[Frequency of sexually transmitted infections and related factors in Pweto, Democratic Republic of Congo, 2004].

OBJECTIVES: To estimate the prevalence of genital ulcer and urethral discharge in Pweto, Democratic Republic of Congo, and to analyze the association between the estimated prevalence and age, marital status, profession, and number of sexual partners. METHODS: We performed a descriptive cross-sectional study through a survey conducted in May 2004 in a representative sample of 106 men in Pweto aged between 15 and 65 years old, with a precision of 9.5%. Questionnaire items about current or previous ulceration and urethral discharge where self-reported and referred to the previous year as of the date of the survey. To study the associations, crude and adjusted odds ratios (OR) were calculated using multivariate logistic regression. RESULTS: The prevalence was 39.6% (95% confidence interval [CI], 30-49) for urethral discharge and 33% (95%CI, 24-42) for genital ulcer. Soldiers were identified as a risk group independently of age, the number of sexual partners during the previous year, and marital status. The multivariate analysis showed an adjusted OR of 3.25 (95%CI, 1.10-9.95) (p < 0.05) for the frequency of urethral discharge in soldiers compared with other professions. CONCLUSIONS: The high prevalence of sexually transmitted infections in Pweto and the associated factors identified prompted the initiation of a controlled condom donation program for soldiers. In conflict situations with a high prevalence of sexually transmitted infections and lack of health services, humanitarian aid organizations should implement prevention activities focused on risk groups

Safety, reliability and quality of the products, processes and facilities in the food industry

La producción de alimentos es de gran importancia tanto para la economía de un país, como para el bienestar de su población. Con el objetivo de garantizar la seguridad de los consumidores, la industria alimentaria cuenta actualmente con una amplia serie de reglamentos y directrices en los que se consideran los peligros que se pueden encontrar en los alimentos, ya sean de origen químico, biológico o físico. Por otro lado, los integrantes de la cadena de producción de alimentos deben tener en cuenta las preferencias y exigencias de sus posibles consumidores para la elaboración de sus productos, para que estos puedan ser considerados de calidad. Estos factores se encuentran en constante cambio y no se establecen únicamente por la inocuidad del alimento, sino que dependerán de aspectos subjetivos y objetivos que deben de ser estudiados de manera adecuada. Este documento expone los pasos que debe de tomar la industria alimentaria para garantizar la seguridad y calidad tanto de los productos terminados como de las instalaciones y el proceso de producción, tomando en consideración tanto la legislación española vigente como las normas internacionales no obligatorias aplicables a la industria alimentaria y los requerimientos de los consumidores finales.The production of food is of great importance for both, for the economy of a country and the welfare of its population. In order to guarantee the safety of the consumers, the food industry currently counts with a wide variety of regulations and guidelines that take in consideration the chemicals, biological and physical dangers that can be found in the food. On the other hand, the members of the food -chain production must also considered the preferences and demands of their potential consumers for the elaboration of their products, so that these products can be seen as quality products. These factors are constantly changing and are not exclusively stablished by the food safety aspect, but they will also depend on several subjective and objective characteristics that must be studied properly. This document sets out the steps that the food industry must take to guarantee the safety and quality of both the finished products and the facilities and the production process, taking into account the Spanish legislation as well as the non-mandatory international standards applicable to the food industry and the requirements of the final consumer

