54 research outputs found
Eating Disorder Awareness Campaigns:Thematic and Quantitative Analysis Using Twitter
Background: Health awareness initiatives are frequent but their efficacy is a matter of controversy. We have investigated the
effect of the Eating Disorder Awareness Week and Wake Up Weight Watchers campaigns on Twitter.
Objective: We aimed to examine whether the Eating Disorder Awareness Week and Wake Up Weight Watchers initiatives
increased the volume and dissemination of Twitter conversations related to eating disorders and investigate what content generates
the most interest on Twitter.
Methods: Over a period of 12 consecutive days in 2018, we collected tweets containing the hashtag #wakeupweightwatchers
and hashtags related to Eating Disorder Awareness Week (#eatingdisorderawarenessweek, #eatingdisorderawareness, or #EDAW),
with the hashtag #eatingdisorder as a control. The content of each tweet was rated as medical, testimony, help offer, awareness,
pro-ana, or anti-ana. We analyzed the number of retweets and favorites generated, as well as the potential reach and impact of
the hashtags and the characteristics of contributors.
Results: The number of #wakeupweightwatchers tweets was higher than that of Eating Disorder Awareness Week and
#eatingdisorder tweets (3900, 2056, and 1057, respectively). The content of tweets was significantly different between the hashtags
analyzed (P<.001). Medical content was lower in the awareness campaigns. Awareness and help offer content were lower in
#wakeupweightwatchers tweets. Retweet and favorite ratios were highest in #wakeupweightwatchers tweets. Eating Disorder
Awareness Week achieved the highest impact, and very influential contributors participated.
Conclusions: Both awareness campaigns effectively promoted tweeting about eating disorders. The majority of tweets did not
promote any specific preventive or help-seeking behaviors
Cirrhosis-associated immune dysfunction
The term cirrhosis-associated immune dysfunction (CAID) comprises the distinctive spectrum of immune alterations associated with the course of end-stage liver disease. Systemic inflammation and immune deficiency are the key components of CAID. Their severity is highly dynamic and progressive, paralleling cirrhosis stage. CAID involves two different immune phenotypes: the low-grade systemic inflammatory phenotype and the high-grade systemic inflammatory phenotype. The low-grade systemic inflammatory phenotype can be found in patients with compensated disease or clinical decompensation with no organ failure. In this phenotype, there is an exaggerated immune activation but the effector response is not markedly compromised. The high-grade systemic inflammatory phenotype is present in patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure, a clinical situation characterized by decompensation, organ failure and high short-term mortality. Along with high-grade inflammation, this CAID phenotype includes intense immune paralysis that critically increases the risk of infections and worsens prognosis. The intensity of CAID has important consequences on cirrhosis progression and correlates with the severity of liver insufficiency, bacterial translocation and organ failure. Therapies targeting the modulation of the dysfunctional immune response are currently being evaluated in preclinical and clinical studies
Abnormal Distribution and Function of Circulating Monocytes and Enhanced Bacterial Translocation in Major Depressive Disorder
Introduction: Major depressive disorder (MDD) patients experience a systemic inflammatory stage. Monocytes play an important role in innate inflammatory responses and may be modulated by bacterial translocation. Our aim was to investigate the subset distribution and function of circulating monocytes, levels of proinflammatory cytokines, gut barrier damage, and bacterial translocation in MDD patients. Methods: Twenty-two MDD patients without concomitant diseases and 14 sex- and age-matched healthy controls were studied. The levels of circulating CD14++CD16- (classical), CD14++CD16++ (intermediate) and CD14- CD16++ (nonclassical) monocytes and the intracytoplasmic tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and IL-10 expression in the presence or absence of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation were analyzed by polychromatic flow cytometry. The serum TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-10 levels were measured by Luminex. LPS-binding protein (LBP), intestinal fatty acidbinding protein (I-FABP), and zonulin were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results: MDD patients had a significant increase in the frequency of intermediate monocytes and a significant decrease in the frequency of classical monocytes compared to those in the healthy controls. MDD patients had a significantly increased percentage of classical monocytes that expressed IL-1β, intermediate monocytes that expressed IL-1β and IL6 and nonclassical monocytes that expressed IL-1β, and decreased levels of nonclassical monocytes that expressed IL6 compared to those in the healthy controls. MDD patients had significantly increased levels of circulating TNF-α, IL-1β, LBP, and I-FABP compared to those in the healthy controls. MDD patients with high LBP levels had a significant reduction in the number of circulating monocytes compared to that in the normal-LBP MDD patients, which can be mainly ascribed to a decrease in the number of intermediate and nonclassical monocytes. Conclusions: We have demonstrated that compared to the healthy controls, MDD patients show a marked alteration in circulating monocytes, with an expansion of the intermediate subset with increased frequency of IL-1β and IL-6 producing cells. These patients also exhibited a systemic proinflammatory state, which was characterized by the enhanced serum TNF-α and IL-1β levels compared to those in the healthy controls. Furthermore, MDD patients showed increased LBP and I-FABP levels compared to those in healthy controls, indicating increased bacterial translocation and gut barrier damage
Women with psychotic episodes during pregnancy show increased markers of placental damage with Tenney-Parker changes
