Validity of a single antibody-based lateral flow immunoassay depending on graphene oxide for highly sensitive determination of E. coli O157:H7 in minced beef and river water

Considering the health risks of E. coli O157:H7 presence in food and water, an affordable and highly sensitive detection method is crucial. Herein, we report the first use of a single antibody-based fluorescent lateral flow immunoassay (FLFIA) depending on non-radiative energy transfer between graphene oxide and quantum dots for determination of E. coli O157:H7 in beef and river water. FLFIA showed a high sensitivity rate thousand-fold better than the conventional lateral flow (LF). In inoculated minced beef and river water samples, the limits of detection were 178 and 133 CFU g or mL, respectively. Besides, it presented a high selectivity in the presence of other possible interfering bacteria. The single antibody approach reduced the assay cost to 60% less than the conventional LF. Alongside, the results could be read by portable LF readers or smartphones. These advantages offer FLFIA as a promising technology for pathogen detection in food and water

Estudio de la eficacia del programa de control de plagas mediante insectos beneficiosos en el Ayuntamiento de Huesca

El control biológico de plagas pasa por ser una alternativa cada vez más utilizada en jardinería urbana por su menor impacto ambiental y molestia a la salud pública. Desde el año 2008, desde el Servicio de Medio Ambiente del Ayuntamiento de Huesca viene realizándose el programa de control de plagas mediante insectos beneficiosos en unas vías urbanas en las que otros tratamientos fitosanitarios pueden ocasionar perjuicio a la población. El objetivo de este estudio fue determinar la eficacia del programa de control biológico de plagas sobre un total de 294 árboles de las especies Platanus hispanica, Catalpa bignonioides y Prunus cerasifera nigra, afectados por los insectos fitófagos Corythuca ciliata (Tigre del pátano), y los pulgones Aphis gossypii y Myzus persicae. Para ello, se procedió al seguimiento de las diversas sueltas de insectos beneficiosos (Adalia bipunctata y Aphidius colemani sobre pulgones y Anthocoris nemoralis sobre C. ciliata) realizadas, mediante la toma de muestras mensual en árboles de cada una de las calles dentro del programa y en otras tres zonas tomadas como testigos no tratado a fin de evaluar la evolución en el tiempo de la plaga y la eficacia de las acciones de la fauna beneficiosa. Los resultados mostraron un descenso significativo de la actividad de las plagas a partir del segundo mes en los casos de los pulgones, siendo especialmente claro en los Prunus, donde el estado de la población plaga era prácticamente nulo ya en el segundo mes de tratamiento. Al término del tercer mes se catalogaron las plagas como controladas e incluso inactivas en el caso de Prunus y Catalpa y estable en el caso de Platanus. La comparación con los testigos permitió concluir que en el caso de los Prunus, la propia plaga M. persicae desaparece de los ejemplares llegado el verano y que en los Platanus, las acciones de control permitieron mantener un nivel de plaga inferior al sufrido por los árboles testigos. Por último, las catalpas tomadas como testigos partieron de un nivel de plaga muy inferior al de las calles con control biológico y la comparación no resulta relevante, si bien los resultados estadísticos muestran una correlación positiva estadísticamente significativa entre la actividad de A. colemani (medida en cantidad de momias de pulgón parasitado) y el número de parasitoides adultos durante los meses de mayor cantidad de pulgón. En vista de los resultados obtenidos, puede considerarse que el programa de control de plagas resultó útil y beneficioso sobre P. hispanica y C. bignonioides e innecesario en el caso de P. cerasifera nigra

Low-Cost, User-Friendly, All-Integrated Smartphone-Based Microplate Reader for Optical-Based Biological and Chemical Analyses

The quantitative detection of different molecular targets is of utmost importance for a variety of human activities, ranging from healthcare to environmental studies. Bioanalytical methods have been developed to solve this and to achieve the quantification of multiple targets from small volume samples. Generally, they can be divided into two different classes: point of care (PoC) and laboratory-based approaches. The former is rapid, low-cost, and user-friendly; however, the majority of the tests are semiquantitative, lacking in specificity and sensitivity. On the contrary, laboratory-based approaches provide high sensitivity and specificity, but the bulkiness of experimental instruments and complicated protocols hamper their use in resource-limited settings. In response, here we propose a smartphone-based device able to support laboratory-based optical techniques directly at the point of care. Specifically, we designed and fabricated a portable microplate reader that supports colorimetric, fluorescence, luminescence, and turbidity analyses. To demonstrate the potential of the device, we characterized its analytical performance by detecting a variety of relevant molecular targets (ranging from antibodies, toxins, drugs, and classic fluorophore dyes) and we showed how the estimated results are comparable to those obtained from a commercial microplate reader. Thanks to its low cost (< $3 00), portability (27 cm [length] × 18 cm [width] × 7 cm [height]), commercially available components, and open-source-based system, we believe it represents a valid approach to bring high-precision laboratory-based analysis at the point of care

