Gut microbiome in hemodialysis patients treated with calcium acetate or treated with sucroferric oxyhydroxide : a pilot study

It has been proved that the gut microbiome is altered in patients with chronic kidney disease. This contributes to chronic inflammation and increases cardiovascular risk and mortality, especially in those undergoing hemodialysis. Phosphate binders may potentially induce changes in their microbiome. This trial aimed to compare the changes in the gut microbiome of hemodialysis patients treated with calcium acetate to those treated with sucroferric oxyhydroxide. Twelve hemodialysis patients were distributed to receive calcium acetate or sucroferric oxyhydroxide for 5 months. Blood samples (for biochemical analysis) and stool samples (for microbiome analysis) were collected at baseline, 4, 12, and 20 weeks after treatment initiation. Fecal DNA was extracted and a 16S rRNA sequencing library was constructed targeting the V3 and V4 hypervariable regions. Regarding clinical variables and laboratory parameters, no statistically significant differences were observed between calcium acetate or sucroferric oxyhydroxide groups. When analyzing stool samples, we found that all patients were different (p = 0.001) among themselves and these differences were kept along the 20 weeks of treatment. The clustering analysis in microbial profiles grouped the samples of the same patient independently of the treatment followed and the stage of the treatment. These results suggest that a 5-month treatment with either calcium acetate or sucroferric oxyhydroxide did not modify baseline diversity or baseline bacterial composition in hemodialysis patients, also about the high-variability profiles of the gut microbiome found among these patients

Prevalence of anaemia and its clinical management in patients with stages 3-5 chronic kidney disease not on dialysis in Catalonia: MICENAS I study

Introducción: La anemia es una complicación frecuente de la enfermedad renal crónica (ERC). El objetivo de este estudio fue conocer la prevalencia de anemia en pacientes con ERC estadios 3-5 no en diálisis atendidos en consultas externas (CCEE) de Nefrología en Cataluña y su manejo clínico. Metodología: Estudio epidemiológico, de cohorte transversal, multicéntrico, en condiciones de práctica clínica habitual. Recogida de datos mediante un e-CRD que incluía datos de filiación y aquellos relacionados con la anemia (hemoglobina, estatus férrico, tratamiento con agentes estimuladores de la eritropoyesis [AEE] y con otros coadyuvantes). Se definió anemia como unos niveles de hemoglobina < 13,5 g/dl en varones o < 12 g/dl en mujeres o pacientes que recibieran tratamiento con AEE. Resultados: Se incluyeron 504 pacientes (56,4 % varones, edad media de 67,8 ± 15,5 años): 61,5 % presentaban ERC estadio 3, 30,2 % estadio 4 y 8,3 % estadio 5. Las principales causas de ERC fueron la vascular y la nefropatía diabética. La prevalencia de anemia fue del 58,5 % (n = 295); sin embargo, solo un 14,9 % de los pacientes tenían niveles de hemoglobina < 11 g/dl. Los niveles medios de hemoglobina disminuían y el tratamiento con AEE era más frecuente a medida que progresaba la ERC, pero no se observaron diferencias significativas respecto a la prescripción de hierro, según estadios. Los AEE e intervalos más frecuentemente prescritos fueron darbepoetina alfa con una dosis mediana de 40 μg/bisemanal, seguida por C.E.R.A., con una dosis mediana de 75 μg/mensual y epoetina beta con una dosis mediana de 5000 UI/semanal. De los pacientes con anemia (n = 295), un 36,3 % (n = 107) presentaban ferropenia y de ellos solo un 53,3 % recibía tratamiento con suplementos de hierro. Conclusiones: Este estudio demuestra la alta prevalencia de anemia, la cual aumenta a medida que progresa la enfermedad, así como el buen control de la misma en la población de pacientes con ERC atendidos en CCEE de Nefrología en Cataluña. Este control se consigue con dosis moderadas de AEE y prescripción de suplementos de hierro en más del 50 % de los pacientes anémicos

C.E.R.A. en administración mensual corrige y mantiene niveles estables de hemoglobina en pacientes con enfermedad renal crónica no en diálisis: estudio observacional MICENAS II

