Music expression with a robot manipulator used as a bidirectional tangible interface

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Residential Proximity to Urban Play Spaces and Childhood Overweight and Obesity in Barcelona, Spain: A Population-Based Longitudinal Study

Altres ajuts: La Marató de TV3, 201621-30Findings on the relationship between play spaces and childhood overweight and obesity are mixed and scarce. This study aimed to investigate the associations between residential proximity to play spaces and the risk of childhood overweight or obesity and potential effect modifiers. This longitudinal study included children living in the city of Barcelona identified in an electronic primary healthcare record database between 2011 and 2018 (N = 75,608). Overweight and obesity were defined according to the WHO standards and we used 300 m network buffers to assess residential proximity to play spaces. We calculated the risk of developing overweight or obesity using Cox proportional hazard models. A share of 29.4% of the study population developed overweight or obesity, but we did not find consistent associations between play space indicators and overweight or obesity. We did not find any consistent sign of effect modification by sex, and only some indications of the modifying role of area socioeconomic status and level of exposure. Although it is not possible to draw clear conclusions from our study, we call for cities to continue increasing and improving urban play spaces with an equitable, healthy, and child-friendly perspectiv

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on diagnoses of common mental health disorders in adults in Catalonia, Spain : a population-based cohort study

To investigate how trends in incidence of anxiety and depressive disorders have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Population-based cohort study. Retrospective cohort study from 2018 to 2021 using the Information System for Research in Primary Care (SIDIAP) database in Catalonia, Spain. 3 640 204 individuals aged 18 or older in SIDIAP on 1 March 2018 with no history of anxiety and depressive disorders. The incidence of anxiety and depressive disorders during the prelockdown period (March 2018-February 2020), lockdown period (March-June 2020) and postlockdown period (July 2020-March 2021) was calculated. Forecasted rates over the COVID-19 periods were estimated using negative binomial regression models based on prelockdown data. The percentage of reduction was estimated by comparing forecasted versus observed events, overall and by sex, age and socioeconomic status. The incidence rates per 100 000 person-months of anxiety and depressive disorders were 151.1 (95% CI 150.3 to 152.0) and 32.3 (31.9 to 32.6), respectively, during the prelockdown period. We observed an increase of 37.1% (95% prediction interval 25.5 to 50.2) in incident anxiety diagnoses compared with the expected in March 2020, followed by a reduction of 15.8% (7.3 to 23.5) during the postlockdown period. A reduction in incident depressive disorders occurred during the lockdown and postlockdown periods (45.6% (39.2 to 51.0) and 22.0% (12.6 to 30.1), respectively). Reductions were higher among women during the lockdown period, adults aged 18-34 years and individuals living in the most deprived areas. The COVID-19 pandemic in Catalonia was associated with an initial increase in anxiety disorders diagnosed in primary care but a reduction in cases as the pandemic continued. Diagnoses of depressive disorders were lower than expected throughout the pandemic

Changes in air pollution exposure after residential relocation and body mass index in children and adolescents:A natural experiment study

Air pollution exposure may affect child weight gain, but observational studies provide inconsistent evidence. Residential relocation can be leveraged as a natural experiment by studying changes in health outcomes after a sudden change in exposure within an individual. We aimed to evaluate whether changes in air pollution exposure due to residential relocation are associated with changes in body mass index (BMI) in children and adolescents in a natural experiment study. This population-based study included children and adolescents, between 2 and 17 years, who moved during 2011–2018 and were registered in the primary healthcare in Catalonia, Spain (N = 46,644). Outdoor air pollutants (nitrogen dioxides (NO2), particulate matter &lt;10 μm (PM10) and &lt;2.5 μm (PM2.5)) were estimated at residential census tract level before and after relocation; tertile cut-offs were used to define changes in exposure. Routinely measured weight and height were used to calculate age-sex-specific BMI z-scores. A minimum of 180 days after moving was considered to observe zBMI changes according to changes in exposure using linear fixed effects regression. The majority of participants (60–67% depending on the pollutant) moved to areas with similar levels of air pollution, 15–49% to less polluted, and 14–31% to more polluted areas. Moving to areas with more air pollution was associated with zBMI increases for all air pollutants (β NO2 = 0.10(95%CI 0.09; 0.12), β PM2.5 0.06(0.04; 0.07), β PM10 0.08(0.06; 0.10)). Moving to similar air pollution areas was associated with decreases in zBMI for all pollutants. No associations were found for those moving to less polluted areas. Associations with moving to more polluted areas were stronger in preschool- and primary school-ages. Associations did not differ by area deprivation strata. This large, natural experiment study suggests that increases in outdoor air pollution may be associated with child weight gain, supporting ongoing efforts to lower air pollution levels.</p