Lateral flow assay modified with time-delay wax barriers as a sensitivity and signal enhancement strategy

Altres ajuts: this work is also funded by the CERCA Program/Generalitat de CatalunyaThe ease of use, low cost and quick operation of lateral flow assays (LFA) have made them some of the most common point of care biosensors in a variety of fields. However, their generally low sensitivity has limited their use for more challenging applications, where the detection of low analytic concentrations is required. Here we propose the use of soluble wax barriers to selectively and temporarily accumulate the target and label nanoparticles on top of the test line (TL). This extended internal incubation step promotes the formation of the immune-complex, generating a 51.7-fold sensitivity enhancement, considering the limit of quantification, and up to 96% signal enhancement compared to the conventional LFA for Human IgG (H-IgG) detection

Simulación clínica en enfermería comunitaria (pòster)

Podeu consultar la Vuitena trobada de professorat de Ciències de la Salut completa a: http://hdl.handle.net/2445/66524Premi Coloma Barbé a la millor Comunicació Pòster: http://hdl.handle.net/2445/66525Introducción: El Campus Docent Sant Joan de Déu ha implementado recientemente la simulación clínica en la asignatura de Enfermería Comunitaria en el Grado de Enfermería, con la finalidad de fomentar la reflexividad sobre la acción y mejorar las competencias de los alumnos. Objetivos: Evaluar los resultados de aprendizaje y la satisfacción con la simulación clínica en el contexto de las prácticas de enfermería comunitaria. Metodología: Estudio descriptivo observacional realizado en el primer semestre del curso 2014/2015. Se realizó un análisis cualitativo de la conducción de 30 debriefings donde se evaluaron los resultados de aprendizaje en relación a los objetivos propuestos (aspectos emocionales, toma de decisiones, valoración integral del paciente, valoración del paciente en atención domiciliaria, comunicación asertiva, educación sanitaria, habilidades técnicas). Por otro lado, se valoró la satisfacción de los estudiantes mediante un cuestionario compuesto por 8 ítems valorados mediante una escala ordinal..

Simulación clínica en enfermería comunitaria

Introducción: La finalidad de esta investigación fue evaluar los resultados de aprendizaje del alumno en relación a las competencias en enfermería comunitaria y valorar la satisfacción de los mismos respecto a la simulación clínica en este contexto. Material y métodos: Estudio descriptivo observacional realizado en el primer semestre del curso 2014/2015 en el Campus Docent Sant Joan de Déu. Se hizo un análisis cualitativo de la conducción de 30 debriefings donde se evaluaron los resultados de aprendizaje en relación a los siguientes ítems (aspectos emocionales, toma de decisiones, valoración integral del paciente, valoración del paciente en atención domiciliaria, comunicación, educación sanitaria y habilidades técnicas). La satisfacción de los estudiantes se evaluó mediante un cuestionario compuesto por 8 ítems valorados mediante una escala ordinal (contenidos, coordinación, tiempo, metodología, utilidad, material, conocimientos, expectativas) y se realizó un análisis descriptivo de cada uno de ellos. Resultados: El análisis de los debriefings mostró que los alumnos tienen dificultades para realizar la valoración del paciente con los instrumentos que se utilizan en la práctica clínica, sin embargo presentan buenas habilidades comunicativas con el usuario y la familia. Respecto el grado de satisfacción, participaron en la cumplimentación del cuestionario, 47 estudiantes de tercer curso de Grado, la puntuación media total de los alumnos fue de 9,08 (DE 0,85). La utilidad del taller fue valorada con una media superior a 9. Conclusiones: La simulación clínica es una metodología docente valorada satisfactoriamente por parte de los alumnos, que permite trabajar objetivos relacionados con habilidades técnicas y con habilidades no técnicas. Palabras clave: simulación clínica, enfermería comunitaria, simulación con actores, habilidades no técnicas

