Overview and characterization of penile cancer content across social media platforms

BackgroundSocial media platforms (SMP) are an emerging resource that allows physicians, patients, and families to converse on cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. We aimed to characterize penile cancer (PC) content shared on SMP.MethodsWe searched PC posts on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram from July 1st, 2021, through June 30th, 2022. Two independent, blinded reviewers analyzed the hashtags: #PenileCancer, #PenileCancerAwareness, and #PenileNeoplasm. Descriptive statistics were used for posts characterization, Pearson´s correlation coefficient for associations, and Cohen’s weighted kappa coefficient for inter-rater agreement rate.ResultsA total of 791 posts were analyzed, with Twitter accounting for 52%, Facebook for 12.2%, and Instagram for 35.5%, and. Most posts originated from high-income countries, such as the United Kingdom (48.8%). We found no correlation between the number of posts with PC incidence (p = 0.64) or users on SMP (p = 0.27). Most accounts were classified as “support and awareness communities” (43.6%) and “physicians and clinical researchers” (38.2%). Urology was the most common medical specialty to post (60.9%), followed by oncology (11.3%). Most posts were classified as “prevention and awareness for users” (45.1%). Global inter-reviewer agreement rate was almost perfect (k=0.95; p ≤ 0.01). On Twitter, “physicians and clinical researchers” shared more content on “treatment updates and medical papers published in medical journals,” while on Facebook and Instagram, “support and awareness communities” focused on “personal and support comments.”ConclusionOverall, the number of PC posts was low compared to other neoplasms across the SMP evaluated in this study. “Physicians and clinical researchers” shared more content on Twitter, while “support and awareness communities” on Facebook and Instagram. Encouraging the use of a common SMP among the medical community and general users could lead to a more effective communication between physicians, patients, and support groups, and to increased awareness of PC

Biophysical and lipidomic biomarkers of cardiac remodeling post-myocardial infarction in humans

Few studies have analyzed the potential of biophysical parameters as markers of cardiac remodeling post-myocardial infarction (MI), particularly in human hearts. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) illustrates the overall changes in proteins, nucleic acids and lipids in a single signature. The aim of this work was to define the FTIR and lipidomic pattern for human left ventricular remodeling post-MI. A total of nine explanted hearts from ischemic cardiomyopathy patients were collected. Samples from the right ventricle (RV), left ventricle (LV) and infarcted left ventricle (LV INF) were subjected to biophysical (FTIR and differential scanning calorimetry, DSC) and lipidomic (liquid chromatography–high-resolution mass spectrometry, LC–HRMS) studies. FTIR evidenced deep alterations in the myofibers, extracellular matrix proteins, and the hydric response of the LV INF compared to the RV or LV from the same subject. The lipid and esterified lipid FTIR bands were enhanced in LV INF, and both lipid indicators were tightly and positively correlated with remodeling markers such as collagen, lactate, polysaccharides, and glycogen in these samples. Lipidomic analysis revealed an increase in several species of sphingomyelin (SM), hexosylceramide (HexCer), and cholesteryl esters combined with a decrease in glycerophospholipids in the infarcted tissue. Our results validate FTIR indicators and several species of lipids as useful markers of left ventricular remodeling post-MI in humans

