Electrolytic synthesis of chloroacetic acids in a filter-press reactor from polychloromethanes

Electrochemical carboxylation of carbon tetrachloride and chloroform to synthesize chloroacetic acids in mild conditions has been investigated by galvanostatic electrolyses using a homemade electrochemical filter-press reactor. Undivided filter-press reactor consisting of a planar Zn cathode and a planar Al sacrificial anode has been shown to be an optimal electrochemical device for the electrocarboxylation reaction. The influence of some operative parameters, such as current density and concentration of supporting electrolyte, on the efficiency and selectivity of the synthetic process has been investigated. Highly current efficiencies and target products yields (both of them > 85%) were achieved in all cases, whereas byproducts formation was minimal.Dirección General de Ciencia y Tecnología de España. CTQ2004-0036

Leadership, management, quality, and innovation in organ donation: 2019 Kunming recommendations for One Belt & One Road countries

The findings and recommendations of the 2019 consensus conference in organ donation, held in Kunming, China, are here reported. The main objective of the conference was to gather relevant information from experts involved in the field. The data and opinions provided allowed to propose a series of recommendations for 'One Belt & One Road Countries' on how to achieve self-sufficiency in organ donation. Leadership in organ donation should be results-oriented and goal-driven based on the principles of excellence, empowerment, and engagement, providing the means, resources, and strategies necessary to reach the goal in earnest. Management includes good governance and transparency of a national registry of patients in the waiting list, donors, transplants, transplant teams, quality, and safety programs with continuous educational training of health care professionals. Mandatory monitoring, auditing and evaluation of quality must be incorporated into donation practices as relevant points in innovation, as well as the adoption of already established and novel processes and technologies. Achievement of self-sufficiency in organ donation is a crucial step to fight against transplant tourism and to prevent organ trafficking. Based on recommendations arising from the conference, each country could review and develop individualized action plans adjusted to its own circumstances and reality

Una mirada interdisciplinar sobre los retos actuales de la infancia en un mundo globalizado (RETIN)

El concepto de infancia ha ido evolucionando a lo largo de la historia. En el siglo XX, especialmente en sus últimos años, se ha prestado mayor atención al desenvolvimiento de los seres humanos en esta etapa de la vida, atención que se ha concretado, entre otras cuestiones, en el interés creciente hacia los derechos de la infancia. En 1989 este proceso se ve reforzado por la aprobación de la Convención de las Naciones Unidas sobre los Derechos de los niños y las niñas, que reconoce a las personas menores de 18 años de edad derechos civiles, sociales, económicos, culturales y políticos, derechos de ciudadanía en suma para el colectivo infantil, considerado previamente como puro objeto de protección. En el ámbito de las ciencias sociales se ha producido también una transformación. Desde un enfoque sociológico se considera que la infancia es un espacio temporal en la trayectoria de vida de las personas, y también el espacio social definido para el desarrollo de la vida de los niños. Se reconoce que también los niños, como grupo social, no sólo pueden actuar, sino que actúan de hecho, y se relacionan con los demás grupos sociales, modificando, construyendo y contribuyendo a los cambios que se producen en la sociedad. En este marco, el objetivo del presente proyecto es la elaboración y difusión de materiales audiovisuales pedagógicos basados en entrevistas sobre los retos actuales de la infancia en un mundo globalizado, como son: cuidados en la ciudad, infancia migrante no acompañada, desigualdades socioeconómicas, nuevas tecnologías y género

La necrópolis de Los Collados de Almedinilla (Córdoba). Historiografía de un cementerio complejo

The excavations in the Necropolis of Los Collados, carried out by Luis Maraver y Alfaro in the second half of the 19th century, and afterwards, those done by Pierre Paris and Arthur Engels at the beginning of the 20th century, serve to define archeologically that which would be considered Iberian culture. Since then, apart from a few reviews of materials, this site has been forgotten to the point that its exact location was unknown to researchers. It was because of this that prospecting work and excavation were carried out in May and July 2019 that allowed archeologists to locate the necropolis and recover various tombs and ritual deposits. In this work we present the preliminary results of both interventions

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

Clonal chromosomal mosaicism and loss of chromosome Y in elderly men increase vulnerability for SARS-CoV-2

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19) had an estimated overall case fatality ratio of 1.38% (pre-vaccination), being 53% higher in males and increasing exponentially with age. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, we found 133 cases (1.42%) with detectable clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations (mCA) and 226 males (5.08%) with acquired loss of chromosome Y (LOY). Individuals with clonal mosaic events (mCA and/or LOY) showed a 54% increase in the risk of COVID-19 lethality. LOY is associated with transcriptomic biomarkers of immune dysfunction, pro-coagulation activity and cardiovascular risk. Interferon-induced genes involved in the initial immune response to SARS-CoV-2 are also down-regulated in LOY. Thus, mCA and LOY underlie at least part of the sex-biased severity and mortality of COVID-19 in aging patients. Given its potential therapeutic and prognostic relevance, evaluation of clonal mosaicism should be implemented as biomarker of COVID-19 severity in elderly people. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, individuals with clonal mosaic events (clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations and/or loss of chromosome Y) showed an increased risk of COVID-19 lethality

Coma and vegetative state: medico-legal aspects

El daño cerebral catastrófico recibe en el baremo de valoración legal de secuelas por accidentes de tráfico la máxima puntuación. Sin embargo no todo el daño cerebral catastrófico es idéntico ni debe ser valorado idénticamente. El daño cerebral catastrófico se refiere a un grupo de síndromes y condiciones cuya característica común es la severidad de la lesión (por su magnitud y/o por la zona cerebral en la que se ha producido). Pertenecen a este grupo: el coma, el estado vegetativo, el mutismo aquinético, el estado de mínima consciencia, y el síndrome de locked-in o de enclaustramiento. En este articulo se describen y valoran todas estas condiciones.Catastrophic brain injury receives the highest score on the legal scale of evaluation for sequelae resulting from traffic accidents. Nonetheless, not all catastrophic brain injury is the same nor can all cases be evaluated in the same way. Catastrophic brain injury refers to a group of syndromes and conditions which share the common characteristic of a severe (due to the magnitud and/or the cerebral zone of the injury) brain lesion. Included in this group are: coma, persistent vegetative state, akinetic mutism, minimally conscious state, and locked-in syndrome. This article describes and evaluates all of these conditions