Utilidad de la antitrombina III en la detección de coagulopatías asociadas a anemias hemolíticas en animales críticos

En este trabajo se describe el resultado de la determinación de antitrombina III (ATIII) en veintitrés casos de anemia hemolítica asociada a estados de hipercoagulabilidad sanguínea. El 74% de los pacientes presentaron tasas bajas de ATIII y por lo tanto presentaban riesgos de desarrollar trombosis o coagulaciones intravasculares diseminadas (CID).

Enlace de encuestas: una propuesta metodológica y aplicación a la encuesta de presupuestos de tiempo

Tratamos el problema de completar dos ficheros con registros conteniendo un subconjunto común de variables. La técnica investigada utiliza árboles de regresión y/o clasificación. Se propone y estudia una extensión para variables respuesta multivariantes, ilustrando su empleo sobre la Encuesta de Presupuestos de Tiempo (EPT-93)

Desigualdad, bienestar y estadísticos ordenados

En este trabajo se definen, a partir de las distribuciones de los estadísticos ordenados, funciones que cumplen las propiedades adecuadas para representar las preferencias sociales en relación a las distribuciones de renta. Ello permite, aplicando el enfoque de Yaari (1987, 1988), construir un conjunto de funciones de bienestar social, de las que se derivan sus correspondientes índices de desigualdad. Las medidas así obtenidas incorporan criterios normativos muy diversos, con diferentes grados de preferencia por la igualdad. Se obtienen, como casos particulares, los índices de Gini generalizados (Kakwani (1980), Donaldson y Weymarck (1980, 1983), Yitzhaki (1983)) y la familia de índices propuesta en Aaberge (2000). El enfoque utilizado demuestra que cada una de estas familias de índices caracteriza la distribución de la renta, salvo un cambio de escal

Modeling Nonconfined Density Currents Using 3D Hydrodynamic Models

Density currents generated by marine brine discharges, e.g., from desalination plants, can have a negative impact on marine ecosystems. It is therefore important to accurately predict their behavior. Predictions are often made using computational hydrodynamic models, which should be validated using field or laboratory measurements. This paper focuses on the setup and validation of three-dimensional (3D) models for estimating the transport and mixing processes that occur in these types of flows. Through a comprehensive sensitivity analysis based on the reproduction of several laboratory-generated density currents, a set of recommendations are made regarding the modeling aspects, including the domain discretization, the treatment of momentum at the density current source, the hydrostatic hypothesis and the selection of turbulence closure models. Finally, the proposed numerical model setup is validated using different experimental data showing good agreement in terms of the main variables considered: errors of less than 1.3% for dilution and of 6% for velocity. This study serves as a first step toward the full validation of these 3D hydrodynamic models for the simulation of field-scale density currents.This study was partially funded by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) under research project TRA2011-28900 (PLVMA3D). B. Pérez-Díaz would like to thank MINECO for providing funding under the FPI Program (research fellowship, reference number BES-2012-053693) and the Coasts and Ocean Group of HRWallingford for their assistance with numerical tasks

Identification of bioactive compounds in diabetes and infertility models of C. elegans

Polycystic ovary syndrome (POS) is a complex and heterogeneous endocrine disease characterized by hyperandrogenism, oligo-anovulation and metabolic disorders, including insulin resistance, obesity and type II diabetes. Additionally, POS causes infertility in childbearing age women, making of great interest the search of new treatments and compounds for the improvement of the symptoms of this chronic disease. Despite the definitive pathological mechanism of POS is still unknown, as mentioned before there is a strong relation between the syndrome and different alterations in the insulin signaling pathway. This pathway is evolutionary conserved and it has a homologue pathway in the organism Caenorhabditis elegans. Mutations in the insulin receptor homologue daf-2 gene or in the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) homologue age-1, result in reduction of fertility, being the decrease in progeny sharper in the allele age-1(mg305) mutant, in addition to a less pleiotropic effect. We consider this mutant of C. elegans a good model to study the insulin pathway, and specifically POS, due to the high degree of conservation of the pathway and the similarities between the phenotype caused by the mutation and the human symptoms

Evaluation of an enhanced service for medication review with follow up in Swiss community pharmacies: Pre-post study protocol.

