Meconio y exposición prenatal a neurotóxicos

6 pages, 1 figures, 2 tables.[ESP] Introducción. La ubicuidad con la que se encuentran la mayoría de las substancias neurotóxicas en el medio ambiente implica a los pediatras en la necesidad de desarrollar métodos para medir la magnitud de la exposición durante los periodos vulnerables del desarrollo. Una forma útil de abordar este problema consiste en analizar muestras biológicas que acumulen las substancias neurotóxicas o sus metabolitos durante el periodo fetal.Método. Revisión bibliográfica sistemática de los últimos 20 años obtenida principalmente de Medline; Science Citation Index y Embase sobre los estudios con meconio como matriz de exposición prenatal a substancias neurotóxicas. El perfil de búsqueda utilizado fue: meconium, prenatal exposure, biological markers, matrices, environmental pollutants, nervous system poisonings, neurotoxicity sindromes. Hemos seleccionado los trabajos más importantes y de sus referencias se han obtenido los más relevantes de los años previos a la búsqueda.Resultados. Tradicionalmente, los esfuerzos para determinar la exposición fetal se han centrado en el análisis de sangre de cordón u orina de la madre o el neonato. El meconio es fácilmente disponible, es inerte, acumula los neurotóxicos y/o sus metabolitos desde la semana 12 de gestación donde quedan “fosilizados” hasta el nacimiento. Puede constituir un instrumento muy importante para investigar la exposición fetal a los distintos contaminantes ambientales y en particular a neurotóxicos.Conclusiones. Las exposiciones fetales a los distintos neurotóxicos estudiados a través de sangre materna, de cordón, pelo, uña, placenta y orina parecen ser menos predictivas sobre los efectos neurológicos que las mediciones de los mismos realizadas en meconio. Son necesarios más estudios en este campo.Implementar y desarrollar la medida en meconio de una amplia gama de sustancias neurotóxicas ayudará en la práctica pediátrica a una intervención e identificación temprana mostrando las exposiciones que puedan provocar daño y facilitando el desarrollo de medidas preventivas y rehabilitadoras.[ENG] Brackground. The environmental ubiquity of most neurotoxicants implies the pediatricians in the development of methods for exposure measurement during the vulnerable periods of development. The analysis of biological samples able to accumulate the neurotoxicant substances or its metabolites during the fetal period is a useful approach to fulfil this objective.Material and methods. A systematic literature review of the last 20 years in Medline, Science Citation Index and Embase on the studies with meconium like womb of prenatal exposure to neurotoxicants has been undertaken. The search profile was: “meconium”, “prenatal exposure”, “biological markers”, “matrices”, “environmental pollutants”, “nervous system poisonings”, “neurotoxicity sindromes”. We selected the most relevant articles and retrieved more from their references.Results. Traditionally, the efforts to determine the fetal exposure have been centered in the analysis of cord blood, urinates of the mother or of the neonato. Meconium is easily available, inert, accumulates the neurotoxicants and/or its metabolitos from week 12 of gestation where they are "fossilized" until the birth. It can constitute a very important instrument for the investigation of the fetal exposure to the different environmental pollutants and in particular to neurotoxicants.Conclusions. Foetal exposure to different neurotoxicants monitored from maternal blood, cord blood, hair, fingernail, placenta and urinates seem to be less predictive for neurological effects than meconium. However, more studies are needed to confirm this hypothesis.Implementation and measurement in meconium of a wide range of neurotoxic substances will be of help in the pediatric practice for intervention and early identification as it will reveal harmful exposures and facilitate the implementation of preventive measures.Los autores quieren expresar su agradecimiento a los miembros de la red de Investigación Colaborativa INMA, y en especial a Amparo Quiles Latorre, Elena Romero Aliaga y Sandra Pérez Aliaga, por su apoyo y colaboración en la realización del trabajo de campo; al equipo de enfermería de la 7ª, 8ª y 9ª de la maternidad del Hospital Materno-Infantil Universitario La Fe y a los recién nacidos y sus felices padres que con su colaboración y entusiasmo hacen posible llevar a término estos estudios.Peer reviewe

