Prenatal exposure to organochlorine pesticides and TSH status in newborns from Southern Spain

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Tren de palabras - La escritura de Fernando del Paso

Tren de palabras. La escritura de Fernando del Paso recoge seis ensayos y una entrevista a cargo de cuatro estudiosos de la obra delpasiana; el sello es alumbrar nuevas perspectivas, encarar las omisiones y acrecentar el diálogo, bien argumentado, que abone a una comprensión mejor de esta abrumadora y desbordante literatura, ínsula en sí misma.Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, UAEM

Dissecting the microglial response in transgenic models of amyloidogenesis and tauopathy

Amyloid-beta (Abeta) peptide deposits and hyperphosphorylated tau protein (phospho-tau) accumulate in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) brains. These abnormal protein aggregates leads to glial activation, synaptic dysfunction, neuronal loss and cognitive decline. While microglial response has mostly been analyzed in relation to Abeta accumulation, little is still known about inflammatory processes associated with tau pathology. Microglial reactivity and defective glial responses have been involved in these proteinopathies. Our aim is to clarify the effects of Abeta and tau separately, in order to improve the comprehension of their differential contribution to neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration. We compared the progression of these processes in an amyloidogenic AD model (APPSL/PS1M146L) and two different models of tauopathy (ThyTau22 and hP301S) from 2 to 18 months of age. Accumulation of aggregated proteins was assessed using specific anti- Abeta and phospho-tau antibodies. Inflammatory response was studied using a battery of microglial markers (Iba1, CD45, CD68, Trem2 and Gal-3). In the hippocampus of these models, Tau and Abeta pathologies initiated as early as 2 months of age and increased progressively with aging. Neuritic plaques induced a strong microglial activation associated to plaques in APP/PS1 mice. Interestingly, inflammatory markers and microglial reactivity were barely increased in the hippocampus of ThyTau mice in contrast to not only APP/PS1, but also to P301S mice, which displayed a prominent microglial response. Deciphering the specific effects of Abeta, tau and their different toxic species, would indeed enable the development of novel therapeutic strategies and drugs targeting neuroinflammatory pathways related to these proteinopathies.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de excelencia Andalucía-Tech. Supported by PI18/01557 (AG) and PI18/01556 (JV) grants from ISCiii of Spain co-financed by FEDER funds from European Union, and by grant PPIT.UMA.B1.2017/26 (RS-V)

Avaliação de enfermagem da ansiedade pré-operatória pediátrica: um estudo qualitativo

Objetivo: explorar e descrever como as enfermeiras perioperatórias avaliam e interpretam o comportamento da criança antes de entrar na sala de cirurgia, identificando as estratégias que utilizam para minimizar a ansiedade e as propostas de melhoria. Método: estudo qualitativo descritivo utilizando entrevistas semiestruturadas e observação participante das rotinas diárias. Análise temática dos dados. O estudo segue os critérios recomendados para publicação de artigos da metodologia qualitativa Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research. Resultados: quatro temas emergiram dos dados: a) avaliação da ansiedade ou comunicação próxima com a criança e sua família; b) analisando o que foi observado; c) controlando a ansiedade e d) melhorando a avaliação ou propostas de melhoria na prática diária. Conclusão: as enfermeiras avaliam a ansiedade em sua prática diária por meio da observação e usando julgamento clínico. A experiência da enfermeira é decisiva na avaliação adequada da ansiedade pré-operatória da criança. A falta de tempo entre a espera e o momento de entrar na sala de cirurgia, a escassez de informação que a criança e os pais têm sobre o processo cirúrgico e a ansiedade dos pais, dificultam a avaliação e o controle adequado da ansiedade.Objetivo: explorar y describir cómo las enfermeras perioperatorias evalúan e interpretan el comportamiento del niño antes de entrar a quirófano, identificando las estrategias que utilizan para minimizar la ansiedad y las propuestas de mejora. Método: estudio cualitativo descriptivo mediante entrevistas semiestructuradas y observación participante de las rutinas diarias. Análisis temático de los datos. El estudio sigue las recomendaciones de criterios para la publicación de artículos de metodología cualitativa Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research. Resultados: cuatro temas surgieron de los datos: a) evaluación de la ansiedad o comunicación estrecha con el niño y su familia; b) valorando lo observado; c) manejando la ansiedad y d) mejorando la evaluación o propuestas de mejora para la práctica diaria. Conclusión: enfermeras evalúan la ansiedad en su práctica diaria de forma observacional utilizando el juicio clínico. La experiencia de la enfermera es determinante en la adecuada evaluación de la ansiedad prequirúrgica del niño. La falta de tiempo entre la espera y el momento de entrar a quirófano, la mala información que tiene el niño y los padres sobre el proceso quirúrgico y la ansiedad de los padres dificultan la evaluación y el manejo correcto de la ansiedad.Objective: to explore and describe how perioperative nurses assess and interpret the child’s behavior before entering the operating room, identifying the strategies they use to reduce anxiety and the proposals for improvements. Method: descriptive qualitative study using semi-structured interviews and participant observation of daily routines. Thematic analysis of data. This study follows the recommended criteria for publication of articles of the qualitative methodology Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research. Results: four topics emerged from the data: a) assessment of anxiety or close communication with the child and their family; b) evaluating what was observed; c) managing anxiety and d) improving the assessment or proposals for improvements in daily practice. Conclusion: nurses assess anxiety in their daily practice through observation using their clinical judgment. The nurse’s experience is decisive for the appropriate assessment of the preoperative anxiety in child. Insufficient time between waiting and entering the operating room, lack of information from child and their parents about the surgical procedure, and parental anxiety make it difficult to assess and properly manage anxiety

