A Trypanosoma cruzi Genome Tandem Repetitive Satellite DNA Sequence as a Molecular Marker for a LAMP Assay for Diagnosing Chagas' Disease

Chagas' disease is a neglected tropical disease caused by Trypanosoma cruzi which is endemic throughout Latin America and is spread by worldwide migration. Diagnosis is currently limited to serological and molecular techniques having variations regarding their sensitivity and specificity. This work was aimed at developing a new sensitive, applicable, and cost-effective molecular diagnosis technique for loop-mediated isothermal amplification-based detection of T. cruzi (Tc-LAMP). The results led to determining a highly homologous satellite repeat region (231 bp) among parasite strains as a molecular marker for diagnosing the disease. Tc-LAMP was performed correctly for detecting parasite DNA (5 fg for the CL Brener strain and 50 fg for the DM28, TcVI, and TcI strains). Assay results proved negative for DNA from 16 helminth species and 7 protozoa, including Leishmania spp. Tc-LAMP based on the highly repeated T. cruzi satellite region is thus proposed as an important alternative for diagnosing T. cruzi infection, overcoming other methods' limitations such as their analytic capability, speed, and requiring specialized equipment or highly trained personnel. Tc-LAMP could be easily adapted for point-of-care testing in areas having limited resources

SENTIA: a systematic online monitoring registry for children and adolescents treated with antipsychotics

INTRODUCTION: Despite drastic increases in antipsychotic prescribing in youth, data are still limited regarding their safety in this vulnerable population, necessitating additional tools for capturing long-term, real world data. METHODS: We present SENTIA (SafEty of NeurolepTics in Infancy and Adolescence; https://SENTIA.es), an online registry created in 2010 to track antipsychotic adverse effects in Spanish youth <18 years old currently taking or initiating with any antipsychotic treatment. SENTIA collects information on sociodemographic, diagnostic and treatment characteristics, past personal medical/psychiatric history, healthy lifestyle habits and treatment adherence. Additionally, efficacy and adverse effect data are recorded including the Children’s Global Assessment Scale; Clinical Global Impressions scale for Severity and Improvement, the Safety Monitoring Uniform Report Form, Simpson-Angus Scale, Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale, vital signs, blood pressure, and EKG. Finally, fasting blood is drawn for hematology, electrolytes, renal, liver and thyroid function, glucose, insulin, lipid, prolactin and sex hormone levels. Initially, a diagnostic interview and several psychopathology scales were also included. Patients are assessed regularly and followed even beyond stopping antipsychotics. RESULTS: Since 01/17/2011, 85 youth (11.5 ± 2.9 (range = 4-17) years old, 70.6% male) have been included at one inaugural center. After a mean duration of 17 ± 11 (range = 1-34) months, 78.8% are still actively followed. For feasibility reasons, the diagnostic interview and detailed psychopathology scales were dropped. The remaining data can be entered in <30 minutes. Several additional centers are currently being added to SENTIA. CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of a systematic online pharmacovigilance system for antipsychotic adverse effects in youth is feasible and promises to generate important information

Sensory hybrid host materials for the selective chromo-fluorogenic detection of biogenic amines

Pyrylium-containing mesoporous materials have been used for the chromo-fluorogenic sensing of biogenic amines in an aqueous environment.Amoros del Toro, Pedro Jose, [email protected]

Pre-operative anxiolysis in children through a combined pharmacological therapy with hydroxyzine and a non-pharmacological distraction technique with a clown (SONRISA): study protocol for randomised double-blind clinical trial.

Background Surgery can generate significant stress and anxiety in up to 70% of the paediatric population. There are several pharmacological and non-pharmacological strategies to reduce pre-operative anxiety in children, however, they have several side effects and the available information about them is contradictory. The role of clowns and hydroxyzine in the management of anxiety is controversial, with some studies supporting and others contraindicating both strategies. Methods We propose a randomised double-blind, controlled clinical trial that will evaluate the effectiveness of both interventions (hydroxyzine and clowns), alone or in combination, to reduce pre-operative anxiety (using the modified Yale scale of preoperative anxiety) in children aged 2–16 years undergoing outpatient surgery (n = 188). Subjects will be randomised into two groups – (1) standard procedure (parental accompaniment) combined with placebo or (2) standard procedure combined with preoperative hydroxyzine. After randomisation, they will be divided by chance into two further groups, depending on the presence of clowns on the patient’s surgery day. Control of pre-operative anxiety will be determined in the four groups by a modified Yale scale of preoperative anxiety and cortisol levels. Compliance of children during induction of anaesthesia, time until anaesthesia recovery, presence of postoperative delirium and use of analgesia until discharge will be also assessed. For additional information, the children, parents and healthcare professionals involved in the study will complete a satisfaction survey. Conclusions This study aims to gather evidence on which of these four therapeutic options achieves the highest reduction of pre-operative anxiety with the best safety profile to allow paediatricians and anaesthesiologists to use the most effective and safe option for their patients.post-print781 K