Consumer electronics devices for DNA genotyping based on loop-mediated isothermal amplification and array hybridisation

[EN] Consumer electronic technologies offer practical performances to develop compact biosensing systems intended for the point-of-care testing of DNA biomarkers. Herein a discrimination method for detecting single nucleotide polymorphisms, based on isothermal amplification and on-chip hybridisation, was developed and integrated into user-friendly optical devices: e.g., USB digital microscope, flatbed scanner, smartphone and DVD drive. In order to adequately identify a single base change, loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) was employed, with high yields (8 orders) within 45 min. Subsequently, products were directly hybridised to the allele-specific probes attached to plastic chips in an array format. After colorimetric staining, four consumer electronic techniques were compared. Sensitive precise measurements were taken (high signal-to-noise ratios, 10-mu m image resolution, 99% scan-to-scan reproducibility). These features confirmed their potential as analytical tools, are a competitive alternative to fluorescence scanners, and incorporate additional advantages, such as user-friendly interface and connectivity for telemedicine needs. The analytical performances of the integrated platform (assay and reader) in the human samples were also excellent, with a low detection limit (100 genomic DNA copies), and reproducible (< 15%) and cheap assays (< 10 (sic)/test). The correct genotyping of a genetic biomarker (single-nucleotide polymorphism located in the GRIK4 gene) was achieved as the assigned genotypes agreed with those determined by using sequencing. The portability, favourable discriminating and read-out capabilities reveal that the implementation of mass-produced low-cost devices into minimal-specialised clinical laboratories is closer to becoming a reality.The authors acknowledge the financial support received from the Generalitat Valenciana, Spain (GVA-PROMETEOII/2014/040 Project and GRISOLIA/2014/024 Ph.D. grant) and the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, Spain (MINECO CTQ2016-75749-R project) by U. E. FEDER funds. The authors also thank J. Carrascosa for supporting the DVD reader measurements.Tortajada-Genaro, LA.; Yamanaka, ES.; Maquieira Catala, A. (2019). Consumer electronics devices for DNA genotyping based on loop-mediated isothermal amplification and array hybridisation. Talanta. 198:424-431. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.talanta.2019.01.124S42443119

Cocaína, violencia y género desde el punto de vista de los profesionales

Objetivo: El presente estudio pretende conocer los comportamientos violentos de hombres y mujeres consumidores de cocaína desde la perspectiva de los profesionales del área de drogodependencias y la violencia.Metodología: Se utilizó metodología cualitativa, concretamente se realizaron entrevistas semiestructuradas a una muestra representativa de profesionales de Unidades de Conductas Adictivas (UCA) y de Centros Mujer 24 Horas (CM24H) de la Comunitat Valenciana. El análisis de los datos, a excepción de las preguntas cerradas que se analizaron estadísticamente, se realizó siguiendo la Grounded Theory, lo que implica un método de comparaciones constantes que intenta generar teoría a partir de los datos empíricos y ofrece la posibilidad de comprensión del fenómeno desde el interior del mismo.Resultados: En opinión de los profesionales los hombres manifiestan más violencia de tipo físico que las mujeres, siendo más probable que éstas manifiesten su violencia verbalmente. Las conductas violentas suelen ir dirigidas hacia la pareja en el caso de los hombres y en el caso de las mujeres hacia sus hijos. Los hombres cocainómanos tienen más redes de apoyo en el proceso de tratamiento, normalmente reciben soporte de su pareja, no ocurriendo así en el caso de las mujeres cocainómanas que normalmente comienzan el tratamiento por voluntad propia y son apoyadas por algún miembro de su familia, que normalmente suele ser una mujer. Es habitual la existencia de violencia durante el proceso de tratamiento, pues las mujeres que se encuentran incluidas en estos programas de tratamiento suelen ser víctimas de violencia.Discusión: La relación entre consumo de cocaína y violencia es muy compleja, en este estudio se indica que las conductas violentas entre consumidores de cocaína pueden variar según género. Es importante continuar la tarea investigadora para profundizar en estas diferencias y mejorar así la calidad de los programas asistenciales dirigidos a esta población

El emprendimiento como propuesta de cambio y herramienta clave para acercar la formación universitaria a la realidad social del mercado laboral

