Tetanus toxin-induced protein kinase C activation and elevated serotonin levels in the perinatal rat brain

AbstractA single intracerebral injection of tetanus toxin (TeTox) is able to produce a time-dependent translocation of Ca2+-phosphatidylserine-dependent protein kinase C (PKC) in close-to-tenn rat brain. TeTox-triggered translocation of PKC is dose- and time-dependent, can be prevented by tetanus antitoxin, and does not occur upon administration of toxin fragments B and C. TeTox-triggered PKC translocation is accompanied by a timedependent increase in brain serotonin (5-HT). Increase of brain 5-HT is independent of monoamine oxidase inhibition by pargyline. Phorbol ester and TeTox cause a significant increase in serotonin while H-7, a kinase inhibitor, does not affect serotonin levels but abolishes the effect of TeTox. Gangliosides prevent TeTox-triggered 5-HT increase. The data are consistent with the possibility that TeTox acts effectively on the serotonergic innervation, presumably in conjunction with PKC to cause accumulation of serotonin

Deficiente planificación de la fiscalización ambiental en minería a cargo de los gobiernos regionales

El Sistema Nacional de Evaluación y Fiscalización Ambiental (Sinefa), es un sistema funcional relativamente nuevo. Tiene como ente rector al Organismo de Evaluación y Fiscalización Ambiental (OEFA) y los gobiernos regionales forman parte del mismo en su calidad de Entidades de Fiscalización Ambiental (EFA). Para el correcto ejercicio de las funciones de fiscalización ambiental a cargo de las EFA, existe el Plan Anual de Evaluación y Fiscalización Ambiental el cual es un instrumento de planificación que debe ser aprobado todos los años y en donde se consignan las acciones de evaluación, supervisión y fiscalización ambiental que se ejecutaran en un determinado ejercicio. Durante la elaboración de la presente investigación, y haciendo uso de diferentes fuentes de información, se evidenció que la elaboración de los Planefa por parte de los gobiernos regionales es deficiente; a pesar de la existencia de lineamientos y publicaciones aprobadas por el ente rector. Es así que, luego de advertir las oportunidades de mejoras en la elaboración del Planefa, específicamente en lo que respecta a las acciones de fiscalización ambiental en el sector minería, se identificaron las siguientes causas que conllevan a una inadecuada planificación: (i) deficiente coordinación interna, (ii) deficientes capacidades en planificación, (iii) limitados recursos para la planificación y (iv) limitado acceso a información sistematizada. Frente a los anterior, y luego de analizadas las causas señaladas en el párrafo anterior, mediante la presente investigación su proponen mejoras a través de productos que conllevaran a optimizar el proceso de la planificación de la fiscalización ambiental en minería a cargo de los gobiernos regionales, y por ende una mejor ejecución de sus acciones de fiscalización ambiental y esto a su vez, contribuirá a la mejora de la calidad ambiental y vida de los ciudadanos

Flood Hazard Assessment Supported by Reduced Cost Aerial Precision Photogrammetry

1566 p.Increasing flood hazards worldwide due to the intensification of hydrological events and the development of adaptation-mitigation strategies are key challenges that society must address. To minimize flood damages, one of the crucial factors is the identification of flood prone areas through fluvial hydraulic modelling in which a detailed knowledge of the terrain plays an important role for reliable results. Recent studies have demonstrated the suitability of the Reduced Cost Aerial Precision Photogrammetry (RC-APP) technique for fluvial applications by accurate-detailed-reliable Digital Terrain Models (DTMs, up to: 100 point/m2; vertical-uncertainty: 0.06 m). This work aims to provide an optimal relationship between point densities and vertical-uncertainties to generate more reliable fluvial hazard maps by fluvial-DTMs. This is performed through hydraulic models supported by geometric models that are obtained from a joint strategy based on Structure from Motion and Cloth Simulation Filtering algorithms. Furthermore, to evaluate vertical-DTM, uncertainty is proposed as an alternative approach based on the method of robust estimators. This offers an error dispersion value analogous to the concept of standard deviation of a Gaussian distribution without requiring normality tests. This paper reinforces the suitability of new geomatic solutions as a reliable-competitive source of accurate DTMs at the service of a flood hazard assessment.S

