EUropean prospective cohort study on Enterobacteriaceae showing REsistance to CArbapenems (EURECA): a protocol of a European multicentre observational study

Introduction: The rapid worldwide spread of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) constitutes a major challenge. The aim of the EUropean prospective cohort study on Enterobacteriaceae showing REsistance to CArbapenems (EURECA), which is part of the Innovative Medicines Initiative Joint Undertaking (IMI JU) funded COMBACTE-CARE project, is to investigate risk factors for and outcome determinants of CRE infections to inform randomised clinical trial designs and to provide a historical cohort that could eventually be used for future comparisons with new drugs targeting CRE. Methods: A multicentre (50 sites), multinational (11 European countries), analytical observational project was designed, comprising 3 studies. The aims of study 1 (a prospective cohort study) include characterising the features, clinical management and outcomes of hospitalised patients with intra-abdominal infection, pneumonia, complicated urinary tract infections and bloodstream infections caused by CRE (202 patients in each group). The main outcomes will be 30-day all-cause mortality and clinical response. Study 2 (a nested case–control study) will identify the risk factors for target infections caused by CRE; 248 selected patients from study 1 will be matched with patients with carbapenem-susceptible Enterobacteriaceae (1:1) and with hospitalised patients (1:3) and will provide a historical cohort of patients with CRE infections. Study 3 (a matched cohort study) will follow patients in study 2 in order to assess mortality, length of stay and hospital costs associated with CRE. All patients will be followed for 30 days. Different, up-to-date statistical methods will be applied to come to unbiased estimates for all 3 studies. Ethics and dissemination: Before-study sites will be initiated, approval will be sought from appropriate regulatory agencies and local Ethics Committees of Research or Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) to conduct the study in accordance with regulatory requirements. This is an observational study and therefore no intervention in the diagnosis, management or treatment of the patients will be required on behalf of the investigation. Any formal presentation or publication of data collected from this study will be considered as a joint publication by the participating physician(s) and will follow the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) for authorship.Innovative Medicine Initiative (IMI)European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7)Spanish Network for Research in Infectious Diseases [REIPI RD12/0015, RD16/2016

Removal of indigo carmine by a Ni nanoscale oxides/Schoenoplectus acutus composite in batch and fixed bed column systems

Removal behavior of indigo carmine by Schoenoplectus acutus and Ni nanoscale oxides/Schoenoplectus acutus composite was determined. The characterization of both materials was done by TEM, SEM/EDS, DRX, and BET. Experimental data were best fitted to pseudo second order and Langmuir-Freundlich models for kinetics and isotherm, respectively; these results indicate a chemisorption mechanism on heterogeneous materials. Adsorption capacity of Ni nanoscale oxides/Schoenoplectus acutus composite was high in comparison with other adsorbents (760 mg/g). Adsorption of dye is not affected by pH (3 to 9). Metal nanoparticles supported on cheap and eco-friendly adsorbents are an alternative for the removal of dyes from wastewater

Diques verticales con láminas pendulares para amortiguación del oleaje incidente y extracción de energía, DILAPE. Revisión del Estado del Arte y Modelado Físico

Análisis de los criterios de Osanai y Watabe para la obtención de energía en diques verticales, siguiendo criterios de péndulo simple, tanto directo como indirecto en mares sin marea y reduciendo la cota de coronació

Geometric documentation of the main refectory of the Monastery of Yuso (San Millán de la Cogolla, La Rioja, Spain)

[ES] Se trata de una estancia de 35 x 9 metros de planta que se organiza con un banco corrido en tres de sus lados con un respaldo a modo de friso y una serie de mesas de madera, cuenta además con varias ventanas y tres lámparas que aportan la iluminación, una puerta de acceso destacada en madera con cancel, púlpito para la lectura y varios cuadros.El volumétrico general alámbrico se ha realizado mediante topografía clásica con estación total. Para la documentación del friso de madera y los cuadros se ha recurrido a fotografía que posteriormente se ha rectificado. Como resultados se presenta el modelo 3D y una colección de planos.[EN] The refectory is a room of about 35x9 metres (plan) arranged with a continuous wooden bench in thee of the sides (all except the entrance) with a wooden frieze as the back of the bench, a series of tables, a pulpit, a detached door with chancel screen and some pictures.A general wireframe model in 3D was obtained by means of total station. The decoration of the back of the bench is drawing from rectified photographs and the same methodology was used to represent the pictures. As results, as well as the 3D model, a series of plans was generated.[ES] Memoria del proyecto (10 páginas en formato PDF) y 7 fotografías de documentación (formato JPEG)[EN] Report of the proyect (10 pages in Spanish in PDF format) and 7 photographs for documentation purposes (JPEG)