Nanodiagnostics to face SARS-CoV-2 and future pandemics : from an idea to the market and beyond

Altres ajuts: CERCA Programme/Generalitat de CatalunyaAltres ajuts: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) for the project "COVID19-122"The COVID-19 pandemic made clear how our society requires quickly available tools to address emerging healthcare issues. Diagnostic assays and devices are used every day to screen for COVID-19 positive patients, with the aim to decide the appropriate treatment and containment measures. In this context, we would have expected to see the use of the most recent diagnostic technologies worldwide, including the advanced ones such as nano-biosensors capable to provide faster, more sensitive, cheaper, and high-throughput results than the standard polymerase chain reaction and lateral flow assays. Here we discuss why that has not been the case and why all the exciting diagnostic strategies published on a daily basis in peer-reviewed journals are not yet successful in reaching the market and being implemented in the clinical practice

Nanodiagnostics to Face SARS-CoV-2 and Future Pandemics: From an Idea to the Market and beyond

The COVID-19 pandemic made clear how our society requires quickly available tools to address emerging healthcare issues. Diagnostic assays and devices are used every day to screen for COVID-19 positive patients, with the aim to decide the appropriate treatment and containment measures. In this context, we would have expected to see the use of the most recent diagnostic technologies worldwide, including the advanced ones such as nano-biosensors capable to provide faster, more sensitive, cheaper, and high-throughput results than the standard polymerase chain reaction and lateral flow assays. Here we discuss why that has not been the case and why all the exciting diagnostic strategies published on a daily basis in peer-reviewed journals are not yet successful in reaching the market and being implemented in the clinical practice.We acknowledge funding from the European Union Horizon2020 Programme under Grant No. 881603 (Graphene Flagship Core 3). We acknowledge Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) for the project “COVID19-122” granted in the call “Nuevas ayudas extraordinarias a proyectos de investigación en el marco de las medidas urgentes extraordinarias para hacer frente al impacto económico y social del COVID-19 (Ayudas CSIC–COVID-19)”. We acknowledge the MICROB-PREDICT Project for partially supporting the work. The MICROB-PREDICT project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Grant No. 825694. This reflects only the author’s view, and the European Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains. We also acknowledge Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI) and Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) for the project MAT2017-87202-P. A.I. was supported by a PROBIST postdoctoral fellowship funded by European Research Council (Marie Skłodowska-Curie Grant No. 754510). C.C.C.S. acknowledges funding through CAPES–PRINT (Programa Institucional de Internacionalização; Grant Nos. 88887.310281/2018-00 and 88887.467442/2019-00) and Mackpesquisa-UPM. L.H. acknowledges funding through the China Scholarship Council. ICN2 is funded by the CERCA Programme/Generalitat de Catalunya and supported by the Severo Ochoa programme (MINECO Grant No. SEV-2017-0706)

The Mutational Landscape of Acute Myeloid Leukaemia Predicts Responses and Outcomes in Elderly Patients from the PETHEMA-FLUGAZA Phase 3 Clinical Trial

