Rearing styles and psychopathology in children and adolescents with intellectual disability from Chile and Spain

Los objetivos de nuestro estudio fueron: a) evaluar los estilos educativos en función de la presencia de discapacidad intelectual (DI) y de dos culturas, Chile y España; y b) valorar cómo estos aspectos se asocian con la psicopatología. Participaron 236 niños y adolescentes de 8 a 14 años de edad, que fueron clasificados en los siguientes tres grupos en función del tipo de DI: con síndrome de Down (SD), discapacidad intelectual idiopática (DII) o sin discapacidad. Los progenitores contestaron un cuestionario de estilo educativo y de psicopatología. Hallamos que en Chile el grupo con SD percibió menos sobreprotección. Las medidas clínicas de psicopatología se asociaron con sobreprotección, rechazo y la presencia de DI. Además los participantes chilenos informaron de mayor depresión y somatización que los participantes españoles. Esperamos que nuestros hallazgos sean un aporte para la prevención e intervención de los estilos educativos y la psicopatología en personas con DI.Los objetivos de nuestro estudio fueron: a) evaluar los estilos educativos en función de la presencia de discapacidad intelectual (DI) y de dos culturas, Chile y España; y b) valorar cómo estos aspectos se asocian con la psicopatología. Participaron 236 niños y adolescentes de 8 a 14 años de edad, que fueron clasificados en los siguientes tres grupos en función del tipo de DI: con síndrome de Down (SD), discapacidad intelectual idiopática (DII) o sin discapacidad. Los progenitores contestaron un cuestionario de estilo educativo y de psicopatología. Hallamos que en Chile el grupo con SD percibió menos sobreprotección. Las medidas clínicas de psicopatología se asociaron con sobreprotección, rechazo y la presencia de DI. Además los participantes chilenos informaron de mayor depresión y somatización que los participantes españoles. Esperamos que nuestros hallazgos sean un aporte para la prevención e intervención de los estilos educativos y la psicopatología en personas con DI.Los objetivos de nuestro estudio fueron: a) evaluar los estilos educativos en función de la presencia de discapacidad intelectual (DI) y de dos culturas, Chile y España; y b) valorar cómo estos aspectos se asocian con la psicopatología. Participaron 236 niños y adolescentes de 8 a 14 años de edad, que fueron clasificados en los siguientes tres grupos en función del tipo de DI: con síndrome de Down (SD), discapacidad intelectual idiopática (DII) o sin discapacidad. Los progenitores contestaron un cuestionario de estilo educativo y de psicopatología. Hallamos que en Chile el grupo con SD percibió menos sobreprotección. Las medidas clínicas de psicopatología se asociaron con sobreprotección, rechazo y la presencia de DI. Además los participantes chilenos informaron de mayor depresión y somatización que los participantes españoles. Esperamos que nuestros hallazgos sean un aporte para la prevención e intervención de los estilos educativos y la psicopatología en personas con DI.The aims of our study were: a) to evaluate how parenting styles vary according to the presence of intellectual disability (ID) and between two cultures – Chile and Spain –; and to value their association with psychopathology. Participants were 236 children and adolescents aged 8-14, who were classified in the following three groups according to the type of ID: with Down syndrome (DS), idiopathic intellectual disability (IID) or without disability. Parents answered a questionnaire on perceived rearing style and psychopathology. Our results showed that in Chile DS group perceived less overprotection. Clinical scores were associated with overprotection, rejection and the presence of ID. Moreover, the Chilean participants reported more depression and somatisation than the Spanish participants. We expect our findings will contribute to the prevention and intervention of unfavourable rearing styles and psychopathology in ID

New approach to condensed pyrid-2-ones

We wish to report a simple procedure for the preparation of 5-substituted-thienopyridin-7-ones and 7-substituted-1,6-naphthyridin-5(6H)-ones, in good yields, from the dianions of 3-methylthiophene-2-carboxylic and 2-methylnicotinic acids on treatment with nitriles.Brun Sanchez, Eva Maria, [email protected] ; Gil Grau, Salvador, [email protected] ; Parra Alvarez, Margarita, [email protected]

Antibody-Capped Mesoporous Nanoscopic Materials:Design of a Probe for the Selective Chromo-FluorogenicDetection of Finasteride

