Cosmopolitan distribution of the large composite microbial mat spirochete, Spirosymplokos deltaeiberi

Inocula from organic-rich black muds immediately underlying intertidal laminated microbial mats dominated by Microcoleus chthonoplastes yielded large, variable diameter spirochetes. These unusual spirochetes, previously reported only from the Alfacs Peninsula at the delta of the Ebro river in northeast Spain, contain striking arrays of cytoplasmic granules packed into their protoplasmic cylinders. On several occasions, both in summer and winter, the huge spirochetes were recognized in samples from mats growing in the Sippewissett salt marsh at Woods Hole Massachusetts. They were also seen in similar samples from microbial mats at North Pond, Laguna Figueroa, Baja California Norte, Mexico. The identity of these spirochetes was confirmed by electron microscopy: number and disposition of flagella, composite structure, measurements of their distinctive cytoplasmic granules. The granules, larger, more conspicuous and present in addition to ribosomes, are hypothesized to contain ATPases. As culture conditions worsen, these spirochetes retract into membrane-bounded round bodies in which they form refractile inclusions. From morphology and behavior we conclude the North American spirochetes from both Atlantic and Pacific intertidal microbial mats are indistinguishable from those at the delta of the Ebro river. We conclude a cosmopolitan distribution for Spirosymplokos deltaeiberi

Personas mayores con demencia institucionalizadas: efectos de la musicoterapia versus los talleres de reminiscencia-recreación

People affected by dementia continue to grow every year. Within the framework of Positive Psychology, we will study the positive effects of music therapy on the quality of life of people with dementia. The main objective is to analyze and compare the effects of a music therapy program (experimental group), and a reminiscence / recreation program (control group) in institutionalized elderly people. The impact is analyzed: cognitive, mood and participation-interaction of individuals in moderate to advanced stages of dementia. Method: Study: Quasi-experimental. Pre and post test with control group. Participants are 24 people with dementia in phases 5 and 6. Randomly assigned to a music therapy or reminiscence / recreation group. Both groups received a total of 12 sessions, 2 weekly sessions. The measuring instruments are: Cognitive functioning: BIMS (Brief Interview for Mental Status); Self-perception scale of mood OERS (Observed Emotion Rating Scale); Observations of music therapists and video analysis (sessions 1, 6, and 12). The results will be presented for each study group as well as the comparison between groups. It should be noted that the individuals participating in the music therapy group had a gradual increase in cognitive scores (attention, memory, time orientation) throughout the duration of the study, while those in the reminiscence / recreation group decreased. The mean scores of the participants in both groups indicate positive increases in mood before and after the session and a significant increase in the interaction between the participants. It is noteworthy that the behaviors of agitation and apathy in the advanced dementia group of music therapy are significantly reduced. Conclusions: Music therapy contributes to maintain and improve cognitive, behavioral and socio-emotional aspects in elderly people with dementia in moderate to advanced stages at a higher level than reminiscence-recreation.This project has been financed by the FPCEE Blanquerna (URL) and in collaboration with Sanitas Residencial S.L.Las personas afectadas de demencia continúan creciendo cada año. Dentro del marco de la Psicología Positiva, vamos a estudiar los efectos positivos de la musicoterapia en la calidad de vida de las personas con demencia. El Objetivo principal es analizar y comparar los efectos de un programa de  musicoterapia (grupo experimental), y un programa de reminiscencia/recreación (grupo control) en personas mayores institucionalizadas. Se analiza el impacto: cognitivo, estado anímico y participación-interacción de individuos en fases moderadas a avanzadas de la demencias. Método: Estudio: Cuasi- experimental.  Pre y post test con grupo control. Los Participantes son 24 personas con demencia en fases 5 y 6. Aleatoriamente fueron asignados a un grupo de musicoterapia o de reminiscencia/recreación. Ambos grupos recibieron un total de 12 sesiones, 2 sesiones semanales. Los  Instrumentos de medición son: Funcionamiento cognitivo: BIMS (Brief Interview for Mental Status); Escala de autopercepción del estado de ánimo OERS (Observed Emotion Rating Scale); Observaciones de las musicoterapeutas i análisis de videos (sesiones 1, 6, y 12). Los Resultados, se presentaran para cada grupo de estudio así como la comparativa entre grupos. Cabe resaltar que los individuos que participaban en el grupo de musicoterapia tuvieron un gradual aumento en las puntuaciones cognitivas (atención, memoria, orientación temporal) en toda la duración del estudio, mientras que los del grupo de reminiscencias / recreación disminuyó. Las puntuaciones medias de los participantes de ambos grupos indican incrementos positivos del estado de ánimo antes y después de la sesión y un aumento significativo de la interacción entre los participantes. Cabe destacar que disminuyen notablemente las conductas de agitación y apatía en el grupo de demencia avanzada de musicoterapia. Conclusiones: La musicoterapia contribuye a mantener y mejorar aspectos cognitivos, conductuales y socio-emocionales en personas mayores con demencia en fases moderada a avanzada a un nivel superior a la reminiscencia-recreación.Este proyecto ha sido financiado por la FPCEE Blanquerna (URL) y en colaboración con Sanitas Residencial S.L.

