Hacia una cultura preventiva y de excelencia : conversaciones

El propósito de este artículo es sintetizar los factores clave de éxito en un proceso de cambio cultural, para conjugar plenamente responsabilidad y eficiencia, elementos imprescindibles en cualquier organización.____________________________The purpose of this paper is to sumaries the key success factors in a process of cultural change to fully combine accountability and efficiency are essential elements in any organization

The association of biomarkers of iron status with peripheral arterial disease in US adults

Background: Several studies have examined the association of biomarkers of iron metabolism with measures of carotid artery atherosclerosis, with inconsistent results. Few studies, however, have evaluated the association between biomarkers of iron metabolism and peripheral arterial disease ( PAD). The purpose of this study is to examine the association of ferritin and transferrin saturation with PAD. Methods: Serum ferritin, transferrin saturation, and PAD, defined as having an ankle-brachial blood pressure index = 200 mg/dL (p-value for interaction was 0.58 for ferritin and 0.08 for transferrin saturation). After stratifying by cholesterol levels, the multivariable adjusted odds ratios ( 95\% confidence intervals) for PAD associated with a two-fold increase in ferritin and transferrin saturation was 0.66 (0.411.05) and 0.75 (0.441.28), respectively, for women with total cholesterol = 200 mg/dL (p-value for interaction was 0.05 for ferritin and 0.02 for transferrin saturation). Conclusion: In this large nationally representative sample of men and postmenopausal women, we found a modest association of ferritin and transferrin saturation with PAD, particularly among those with high cholesterol levels.S

Early detection of learning difficulties using the BADyG-E2r Battery during primary education

The aim of the present study was to assess the predictive capacity of several of the most relevant cognitive skills in the academic field that were evaluated using Differential and General Skills Battery(BADyG-E2r). Particular attention was focused on the variables that need to be overcome regarding the curricular objectives related to pass/fail grading as evaluated by the teachers in the instrumental disciplines of Mathematics and Language. The psychometric battery was applied to the 3rd year students in primary education (a total of 512 students) at 4 public schools that were randomly selected in the province of Alicante (Spain). A follow-up of their academic evolution was under taken until the end of primary education. The obtained results show that high scores in Verbal Reasoning, Numerical Reasoning, and Verbal Syllogisms positively and significantly predict academic success at the end of primary education in the subjects of Language and Mathematics

Capacidad predictiva de la Batería ENFEN en el diagnóstico del Trastorno por Déficit de Atención e Hiperactividad

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is considered to be one of the most common disorders during children and adolescents’ neurodevelopment. Given how much the individuals’ executive functions are affected, the objective of the present study was to verify the validity of the Neuropsychological Assessment of Executive Functions battery for Children (ENFEN for its acronym in Spanish) as a predictor in the diagnosis of ADHD. The sample consisted of 175 participants from southeast Spain of both sexes aged between 6 and 12 (clinical M=8.39, SD=1.87, and control M=8.78, SD=1.91). The clinical group was composed of 89 (79.50%) males and 23 (20.50%) females, and the control group consisted of 37 (58.70%) males and 26 (41.30%) females. ENFEN is an individual applications battery that allows the executive functions to be globally evaluated using a wide range of elements. We followed a non-experimental research design for this comparative descriptive study. The results indicate that the phonological fluency, colour naming path, and interference scales are closely associated with the diagnosis of ADHD as they provide data on elements including inhibition, mental flexibility, sustained and selective attention, verbal fluency, and working memory. In general, this study supports the usefulness and validity of the ENFEN battery as a tool to clinically diagnose ADHD.El trastorno por déficit de atención en hiperactividad (TDAH) es uno de los trastornos más frecuentes en el neurodesarrollo de niños y adolescentes. Las personas que lo padecen se caracterizan por presentar dificultades en los procesos de atención sostenida, ser muy activos y tener un deficiente control de sus impulsos. Pese a su elevada prevalencia y la existencia de diversas pruebas utilizadas para su diagnóstico, se conocen pocos datos sobre la utilidad y validez diagnóstica de estas herramientas. Dada la gran afectación que estos sujetos presentan en las funciones ejecutivas, el objetivo de este estudio es comprobar la utilidad y validez de la batería de Evaluación Neuropsicológica de las Funciones Ejecutivas en Niños (ENFEN), como predictora herramienta de apoyo al diagnóstico de TDAH. La muestra de estudio estuvo compuesta por 175 participantes de ambos sexos, con edades comprendidas entre los 6 y 12 años (grupo clínico M=8.39, SD=1.87 y grupo control M=8.78, SD=1.91). El grupo clínico estaba compuesto por 89 (79.50%) hombres y 23 (20,50%) mujeres, y el grupo de control por 37 (58,70%) hombres y 26 (41,30%) mujeres. ENFEN es una batería de aplicación individual, compuesta por varias subpruebas que requieren el empleo de funciones ejecutivas para resolver los elementos que las componen. Se siguió un diseño no-experimental para llevar a cabo un estudio descriptivo comparativo. Los resultados señalaron que las escalas Fluidez Fonológica, Sendero Color e Interferencia que requieren en mayor medida inhibición, flexibilidad mental, atención sostenida y selectiva, fluidez verbal y memoria de trabajo, entre otras aptitudes cognitivas, son las que mejor se asocian al diagnóstico de TDAH. En general, este estudio apoya la utilidad y validez de la prueba ENFEN como herramienta para el diagnóstico clínico del TDAH