Evolución temporal de la radiación solar con potencial

Introducción: La terapia fotodinámica es una herramienta terapéutica utilizada en el tratamiento de varias patologías cutáneas, sobre todo en pre-cáncer y cáncer de piel, así como otras patologías tipo acné, rosácea, liquen y envejecimiento cutáneo. La técnica se basa en la administración de un agente fotosensibilizante y en la posterior estimulación de la zona a tratar mediante luz de la longitud de onda adecuada. Ello induce la formación de radicales libres y la destrucción de las células malignas. El uso de lámparas específicas para el tratamiento muestra diferentes limitaciones y recientemente se ha optado por el aprovechamiento de la luz solar para la exposición cutánea en la denominada “daylight photodinamic therapy”. No obstante, y aunque está modalidad se está extendiendo en muchas unidades de terapia fotodinámica, la dosis de exposición para un tratamiento óptimo no está adecuadamente estandarizada ya que depende de diferentes condiciones como la fecha, la hora del día y la presencia o no de nubes. Objetivos: Calcular los tiempos de exposición ideales para la realización de la terapia fotodinámica “daylight” a lo largo del año en Málaga. Material y métodos: Se analizaron series temporales de radiación solar en Málaga tanto para UVB, UVA y radiación visible y se calcularon los valores de dosis de radiación a intervalos de minuto. Los valores de irradiancia biológica efectiva para terapia fotodinámica se estimaron a partir de la ponderación de medidas de radiación solar visible por el espectro de absorción de la protoporfirina IX. Los datos de radiación para cada banda espectral se obtuvieron mediante el uso de un radiómetro multicanal NILU y los datos espectrales mediante un espectrorradiómetro de doble monocromador MACAM. Se realizaron correlaciones entre las distintas bandas espectrales. Resultados: Se observó una variación de intervalos de exposición a la dosis óptima de terapia fotodinámica daylight desde menos de 15 minutos en las horas centrales de los meses estivales hasta horas de exposición en la época invernal. Dichos valores también varían significativamente a lo largo del mismo día y la presencia de nubosidad puede llevar a cuatriplicar el tiempo de exposición. Conclusiones: Es posible cuantificar y predecir con alta precisión los tiempos de exposición solar para realizar la terapia “Daylight” durante cualquier fecha del año para cualquier localidad.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

The Creation of a Critical Care Admission Pressure Injury Prevention Cart to Reduce Hospital-Acquired Pressure Injuries

The goal of this process improvement initiative is to reduce hospital-acquired pressure injuries related to Covid-19 with Critical Care patients. Critically ill and ventilated patients require prone position therapy and prolonged ventilator times place the patient at risk for hospital acquired conditions and pressure injuries. The Critical Care team created a Critical Care Admission Pressure Injury Prevention Cart that contains preventative dressings for all pressure areas at risk. The Critical Care Admission Pressure Injury Prevention Cart has significantly reduced the pressure injury rate. With the emergence of the pandemic and additional surges, pressure injuries continued to be on the rise due to prone position therapy. The Critical Care team worked with the system and developed prone position protocols, which included preventative dressings for all areas at risk. Prior to the implementation of the admission cart, Critical Care ended fiscal year 2022, quarter one, with fifty-three hospital acquired pressure injuries. Last December and early January 2022 there was another surge of Covid-19. The Critical Care team implemented the admission cart in January 2022. From January 2022 through September 2022, there has been an 98% reduction. The cart has been successful for Critical Care, and Baptist Hospital implemented the cart in all high acuity areas. This cart was a multidisciplinary practice, which consists of nursing, the wound and skin team, respiratory care, and leadership working together towards the goal of patient safety and pressure injury prevention

Low-cost Approaches to Follow-up Cardiac Patients in Low-Income Countries using Public Data Networks

