Advances in the Knowledge of the Vegetation of Hispaniola (Caribbean Central America)

The vegetation types and floristic diversity in the Dominican Republic are analysed, a territory with a tropical climate and ombrotypes that range from dry to humid-hyperhumid, due to the Atlantic winds and the phenomenon known as rain shadows. The presence of high mountains and different substrates have led to a rich flora, and as a result, a high diversity of habitats, among which two large forest types are particularly notable: (1) the dry forest with 81 endemic species, of which 10 are trees, 65 shrubs, 5 climbers and 1 herbaceous species, and an absence of epiphytes and (2) the cloud forest with 19 trees, 20 shrubs, 8 climbers, 4 epiphytes, and 6 herbaceous species. In all cases, these plant communities are regarded as endemic due to their high rate of endemic species. In spite of their importance for conservation, these habitats are highly deteriorated due to deforestation for agriculture, to obtain timber, and even to add to tourism infrastructures

Frecuencia de migraña y discapacidad generada en estudiantes de medicina humana de una universidad privada en Lima, Perú

Objective: To estimate the frequency of migraine, associated factors and disability generated                  (including its relationship with academic performance) in medical students at a private university in Metropolitan Lima. Methods: Cross-sectional study in a non-probabilistic convenience sample using the online application of the ALCOI-95 self-questionnaire, to assess the presence of migraine, followed by the MIDAS questionnaire to measure disability in those positive to the first questionnaire. . Results: Fourty-five (21.6%) of 208 students experienced migraine (12.5% with aura and 9.1% without aura), 14 (33.3%) of whom showed severe, and 12 (28.6%) moderate disability. Migraine with aura carriers had a lower mean than the cumulative weighted average of their academic scores. Independent factors associated with migraine were to have a nuclear family member with migraine, and sleep-maintenance problems. Conclusion: Two out of 10 students had migraine, and one third of them had severe disability.Objetivo: Estimar la frecuencia de migraña, y discapacidad generada en estudiantes de medicina de una universidad privada de Lima Metropolitana. Métodos: Estudio transversal en una muestra no probabilística por conveniencia, mediante la aplicación online del autocuestionario ALCOI-95, para evaluar la presencia de migraña, seguido por el cuestionario MIDAS para medir la discapacidad en los positivos al primer cuestionario. El rendimiento académico fue evaluado mediante el promedio ponderado de sus calificaciones. Resultados: Cuarenticinco (21,6%) de 208 estudiantes experimentaron migraña (12,5% con aura y 9,1% sin aura), 14 (33,3%) de los cuales mostraron discapacidad severa y 12 (28,6%) moderada. Los portadores de migraña con aura tuvieron una media menor del promedio ponderado acumulado de sus calificaciones, comparado con aquellos con migraña sin aura. Los factores independientemente asociados a la migraña fueron tener un miembro de la familia nuclear con migraña y problemas para mantener el sueño. Conclusión: Dos de cada 10 estudiantes presentaron migraña y 1/3 de los afectados experimentó discapacidad severa.&nbsp

Non-synonymous WNT16 polymorphisms alleles are associated with different osteoarthritis phenotypes

Hereditary factors have a strong influence on osteoarthritis (OA). The Wnt pathway is involved in bone and cartilage homeostasis. Hence, we hypothesized that allelic variations of WNT16 could influence the OA phenotype. We studied 509 Caucasian patients undergoing joint replacement due to severe primary OA. Radiographs were used to classify the OA as atrophic or hypertrophic. Two nonsynonymous polymorphisms of WNT16 (rs2707466 and rs2908004) were analyzed. The association between the genotypes and the OA phenotype was analyzed by logistic regression and adjusted for age and body mass index. A genotype-phenotype association was found in the sex-stratified analysis. Thus, there was a significant difference in the genotypic frequencies of rs2707466 between hypertrophic and atrophic hip OA in males (p = 0.003), with overrepresentation of G alleles in the hypertrophic phenotype (OR 2.08; CI 1.28-3.38). An association in the same direction was observed between these alleles and the type of knee OA, with G alleles being more common in the hypertrophic than in atrophic knee phenotypes (p = 0.008; OR 1.956, CI 1.19-3.19). Similar associations were found for the rs2908004 SNP, but it only reached statistical significance for knee OA (p = 0.017; OR 0.92, CI 0.86-0.989). This is the first study attempting to explore the association of genetic variants with the OA phenotype. These data suggest the need to consider the OA phenotype in future genetic association studies of OA