Density and magnetic susceptibility relationships in non-magnetic granites; a “wildcard” for modeling potential fields geophysical data

EGU2020: Sharing Geoscience Online, 4-8 May 2020Geophysical surveying (both gravity and magnetic) is of great help in 3D modeling of granitic bodies at depth. As in any potential-field geophysics study, petrophysical data (density [r], magnetic susceptibility [k] and remanence) are of key importance to reduce the uncertainty during the modeling of rock volumes. Several works have already demonstrated that ¿18O or [SiO2] display a negative correlation to density and to magnetic susceptibility. These relationships are particularly stable (and linear) in the so-called ¿non-magnetic¿ granites (susceptibilities falling within the paramagnetic range; between 0 and 500 10-6 S.I.) and usually coincident with calc-alcaline (CA) compositions (very common in Variscan domains). In this work we establish robust correlations between density and magnetic susceptibility at different scales in CA granites from the Pyrenees. Other plutons from Iberia were also considered (Veiga, Monesterio). The main goal is to use the available and densely sampled nets of anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) data, performed during the 90¿s and early 2000¿s, together with new data acquired in the last few years, as an indirect measurement of density in order to carry out the 3D modelling of the gravimetric signal. We sampled some sections covering the main range of variability of magnetic susceptibility in the Mont Louis-Andorra, Maladeta and Marimanha granite bodies (Pyrenees), all three characterized by even and dense nets of AMS sites (more than 550 sites and 2500 AMS measurements). We performed new density and susceptibility measurements along two main cross-sections (Maladeta and Mont Louis-Andorra). In these outcrops, numerous measurements (usually more than 50) were taken in the field with portable susceptometers (SM20 and KT20 devices). Density data were derived from the Arquimedes principle applied on large hand samples cut in regular cubes weighting between 0.3 and 0.6 kg (whenever possible). These samples were subsampled and measured later on with a KLY-3 susceptibility bridge in the laboratory. Additionally, some density data were derived from the geometry and weighting of AMS samples. After the calibration of portable and laboratory susceptometers, density and magnetic susceptibility were plotted together. Regressions were derived for every granite body and they usually followed a linear function similar to: r = 2600 kg/m3 + (0.5 * k [10-6 S.I.]). As previously stated, this relationship is only valid in CA and paramagnetic granites, where iron is mostly fractioned in iron-bearing phyllosilicates and the occurrence of magnetite is negligible (or at least its contribution to the bulk susceptibility). These relationships allow transforming magnetic susceptibility data into density data helping in the 3D modelling of the gravimetric signal when density data from rock samples are scarce. Given the large amount of AMS studies worldwide, together with the quickness and cost-effectiveness of susceptibility measurements with portable devices, this methodology allows densifying and homogenizing the petrophysical data when modelling granite rock volumes based on both magnetic and gravimetric signal

Evaluation of the Effect of Hydroxyzine on Preoperative Anxiety and Anesthetic Adequacy in Children: Double Blind Randomized Clinical Trial.

Surgical procedures can generate significant preoperative anxiety (POA) in as much as 70% of the paediatric population. The role of hydroxyzine and distractive techniques such as clowns in the management of anxiety is controversial. Our main objective was to evaluate the effect of hydroxyzine on the control of POA. The secondary objective was to assess the potential additive effect of hydroxyzine and distracting techniques. We performed a randomized double-blind, controlled clinical trial in children aged 2–16 years undergoing outpatient surgery (). Subjects were randomized to hydroxyzine (group 1) or placebo (group 2). For the secondary objective, two further groups were made by allocation by chance to hydroxyzine plus accompaniment with clowns (group 3) and placebo plus clowns (group 4). All patients were accompanied by their parents as the standard procedure. POA was determined by a modified Yale scale of POA (m-YPAS). Compliance of children during induction of anesthesia (Induction Compliance Checklist (ICC)) was also assessed. No differences () were found in POA control at the time of induction measured by m-YPAS (group 1: ; group 2: ; group 3: ; group 4: ). No differences were found in the level of ICC between the different treatment arms (group 1: ; group 2: ; group 3: ; group 4: ). The combination of all treatments (group 3) was the only effective strategy to contain the progression of anxiety. In conclusion, hydroxyzine was not effective to control POA in children. The combination of hydroxyzine and clowns avoided the progression of POA in our patients. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03324828 (registered 21 September 2017, subject recruitment started on 12th January 2018).post-print489 K

Primary care randomized clinical trial: manual therapy effectiveness in comparison with TENS in patients with neck pain