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: C.E.R.A. (continuous erythropoietin receptor activator, pegilated-rHuEPO ß) corrects and maintains stable hemoglobin levels in once-monthly administration in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the management of anemia with C.E.R.A. in CKD patients not on dialysis in the clinical setting. METHODS: Two hundred seventy two anemic CKD patients not on dialysis treated with C.E.R.A. were included in this retrospective, observational, multicentric study during 2010. Demographical characteristics, analytical parameters concerning anemia, treatment data and iron status were recorded. RESULTS: C.E.R.A. achieved a good control of anemia in both naïve patients (mean Hemoglobin 11.6g/dL) and patients converted from a previous ESA (mean Hemoglobin 11.7g/dL). Most naïve patients received C.E.R.A. once monthly during the correction phase and required a low monthly dose (median dose 75 µg/month). The same median dose was required in patients converted from a previous ESA, and it was lower than recommended in the Summary of Product Characteristics (SPC). Iron status was adequate in 75% of anemic CKD patients, but only 50% of anemic patients with iron deficiency received iron supplementation. CONCLUSIONS: C.E.R.A. corrects and maintains stable hemoglobin levels in anemic CKD patients not on dialysis, requiring conversion doses lower than those recommended by the SPC, and achieving target hemoglobin levels with once-monthly dosing frequency both in naïve and converted patients

Translations of new public management: a decentred approach to school governance in four OECD countries

Despite the prevalence of corporate and performative models of school governance within and across different education systems, there are various cases of uneven, hybrid expressions of New Public Management (NPM) that reveal the contingency of global patterns of rule. Adopting a ‘decentred approach’ to governance (Bevir, M. 2010. “Rethinking Governmentality: Towards Genealogies of Governance.” European Journal of Social Theory 13 (4): 423–441), this paper compares the development of NPM in four OECD countries: Australia, England, Spain, and Switzerland. A focus of the paper is how certain policy instruments are created and sustained within highly differentiated geo-political settings and through different multi-scalar actors and authorities yet modified to reflect established traditions and practices

Global transpiration data from sap flow measurements : the SAPFLUXNET database

Plant transpiration links physiological responses of vegetation to water supply and demand with hydrological, energy, and carbon budgets at the land-atmosphere interface. However, despite being the main land evaporative flux at the global scale, transpiration and its response to environmental drivers are currently not well constrained by observations. Here we introduce the first global compilation of whole-plant transpiration data from sap flow measurements (SAPFLUXNET, https://sapfluxnet.creaf.cat/, last access: 8 June 2021). We harmonized and quality-controlled individual datasets supplied by contributors worldwide in a semi-automatic data workflow implemented in the R programming language. Datasets include sub-daily time series of sap flow and hydrometeorological drivers for one or more growing seasons, as well as metadata on the stand characteristics, plant attributes, and technical details of the measurements. SAPFLUXNET contains 202 globally distributed datasets with sap flow time series for 2714 plants, mostly trees, of 174 species. SAPFLUXNET has a broad bioclimatic coverage, with woodland/shrubland and temperate forest biomes especially well represented (80 % of the datasets). The measurements cover a wide variety of stand structural characteristics and plant sizes. The datasets encompass the period between 1995 and 2018, with 50 % of the datasets being at least 3 years long. Accompanying radiation and vapour pressure deficit data are available for most of the datasets, while on-site soil water content is available for 56 % of the datasets. Many datasets contain data for species that make up 90 % or more of the total stand basal area, allowing the estimation of stand transpiration in diverse ecological settings. SAPFLUXNET adds to existing plant trait datasets, ecosystem flux networks, and remote sensing products to help increase our understanding of plant water use, plant responses to drought, and ecohydrological processes. SAPFLUXNET version 0.1.5 is freely available from the Zenodo repository (https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3971689; Poyatos et al., 2020a). The "sapfluxnetr" R package - designed to access, visualize, and process SAPFLUXNET data - is available from CRAN.Peer reviewe

Prevalence, progression, and management of advanced chronic kidney disease in a cohort of people living with HIV

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Bonjoch, A. [et al.]. Prevalence, progression, and management of advanced chronic kidney disease in a cohort of people living with HIV. "HIV Medicine", 26 Abril 2022, vol. 23, núm. 10, p. 1078-1084, which has been published in final form at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/hiv.13317. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions. This article may not be enhanced, enriched or otherwise transformed into a derivative work, without express permission from Wiley or by statutory rights under applicable legislation. Copyright notices must not be removed, obscured or modified. The article must be linked to Wiley’s version of record on Wiley Online Library and any embedding, framing or otherwise making available the article or pages thereof by third parties from platforms, services and websites other than Wiley Online Library must be prohibitedPeer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Minimal Removal of Raltegravir by Hemodialysis in HIV-Infected Patients with End-Stage Renal Disease ▿

Little is known about raltegravir removal by hemodialysis in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). We therefore measured raltegravir concentrations in plasma in pre- and postdialyzer blood samples from 2 ESRD HIV-infected patients. The hemodialysis extraction ratio and raltegravir hemodialysis clearance were 5.5% and 9.1 ml/min in patient 1 and 9.5% and 19.1 ml/min in patient 2, respectively. Our results suggest minimal raltegravir removal by hemodialysis with no specific raltegravir dosage adjustments required in HIV-infected patients undergoing hemodialysis