In Switzerland, 20,000 people are hospitalized each year as result of drug related problems (DRPs). The sources of DRPs can be related to patients' behavior (i.e., wrong administration) or to health processes (i.e., drug-drug interaction). No community pharmacy (CP) service focus on DRPs related to patients' behavior is currently recognized or remunerated in Switzerland. A medication review with follow up (MRF) has been developed to evaluate prescription and non-prescription medication. To evaluate the impact of MRF service for the identification and management DRPs associated to patients' behavior and to describe pharmaceutical interventions carried out through MRF. A pre-post intervention study with a cluster design and one intervention group will be carried out in CPs in the canton of Vaud (Switzerland) for 15 months. Volunteer pharmacists will be trained on the identification and management of DRPs related to patients' behavior. After training, they will include randomly selected adults taking four or more chronic drugs prescribed for at least three months prior to recruitment. Then, they will conduct three pharmacist-patient face-to-face consultations at 6-month intervals. Tasks will be differentiated by pharmacy technician or pharmacist to triage expired medication or to manage DRPs in a structured manner, respectively. The primary outcome is the identification of DRPs associated to patients' behavior. Secondary outcomes are to assess patients' medication knowledge, number of expired medications, interventions carried out by pharmacists and pharmacists' satisfaction. The study will begin in April 2023 in 19 to 35 pharmacies that will recruit at least 162 patients. A sub analysis will be carried out for patients with 65 years old or over. The MRF intervention features a training designed for an enhanced evaluation of patient's behavior towards their medication. The study will allow the assessment and management of DRPs in Swiss CPs with the support of the local health authorities and pharmacist association. Clinicaltrials.gov NCT05348538

B-Function Expression in the Flower Center Underlies the Homeotic Phenotype of Lacandonia schismatica (Triuridaceae)

Spontaneous homeotic transformations have been described in natural populations of both plants and animals, but little is known about the molecular-genetic mechanisms underlying these processes in plants. In the ABC model of floral organ identity in Arabidopsis thaliana, the B- and C-functions are necessary for stamen morphogenesis, and C alone is required for carpel identity. We provide ABC model-based molecular-genetic evidence that explains the unique inside-out homeotic floral organ arrangement of the monocotyledonous mycoheterotroph species Lacandonia schismatica (Triuridaceae) from Mexico. Whereas a quarter million flowering plant species bear central carpels surrounded by stamens, L. schismatica stamens occur in the center of the flower and are surrounded by carpels. The simplest explanation for this is that the B-function is displaced toward the flower center. Our analyses of the spatio-temporal pattern of B- and C-function gene expression are consistent with this hypothesis. The hypothesis is further supported by conservation between the B-function genes of L. schismatica and Arabidopsis, as the former are able to rescue stamens in Arabidopsis transgenic complementation lines, and Ls-AP3 and Ls-PI are able to interact with each other and with the corresponding Arabidopsis B-function proteins in yeast. Thus, relatively simple molecular modifications may underlie important morphological shifts in natural populations of extant plant taxa

La toma de muestras intraoperatorias con hisopo para el diagnóstico precoz de una infección de prótesis total de cadera es una práctica ineficaz

El diagnóstico de infección articular periprotésica es motivo de reuniones y consensos internacionales. Sin embargo, no hay consenso sobre cuál es la prueba más adecuada para identificar de manera profiláctica el o los microorganismos responsables. En este trabajo se realiza un estudio retrospectivo de 1.022 pacientes a los que se les implantaron 1.045 prótesis totales de cadera entre los años 2009-2013, ambos inclusive. Se analizan los resultados del cultivo de muestras tomadas intraoperatoriamente identificándose los microorganismos aislados y su correlación con la clínica de infección. Se calcularon la sensibilidad, especificidad, valores predictivos positivos y negativos de la prueba. Se identificaron los pacientes con complicaciones infecciosas, la clasificación de los mismos según criterios de Tsukayama y el tratamiento realizado. Concluimos que la toma rutinaria de muestras intraoperatorias en la artroplastia primaria de cadera para intentar adelantar el diagnóstico de una infección periprotésica es una práctica ineficaz e ineficiente y, por ello, hay que abandonarla.There are many international meetings and consensus about the diagnosis of periprosthetic joint infection. However, there aren´t consensus about the most appropriate test to identify the prophylactically microorganisms responsible of infection. This paper is a retrospective study of 1.022 patients with 1.045 total hip replacements between 2009-2013. We analyzed the results of intraoperative culture samples, identified the microorganisms and the patients with clinical infection. We calculated the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values of the test. The patients with infectious were identified and classified according to criteria Tsukayama and treatment performed. We conclude that intraoperative culture samples in primary hip arthroplasty to try to advance the diagnosis of periprosthetic infection are an ineffective and inefficient practice and we have to stop doing it