Experience of parents who have suffered a perinatal death in two Spanish hospitals: a qualitative study

Background: Perinatal grief is a process that affects families in biological, psychological, social and spiritual terms. It is estimated that every year there are 2.7 million perinatal deaths worldwide and 4.43 deaths for every 1000 births in Spain. The aim of this study is to describe and understand the experiences and perceptions of parents who have suffered a perinatal death. Methods: A qualitative study based on Gadamer’s hermeneutic phenomenology. The study was conducted in two hospitals in the South of Spain. Thirteen mothers and eight fathers who had suffered a perinatal death in the 5 years prior to the study participated in this study. In-depth interviews were carried out for data collection. Inductive analysis was used to find themes based on the data. Results: Eight sub-themes emerged, and they were grouped into three main themes: ‘Perceiving the threat and anticipating the baby’s death: “Something is going wrong in my pregnancy”’; ‘Emotional outpouring: the shock of losing a baby and the pain of giving birth to a stillborn baby’; “We have had a baby”: The need to give an identity to the baby and legitimise grief’. Conclusion: The grief suffered after a perinatal death begins with the anticipation of the death, which relates to the mother’s medical history, symptoms and premonitions. The confirmation of the death leads to emotional shock, characterised by pain and suffering. The chance to take part in mourning rituals and give the baby the identity of a deceased baby may help in the grieving and bereavement process. Having empathy for the parents and notifying them of the death straightaway can help ease the pain. Midwives can help in the grieving process by facilitating the farewell rituals, accompanying the family, helping in honouring the memory of the baby, and supporting parents in giving the deceased infant an identity that makes them a family member

A simplified courtship conditioning protocol to test learning and memory in Drosophila

In Drosophila, a male that has previously been sexually rejected reduces its courtship behavior when confronted again with an unreceptive female. This reduced courting time reflects a memory formation process. Here, we describe a simplified protocol to perform the courtship conditioning assay for assessing the reduced courting time, using regular lab equipment and handmade tools. Every step of the procedure, from raising flies and training to testing and quantification of this memory-related behavior, can be implemented in any practice laboratory.We would like to thank Javier Gil Castillo for its invaluable help and advices in 3D printing. We also thank the flies from Bloomington Stock Center. We would like to thank BioRender (www.biorender.com) for the open-access platform used to create the graphical abstract. This work was supported by the Spanish Research Agency (Ministerio de Innovacion y Ciencia [MICINN]) under the grant PGC2018-094630-B-100 to F.A.M., cofinanced by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) to F.A.M. F.A.M. is a recipient of a RyC-2014-14961 contract. B.G.-M. is a recipient of a FPI-UAM predoctoral fellowship, grant number SFPI/2020/00878. C.G.B. is a recipient of a FPU predoctoral fellowship, grant number FPU19/04449 (MEFP). S.P.-F. is a recipient of a JAE intro fellowship, grant number JAEINT_21_02520 (CSIC)

Diagnóstico y mejoramiento del Rastro municipal, Zacoalco de Torres.

Las propuestas de mejora a corto, mediano y largo plazo para el Rastro municipal de Zacoalco de Torres, es un proyecto que se desarrolló en el PAP San Pedro Valencia: Programa de Sustentabilidad Socioambiental para el Desarrollo Inclusivo en el cual identificamos una problemática que se centra en la contaminación del medio ambiente –suelo- a causa de la mala disposición de aguas residuales provenientes de procesos del Rastro Municipal. Esta mala gestión genera riesgos a la salud de viviendas aledañas por contaminación de agua potable y exposición a materia residual no tratada. Para poder proponer dichas propuestas de mejora fue necesario elaborar un diagnóstico/formulario en base a la normativa mexicana aplicable en los rastros municipales. De este modo se encontró un total de 22 Normas Oficiales Mexicanas, de las cuales solamente 5 involucran el manejo de las aguas residuales; Estas cinco normas son: NOM-008-ZOO-1994, NOM-009-ZOO-1994, NOM-194-SSA1-2004, NOM-001-SEMARNAT-1996, NOM-002-SEMARNAT-1996. De esta forma, una vez que se aplicó el diagnóstico/formulario al director del rastro, se logró identificar aquellas propuestas de mejora a corto, mediano y largo plazo para el rastro de Zacoalco de Torres. Asimismo, se buscó que en todo momento las propuestas fueran claras y de rápida aplicación involucrando tanto a directivos del rastro como al director de gestión y proyectos del agua potable en el municipio.ITESO, A.C