y. Psychosis is a hazardous and functionally
disruptive psychiatric condition which may affect
women in pregnancy, entailing negative consequences
for maternofetal well-being. The precise pathophysiological basis and consequences of a psychotic episode in
pregnancy remain to be further elucidated. The placenta
is a pivotal tissue with many functions in the gestational
period, critically influencing the fate and development of
pregnancy. Although detrimental alterations have been
observed in women undergoing severe psychiatric
disorders in pregnancy, there are little studies evaluating
the consequences of suffering from a psychotic episode
in the placental tissue In this work, we have evaluated
the histopathological consequences of a first episode of
psychosis in pregnancy (FE-PW; N=22) and compare
them with healthy pregnant women (HC-PW; N=20) by
using histological, immunohistochemical and gene
expression techniques. Our results define that the
placental tissue of FE-PW display an increase in the
number of placental villi, bridges, syncytial knots and
syncytial knots/villi. Besides, we have also observed an
enhanced gene and protein expression in FE-PW of the
hypoxic marker HIF-1α, together with the apoptotic
markers BAX and Bcl-2. To our knowledge, this is the
first study demonstrating significant histopathological
changes in the placenta of women suffering a new-onset
psychotic episode in pregnancy. Further studies should
be aimed at deepening the knowledge about the
pernicious effects of psychosis in the maternofetal
tissues, as well as the potential implications of these
alterations
Infraestructura tecnológica de servicios semánticos para la Web Semántica
This project aims at creating a network of distributed interoperable semantic services for
building more complex ones. These services will be available in semantic Web service
libraries, so that they can be invoked by other systems (e.g., semantic portals, software
agents, etc.). Thus, to accomplish this objective, the project proposes:
a) To create specific technology for developing and composing Semantic Web Services.
b) To migrate the WebODE ontology development workbench to this new distributed
interoperable semantic service architecture.
c) To develop new semantic services (ontology learning, ontology mappings,
incremental ontology evaluation, and ontology evolution).
d) To develop technological support that eases semantic portal interoperability, using
Web services and Semantic Web Services.
The project results will be open source, so as to improve their technological transfer. The
quality of these results is ensured by a benchmarking process.
Keywords: Ontologies and Semantic We
An Updated Review of SARS-CoV-2 Vaccines and the Importance of Effective Vaccination Programs in Pandemic Times
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An Updated Review of SARS-CoV-2 Vaccines and the Importance of Effective Vaccination Programs in Pandemic Times
by Cielo García-Montero 1ORCID,Oscar Fraile-Martínez 1,Coral Bravo 2,3,4,Diego Torres-Carranza 5,Lara Sanchez-Trujillo 1,6ORCID,Ana M. Gómez-Lahoz 1,Luis G. Guijarro 7,Natalio García-Honduvilla 1,8,Angel Asúnsolo 8,9ORCID,Julia Bujan 1,8ORCID,Jorge Monserrat 1,8ORCID,Encarnación Serrano 10,Melchor Álvarez-Mon 1,8,11,Juan A De León-Luis 3,4,5,*ORCID,Miguel A. Álvarez-Mon 1,8,12ORCID andMiguel A. Ortega 1,8,13ORCID
1
Department of Medicine and Medical Specialities, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Alcalá, 28801 Alcalá de Henares, Spain
2
Department of Public and Maternal and Child Health, School of Medicine, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
3
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospital Gregorio Marañón, 28009 Madrid, Spain
4
Health Research Institute Gregorio Marañón, 28009 Madrid, Spain
5
First of May Health Centre, Health Area I, Rivas Vaciamadrid, 28521 Madrid, Spain
6
Service of Pediatric, Hospital Universitario Principe de Asturias, 28801 Alcalá de Henares, Spain
7
Unit of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (CIBEREHD), Department of System Biology, University of Alcalá, 28801 Alcalá de Henares, Spain
8
Ramón y Cajal Institute of Sanitary Research (IRYCIS), 28034 Madrid, Spain
9
Department of Surgery, Medical and Social Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Alcalá, 28801 Alcala de Henares, Spain
10
Los fresnos of Health Centre, Health Area III, Torrejon de Ardoz, 28850 Madrid, Spain
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*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Vaccines 2021, 9(5), 433; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines9050433
Received: 9 April 2021 / Revised: 21 April 2021 / Accepted: 22 April 2021 / Published: 27 April 2021
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Unraveling SARS-CoV-2 Pathogenesis: Development of Vaccines and Therapeutics for COVID-19)
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Abstract
Since the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic was declared a year ago, the search for vaccines has become the top priority in order to restore normalcy after 2.5 million deaths worldwide, overloaded sanitary systems, and a huge economic burden. Vaccine development has represented a step towards the desired herd immunity in a short period of time, owing to a high level of investment, the focus of researchers, and the urge for the authorization of the faster administration of vaccines. Nevertheless, this objective may only be achieved by pursuing effective strategies and policies in various countries worldwide. In the present review, some aspects involved in accomplishing a successful vaccination program are addressed, in addition to the importance of vaccination in a pandemic in the face of unwillingness, conspiracy theories, or a lack of information among the public. Moreover, we provide some updated points related to the landscape of the clinical development of vaccine candidates, specifically, the top five vaccines that are already being assessed in Phase IV clinical trials (BNT162b2, mRNA-1273, AZD1222, Ad26.COV2.S, and CoronaVac)
Technological platform for the semantic web: ontologies, natural language analysis, and e-commerce.