Characterization of intra- and inter-host norovirus P2 genetic variability in linked individuals by amplicon sequencing

Noroviruses are the main cause of epidemics of acute gastroenteritis at a global scale.Although chronically infected immunocompromised individuals are regarded as potential reservoirs for the emergence of new viral variants, viral quasispecies distribution and evolution patterns in acute symptomatic and asymptomatic infections has not been extensively studied. Amplicons of 450 nts from the P2 coding capsid domain were studied using nextgeneration sequencing (454/GS-Junior) platform. Inter-host diversity between symptomatic and asymptomatic acutely infected individuals linked to the same outbreak as well as their viral intra-host diversity over time were characterized. With an average of 2848 reads per sample and a cutoff frequency of 0.1%, minor variant haplotypes were detected in 5 out of 8 specimens. Transmitted variants could not be confirmed in all infected individuals in one outbreak. The observed initial intra-host viral diversity in asymptomatically infected subjects was higher than in symptomatic ones. Viral quasispecies evolution over time within individuals was host-specific, with an average of 2.8 nt changes per day (0.0062 changes per nucleotide per day) in a given symptomatic case. Nucleotide polymorphisms were detected in 28 out of 450 analyzed nucleotide positions, 32.14% of which were synonymous and 67.86% were non-synonymous. Most observed amino acid changes emerged at or near blockade epitopes A, B, D and E. Our results suggest that acutely infected individuals, even in the absence of symptoms, which go underreported and may enhance transmission, may contribute to norovirus genetic variability and evolution

Mutational Profile Enables the Identification of a High-Risk Subgroup in Myelodysplastic Syndromes with Isolated Trisomy 8

Simple Summary Trisomy 8 (+8) is one of the most frequent cytogenetic alterations found in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). MDS patients harboring isolated +8 show clinical heterogeneity, and life expectancy varies between several months and several years after diagnosis. We aimed to investigate whether the mutational profile of isolated +8 MDS patients could help to clarify the heterogeneous prognosis of these patients. In fact, we found that mutations in STAG2, SRSF2 and RUNX1 are independent prognostic factors, enough to define the course of the disease in terms of overall survival and leukemic transformation in isolated +8 MDS. Therefore, these findings might help to identify patients at a high risk of evolving disease and open new horizons by changes in the management of a high subset of patients within MDS with isolated +8. Trisomy 8 (+8) is the most frequent trisomy in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and is associated with clinical heterogeneity and intermediate cytogenetic risk when found in isolation. The presence of gene mutations in this group of patients and the prognostic significance has not been extensively analyzed. Targeted deep sequencing was performed in a cohort of 79 MDS patients showing isolated +8. The most frequently mutated genes were: TET2 (38%), STAG2 (34.2%), SRSF2 (29.1%) and RUNX1 (26.6%). The mutational profile identified a high-risk subgroup with mutations in STAG2, SRSF2 and/or RUNX1, resulting in shorter time to acute myeloid leukemia progression (14 months while not reached in patients without these mutations, p < 0.0001) and shorter overall survival (23.7 vs. 46.3 months, p = 0.001). Multivariate analyses revealed the presence of mutations in these genes as an independent prognostic factor in MDS showing +8 isolated (HR: 3.1; p < 0.01). Moreover, 39.5% and 15.4% of patients classified as low/intermediate risk by the IPSS-R and IPSS-M, respectively, were re-stratified as a high-risk subgroup based on the mutational status of STAG2, SRSF2 and RUNX1. Results were validated in an external cohort (n = 2494). In summary, this study validates the prognosis significance of somatic mutations shown in IPSS-M and adds STAG2 as an important mutated gene to consider in this specific subgroup of patients. The mutational profile in isolated +8 MDS patients could, therefore, offer new insights for the correct management of patients with a higher risk of leukemic transformation