La discusión relativa a si la formación universitaria prepara para la realidad del mercado laboral, siempre ha despertado gran interés en nuestra sociedad y es una necesidad sin resolver en la actualidad. A pesar de los cambios que ha traído consigo la convergencia europea a la Universidad española, la formación de nuestros estudiantes sigue careciendo de las herramientas que les demanda la sociedad del siglo XXI y el mundo empresarial. El espíritu emprendedor transmitido por los docentes en las aulas, respondería a esa necesidad y ayudaría a ese acercamiento al mundo laboral de los estudiantes universitarios que tanto se demanda. Pero la capacidad emprendedora ¿es enseñable? ¿Se puede evaluar? La revisión de la literatura más reciente es ambigua respecto a qué evaluar (actitud, valor, competencia, habilidad, rasgo de personalidad, intención), y eso dificulta el diseño de planes efectivos de desarrollo del emprendimiento entre nuestro alumnado. El trabajo que presentamos se posiciona razonadamente en el aspecto a medir y plantea una propuesta de innovación dirigida a fomentar en los alumnos universitarios las competencias emprendedoras, y junto a ellas, la inteligencia emocional, la felicidad y la creatividad como elementos facilitadores del rendimiento académico y herramientas clave para su incorporación al mercado laboral.The discussion on the potential role of Higher education to prepare for the labour market has always given a great interest in our society and it is an unresolved need today. Despite of the changes promoted by the European convergence process to the Spanish universities, the student training still lacks the skills demanded by the 21st century society and the business world. The entrepreneurial spirit transmitted by the teachers in the classrooms would respond to this social necessity and would help to introduce university students to the working world that is in a high demand nowadays. But is the entrepreneurial capacity teachable? Can it be evaluated? The review of the most recent literature is ambiguous about its evaluation (attitude, value, competence, ability, personality trait, intention), and this difficulties an effective design about entrepreneurship development plans among our students. The work we present is reasonably positioned in the aspect to be measured and offers a proposal for innovation aimed to encourage the entrepreneurial competences in the university students, and taken together, the emotional intelligence, happiness and creativity as facilitator elements for a higher academic performance and as key tools for their incorporation into the labour market

Adult diagnosis of Swyer-James-MacLeod syndrome: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Swyer-James-MacLeod syndrome or unilateral hyperlucent lung syndrome is a rare entity associated with postinfectious bronchiolitis obliterans occurring in childhood. It is characterized by hypoplasia and/or agenesis of the pulmonary arteries resulting in pulmonary parenchyma hypoperfusion.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>Here we report the case of a 53-year-old Caucasian woman with Swyer-James-MacLeod syndrome found in the differential diagnosis workup for a new onset of heart failure, secondary to pulmonary arterial hypertension complicated by a patent ductus arteriosus.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Typically, this disorder is diagnosed in childhood after evaluation for recurrent respiratory infections, but sometimes an indolent course means diagnosis is not made until adulthood.</p

One-pot isothermal DNA amplification Hybridisation and detection by a disc-based method

[EN] An integrated sensor comprising isothermal DNA amplification and in situ detection is presented. The method principle is based on recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) and detection in the microarray format by compact disc technology as a high-throughput sensing platform. Primers were immobilised on the polycarbonate surface of digital versatile discs (DVD) and, after hemi-nested amplification, multiplexing identification of each tethered product was achieved by optical scanning with a 650 nm-laser of the DVD drive. The efficiency of one-pot hybridisation/elongation/detection depended strongly on probedensity and other factors such as the concentration of the unbound primers present in solution. The optimised conditions provided equivalent amplification factors (7.3 x 10(8) -8.9 x 10(8) fold) to those obtained by conventional reactions performed in vials. The proposed method was applied to Salmonella detection (generic by hns and oriC genes, and specific for subspecies I by STM4507 gene). A triplex assay was satisfactorily compared to the non-integrated protocols. Food and vaccine samples were analysed in a shorter time with less handling. The results indicate that the multiplex DVD assay is a simple, competitive, isothermal, portable system that is particularly useful for microbiological routine analysis. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.This research has been funded through Projects GVA-PROMETEO/2010/008 (Generalitat Valenciana) and CTQ/2013/ 45875-R (MINECO). The Spanish Ministry of Education and Science provided S.S.F. with a grant for her PhD studies.Santiago Felipe, S.; Tortajada-Genaro, LA.; Morais, S.; Puchades, R.; Maquieira Catala, Á. (2014). One-pot isothermal DNA amplification Hybridisation and detection by a disc-based method. Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical. 204:273-281. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.snb.2014.07.073S27328120

Hepatitis A virus vaccine escape variants and potential new serotype emergence.