Clinical aspects of usher syndrome and the USH2A gene in a cohort of 433 patients

IMPORTANCE A new statistical approach is needed to describe the clinical differences between type I and type II Usher syndrome and between the 2 most frequent mutations in the USH2A gene. OBJECTIVES To describe the primary phenotypic characteristics and differences between type I and type II Usher syndrome and to establish a phenotype-genotype correlation for the 2 most frequent mutations in the USH2A gene. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Cross-sectional study at a genetics department, in which clinical evaluations were performed for 433 patients (297 unrelated families) who were classified as having type I, II, III, atypical, or unclassified Usher syndrome according to their clinical history, pedigree data, results from ophthalmological studies, and audiological, neurophysiological, and vestibular test results. Molecular studies were performed for 304 patients (256 unrelated families). The Mann-Whitney U test or the χ2 test was used for calculating the differences between mean values for the analyzed parameters. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Age at diagnosis; age at onset of night blindness, visual field loss, visual acuity loss, and cataracts; and severity and age at diagnosis of hearing loss. RESULTS The comparison between patients with type I Usher syndrome and those with type II Usher syndrome revealed P < .001 for most items analyzed. The most frequent mutations in the USH2A gene were the p.Glu767Serfs*21 and p.Cys759Phe mutations, with an allelic frequency of 23.2%(63 of 272 alleles) and 8.1% (22 of 272 alleles), respectively. The phenotypic analysis for patients carrying p.Cys759Phe showed P < .001 for most items analyzed when compared with patients carrying p.Glu767Serfs*21 and when compared with patients carrying other mutations in the USH2A gene. None of the p.Cys759Phe patients exhibited a severe hearing loss phenotype, and more than 60%had only mild hearing loss. Most patients carrying the p.Glu767Serfs*21 mutation (72.1%) were moderately deaf. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Our study presents the clinical differences between type I and type II Usher syndrome and between the 2 most frequent mutations in the USH2A gene. Detailed genotype-phenotype correlations, as presented in our study, allow for a better correlation of clinical signs with a known genotype and can improve the clinical management, genetic counseling, and risk assessment of patients with Usher syndrome because an estimated prognosis of their disease can be madeThis work was supported by grant PI13/00226 (to Servicio de Genética, Instituto de Investigación–Fundación Jiménez Díaz, Madrid, Spain), by grant PI13/00638 (to Unidad de Genética y Diagnóstico Prenatal, Hospital Universitario y Politécnico La Fe, Valencia, Spain), and by grant 06/07/0036 (to Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Raras, Madrid, Spain) from Fundaluce and Organización Nacional de Ciegos Españole

Analytical strategy for the detection of antibiotic residues in sheep and goat's milk

