Epigenetic mechanisms of particulate matter exposure: air pollution and hazards on human health

Environmental pollution nowadays has not only a direct correlation with human health changes but a direct social impact. Epidemiological studies have evidenced the increased damage to human health on a daily basis because of damage to the ecological niche. Rapid urban growth and industrialized societies importantly compromise air quality, which can be assessed by a notable accumulation of air pollutants in both the gas and the particle phases. Of them, particulate matter (PM) represents a highly complex mixture of organic and inorganic compounds of the most variable size, composition, and origin. PM being one of the most complex environmental pollutants, its accumulation also varies in a temporal and spatial manner, which challenges current analytical techniques used to investigate PM interactions. Nevertheless, the characterization of the chemical composition of PM is a reliable indicator of the composition of the atmosphere, the quality of breathed air in urbanized societies, industrial zones and consequently gives support for pertinent measures to avoid serious health damage. Epigenomic damage is one of the most promising biological mechanisms of air pollution-derived carcinogenesis. Therefore, this review aims to highlight the implication of PM exposure in diverse molecular mechanisms driving human diseases by altered epigenetic regulation. The presented findings in the context of pan-organic cancer, fibrosis, neurodegeneration and metabolic diseases may provide valuable insights into the toxicity effects of PM components at the epigenomic level and may serve as biomarkers of early detection for novel targeted therapies

Supplementary Material: Diagnostic Tests for Differentiation between Cushing´s Syndrome and Non-Neoplastic Hypercortisolism: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Context: Differential diagnosis between Cushing’s syndrome (CS) due to neoplastic endogenous hypercortisolism and non-neoplastic hypercortisolism (NNH, pseudo-Cushing’s syndrome) is crucial. Due to worldwide corticotropin-releasing hormone test CRH shortage, accuracy of alternative tests to Dexamethasone (Dex)-CRH is clearly needed. Objective: Asses the diagnostic accuracy of Dex-CRH, desmopressin stimulation test, midnight serum cortisol (MSC), and late-night salivary cortisol (LNSC) levels to distinguish CS from NNH. Methods: Articles through March 2022 were identified from Scopus, Web of Science, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and PubMed. All steps through the systematic review were performed independently and in duplicate and strictly adhered to the updated PRISMA-DTA checklist. Data Synthesis: A total of 26 articles (2059 patients) were included. Dex-CRH had a pooled sensitivity and specificity of 91% (95%CI 87-94%; I2 0%) and 82% (73-88%; I2 50%), desmopressin test 87% (81-91%; I2 34%) and 91% (85-94%; I2 15%), MSC 91% (85-94%; I2 65%) and 80% (70-88%; I2 70%), and LNSC 78% (66-86%; I2 54%) and 88% (83-92%; I2 36%), respectively. SROC areas under the curve were Dex-CRH 0.949, desmopressin test 0.941, MSC 0.939, and LNSC 0.940 without visual or statistical significance. The overall risk of studies bias was moderate. Conclusion: Dex-CRH, the desmopressin stimulation test, and MSC have similar diagnostic accuracy, with Dex-CRH and MSC having slightly higher sensitivity, and the desmopressin test being more specific. LNSC was the least accurate, probably due to high heterogeneity, intrinsic variability, different assays, and lack of consistent reported cutoffs. Our results should increase clinicians’ confidence when deciding which test to perform when facing this challenging differential diagnosis. Key Words: Cushing’s syndrome, neoplastic endogenous hypercortisolism, non-neoplastic hypercortisolism, pseudoCushing’s, dexamethasone CRH test, desmopressin test, salivary cortisol, midnight serum cortiso

Chagas disease: the power of its confirmation

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Efficacy of a transdiagnostic guided internet-delivered intervention for emotional, trauma and stress-related disorders in Mexican population: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Background Emotional and stress-related disorders show high incidence, prevalence, morbidity, and comorbidity rates in Mexico. In recent decades, research findings indicate that cognitive behavioral interventions, from a disorder-specific perspective, are the effective front-line treatment for anxiety and depression care. However, these treatments are not often used. Reasons include limited access and low availability to effective interventions and comorbidity between mental disorders. Emotional deregulation of negative affectivity has been found to be a mediating factor in addressing emotional disorders from a transdiagnostic perspective, aimed at two or more specific disorders. In addition, technological advancement has created alternatives for psychological assistance, highlighting the possibilities offered by technologies since Internet-supported intervention programs have been empirically tested for effectiveness, efficiency and efficacy and can be key to ensuring access to those who are inaccessible. The aim of the study is to evaluate the efficacy, moderators of clinical change and acceptability of a transdiagnostic guided Internet-delivered intervention versus a transdiagnostic self-guided Internet-delivered intervention for emotional, trauma and stress-related disorders, and waiting list in community sample. Methods A three-armed, parallel group, superiority randomized controlled clinical trial with repeated measurements at four times: pretest, posttest, follow-up at 3, 6 and 12 months. Outcomes assessor, participant, care provider and investigator will be blinded. Participants aged 18 to 70 years will be randomly allocated 1:1:1 to one of three study arms: a) Transdiagnostic guided internet-delivered intervention with synchronous assistance, b) Transdiagnostic self-guided internet-delivered intervention, c) Waiting list group. Based on sample size estimation, a minimum of 207 participants (69 in each intervention group) will be included. Discussion The study could contribute to improving the efficacy of transdiagnostic internet-delivered interventions to promote the dissemination of evidence-based treatments and eventually, to decrease the high prevalence of emotional and trauma-related disorders in the Mexican population