Serum HER-2 concentration is associated with insulin resistance and decreases after weight loss

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>HER2/<it>neu </it>is a member of the epidermal growth factor receptor family easily detectable in the serum of cancer patients. We aimed to evaluate circulating HER-2 concentrations in association with insulin resistance in healthy and obese subjects.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Insulin sensitivity (minimal model) and serum HER-2 concentrations were evaluated in a cross sectional study in men (cohort 1, n = 167) and longitudinally after weight loss in obese subjects (cohort 2, n = 30).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Serum HER-2 concentrations were positively associated with BMI and waist circumference (both r = 0.18, p = 0.02), post-load glucose (r = 0.28, p = 0.001) and fasting triglycerides (r = 0.26, p = 0.001); and negatively associated with insulin sensitivity (r = -0.29, p = 0.002, n = 109). Subjects with type 2 diabetes showed significantly increased soluble serum HER-2 concentrations. In different multivariate regression models, fasting triglycerides emerged as the factor that independently contributed to 10-11% of serum HER-2 variance.</p> <p>Serum HER-2 concentrations correlated significantly with fasting triglycerides and insulin sensitivity index in subjects from cohort 2. Weight loss led to a significant decrease of serum HER-2 concentrations. The change in serum HER-2 concentrations were significantly associated with the change in percent body fat and fasting triglycerides in young (below the median age of the cohort) subjects.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Serum HER-2 concentrations might be implicated in the pathophysiology of insulin resistance and associated comorbidities.</p

Circulating omentin concentration increases after weight loss

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Omentin-1 is a novel adipokine expressed in visceral adipose tissue and negatively associated with insulin resistance and obesity. We aimed to study the effects of weight loss-induced improved insulin sensitivity on circulating omentin concentrations.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Circulating omentin-1 (ELISA) concentration in association with metabolic variables was measured in 35 obese subjects (18 men, 17 women) before and after hypocaloric weight loss.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Baseline circulating omentin-1 concentrations correlated negatively with BMI (r = -0.58, p < 0.001), body weight (r = -0.35, p = 0.045), fat mass (r = -0.67, p < 0.001), circulating leptin (r = -0.7, p < 0.001) and fasting insulin (r = -0.37, p = 0.03). Circulating omentin-1 concentration increased significantly after weight loss (from 44.9 ± 9.02 to 53.41 ± 8.8 ng/ml, p < 0.001). This increase in circulating omentin after weight loss was associated with improved insulin sensitivity (negatively associated with HOMA value and fasting insulin, r = -0.42, p = 0.02 and r = -0.45, p = 0.01, respectively) and decreased BMI (r = -0.54, p = 0.001).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>As previously described with adiponectin, circulating omentin-1 concentrations increase after weight loss-induced improvement of insulin sensitivity.</p

