Efectos biológicos de campos magnéticos de muy baja frecuencia y radiofrecuencia en presencia de metales pesados : cadmio y mercurio

Esta tesis pretende aportar nuevos datos sobre los posibles y discutidos efectos biológicos de los campos magnéticos de muy baja frecuencia (50 Hz) y de radiofrecuencia (2,45 GHz) relacionándolo a su vez con el de los metales pesados: cadmio y mercurio, siguiendo así las recomendaciones del Parlamento Europeo, que aconseja investigar fenómenos de sinergia entre los campos electromagnéticos y agentes químicos ambientales. Para el estudio de los campos magnéticos de 50 Hz, se empelan diferentes tipos de sistemas in vitro: linfocitos y sangre humanos; y sistemas in vivo: ratones Balb/c. Asimismo se utilizan los campos de radiofrecuencia (2,45 GHz) para determinar las propiedades eléctricas de diferentes tejidos de rata. Como conclusiones podemos señalar que: La exposición de linfocitos a campos de 50 Hz e intensidades hasta 9,7 mT durante 96 h no produce efectos genotóxicos (ya que no se observa un aumento del número de micronúcleos) y tampoco se detectan cambios en la proliferación celular. El tratamiento de linfocitos con Cd y Hg desde 10-3 - 10-7M durante 96 h provoca un aumento del número de micronúcleos a la concentración de Cd 10-4-10-6M y Hg 10-4M y 10-5M. También se produce una disminución de la proliferación celular a la concentración de metal > 10-5M. No exite efecto sinérgico entre el tratamiento con iones metálicos y la exposición a campos magnéticos independientemente de la concentración de metal y la intensidad de campo magnético aplicado. La exposición de ratones a campos de 50 Hz y 2,75 mT durante 7 días provoca un aumento de la permeabilidad de la barrera hematoencefálica al rojo neutro. El tratamiento de los ratones con sobrecarga de Hg también produce un aumento de la permeabilidad de la barrera. Existe sinergismo entre la exposición a campos magnéticos y el tratamiento con sobrecarga de mercurio traduciéndose en un incremento de la permeabilidad de la barrera hematoencefálica. Por otro lado, se determinanlas propiedades eléctricas de los tejidos permitividad y conductividad de diferentes tejidos de ratas con sobrecarga de Cd y de Hg aplicando un campo de radiofrecuencia (2,45 GHz). La exposición de los tejidos a una sobrecarga de Cd y Hg altera sus propiedades eléctrica

Proyecto HOY QUIERO ESCRIBIRTE: el uso de la pizarra digital en educación especial

Este artículo muestra la experiencia de un grupo de profesores del Centro de Educación Especial Miguel de Unamuno de Móstoles y la Escuela Universitaria Cardenal Cisneros en el desarrollo de la lectura y la escritura con el apoyo de la pizarra digital. El trabajo se está realizando con un grupo de niños con deficiencia mental moderada o grave. Estos profesionales intentan demostrar que la pizarra digital es un recurso que facilita la elaboración de actividades al profesor y que refuerza el aprendizaje del proceso lector y de la escritura mejorando el desarrollo de algunas capacidades lingüísticas. La pizarra digital puede ayudar a superar las limitaciones de los métodos tradicionales en las etapas de acceso a la lectura y la escritura.This article explains the experience of a group of teachers working at the Special Needs School “Miguel de Unamuno” and the Cardenal Cisneros University College, both in Madrid (Spain). The project is carried out with a group of mentally disabled children, with levels of disability ranging from moderate to severe. These professionals try to prove that interactive whiteboards can facilitate the task of elaborating activities and, at the same time, reinforce the learning of reading and writing processes, improving the development of some linguistic skills. Interactive whiteboards, in comparison with traditional methods, can help students overcome many reading and writing limitations

COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness against hospitalization due to SARS-CoV-2: A test-negative design study based on Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) sentinel surveillance in Spain