© INIA. Manuscripts published are the property of the Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria SJAR is an Open Access Journal. All articles are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC by-nc/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.[EN] The use of antibiotics to treat mastitis and other infectious diseases in dairy sheep and goats is a widespread practice nowadays that can, when not properly applied, result in the contamination of the milk supply. Spanish legislation establishes the control of the presence of antibiotic residues in sheep and goat s milk using screening methods that detect, at least, beta-lactam drugs. Microbial inhibitor tests using Geobacillus stearothermophilus var. calidolactis and specific receptor-binding assays are most widely employed for this purpose. The detection rates of screening tests routinely used in Spain have been calculated considering the frequency of use of veterinary drugs commonly applied in ovine and caprine livestock to treat and prevent mastitis as well as the test sensitivity toward these substances at safety levels. In general, the use of a single test allows detecting 62.8-82.4% of the antibiotics employed. For sheep milk, the total detection range achieved with microbial tests was significantly higher than that reached with rapid receptor tests. However, no significant differences between the two types of methods were found when goat s milk was analysed. In both types of milk, the simultaneous use of two screening tests with a different analytical basis increases the total detection range significantly,reaching values &#8805; 90% in some cases (81.5-90.1% for sheep and 84.7-92.6% for goats). However, the periodical use of screening tests able to detect quinolones, macrolides or aminoglycosides would be recommended to carry out more efficient screening and ensure the safety of milk and dairy products from sheep and goats.This work forms part of the Project AGL2009-11524 financed by the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion (Madrid, Spain).Beltrán Martínez, MC.; Althaus, RL.; Molina Casanova, AM.; Berruga Fernandez, MI.; Molina Pons, MP. (2015). Analytical strategy for the detection of antibiotic residues in sheep and goat's milk. Spanish Journal of Agricultural Research. 13(1):e05-001. https://doi.org/10.5424/sjar/2015131-6522Se05001131Althaus, R. L., Torres, A., Montero, A., Balasch, S., & Molina, M. P. (2003). Detection Limits of Antimicrobials in Ewe Milk by Delvotest Photometric Measurements. Journal of Dairy Science, 86(2), 457-463. doi:10.3168/jds.s0022-0302(03)73624-8Beltrán, M. C., Romero, T., Althaus, R. L., & Molina, M. P. (2013). Evaluation of the Charm maximum residue limit β-lactam and tetracycline test for the detection of antibiotics in ewe and goat milk. Journal of Dairy Science, 96(5), 2737-2745. doi:10.3168/jds.2012-6044Beltrán, M. C., Althaus, R. L., Berruga, M. I., Molina, A., & Molina, M. P. (2014). Detection of antibiotics in sheep milk by receptor-binding assays. International Dairy Journal, 34(2), 184-189. doi:10.1016/j.idairyj.2013.09.006BELTRÁN, M. C., BORRÀS, M., NAGEL, O., ALTHAUS, R. L., & MOLINA, M. P. (2014). Validation of Receptor-Binding Assays To Detect Antibiotics in Goat’s Milk. Journal of Food Protection, 77(2), 308-313. doi:10.4315/0362-028x.jfp-13-253Beltrán, M. C., Berruga, M. I., Molina, A., Althaus, R. L., & Molina, M. P. (2015). Performance of current microbial tests for screening antibiotics in sheep and goat milk. International Dairy Journal, 41, 13-15. doi:10.1016/j.idairyj.2014.09.007Berruga MI, Lozoya S, Rubio R, Castro N, Molina A, 2008. Estudio sobre las posibles causas de la presencia de residuos de antimicrobianos en la leche de ovino y caprino. Ministerio de Medio Ambiente, Medio Rural y Marino (MARM), Madrid, 102 pp.Berruga MI, Beltrán MC, Novés B, Molina A, Molina MP, 2011. Effect of penicillins on the acidification of yogurt made from ewe's milk during the storage. In: Science and technology against microbial pathogens - Research, development and evaluation (Mendez-Vilas A, ed.).World Sci Publ, Hackensack, NJ (USA), pp: 145-149.Gonzalo, C., Carriedo, J. A., García-Jimeno, M. C., Pérez-Bilbao, M., & de la Fuente, L. F. (2010). Factors influencing variation of bulk milk antibiotic residue occurrence, somatic cell count, and total bacterial count in dairy sheep flocks. Journal of Dairy Science, 93(4), 1587-1595. doi:10.3168/jds.2009-2838IDF, 2013. IDF guide to prudent use of antimicrobial agents in dairy production. International Dairy Federation, Brussels, Belgium.Molina, M. P., Althaus, R. L., Molina, A., & Fernández, N. (2003). Antimicrobial agent detection in ewes’ milk by the microbial inhibitor test brilliant black reduction test—BRT AiM®. International Dairy Journal, 13(10), 821-826. doi:10.1016/s0958-6946(03)00107-9Montero, A., Althaus, R. L., Molina, A., Berruga, I., & Molina, M. P. (2005). Detection of antimicrobial agents by a specific microbiological method (Eclipse100®) for ewe milk. Small Ruminant Research, 57(2-3), 229-237. doi:10.1016/j.smallrumres.2004.07.006Nagel, O. G., Beltrán, M. C., Molina, M. P., & Althaus, R. L. (2012). Novel microbiological system for antibiotic detection in ovine milk. Small Ruminant Research, 102(1), 26-31. doi:10.1016/j.smallrumres.2011.11.018Pengov, A., & Kirbis, A. (2009). Risks of antibiotic residues in milk following intramammary and intramuscular treatments in dairy sheep. Analytica Chimica Acta, 637(1-2), 13-17. doi:10.1016/j.aca.2008.09.021Pirisi, A., Lauret, A., & Dubeuf, J. P. (2007). Basic and incentive payments for goat and sheep milk in relation to quality. Small Ruminant Research, 68(1-2), 167-178. doi:10.1016/j.smallrumres.2006.09.009Sanders P, Bousquet-Melou A, Chauvin C, Toutain PL, 2011. Utilisation des antibiotiques en élevage et enjeux de santé publique. INRA Prod Anim 24: 199-204.Scintu, M. F., & Piredda, G. (2007). Typicity and biodiversity of goat and sheep milk products. Small Ruminant Research, 68(1-2), 221-231. doi:10.1016/j.smallrumres.2006.09.005Sierra, D., Sánchez, A., Contreras, A., Luengo, C., Corrales, J. C., Morales, C. T., … Gonzalo, C. (2009). Detection limits of four antimicrobial residue screening tests for β-lactams in goat’s milk. Journal of Dairy Science, 92(8), 3585-3591. doi:10.3168/jds.2008-1981Sierra, D., Contreras, A., Sánchez, A., Luengo, C., Corrales, J. C., Morales, C. T., … Gonzalo, C. (2009). Short communication: Detection limits of non-β-lactam antibiotics in goat’s milk by microbiological residues screening tests. Journal of Dairy Science, 92(9), 4200-4206. doi:10.3168/jds.2009-210

