de la microbiota intestinal en el desarrollo del hígado graso no alcohólico
    (Sociedad Médica de Santiago, 2021) Tumani Karmy, María Fernanda; Tapia, Gladys; Aguirre, Carolina; Obregón, Ana María; Pettinelli, Paulina
    Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) encompasses a wide spectrum of hepatic pathologies ranging from simple steatosis (SS) to hepatocellular carcinoma. Intestinal microbiota (IM) is composed of trillions of microorganisms existing in the gut. It has 150 times more genes than the host. Changes in the composition and function of the IM are associated with different diseases, including NAFLD. In this condition, IM could have a pathogenic role through different mechanisms such as energy salvaging from food, an inflammatory stimulus, a modulation of the innate immune system, regulation of bile acid turnover, alteration of choline metabolism and increasing endogenous ethanol levels. This review is an update on the role of the intestinal microbiota in NAFLD and the possible mechanisms involved.
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    We Only Collect What We Need: Women's Experiences on Collecting Cauchao (Amomyrtus luma Molina) in Food Systems of Extreme South Forests in Chile
    (2024) Fredes, Carolina; Parada, Alejandra; Aguirre, Carolina; Rojas, Loreto; Robert, Paz; Bernales, Margarita
    The collection of the ancestral fruit cauchao (Amomyrtus luma) is part of the routines of women gatherers from the extreme south (44 degrees South Latitude) in Chile. The traditional food knowledge of cauchao has not been documented, and there is no data on the nutritional composition. Women's experiences collecting cauchao can help understand the relationship between traditional food, herbal medicine, and local gatherers' communities. Thus, this research explores the traditional knowledge of food and the nutritional composition of cauchao. Mixed methods research was performed. A case study included in-depth interviews with 12 women gatherers and thematic analysis. The composition of macronutrients in cauchao was obtained by proximate chemical analyses and dietary fiber using the enzymatic-gravimetric method. Results showed that gathering for these women was more than just extracting natural resources; it was associated with family, food security, participation in different stages of the food system, and practices that could contribute towards sustainable food systems. Furthermore, cauchao fruit showed a high dietary fiber content, and women gatherers did not connect cauchao with dietary fiber. Since access to knowledge by small-scale food producers, especially women, is part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG#2.3), the approach of this research may help guide knowledge transfer among women gatherers.