Killer immunoglobulin-like receptor and cancer

Introducción: Las células natural killer (NK) juegan un papel importante en la defensa contra las células tumorales. El desarrollo y la función de las células NK se rige por un equilibrio dinámico entre la inhibición y la activación de los receptores de la superficie celular, incluidos los receptores KIR. Pacientes y método: se realiza un estudio de casos y controles que compara a un grupo de 46 ni˜nos diagnosticados de enfermedades malignas, el grupo control está constituido por 82 ni˜nos sanos. Se determinaron y compararon entre grupos los genes, haplotipos y ligandos KIRs. Resultados: no existen diferencias en genes KIRs, haplotipos KIRs ni en ligandos de genes KIRs entre grupos. Sin embargo, al estudiar conjuntamente KIRs y ligandos, k2DS1 C2 fue significativamente superior en el grupo de ni˜nos oncológicos (p◦=◦0,016). Conclusiones: Nuestros resultados no proporcionan evidencia de una asociación entre enfermedades oncológicas pediátricas con genotipos y grupos de genes KIRs. El genotipo k2DS1 C2 podría predisponer a la susceptibilidad a procesos malignos en la población infantil.Introduction: Natural killer (NK) cells play an important role in defense against tumor cells. The development and function of NK cells is governed by a dynamic balance between inhibition and activation of cell surface receptors, including KIR receptors. Patients and method: A case-control study is carried out that compares a group of 46 childrendiagnosed with malignant diseases, the control group is made up of 82 healthy children. KIRsgenes, haplotypes and ligands were determined and compared between groups.Results: There are no differences in KIRs genes, KIRs haplotypes or in KIRs gene ligands betweengroups. However, when KIRS and ligands were jointly studied, k2DS1 C2 was significantly higherin the group of cancer children (p◦=◦0.016).Conclusions: Our results do not provide evidence of an association between pediatric cancerdisease with genotypes and groups of genes KIRs. The k2DS1 C2 genotype could predispose tosusceptibility to malignant processes in children.Instituto de Salud Carlos III - FEDER (números decontrato:PI12 / 00378, SAS-PI-0239/2012, AC-0073-2013

CIBERER : Spanish national network for research on rare diseases: A highly productive collaborative initiative

Altres ajuts: Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII); Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación.CIBER (Center for Biomedical Network Research; Centro de Investigación Biomédica En Red) is a public national consortium created in 2006 under the umbrella of the Spanish National Institute of Health Carlos III (ISCIII). This innovative research structure comprises 11 different specific areas dedicated to the main public health priorities in the National Health System. CIBERER, the thematic area of CIBER focused on rare diseases (RDs) currently consists of 75 research groups belonging to universities, research centers, and hospitals of the entire country. CIBERER's mission is to be a center prioritizing and favoring collaboration and cooperation between biomedical and clinical research groups, with special emphasis on the aspects of genetic, molecular, biochemical, and cellular research of RDs. This research is the basis for providing new tools for the diagnosis and therapy of low-prevalence diseases, in line with the International Rare Diseases Research Consortium (IRDiRC) objectives, thus favoring translational research between the scientific environment of the laboratory and the clinical setting of health centers. In this article, we intend to review CIBERER's 15-year journey and summarize the main results obtained in terms of internationalization, scientific production, contributions toward the discovery of new therapies and novel genes associated to diseases, cooperation with patients' associations and many other topics related to RD research

Computational studies oriented towards the development of a greener chemistry

Given the existing problem of Climate Change, we must work towards more environmentally friendly chemical processes that would help us solve it. The thesis focuses on the study of different chemical reactions involved in the production of hydrogen for use as fuel, as well as the optimization of industrial processes to reduce unwanted products and thus, improve the efficiency of the reaction. In addition, it deals with the recycling of dinitrogen monoxide and carbon dioxide to lighten the planetary load, and the study of the reactivity of carbon nano-onions as a basis for the construction of more efficient solar panelsDado el problema existente del Cambio Climático, debemos hacer un esfuerzo para hacer procesos químicos más amigables con el medioambiente que nos ayuden a resolverlo. La tesis se centra en el estudio de diferentes reacciones químicas involucradas en la producción de hidrógeno para usarlo como combustible, así como la optimización de procesos industriales para reducir los productos no deseados y mejorar así la eficiencia de la reacción. Además, se trata el reciclado de monóxido de dinitrógeno y dióxido de carbono para aligerar la carga planetaria, y el estudio de la reactividad de las nano-cebollas de carbono como base para la construcción de placas solares más eficientesPrograma de Doctorat en Químic

