Antibacterial activity of bovine milk lactoferrin on the emerging foodborne pathogen Cronobacter sakazakii: Effect of media and heat treatment

Cronobacter sakazakii is a pathogen transmitted by food, with high osmotic resistance and tolerance to desiccation, which affects mainly to newborns, infants and immunocompromised adults. C. sakazakii infection in infants has been associated with consumption of powdered milk. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the antibacterial activity of native and iron-saturated bovine lactoferrin (bLF) (from 0.5 to 5 mg/ml) on non-desiccated and desiccated C. sakazakii (104 CFU/ml) in different media (phosphate buffer, bovine skim milk and whey). In general, native bLF was the only effective form that inhibited growth of C. sakazakii in all media, its activity increasing with concentration and time of incubation. These results suggest that the antibacterial effect of bLF on C. sakazakii is mainly due to iron sequestration. However, iron-saturated bLF showed some effect by reducing the viability of C. sakazakii in whey. There has not been observed an increased sensitivity of desiccated bacteria to native bLF in phosphate buffer. However, although the antibacterial activity of native bLF against non-desiccated C. sakazakii was drastically reduced in milk or whey compared to phosphate buffer, there was a certain activity when it was assayed against desiccated cells in those media. The effect of some heat treatments on the antibacterial activity of native bLF was evaluated and only those of 72 °C for 15 s, 85 °C for 15 s, and 63 °C for 30 min maintained its whole activity

¿Cuál es la actitud de los médicos hacia el actual modelo de atención primaria?

ObjetivoDeterminar cómo es la actitud de los médicos hacia el actual modelo de atención primaria de salud y estimar su relación con variables de tipo sociodemográfico y/o laboral.DiseñoEstudio multicéntrico, transversal.EmplazamientoCentros de salud del Área II de la Región de Murcia.ParticipantesTotalidad de médicos generales, de familia y pediatras de los centros de salud mencionados (54 en total).Mediciones principalesComo instrumento de evaluación se utiliza la «Escala de actitudes hacia los contenidos de atención primaria de salud», de Ballesteros et al. Esta escala proporciona una puntuación total, así como una puntuación específica para cada una de las 7 dimensiones que la componen.ResultadosEn general, la actitud de los médicos es favorable (4,1 puntos de media sobre 5). En la dimensión «Inclusión de los profesionales del segundo nivel en atención primaria» es donde hemos encontrado una actitud menos favorable, siendo los médicos de familia los que se muestran más de acuerdo. En cuanto a las demás variables asociadas, los profesionales que trabajan en centros periféricos y en situación de interinidad muestran una actitud más positiva hacia el actual modelo.ConclusionesEl conocimiento de las actitudes de los profesionales, así como de las variables relacionadas, puede servir de base para diseñar posibles estrategias de intervención dirigidas a la mejora de la calidad asistencial en atención primaria y para una evolución positiva de los profesionales que prestan sus servicios.ObjectivesTo determine the attitude of doctors towards the current model of primary care and to calculate its relationship with social and demographic and/or work variables.DesignMulti-centre cross-sectional study.SettingHealth centres in Area II of the Murcia region.ParticipantsAll general practitioners, family doctors and paediatricians in the health centres mentioned (54 in all).Main measurementsThe «Scale of attitudes towards the contents of primary health care» by Ballesteros et al. was used as the tool of evaluation. This scale provides both a total score and a specific score for each of its 7 dimensions.ResultsIn general, doctors´ attitudes were favourable (4.1 points average out of 5). We found a less favourable attitude in the dimension «Inclusion of second-level professionals in primary care», with family doctors most in agreement. The professionals working in centres on the periphery and those without tenure had a more positive attitude towards the current model, for the remaining variables.ConclusionsUnderstanding professionals´ attitudes and the variables related to them may serve as a basis for designing intervention strategies aimed at improving the quality of primary care and for the positive evolution of professionals working in PC

Improved meteorology and surface fluxes in mesoscale modelling using adjusted initial vertical soil moisture profiles

The Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS) is being used for different and diverse purposes, ranging from atmospheric and dispersion of pollutants forecasting to agricultural meteorology and ecological modelling as well as for hydrological purposes, among others. The current paper presents a comprehensive assessment of the RAMS forecasts, comparing the results not only with observed standard surface meteorological variables, measured at FLUXNET stations and other portable and permanent weather stations located over the region of study, but also with non-standard observed variables, such as the surface energy fluxes, with the aim of evaluating the surface energy budget and its relation with a proper representation of standard observations and key physical processes for a wide range of applications. In this regard, RAMS is assessed against in-situ surface observations during a selected period within July 2011 over Eastern Spain. In addition, the simulation results are also compared with different surface remote sensing data derived from the Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI) (MSG-SEVIRI) as well as the uncoupled Land Surface Models (LSM) Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS). Both datasets complement the available in-situ observations and are used in the current study as the reference or ground truth when no observations are available on a selected location. Several sensitivity tests have been performed involving the initial soil moisture content, by adjusting this parameter in the vertical soil profile ranging from the most superficial soil layers to those located deeper underground. A refined adjustment of this parameter in the initialization of the model has shown to better represent the observed surface energy fluxes. The results obtained also show an improvement in the model forecasts found in previous studies in relation to standard observations, such as the air temperature and the moisture fields. Therefore, the application of a drier or wetter soil in distinct soil layers within the whole vertical soil profile has been found to be crucial in order to produce a better agreement between the simulation and the observations, thus reiterating the determining role of the initial soil moisture field in mesoscale modelling, but in this case considering the variation of this parameter vertically

