185 research outputs found
Vegetation changes along an urbanisation and atmospheric pollution gradient in Mexico
Green areas are important places for biodiversity conservation within cities, but their vegetation is affected by various anthropogenic factors. This study used an exploratory approach to examine the influence of urbanisation and air pollution-related factors on the indicators for the composition and structure of vegetation in an urban area in northeast Mexico. Based on the spatial analysis of the major air pollutants, four sampling categories were delimited (rural, low, moderate and high urbanisation). The differences between categories, based on vegetation structure, were determined using non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis tests. The Importance Value was calculated for the species. The floristic similarity was compared using NMDS and PERMANOVA unidirectional. The relationship between environmental variables and abundance of species was evaluated using CCA. One hundred and ten plant species were collected, including ten alien species. The highest abundance and species richness were registered in the rural site. The general tendency of vegetation structure is to plants decreasing with respect to the increase in the levels of urbanisation and air pollution present in the study area. The association between the environmental variables and plant communities along the urbanisation gradient was significant, being the relative humidity, the particles lower than 2.5 μm, the dew point and the heat index as the most important variables. The understanding of the nature and variability of vegetation within green areas contributes to increasing our knowledge about the distribution of the environmental services they provide and the composition of the faunal communities that depend on them. For this reason, this study relates the plants of a specific area of northeast Mexico with the environmental quality present in an urban area
A genome-wide association study follow-up suggests a possible role for PPARG in systemic sclerosis susceptibility
Introduction:
A recent genome-wide association study (GWAS) comprising a French cohort of systemic sclerosis (SSc) reported several non-HLA single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) showing a nominal association in the discovery phase. We aimed to identify previously overlooked susceptibility variants by using a follow-up strategy.<p></p>
Methods:
Sixty-six non-HLA SNPs showing a P value <10-4 in the discovery phase of the French SSc GWAS were analyzed in the first step of this study, performing a meta-analysis that combined data from the two published SSc GWASs. A total of 2,921 SSc patients and 6,963 healthy controls were included in this first phase. Two SNPs, PPARG rs310746 and CHRNA9 rs6832151, were selected for genotyping in the replication cohort (1,068 SSc patients and 6,762 healthy controls) based on the results of the first step. Genotyping was performed by using TaqMan SNP genotyping assays.
Results:
We observed nominal associations for both PPARG rs310746 (PMH = 1.90 × 10-6, OR, 1.28) and CHRNA9 rs6832151 (PMH = 4.30 × 10-6, OR, 1.17) genetic variants with SSc in the first step of our study. In the replication phase, we observed a trend of association for PPARG rs310746 (P value = 0.066; OR, 1.17). The combined overall Mantel-Haenszel meta-analysis of all the cohorts included in the present study revealed that PPARG rs310746 remained associated with SSc with a nominal non-genome-wide significant P value (PMH = 5.00 × 10-7; OR, 1.25). No evidence of association was observed for CHRNA9 rs6832151 either in the replication phase or in the overall pooled analysis.<p></p>
Conclusion:
Our results suggest a role of PPARG gene in the development of SSc
Impact of an educational program to reduce healthcare resources in community-acquired pneumonia: The EDUCAP randomized controlled trial
BACKGROUND: Additional healthcare visits and rehospitalizations after discharge are frequent among patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) and have a major impact on healthcare costs. We aimed to determine whether the implementation of an individualized educational program for hospitalized patients with CAP would decrease subsequent healthcare visits and readmissions within 30 days of hospital discharge. METHODS: A multicenter, randomized trial was conducted from January 1, 2011 to October 31, 2014 at three hospitals in Spain. We randomly allocated immunocompetent adults patients hospitalized for CAP to receive either an individualized educational program or conventional information before discharge. The educational program included recommendations regarding fluid