[EN] The synthesis of capped mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN) conjugated with an antibody (AB) as a gatekeeper has been carried out in order to obtain a delivery system able to release an entrapped cargo (dye) in the presence of a target molecule (antigen) to which the conjugated antibody binds selectively. In particular, MSN loaded with rhodamine B and functionalized on the external surface with a suitable derivative of N-(t-butyl)- 3-oxo-(5a,17b)-4-aza-androst-1-ene-17-carboxamide (finasteride) have been prepared (S1). The addition of polyclonal antibodies against finasteride induced capping of the pores due to the interaction with the anchored hapten-like finasteride derivative to give a MSN¿hapten¿AB nanoparticle S1-AB. It was found that the addition of capped material S1-AB to water solutions containing finasteride resulted in displacement of the antibody, pore uncapping and entrapped-dye release. The response of the gated material is highly selective, and only finasteride, among other steroids, was able to induce a significant uncapping process. Compared with finasteride, the finasteride metabolite was able to release 17% of the dye, whereas the exogen steroids testosterone, metenolone and 16-b-hydroxystanozolol only induced very little release of rhodamine B (lower than 10%) from aqueous suspensions containing sensing solid S1-AB. A detection limit as low as 20 ppb was found for the fluorimetric detection of finasteride. In order to evaluate a possible application of the material for label-free detection of finasteride, the capped material was isolated and stored to give final sensing solid S1-AB-i. It was found to display a similar behavior towards finasteride as to that shown by freshly prepared S1-AB; even after a period of two months, no significant loss of selectivity or sensitivity was noted. Moreover, to study the application for the detection of finasteride in biological samples, this ¿aged¿ material, S1-AB-i, was tested using commercially available blank urine as matrix. Samples containing 70 and 90% blank urine were spiked with a defined amount of finasteride, and the concentration was determined using capped S1-AB-i. Recovery ranges from 94% to 118% were reached.Financial support from the Spanish Government (project MAT2009-14564-C04-01) and the Generalitat Valenciana (Spain) (projects PROMETEO/2009/016 and PROMETEO/2010/008) is gratefully acknowledged. E. C. thanks the Minesterio de Ciencia e Innovacion (MICINN, Spain) for her fellowship.Climent Terol, E.; Martínez Mañez, R.; Maquieira Catala, Á.; Sancenón Galarza, F.; Marcos Martínez, MD.; Brun Sánchez, EM.; Soto Camino, J.... (2012). Antibody-Capped Mesoporous Nanoscopic Materials:Design of a Probe for the Selective Chromo-FluorogenicDetection of Finasteride. ChemistryOpen. 1:251-259. https://doi.org/10.1002/open.201100008S251259

The Impact of Prepartum Platelet Count on Postpartum Blood Loss and Its Association with Coagulation Factor XIII Activity

BACKGROUND Postpartum hemorrhage is a leading cause of maternal morbidity and mortality worldwide. Contradictory information exists regarding the relevance of prepartum platelet count on postpartum hemorrhage. We have shown prepartum coagulation factor XIII to be associated with postpartum blood loss; however, little is known about the association of platelet count with factor XIII activity. Our objectives were, first, to evaluate the impact of prepartum platelet count on measured postpartum blood loss in the context of prepartum measurements of coagulation factors I, II, and XIII and, second, to evaluate the association of platelet count with coagulation factor XIII, both pre- and postpartum. MATERIAL AND METHODS This is a secondary analysis of a prospective cohort study (PPH 1,300 study) which analyzed the impact of prepartum blood coagulation factors on postpartum blood loss in 1,300 women. Blood loss was quantified using a validated technique. The impact of prepartum platelet count on measured blood loss was assessed by continuous outcome logistic regression; the association of platelet count with factor XIII activity by Spearman rank correlation. RESULTS Prepartum platelet count was significantly associated with measured postpartum blood loss: every one unit (G/L) increase in prepartum thrombocytes was associated with an odds ratio of 1.002 (95% confidence interval, 1.001-1.004, p = 0.005) to keep blood loss below any given cut-off level. This means that the probability of postpartum hemorrhage decreases with increasing prepartum platelet levels. Moreover, a significant association of platelet count with factor XIII activity was shown (Spearman rank correlation coefficient for prepartum values 0.228, p < 0.001, and for postpartum values 0.293, p < 0.001). DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION The significant association of prepartum platelet count and postpartum blood loss as well as the association of platelet count with blood coagulation factor XIII activity support the likely role of platelets in preventing postpartum hemorrhage and support the new guidelines for the treatment of postpartum hemorrhage in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, which calls for optimizing platelet counts peripartally in case of postpartum hemorrhage. A possible effect of platelets on the level of circulating factor XIII cannot be ruled out and should prompt further investigation

Pathological Characterization Of IFNAR(-/-) Mice Infected With Bluetongue Virus Serotype 4

Bluetongue virus (BTV) replicates in lymphoid tissues where infected mononuclear leukocytes secrete proinflammatory and vasoactive mediators that can contribute to bluetongue (BT) pathogenesis. Using the well-characterized IFNAR(-/-) mice animal model, we have now studied the histopathology and dynamics of leukocyte populations in different target tissues (spleen, thymus, and lung) during BTV-4 infection by histological and immunohistochemical techniques. The spleen and thymus of BTV-4 infected mice showed severe lymphoid depletion on H&E stained sections. This finding was confirmed by IHC, showing moderate decreased immunopositivity against CD3 in the thymus, and scarce immunoreactivity against CD3 and CD79 in the rest of the white pulp in the spleen, together with an increase in MAC387 immunostaining. BTV-4 infection also induced the expression of active caspase-3 in the spleen, where apoptotic debris was observed by H&E. A dramatic increase in iNOS immunoreactivity associated to necrotic areas of the white pulp was observed, being less noticeable in the thymus and the lung. The induction of pro-inflammatory cytokines in tissues where BTV replicates was evaluated by measuring transcript levels by RT-qPCR. BTV-4 infection led to enhance transcription of IFN-γ, TNF, IL-6, IL-12-p40, and IL-1β mRNA in the thymus, spleen and lung, correlating with the level of virus replication in these tissues. Disease progression and pathogenesis in IFNAR(-/-) mice closely mimics hallmarks of bluetongue disease in ruminants. IFNAR(-/-) mice are a good choice to facilitate a faster advance in the field of orbiviruses.This work was supported by grants from the Comisión Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnología (CICYT) (AGL2011-23506 and AGL-2014-57430-R)S

Disk-based one-dimensional photonic crystal slabs for label-free immunosensing

[EN] One-dimensional photonic crystal slabs are periodic optical nanostructures that produce guided-mode resonance. They couple part of the incident light into the waveguide generating bandgaps in the transmittance spectrum, whose position is sensitive to refractive index variations on their surface. In this study, we present one-dimensional photonic crystal slab biosensors based on the internal nanogrooved structure of Blu-ray disks for label-free immunosensing. We demonstrated that this polycarbonate structure coated with a critical thickness of TiO2 generates guided-mode resonance. Its optical behavior was established comparing it with other compact disk structures. The results were theoretically calculated and experimentally demonstrated, all them being in agreement. The bioanalytical performance of these photonic crystals was experimentally demonstrated in a model assay to quantify IgGs as well as in two immunoassays to determine the biomarkers C-reactive protein and lactate dehydrogenase (detection limits of 0.1, 87, and 13 nM, respectively). The results are promising towards the development of new low-cost, portable, and label-free optical biosensors that join these photonic crystals with dedicated bioanalytical scanners based on compact disk drives.This research was supported by FEDER grants and the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness projects (CTQ2013-45875-R and CTQ2016-75749-R).Sancho-Fornes, G.; Avella-Oliver, M.; Carrascosa Rubio, J.; Fernández-Sánchez, ME.; Brun, EM.; Maquieira Catala, Á. (2019). Disk-based one-dimensional photonic crystal slabs for label-free immunosensing. Biosensors and Bioelectronics. 126:315-323. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bios.2018.11.005S31532312

Microspheres-prime/rMVA-boost vaccination enhances humoral and cellular immune response in IFNAR(−/−) mice conferring protection against serotypes 1 and 4 of bluetongue virus

Bluetongue virus (BTV) is the causative agent of bluetongue disease (BT), which affects domestic and wild ruminants. At the present, 27 different serotypes have been documented. Vaccination has been demonstrated as one of the most effective methods to avoid viral dissemination. To overcome the drawbacks associated with the use of inactivated and attenuated vaccines we engineered a new recombinant BTV vaccine candidate based on proteins VP2, VP7, and NS1 of BTV-4 that were incorporated into avian reovirus muNS-Mi microspheres (MS-VP2/VP7/NS1) and recombinant modified vaccinia virus Ankara (rMVA). The combination of these two antigen delivery systems in a heterologous prime-boost vaccination strategy generated significant levels of neutralizing antibodies in IFNAR(−/−) mice. Furthermore, this immunization strategy increased the ratio of IgG2a/IgG1 in sera, indicating an induction of a Th1 response, and elicited a CD8 T cell response. Immunized mice were protected against lethal challenges with the homologous serotype 4 and the heterologous serotype 1 of BTV. All these results support the strategy based on microspheres in combination with rMVAs as a promising multiserotype vaccine candidate against BTVThis work was supported by grants from the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (AGL2011-23506, AGL-2014-57430-R and BFU2013-43513-R). Financial support from the Consellería de Cultura, Educación e Ordenación Universitaria (Centro singular de investigación de Galicia accreditation 2016–2019, ED431G/09) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), is also gratefully acknowledgedS

Risk stratification of early admission to the intensive care unit of patients with no major criteria of severe community-acquired pneumonia: development of an international prediction rule