This study investigated effectiveness of manual therapy (MT) with transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) to reduce pain intensity in patients with mechanical neck disorder (MND). A randomized multi-centered controlled clinical trial was performed in 12 Primary Care Physiotherapy Units in Madrid Region. Ninety patients were included with diagnoses of subacute or chronic MND without neurological damage, 47 patients received MT and 43 TENS. The primary outcome was pain intensity measured in millimeters using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Also disability, quality of life, adverse effects and sociodemographic and prognosis variables were measured. Three evaluations were performed (before, when the procedure ?nished and six months after). Seventy-one patients (79%) completed the follow-up measurement at six months. In more than half of the treated patients the procedure had a clinically relevant ?short term? result after having ended the intervention, when either MT or TENS was used. The success rate decreased to one-third of the patients 6 months after the intervention. No differences can be found in the reduction of pain, in the decrease of disability nor in the quality of life between both therapies. Both analyzed physiotherapy techniques produce a short-term pain reduction that is clinically relevant.Ministerio de SanidadInstituto de Salud Carlos II

Unraveling the effect of silent, intronic and missense mutations on VWF splicing : contribution of next generation sequencing in the study of mRNA

Large studies in von Willebrand disease patients, including Spanish and Portuguese registries, led to the identification of >250 different mutations. It is a challenge to determine the pathogenic effect of potential splice site mutations on VWF mRNA. This study aimed to elucidate the true effects of 18 mutations on VWF mRNA processing, investigate the contribution of next-generation sequencing to in vivo mRNA study in von Willebrand disease, and compare the findings with in silico prediction. RNA extracted from patient platelets and leukocytes was amplified by RT-PCR and sequenced using Sanger and next generation sequencing techniques. Eight mutations affected VWF splicing: c.1533+1G>A, c.5664+2T>C and c.546G>A (p.=) prompted exon skipping; c.3223-7_3236dup and c.7082-2A>G resulted in activation of cryptic sites; c.3379+1G>A and c.7437G>A) demonstrated both molecular pathogenic mechanisms simultaneously; and the p.Cys370Tyr missense mutation generated two aberrant transcripts. Of note, the complete effect of three mutations was provided by next generation sequencing alone because of low expression of the aberrant transcripts. In the remaining 10 mutations, no effect was elucidated in the experiments. However, the differential findings obtained in platelets and leukocytes provided substantial evidence that four of these would have an effect on VWF levels. In this first report using next generation sequencing technology to unravel the effects of VWF mutations on splicing, the technique yielded valuable information. Our data bring to light the importance of studying the effect of synonymous and missense mutations on VWF splicing to improve the current knowledge of the molecular mechanisms behind von Willebrand disease. identifier:02869074

El pensamiento reflexivo a través de las metodologías narrativas: experiencias de innovación en educación superior

Coordinació: Marta Sabariego PuigEste cuaderno es fruto de dos proyectos concedidos en las convocatorias de ayudas a la investigación en docencia universitaria (REDI- CE14-1511 y REDICE16-1660). Están centrados en el estudio de las metodologías de carácter narrativo y (auto)biográfico (Suárez, 2011) sobre el pensamiento reflexivo para el desarrollo personal y profesional del alumnado universitario. Ambos proyectos han permitido la consolidación de una comunidad de práctica, una red interuniversitaria e interdisciplinar de profesorado docente e investigador que tiene como finalidad profundizar en la base teórica, la sistematización y la validación de las experiencias de innovación para el fomento del pensamiento reflexivo a través de las metodologías narrativas. El cuaderno es el producto del análisis colectivo de las experiencias desarrolladas y los resultados obtenidos, vinculando la investigación con la innovación para una docencia de calidad que nos lleve a pensar sobre el valor de una de las vías más importantes para construir y reconstruir significados en las actividades de enseñanza y aprendizaje que se plantean en el espacio universitario: la reflexión. El texto está organizado en dos secciones. La primera recoge tres apartados teóricos sobre la fundamentación conceptual del pensamiento reflexivo, las características de los espacios de aprendizaje favorables al desarrollo de esta competencia básica para el aprendizaje en la Universidad y el valor de los dispositivos narrativos diseñados. La segunda sección engloba diez experiencias innovadoras que ilustran el desarrollo de un aprendizaje más reflexivo en el alumnado vía escritura narrativa. Finalmente, el cuaderno concluye con propuestas para contribuir a la renovación y validación de una actividad docente organizada y estructurada a este efecto en la educación superio

Universidad y sociedad: comunicación e integración en empresas e instituciones públicas y organizaciones no lucrativas. Nuevas orientaciones

Proyecto de Innovación docente 2021Depto. de Teorías y Análisis de la ComunicaciónFac. de Ciencias de la InformaciónFALSEsubmitte