Six hepatitis A virus antigenic variants that likely escaped the protective effect of available vaccines were isolated, mostly from men who have sex with men. The need to complete the proper vaccination schedules is critical, particularly in the immunocompromised population, to prevent the emergence of vaccine-escaping variants

Hepatitis a among men who have sex with men in Barcelona, 1989-2010: insufficient control and need for new approaches

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Men who have sex with men (MSM) are a known group at risk for hepatitis A and outbreaks among this group are frequent. In Barcelona, vaccination for MSM has been recommended since 1994. In 1998 a vaccination campaign among preadolescents was implemented and an immunization program in gay bathhouses began in 2004. Objective: to asses the incidence of hepatitis A in adults in Barcelona from 1989 to 2010 and to evaluate the outbreaks among MSM including all genotypes involved.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>All cases of acute hepatitis A among young adults notified to the Public Health Agency of Barcelona from 1989 to 2010 were included for analyses. We calculated the annual incidence rate and the incidence ratio male-to-female (M:F) as a marker for MSM. Spearman's coefficient was used to evaluate trends. We also evaluated the outbreaks among MSM and compared their characteristics using Chi-squared and ANOVA test. Fragment amplification of the VP1/P2A region was used for genetic analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The median annual incidence for the period of study was 4.7/100000 among females and 11.7/100000 among males. The rate of hepatitis A for adult woman decreased over time (Spearman' coefficient = -0.63, <it>p </it>= 0.002), whereas there was no decrease for adult men (Spearman' coefficient = 0.097, <it>p </it>= 0.67). During the study period the M:F ratio increased (Spearman' coefficient = 0.73, <it>p </it>< 0.001).</p> <p>Three large outbreaks among MSM were detected. When comparing outbreaks, there was a decrease in the percentage of bathhouse users (from 47% to 19%, <it>p </it>= 0.0001) and sex workers (from 6.5% to 0%) while the percentage of HIV infected individuals did not change significantly (range: 21%-28%, <it>p </it>= 0.36). The isolated strains were closely related to those circulating in Europe.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Annual incidences remain high among MSM without tendency to decrease. More strategies which effectively reach the whole MSM community are needed.</p

Population-based identification of H α-excess sources in the Gaia DR2 and IPHAS catalogues

We present a catalogue of point-like H α-excess sources in the Northern Galactic Plane. Our catalogue is created using a new technique that leverages astrometric and photomeric information from Gaia to select H α-bright outliers in the INT Photometric H α Survey of the Northern Galactic Plane (IPHAS), across the colour-absolute magnitude diagram. To mitigate the selection biases due to stellar population mixing and to extinction, the investigated objects are first partitioned with respect to their positions in the Gaia colour-absolute magnitude space, and Galactic coordinates space, respectively. The selection is then performed on both partition types independently. Two significance parameters are assigned to each target, one for each partition type. These represent a quantitative degree of confidence that the given source is a reliable H α-excess candidate, with reference to the other objects in the corresponding partition. Our catalogue provides two flags for each source, both indicating the significance level of the H α-excess. By analysing their intensity in the H α narrow band, 28 496 objects out of 7474 835 are identified as H α-excess candidates with a significance higher than 3. The completeness fraction of the H α outliers selection is between 3 and 5 per cent. The suggested 5σ conservative cut yields a purity fraction of 81.9 per cent.MM acknowledges the support by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and University (MICIU/FEDER, UE) through grant RTI2018-095076-B-C21, and the Institute of Cosmos Sciences University of Barcelona (ICCUB, Unidad de Excelencia ‘María de Maeztu’) through grant CEX2019-000918-M