Initial respiratory management in preterm infants and bronchopulmonary dysplasia

BACKGROUND: Ventilator injury has been implicated in the pathogenesis of bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Avoiding invasive ventilation could reduce lung injury, and early respiratory management may affect pulmonary outcomes. OBJECTIVE: To analyze the effect of initial respiratory support on survival without bronchopulmonary dysplasia at a gestational age of 36 weeks. DESIGN/METHODS: A prospective 3-year observational study. Preterm infants of <32 weeks gestational age were classified into 4 groups according to the support needed during the first 2 hours of life: room air, nasal continuous positive airway pressure, intubation/surfactant/extubation and prolonged mechanical ventilation (defined as needing mechanical ventilation for more than 2 hours). RESULTS: Of the 329 eligible patients, a total of 49% did not need intubation, and 68.4% did not require prolonged mechanical ventilation. At a gestational age of 26 weeks, there was a significant correlation between survival without bronchopulmonary dysplasia and initial respiratory support. Preterm infants requiring mechanical ventilation showed a higher risk of death and bronchopulmonary dysplasia. After controlling for gestational age, antenatal corticosteroid use, maternal preeclampsia and chorioamnionitis, the survival rate without bronchopulmonary dysplasia remained significantly lower in the mechanically ventilated group. CONCLUSIONS: In our population, the need for more than 2 hours of mechanical ventilation predicted the development of bronchopulmonary dysplasia in preterm infants with a gestational age >26 weeks (sensitivity =89.5% and specificity = 67%). The need for prolonged mechanical ventilation could be an early marker for the development of bronchopulmonary dysplasia. This finding could help identify a target population with a high risk of chronic lung disease. Future research is needed to determine other strategies to prevent bronchopulmonary dysplasia in this high-risk group of patients

Design of an estimator based on artificial neural networks to characterize the braking of a vehicle

Hoy en día, los vehículos inteligentes están equipados con interfaces de usuario muy avanzadas que pueden reaccionar ante las decisiones y necesidades del conductor. De esta manera mejora la dinámica vehicular según la situación de conducción evitando posibles colisiones fortuitas. Esta tecnología permite tomar decisiones sobre la conducción con un nivel de resolución superior al humano a la hora de, por ejemplo, realizar una frenada de emergencia ante un imprevisto. Con este trabajo se pretende que, en un futuro, se pueda gobernar el sistema de frenado de manera automática y que el vehículo pueda reproducir los hábitos y las formas de actuación de los conductores durante la maniobra de frenada de un vehículo, pero corrigiendo los posibles fallos humanos ligados a distracciones, falta de visibilidad o tiempos de reacción. Un sistema de frenado inteligente ha de ser capaz de obtener información de los diferentes sensores embarcados en el vehículo, procesar los datos obtenidos a través de los mismos y transformarlos en información útil para el control activo del automóvil. Con el vehículo instrumentado con los sensores capaces de proporcionar en tiempo real información sobre el sistema de frenado se llevan a cabo una serie de ensayos. Los datos obtenidos experimentalmente durante la realización de los ensayos se utilizan para el diseño de un estimador mediante la técnica de redes neuronales artificiales. Se estimarán las variables medidas por los sensores con el fin de caracterizar una frenada.Today, smart vehicles are equipped with highly advanced user interfaces that can react to the driver’s decisions and needs. In this way, it improves vehicle dynamics according to the driving situation and avoiding possible accidental collisions. This technology makes it possible to make decisions about driving with a level of resolution higher than human, for example, carrying out an emergency braking in the event of an unforeseen event. With this work it is intended that, in the future, the braking system can be governed automatically and that the vehicle can reproduce drivers’ habits and forms of action during the braking maneuver of a vehicle, but correcting the possible human failures linked to distractions, lack of visibility and reaction times. An intelligent braking system must be able to obtain information from the different sensors on board the vehicle, process the data obtained through them and transform them into useful information for the active control of the car. With the vehicle instrumented with sensors capable of providing real-time information about the braking system, a series of tests are carried out. The data obtained experimentally during the tests are used to design an estimator using the artificial neural network technique. The variables measured by the sensors will be estimated in order to characterize a braking

Production of small peptides and low molecular weight amino acids by subcritical water from fish meal: Effect of pressurization agent and temperature