Nonlinear dispersive waves in repulsive lattices

[EN] The propagation of nonlinear waves in a lattice of repelling particles is studied theoretically and experimentally. A simple experimental setup is proposed, consisting of an array of coupled magnetic dipoles. By driving harmonically the lattice at one boundary, we excite propagating waves and demonstrate different regimes of mode conversion into higher harmonics, strongly influenced by dispersion and discreteness. The phenomenon of acoustic dilatation of the chain is also predicted and discussed. The results are compared with the theoretical predictions of $\alpha$-FPU equation, describing a chain of masses connected by nonlinear quadratic springs and numerical simulations. The results can be extrapolated to other systems described by this equation.The work was supported by Spanish Ministry of Economy and Innovation (MINECO) and European Union FEDER through Project No. FIS2015- 65998-C2-2 and by Project No. AICO/2016/060 by Conselleria de Educacion, Investigacion, Cultura y Deporte de la Generalitat Valenciana. L.J.S.-C. gratefully acknowledge the support of PAID-01-14 at Universitat Politscnica de Valsncia. A. M. gratefully acknowledge to Generalitat Valenciana (Santiago Grisolia program).Mehrem, A.; Jimenez, N.; Salmerón-Contreras, LJ.; García-Andrés, FX.; García-Raffi, LM.; Picó Vila, R.; Sánchez Morcillo, VJ. (2017). Nonlinear dispersive waves in repulsive lattices. Physical Review E. 96(1). https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.96.012208S00220096

Motherhood and Treatment Outcome in Female Patients with Compulsive Buying–Shopping Disorder

Motherhood has been proposed as an internal facilitating factor for the recovery of women with mental disorders. However, at the same time, there are significant barriers that may be interfering with the access and adherence to treatment for these women. The present longitudinal study aimed to deepen the sociodemographic and clinical profile of women with children and compulsive buying-shopping disorder (CBSD), and to explore the association between motherhood and response to treatment. The total sample included 77 women with a diagnosis of CBSD (n = 49 mothers) who received cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for 12 weeks. No association between psychopathology and motherhood was observed. The group of mothers reported an older age of onset of the CBSD, a lower amount of money spent per compulsive-buying episode, and a higher likelihood of family support for the CBSD. Moreover, this group showed lower risk of relapse. The findings support the theoretical proposal that considers motherhood as an internal facilitating factor for recovery and treatment adherence of mothers with addictions

A functional IL1RL1 variant regulates corticosteroid-induced sST2 expression in ulcerative colitis

Indexación: Web of Science; Scopus.The ST2/IL33 signalling pathway has been associated with ulcerative colitis (UC). ST2, encoded by the IL1RL1 gene, is expressed as both a membrane-anchored receptor (ST2L) activated by IL33 and as a soluble receptor (sST2) with anti-inflammatory properties. In UC patients, sST2 is further increased by corticosteroid treatment; however, the glucocorticoid-mediated molecular regulation remains unknown. We therefore tested whether genetic variants in the IL1RL1 distal promoter are involved in UC and affect glucocorticoid-mediated ST2 expression. Serum ST2 levels and genetic variants in the IL1RL1 distal promoter were examined by ELISA and PCR sequencing in UC patients receiving corticosteroids. Glucocorticoid-mediated ST2 production was evaluated in intestinal mucosa cultures. Molecular regulation of glucocorticoid-mediated ST2 was assessed by RT-qPCR, ChIP assay and luciferase reporter assay. Dexamethasone effect on ST2 transcript expression was analyzed in leukocytes and related to IL1RL1 variants. Sequencing of a distal IL1RL1 promoter region demonstrated that SNPs rs6543115(C) and rs6543116(A) are associated with increased sST2 in UC patients on corticosteroids. Dexamethasone up-regulated sST2 transcription through interaction with the glucocorticoid-response element (GRE) carrying rs6543115(C) variant. Our data indicate that IL1RL1 SNPs rs6543115(C) confer susceptibility to UC and is contained in the GRE, which may modulate glucocorticoid-induced sST2 expression.https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-10465-