The main characteristics of three approaches to cardiac care using public data networks are presented. All efforts were addressed to get minimum-cost solutions for low-budget public health systems. The first solution was developed to follow-up arrhythmic patients between medical consultations, setting a more closed patient-physician relationship, and a daily recording of cardiac rhythm changes. It is based on a personal battery-powered device for one-channel ECG recording, minimizing electrode setting and operation complexity. An ECG recording taken daily allows a detailed analysis anytime without the patient’s traveling to a health institution. A second solution was aimed at monitoring high-risk cardiac patients. A 24-h portable device capable of monitoring heart rate and sudden falls, typically associated with cardiac syncope, was developed. When any cardiac event or fall is detected, an urgent message is sent to relatives and the medical emergency care system asking for help. The third system implemented is oriented to the study of different cardiac parameters in people who suffer from heart disease or in those who are prone to suffering from it. Twelve-lead ECG is recorded periodically by each patient and trend graphics reflect ECG parameters strongly associated with cardiac disturbances, such as sudden death and ischemia. This approach allows the detection of the first troubling electrocardiographic deviations, making possible early medical intervention

Prenatal exposure to NO2 and ultrasound measures of fetal growth in the Spanish INMA cohort

__Background:__ Air pollution exposure during pregnancy has been associated with impaired fetal growth. However, few studies have measured fetal biometry longitudinally, remaining unclear as to whether there are windows of special vulnerability. __Objective:__ The aim was to investigate the impact of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) exposure on fetal and neonatal biometry in the Spanish INMA study. Methods: Biparietal diameter (BPD), femur length (FL), abdominal circumference (AC), and estimated fetal weight (EFW) were evaluated for up to 2,478 fetuses in each trimester of pregnancy. Size at 12, 20, and 34 weeks of gestation and growth between these points, as well as anthropometry at birth, were assessed by SD scores derived using cohort-specific growth curves. Temporally adjusted land-use regression was used to estimate exposure to NO2 at home addresses for up to 2,415 fetuses. Associations were investigated by linear regression in each cohort and subsequent meta-analysis. __Results:__ A 10-μg/m3 increase in average exposure to NO2 during weeks 0-12 was associated with reduced growth at weeks 0-12 in AC (-2.1%; 95% CI: -3.7, -0.6) and EFW (-1.6%; 95% CI: -3.0, -0.3). The same exposure was inversely associated with reduced growth at weeks 20-34 in BPD (-2.6%; 95% CI: -3.9, -1.2), AC (-1.8%; 95% CI: -3.3, -0.2), and EFW (-2.1%; 95% CI: -3.7, -0.2). A less consistent pattern of association was observed for FL. The negative association of this exposure with BPD and EFW was significantly stronger in smoking versus nonsmoking mothers. __Conclusi

2D-Tasks for Cognitive Rehabilitation

Neuropsychological Rehabilitation is a complex clinic process which tries to restore or compensate cognitive and behavioral disorders in people suffering from a central nervous system injury. Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in Biomedical Engineering play an essential role in this field, allowing improvement and expansion of present rehabilitation programs. This paper presents a set of cognitive rehabilitation 2D-Tasks for patients with Acquired Brain Injury (ABI). These tasks allow a high degree of personalization and individualization in therapies, based on the opportunities offered by new technologies