XIV Seminario Internacional de Investigación en Urbanismo. ACTAS

La presente publicación recoge los resúmenes de todas las ponencias presentadas oralmente en la decimocuarta edición del Seminario Internacional de Investigación en Urbanismo (SIIU), celebrada en la Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Madrid (Universidad Politécnica de Madrid) y presentadas durante los días 16 y 17 de junio de 2022. El Seminario Internacional de Investigación en Urbanismo tuvo su origen en el año 2007, como iniciativa de un grupo de profesores y doctorandos del Departamento de Urbanismo y Ordenación del Territorio de la Universidad Politécnica de Catalunya. Este seminario, originalmente interno y dirigido a investigadores en formación, pretendía ser un espacio de encuentro anual de los doctorandos del programa para debatir y recibir feedback sobre sus trabajos. Su condición pionera, como espacio de reflexión en torno a temas sobre la ciudad, el territorio y el paisaje en el ámbito hispanoamericano, provocó que muy pronto excediera el ámbito local y se transformara en un espacio de interés internacional. Por esta razón, a partir de la quinta edición, celebrada en 2013, se realiza cada año de manera conjunta entre la sede de Barcelona (Universidad Politécnica de Cataluña) y una sede latinoamericana. Hasta ahora han sido sede del SIIU en América, al otro lado del Atlántico: Buenos Aires, Córdoba (Argentina), Santiago de Chile, Bogotá, São Paulo, Camboriú y Curitiba. Asimismo, a partir del año 2020, el gran interés que estaba generando de este lado del Atlántico impulsa su realización en universidades de la Península Ibérica en conjunto con la UPC. De esta manera, Lisboa fue ese año la sede que, en colaboración con Barcelona, acogió el seminario, con el fin de responder al gran interés que éste tiene en el ámbito lusitano. Y en junio de 2022, Madrid ha sido la sede del seminario en España, con la voluntad de estrechar lazos entre dos de las escuelas de arquitectura más importantes del país, y compartir experiencias y miradas sobre los temas relacionados con el urbanismo. Del otro lado del Atlántico, Curitiba fue la sede latinoamericana que, con gran éxito, celebró la segunda parte del evento en la semana siguiente al evento de Madrid

Clinical and genetic characteristics of late-onset Huntington's disease

Background: The frequency of late-onset Huntington's disease (>59 years) is assumed to be low and the clinical course milder. However, previous literature on late-onset disease is scarce and inconclusive. Objective: Our aim is to study clinical characteristics of late-onset compared to common-onset HD patients in a large cohort of HD patients from the Registry database. Methods: Participants with late- and common-onset (30–50 years)were compared for first clinical symptoms, disease progression, CAG repeat size and family history. Participants with a missing CAG repeat size, a repeat size of ≤35 or a UHDRS motor score of ≤5 were excluded. Results: Of 6007 eligible participants, 687 had late-onset (11.4%) and 3216 (53.5%) common-onset HD. Late-onset (n = 577) had significantly more gait and balance problems as first symptom compared to common-onset (n = 2408) (P <.001). Overall motor and cognitive performance (P <.001) were worse, however only disease motor progression was slower (coefficient, −0.58; SE 0.16; P <.001) compared to the common-onset group. Repeat size was significantly lower in the late-onset (n = 40.8; SD 1.6) compared to common-onset (n = 44.4; SD 2.8) (P <.001). Fewer late-onset patients (n = 451) had a positive family history compared to common-onset (n = 2940) (P <.001). Conclusions: Late-onset patients present more frequently with gait and balance problems as first symptom, and disease progression is not milder compared to common-onset HD patients apart from motor progression. The family history is likely to be negative, which might make diagnosing HD more difficult in this population. However, the balance and gait problems might be helpful in diagnosing HD in elderly patients