Aplicaciones electroquímicas al tratamiento de aguas residuales

El presente libro tiene como finalidad compilar numerosas investigaciones en el campo de la tecnología electroquímica y sus aplicaciones ambientales, contando con la colaboración de un gran número de investigadores tanto nacionales como extranjeros, proponiendo con ello una visión amplia dentro de la aplicación de la electroquímica. Los temas que integran esta obra se escogieron cuidadosamente considerando desde los principios básicos de la electroquímica aplicada al tratamiento de aguas residuales hasta los parámetros a considerar durante el diseño, operación y evaluación de dichos sistemas, sin dejar de lado las aplicaciones utilizadas en la actualidad en la industria, la docencia y la investigación. Este libro reúne diversas temáticas por lo que puede considerarse como un compendio de aquellos elementos que el lector requiere para poder tener una visión amplia de las aplicaciones de la electroquímica en el campo del tratamiento de agua residual.En el Capítulo 1 se presenta una primera impresión de los Fundamentes de la Electroquímica Ambiental, en donde los autores explican cómo esta disciplina es una nueva área de la ciencia en donde se emplean conocimientos de Electroquímica, Ingeniería Química y Ciencia de Materiales, así como las aplicaciones específicas para la remediación ambiental. En el Capítulo 2 los autores ofrecen una descripción de los principales parámetros fisicoquímicos y biológicos que se emplean para definir a la calidad del agua. Este capítulo describe en función de qué características físicas, químicas y biológicas se puede evaluar a un agua residual así como también la aplicación de estas características como variables de control de un proceso de tratamiento y también como el empleo de ellas para limitar las concentraciones máximas permisibles de descarga de aguas residuales. El Capítulo 3 se refiere a uno de los procesos más empleados en el tratamiento de agua: la coagulación-floculación. Se aborda desde una óptica teórica hasta la descripción de un ejemplo de aplicación en la industria. Resulta importante incluir este capítulo ya que uno de los métodos más prometedores en la electroquímica ambiental es la electrocoagulación, la cual se narra en el Capítulo 6. Las bases de las celdas de laboratorio y reactores industriales electroquímicos se relatan en el Capítulo 4. En particular, se refieren las implicaciones que tienen las principales características físicas y de diseño de celdas de laboratorio y reactores electroquímicos industriales que permiten obtener transformaciones eficientes gracias a un correcto control del potencial de electrodo en estos sistemas. La implementación de procesos electroquímicos para su aplicación a nivel industrial, requiere del diseño eficiente del dispositivo central: el reactor electroquímico. Por lo que, en el Capítulo 5 se presentan los elementos de análisis de reactores electroquímicos para su diseño y caracterización. El Capítulo 7 describe bajo qué circunstancias se puede llevar a cabo el proceso de electroflotación. Los autores muestran cómo este proceso está influenciado por el pH de la solución acuosa, la densidad de corriente y el tipo de electrodos que se emplean. El lector encontrará en el Capítulo 8 las bases teóricas de uno de los procesos que involucra la química de la reacción de Fenton, así como las aplicaciones ambientales para el tratamiento de soluciones sintéticas y reales con diferentes contaminantes refractarios, tales como plaguicidas, colorantes, productos de cuidado personal, fármacos y residuos químicos industriales. En el Capítulo 9 se presentan algunos conceptos fundamentales sobre la Electrooxidación, también conocida como oxidación electroquímica, la cual está enfocada a realizar la oxidación de contaminantes presentes en aguas residuales sobre la superficie de electrodos. La tecnología para la electrogeneración de peróxido de hidrógeno y su empleo en el tratamiento de agua residual se describe en el Capítulo 10. Uno de los metales pesados que tienen un alto grado de toxicidad en el ambiente es el Cr(VI), el cual no puede ser removido por métodos convencionales por lo que una tecnología que puede emplearse en este tratamiento se relata en el Capítulo 11. En el Capítulo 12 se presentan los avances más recientes cuando se emplean los métodos electroquímicos con algún otro tipo de tratamiento, lo que ha resultado en la obtención de sinergias en los procesos, lo que implica una reducción en los costos de operación. Finalmente, en el Capítulo 13, se presenta el tema de usos y aplicaciones de sensores químicos y electroquímicos para la detección de contaminantes en agua y agua residual

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

XVI International Congress of Control Electronics and Telecommunications: "Techno-scientific considerations for a post-pandemic world intensive in knowledge, innovation and sustainable local development"

Este título, sugestivo por los impactos durante la situación de la Covid 19 en el mundo, y que en Colombia lastimosamente han sido muy críticos, permiten asumir la obligada superación de tensiones sociales, políticas, y económicas; pero sobre todo científicas y tecnológicas. Inicialmente, esto supone la existencia de una capacidad de la sociedad colombiana por recuperar su estado inicial después de que haya cesado la perturbación a la que fue sometida por la catastrófica pandemia, y superar ese anterior estado de cosas ya que se encontraban -y aún se encuentran- muchos problemas locales mal resueltos, medianamente resueltos, y muchos sin resolver: es decir, habrá que rediseñar y fortalecer una probada resiliencia social existente - producto del prolongado conflicto social colombiano superado parcialmente por un proceso de paz exitoso - desde la tecnociencia local; como lo indicaba Markus Brunnermeier - economista alemán y catedrático de economía de la Universidad de Princeton- en su libro The Resilient Society…La cuestión no es preveerlo todo sino poder reaccionar…aprender a recuperarse rápido.This title, suggestive of the impacts during the Covid 19 situation in the world, and which have unfortunately been very critical in Colombia, allows us to assume the obligatory overcoming of social, political, and economic tensions; but above all scientific and technological. Initially, this supposes the existence of a capacity of Colombian society to recover its initial state after the disturbance to which it was subjected by the catastrophic pandemic has ceased, and to overcome that previous state of affairs since it was found -and still is find - many local problems poorly resolved, moderately resolved, and many unresolved: that is, an existing social resilience test will have to be redesigned and strengthened - product of the prolonged Colombian social conflict partially overcome by a successful peace process - from local technoscience; As Markus Brunnermeier - German economist and professor of economics at Princeton University - indicates in his book The Resilient Society...The question is not to foresee everything but to be able to react...learn to recover quickly.Bogot