Trabajo presentado en: 19th European meeting on Supercritical Fluids (EMSF 2023), organized by the International Society for the Advancement of Supercritical Fluids, Budapest, 21-24 may, 2023Fish meal is a by-product obtained in the marine food industry that is actually used in aquaculture and pet-food industry. It presents a high protein content as well as a valuable lipid fraction composition. The protein fraction from marine origin has a high nutritional value and a great amino acid profile. In order to improve the use of this by-product, more sustainable forms of exploiting it must be considered and the products obtained more useful.This work was supported by the AEI [grant numbers PID2019-104950RB-I00, PID2020-116716RJ-I00, TED2021-129311B-I00, PDC2022-133443-I00] and the JCyL and the ERDF [grant number BU050P20]. P. Barea predoctoral contract was funded by JCyL and the European Social Fund (ESF) by ORDEN EDU/1868/2022, de 19 de diciembre. P. Alonso-Riaño predoctoral contract was funded by JCyL and the European Social Fund (ESF) by ORDEN EDU/556/2019, de 5 de junio. R. Melgosa contract was funded by a Beatriz Galindo Research Fellowship [BG20/00182]. A. Bermejo López acknowledges the Margarita Salas grant (MARSA22/03)

Lactic acid production from biomass-derived sugars using acid or base catalysts

Póster presentado en: 19th European meeting on Supercritical Fluids (EMSF 2023), organized by the International Society for the Advancement of Supercritical Fluids, Budapest, 21-24 may, 2023Lactic acid can be produced from biomass-derived sugars, both with basic and acid catalysts, and is a stable system, as no degradation of the produced lactic acid is observed over timeThis work was supported by AEI [PID2019-104950RB-I00, PID2020-116716RJ-I00, TED2021-129311B-I00, PDC2022-133443-I00] and JCyL-ERDF [BU050P20]. ABL wants to acknowledge the Margarita Salas grant [MARSA22/03], PAR to JCyL and ESF [ORDEN EDU/556/2019] and RM the Beatriz Galindo Research Fellowship [BG20/00182]

The RecD2 helicase balances RecA activities

DNA helicases of the RecD2 family are ubiquitous. Bacillus subtilis RecD2 in association with the single-stranded binding protein SsbA may contribute to replication fork progression, but its detailed action remains unknown. In this work, we explore the role of RecD2 during DNA replication and its interaction with the RecA recombinase. RecD2 inhibits replication restart, but this effect is not observed in the absence of SsbA. RecD2 slightly affects replication elongation. RecA inhibits leading and lagging strand synthesis, and RecD2, which physically interacts with RecA, counteracts this negative effect. In vivo results show that recD2 inactivation promotes RecA–ssDNA accumulation at low mitomycin C levels, and that RecA threads persist for a longer time after induction of DNA damage. In vitro, RecD2 modulates RecA-mediated DNA strand-exchange and catalyzes branch migration. These findings contribute to our understanding of how RecD2 may contribute to overcome a replicative stress, removing RecA from the ssDNA and, thus, it may act as a negative modulator of RecA filament growth

Causes of cetacean stranding and death on the Catalonian coast (western Mediterranean Sea), 2012-2019

The causes of cetacean stranding and death along the Catalan coast between 2012 and 2019 were systematically investigated. Necropsies and detailed pathological investigations were performed on 89 well-preserved stranded cetaceans, including 72 striped dolphins Stenella coeruleoalba, 9 Risso's dolphins Grampus griseus, 5 bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus, 1 common dolphin Delphinus delphis, 1 Cuvier's beaked whale Ziphius cavirostris and 1 fin whale Balaenoptera physalus. The cause of death was determined for 89.9% of the stranded cetaceans. Fisheries interaction was the most frequent cause of death in striped dolphins (27.8%) and bottlenose dolphins (60%). Cetacean morbillivirus (CeMV) was detected on the Catalan coast from 2016 to 2017, causing systemic disease and death in 8 of the 72 (11.1%) striped dolphins. Chronic CeMV infection of the central nervous system was observed from 2018-2019 in a further 5 striped dolphins. Thus, acute and chronic CeMV disease caused mortality in 18% of striped dolphins and 14.6% of all 89 cetaceans. Brucella ceti was isolated in 6 striped dolphins and 1 bottlenose dolphin with typical brucellosis lesions and in 1 striped dolphin with systemic CeMV. Sinusitis due to severe infestation by the nematode parasite Crassicauda grampicola caused the death of 4 out of 6 adult Risso's dolphins. Maternal separation, in some cases complicated with septicemia, was a frequent cause of death in 13 of 14 calves. Other less common causes of death were encephalomalacia of unknown origin, septicemia, peritonitis due to gastric perforation by parasites and hepatitis caused by Sarcocystis spp.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Risk factors and bronchopulmonary dysplasia severity: data from the Spanish Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia Research Network

