87 research outputs found
A new rapid desensitization protocol for chemotherapy agents
Background: Desensitization has been used for some decades to treat patients with the allergenic drug when an alternative drug with
similar effi cacy and safety is not available. We present the results from a series of oncology patients desensitized at our hospital during
the last 2 years.
Objective: To assess the effi cacy of a new desensitization protocol in patients allergic to chemotherapy drugs.
Methods: We performed an observational retrospective study of 11 women (6 breast cancer and 5 ovarian cancer) who underwent our
desensitization protocol. Four patients had immediate reactions to carboplatin, 3 to docetaxel, 3 to paclitaxel, and 1 to both docetaxel
and paclitaxel. Premedication was administered in all cases. A 5-step protocol based on 5 different dilutions of the drugs was used.
Results: We performed 39 desensitization procedures: 14 to carboplatin, 3 to oxaliplatin, 16 to docetaxel, and 6 to paclitaxel. Eight patients
tolerated the full dose in 36 procedures. One patient suffered an anaphylactic reaction to carboplatin that reverted with treatment. One
patient had dyspnea after a paclitaxel cycle. One patient experienced dyspnea due to chronic pulmonary thromboembolism related to
her disease.
Conclusion: Desensitization is a useful procedure in patients who are allergic to their chemotherapy agents
Ecological Invasion, Roughened Fronts, and a Competitor's Extreme Advance: Integrating Stochastic Spatial-Growth Models
Both community ecology and conservation biology seek further understanding of
factors governing the advance of an invasive species. We model biological
invasion as an individual-based, stochastic process on a two-dimensional
landscape. An ecologically superior invader and a resident species compete for
space preemptively. Our general model includes the basic contact process and a
variant of the Eden model as special cases. We employ the concept of a
"roughened" front to quantify effects of discreteness and stochasticity on
invasion; we emphasize the probability distribution of the front-runner's
relative position. That is, we analyze the location of the most advanced
invader as the extreme deviation about the front's mean position. We find that
a class of models with different assumptions about neighborhood interactions
exhibit universal characteristics. That is, key features of the invasion
dynamics span a class of models, independently of locally detailed demographic
rules. Our results integrate theories of invasive spatial growth and generate
novel hypotheses linking habitat or landscape size (length of the invading
front) to invasion velocity, and to the relative position of the most advanced
invader.Comment: The original publication is available at
www.springerlink.com/content/8528v8563r7u2742
Corrosion behaviour of MgâZnâYâMischmetal alloys in phosphate buffer saline solution
The influence of the processing route and chemical composition in the corrosion behaviour of two Mg-Zn-Y-Mischmetal alloys has been evaluated in phosphate buffer saline solution. The corrosion resistance of the alloy processed by conventional techniques was substantially higher than that found for the same alloy processed from atomised powders. Fine homogeneous distribution of the second-phase particles promoted severe attack due to the enhanced number of galvanic microcells. A higher concentration of zinc and a lower content of rare earth additions improved the corrosion resistance of the alloys due to the lower volume fraction of second-phase particles. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.Peer Reviewe
Common variants of the liver fatty acid binding protein gene influence the risk of type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance in Spanish population
Summary: The main objective was to evaluate the association between SNPs and haplotypes of the FABP1-4 genes and type 2 diabetes, as well as its interaction with fat intake, in one general Spanish population. The association was replicated in a second population in which HOMA index was also evaluated.
Methods: 1217 unrelated individuals were selected from a population-based study [Hortega study: 605 women; mean age 54 y; 7.8% with type 2 diabetes]. The replication population included 805 subjects from Segovia, a neighboring region of Spain (446 females; mean age 52 y; 10.3% with type 2 diabetes). DM2 mellitus was defined in a similar way in both studies. Fifteen SNPs previously associated with metabolic traits or with potential influence in the gene expression within the FABP1-
4 genes were genotyped with SNPlex and tested. Age, sex and BMI were used as covariates in the logistic regression model.