Procedimiento para la incorporación de resultados de aprendizaje en las guías docentes, orientado a la acreditación de títulos de Grado en Ingeniería

La última fase del proceso de evaluación externa de los títulos oficiales es una comprobación del ajuste existente entre el título implantado y el diseño propuesto inicialmente, contemplando las acciones realizadas sobre las posibles desviaciones y sus causas. Una de las dimensiones más relevantes en esta comprobación son los resultados de aprendizaje. En el presente trabajo se presenta un procedimiento desarrollado, apoyado en una base de da-tos relacional, con el fin de trasladar al profesorado la importancia de estos resultados y fomentar la incorporación de los mismos en las guías docentes de las asignaturas. Los resultados obtenidos justifican el procedimiento desarrollado.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Resultados de la coordinación docente de un centro

En la Escuela Politécnica Superior de la Universidad de Málaga se diseñó un sistema de coordinación docente para los nuevos grados en Ingeniería basados en el EEES, con el objeto de poder realizar de forma eficiente la coordinación del conjunto de todas las actividades de enseñanza/aprendizaje. Este procedimiento se apoya en una base de datos que recoge el plan de estudios y que permite generar formularios para recoger la información necesaria, permitiendo aligerar la carga de todo el proceso y facilitar la toma de decisiones a los participantes y órganos implicados. En el presente trabajo se presentan los resultados obtenidos en la aplicación de este sistema, evidenciando que el proceso facilita información relevante de la puesta en práctica del proceso de enseñanza recogido en la Memoria de Verificación de los títulos, evidenciando posibles errores en la misma así como desviaciones en el desarrollo docente.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tec