Correction to: Cluster identification, selection, and description in Cluster randomized crossover trials: the PREP-IT trials

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via the original article

Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

Funder: European Society of Intensive Care Medicine; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100013347Funder: Flemish Society for Critical Care NursesAbstract: Purpose: Intensive care unit (ICU) patients are particularly susceptible to developing pressure injuries. Epidemiologic data is however unavailable. We aimed to provide an international picture of the extent of pressure injuries and factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries in adult ICU patients. Methods: International 1-day point-prevalence study; follow-up for outcome assessment until hospital discharge (maximum 12 weeks). Factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injury and hospital mortality were assessed by generalised linear mixed-effects regression analysis. Results: Data from 13,254 patients in 1117 ICUs (90 countries) revealed 6747 pressure injuries; 3997 (59.2%) were ICU-acquired. Overall prevalence was 26.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 25.9–27.3). ICU-acquired prevalence was 16.2% (95% CI 15.6–16.8). Sacrum (37%) and heels (19.5%) were most affected. Factors independently associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries were older age, male sex, being underweight, emergency surgery, higher Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, Braden score 3 days, comorbidities (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, immunodeficiency), organ support (renal replacement, mechanical ventilation on ICU admission), and being in a low or lower-middle income-economy. Gradually increasing associations with mortality were identified for increasing severity of pressure injury: stage I (odds ratio [OR] 1.5; 95% CI 1.2–1.8), stage II (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.4–1.9), and stage III or worse (OR 2.8; 95% CI 2.3–3.3). Conclusion: Pressure injuries are common in adult ICU patients. ICU-acquired pressure injuries are associated with mainly intrinsic factors and mortality. Optimal care standards, increased awareness, appropriate resource allocation, and further research into optimal prevention are pivotal to tackle this important patient safety threat

Correction to: Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake

Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

Funder: European Society of Intensive Care Medicine; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100013347Funder: Flemish Society for Critical Care NursesAbstract: Purpose: Intensive care unit (ICU) patients are particularly susceptible to developing pressure injuries. Epidemiologic data is however unavailable. We aimed to provide an international picture of the extent of pressure injuries and factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries in adult ICU patients. Methods: International 1-day point-prevalence study; follow-up for outcome assessment until hospital discharge (maximum 12 weeks). Factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injury and hospital mortality were assessed by generalised linear mixed-effects regression analysis. Results: Data from 13,254 patients in 1117 ICUs (90 countries) revealed 6747 pressure injuries; 3997 (59.2%) were ICU-acquired. Overall prevalence was 26.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 25.9–27.3). ICU-acquired prevalence was 16.2% (95% CI 15.6–16.8). Sacrum (37%) and heels (19.5%) were most affected. Factors independently associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries were older age, male sex, being underweight, emergency surgery, higher Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, Braden score 3 days, comorbidities (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, immunodeficiency), organ support (renal replacement, mechanical ventilation on ICU admission), and being in a low or lower-middle income-economy. Gradually increasing associations with mortality were identified for increasing severity of pressure injury: stage I (odds ratio [OR] 1.5; 95% CI 1.2–1.8), stage II (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.4–1.9), and stage III or worse (OR 2.8; 95% CI 2.3–3.3). Conclusion: Pressure injuries are common in adult ICU patients. ICU-acquired pressure injuries are associated with mainly intrinsic factors and mortality. Optimal care standards, increased awareness, appropriate resource allocation, and further research into optimal prevention are pivotal to tackle this important patient safety threat