Transcriptomic Analysis of a Diabetic Skin-Humanized Mouse Model Dissects Molecular Pathways Underlying the Delayed Wound Healing Response

Defective healing leading to cutaneous ulcer formation is one of the most feared complications of diabetes due to its consequences on patients’ quality of life and on the healthcare system. A more in-depth analysis of the underlying molecular pathophysiology is required to develop effective healing-promoting therapies for those patients. Major architectural and functional differences with human epidermis limit extrapolation of results coming from rodents and other small mammal-healing models. Therefore, the search for reliable humanized models has become mandatory. Previously, we developed a diabetes-induced delayed humanized wound healing model that faithfully recapitulated the major histological features of such skin repair-deficient condition. Herein, we present the results of a transcriptomic and functional enrichment analysis followed by a mechanistic analysis performed in such humanized wound healing model. The deregulation of genes implicated in functions such as angiogenesis, apoptosis, and inflammatory signaling processes were evidenced, confirming published data in diabetic patients that in fact might also underlie some of the histological features previously reported in the delayed skin-humanized healing model. Altogether, these molecular findings support the utility of such preclinical model as a valuable tool to gain insight into the molecular basis of the delayed diabetic healing with potential impact in the translational medicine field

La especialidad médica de gestión en salud en la Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos: 30 años formando gestores para el sector salud

Se presenta un recuento histórico de los 30 años de la especialidad médica de Gestión en Salud en la Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos. La especialidad fue creada en 1988 como Medicina General Integral en respuesta a la escasez de médicos especialistas en gestión. El nombre de la especialidad se mantuvo hasta 1994, cuando cambia a Medicina Integral y Gestión en Salud para enfatizar su orientación gerencial. En 2002, se modifica el plan curricular considerando la importancia de tener una especialización médica exclusiva de gestión para el sector salud. La especialidad es pionera en una formación gradual en tres niveles: microgestión, mesogestión y macrogestión. El nuevo plan curricular permitió a los residentes la posibilidad de mejores rotaciones en instituciones públicas y privadas. A partir del 2007, la especialidad es denominada Gestión en Salud, cuyos médicos especialistas mantienen su sólida formación para desempeñarse en los procesos de decisión, conducción, dirección y operatividad de los sistemas de salud. La visión de los creadores de la especialidad se encuentra vigente, los especialistas de Gestión en Salud se desempeñan en las diferentes instituciones del sistema de salud, aportando sus conocimientos y habilidades, y generando un impacto en la salud de la población peruana

Procesamiento de señales EEG de un niño con TEA al desarrollar actividades de lectoescritura: determinación de potencia y cronología de eventos

Se presenta el análisis y procesamiento de señales electroencefalográficas (EEG) de un niño de 10 años con Trastorno del Espectro Autista al desarrollar actividades de lectoescritura, en este caso, relacionar en pruebas sucesivas palabras con su imagen representativa, como la palabra manzana con una imagen de una manzana. Una vez adquiridas las muestras, se lleva a cabo un análisis de potencia para cada canal mediante el Teorema de Wiener – Khinchine y posteriormente, mediante la Transformada Wavelet se determinan los momentos en los que hubo mayor actividad en cada electrodo. Con esta información se presenta la cronología de eventos de activación registrada por cada electrodo

Mortality and other adverse outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus admitted for COVID-19 in association with glucose-lowering drugs: a nationwide cohort study

