Monitoring spin-crossover phenomena via Re(I) luminescence in hybrid Fe(II) silica coated nanoparticles

Financial support from Projects CTQ2014-56312-P and PGC2018-102052-B-C21 financed by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033/FEDER "Una manera de hacer Europa", the Junta de Andalucia (FQM-195), Feder project A-FQM-172UGR18 and the University of Granada is gratefully acknowledged. I.-F. Diaz-Ortega and J.-R Jimenez are also thankful to the Junta de Andalucia for Postdoctoral research fellowships.Bare (1) and silica coated (1@SiO2) spin crossover (SCO) nanoparticles based on the polymer {[Fe (NH2Trz)3](BF4)2}n have been prepared following a water-in-oil synthetic procedure. For 1, the critical temperatures of the spin transition are TC↓ = 214.6 K and TC↑ = 220.9 K. For 1@SiO2, the abruptness of the transition is enhanced and the critical temperatures are centred at room temperature (TC↓ = 292.1 K and TC↑ = 296.3 K). An inert Re(I) complex of formula [Re(phen)(CO)3(PETES)](PF6) (phen = 1, 10-phenanthroline; PETES = 2(4-pyridylethyl)triethoxysilane) (Re) was also synthesized yielding intense green emission centred at λem = 560 nm. The grafting of this complex on the silica shell of 1@SiO2 led to a bifunctional SCO-luminescence composite (1@SiO2/Re) whose luminescence properties were tuned by the spin state switching. Temperature-variable photophysical studies showed that luminescence and spin transition were synchronized through a radiative (trivial) energy transfer mechanism between the Re(I) and the Fe(II)-LS (LS, Low Spin) centres.FEDER "Una manera de hacer Europa" CTQ2014-56312-P PGC2018-102052-B-C21Junta de Andalucia FQM-195European Commission A-FQM-172UGR18University of GranadaJunta de Andaluci

Seasonality and geographical distribution of Kawasaki disease among Black children in the Southeast United States

IntroductionKawasaki Disease (KD) is a leading cause of pediatric acquired heart disease in the United States, affecting up to 7,000 children annually. Seasonal variation, an epidemiological characteristic of KD, has previously been reported predominantly among Asian children; however, little is known about the epidemiology and seasonality of KD of Black children within the U.S.MethodsElectronic medical records were abstracted from 529 hospitalized KD patients admitted to a single tertiary center in Alabama between 2005 and 2019. Medical charts were reviewed to confirm KD diagnosis following American Heart Association criteria. Cases were stratified by the month of diagnosis date to assess seasonality, and statewide distribution of incidence is reported at county level using geographical spatial analysis. Comparisons were performed between Black patients and White patients with KD.ResultsThe average number of KD cases per year was 35. Approximately, 60% were males and 44% were White children (N = 234), 45% were Black children (N = 240) and 11% were other races (N = 55). Black children were younger than White children at KD admission (median age 32 vs. 41 months respectively, p = 0.02). Overall, the highest rates of cases occurred between January and April. When stratifying by race, cases started to rise in December among White children with the highest rates between February and April with a peak in March. Among Black children cases were high during the winter season (January–April) with a peak in April. Similarly high rates also occurred in June, July and November. There were no differences in geographical distribution of cases by race.ConclusionKD incidence among White children in Alabama follows a seasonal cycle similar to other regions in the U.S. However, sustained incidence and additional peaks outside of the usual KD seasonality were seen among Black children with KD. Further studies are needed to investigate differential triggers between races

Abrazando mi historia de vida: la experiencia de vivir con cáncer siendo adolescente.

Objective.   To   explore   the   life   history   of   an   adolescent   who   experiences   cancer.   Materials and methods. This is a qualitative study based on single-case life history. In-depth interview was used, and the results were analyzed using a reduced version of Amedeo Giorgi’s method.  Results.  Two   central themes emerged from the data:  Diagnosis implications for the personal, social and, family life of a teenager suffering from cancer and family support as crucial in coping with the disease.  The support of the family was essential in overcoming cancer in an adolescent. Solid social support to the patient favored the processes of living, adapting, coping with and, overcoming cancer. Conclusions. The study allowed the researchers to understand an adolescent’s experience of living with osteosarcoma, revealing a particular world that has not been explored in depth.  Sometimes childhood cancer is considered a devastating disease, which has severe implications for the patient and his family forcing them to reorganize their family and social dynamics to adapt and fight against that disease.Objetivo. Explorar la experiencia de vida de un adolescente con cáncer. Materiales y métodos. Estudio cualitativo, con caso único, basado en historia de vida; la técnica utilizada fue la entrevista a profundidad y los resultados se examinaron con base en una versión simplificada de la propuesta de Amedeo Giorgi. Resultados. emergieron dos temas centrales: Diagnóstico: implicaciones para la vida personal, social y familiar de un adolescente con cáncer y el apoyo familiar como soporte indispensable para afrontar la enfermedad. Conclusiones. El estudio permitió comprender el significado que otorga un adolescente a la experiencia de vivir con osteosarcoma, revelando un mundo distinto y poco explorado. El apoyo de la familia, fue indispensable para la superación del cáncer en el adolescente, podría decirse, que un soporte social sólido en el paciente, favorece los procesos de afrontamiento y adaptación en la experiencia de vivir y sobreponerse a esta condición. En ocasiones el cáncer infantil se visualiza como una enfermedad devastadora, que tiene serias implicaciones para el paciente y su familia, obligándolos a reorganizar su dinámica familiar y social, para adaptarse y luchar contra la enfermedad.&nbsp

Maternal, fetal and perinatal alterations associated with obesity, overweight and gestational diabetes: an observational cohort study (PREOBE)