Coeducació : igualtat i diferència

Resumen del vídeo en catalánLa escuela no es ajena a la transmisión de las actitudes y comportamientos masculinos y femeninos. Sin embargo, ¿qué puede hacer la escuela?. La respuesta no es fácil ni inmediata. El sexismo es un tipo de discriminación que se transmite de forma inconsciente y, por lo tanto, es invisible para la mayoría del profesorado. Hay que intentar reconocer el problema y tomar conciencia de su magnitud. El sexismo está presente en casi todos los rincones de la vida escolar: en los libros de texto, en las relaciones de los chicos y chicas dentro lo centro, en el lenguaje o en el mismo currículo. La investigación sobre la misma escuela puede ayudar a descifrar los mensajes y las formas de transmisión del sexismo.CataluñaES

Prevalence of anaemia and its clinical management in patients with stages 3-5 chronic kidney disease not on dialysis in Catalonia: MICENAS I study

Introducción: La anemia es una complicación frecuente de la enfermedad renal crónica (ERC). El objetivo de este estudio fue conocer la prevalencia de anemia en pacientes con ERC estadios 3-5 no en diálisis atendidos en consultas externas (CCEE) de Nefrología en Cataluña y su manejo clínico. Metodología: Estudio epidemiológico, de cohorte transversal, multicéntrico, en condiciones de práctica clínica habitual. Recogida de datos mediante un e-CRD que incluía datos de filiación y aquellos relacionados con la anemia (hemoglobina, estatus férrico, tratamiento con agentes estimuladores de la eritropoyesis [AEE] y con otros coadyuvantes). Se definió anemia como unos niveles de hemoglobina < 13,5 g/dl en varones o < 12 g/dl en mujeres o pacientes que recibieran tratamiento con AEE. Resultados: Se incluyeron 504 pacientes (56,4 % varones, edad media de 67,8 ± 15,5 años): 61,5 % presentaban ERC estadio 3, 30,2 % estadio 4 y 8,3 % estadio 5. Las principales causas de ERC fueron la vascular y la nefropatía diabética. La prevalencia de anemia fue del 58,5 % (n = 295); sin embargo, solo un 14,9 % de los pacientes tenían niveles de hemoglobina < 11 g/dl. Los niveles medios de hemoglobina disminuían y el tratamiento con AEE era más frecuente a medida que progresaba la ERC, pero no se observaron diferencias significativas respecto a la prescripción de hierro, según estadios. Los AEE e intervalos más frecuentemente prescritos fueron darbepoetina alfa con una dosis mediana de 40 μg/bisemanal, seguida por C.E.R.A., con una dosis mediana de 75 μg/mensual y epoetina beta con una dosis mediana de 5000 UI/semanal. De los pacientes con anemia (n = 295), un 36,3 % (n = 107) presentaban ferropenia y de ellos solo un 53,3 % recibía tratamiento con suplementos de hierro. Conclusiones: Este estudio demuestra la alta prevalencia de anemia, la cual aumenta a medida que progresa la enfermedad, así como el buen control de la misma en la población de pacientes con ERC atendidos en CCEE de Nefrología en Cataluña. Este control se consigue con dosis moderadas de AEE y prescripción de suplementos de hierro en más del 50 % de los pacientes anémicos

C.E.R.A. en administración mensual corrige y mantiene niveles estables de hemoglobina en pacientes con enfermedad renal crónica no en diálisis: estudio observacional MICENAS II

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: C.E.R.A. (continuous erythropoietin receptor activator, pegilated-rHuEPO ß) corrects and maintains stable hemoglobin levels in once-monthly administration in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the management of anemia with C.E.R.A. in CKD patients not on dialysis in the clinical setting. METHODS: Two hundred seventy two anemic CKD patients not on dialysis treated with C.E.R.A. were included in this retrospective, observational, multicentric study during 2010. Demographical characteristics, analytical parameters concerning anemia, treatment data and iron status were recorded. RESULTS: C.E.R.A. achieved a good control of anemia in both naïve patients (mean Hemoglobin 11.6g/dL) and patients converted from a previous ESA (mean Hemoglobin 11.7g/dL). Most naïve patients received C.E.R.A. once monthly during the correction phase and required a low monthly dose (median dose 75 µg/month). The same median dose was required in patients converted from a previous ESA, and it was lower than recommended in the Summary of Product Characteristics (SPC). Iron status was adequate in 75% of anemic CKD patients, but only 50% of anemic patients with iron deficiency received iron supplementation. CONCLUSIONS: C.E.R.A. corrects and maintains stable hemoglobin levels in anemic CKD patients not on dialysis, requiring conversion doses lower than those recommended by the SPC, and achieving target hemoglobin levels with once-monthly dosing frequency both in naïve and converted patients