Background: With the emergence of SARS-CoV-2, influenza surveillance systems in Spain were transformed into a new syndromic sentinel surveillance system. The Acute Respiratory Infection Surveillance System (SiVIRA in Spanish) is based on a sentinel network for acute respiratory infection (ARI) surveillance in primary care and a network of sentinel hospitals for severe ARI (SARI) surveillance in hospitals. Methods: Using a test-negative design and data from SARI admissions notified to SiVIRA between January 1 and October 3, 2021, we estimated COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness (VE) against hospitalization, by age group, vaccine type, time since vaccination, and SARS-CoV-2 variant. Results: VE was 89% (95% CI: 83-93) against COVID-19 hospitalization overall in persons aged 20 years and older. VE was higher for mRNA vaccines, and lower for those aged 80 years and older, with a decrease in protection beyond 3 months of completing vaccination, and a further decrease after 5 months. We found no differences between periods with circulation of Alpha or Delta SARS-CoV-2 variants, although variant-specific VE was slightly higher against Alpha. Conclusions: The SiVIRA sentinel hospital surveillance network in Spain was able to describe clinical and epidemiological characteristics of SARI hospitalizations and provide estimates of COVID-19 VE in the population under surveillance. Our estimates add to evidence of high effectiveness of mRNA vaccines against severe COVID-19 and waning of protection with time since vaccination in those aged 80 or older. No substantial differences were observed between SARS-CoV-2 variants (Alpha vs. Delta).The data of the study was originally collectedas part of the following projects run by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control:“Establishing Severe Acute Respiratory Infections (SARI) surveillance and performing hospital-based COVID-19 transmission studies”, “Developing an infrastructure and performing vaccine effectiveness studies for COVID-19 vaccines in the EU/EEA”, and the “Vaccine Effectiveness, Burden and Impact Studies(VEBIS) of COVID-19 and Influenza".S

The effectiveness of a health promotion with group intervention by clinical trial. Study protocol

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The promotion of health and the interventions in community health continue to be one of the pending subjects of our health system. The most prevalent health problems (cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes...) are for the most part related to life habits. We propose a holistic and integral approach as the best option for tackling behavior and its determinants. The research team has elaborated the necessary educational material to realize group teaching, which we call "Health Workshops". The goal of the present study is to evaluate the effectiveness of these Health Workshops in the following terms: Health Related Quality of Life (HRQOL), incorporate and maintain a balanced diet, do physical activity regularly, maintain risk factors such as tension, weight, cholesterol within normal limits and diminish cardiovascular risk.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>Controlled and random clinical testing, comparing a group of persons who have participated in the Health Workshops with a control group of similar characteristics who have not participated in the Health Workshops.</p> <p>Field of study: the research is being done in Health Centers of the city of Barcelona, Spain.</p> <p>Population studied: The group is composed of 108 persons that are actually doing the Health Workshops, and 108 that are not and form the control group. They are assigned at random to one group or the other.</p> <p>Data Analysis: With Student's t-distribution test to compare the differences between numerical variables or their non parametric equivalent if the variable does not comply with the criteria of normality. (Kolmogorov-Smirnof test). Chi-square test to compare the differences between categorical variables and the Logistic Regression Model to analyze different meaningful variables by dichotomous analysis related to the intervention.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>The Health Workshop proposed in the present study constitutes an innovative approach in health promotion, placing the emphasis on the person's self responsibility for his/her own health.</p> <p>The rhythm of a weekly session during 8 weeks with recommended activities to put into practice, as well as the support of the group is an opportunity to incorporate healthy habits and make a commitment to self-care. The sheets handed out are a Health Manual that can always be consulted after the workshop ends.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>Clinical Trials.gov Identifier: <a href="http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01440738">NCT01440738</a></p

