Glucocorticoid metabolites in newborns : a marker for traffic noise related stress?

Traffic noise has been associated with an increased risk for several non-auditory health effects, which may be explained by a noise-induced release of stress hormones (e.g. glucocorticoids). Although several studies in children and adults have indicated an increased secretion of glucocorticoids after exposure to noise, information regarding newborns is scarce.; To investigate the association between residential exposure to road traffic noise and postnatal stress response, as assessed by the concentration of glucocorticoids at five weeks of age.; Residential noise exposure was estimated for each infant based on spatially detailed modeled data. Adjusted multivariable linear regression models were used to estimate the association between noise exposure and the concentration of nine glucocorticoid metabolites measured in urine of 165 infants from a prospective birth cohort in Bern, Switzerland. Noise exposure (Lden, dB) was categorized into tertiles: low (reference), medium and high.; Indications of a positive association were found between high road traffic noise and cortisol (% change relative to the reference: 12.1% [95% confidence interval: -10.3, 40.1%]) and cortisone (22.6% [-1.8, 53.0%]), but just the latter was borderline significant. Borderline significant associations were also found between downstream metabolites and higher road traffic noise levels; associations were found to be both positive (i.e. for β-cortolone (51.5% [-0.9, 131.5%])) and negative (i.e. for α-cortolone (-18.3% [-33.6, 0.6%]) and tetrahydrocortisol (-23.7% [-42.8, 1.9%])).; Our findings suggest a potential association between exposure to higher road traffic noise levels and changes in glucocorticoid metabolism in early postnatal life. A possible physiological relevance and associations with short- and long-term adverse health effects in a larger study population need to be further investigated

Animal housing in hot climates : a multidisciplinary view

Since energy balance, thermoregulation and environmental aspects of "high producingdairy cows" were thoroughly studied (Brody, 1945; Flatt et al., 1969; Berman et al., 1985),the high producing dairy cow more than doubled production with a body weight increase of about 10-20% which imposed a three fold increase of heat increment (Kadzer et al., 2002).There is an apparent world wide lack of realization that changes in the physical and geneticconstitution of cows may have affected their thermoregulatory capability in hot climate forexample, blood plasma fluctuation in volume and constituents (Maltz et al, 1994); as wellas how they cope with heat stress (Kadzer et al., 2002). As a result, research inthermoregulation in relation to housing facilities and cooling management falls behind(except for few exceptions seen below) the aggressive selection for increased productionthat livestock undergoes as well as changes in technology and housing materials. Therefore,most of the improvements in this area are farmers and designers initiatives based oncommon sense and experience.peer-reviewe

Famílies botàniques de plantes medicinals

Facultat de Farmàcia, Universitat de Barcelona. Ensenyament: Grau de Farmàcia, Assignatura: Botànica Farmacèutica, Curs: 2013-2014, Coordinadors: Joan Simon, Cèsar Blanché i Maria Bosch.Els materials que aquí es presenten són els recull de 175 treballs d’una família botànica d’interès medicinal realitzats de manera individual. Els treballs han estat realitzat per la totalitat dels estudiants dels grups M-2 i M-3 de l’assignatura Botànica Farmacèutica durant els mesos d’abril i maig del curs 2013-14. Tots els treballs s’han dut a terme a través de la plataforma de GoogleDocs i han estat tutoritzats pel professor de l’assignatura i revisats i finalment co-avaluats entre els propis estudiants. L’objectiu principal de l’activitat ha estat fomentar l’aprenentatge autònom i col·laboratiu en Botànica farmacèutica

All-cause mortality in the cohorts of the Spanish AIDS Research Network (RIS) compared with the general population: 1997Ł2010

Abstract Background: Combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) has produced significant changes in mortality of HIVinfected persons. Our objective was to estimate mortality rates, standardized mortality ratios and excess mortality rates of cohorts of the AIDS Research Network (RIS) (CoRIS-MD and CoRIS) compared to the general population. Methods: We analysed data of CoRIS-MD and CoRIS cohorts from 1997 to 2010. We calculated: (i) all-cause mortality rates, (ii) standardized mortality ratio (SMR) and (iii) excess mortality rates for both cohort for 100 personyears (py) of follow-up, comparing all-cause mortality with that of the general population of similar age and gender. Results: Between 1997 and 2010, 8,214 HIV positive subjects were included, 2,453 (29.9%) in CoRIS-MD and 5,761 (70.1%) in CoRIS and 294 deaths were registered. All-cause mortality rate was 1.02 (95% CI 0.91-1.15) per 100 py, SMR was 6.8 (95% CI 5.9-7.9) and excess mortality rate was 0.8 (95% CI 0.7-0.9) per 100 py. Mortality was higher in patients with AIDS, hepatitis C virus (HCV) co-infection, and those from CoRIS-MD cohort (1997. Conclusion: Mortality among HIV-positive persons remains higher than that of the general population of similar age and sex, with significant differences depending on the history of AIDS or HCV coinfection

Spatiotemporal Characteristics of the Largest HIV-1 CRF02_AG Outbreak in Spain: Evidence for Onward Transmissions

Background and Aim: The circulating recombinant form 02_AG (CRF02_AG) is the predominant clade among the human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) non-Bs with a prevalence of 5.97% (95% Confidence Interval-CI: 5.41–6.57%) across Spain. Our aim was to estimate the levels of regional clustering for CRF02_AG and the spatiotemporal characteristics of the largest CRF02_AG subepidemic in Spain.Methods: We studied 396 CRF02_AG sequences obtained from HIV-1 diagnosed patients during 2000–2014 from 10 autonomous communities of Spain. Phylogenetic analysis was performed on the 391 CRF02_AG sequences along with all globally sampled CRF02_AG sequences (N = 3,302) as references. Phylodynamic and phylogeographic analysis was performed to the largest CRF02_AG monophyletic cluster by a Bayesian method in BEAST v1.8.0 and by reconstructing ancestral states using the criterion of parsimony in Mesquite v3.4, respectively.Results: The HIV-1 CRF02_AG prevalence differed across Spanish autonomous communities we sampled from (p < 0.001). Phylogenetic analysis revealed that 52.7% of the CRF02_AG sequences formed 56 monophyletic clusters, with a range of 2–79 sequences. The CRF02_AG regional dispersal differed across Spain (p = 0.003), as suggested by monophyletic clustering. For the largest monophyletic cluster (subepidemic) (N = 79), 49.4% of the clustered sequences originated from Madrid, while most sequences (51.9%) had been obtained from men having sex with men (MSM). Molecular clock analysis suggested that the origin (tMRCA) of the CRF02_AG subepidemic was in 2002 (median estimate; 95% Highest Posterior Density-HPD interval: 1999–2004). Additionally, we found significant clustering within the CRF02_AG subepidemic according to the ethnic origin.Conclusion: CRF02_AG has been introduced as a result of multiple introductions in Spain, following regional dispersal in several cases. We showed that CRF02_AG transmissions were mostly due to regional dispersal in Spain. The hot-spot for the largest CRF02_AG regional subepidemic in Spain was in Madrid associated with MSM transmission risk group. The existence of subepidemics suggest that several spillovers occurred from Madrid to other areas. CRF02_AG sequences from Hispanics were clustered in a separate subclade suggesting no linkage between the local and Hispanic subepidemics