The Fundamental Noninnocent Role of Water for the Hydrogenation of Nitrous Oxide by PNP Pincer Ru-based Catalysts

The hydrogenation of nitrous oxide by PNP pincer ruthenium complexes supposes a promising way to functionalize a hazardous gas and reduce the greenhouse effect, generating dinitrogen and water. Here, by DFT calculations we describe not only the whole mechanism for such a green transformation but we unravel the fundamental role of water, without which the reaction could not go forward. Water assists mandatorily in the H transfer to generate the hydroxyl group together with the release of dinitrogen

Green Energy by Hydrogen Production from Water Splitting, Water Oxidation Catalysis and Acceptorless Dehydrogenative Coupling

In this review, we want to explain how the burning of fossil fuels is pushing us towards green energy. Actually, for a long time, we have believed that everything is profitable, that resources are unlimited and there are no consequences. However, the reality is often disappointing. The use of non-renewable resources, the excessive waste production and the abandonment of the task of recycling has created a fragile thread that, once broken, may never restore itself. Metaphors aside, we are talking about our planet, the Earth, and its unique ability to host life, including ourselves. Our world has its balance; when the wind erodes a mountain, a beach appears, or when a fire devastates an area, eventually new life emerges from the ashes. However, humans have been distorting this balance for decades. Our evolving way of living has increased the number of resources that each person consumes, whether food, shelter, or energy; we have overworked everything to exhaustion. Scientists worldwide have already said actively and passively that we are facing one of the biggest problems ever: climate change. This is unsustainable and we must try to revert it, or, if we are too late, slow it down as much as possible. To make this happen, there are many possible methods. In this review, we investigate catalysts for using water as an energy source, or, instead of water, alcohols. On the other hand, the recycling of gases such as CO2 and N2O is also addressed, but we also observe non-catalytic means of generating energy through solar cell production

In Silico Switch from Second- to First-Row Transition Metals in Olefin Metathesis: From Ru to Fe and from Rh to Co

Density functional theory (DFT) calculations have been used to investigate the behavior of different transition metals from Groups 8 (Fe and Ru) and 9 (Co and Rh) in an already well-known catalytic mechanism, which is based on an Ru(SIMes)(PPh3)Cl2=CH(Ph) complex. As expected, Ru has proven to perform better than their Fe, Co, and Rh counterparts. Even though the topographic steric maps analysis shows no difference in sterical hindrance for any of the metal centers, geometrically, the Fe-based species show a high rigidity with shorter and stronger bonds confirmed by Mayer Bond Orders. The systems bearing Co as a metallic center might present a reactivity that is, surprisingly, too high according to conceptual DFT, which would consequently be a drawback for the formation of the fundamental species of the reaction pathway: the metallacycle intermediate

In Silico Switch from Second- to First-Row Transition Metals in Olefin Metathesis: From Ru to Fe and from Rh to Co

Density functional theory (DFT) calculations have been used to investigate the behavior of different transition metals from Groups 8 (Fe and Ru) and 9 (Co and Rh) in an already well-known catalytic mechanism, which is based on an Ru(SIMes)(PPh3)Cl2=CH(Ph) complex. As expected, Ru has proven to perform better than their Fe, Co, and Rh counterparts. Even though the topographic steric maps analysis shows no difference in sterical hindrance for any of the metal centers, geometrically, the Fe-based species show a high rigidity with shorter and stronger bonds confirmed by Mayer Bond Orders. The systems bearing Co as a metallic center might present a reactivity that is, surprisingly, too high according to conceptual DFT, which would consequently be a drawback for the formation of the fundamental species of the reaction pathway: the metallacycle intermediateA.P. thanks the Spanish MINECO for a project CTQ2014-59832-JIN and Xarxa de Química Teòrica i Computacional for a VALCHEM2016 projec