Validation of a Questionnaire to Assess the Perception of Women with Atopic Dermatitis in Family Planning

Introduction: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a highly frequent chronic inflammatory skin disease. It is important to know how women with AD approach family planning together with their disease. The aim of the present research is to develop and validate a questionnaire for women diagnosed with AD in order to measure their level of desire and gestational information. Materials and Methods: A multicenter cross-sectional study was conducted. Women between 18 and 45 years old with mild, moderate, and severe forms of the disease were included and disease-free controls. An exploratory factorial analysis of the primary components and varimax rotation was used to measure the validity of the construct. Cronbach’s α was used to measure the reliability of the individual scales and the global questionnaire. Results: In total, 150 valid questionnaires were included. The final questionnaire consisted of 23 items that converged on six factors. The six scales had adequate reliability: “Pregnancy” (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.95), “Conception” (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.93), “Concern- information” (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.82), “Breastfeeding” (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.81), “Sexual life” (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.79), and “Family planning” (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.67). The total Cronbach’s alpha of the questionnaire was 0.94. Discussion: This questionnaire is the first specific measurement instrument developed for women with AD of childbearing age that has demonstrated adequate levels of reliability and construct validity. We consider it useful and valuable to study aspects such as family planning in this patient profile, and that can influence their decision to have offsprin

Olive-leaf extracts modulate inflammation and oxidative stress associated with human H. pylori infection

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is one of the major human pathogens and the main cause of pathological damages that can progress from chronic gastritis to gastric cancer. During the coloni-zation of gastric mucosa, this bacterium provokes a strong inflammatory response and subsequent oxidative process, which are associated with tissue damage. Therefore, the objective of this research was to evaluate the ability of two olive-leaf extracts (E1 and E2) to modulate the inflammatory response and oxidative stress in H. pylori-infected human gastric AGS cells. The obtained results showed that both extracts significantly decreased interleukin-8 (IL-8) secretion and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in human gastric AGS cells. Both extracts also showed antibacterial activity against different H. pylori strains. HPLC-PAD-MS characterization demonstrated that extract E1 was mainly composed of highly hydrophilic compounds, such as hydroxytyrosol (HT) and its glu-cosides, and it was the most effective extract as an antibacterial agent. In contrast, extract E2 was composed mostly of moderately hydrophilic compounds, such as oleuropein (OLE), and it was more effective than extract E1 as an anti-inflammatory agent. Both extracts exhibited similar potential to decrease ROS production. These results show the importance of standardizing the extract composition according to the bioactive properties that should be potentiate

Mobile based surveillance platform for detecting Zika virus among Spanish Delegates attending the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games

Background: Zika virus has created a major epidemic in Central and South America, especially in Brazil, during 2015-16. The infection is strongly associated with fetal malformations, mainly microcephaly, and neurological symptoms in adults. During the preparation of the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games in 2016, members of Olympic Delegations worldwide expressed their concern about the health consequences of being infected with Zika virus. A major risk highlighted by the scientific community was the impact on the spreading of the virus into new territories immediately after the Games. Objectives: To detect real-time incidence of symptoms compatible with arboviral diseases and other tropical imported diseases among the Spanish Olympic Delegation (SOD) attending the Rio Olympic Games in 2016. Methods: We developed a surveillance platform based on a mobile application installed in participant's smartphones that monitored the health status of the SOD through a daily interactive check of the user health status including geo-localization data. The results were evaluated by a study physician on-call through a web-based platform monitoring system. Participants presenting severe symptoms or those compatible with Zika infection prompted an alarm in the system triggering specialized medical assistance and allowing early detection and control of the introduction of arboviral diseases in Spain. Summary of the results: The system was downloaded by 189 participants and used by 143 of them (76%). Median age was 38 years (IQR 16), and 134 (71%) were male. Mean duration of travel was 19 days (+/-9SD). During the Games the highest accumulated incidence observed was for headache: 6.06% cough: 5.30% and conjunctivitis: 3.03%. The incidence rate of cough during the Olympic Games was 1.1% per day per person, followed by headache 0.8% and 0.4% conjunctivitis or diarrhea. In our cohort we observed that non-athletes experienced more incidence of symptoms, except for incidence of cough which was the same in the two groups (1.1%). No participants reported symptoms fulfilling Zika definition case. Conclusion: Our system did not find cases fulfilling Zika definition amongst participants of the SOD during the Games, consistent with limited cases of Zika in Rio during the Games. The app showed good usability and the web based monitoring platform allowed to manage infectious cases in real-time. The overall system has proven to serve as a real-time surveillance platform for detecting symptoms that could be present in tropical imported diseases, especially arboviral diseases, contributing to the preparedness for the introduction of vector borne-diseases in non-endemic countries