Results:One polymorphism (rs2197076) and two haplotypes of the FABP-1 showed a strong association with the risk of DM2
in the original population. This association was further confirmed in the second population as well as in the pooled sample.
None of the other analyzed variants in FABP2, FABP3 and FABP4 genes were associated. There was not a formal interaction
between rs2197076 and fat intake. A significant association between the rs2197076 and the haplotypes of the FABP1 and
HOMA-IR was also present in the replication population.
Conclusions: The study supports the role of common variants of the FABP-1 gene in the development of type 2 diabetes in Caucasians
The nutrigenetic influence of the interaction between dietary vitamin E and TXN and COMT gene polymorphisms on waist circumference: a case control study
Background: Abdominal obesity (AO) is a common modifiable risk factor for certain non-communicable diseases
associated with enhanced oxidative stress (OS). The objective of this work was to investigate whether the interaction
between antioxidant vitamin intake and OS-related polymorphisms modulates gene-associated anthropometry in a
Spanish population.
Methods: A total of 246 subjects with AO, and 492 age and gender matched non-AO subjects were included in the
study. Anthropometric, biochemical, and OS parameters, and antioxidant dietary intake data were assessed using validated
procedures. DNA from white blood cells was isolated and the genotype of seven polymorphisms from genes
involved in OS (pro-oxidant and antioxidant) were analyzed using the SNPlex system. The effects of the c.-793T > C
polymorphism on promoter activity and thus thioredoxin (TXN) activity were examined using reporter assays.
Results: The AO group had higher 8-Oxo-2âČ-deoxyguanosine levels and took in less vitamin A and vitamin E compared
to the non-AO group. Logistic regression analysis revealed that the rs2301241 polymorphism in TXN and
rs740603 in catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) were associated with waist circumference (WC) and AO. Moreover,
these polymorphisms were more strongly associated with variations in WC in subjects with low vitamin E intakes. A
promoter assay revealed that the T to C conversion at c.-793 (rs2301241) induced a more than two fold increase in
reporter gene expression.
Conclusions: WC is associated both with dietary vitamin E intake and genetic variants of TXN and COMT suggesting
that existence of a complex nutrigenetic pathway that involves regulation of AO
Spread of a SARS-CoV-2 variant through Europe in the summer of 2020.
Following its emergence in late 2019, the spread of SARS-CoV-21,2 has been tracked by phylogenetic analysis of viral genome sequences in unprecedented detail3â5. Although the virus spread globally in early 2020 before borders closed, intercontinental travel has since been greatly reduced. However, travel within Europe resumed in the summer of 2020. Here we report on a SARS-CoV-2 variant, 20E (EU1), that was identified in Spain in early summer 2020 and subsequently spread across Europe. We find no evidence that this variant has increased transmissibility, but instead demonstrate how rising incidence in Spain, resumption of travel, and lack of effective screening and containment may explain the variantâs success. Despite travel restrictions, we estimate that 20E (EU1) was introduced hundreds of times to European countries by summertime travellers, which is likely to have undermined local efforts to minimize infection with SARS-CoV-2. Our results illustrate how a variant can rapidly become dominant even in the absence of a substantial transmission advantage in favourable epidemiological settings. Genomic surveillance is critical for understanding how travel can affect transmission of SARS-CoV-2, and thus for informing future containment strategies as travel resumes. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited
Effectiveness of an mHealth intervention combining a smartphone app and smart band on body composition in an overweight and obese population: Randomized controlled trial (EVIDENT 3 study)
Background: Mobile health (mHealth) is currently among the supporting elements that may contribute to an improvement in health markers by helping people adopt healthier lifestyles. mHealth interventions have been widely reported to achieve greater weight loss than other approaches, but their effect on body composition remains unclear.
Objective: This study aimed to assess the short-term (3 months) effectiveness of a mobile app and a smart band for losing weight and changing body composition in sedentary Spanish adults who are overweight or obese.
Methods: A randomized controlled, multicenter clinical trial was conducted involving the participation of 440 subjects from primary care centers, with 231 subjects in the intervention group (IG; counselling with smartphone app and smart band) and 209 in the control group (CG; counselling only). Both groups were counselled about healthy diet and physical activity. For the 3-month intervention period, the IG was trained to use a smartphone app that involved self-monitoring and tailored feedback, as well as a smart band that recorded daily physical activity (Mi Band 2, Xiaomi). Body composition was measured using the InBody 230 bioimpedance device (InBody Co., Ltd), and physical activity was measured using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire.
Results: The mHealth intervention produced a greater loss of body weight (â1.97 kg, 95% CI â2.39 to â1.54) relative to standard counselling at 3 months (â1.13 kg, 95% CI â1.56 to â0.69). Comparing groups, the IG achieved a weight loss of 0.84 kg more than the CG at 3 months. The IG showed a decrease in body fat mass (BFM; â1.84 kg, 95% CI â2.48 to â1.20), percentage of body fat (PBF; â1.22%, 95% CI â1.82% to 0.62%), and BMI (â0.77 kg/m2, 95% CI â0.96 to 0.57). No significant changes were observed in any of these parameters in men; among women, there was a significant decrease in BMI in the IG compared with the CG. When subjects were grouped according to baseline BMI, the overweight group experienced a change in BFM of â1.18 kg (95% CI â2.30 to â0.06) and BMI of â0.47 kg/m2 (95% CI â0.80 to â0.13), whereas the obese group only experienced a change in BMI of â0.53 kg/m2 (95% CI â0.86 to â0.19). When the data were analyzed according to physical activity, the moderate-vigorous physical activity group showed significant changes in BFM of â1.03 kg (95% CI â1.74 to â0.33), PBF of â0.76% (95% CI â1.32% to â0.20%), and BMI of â0.5 kg/m2 (95% CI â0.83 to â0.19).
Conclusions: The results from this multicenter, randomized controlled clinical trial study show that compared with standard counselling alone, adding a self-reported app and a smart band obtained beneficial results in terms of weight loss and a reduction in BFM and PBF in female subjects with a BMI less than 30 kg/m2 and a moderate-vigorous physical activity level. Nevertheless, further studies are needed to ensure that this profile benefits more than others from this intervention and to investigate modifications of this intervention to achieve a global effect
Prompt K_short production in pp collisions at sqrt(s)=0.9 TeV
The production of K_short mesons in pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy
of 0.9 TeV is studied with the LHCb detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The
luminosity of the analysed sample is determined using a novel technique,
involving measurements of the beam currents, sizes and positions, and is found
to be 6.8 +/- 1.0 microbarn^-1. The differential prompt K_short production
cross-section is measured as a function of the K_short transverse momentum and
rapidity in the region 0 < pT < 1.6 GeV/c and 2.5 < y < 4.0. The data are found
to be in reasonable agreement with previous measurements and generator
expectations.Comment: 6+18 pages, 6 figures, updated author lis
A História da Alimentação: balizas historiogråficas
Os M. pretenderam traçar um quadro da HistĂłria da Alimentação, nĂŁo como um novo ramo epistemolĂłgico da disciplina, mas como um campo em desenvolvimento de prĂĄticas e atividades especializadas, incluindo pesquisa, formação, publicaçÔes, associaçÔes, encontros acadĂȘmicos, etc. Um breve relato das condiçÔes em que tal campo se assentou faz-se preceder de um panorama dos estudos de alimentação e temas correia tos, em geral, segundo cinco abardagens Ia biolĂłgica, a econĂŽmica, a social, a cultural e a filosĂłfica!, assim como da identificação das contribuiçÔes mais relevantes da Antropologia, Arqueologia, Sociologia e Geografia. A fim de comentar a multiforme e volumosa bibliografia histĂłrica, foi ela organizada segundo critĂ©rios morfolĂłgicos. A seguir, alguns tĂłpicos importantes mereceram tratamento Ă parte: a fome, o alimento e o domĂnio religioso, as descobertas europĂ©ias e a difusĂŁo mundial de alimentos, gosto e gastronomia. O artigo se encerra com um rĂĄpido balanço crĂtico da historiografia brasileira sobre o tema
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