Comparing astroglial reactivity in two transgenic mouse models of tauopathy

Astrocytes are becoming crucial players in the pathology of neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Astrocyte responses have been mainly analyzed in the context of amyloid-beta (Abeta) pathology, highlighting their role in the development/progression of amyloidosis and their relationship with the microglial response. Regarding tau pathology, some studies have reported that astrocytes respond to hyperphosphorylated tau (phospho-tau) and suggested their implication on tau transmission/elimination. Here, we aimed to analyze the astroglial reactivity to tau pathology in the hippocampus of two transgenic mouse models of tauopathy, ThyTau22 and P301S. Proteinopathy was assessed by western-blotting and immunohistochemistry using phospho-tau antibodies (AT8). Inflammatory markers (GFAP, Iba-1, CD45, TREM2) were analyzed by qPCR and immunohistochemistry for bright-field microscopy; glial-phospho-tau relationship was analyzed under confocal and transmission electron microscopy. P301S mice exhibited an intense reactive astrogliosis, increasing with aging in parallel to a strong phospho-tau pathology. ThyTau22 model showed a slighter astrocyte reactivity accompanied by a lesser accumulation of phospho-tau. Astrogliosis in P301S mice closely correlated with an acute DAM-like microglial activation, not observed in ThyTau22 hippocampus. Confocal and ultrastructural studies revealed that, in both models, astrocytic processes contained phospho-tau, especially those surrounding blood vessels. Our results support that astrocytes respond to tau pathology in the absence of Abeta. This reactivity highly correlates with phospho-tau pathology and markedly depends on microglial activation. Moreover, astrocytes may play a role in the elimination/spreading of phospho-tau species through the brain. Deciphering the mechanisms underlying these processes might help to develop therapies to slow down the progression of AD.Supported by Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCiii) of Spain, co-financed by FEDER funds from European Union through grants PI18/01557 (to AG), PI18/01556 (to JV), and by Junta de Andalucia through Consejería de Economía y Conocimiento grants UMA18-FEDERJA-211 (AG), P18-RT-2233 (AG) and US-1262734 (JV) co-financed by Programa Operativo FEDER2014-2020. Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

The specific seroreactivity to ∆Np73 isoforms shows higher diagnostic ability in colorectal cancer patients than the canonical p73 protein

The p53-family is tightly regulated at transcriptional level. Due to alternative splicing, up to 40 different theoretical proteoforms have been described for p73 and at least 20 and 10 for p53 and p63, respectively. However, only the canonical proteins have been evaluated as autoantibody targets in cancer patients for diagnosis. In this study, we have cloned and expressed in vitro the most upregulated proteoforms of p73, ΔNp73α and ΔNp73β, for the analysis of their seroreactivity by a developed luminescence based immunoassay test using 145 individual plasma from colorectal cancer, premalignant individuals and healthy controls. ∆Np73α seroreactivity showed the highest diagnostic ability to discriminate between groups. The combination of ∆Np73α, ∆Np73β and p73 proteoforms seroreactivity were able to improve their individual diagnostic ability. Competitive inhibition experiments further demonstrated the presence of unique specific epitopes in ΔNp73 isoforms not present in p73, with several colorectal patients showing unique and specific seroreactivity to the ΔNp73 proteoforms. Overall, we have increased the complexity of the humoral immune response to the p53-family in cancer patients, showing that the proteoforms derived from the alternative splicing of p73 possess a higher diagnostic ability than the canonical protein, which might be extensive for p53 and p63 proteins.This work was supported by the Ramon y Cajal programme of the MINECO and the financial support of the PI17CIII/00045 grant from the AES-ISCIII program to R.B., cofounded by FEDER funds. G.D. acknowledges the financial support of PI15/00246 grant of the FIS and Cátedra UAM-Roche en Medicina de Innovación. M.G-A. was supported by a contract of the Programa Operativo de Empleo Juvenil y la Iniciativa de Empleo Juvenil (YEI) with the participation of the Consejería de Educación, Juventud y Deporte de la Comunidad de Madrid y del Fondo Social Europeo. We thank the excellent technical support of Maricruz Sánchez. A.M-C. is a recipient of a FPU fellowship from the Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte.S