Paediatric Barcelona Olfactory Test-6 (pBOT-6): Validation of a Combined Odour Identification and Threshold Screening Test in Healthy Spanish Children and Adolescents

Background: Few odour tests have been created for children. Objectives: The aim of the present study was to develop and validate a simple and quick olfactory test, suitable for the evaluation of odour identification and threshold in a Spanish paediatric population, the paediatric Barcelona Olfactory Test-6 (pBOT-6).The pBOT-6 consisted in a set of 6 odorants for a forced-choice identification test (IT), and a 6 dilutions phenyl ethyl alcohol geometric series for the threshold test (TT). The pBOT-6 was compared with the U-sniff test (a validated international paediatric smell test) in 131 Spanish healthy volunteers aged 6-17 years. A Bland-Altman plot was used to determine the agreement between two tests. Reliability was analyzed in fifteenvolunteers using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Normative data was obtained and 8 children diagnosed with subjective smell loss were tested for validation.Bland-Altman analysis demonstrated a minimal bias of -1.71% with upper and lower limit of agreement of -31.1% and 27.6%, respectively. The ICC was 0.83 (95% CI 0.6-0.96) for the IT and 0.73 (95% CI 0.36-0.9) for the TT, showing excellent and good consistency between measurements over time. Mean pBOT-6 scores were significantly higher in healthy volunteers compared with patients with smell loss. Discrimination between normosmia and smell loss was achieved with a sensitivity of 96.9% and a specificity of 100%.The pBOT-6 offers an effectiveand fast method useful in clinical routine to distinguish, with high sensitivity and specificity, between paediatric patients with normosmia and those with smell dysfunction

EPIdemiology of Surgery-Associated Acute Kidney Injury (EPIS-AKI) : Study protocol for a multicentre, observational trial

More than 300 million surgical procedures are performed each year. Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common complication after major surgery and is associated with adverse short-term and long-term outcomes. However, there is a large variation in the incidence of reported AKI rates. The establishment of an accurate epidemiology of surgery-associated AKI is important for healthcare policy, quality initiatives, clinical trials, as well as for improving guidelines. The objective of the Epidemiology of Surgery-associated Acute Kidney Injury (EPIS-AKI) trial is to prospectively evaluate the epidemiology of AKI after major surgery using the latest Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) consensus definition of AKI. EPIS-AKI is an international prospective, observational, multicentre cohort study including 10 000 patients undergoing major surgery who are subsequently admitted to the ICU or a similar high dependency unit. The primary endpoint is the incidence of AKI within 72 hours after surgery according to the KDIGO criteria. Secondary endpoints include use of renal replacement therapy (RRT), mortality during ICU and hospital stay, length of ICU and hospital stay and major adverse kidney events (combined endpoint consisting of persistent renal dysfunction, RRT and mortality) at day 90. Further, we will evaluate preoperative and intraoperative risk factors affecting the incidence of postoperative AKI. In an add-on analysis, we will assess urinary biomarkers for early detection of AKI. EPIS-AKI has been approved by the leading Ethics Committee of the Medical Council North Rhine-Westphalia, of the Westphalian Wilhelms-University Münster and the corresponding Ethics Committee at each participating site. Results will be disseminated widely and published in peer-reviewed journals, presented at conferences and used to design further AKI-related trials. Trial registration number NCT04165369

The Role of Adiponectin in the Resolution of Male-Obesity-Associated Secondary Hypogonadism after Metabolic Surgery and Its Impact on Cardiovascular Risk

Male-obesity-associated secondary hypogonadism (MOSH) is a very prevalent entity that may resolve after marked weight loss. Adiponectin (APN) is an adipokine with anti-inflammatory properties that regulates metabolism. Low-circulating APN is associated with obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular risk, along with circulating testosterone. We aimed to evaluate APN changes in men with MOSH (low circulating free testosterone (FT) with low or normal gonadotropins) and without it after metabolic surgery. We look for their possible association with cardiovascular risk measured by carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT). We included 60 men (20 submitted to lifestyle modification, 20 to sleeve gastrectomy, and 20 to gastric bypass) evaluated at baseline and 6 months after. The increase in APN at follow-up was reduction in patients with persistent MOSH (n = 10) vs. those without MOSH (n = 30) and MOSH resolution (n = 20), and the former did not achieve a decrease in cIMT. The increase in APN correlated positively with FT (r = 0.320, p = 0.013) and inversely with cIMT (r = −0.283, p = 0.028). FT inversely correlated with cIMT (r = −0.269, p = 0.038). In conclusion, men without MOSH or with MOSH resolution showed a high increase in APN after weight loss with beneficial effects on cIMT. Those without MOSH resolution failed to attain these effects

The effect of chronic stress on prenatal development of the central nervous system

The survival of developing embryos depends on the control and maintenance of homeostasis. Stress caused by chronic immobilization during pregnancy in rats may alter the normal development of the nervous system and increase susceptibility to psychiatric disorders. We investigated the effects of chronic stress on cell proliferation in the forebrains of embryos at 12 days of gestation, and in the hippocampus, dentate gyrus and cortex in embryos at 17 and 21 days of gestation. We examined serial sections of the embryonic brains of control and stressed rats at days 12, 17 and 21 of gestation. Brain sections were immunolabeled with anti-PCNA and stereological analysis was performed on 540 images. The results showed no statistical differences on days 12 and 17 of gestation in the proliferation area of the structures studied, whereas on day 21 of gestation, proliferation decreased in the cortex and dentate gyrus of embryos of the stressed group. These changes were related to decreased prolactin and increased corticosterone concentrations in the plasma.Fil: Giordana, Lucila. Universidad Nacional de Rio Cuarto. Facultad de Agronomia y Veterinaria. Departamento de Anatomia Animal; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Bozzo, Aida Andrea. Universidad Nacional de Rio Cuarto. Facultad de Agronomia y Veterinaria. Departamento de Anatomia Animal; ArgentinaFil: Cots, Debora Soledad. Universidad Nacional de Rio Cuarto. Facultad de Agronomia y Veterinaria. Departamento de Anatomia Animal; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Monedero Cobeta, i.. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid; EspañaFil: Rolando, Alicia Nelida. Universidad Nacional de Rio Cuarto. Facultad de Agronomia y Veterinaria. Departamento de Anatomia Animal; ArgentinaFil: Borghi, Damiana. Universidad Nacional de Rio Cuarto. Facultad de Agronomia y Veterinaria. Departamento de Anatomia Animal; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Díaz, Tomás. Universidad Nacional de Rio Cuarto. Facultad de Agronomia y Veterinaria. Departamento de Anatomia Animal; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Gauna, Hector Fernando. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Fisicoquímicas y Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Romanini, María Cristina. Universidad Nacional de Rio Cuarto. Facultad de Agronomia y Veterinaria. Departamento de Anatomia Animal; Argentin

Chronic stress and its effects on adrenal cortex apoptosis in pregnant rats

The model of chronic intermittent stress by immobilization during pregnancy may produce alterations in the mechanisms that maintain adrenal gland homeostasis. In earlier investigations using this model, signifi cant variations in plasma prolactin and corticosterone levels, and adrenal gland weights were observed. We hypothesized that chronic stress causes changes in apoptosis in the adrenal glands of pregnant rats. We identifi ed and quantifi ed apoptotic cells in the adrenal cortex and examined their ultrastructural characteristics using transmission electron microscopy. Adrenal glands of pregnant rats at gestation days 12, 17 and 21 were studied for control and experimental (stressed) rats. Immunolabelling techniques, stereological analysis and image quantifi cation of adrenal gland sections were combined to determine differences in apoptosis in the different cell populations of the adrenal cortex. The apoptotic index of the experimental rats showed a signifi cant reduction at gestation day 17, while at days 12 and 21 there were no differences from controls. Moreover, the apoptotic index of the reticular zones in control and experimental animals showed a signifi cant increase compared to the glomerular and fascicular zones at the three gestation times studied. Chronic stress by immobilization reduced the caspase-dependent apoptotic index at gestation day 17, which may be related to variations in plasma concentrations of estrogens and prolactin.Fil: Bozzo, Aida Andrea. Universidad Nacional de Rio Cuarto. Facultad de Agronomia y Veterinaria. Departamento de Anatomia Animal; ArgentinaFil: Soñez, Carlos Alberto. Universidad Nacional de Rio Cuarto. Facultad de Agronomia y Veterinaria. Departamento de Anatomia Animal; ArgentinaFil: Monedero Cobeta, I.. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid; EspañaFil: Rolando, Alicia Nelida. Universidad Nacional de Rio Cuarto. Facultad de Agronomia y Veterinaria. Departamento de Anatomia Animal; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Romanini, María Cristina. Universidad Nacional de Rio Cuarto. Facultad de Agronomia y Veterinaria. Departamento de Anatomia Animal; ArgentinaFil: Cots, Debora Soledad. Universidad Nacional de Rio Cuarto. Facultad de Agronomia y Veterinaria. Departamento de Anatomia Animal; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Lazarte, M. A.. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Agronomía y Veterinaria; ArgentinaFil: Gauna, Hector Fernando. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Departamento de Biología Molecular; ArgentinaFil: Mugnaini, M. Universidad Nacional de Rio Cuarto. Facultad de Agronomia y Veterinaria. Departamento de Anatomia Animal; Argentin

Roles of the multiplex real-time PCR assay and β-D-glucan in a high-risk population for intra-abdominal candidiasis (IAC)

Multiplex quantitative real-time PCR (MRT-PCR) using blood can improve the diagnosis of intra-abdominal candidiasis (IAC). We prospectively studied 39 patients with suspected IAC in the absence of previous antifungal therapy. Blood cultures, MRT-PCR, and β-D-glucan (BDG) in serum were performed in all patients. IAC was defined according to the 2013 European Consensus criteria. For MRT-PCR, the probes targeted the ITS1 or ITS2 regions of ribosomal DNA. Candidaemia was confirmed only in four patients (10%), and IAC criteria were present in 17 patients (43.6%). The sensitivity of MRT-PCR was 25% but increased to 63.6% (P = .06) in plasma obtained prior to volume overload and transfusion; specificity was above 85% in all cases. BDG performance was improved using a cutoff > 260 pg/ml, and improvement was not observed in samples obtained before transfusion. In this cohort of high risk of IAC and low rate of bloodstream infection, the performance of non-culture-based methods (MRT-PCR or BDG) was moderate but may be a complementary tool given the limitations of diagnostic methods available in clinical practice. Volume overload requirements, in combination with other factors, decrease the accuracy of MRT-PCR in patients with IAC.S