Introduction: To identify risk factors for early (< three days) intensive care unit (ICU) admission of patients hospitalised with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) and not requiring immediate ICU admission, and to stratify the risk of ICU admission on days 1 to 3. Methods: Using the original data from four North American and European prospective multicentre cohort studies of patients with CAP, we derived and validated a prediction rule for ICU admission on days 1 to 3 of emergency department (ED) presentation, for patients presenting with no obvious reason for immediate ICU admission (not requiring immediate respiratory or circulatory support). Results: A total of 6560 patients were included (4593 and 1967 in the derivation and validation cohort, respectively), 303 (4.6%) of whom were admitted to an ICU on days 1 to 3. The Risk of Early Admission to ICU index (REA-ICU index) comprised 11 criteria independently associated with ICU admission: male gender, age younger than 80 years, comorbid conditions, respiratory rate of 30 breaths/minute or higher, heart rate of 125 beats/minute or higher, multilobar infiltrate or pleural effusion, white blood cell count less than 3 or 20 G/L or above, hypoxaemia (oxygen saturation < 90% or arterial partial pressure of oxygen (PaO2) < 60 mmHg), blood urea nitrogen of 11 mmol/L or higher, pH less than 7.35 and sodium less than 130 mEq/L. The REA-ICU index stratified patients into four risk classes with a risk of ICU admission on days 1 to 3 ranging from 0.7 to 31%. The area under the curve was 0.81 (95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.78 to 0.83) in the overall population. Conclusions: The REA-ICU index accurately stratifies the risk of ICU admission on days 1 to 3 for patients presenting to the ED with CAP and no obvious indication for immediate ICU admission and therefore may assist orientation decisions

Comparison of cisplatin sensitivity and the 18F fluoro-2-deoxy 2 glucose uptake with proliferation parameters and gene expression in squamous cell carcinoma cell lines of the head and neck

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The survival of patients with locally advanced head and neck cancer is still poor, with 5-year survival rates of 24–35%. The identification of prognostic and predictive markers at the molecular and cellular level could make it possible to find new therapeutic targets and provide "taylor made" treatments. Established cell lines of human squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) are valuable models for identifying such markers.</p> <p>The aim of this study was to establish and characterize a series of cell lines and to compare the cisplatin sensitivity and 18F fluoro-2 deoxy 2 glucose (18F-FDG) uptake of these cell lines with other cellular characteristics, such as proliferation parameters and TP53 and CCND1 status.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Explant cultures of fresh tumour tissue were cultivated, and six new permanent cell lines were established from 18 HNSCC cases. Successfully grown cell lines were analysed regarding clinical parameters, histological grade, karyotype, DNA ploidy, and index and S-phase fraction (Spf). The cell lines were further characterized with regard to their uptake of 18F-FDG, their sensitivity to cisplatin, as measured by a viability test (crystal violet), and their TP53 and CCND1 status, by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), polymerase chain reaction single-strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) with DNA sequencing and, for cyclin D1, by immunohistochemistry.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Patients with tumours that could be cultured in vitro had shorter disease-free periods and overall survival time than those whose tumours did not grow in vitro, when analysed with the Kaplan-Meier method and the log-rank test. Their tumours also showed more complex karyotypes than tumours from which cell lines could not be established. No correlation was found between TP53 or CCND1 status and 18F-FDG uptake or cisplatin sensitivity. However, there was an inverse correlation between tumour cell doubling time and 18F-FDG uptake.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In vitro growth of HNSCC cells seem to be an independent prognostic factor, with cell lines being more readily established from aggressive tumours, a phenomenon more dependent on the molecular genetic characteristics of the tumour cells than on tumour location or TNM status.</p

Structural asymmetry and discrete nucleic acid subdomains in the Trypanosoma brucei kinetoplast

The mitochondrial genome of Trypanosoma brucei is contained in a specialized structure termed the kinetoplast. Kinetoplast DNA (kDNA) is organized into a concatenated network of mini and maxicircles, positioned at the base of the flagellum, to which it is physically attached. Here we have used electron microscope cytochemistry to determine structural and functional domains involved in replication and segregation of the kinetoplast. We identified two distinct subdomains within the kinetoflagellar zone (KFZ) and show that the unilateral filaments are composed of distinct inner and outer filaments. Ethanolic phosphotungstic acid (E-PTA) and EDTA regressive staining indicate that basic proteins and DNA are major constituents of the inner unilateral filaments adjoining the kDNA disc. This evidence for an intimate connection of the unilateral filaments in the KFZ with DNA provides support for models of minicircle replication involving vectorial export of free minicircles into the KFZ. Unexpectedly however, detection of DNA in the KFZ throughout the cell cycle suggests that other processes involving kDNA occur in this domain. We also describe a hitherto unrecognized, intramitochondrial, filamentous structure rich in basic proteins that links the kDNA discs during their segregation and is maintained between them for an extended period of the cell cycle