Concurrent plasmablastic lymphoma with malignant external otitis in the external auditory canal

Los linfomas Plasmoblásticos, constituyen un subtipo de linfomas de células B, descritos recientemente, caracterizados por su naturaleza agresiva y la diferenciación Plasmoblástica. Inicialmente fueron descritos en pacientes VIH positivos. Representan el 2,6% de todos los linfomas en pacientes con SIDA, de tal forma que un 69% se presentan en VIH positivos y el resto en inmunodeprimidos. La media de edad suele ser 39 años para los VIH positivos y 58 en los VIH negativos y son más comunes en hombres. Se localizan más frecuentemente en la cavidad oral, especialmente en los pacientes VIH positivos, aunque pueden desarrollarse en otros lugares como el tracto gastrointestinal, los ganglios linfáticos y piel. El tratamiento se basa en la quimioterapia (Ciclofosfamida, Vincristina, Doxorrubicina y prednisona).The Plasmoblásticos lymphomas are a subtype of B-cell lymphomas, recently described, characterized by its aggressive nature and Plasmoblástica differentiation. They were initially described in HIV positive patients. They represent 2.6% of all lymphomas in AIDS patients, so that 69% occur in HIV-positive and other immunosuppressed. The average age is usually 39 years for HIV-positive and 58 HIV negative and are more common in men. They are found most frequently in the oral cavity, especially in HIV-positive patients, although they may develop in other places such as the gastrointestinal tract, lymph nodes and skin. The treatment is based on chemotherapy (cyclophosphamide, vincristine, doxorubicin and prednisone)

Cardiovascular preventive recommendations. PAPPS 2020 update

The recommendations of the semFYC's Program for Preventive Activities and Health Promotion (PAPPS) for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are presented. The following sections are included: Epidemiological review, where the current morbidity and mortality of CVD in Spain and its evolution as well as the main risk factors are described; Cardiovascular (CV) risk tables and recommendations for the calculation of CV risk; Main risk factors such as arterial hypertension, dyslipidemia and diabetes mellitus, describing the method for their diagnosis, therapeutic objectives and recommendations for lifestyle measures and pharmacological treatment; Indications for antiplatelet therapy, and recommendations for screening of atrial fibrillation. The quality of testing and the strength of the recommendation are included in the main recommendations.Se presentan las recomendaciones del Programa de Actividades Preventivas y Promoción de la Salud (PAPPS) de la semFYC, para la prevención de las enfermedades cardiovasculares (CV). Se incluyen los siguientes apartados: Revisión epidemiológica, donde se describe la morbimortalidadCV actual en España y su evolución y los principales factores de riesgo; Tablas de riesgo CV y recomendaciones para el cálculo del riesgo CV; Factores de riesgo mayores como hipertensión arterial, dislipidemia y diabetes mellitus, describiendo el método para su diagnóstico, los objetivos terapéuticos y las recomendaciones de medidas d estilo de vida y de tratamiento farmacológico; Indicaciones de antiagregación, y Recomendaciones para el cribado de la fibrilación auricular. Para las principales recomendaciones se incluyen tablas específicas que recogen la calidad de la evidencia y la fuerza de la recomendación

Measurement of the Bs0→J/ψKS0B_s^0\to J/\psi K_S^0 branching fraction

The $B_s^0\to J/\psi K_S^0$ branching fraction is measured in a data sample corresponding to 0.41$fb^{-1}$ of integrated luminosity collected with the LHCb detector at the LHC. This channel is sensitive to the penguin contributions affecting the sin2$\beta$ measurement from $B^0\to J/\psi K_S^0$ The time-integrated branching fraction is measured to be $BF(B_s^0\to J/\psi K_S^0)=(1.83\pm0.28)\times10^{-5}$. This is the most precise measurement to date

Model-independent search for CP violation in D0→K−K+π−π+ and D0→π−π+π+π− decays

A search for CP violation in the phase-space structures of D0 and View the MathML source decays to the final states K−K+π−π+ and π−π+π+π− is presented. The search is carried out with a data set corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.0 fb−1 collected in 2011 by the LHCb experiment in pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV. For the K−K+π−π+ final state, the four-body phase space is divided into 32 bins, each bin with approximately 1800 decays. The p-value under the hypothesis of no CP violation is 9.1%, and in no bin is a CP asymmetry greater than 6.5% observed. The phase space of the π−π+π+π− final state is partitioned into 128 bins, each bin with approximately 2500 decays. The p-value under the hypothesis of no CP violation is 41%, and in no bin is a CP asymmetry greater than 5.5% observed. All results are consistent with the hypothesis of no CP violation at the current sensitivity

Search for the lepton-flavor-violating decays Bs0→e±μ∓ and B0→e±μ∓

A search for the lepton-flavor-violating decays Bs0→e±μ∓ and B0→e±μ∓ is performed with a data sample, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.0  fb-1 of pp collisions at √s=7  TeV, collected by the LHCb experiment. The observed number of Bs0→e±μ∓ and B0→e±μ∓ candidates is consistent with background expectations. Upper limits on the branching fractions of both decays are determined to be B(Bs0→e±μ∓)101  TeV/c2 and MLQ(B0→e±μ∓)>126  TeV/c2 at 95% C.L., and are a factor of 2 higher than the previous bounds