Rapidly mutating Y-STRs in rapidly expanding populations: Discrimination power of the Yfiler Plus multiplex in northern Africa

The male-specific northern African genetic pool is characterised by a high frequency of the E-M81 haplogroup, which expanded in very recent times (2-3 kiloyears ago). As a consequence of their recent coalescence, E-M81 chromosomes often cannot be completely distinguished on the basis of their Y-STR profiles, unless rapidly-mutating Y-STRs (RM Y-STRs) are analysed. In this study, we used the Yfiler® Plus kit, which includes 7 RM Y-STRs and 20 standard Y-STR, to analyse 477 unrelated males coming from 11 northern African populations sampled from Morocco, Algeria, Libya and Egypt. The Y chromosomes were assigned to monophyletic lineages after the analysis of 72 stable biallelic polymorphisms and, as expected, we found a high proportion of E-M81 subjects (about 46%), with frequencies decreasing from west to east. We found low intra-population diversity indexes, in particular in the populations that experienced long-term isolation. The AMOVA analysis showed significant differences between the countries and between most of the 11 populations, with a rough differentiation between northwestern Africa and northeastern Africa, where the Egyptians Berbers from Siwa represented an outlier population. The comparison between the Yfiler® and the Yfiler® Plus network of the E-M81 Y chromosomes confirmed the high power of discrimination of the latter kit, thanks to higher variability of the RM Y-STRs: indeed, the number of chromosomes sharing the same haplotype was drastically reduced from 201 to 81 and limited, in the latter case, to subjects from the same population

Immunotoxins and Other Conjugates Containing Saporin-S6 for Cancer Therapy

Ribosome-inactivating proteins (RIPs) are a family of plant toxins that permanently damage ribosomes and possibly other cellular substrates, thus causing cell death. RIPs are mostly divided in two types: Type 1 RIPs that are single-chain enzymatic proteins, and type 2 RIPs that consist of an active A chain (similar to a type 1 RIP) linked to a B chain with lectin properties. RIP-containing conjugates have been used in many experimental strategies against cancer cells, often showing great efficacy in clinical trials. Saporin-S6, a type 1 RIP extracted from Saponaria officinalis L. seeds, has been extensively utilized to construct anti-cancer conjugates because of its high enzymatic activity, stability and resistance to conjugation procedures, resulting in the efficient killing of target cells. This review summarizes saporin-S6-containing conjugates and their application in cancer therapy, considering in-vitro and in-vivo studies both in animal models and in clinical trials. The review is structured on the basis of the targeting of hematological versus solid tumors and on the antigen recognized on the cell surface

Supporting Pharmacovigilance Signal Validation and Prioritization with Analyses of Routinely Collected Health Data: Lessons Learned from an EHDEN Network Study

Introduction: Individual case reports are the main asset in pharmacovigilance signal management. Signal validation is the first stage after signal detection and aims to determine if there is sufficient evidence to justify further assessment. Throughout signal management, a prioritization of signals is continually made. Routinely collected health data can provide relevant contextual information but are primarily used at a later stage in pharmacoepidemiological studies to assess communicated signals. Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the feasibility and utility of analysing routine health data from a multinational distributed network to support signal validation and prioritization and to reflect on key user requirements for these analyses to become an integral part of this process. Methods: Statistical signal detection was performed in VigiBase, the WHO global database of individual case safety reports, targeting generic manufacturer drugs and 16 prespecified adverse events. During a 5-day study-a-thon, signal validation and prioritization were performed using information from VigiBase, regulatory documents and the scientific literature alongside descriptive analyses of routine health data from 10 partners of the European Health Data and Evidence Network (EHDEN). Databases included in the study were from the UK, Spain, Norway, the Netherlands and Serbia, capturing records from primary care and/or hospitals. Results: Ninety-five statistical signals were subjected to signal validation, of which eight were considered for descriptive analyses in the routine health data. Design, execution and interpretation of results from these analyses took up to a few hours for each signal (of which 15–60 minutes were for execution) and informed decisions for five out of eight signals. The impact of insights from the routine health data varied and included possible alternative explanations, potential public health and clinical impact and feasibility of follow-up pharmacoepidemiological studies. Three signals were selected for signal assessment, two of these decisions were supported by insights from the routine health data. Standardization of analytical code, availability of adverse event phenotypes including bridges between different source vocabularies, and governance around the access and use of routine health data were identified as important aspects for future development. Conclusions: Analyses of routine health data from a distributed network to support signal validation and prioritization are feasible in the given time limits and can inform decision making. The cost–benefit of integrating these analyses at this stage of signal management requires further research

Characteristics and outcomes of 627 044 COVID-19 patients living with and without obesity in the United States, Spain, and the United Kingdom

Altres ajuts: This research received partial support from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Oxford Biomedical Research Center (BRC), US National Institutes of Health, US Department of Veterans Affairs, Janssen Research & Development, and IQVIA. The University of Oxford received funding related to this work from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (Investment ID INV016201 and INV-019257). APU has received funding from the Medical Research Council (MRC) [MR/K501256/1, MR/N013468/1] and Fundación Alfonso Martín Escudero (FAME) (APU). VINCI [VA HSR RES 13-457] (SLD, MEM, KEL). JCEL has received funding from the Medical Research Council (MR/K501256/1) and Versus Arthritis (21605). MR is funded by Wereld Kanker Onderzoek Fonds (WKOF), as part of the World Cancer Research Fund International grant program [grant number: 2017/1630]A detailed characterization of patients with COVID-19 living with obesity has not yet been undertaken. We aimed to describe and compare the demographics, medical conditions, and outcomes of COVID-19 patients living with obesity (PLWO) to those of patients living without obesity. We conducted a cohort study based on outpatient/inpatient care and claims data from January to June 2020 from Spain, the UK, and the US. We used six databases standardized to the OMOP common data model. We defined two non-mutually exclusive cohorts of patients diagnosed and/or hospitalized with COVID-19; patients were followed from index date to 30 days or death. We report the frequency of demographics, prior medical conditions, and 30-days outcomes (hospitalization, events, and death) by obesity status. We included 627 044 (Spain: 122 058, UK: 2336, and US: 502 650) diagnosed and 160 013 (Spain: 18 197, US: 141 816) hospitalized patients with COVID-19. The prevalence of obesity was higher among patients hospitalized (39.9%, 95%CI: 39.8−40.0) than among those diagnosed with COVID-19 (33.1%; 95%CI: 33.0−33.2). In both cohorts, PLWO were more often female. Hospitalized PLWO were younger than patients without obesity. Overall, COVID-19 PLWO were more likely to have prior medical conditions, present with cardiovascular and respiratory events during hospitalization, or require intensive services compared to COVID-19 patients without obesity. We show that PLWO differ from patients without obesity in a wide range of medical conditions and present with more severe forms of COVID-19, with higher hospitalization rates and intensive services requirements. These findings can help guiding preventive strategies of COVID-19 infection and complications and generating hypotheses for causal inference studies

Multinational patterns of second line antihyperglycaemic drug initiation across cardiovascular risk groups:federated pharmacoepidemiological evaluation in LEGEND-T2DM

Objective: To assess the uptake of second line antihyperglycaemic drugs among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus who are receiving metformin.Design: Federated pharmacoepidemiological evaluation in LEGEND-T2DM.Setting: 10 US and seven non-US electronic health record and administrative claims databases in the Observational Health Data Sciences and Informatics network in eight countries from 2011 to the end of 2021.Participants: 4.8 million patients (≥18 years) across US and non-US based databases with type 2 diabetes mellitus who had received metformin monotherapy and had initiated second line treatments.Exposure: The exposure used to evaluate each database was calendar year trends, with the years in the study that were specific to each cohort.Main outcomes measures: The outcome was the incidence of second line antihyperglycaemic drug use (ie, glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists, sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors, dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors, and sulfonylureas) among individuals who were already receiving treatment with metformin. The relative drug class level uptake across cardiovascular risk groups was also evaluated.Results: 4.6 million patients were identified in US databases, 61 382 from Spain, 32 442 from Germany, 25 173 from the UK, 13 270 from France, 5580 from Scotland, 4614 from Hong Kong, and 2322 from Australia. During 2011-21, the combined proportional initiation of the cardioprotective antihyperglycaemic drugs (glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists and sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors) increased across all data sources, with the combined initiation of these drugs as second line drugs in 2021 ranging from 35.2% to 68.2% in the US databases, 15.4% in France, 34.7% in Spain, 50.1% in Germany, and 54.8% in Scotland. From 2016 to 2021, in some US and non-US databases, uptake of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists and sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors increased more significantly among populations with no cardiovascular disease compared with patients with established cardiovascular disease. No data source provided evidence of a greater increase in the uptake of these two drug classes in populations with cardiovascular disease compared with no cardiovascular disease.Conclusions: Despite the increase in overall uptake of cardioprotective antihyperglycaemic drugs as second line treatments for type 2 diabetes mellitus, their uptake was lower in patients with cardiovascular disease than in people with no cardiovascular disease over the past decade. A strategy is needed to ensure that medication use is concordant with guideline recommendations to improve outcomes of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.</p