WRF4G: WRF experiment management made simple

his work presents a framework, WRF4G, to manage the experiment workflow of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) modelling system. WRF4G provides a flexible design, execution and monitoring for a general class of scientific experiments. It has been designed with the aim of facilitating the management and reproducibility of complex experiments. Furthermore, the concepts behind the design of this framework can be straightforwardly extended to other modelsThis work has been supported by the Spanish National R&D Plan under projects WRF4G (CGL2011-28864, co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund –ERDF–) and CORWES (CGL2010-22158-C02-01) and the IS-ENES2 project from the 7FP of the European Commission (grant agreement no. 312979). C. Blanco acknowledges financial support 5 from programa de Personal Investigador en Formación Predoctoral from Universidad de Cantabria, co-funded by the regional government of Cantabria. The authors are thankful to the developers of third party software (e.g. GridWay, WRFV3, python and NetCDF), which was intensively used in this work

Serum ferritin and incident cardiometabolic diseases in Scottish adults

BACKGROUND: Iron stores, estimated as ferritin levels, and type 2 diabetes (T2D) have been associated previously, while findings regarding coronary heart disease (CHD) and cerebrovascular disease (CEVD) are still inconclusive. No study has focused on simultaneous evaluation of associations between iron stores and the above cardiometabolic diseases (CMD) in the same population. We aim to evaluate the association between serum ferritin and risk of T2D, CHD and CEVD in Scottish population over a wide range of ferritin levels. METHODS: Longitudinal study in 6,497 participants of the 1995 and 1998 Scottish health surveys, who were followed-up until 2011. Cox regression models were conducted adjusting for age, sex/menopausal status, fibrinogen, GGT levels, smoking, alcohol consumption, total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, blood pressure, and BMI. Ferritin was used as continuous (sex/menopausal status-specific Z score) and categorical variable (sex/menopausal status-specific quartiles, quintiles and sextiles). RESULTS: During follow-up, 4.9% of the participants developed T2D, 5.3% CHD, and 2.3% CEVD. By using ferritin quartiles, serum ferritin was positively associated with T2D, CHD and CEVD but only the association with T2D remained after adjustment for covariates [Quartile 4 v. 1: adjusted HR 95% CI 1.59 (1.10–2.34); P = 0.006]. When ferritin sextiles were used (6 v. 1), the ferritin-CEVD association became slightly stronger and significant [adjusted HR 95% CI 2.08 (1.09–3.94); P = 0.024]. CONCLUSIONS: Iron stores relate differently to each CMD. Serum ferritin levels were positively and independently associated with incident T2D, and with incident CEVD if higher cut-off points for high ferritin levels were considered. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12933-022-01450-7

Platelet count and Interleukin 6 Gene polymorphism in healthy subjects

BACKGROUND: Interleukin 6 (IL-6) is thought to play important roles in the development of reactive thrombocytosis caused by inflammation by its stimulatory effect on megakaryocytopoiesis. A G/C polymorphism of the IL-6 gene at position -174 has been found to be associated to different transcription rates. Specifically, subjects with the CC genotype showed lower plasma IL-6 levels compared with GC or GG subjects. Given this difference in transcription rates of IL-6 we speculated on different platelet count according to this IL-6 polymorphism. METHODS: The G/C polymorphism of the IL-6 gene at position -174, serum IL-6 concentration and platelet count were prospectively analyzed in 59 (25 women) consecutive healthy subjects. RESULTS: Subjects who were homozygotes for the C allele at position -174 of the IL-6 gene (Sfa NI genotype) showed significantly lower platelet count than carriers of the G allele, despite similar age, sex, body mass index and proportion of smokers (205400 ± 44088 vs 239818 ± 60194, p = 0.047). This was in parallel to differences in peripheral white blood cell count (5807 ± 1671 vs 6867 ± 1192 × 10(9)/ml, p = 0.01). CONCLUSION: This is the first description, to our knowledge, of a genetical influence on basal platelet counts, which appears to be partially dependent on a polymorphism of the IL-6 gene, even in the absence of inflammation