intake, adherence to drug therapy and preventive vaccines, knowledge and management of the disease, progressive adaptive physical activity, and counseling for alcohol and smoking cessation. The primary trial endpoint was a composite of the frequency of additional healthcare visits and rehospitalizations within 30 days of hospital discharge. Intention-to-treat analysis was performed. RESULTS: We assigned 102 patients to receive the individualized educational program and 105 to receive conventional information. The frequency of the composite primary end point was 23.5% following the individualized program and 42.9% following the conventional information (difference, -19.4%; 95% confidence interval, -6.5% to -31.2%; P = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS: The implementation of an individualized educational program for hospitalized patients with CAP was effective in reducing subsequent healthcare visits and rehospitalizations within 30 days of discharge. Such a strategy may help optimize available healthcare resources and identify post-acute care needs in patients with CAP. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Controlled-Trials.com ISRCTN39531840
Effectiveness of an intervention for improving drug prescription in primary care patients with multimorbidity and polypharmacy:Study protocol of a cluster randomized clinical trial (Multi-PAP project)
This study was funded by the Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias ISCIII (Grant Numbers PI15/00276, PI15/00572, PI15/00996), REDISSEC (Project Numbers RD12/0001/0012, RD16/0001/0005), and the European Regional Development Fund ("A way to build Europe").Background: Multimorbidity is associated with negative effects both on people's health and on healthcare systems. A key problem linked to multimorbidity is polypharmacy, which in turn is associated with increased risk of partly preventable adverse effects, including mortality. The Ariadne principles describe a model of care based on a thorough assessment of diseases, treatments (and potential interactions), clinical status, context and preferences of patients with multimorbidity, with the aim of prioritizing and sharing realistic treatment goals that guide an individualized management. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a complex intervention that implements the Ariadne principles in a population of young-old patients with multimorbidity and polypharmacy. The intervention seeks to improve the appropriateness of prescribing in primary care (PC), as measured by the medication appropriateness index (MAI) score at 6 and 12months, as compared with usual care. Methods/Design: Design:pragmatic cluster randomized clinical trial. Unit of randomization: family physician (FP). Unit of analysis: patient. Scope: PC health centres in three autonomous communities: Aragon, Madrid, and Andalusia (Spain). Population: patients aged 65-74years with multimorbidity (≥3 chronic diseases) and polypharmacy (≥5 drugs prescribed in ≥3months). Sample size: n=400 (200 per study arm). Intervention: complex intervention based on the implementation of the Ariadne principles with two components: (1) FP training and (2) FP-patient interview. Outcomes: MAI score, health services use, quality of life (Euroqol 5D-5L), pharmacotherapy and adherence to treatment (Morisky-Green, Haynes-Sackett), and clinical and socio-demographic variables. Statistical analysis: primary outcome is the difference in MAI score between T0 and T1 and corresponding 95% confidence interval. Adjustment for confounding factors will be performed by multilevel analysis. All analyses will be carried out in accordance with the intention-to-treat principle. Discussion: It is essential to provide evidence concerning interventions on PC patients with polypharmacy and multimorbidity, conducted in the context of routine clinical practice, and involving young-old patients with significant potential for preventing negative health outcomes. Trial registration: Clinicaltrials.gov, NCT02866799Publisher PDFPeer reviewe
Psychometric characteristics of the Spanish version of instruments to measure neck pain disability
Background: The NDI, COM and NPQ are evaluation instruments for disability due to NP. There was no Spanish version of NDI or COM for which psychometric characteristics were known. The objectives of this study were to translate and culturally adapt the Spanish version of the Neck Disability Index Questionnaire (NDI), and the Core Outcome Measure (COM), to validate its use in Spanish speaking patients with non-specific neck pain (NP), and to compare their psychometric characteristics with those of the Spanish version of the Northwick Pain Questionnaire (NPQ).