This article belongs to the Collection The Biomarkers for the Diagnosis and Prognosis in Cancer.[Simple Summary] Mutational profiling using a custom 43-gene next-generation sequencing panel revealed that patients with mutated DNMT3A or EZH2, or an increase in TET2 VAF and lower TP53 VAF showed a higher overall response. NRAS and TP53 variants were associated with shorter overall survival (OS), whereas only mutated BCOR was associated with a shorter relapse-free survival (RFS). Subgroup analyses of OS according to biological and genomic characteristics showed that patients with low–intermediate cytogenetic risk and mutated NRAS benefited from azacytidine therapy and patients with mutated TP53 showed a better RFS in the azacytidine arm. In conclusion, differential mutational profiling might anticipate the outcomes of first-line treatment choices (AZA or FLUGA) in older patients with AML.[Abstract] We sought to predict treatment responses and outcomes in older patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia (AML) from our FLUGAZA phase III clinical trial (PETHEMA group) based on mutational status, comparing azacytidine (AZA) with fludarabine plus low-dose cytarabine (FLUGA). Mutational profiling using a custom 43-gene next-generation sequencing panel revealed differences in profiles between older and younger patients, and several prognostic markers that were useful in young patients were ineffective in older patients. We examined the associations between variables and overall responses at the end of the third cycle. Patients with mutated DNMT3A or EZH2 were shown to benefit from azacytidine in the treatment-adjusted subgroup analysis. An analysis of the associations with tumor burden using variant allele frequency (VAF) quantification showed that a higher overall response was associated with an increase in TET2 VAF (odds ratio (OR), 1.014; p = 0.030) and lower TP53 VAF (OR, 0.981; p = 0.003). In the treatment-adjusted multivariate survival analyses, only the NRAS (hazard ratio (HR), 1.9, p = 0.005) and TP53 (HR, 2.6, p = 9.8 × 10−7) variants were associated with shorter overall survival (OS), whereas only mutated BCOR (HR, 3.6, p = 0.0003) was associated with a shorter relapse-free survival (RFS). Subgroup analyses of OS according to biological and genomic characteristics showed that patients with low–intermediate cytogenetic risk (HR, 1.51, p = 0.045) and mutated NRAS (HR, 3.66, p = 0.047) benefited from azacytidine therapy. In the subgroup analyses, patients with mutated TP53 (HR, 4.71, p = 0.009) showed a better RFS in the azacytidine arm. In conclusion, differential mutational profiling might anticipate the outcomes of first-line treatment choices (AZA or FLUGA) in older patients with AML. The study is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov as NCT02319135.This study was supported by the Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red—Área de Oncología–del Instituto de Salud Carlos III (CIBERONC; CB16/12/00369) and the Subdirección General de Investigación Sanitaria (Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Spain) grants PI16/01530, PI16/01661, PI19/01518, and PI19/00730, the CRIS against Cancer foundation, grant 2018/001, and by the Instituto de Investigación Hospital 12 de Octubre (IMAS12) (co-financed by FEDER funds). The study was supported internationally by Cancer Research UK, FCAECC and AIRC under the Accelerator Award Program

The Mutational Landscape of Acute Myeloid Leukaemia Predicts Responses and Outcomes in Elderly Patients from the PETHEMA-FLUGAZA Phase 3 Clinical Trial

Mutational profiling using a custom 43-gene next-generation sequencing panel revealed that patients with mutated DNMT3A or EZH2, or an increase in TET2 VAF and lower TP53 VAF showed a higher overall response. NRAS and TP53 variants were associated with shorter overall survival (OS), whereas only mutated BCOR was associated with a shorter relapse-free survival (RFS). Subgroup analyses of OS according to biological and genomic characteristics showed that patients with low-intermediate cytogenetic risk and mutated NRAS benefited from azacytidine therapy and patients with mutated TP53 showed a better RFS in the azacytidine arm. In conclusion, differential mutational profiling might anticipate the outcomes of first-line treatment choices (AZA or FLUGA) in older patients with AML. We sought to predict treatment responses and outcomes in older patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia (AML) from our FLUGAZA phase III clinical trial (PETHEMA group) based on mutational status, comparing azacytidine (AZA) with fludarabine plus low-dose cytarabine (FLUGA). Mutational profiling using a custom 43-gene next-generation sequencing panel revealed differences in profiles between older and younger patients, and several prognostic markers that were useful in young patients were ineffective in older patients. We examined the associations between variables and overall responses at the end of the third cycle. Patients with mutated DNMT3A or EZH2 were shown to benefit from azacytidine in the treatment-adjusted subgroup analysis. An analysis of the associations with tumor burden using variant allele frequency (VAF) quantification showed that a higher overall response was associated with an increase in TET2 VAF (odds ratio (OR), 1.014; p = 0.030) and lower TP53 VAF (OR, 0.981; p = 0.003). In the treatment-adjusted multivariate survival analyses, only the NRAS (hazard ratio (HR), 1.9, p = 0.005) and TP53 (HR, 2.6, p = 9.8 × 10 −7) variants were associated with shorter overall survival (OS), whereas only mutated BCOR (HR, 3.6, p = 0.0003) was associated with a shorter relapse-free survival (RFS). Subgroup analyses of OS according to biological and genomic characteristics showed that patients with low-intermediate cytogenetic risk (HR, 1.51, p = 0.045) and mutated NRAS (HR, 3.66, p = 0.047) benefited from azacytidine therapy. In the subgroup analyses, patients with mutated TP53 (HR, 4.71, p = 0.009) showed a better RFS in the azacytidine arm. In conclusion, differential mutational profiling might anticipate the outcomes of first-line treatment choices (AZA or FLUGA) in older patients with AML. The study is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov as NCT0231913