Overview of recent TJ-II stellarator results

The main results obtained in the TJ-II stellarator in the last two years are reported. The most important topics investigated have been modelling and validation of impurity transport, validation of gyrokinetic simulations, turbulence characterisation, effect of magnetic configuration on transport, fuelling with pellet injection, fast particles and liquid metal plasma facing components. As regards impurity transport research, a number of working lines exploring several recently discovered effects have been developed: the effect of tangential drifts on stellarator neoclassical transport, the impurity flux driven by electric fields tangent to magnetic surfaces and attempts of experimental validation with Doppler reflectometry of the variation of the radial electric field on the flux surface. Concerning gyrokinetic simulations, two validation activities have been performed, the comparison with measurements of zonal flow relaxation in pellet-induced fast transients and the comparison with experimental poloidal variation of fluctuations amplitude. The impact of radial electric fields on turbulence spreading in the edge and scrape-off layer has been also experimentally characterized using a 2D Langmuir probe array. Another remarkable piece of work has been the investigation of the radial propagation of small temperature perturbations using transfer entropy. Research on the physics and modelling of plasma core fuelling with pellet and tracer-encapsulated solid-pellet injection has produced also relevant results. Neutral beam injection driven Alfvénic activity and its possible control by electron cyclotron current drive has been examined as well in TJ-II. Finally, recent results on alternative plasma facing components based on liquid metals are also presentedThis work has been carried out within the framework of the EUROfusion Consortium and has received funding from the Euratom research and training programme 2014–2018 under Grant Agreement No. 633053. It has been partially funded by the Ministerio de Ciencia, Inovación y Universidades of Spain under projects ENE2013-48109-P, ENE2015-70142-P and FIS2017-88892-P. It has also received funds from the Spanish Government via mobility grant PRX17/00425. The authors thankfully acknowledge the computer resources at MareNostrum and the technical support provided by the Barcelona S.C. It has been supported as well by The Science and Technology Center in Ukraine (STCU), Project P-507F

Genetic landscape of 6089 inherited retinal dystrophies affected cases in Spain and their therapeutic and extended epidemiological implications

Inherited retinal diseases (IRDs), defined by dysfunction or progressive loss of photoreceptors, are disorders characterized by elevated heterogeneity, both at the clinical and genetic levels. Our main goal was to address the genetic landscape of IRD in the largest cohort of Spanish patients reported to date. A retrospective hospital-based cross-sectional study was carried out on 6089 IRD affected individuals (from 4403 unrelated families), referred for genetic testing from all the Spanish autonomous communities. Clinical, demographic and familiar data were collected from each patient, including family pedigree, age of appearance of visual symptoms, presence of any systemic findings and geographical origin. Genetic studies were performed to the 3951 families with available DNA using different molecular techniques. Overall, 53.2% (2100/3951) of the studied families were genetically characterized, and 1549 different likely causative variants in 142 genes were identified. The most common phenotype encountered is retinitis pigmentosa (RP) (55.6% of families, 2447/4403). The most recurrently mutated genes were PRPH2, ABCA4 and RS1 in autosomal dominant (AD), autosomal recessive (AR) and X-linked (XL) NON-RP cases, respectively; RHO, USH2A and RPGR in AD, AR and XL for non-syndromic RP; and USH2A and MYO7A in syndromic IRD. Pathogenic variants c.3386G > T (p.Arg1129Leu) in ABCA4 and c.2276G > T (p.Cys759Phe) in USH2A were the most frequent variants identified. Our study provides the general landscape for IRD in Spain, reporting the largest cohort ever presented. Our results have important implications for genetic diagnosis, counselling and new therapeutic strategies to both the Spanish population and other related populations.This work was supported by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) of the Spanish Ministry of Health (FIS; PI16/00425 and PI19/00321), Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER, 06/07/0036), IIS-FJD BioBank (PT13/0010/0012), Comunidad de Madrid (CAM, RAREGenomics Project, B2017/BMD-3721), European Regional Development Fund (FEDER), the Organización Nacional de Ciegos Españoles (ONCE), Fundación Ramón Areces, Fundación Conchita Rábago and the University Chair UAM-IIS-FJD of Genomic Medicine. Irene Perea-Romero is supported by a PhD fellowship from the predoctoral Program from ISCIII (FI17/00192). Ionut F. Iancu is supported by a grant from the Comunidad de Madrid (CAM, PEJ-2017-AI/BMD7256). Marta del Pozo-Valero is supported by a PhD grant from the Fundación Conchita Rábago. Berta Almoguera is supported by a Juan Rodes program from ISCIII (JR17/00020). Pablo Minguez is supported by a Miguel Servet program from ISCIII (CP16/00116). Marta Corton is supported by a Miguel Servet program from ISCIII (CPII17/00006). The funders played no role in study design, data collection, data analysis, manuscript preparation and/or publication decisions