Crecimiento de Saccharomyces boulardii con agavinas acetiladas como fuente de carbono

Las agavinas son polímeros de fructosa provenientes del agave. Poseen enlaces β (2-1) y β (2-6), característica que no permite su hidrolisis por enzimas digestivas y las clasifica como oligosacáridos no digeribles. Estas moléculas han tomado relevancia debido a sus diferentes aplicaciones como encapsulantes de componentes bioactivos para liberarlos en sitios específicos y su capacidad prebiótica. Las bacterias del intestino grueso y cepas probióticas como Saccharomyces boulardii pueden fermentar las agavinas, generando cambios positivos en la microbiota. En esta investigación se evaluó la fermentabilidad de agavinas nativas, comerciales y acetiladas por la levadura probiótica S. boulardii, con el fin de compararlos como fuentes de carbono. Como resultado se obtuvo que el desarrollo celular en el medio con agavinas acetiladas fue mayor (9,0x10⁶ UFC/mL) respecto a las comerciales (5,7x10⁶ UFC/mL) y nativas (7,5x10⁵ UFC/mL), sin embargo, su crecimiento no fue mayor al medio con glucosa (3,5x10⁷UFC/mL).Agavins are polymers of fructose from agave that have β (2-1) and β (2-6) bonds, a characteristic that makes them resistant to hydrolysis by digestive enzymes and are classified non-digestible oligosaccharides. Currently, agavins have become relevant due to their different applications as an encapsulant of bioactive compounds to release them at specific sites and for their prebiotic characteristics. Bacteria from the large intestine and probiotic strains such as Saccharomyces boulardii can ferment agavins, generating positive changes in the microbiota. In this research, the fermentability of native, commercial and acetylated agavins by the probiotic yeast S. boulardii was evaluated, in order to compare them as carbon sources. As a result, it was obtained that the cell growth in the medium with acetylated agavins was higher (9,0x10⁶ CFU/mL) compared to commercial ones (5,7x10⁶ CFU/mL) and native agavins (7,5x10⁵ CFU/mL), however, its growth was not greater than the medium with glucosa (3,5x10⁷ CFU/mL)

Tissue Localization and Extracellular Matrix Degradation by PI, PII and PIII Snake Venom Metalloproteinases: Clues on the Mechanisms of Venom-Induced Hemorrhage

20 páginas, 4 figuras, 3 tablas y 7 tablas en material suplementario.Snake venom hemorrhagic metalloproteinases (SVMPs) of the PI, PII and PIII classes were compared in terms of tissue localization and their ability to hydrolyze basement membrane components in vivo, as well as by a proteomics analysis of exudates collected in tissue injected with these enzymes. Immunohistochemical analyses of co-localization of these SVMPs with type IV collagen revealed that PII and PIII enzymes co-localized with type IV collagen in capillaries, arterioles and post-capillary venules to a higher extent than PI SVMP, which showed a more widespread distribution in the tissue. The patterns of hydrolysis by these three SVMPs of laminin, type VI collagen and nidogen in vivo greatly differ, whereas the three enzymes showed a similar pattern of degradation of type IV collagen, supporting the concept that hydrolysis of this component is critical for the destabilization of microvessel structure leading to hemorrhage. Proteomic analysis of wound exudate revealed similarities and differences between the action of the three SVMPs. Higher extent of proteolysis was observed for the PI enzyme regarding several extracellular matrix components and fibrinogen, whereas exudates from mice injected with PII and PIII SVMPs had higher amounts of some intracellular proteins. Our results provide novel clues for understanding the mechanisms by which SVMPs induce damage to the microvasculature and generate hemorrhage.This work was performed in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the PhD degree for Cristina Herrera at Universidad de Costa Rica.Peer reviewe