Abstract Background: Maternal overweight, obesity, and gestational diabetes (GD) have been negatively associated with offspring development. Further knowledge regarding metabolic and nutritional alterations in these mother and their offspring are warranted. Methods: In an observational cohort study we included 331 pregnant women from Granada, Spain. The mothers were categorized into four groups according to BMI and their GD status; overweight (n:56), obese (n:64), GD (n:79), and healthy normal weight controls (n:132). We assessed maternal growth and nutritional biomarkers at 24 weeks (n = 269), 34 weeks (n = 310) and at delivery (n = 310) and the perinatal characteristics including cord blood biomarkers. Results: Obese and GD mothers had significantly lower weight gain during pregnancy and infant birth weight, waist circumference, and placental weight were higher in the obese group, including a significantly increased prevalence of macrosomia. Except for differences in markers of glucose metabolism (glucose, HbA1c, insulin and uric acid) we found at some measures that overweight and/or obese mothers had lower levels of transferrin saturation, hemoglobin, Vitamin B12 and folate and higher levels of C-reactive protein, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, ferritin, and cortisol. GD mothers had similar differences in hemoglobin and C-reactive protein but higher levels of folate. The latter was seen also in cord blood. Conclusions: We identified several metabolic alterations in overweight, obese and GD mothers compared to controls. Together with the observed differences in infant anthropometrics, these may be important biomarkers in future research regarding the programming of health and disease in children. Trial registration: The trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov, identifier (NCT01634464). Keywords: Pregnancy, Maternal overweight, Maternal obesity, Gestational diabetes, Offspring, Fetal nutrition, Early programming, Vitamin B12, Folate, Iron status, Glucose metabolis

Mutations related to Antiretroviral Resistance identified by ultra-deep sequencing in HIV-1 infected children under Structured Interruptions of HAART

Altres ajuts: CONACYT/GCPS/44519Although Structured Treatment Interruptions (STI) are currently not considered an alternative strategy for antiretroviral treatment, their true benefits and limitations have not been fully established. Some studies suggest the possibility of improving the quality of life of patients with this strategy; however, the information that has been obtained corresponds mostly to studies conducted in adults, with a lack of knowledge about its impact on children. Furthermore, mutations associated with antiretroviral resistance could be selected due to sub-therapeutic levels of HAART at each interruption period. Genotyping methods to determine the resistance profiles of the infecting viruses have become increasingly important for the management of patients under STI, thus low-abundance antiretroviral drug-resistant mutations (DRM's) at levels under limit of detection of conventional genotyping (<20% of quasispecies) could increase the risk of virologic failure. In this work, we analyzed the protease and reverse transcriptase regions of the pol gene by ultra-deep sequencing in pediatric patients under STI with the aim of determining the presence of high- and low-abundance DRM's in the viral rebounds generated by the STI. High-abundance mutations in protease and high- and low-abundance mutations in reverse transcriptase were detected but no one of these are directly associated with resistance to antiretroviral drugs. The results could suggest that the evaluated STI program is virologically safe, but strict and carefully planned studies, with greater numbers of patients and interruption/restart cycles, are still needed to evaluate the selection of DRM's during STI

Contralateral asymmetry for breast cancer detection : A CADx approach

Early detection is fundamental for the effective treatment of breast cancer and the screening mammography is the most common tool used by the medical community to detect early breast cancer development. Screening mammograms include images of both breasts using two standard views, and the contralateral asymmetry per view is a key feature in detecting breast cancer. we propose a methodology to incorporate said asymmetry information into a computer-aided diagnosis system that can accurately discern between healthy subjects and subjects at risk of having breast cancer. Furthermore, we generate features that measure not only a view-wise asymmetry, but a subject-wise one. Briefly, the methodology co-registers the left and right mammograms, extracts image characteristics, fuses them into subjectwise features, and classifies subjects. In this study, 152 subjects from two independent databases, one with analog- and one with digital mammograms, were used to validate the methodology. Areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.738 and 0.767, and diagnostic odds ratios of 23.10 and 9.00 were achieved, respectively. In addition, the proposed method has the potential to rank subjects by their probability of having breas

Caracterización tecnológica de las explotaciones ovinas y caprinas en los departamentos de la Guajira, César y Magdalena

Durante 4 años consecutivos (1990-1994) se llevó a cabo el presenta trabajo con el objetivo de caracterizar los sistemas de producción de ovinos de pelo y caprinos. Por medio de la metodología de estudio de casos se estimaron los parámetros productivos y reproductivos en 16 explotaciiones de los departamentos de La Guajira, Cesar y Magdalena, los aspectos socioeconómicos se tomaron de resultados de 159 encuestas realizadas en 93 veredas ubicadas en las 4 subregiones seleccionadas. El sistema está localizado en pisos térmicos cálido árido (18 por ciento) y cálido subhúmedo (49.1 por ciento). Se identificaron los subsistemas caprinos asociados a ovinos, ovinos asociados a caprinos y bovinos asociados a ovinos. Predomina el sistemas de explotación tradicional, extensivo (90.4 por ciento), de manejo simple, siendo el objetivo la venta de animales en pie (64.1 por ciento) autoconsumo (32.1 por ciento) y venta de leche (3.8 por ciento). La falta de asistencia técnica (31.2 por ciento), la inseguridad (17.1 por ciento) y la falta de crédito (17.1 por ciento) fueron señaladas como los principales limitantes. La prolificidad obtenida para ambas especies fue mayor de 1.40.Caprinos-Capra hircu

Comprensión lectora 2 : cuaderno de trabajo para estudiantes de segundo grado de Secundaria 2018

Cuaderno de trabajo sobre comprensión lectora para estudiantes de segundo grado de Secundaria. Texto para el año escolar 2018