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

Barriers to health care services for migrants living with HIV in Spain

BACKGROUND: In Spain, migrants are disproportionately affected by HIV and experience high rates of late diagnosis. We investigated barriers to health care access among migrants living with HIV (MLWH) in Spain. METHODS: Cross sectional electronic survey of 765 adult HIV-positive migrants recruited within 18 health care settings between July 2013 and July 2015. We collected epidemiological, demographic, behavioral and clinical data. We estimated the prevalence and risk factors of self-reported barriers to health care using multivariable logistic regression. RESULTS: Of those surveyed, 672 (88%) had information on health care access barriers: 23% were women, 63% from Latin America and Caribbean, 14% from Sub-Saharan Africa and 15% had an irregular immigration status. Men were more likely to report barriers than women (24% vs. 14%, P = 0.009). The main barriers were: lengthy waiting times for an appointment (9%) or in the clinic (7%) and lack of a health card (7%). Having an irregular immigration status was a risk factor for experiencing barriers for both men (OR: (4.0 [95%CI: 2.2–7.2]) and women (OR: 10.5 [95%CI: 3.1–34.8]). Men who experienced racial stigma (OR: 3.1 [95%CI: 1.9–5.1]) or food insecurity (OR: 2.1 [95%CI: 1.2–3.4]) were more likely to report barriers. Women who delayed treatment due to medication costs (6.3 [95%CI: 1.3–30.8]) or had a university degree (OR: 5.8 [95%CI: 1.3–25.1]) were more likely to report barriers. CONCLUSION: Health care barriers were present in one in five5 MLWH, were more common in men and were associated to legal entitlement to access care, perceived stigma and financial constraints

Jardins per a la salut

Facultat de Farmàcia, Universitat de Barcelona. Ensenyament: Grau de Farmàcia. Assignatura: Botànica farmacèutica. Curs: 2014-2015. Coordinadors: Joan Simon, Cèsar Blanché i Maria Bosch.Els materials que aquí es presenten són el recull de les fitxes botàniques de 128 espècies presents en el Jardí Ferran Soldevila de l’Edifici Històric de la UB. Els treballs han estat realitzats manera individual per part dels estudiants dels grups M-3 i T-1 de l’assignatura Botànica Farmacèutica durant els mesos de febrer a maig del curs 2014-15 com a resultat final del Projecte d’Innovació Docent «Jardins per a la salut: aprenentatge servei a Botànica farmacèutica» (codi 2014PID-UB/054). Tots els treballs s’han dut a terme a través de la plataforma de GoogleDocs i han estat tutoritzats pels professors de l’assignatura. L’objectiu principal de l’activitat ha estat fomentar l’aprenentatge autònom i col·laboratiu en Botànica farmacèutica. També s’ha pretès motivar els estudiants a través del retorn de part del seu esforç a la societat a través d’una experiència d’Aprenentatge-Servei, deixant disponible finalment el treball dels estudiants per a poder ser consultable a través d’una Web pública amb la possibilitat de poder-ho fer in-situ en el propi jardí mitjançant codis QR amb un smartphone

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

All-cause mortality in the cohorts of the Spanish AIDS Research Network (RIS) compared with the general population: 1997Ł2010

Abstract Background: Combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) has produced significant changes in mortality of HIVinfected persons. Our objective was to estimate mortality rates, standardized mortality ratios and excess mortality rates of cohorts of the AIDS Research Network (RIS) (CoRIS-MD and CoRIS) compared to the general population. Methods: We analysed data of CoRIS-MD and CoRIS cohorts from 1997 to 2010. We calculated: (i) all-cause mortality rates, (ii) standardized mortality ratio (SMR) and (iii) excess mortality rates for both cohort for 100 personyears (py) of follow-up, comparing all-cause mortality with that of the general population of similar age and gender. Results: Between 1997 and 2010, 8,214 HIV positive subjects were included, 2,453 (29.9%) in CoRIS-MD and 5,761 (70.1%) in CoRIS and 294 deaths were registered. All-cause mortality rate was 1.02 (95% CI 0.91-1.15) per 100 py, SMR was 6.8 (95% CI 5.9-7.9) and excess mortality rate was 0.8 (95% CI 0.7-0.9) per 100 py. Mortality was higher in patients with AIDS, hepatitis C virus (HCV) co-infection, and those from CoRIS-MD cohort (1997. Conclusion: Mortality among HIV-positive persons remains higher than that of the general population of similar age and sex, with significant differences depending on the history of AIDS or HCV coinfection

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries