ESTUDIOS DE BIODEGRADACIÓN Y MINERALIZACIÓN A ELEVADAS CONCENTRACIONES DEL HERBICIDA DIURON, EMPLEANDO CEPAS BACTERIANAS DEGRADADORAS ESPECÍFICAS EN CONDICIONES DE ESTRÉS

El uso extendido en todo el mundo de herbicidas de origen químico, ha favorecido la difusión de estos a suelos y aguas, tanto superficiales como subterráneas, convirtiendo a estos compuestos tóxicos en potencialmente peligrosos para el medio ambiente y la salud de las personas. El herbicida diurón está considerado como sustancia peligrosa prioritaria para la Directiva Marco del Agua de la Comisión Europea. Igualmente está incluido en una lista de sustancias prioritarias para el establecimiento de políticas para el agua, y está incluido en la lista 3 de contaminantes candidatos de los Estados Unidos. España y Bélgica son los únicos países de la Unión Europea donde se hace uso de este herbicida. Por ello se han realizado estudios con el objetivo de degradarlo por completo y/o hacerlo no biodisponible para seres humanos y otros organismos vivos. Estos estudios sitúan a la biodegradación como la opción más eficiente y fiable para llevar a cabo este cometido.En el presente estudio, se lleva a cabo el analisis de los resultados obtenidos en los ensayos de biodegradación y mineralización del herbicida diuróna diferentes concentraciones y de su principal metabolito, la 3,4-dicloroanilina (3,4-DCA), cuya toxicidad hace que el diurón sea tan peligroso para la salud y el medio ambiente, utilizando cepas bacterianas degradadoras específicas, las cuales han sido sometidas a elevadas concentraciones de Diurón. Por último, se sealizaron experimentos de biodisponibilidad del herbicida, a elevadas concentraciones, haciendo uso de ciclodextrinas. Estos agentes químicos biodegradables pueden optimizar la capacidad biodegradadora de los microorganismos hacia el contaminante, y se presentan como una alternativa más amigable con el medio ambiente, ya que debido a la naturaleza de disolventes y otros agentes químicos no biodegradables, estos pueden acabar suponiendo otro problema ambiental o de salud, que se añadiría al existente causado por el contaminante que se pretendía eliminar en primera instancia

Equilibrio ético para la toma de decisiones asistenciales en pacientes críticos. Hospital “Abel Santamaría”. 2005-2006.

A fin de caracterizar el  comportamiento del proceso de la toma de decisiones asistenciales con el paciente crítico en la Unidad de Cuidados Intensivos, se  realizó un estudio prospectivo, longitudinal y de intervención, en el cual se estudiaron dos cohortes  consecutivos  de pacientes (280 cada una). Se registraron todas las decisiones asistenciales y  procedimientos realizados en el  primer   periodo y  toma de decisiones alegórica al consentimiento informado e implicado. En un segundo período de intervención, con técnicas estratégicas especializadas, se solicitó a los pacientes (que tuviesen puntaje inferior a 50 puntos en la  escala de  Karnofky),  familiares y allegados su  consentimiento informado, volviéndose a registrar el número de procedimientos y de consentimientos informados individuales obtenidos.  Siempre que pudo ser posible, se le consultó el procedimiento a realizar al paciente y las acciones médicas. Cuando esto no fue posible, se tomó el criterio del familiar o allegado competente y en tercera instancia,  el criterio del consenso absoluto de todo el equipo asistencial de trabajo, el consentimiento implicado. Se obtuvo un tránsito en el protagonismo de las decisiones asistenciales con el paciente crítico, donde inicialmente primaba casi absolutamente el consentimiento implicado para pasar al informado de pacientes y familiares. Además se incrementó en la medida de lo posible la participación de los pacientes graves y familiares en el proceso asistencial. Las  enfermedades cardiovasculares agudas fueron las situaciones clínicas que permitieron más autonomía en el consentimiento informado, y la falla múltiple de órganos donde el consentimiento implicado predominó

The Helicobacter pylori Genome Project : insights into H. pylori population structure from analysis of a worldwide collection of complete genomes

Helicobacter pylori, a dominant member of the gastric microbiota, shares co-evolutionary history with humans. This has led to the development of genetically distinct H. pylori subpopulations associated with the geographic origin of the host and with differential gastric disease risk. Here, we provide insights into H. pylori population structure as a part of the Helicobacter pylori Genome Project (HpGP), a multi-disciplinary initiative aimed at elucidating H. pylori pathogenesis and identifying new therapeutic targets. We collected 1011 well-characterized clinical strains from 50 countries and generated high-quality genome sequences. We analysed core genome diversity and population structure of the HpGP dataset and 255 worldwide reference genomes to outline the ancestral contribution to Eurasian, African, and American populations. We found evidence of substantial contribution of population hpNorthAsia and subpopulation hspUral in Northern European H. pylori. The genomes of H. pylori isolated from northern and southern Indigenous Americans differed in that bacteria isolated in northern Indigenous communities were more similar to North Asian H. pylori while the southern had higher relatedness to hpEastAsia. Notably, we also found a highly clonal yet geographically dispersed North American subpopulation, which is negative for the cag pathogenicity island, and present in 7% of sequenced US genomes. We expect the HpGP dataset and the corresponding strains to become a major asset for H. pylori genomics

Worldwide Survey of COVID-19–Associated Arrhythmias

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has led to over 1 million deaths worldwide and has been associated with cardiac complications including cardiac arrhythmias. The incidence and pathophysiology of these manifestations remain elusive. In this worldwide survey of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 who developed cardiac arrhythmias, we describe clinical characteristics associated with various arrhythmias, as well as global differences in modulations of routine electrophysiology practice during the pandemic. Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 infection worldwide with and without incident cardiac arrhythmias. Patients with documented atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, supraventricular tachycardia, nonsustained or sustained ventricular tachycardia, ventricular fibrillation, atrioventricular block, or marked sinus bradycardia (heart rate<40 bpm) were classified as having arrhythmia. Deidentified data was provided by each institution and analyzed. Results: Data were collected for 4526 patients across 4 continents and 12 countries, 827 of whom had an arrhythmia. Cardiac comorbidities were common in patients with arrhythmia: 69% had hypertension, 42% diabetes, 30% had heart failure, and 24% had coronary artery disease. Most had no prior history of arrhythmia. Of those who did develop an arrhythmia, the majority (81.8%) developed atrial arrhythmias, 20.7% developed ventricular arrhythmias, and 22.6% had bradyarrhythmia. Regional differences suggested a lower incidence of atrial fibrillation in Asia compared with other continents (34% versus 63%). Most patients in North America and Europe received hydroxychloroquine, although the frequency of hydroxychloroquine therapy was constant across arrhythmia types. Forty-three percent of patients who developed arrhythmia were mechanically ventilated and 51% survived to hospital discharge. Many institutions reported drastic decreases in electrophysiology procedures performed. Conclusions: Cardiac arrhythmias are common and associated with high morbidity and mortality among patients hospitalized with COVID-19 infection. There were significant regional variations in the types of arrhythmias and treatment approaches

Worldwide survey of COVID-19–associated arrhythmias

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has led to over 1 million deaths worldwide and has been associated with cardiac complications including cardiac arrhythmias. The incidence and pathophysiology of these manifestations remain elusive. In this worldwide survey of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 who developed cardiac arrhythmias, we describe clinical characteristics associated with various arrhythmias, as well as global differences in modulations of routine electrophysiology practice during the pandemic. Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 infection worldwide with and without incident cardiac arrhythmias. Patients with documented atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, supraventricular tachycardia, nonsustained or sustained ventricular tachycardia, ventricular fibrillation, atrioventricular block, or marked sinus bradycardia (heart rate<40 bpm) were classified as having arrhythmia. Deidentified data was provided by each institution and analyzed. Results: Data were collected for 4526 patients across 4 continents and 12 countries, 827 of whom had an arrhythmia. Cardiac comorbidities were common in patients with arrhythmia: 69% had hypertension, 42% diabetes, 30% had heart failure, and 24% had coronary artery disease. Most had no prior history of arrhythmia. Of those who did develop an arrhythmia, the majority (81.8%) developed atrial arrhythmias, 20.7% developed ventricular arrhythmias, and 22.6% had bradyarrhythmia. Regional differences suggested a lower incidence of atrial fibrillation in Asia compared with other continents (34% versus 63%). Most patients in North America and Europe received hydroxychloroquine, although the frequency of hydroxychloroquine therapy was constant across arrhythmia types. Forty-three percent of patients who developed arrhythmia were mechanically ventilated and 51% survived to hospital discharge. Many institutions reported drastic decreases in electrophysiology procedures performed. Conclusions: Cardiac arrhythmias are common and associated with high morbidity and mortality among patients hospitalized with COVID-19 infection. There were significant regional variations in the types of arrhythmias and treatment approaches

Hippo signaling controls cell cycle and restricts cell plasticity in planarians

The Hippo pathway plays a key role in regulating cell turnover in adult tissues, and abnormalities in this pathway are consistently associated with human cancers. Hippo was initially implicated in the control of cell proliferation and death, and its inhibition is linked to the expansion of stem cells and progenitors, leading to larger organ size and tumor formation. To understand the mechanism by which Hippo directs cell renewal and promotes stemness, we studied its function in planarians. These stem cell-based organisms are ideal models for the analysis of the complex cellular events underlying tissue renewal in the whole organism. hippo RNA interference (RNAi) in planarians decreased apoptotic cell death, induced cell cycle arrest, and could promote the dedifferentiation of postmitotic cells. hippo RNAi resulted in extensive undifferentiated areas and overgrowths, with no effect on body size or cell number. We propose an essential role for hippo in controlling cell cycle, restricting cell plasticity, and thereby preventing tumoral transformation.Universitat de Barcelona (APIF fellowship). Received by NdS. The funder had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Ministerio de educación y ciencia (grant number BFU2017-83755-P and BFU2014-56055-P). Received by ES and TA. The funder had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. AGAUR (Generalitat de Catalunya) (grant number 2009SGR1018). Received by ES. The funder had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript