Oxidative Stress in Cystic Fibrosis

Airway infection leads to progressive damage of the lungs in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). Oxidative stress has been implicated as a causative factor in the aetiology of that process. Supplementation with antioxidant micronutrients (vitamin E, vitamin C, ß-carotene and selenium), docosahexaenoic acid or glutathione might therefore be helpful in maintaining an adequate redox balance. Current literature suggests a relationship between oxidative status and lung function. In this chapter we will summarize the main pathways of oxidative stress, focusing on results of new antioxidant treatments

Miocarditis aguda: diagnóstico mediante resonancia magnética cardiaca

Cardiomyopathies are a common cause of morbidity and mortality. Myocarditis, which is included among specific cardiomyopathies, frequently presents non-specific clinical manifestations and thus may be difficult to diagnose, or even be misdiagnosed. Traditionally employed diagnostic techniques, including endomyocardial biopsy, have been shown to be of limited value. Following its overall implantation in clinical practice, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is nowadays widely considered to be the best non-invasive diagnostic tool available for diagnosing myocarditi

Evaluation of soil salinity indexes based on bulk electrical conductivity

[SPA] Los sensores del suelo que miden conductividad eléctrica (CE) y humedad desempeñan un papel esencial en el control de la salinidad del suelo. Sin embargo, la interpretación precisa de la salinidad del suelo depende del desarrollo de Índices de Salinidad (IS) adecuados. Este trabajo se enfoca en el estudio del potencial de varios IS basados en la CE del medio (ECb), utilizando análisis de regresión para conocer cómo estos IS representan la salinidad del suelo. Los resultados indican que el ECb es un IS eficiente siempre que se mida a humedad constante. Además, la precisión de esta medida aumenta con la humedad del sustrato. La pendiente del ajuste de regresión lineal humedad-ECb se propone como un IS nuevo y fiable. [ENG] Soil sensors that measure electrical conductivity (EC) and moisture play an essential role in monitoring soil salinity. However, the accurate understanding of salinity depends on the development of suitable sensor-based Salinity Indices (SI). This work studied the potential of several SIs based on bulk EC (ECb), which is the only EC directly measured by sensors. Regression studies were performed to know how these SIs describe soil salinity. The results indicate that ECb is an efficient SI as long as humidity is constant. Moreover, its accuracy increases with substrate moisture. The slope of the linear regression fit moisture-ECb is proposed as a novel and reliable SIEsta investigación ha sido financiada por el Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades de España, el Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional, subvención número RTI2018-093997-B-I00, y por la AEI española (subvención número PCI 2019-103608) bajo el programa PRIMA en el marco del proyecto PRECIMED

Trends analysis of specialized palliative care services in 51 countries of the WHO European region in the last 14 years

Background: Service provision is a key domain to assess national-level palliative care development. Three editions of the European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC) Atlas of Palliative Care monitored the changes in service provision across Europe since 2005. Aim: To study European trends of specialized service provision at home care teams, hospital support teams, and inpatient palliative care services between 2005 and 2019. Design: Secondary analysis was conducted drawing from databases on the number of specialized services in 2005, 2012, and 2019. Ratios of services per 100,000 inhabitants and increase rates on number of services for three periods were calculated. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) analyses were conducted to determine significant changes and chi-square to identify countries accounting for the variance. Income-level and sub-regional ANOVA analysis were undertaken. Setting: 51 countries. Results: Forty-two countries (82%) increased the number of specialized services between 2005 and 2019 with changes for home care teams (104% increase-rate), inpatient services (82%), and hospital support teams (48%). High-income countries showed significant increase in all types of services (p < 0.001), while low-to-middle-income countries showed significant increase only for inpatient services. Central–Eastern European countries showed significant improvement in home care teams and inpatient services, while Western countries showed significant improvement in hospital support and home care teams. Home care was the most prominent service in Western Europe. Conclusion: Specialized service provision increased throughout Europe, yet ratios per 100,000 inhabitants fell below the EAPC recommendations. Western Europe ratios’ achieved half of the suggested services, while Central–Eastern countries achieved only a fourth. High-income countries and Western European countries account for the major increase. Central–Eastern Europe and low-to-middle-income countries reported little increase on specialized service provision