Methods: Translation/re-translation of the English versions of the NDI and the COM was done blindly and independently by a multidisciplinary team. The study was done in 9 primary care Centers and 12 specialty services from 9 regions in Spain, with 221 acute, subacute and chronic patients who visited their physician for NP: 54 in the pilot phase and 167 in the validation phase. Neck pain (VAS), referred pain (VAS), disability (NDI, COM and NPQ), catastrophizing (CSQ) and quality of life (SF-12) were measured on their first visit and 14 days later. Patients' self-assessment was used as the external criterion for pain and disability. In the pilot phase, patients' understanding of each item in the NDI and COM was assessed, and on day 1 test-retest reliability was estimated by giving a second NDI and COM in which the name of the questionnaires and the order of the items had been changed.
Results: Comprehensibility of NDI and COM were good. Minutes needed to fill out the questionnaires [median, (P25, P75)]: NDI. 4 (2.2, 10.0), COM: 2.1 (1.0, 4.9). Reliability: [ICC, (95%CI)]: NDI: 0.88 (0.80, 0.93). COM: 0.85 (0.75,0.91). Sensitivity to change: Effect size for patients having worsened, not changed and improved between days 1 and 15, according to the external criterion for disability: NDI: -0.24, 0.15, 0.66; NPQ: -0.14, 0.06, 0.67; COM: 0.05, 0.19, 0.92. Validity: Results of NDI, NPQ and COM were consistent with the external criterion for disability, whereas only those from NDI were consistent with the one for pain. Correlations with VAS, CSQ and SF-12 were similar for NDI and NPQ (absolute values between 0.36 and 0.50 on day 1, between 0.38 and 0.70 on day 15), and slightly lower for COM (between 0.36 and 0.48 on day 1, and between 0.33 and 0.61 on day 15). Correlation between NDI and NPQ: r = 0.84 on day 1, r = 0.91 on day 15. Correlation between COM and NPQ: r = 0.63 on day 1, r = 0.71 on day 15.
Conclusion: Although most psychometric characteristics of NDI, NPQ and COM are similar, those from the latter one are worse and its use may lead to patients' evolution seeming more positive than it actually is. NDI seems to be the best instrument for measuring NP-related disability, since its results are the most consistent with patient's assessment of their own clinical status and evolution. It takes two more minutes to answer the NDI than to answer the COM, but it can be reliably filled out by the patient without assistance
POR UNA CULTURA DE PAZ: UNA MIRADA DESDE LAS CIENCIAS DE LA CONDUCTA
En
virtud
de
lo
anterior,
los
estudiosos
de
las
ciencias
de
la
conducta
de
la
Universidad
Autónoma
del
Estado
de
México,
ante
la
persistencia
y
proliferación
de
estos
hechos
en
diversas
partes
del
Mundo
y
de
nuestro
país
en
particular, se
convocó
a
los
estudiosos
interesados
y
a
la
sociedad
en
general
a
presentar
trabajos
para
analizar,
debatir
y
proponer
estrategias
de
acción
y
dirección,
que
fortalezcan
una
convivencia y bienestar con sentido humanista para una cultura de paz.
El
presente
texto
es
producto
de
esta convocatoria
que
recoge
los
trabajos
de
los
interesados
en
la
temática,
de
diferentes
países
(España,
Argentina,
Cuba,
Brasil,
Costa
Rica
y
México)
retomando
con
ello
sus
experiencias
relativas
al
estudio,
análisis,
comprensión
e
instrumentación
de
la
cultura
de
paz
en
los
distintos
ámbitos
institucionales
en
los
que
participan:
educativo,
salud,
penitenciario,
social,
laboral,
familia,
alimentario,
psicológico,
por
mencionar
algunos.
El
presente
libro,
propicia
un
espacio
de
reflexión,
diálogo
y
posicionamiento
de
las
ciencias
de
la
conducta
para
la
apropiación,
análisis,
debate
y
propuestas
que
fortalezcan
una
cultura
de
paz
a
través
de
la
convivencia
y
el
bienestar
social
con
sentido
humanista.
El
sistema
económico
neoliberal
y
el
proceso
de
globalización
han
contribuido
al
logro
de
avances
significativos
en
la
ciencia
y
la
tecnología,
pero
también
han
propiciado
la
polarización
de
las
sociedades
lo
que
ha
impactado
de
manera
negativa
a
la
sociedad
en
su
conjunto,
pero
en
mayor
medida
a
los grupos
vulnerables. Dicha
polarización
ha
traído
consigo
un
desarrollo
desigual
del
mundo
que
se
expresa
de
diferentes
maneras
tanto
en
países
desarrollados
como
en
los
llamados
del
tercer
mundo,
en
donde
no
están
satisfechas
las
necesidades
humanas
elementales
de
todos
los
sectores
de
la
población,
siempre
falta
algo.
Si
a
esto
le
sumamos
los
conflictos
internacionales por
diferentes
motivos
que
enfrentan
algunas
naciones,
una
insuficiente
cobertura
educativa
y
de
salud,
desempleo
y
pobreza
extrema,
entre
otras
cosas;
estamos
frente
a
retos
de
gran
envergadura
para
los
gobiernos,
para
los
estudiosos
y
para
la
sociedad
civil
en
general. Uno
de
los
intentos
para
frenar
y prevenir
la
agudización
de
estas
problemáticas
es
la
cultura
de
paz,
cuyo
estudio
y propuestas
han
ido
avanzando
en
diferentes
sentidos
y
de
manera
favorable,
el
tema
está
presente
en
diferentes
Organismos
Internacionales
como
la
ONU,
la
UNESCO,
la
OCDE,
El
Banco
Mundial,
entre
otros.
Pero
falta
mucho
por
hacer.Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Méxic
Cross-disease Meta-analysis of Genome-wide Association Studies for Systemic Sclerosis and Rheumatoid Arthritis Reveals IRF4 as a New Common Susceptibility Locus
Objectives: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are autoimmune diseases that share clinical and immunological characteristics. To date, several shared SSc- RA loci have been identified independently. In this study, we aimed to systematically search for new common SSc-RA loci through an inter-disease meta-GWAS strategy. Methods: We performed a meta-analysis combining GWAS datasets of SSc and RA using a strategy that allowed identification of loci with both same-direction and opposingdirection allelic effects. The top single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were followed-up in independent SSc and RA case-control cohorts. This allowed us to increase the sample size to a total of 8,830 SSc patients, 16,870 RA patients and 43,393 controls. Results: The cross-disease meta-analysis of the GWAS datasets identified several loci with nominal association signals (P-value < 5 x 10-6), which also showed evidence of association in the disease-specific GWAS scan. These loci included several genomic regions not previously reported as shared loci, besides risk factors associated with both diseases in previous studies. The follow-up of the putatively new SSc-RA loci identified IRF4 as a shared risk factor for these two diseases (Pcombined = 3.29 x 10-12). In addition, the analysis of the biological relevance of the known SSc-RA shared loci pointed to the type I interferon and the interleukin 12 signaling pathways as the main common etiopathogenic factors. Conclusions: Our study has identified a novel shared locus, IRF4, for SSc and RA and highlighted the usefulness of cross-disease GWAS meta-analysis in the identification of common risk loci
una mirada desde las Ciencias de la Conducta
Este libro es el resultado de los trabajos presentados en el 1er Congreso Internacional "Convivencia y bienestar con sentido humanista para una cultura de paz"
Treatment with tocilizumab or corticosteroids for COVID-19 patients with hyperinflammatory state: a multicentre cohort study (SAM-COVID-19)
Objectives: The objective of this study was to estimate the association between tocilizumab or corticosteroids and the risk of intubation or death in patients with coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) with a hyperinflammatory state according to clinical and laboratory parameters.
Methods: A cohort study was performed in 60 Spanish hospitals including 778 patients with COVID-19 and clinical and laboratory data indicative of a hyperinflammatory state. Treatment was mainly with tocilizumab, an intermediate-high dose of corticosteroids (IHDC), a pulse dose of corticosteroids (PDC), combination therapy, or no treatment. Primary outcome was intubation or death; follow-up was 21 days. Propensity score-adjusted estimations using Cox regression (logistic regression if needed) were calculated. Propensity scores were used as confounders, matching variables and for the inverse probability of treatment weights (IPTWs).
Results: In all, 88, 117, 78 and 151 patients treated with tocilizumab, IHDC, PDC, and combination therapy, respectively, were compared with 344 untreated patients. The primary endpoint occurred in 10 (11.4%), 27 (23.1%), 12 (15.4%), 40 (25.6%) and 69 (21.1%), respectively. The IPTW-based hazard ratios (odds ratio for combination therapy) for the primary endpoint were 0.32 (95%CI 0.22-0.47; p < 0.001) for tocilizumab, 0.82 (0.71-1.30; p 0.82) for IHDC, 0.61 (0.43-0.86; p 0.006) for PDC, and 1.17 (0.86-1.58; p 0.30) for combination therapy. Other applications of the propensity score provided similar results, but were not significant for PDC. Tocilizumab was also associated with lower hazard of death alone in IPTW analysis (0.07; 0.02-0.17; p < 0.001).
Conclusions: Tocilizumab might be useful in COVID-19 patients with a hyperinflammatory state and should be prioritized for randomized trials in this situatio
CARB-ES-19 Multicenter Study of Carbapenemase-Producing Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli From All Spanish Provinces Reveals Interregional Spread of High-Risk Clones Such as ST307/OXA-48 and ST512/KPC-3
ObjectivesCARB-ES-19 is a comprehensive, multicenter, nationwide study integrating whole-genome sequencing (WGS) in the surveillance of carbapenemase-producing K. pneumoniae (CP-Kpn) and E. coli (CP-Eco) to determine their incidence, geographical distribution, phylogeny, and resistance mechanisms in Spain.MethodsIn total, 71 hospitals, representing all 50 Spanish provinces, collected the first 10 isolates per hospital (February to May 2019); CPE isolates were first identified according to EUCAST (meropenem MIC > 0.12 mg/L with immunochromatography, colorimetric tests, carbapenem inactivation, or carbapenem hydrolysis with MALDI-TOF). Prevalence and incidence were calculated according to population denominators. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was performed using the microdilution method (EUCAST). All 403 isolates collected were sequenced for high-resolution single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) typing, core genome multilocus sequence typing (cgMLST), and resistome analysis.ResultsIn total, 377 (93.5%) CP-Kpn and 26 (6.5%) CP-Eco isolates were collected from 62 (87.3%) hospitals in 46 (92%) provinces. CP-Kpn was more prevalent in the blood (5.8%, 50/853) than in the urine (1.4%, 201/14,464). The cumulative incidence for both CP-Kpn and CP-Eco was 0.05 per 100 admitted patients. The main carbapenemase genes identified in CP-Kpn were blaOXA–48 (263/377), blaKPC–3 (62/377), blaVIM–1 (28/377), and blaNDM–1 (12/377). All isolates were susceptible to at least two antibiotics. Interregional dissemination of eight high-risk CP-Kpn clones was detected, mainly ST307/OXA-48 (16.4%), ST11/OXA-48 (16.4%), and ST512-ST258/KPC (13.8%). ST512/KPC and ST15/OXA-48 were the most frequent bacteremia-causative clones. The average number of acquired resistance genes was higher in CP-Kpn (7.9) than in CP-Eco (5.5).ConclusionThis study serves as a first step toward WGS integration in the surveillance of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales in Spain. We detected important epidemiological changes, including increased CP-Kpn and CP-Eco prevalence and incidence compared to previous studies, wide interregional dissemination, and increased dissemination of high-risk clones, such as ST307/OXA-48 and ST512/KPC-3
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