Gambling disorder duration and cognitive behavioural therapy outcome considering gambling preference and sex

Gambling Disorder (GD) is a behavioural addiction that leads to high level of clinical distress and, in general, it is characterized by enduring symptomatology that presents high rates of chronicity. However, there is high variability of illness duration among patients who seek treatment for GD. Previous studies reported mixed results about the relevance of illness duration in GD treatment outcome. However, there are different profiles of patients who are diagnosed with GD. For this reason, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of illness duration in the treatment outcome of different profiles of GD patients according to their gambling preference and sex. The sample were 1699 patients diagnosed with GD. All patients received cognitive-behavioural therapy in a group format. Treatment outcome was evaluated in terms of relapsing to gambling behaviours and dropout from treatment. Results showed higher probability of poor outcome in the first years of the disorder for strategic gambling compared to non-strategic or mixed forms of gambling. Moreover, women also showed higher probability of poor outcomes than men since the first stages of the disorder. This study draws attention to the relevance of illness duration in the treatment outcome of specific profiles of GD patients. In particular, patients who presented a preference for strategic forms of gambling and women who are diagnosed with GD would have a higher risk of poor treatment outcomes since the first stages of the disorder. These results highlight the importance of an early intervention in these patients in order to prevent the chronicity of the disorder

Food addiction in anorexia nervosa: implications for the understanding of crossover diagnosis

Objective: Food addiction (FA) construct was introduced to reflect abnormal eating patterns that resemble behavioural ones found in substance use disorders. FA has been barely explored in anorexia nervosa (AN). This study evaluated FA occurrence and associated factors in a sample of patients with AN, distinguishing between restrictive and binge-purging subtypes and focussing on the influence of FA in the crossover diagnosis between them. Method: A sample of 116 patients with AN admitted for treatment seeking at an Bellvitge Hospital Eating Disorders Unit were included (72 restrictive [AN-R]; 44 binge-purge AN [AN-BP]), and eating-related, personality and psychopathological variables were assessed. Most participants were women (92.2%), mean age 27.1 years old (SD = 10.5). Results: FA was more prevalent in patients with AN-BP compared to the AN-R group (75.0% and 54.2%, respectively). The patients with AN-R FA+, presented more similar ED symptomatology, general psychopathology and personality traits, with the AN-BP patients, than with the AN-R FA-. Conclusions: Patients with AN-R FA+, exhibit more similarities with the AN-BP subgroup than with the AN-R FA-. Thus, it is possible to hypothesise that the presence of FA might be an indicator of the possible crossover from AN-R to AN-BP

Upper limb isometric exercise protocolled programme and arteriovenous fistula maturation process

Arteriovenous fistula (AVF) is the gold standard for vascular access (VA) for end-stage chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. Post-operative exercises may help to improve maturation. Nevertheless, scarce scientific evidence has been reported about their utility to date. Our objective was to assess the effect of a post-operative isometric exercise programme on native VA maturation in patients with stage 5-5D CKD. We performed a 24-month prospective study. After surgery, patients were randomized to the isometric exercise group (EG) or control group (CG). An isometric exercise protocolled programme was performed in the EG. The CG received usual care. Demographic data, muscle strength using a hand-grip (HG) dynamometer, main Doppler ultrasound (DUS) measurements, clinical and DUS maturation and VA complications were assessed at 4 and 8 weeks post-operatively. For 60 sixty patients (30 in the EG), demographic data and HG and DUS measurements at baseline were similar. A significant increase in HG was observed only in the EG at the end of the study (20.7 ± 8.1 versus 25.1 ± 10.3 kg, P = 0.001). The EG obtained the highest clinical maturation at 4 (CG 33.3% versus EG 70%, P = 0.009) and 8 weeks (CG 33.3% versus EG 76.7%, P = 0.002). Similarly, DUS maturation was better in the EG at 4 (CG 40% versus EG 80%, P = 0.003) and 8 weeks (CG 43.3% versus EG 83.3%, P = 0.003) and remained so in the EG for both distal and proximal VA territories for all these periods. The upper limb isometric exercise protocolled programme improved clinical and DUS maturation in our patients in both the distal and proximal VA territories. Further studies are required to support these results