Supporting works for the laser scanning of Santimamiñe Cave (Kortezubi, Bizkaia, Spain). Precision traverse and control points

[ES] Se trata de una cueva de gran belleza e interés geológico, se desarrolla sinuosamente a lo largo de algo más de 350 metros alternando grandes salas y estrechos corredores. Cuenta con un conjunto de pinturas rupestres catalogadas en el Paleolítico Superior y está incluida en la lista de Patrimonio de la Humanidad por la UNESCO en «Cueva de Altamira y arte rupestre paleolítico del Norte de España».Poligonal de precisión colgada que va desde la entrada de la cueva y se adentra en el interior unos 350 metros hasta el final de la zona practicable. A lo largo del recorrido se van colocando señales de referencia que sirvieron para la orientación de los barridos láser.[EN] The cave runs along more than 350 metres, it possesses a great variety of geological artefacts as well as a set of palaeolithic paintings. It is included as part of the UNESCO’s world heritage list inside the item “Cave of Altamira and Paleolithic Cave Art of Northern Spain”.Open traverse of around 350 meters inside the cave. During the itinerary, control points were places all along the cave in order to provide orientation to the laser scanning.Repair Systems, S.A.[ES] Memoria del proyecto (22 páginas) en formato PDF + 8 fotografías de documentación (formato JPEG)[EN] General report (22 pages in Spanish) format PDF + 6 photographs for documentation purposes (JPEG

Positive direct antiglobulin test in post-artesunate delayed haemolysis: more than a coincidence?

BACKGROUND: Delayed haemolysis is a frequent adverse event after treatment with artesunate (AS). Removing once-infected 'pitted' erythrocytes by the spleen is the most accepted mechanism of haemolysis in these cases. However, an increasing number of cases with positive direct antiglobulin test (DAT) haemolysis after AS have been reported. METHODS: All malaria cases seen at Hospital Clinic of Barcelona between 2015 and 2017 were retrospectively reviewed. Clinical, parasitological and laboratory data from patients treated with intravenous artesunate-specifically looking for delayed haemolysis and DAT-was collected. RESULTS: Among the 36 severe malaria patients treated with artesunate at the hospital, 10 (27.8%) developed post-artesunate delayed haemolysis. Out of these, DAT was performed in six, being positive in four of them (at least 40%). DAT was positive only for complement-without IgG-suggesting drug-dependent immune-haemolytic anaemia of the immune-complex type. Three of the four patients were treated with corticosteroids and two also received blood transfusion, with a complete recovery. CONCLUSIONS: Drug-induced auto-immune phenomena in post-artesunate delayed haemolysis may be underreported and must be considered. The role of corticosteroids should be reassessed

The conversion of CO2 to methanol on orthorhombic β-Mo2C and Cu/β-Mo2C catalysts: mechanism for admetal induced change in the selectivity and activity

The conversion of CO2 into methanol catalyzed by β-Mo2C and Cu/β-Mo2C surfaces has been investigated by means of a combined experimental and theoretical study. Experiments have shown the direct activation and dissociation of the CO2 molecule on bare β-Mo2C, whereas on Cu/β-Mo2C, CO2 must be assisted by hydrogen for its conversion. Methane and CO are the main products on the clean surface and methanol production is lower. However, the deposition of Cu clusters avoids methane formation and increases methanol production even above that corresponding to a model of the technical catalyst. DFT calculations on surface models of both possible C- and Mo-terminations, corroborate the experimental observations. Calculations for the clean Mo-terminated surface reveal the existence of two possible routes for methane production (C + 4H → CH4; CH3O + 3H → CH4 + H2O) which are competitive with methanol synthesis, displaying slightly lower energy barriers. On the other hand, a model for Cu deposited clusters on the Mo- terminated surface points towards a new route for methanol and CO production avoiding methane formation. The new route is a direct consequence of the generation of a Mo2C-Cu interface. The present experimental and theoretical results entail the interesting catalytic properties of Mo2C as an active support of metallic nanoparticles, and also illustrate how the deposition of a metal can drastically change the activity and selectivity of a carbide substrate for CO2 hydrogenation