GEIDIS is a national-based research-net registry of patients with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) from public and private Spanish hospitals. It was created to provide data on the clinical characterization and follow-up of infants with BPD until adulthood. The purpose of this observational study was to analyze the characteristics and the impact of perinatal risk factors on BPD severity. The study included 1755 preterm patients diagnosed with BPD. Of the total sample, 90.6% (n = 1591) were less than 30 weeks of gestation. The median gestational age was 27.1 weeks (25.8–28.5) and median birth weight 885 g (740–1,070 g). A total of 52.5% (n = 922) were classified as mild (type 1), 25.3% (n = 444) were moderate (type 2), and 22.2% (n = 389) were severe BPD (type 3). In patients born at under 30 weeks’ gestation, most pre-and postnatal risk factors for type 2/3 BPD were associated with the length of exposure to mechanical ventilation (MV). Independent prenatal risk factors were male gender, oligohydramnios, and intrauterine growth restriction. Postnatal risk factors included the need for FiO 2 of > 0.30 in the delivery room, nosocomial pneumonia, and the length of exposure to MV. Conclusion: In this national-based research-net registry of BPD patients, the length of MV is the most important risk factor associated with type 2/3 BPD. Among type 3 BPD patients, those who required an FiO2 > .30 at 36 weeks’ postmenstrual age had a higher morbidity, during hospitalization and at discharge, compared to those with nasal positive pressure but FiO2 < .30

A cluster-randomized trial of hydroxychloroquine for prevention of Covid-19

Background: current strategies for preventing severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection are limited to nonpharmacologic interventions. Hydroxychloroquine has been proposed as a postexposure therapy to prevent coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), but definitive evidence is lacking. Methods: we conducted an open-label, cluster-randomized trial involving asymptomatic contacts of patients with polymerase-chain-reaction (PCR)-confirmed Covid-19 in Catalonia, Spain. We randomly assigned clusters of contacts to the hydroxychloroquine group (which received the drug at a dose of 800 mg once, followed by 400 mg daily for 6 days) or to the usual-care group (which received no specific therapy). The primary outcome was PCR-confirmed, symptomatic Covid-19 within 14 days. The secondary outcome was SARS-CoV-2 infection, defined by symptoms compatible with Covid-19 or a positive PCR test regardless of symptoms. Adverse events were assessed for up to 28 days. Results: the analysis included 2314 healthy contacts of 672 index case patients with Covid-19 who were identified between March 17 and April 28, 2020. A total of 1116 contacts were randomly assigned to receive hydroxychloroquine and 1198 to receive usual care. Results were similar in the hydroxychloroquine and usual-care groups with respect to the incidence of PCR-confirmed, symptomatic Covid-19 (5.7% and 6.2%, respectively; risk ratio, 0.86 [95% confidence interval, 0.52 to 1.42]). In addition, hydroxychloroquine was not associated with a lower incidence of SARS-CoV-2 transmission than usual care (18.7% and 17.8%, respectively). The incidence of adverse events was higher in the hydroxychloroquine group than in the usual-care group (56.1% vs. 5.9%), but no treatment-related serious adverse events were reported. Conclusions: postexposure therapy with hydroxychloroquine did not prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection or symptomatic Covid-19 in healthy persons exposed to a PCR-positive case patient. (Funded by the crowdfunding campaign YoMeCorono and others; BCN-PEP-CoV2 ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT04304053.)

The Importance of Spanish Data (BDMIN & PANORAMA MINERO) in the European Raw Materials Knowledge Base (EURMKB)

[EN] The IGME has an extensive experience in the field of mineral resources and the main source of information is the Mineral Resources Database (BDMIN) that integrates the geological‐mining information on occurrences, mines and exploitations (active and inactive) of metallic, nonmetallic and industrial minerals, and rocks in Spain. In addition, since 1981, the Panorama Minero has been carried out with the aim of providing reliable data on Spanish mining production, based on the Spanish Mining Statistics (MITERD). This information includes data on the national production of minerals, in tonnage and value, metallurgical production, foreign trade, etc. Other sources include the National Mining Cadastre and Foreign Trade statistics from the Tax Agency.Peer reviewe