Tendencies in medical publications

AbstractObjectivesTo describe the trends of research design in publications from high-impact medical journals.MethodsA cross-sectional, descriptive study was conducted by searching the 2011 electronic publications of the journals: New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of the American Medical Association, The Lancet, British Medical Journal, and Annals of Internal Medicine. Studies were classified as primary and secondary. The journal impact factor was taken from the Journal Citation Report website. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze and interpret the data.ResultsWe analyzed 1130 publications: 804 primary and 326 secondary studies, which represented 71.2% and 28.8% of the total publications, respectively. Among the primary studies, randomized clinical trials (30.4%) were the most prevalent, followed by cohort studies (21.9%) and case reports (9.0%).ConclusionsThese findings can have implications in Evidence-Based Medicine programs. Literature review should focus on reviewing secondary articles first, then experimental studies and finally, observational studies

Molecular investigation of the ciliate Spirostomum semivirescens, with first transcriptome and new geographical records

Hunter N. Hines1,3*, Henning Onsbring2*, Thijs J. G. Ettema2 The ciliate Spirostomum semivirescens is a large freshwater protist densely packed with endosymbiotic algae and capable of building a protective coating from surrounding particles. The species has been rarely recorded and it lacks any molecular investigations. We obtained such data from S. semivirescens isolated in the UK and Sweden. Using single-cell RNA sequencing of isolates from both countries, the transcriptome of S. semivirescens was generated. Phylogenetic analysis of the rRNA gene cluster revealed both isolates to be identical. Additionally, rRNA sequence analysis of the green algal endosymbiont revealed that it is closely related to Chlorella vulgaris. Along with the molecular species identification, an analysis of the ciliates’ stop codons was carried out, which revealed a relationship where TGA stop codon frequency decreased with increasing gene expression levels. The observed codon bias suggests that S. semivirescens could be in an early stage of reassigning the TGA stop codon. Analysis of the transcriptome indicates that S. semivirescens potentially uses rhodoquinol-dependent fumarate reduction to respire in the oxygen-depleted habitats where it lives. The data also shows that despite large geographical distances (over 1,600 km) between the sampling sites investigated, a morphologically-identical species can share an exact molecular signature, suggesting that some ciliate species, even those over 1mm in size, could have a global biogeographical distribution

European sea bass brain DLB-1 cell line is susceptible to nodavirus: A transcriptomic study

Viral diseases are responsible for high rates of mortality and subsequent economic losses in modern aquaculture. The nervous necrosis virus (NNV) produces viral encephalopathy and retinopathy (VER), which affects the fish central nervous system. It is considered one of the most serious viral diseases in marine aquaculture, the European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) being amongst the most susceptible. We have evaluated the European sea bass brain derived cell line (DLB-1) susceptibility to NNV genotypes and evaluated its transcriptomic profile. DLB-1 cells supported NNV gene transcription and replication since strains belonging to the four NNV genotypes produce cytopathic effects. Afterwards, DLB-1 cells were infected with an RGNNV strain, the one which showed the highest replication, for 12 and 72 h and an RNA-seq analysis was performed to identify potential genes involved in the host-NNV interactions. Differential expression analysis showed the up-regulation of many genes related to immunity, heat-shock proteins or apoptosis but not to proteasome or autophagy processes. These data suggest that the immune response, mainly the interferon (IFN) pathway, is not powerful enough to abrogate the infection, and cells finally suffer stress and die by apoptosis liberating infective particles. GO enrichment also revealed, for the first time, the down-regulation of terms related to brain/neuron biology indicating molecular mechanisms causing the pathogenic effect of NNV. This study opens the way to understand key elements in sea bass brain and NNV interactions.Versión del edito

Generación de una línea celular de cerebro de lubina (DBL-1). Aplicación en estudios de toxicología y virología

Las líneas celulares son herramientas fundamentales para diversos estudios de Biología. En peces existen pocas líneas celulares y muy pocas de peces marinos. Por ello, hemos generado y caracterizado una línea celular (DLB-1) a partir de cerebro de lubina (Dicentrarchus labrax) y evaluamos su posible aplicación en Toxicología y Virología de peces. La incubación con distintos metales pesados (Cd, Hg, As o Pb) produce mortalidad en las células DLB-1 de manera dosis-dependiente, siendo muy tóxicos el Cd, Hg y As y muy poco el plomo. Además, se indujo la expresión del gen de la metalotioneína. Por otro lado, hemos evaluado la susceptibilidad de las células DLB-1 a nodavirus, el principal virus que afecta a lubinas. Los datos muestran que las células DLB-1 son susceptibles a los 4 genotipos de nodavirus. Esta línea celular puede ser muy útil para diversos estudios de la Biología de peces, concretamente de la lubina

Doñana. Acta vertebrata. vol 23 (1)

Variaciones geográfica y temporal en la dieta de la lechuza campestre (Asio flammeus) en EuropaVariaciones estacionales en la dieta de la lechuza común (Tyto alba) en dos nidos de diferente localizaciónDinámica anual de la comunidad de paseriformes en carrizales costeros del sudeste ibéricoSedentarismo, áreas de campeo y selección de microhábitats en el lagarto verdinegro Lacerta schreiberEstudio morfométrico y del crecimiento de Apodemus sylvaticus L., 1758 (Rodentia, Muridae) en el norte de la Península IbéricaLas Gaviotas patiamarillas (Larus cachinnans) de la colonia de las Islas Medes (NE de España) como posibles agentes transmisores de contaminación microbiana.Dieta de la garduña (Martes foina Erxlebeb, 1777) en una localidad de las sierras subbéticas de Granada (sureste de España)Situación del lince ibérico en la Sierra de GataNotas sobre la reproducción de una población semicautiva de tortuga mediterránea Testudo hermanni en Valencia (E, España)Peer reviewe

Death in hospital following ICU discharge : insights from the LUNG SAFE study

Background: To determine the frequency of, and factors associated with, death in hospital following ICU discharge to the ward. Methods: The Large observational study to UNderstand the Global impact of Severe Acute respiratory FailurE study was an international, multicenter, prospective cohort study of patients with severe respiratory failure, conducted across 459 ICUs from 50 countries globally. This study aimed to understand the frequency and factors associated with death in hospital in patients who survived their ICU stay. We examined outcomes in the subpopulation discharged with no limitations of life sustaining treatments (‘treatment limitations’), and the subpopulations with treatment limitations. Results: 2186 (94%) patients with no treatment limitations discharged from ICU survived, while 142 (6%) died in hospital. 118 (61%) of patients with treatment limitations survived while 77 (39%) patients died in hospital. Patients without treatment limitations that died in hospital after ICU discharge were older, more likely to have COPD, immunocompromise or chronic renal failure, less likely to have trauma as a risk factor for ARDS. Patients that died post ICU discharge were less likely to receive neuromuscular blockade, or to receive any adjunctive measure, and had a higher pre- ICU discharge non-pulmonary SOFA score. A similar pattern was seen in patients with treatment limitations that died in hospital following ICU discharge. Conclusions: A significant proportion of patients die in hospital following discharge from ICU, with higher mortality in patients with limitations of life-sustaining treatments in place. Non-survivors had higher systemic illness severity scores at ICU discharge than survivors. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02010073