Background: Limited evidence exists on the role of glucose-lowering drugs in patients with COVID-19. Our main objective was to examine the association between in-hospital death and each routine at-home glucose-lowering drug both individually and in combination with metformin in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus admitted for COVID-19. We also evaluated their association with the composite outcome of the need for ICU admission, invasive and non-invasive mechanical ventilation, or in-hospital death as well as on the development of in-hospital complications and a long-time hospital stay. Methods: We selected all patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus in the Spanish Society of Internal Medicine’s registry of COVID-19 patients (SEMI-COVID-19 Registry). It is an ongoing, observational, multicenter, nationwide cohort of patients admitted for COVID-19 in Spain from March 1, 2020. Each glucose-lowering drug user was matched with a user of other glucose-lowering drugs in a 1:1 manner by propensity scores. In order to assess the adequacy of propensity score matching, we used the standardized mean difference found in patient characteristics after matching. There was considered to be a significant imbalance in the group if a standardized mean difference > 10% was found. To evaluate the association between treatment and study outcomes, both conditional logit and mixed effect logistic regressions were used when the sample size was ≥ 100. Results: A total of 2666 patients were found in the SEMI-COVID-19 Registry, 1297 on glucose-lowering drugs in monotherapy and 465 in combination with metformin. After propensity matching, 249 patients on metformin, 105 on dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors, 129 on insulin, 127 on metformin/dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors, 34 on metformin/sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitor, and 67 on metformin/insulin were selected. No at-home glucose-lowering drugs showed a significant association with in-hospital death; the composite outcome of the need of intensive care unit admission, mechanical ventilation, or in-hospital death; in-hospital complications; or long-time hospital stays. Conclusions: In patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus admitted for COVID-19, at-home glucose-lowering drugs showed no significant association with mortality and adverse outcomes. Given the close relationship between diabetes and COVID-19 and the limited evidence on the role of glucose-lowering drugs, prospective studies are needed

Real-world effectiveness of caplacizumab vs the standard of care in immune thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura

Immune thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (iTTP) is a thrombotic microangiopathy caused by anti-ADAMTS13 antibodies. Caplacizumab is approved for adults with an acute episode of iTTP in conjunction with plasma exchange (PEX) and immunosuppression. The objective of this study was to analyze and compare the safety and efficacy of caplacizumab vs the standard of care and assess the effect of the concomitant use of rituximab. A retrospective study from the Spanish TTP Registry of patients treated with caplacizumab vs those who did not receive it was conducted. A total of 155 patients with iTTP (77 caplacizumab, 78 no caplacizumab) were included. Patients initially treated with caplacizumab had fewer exacerbations (4.5% vs 20.5%; P <.05) and less refractoriness (4.5% vs 14.1%; P <.05) than those who were not treated. Time to clinical response was shorter when caplacizumab was used as initial treatment vs caplacizumab used after refractoriness or exacerbation. The multivariate analysis showed that its use in the first 3 days after PEX was associated with a lower number of PEX (odds ratio, 7.5; CI, 2.3-12.7; P <.05) and days of hospitalization (odds ratio, 11.2; CI, 5.6-16.9; P <.001) compared with standard therapy. There was no difference in time to clinical remission in patients treated with caplacizumab compared with the use of rituximab. No severe adverse event was described in the caplacizumab group. In summary, caplacizumab reduced exacerbations and refractoriness compared with standard of care regimens. When administered within the first 3 days after PEX, it also provided a faster clinical response, reducing hospitalization time and the need for PEX

Revisión y propuesta de mejora del programa de Prácticum del Grado de Educación Social

Este documento se corresponde con la memoria justificativa de trabajo llevada a cabo en el Proyecto de Innova-Gestión nº 73 cuya finalidad principal ha sido acometer la revisión del programa de Prácticum en el Grado de Educación Social para establecer una serie de mejoras con las que se ha pretendido dar solución a algunos de los inconvenientes que los distintos colectivos implicados en el programa han podido constatar durante los cursos transcurridos desde la implantación del Grado, desde el curso 2009-2010 hasta la actualidad