The goal of this project is to provide core technology for the semantic Web. Our aim is to develop an ontology-based platform for allowing users to query e-commerce applications by using natural language, performing the automatic information retrieval from web documents annotated with ontological and linguistic information. ..
Current Opinions about the Use of Duloxetine: Results from a Survey Aimed at Psychiatrists
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a complex psychiatric disorder that, presented alone
or with other comorbidities, requires different adjustments of antidepressant treatments. Some
investigations have demonstrated that psychoactive drugs, such as serotonin and norepinephrine
reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), can exert more effective and faster antidepressant effects than other
common medications used, such as serotonin selective reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), although these
differences are still controversial. During the last five years, the SNRI duloxetine has shown favorable
results in clinical practice for the treatment of MDD, anxiety, and fibromyalgia. Through an online selfcompleted
survey, in the present article, we collected information from 163 psychiatrists regarding
the use of duloxetine and its comparison with other psychiatric drugs, concerning psychiatrists’
knowledge and experience, as well as patients’ preferences, symptoms, and well-being. We discussed
and contrasted physicians’ reports and the scientific literature, finding satisfactory concordances,
and finally concluded that there is agreement regarding the use of duloxetine, not only due to its
tolerability and effectiveness but also due to the wide variety of situations in which it can be used
(e.g., somatic symptoms in fibromyalgia, diabetes) as it relieves neuropathic pain as well.Comunidad de Madrid P2022/BMD-732
Exploring the extent of the hikikomori phenomenon on twitter: Mixed methods study of western language tweets
Background: Hikikomori is a severe form of social withdrawal, originally described in Japan but recently reported in other
countries. Debate exists as to what extent hikikomori is viewed as a problem outside of the Japanese context.
Objective: We aimed to explore perceptions about hikikomori outside Japan by analyzing Western language content from the
popular social media platform, Twitter.
Methods: We conducted a mixed methods analysis of all publicly available tweets using the hashtag #hikikomori between
February 1 and August 16, 2018, in 5 Western languages (Catalan, English, French, Italian, and Spanish). Tweets were first
classified as to whether they described hikikomori as a problem or a nonproblematic phenomenon. Tweets regarding hikikomori
as a problem were then subclassified in terms of the type of problem (medical, social, or anecdotal) they referred to, and we
marked if they referenced scientific publications or the presence of hikikomori in countries other than Japan. We also examined
measures of interest in content related to hikikomori, including retweets, likes, and associated hashtags.
Results: A total of 1042 tweets used #hikikomori, and 656 (62.3%) were included in the content analysis. Most of the included
tweets were written in English (44.20%) and Italian (34.16%), and a majority (56.70%) discussed hikikomori as a problem. Tweets
referencing scientific publications (3.96%) and hikikomori as present in countries other than Japan (13.57%) were less common.
Tweets mentioning hikikomori outside Japan were statistically more likely to be retweeted (P=.01) and liked (P=.01) than those
not mentioning it, whereas tweets with explicit scientific references were statistically more retweeted (P=.01) but not liked (P=.10)
than those without that reference. Retweet and like figures were not statistically significantly different among other categories
and subcategories. The most associated hashtags included references to Japan, mental health, and the youth.
Conclusions: Hikikomori is a repeated word in non-Japanese Western languages on Twitter, suggesting the presence of hikikomori
in countries outside Japan. Most tweets treat hikikomori as a problem, but the ways they post about it are highly heterogeneous
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